Drug supply device and drug inspection method in drug supply device

• US 9,776,755 B2
• Filed: 07/11/2014
• Issued: 10/03/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: PHC Holdings Corporation
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Kondo, Akira, Takahashi, Hideyuki, Mori, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): TRUONG, THANH K
• Assistant Examiner(s): Seif, Dariush
• Application Number:
  US14/329,716
• Publication Number:
  US 20140318078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,180 Days
• Field of Search: 53500, 53 64, 53493, 53498, 53501, 53503, 53450, 53451, 53455, 53459, 53550-555, 53562, 53568, 53167, 382192, 382128, 382110, 382165, 382190, 382195
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 5/103 for packaging pills or tablets
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/10 responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/14 and operating to control, or stop, the feed of articles or material to be packaged
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 61/025 for applying, e.g. printing, code or date marks on material prior to packaging
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 61/06 by cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 9/06 Enclosing successive articles, or quantities of material, in a longitudinally-folded web, or in a web folded into a tube about the articles or quantities of material placed upon it
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 21/9508 Capsules; Tablets
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/60 for the operation of medical equipment or devices

Abstract

A drug supply device includes a hopper that collects solid drugs discharged from tablet cases on the basis of predetermined prescription data, an inspection device that inspects the solid drugs introduced from the hopper, and a packaging device that fills and packages the inspected solid drugs into a packaging sheet. The inspection device includes inspection containers that each hold a single administration dosage of the solid drugs, a movement mechanism that moves the inspection containers, and an imaging device that captures an image of the solid drugs in the inspection containers. As a result of capturing the image of the solid drugs in the inspection container by the imaging device, when a number of the solid drugs is different from the prescription data, the solid drugs are disposed of.

Claims

1. A drug supply device comprising:

a plurality of tablet cases in which solid drugs are stored while being categorized by type;

a hopper that collects single administration solid drugs, which are solid drugs for a single administration dosage, discharged from the tablet cases on the basis of predetermined prescription data;

an inspection device that inspects the single administration solid drugs discharged by the hopper; and

a packaging device that fills and packages the single administration solid drugs inspected by the inspection device into a packaging sheet, wherein;

the inspection device includes;

an inspection container that holds the single administration solid drugs discharged from the hopper;

a movement mechanism that moves the inspection container; and

an imaging device that captures an image of the single administration solid drugs in the inspection container,

based on a result that the inspection device inspects the single administration solid drugs by which the imaging device captures the image of the single administration solid drugs in the inspection container, the single administration solid drugs are disposed of toward a disposal container, when a number of the single administration solid drugs is different from the prescription data, and the single administration solid drugs are packaged by the packing device, when the number of the single administration solid drugs is same as the prescription data, and

the movement mechanism includes an introduction position at which the single administration solid drugs are discharged from the hopper into the inspection container, an imaging position at which an image of the single administration solid drugs in the inspection container is captured by the imaging device, a disposal position at which the single administration solid drugs are disposed of, and a filling position at which the single administration solid drugs are discharged into the packaging device.

2. The drug supply device according to claim 1, wherein:

the movement mechanism is formed by a turntable and an electric operation mechanism that rotatably supports the turntable, and

the turntable includes a plurality of inspection containers on an upper surface of the turntable.

3. The drug supply device according to claim 2, wherein the disposal position is arranged at a position that is opposite to the imaging position with respect to the introduction position.

4. The drug supply device according to claim 3, wherein, when the number of the single administration solid drugs is different from the prescription data, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the disposal position and disposes of the single administration solid drugs at the disposal position, and after that, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the introduction position, discharges a new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage based on the prescription data from the tablet cases, and discharges the new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage from the hopper into the inspection container.

5. The drug supply device according to claim 2, wherein, when the number of the single administration solid drugs is different from the prescription data, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the disposal position and disposes of the single administration solid drugs at the disposal position, and after that, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the introduction position, discharges a new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage based on the prescription data from the tablet cases, and discharges the new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage from the hopper into the inspection container.

6. The drug supply device according to claim 1, wherein the disposal position is arranged at a position that is opposite to the imaging position with respect to the introduction position.

7. The drug supply device according to claim 6, wherein, when the number of the single administration solid drugs is different from the prescription data, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the disposal position and disposes of the single administration solid drugs at the disposal position, and after that, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the introduction position, discharges a new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage based on the prescription data from the tablet cases, and discharges the new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage from the hopper into the inspection container.

8. The drug supply device according to claim 1, wherein, when the number of the single administration solid drugs is different from the prescription data, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the disposal position and disposes of the single administration solid drugs at the disposal position, and after that, the drug supply device moves the inspection container to the introduction position, discharges a new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage based on the prescription data from the tablet cases, and discharges the new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage from the hopper into the inspection container.

9. A drug supply device comprising:

a plurality of tablet cases in which solid drugs are stored while being categorized by type;

a hopper that collects solid drugs discharged from the tablet cases on the basis of predetermined prescription data;

an inspection device that inspects the solid drugs discharged by the hopper; and

a packaging device that fills and packages the solid drugs inspected by the inspection device into a packaging sheet, wherein;

an inspection device is arranged in a pathway through which the solid drugs are conveyed from the tablet cases to the packaging device, the inspection device includes a turntable, and the turntable includes an inspection container into which the solid drugs discharged from the tablet cases are introduced;

the turntable is configured to be rotated by an electric operation mechanism to a solid drug introduction position at which the solid drugs are introduced from the hopper into the inspection container, an imaging position at which an image of the solid drugs in the inspection container is captured by an imaging device, a filling position at which the solid drugs in the inspection container can move toward the packaging device, and a disposal position at which the solid drugs are disposed of from inside the inspection container;

the inspection container receives the solid drugs from the hopper at the solid drug introduction position and moves to the imaging position;

when it is determined that the number of the solid drugs is as specified by the prescription data on the basis of the imaging performed by the imaging device, the inspection container is moved to the filling position; and

when it is determined that the number of the solid drugs is not as specified by the prescription data on the basis of the imaging, the inspection container is moved to the disposal position, and after the solid drugs are disposed of toward a disposal container at the disposal position, the inspection container is moved to the solid drug introduction position, the inspection container newly receives the solid drugs from the hopper at the solid drug introduction position and moves to the imaging position, and based on another determination as to whether or not the number of the solid drugs is as specified by the prescription data made on the basis of the imaging performed by the imaging device, the inspection container is moved to either the filling position or the disposal position in the same manner as described above.

10. A drug inspection method performing a process in a solid drug supply device that includes a plurality of tablet cases in which solid drugs are stored while being categorized by type, an inspection device including an inspection container and a movement mechanism that moves the inspection container and a packaging device that fills and packages single administration solid drugs, which are solid drugs for a single administration dosage, discharged from the tablet cases on the basis of desired prescription data into a packaging sheet, the drug inspection method comprising:

a collecting step of collecting, at an introduction position of the movement mechanism, the single administration solid drugs discharged from a hopper into the inspection container;

an imaging step of capturing, at an imaging position of the movement mechanism, an image of the single administration solid drugs in a state in which the single administration solid drugs discharged from the tablet cases are received is included at a stage before the single administration solid drugs discharged from the tablet cases on the basis of the desired prescription data are delivered to the packaging device;

based on the imaging, when it is determined that a number of the single administration solid drugs is as specified by the prescription data, the single administration solid drugs are moved to a filling step at which the single administration solid drugs can be delivered to the packaging device at a filling position of the movement mechanism; and

based on the imaging, when it is determined that the number of the single administration solid drugs is not as specified by the prescription data, the single administration solid drugs are moved to a disposal step at which the single administration solid drugs are disposed of, at a disposal position of the movement mechanism, toward a disposal container, and after the single administration solid drugs are disposed of, a new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage is caused to be discharged from the tablet cases according to specified by the prescription data, and capturing an image of the new set of solid drugs for the single administration dosage discharged from the tablet cases is conducted at the imaging step again.