Medicine dispenser

• US 8,295,977 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2006
• Issued: 10/23/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Yuyama Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Yuyama, Hiroyuki, Kumano, Yoshinori, Minami, Tasuku
• Primary Examiner(s): WAGGONER, TIMOTHY R
• Application Number:
  US12/064,740
• Publication Number:
  US 20090294467A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,253 Days
• Field of Search: 700/236, 700/242, 700/244
• US Class Current: 700/236
• 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

Abstract

(Object) To enable, in an operation of supplying a medicine to a medicine cassette, in which it is typical that the medicine once put in a vial bottle is recovered to a medicine cassette (medicine receiving container), an operation of specifying the medicine cassette to which the medicine is to be supplied to be performed more accurately and more efficiently.

(Solving Means) Information used for specifying the medicine is read by reading a prescription code (d31) recorded as a bar code on a vial bottle (S202) or is input as search information through an operation portion (S221). As a result, a cassette shelf (2) (cassette code (d21)) to which a medicine cassette (1) for receiving the medicine corresponding to the input information is mounted is specified (S203, S224), and a shelf lamp (3) provided to the specified cassette shelf (2) is brought into a predetermined notification display state (blinking state).

Claims

1. A medicine recovery method for a medicine dispensing device, the medicine dispensing device including:

a plurality of container mounting portions, each including a display portion and having a medicine receiving container mounted thereto;

means for filling a dispensing container with a medicine from the medicine receiving container to the dispensing container in an amount corresponding to contents of a prescription; and

means for storing dispensing history information including prescription identification information corresponding to the medicine transferred from the medicine receiving containers to the dispensing container, the medicine recovery method recovering the medicine received in the dispensing container and returning the medicine to the medicine receiving container, the medicine recovery method comprising;

reading medicine specifying information from medicine prescription information recorded on the dispensing container;

specifying the container mounting portion to which the medicine receiving container for receiving the medicine received in the dispensing container is mounted based on the medicine specifying information and the dispensing history information;

bringing the display portion provided in the specified container mounting portion into a notification display state; and

recovering the medicine received in the dispensing container to the medicine receiving container mounted to the specified container mounting portion.

2. The medicine recovery method of claim 1,

wherein the step of specifying the container mounting portion includes ending a medicine supply process when the dispensing history information does not exist in the means for storing dispensing history information.

3. The medicine recovery method of claim 1, further comprising reading expiration date information of the medicine in the dispensing container from the medicine prescription information after the step of reading the medicine specifying information,

wherein the step of recovering is performed only when the expiration date information matches predetermined allowable conditions.

4. The medicine recovery method of claim 1, further comprising reading expiration date information of the medicine in the dispensing container from the medicine prescription information after the step of reading the medicine specifying information,

wherein a medicine supply process ends when the expiration date information does not match predetermined allowable conditions.

5. The medicine recovery method of claim 1, further comprising generating a warning when one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers that is not mounted to the container mounting portion specified in said step of specifying the container mounting portion is detected as being removed from its respective mounting portion.

6. The medicine recovery method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a supply amount of the medicine recovered to the medicine receiving container; and

updating a remaining amount information of the medicine in the medicine receiving container by addition of the obtained supply amount after the medicine is supplied to the medicine receiving container.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein the dispensing container of the medicine dispensing device is a vial bottle.

7. A medicine supply method for supplying medicine to medicine receiving containers, the method comprising:

providing a medicine dispensing device, the medicine dispensing device including a plurality of container mounting portions, each including a display portion and having a medicine receiving container mounted thereto;

means for dispensing a medicine from the medicine receiving container to a dispensing container according to a prescription; and

means for storing dispensing history information including prescription identification information corresponding to the medicine transferred from the medicine receiving containers to the dispensing container,

the medicine dispensing device being configured to execute instructions configured on a tangible medium, the instructions comprising;

receiving medicine specifying information that specifies a medicine to be supplied to the medicine receiving container;

specifying the container mounting portion to which the medicine receiving container for receiving a medicine received in a dispensing container is mounted based on the received medicine specifying information and the dispensing history information;

bringing the display portion into a notification display state; and

supplying the medicine to the medicine receiving container with the display portion brought into the notification display state.

8. The medicine supply method of claim 7, wherein the step of specifying the container mounting portion includes selecting one piece of medicine information from candidates for medicine information, the candidates for medicine information being searched based on medicine information received by the medicine dispensing device.

9. The medicine supply method of claim 7, wherein the instructions configured on the tangible medium further comprise generating a warning when one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers that is not mounted to the container mounting portion specified in the step of specifying the container mounting portion is detected as being removed from its respective mounting portion.

10. The medicine supply method of claim 7, wherein the instructions configured on the tangible medium further comprise:

obtaining a supply amount of the medicine supplied to the medicine receiving container; and

updating a remaining amount information of the medicine in the medicine receiving container by addition of the obtained supply amount after the medicine is supplied to the medicine receiving container.

22. The method of claim 7, wherein the dispensing container provided in the step of providing a medicine dispensing device is a vial bottle.

11. A medicine dispensing system comprising:

a plurality of container mounting portions;

a plurality of medicine receiving containers, each mounted to a corresponding one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers;

a plurality of display portions, each corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of container mounting portions; and

a medicine dispensing device adapted to dispense a medicine in a predetermined amount from a selected one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers to a dispensing container,

the medicine dispensing device comprising;

an input device for receiving information identifying the medicine, the input device comprising means for reading information disposed on the dispensing container;

a specification device adapted to identify a respective one of the plurality of container mounting portions to which the medicine receiving container corresponding to the medicine is mounted and to place the display portion associated with the respective mounting portion into a notification display state; and

a medicine filling device adapted to transfer a medicine from a selected one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers to the dispensing container in a predetermined amount based on a prescription,

the medicine dispensing system further comprising;

means for storing information from the prescription and for storing information about medicines received by the medicine dispensing device; and

means for accumulating and storing dispensing history information to the means for storing information, the dispensing history information including prescription identification information corresponding to the medicine transferred from the selected one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers to the dispensing container, the dispensing history information including at least a portion of the information from the prescription and the information about medicines received by the medicine dispensing device,

wherein the specification device is adapted to identify the respective one of the plurality of container mounting portions based on the information from the prescription, the information about medicines received by the medicine dispensing device and the dispensing history information.

12. The medicine dispensing system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for storing a plurality of expiration dates, each of the plurality of expiration dates corresponding to a respective expiration date of one of the plurality of medicines stored in the dispensing containers;

means for reading the expiration date of the plurality of medicines from the means for storing the plurality of expiration dates; and

means for issuing a warning when the expiration date of one of the plurality of medicines and a current date and time satisfies a predetermined critereon.

13. The medicine dispensing system of claim 11, further comprising:

means for designating the medicine container of a respective container mounting portion to receive medicines corresponding to medicine and reception correspondence information;

means for selecting candidate medicine receiving containers that correspond to the medicine and reception correspondence information and for presenting the candidate medicine receiving containers; and

means for choosing a selected one of the candidate medicine receiving containers,

wherein the specification device is adapted to identify the respective one of the plurality of container mounting portions corresponding to the selected one of the candidate medicine receiving containers.

14. The medicine dispensing system of claim 13, wherein the information identifying the medicine and the medicine and reception correspondence information include one or more of a name of the medicine, a color of the medicine, a shape of the medicine, a size of the medicine, medicine identification information that identifies each of the medicines, and a photograph of the appearance of the medicine.

15. The medicine dispensing device of claim 11, further comprising:

means for updating a remaining amount of the medicine in each of the plurality of medicine receiving containers; and

means for obtaining an amount of medicine to be supplied to the selected one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers.

16. The medicine dispensing device of claim 11, further comprising:

means for detecting an attachment and detachment state between each of the plurality of container mounting portions and the corresponding one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers; and

means for notifying when one of the medicine receiving containers other than the selected one of the plurality of medicine receiving containers is detected by the container attachment and means for detecting an attachment and detachment state as being detached from its respective mounting portion.

23. The medicine dispensing system of claim 11, wherein the dispensing container is a vial bottle.

17. A medicine dispensing device, comprising:

a plurality of medicine receiving containers;

a display portion displaying portions to which the medicine receiving containers are mounted respectively;

means for filling a medicine of a kind and in an amount corresponding to contents of a prescription from the medicine receiving container to a dispensing container;

means for inputting medicine specifying information used for specifying the medicine;

means for specifying the container mounting portion to which the medicine receiving container receiving the medicine corresponding to the medicine specifying information input through the means for inputting medicine specifying information is mounted; and

means for bringing the display portion displaying the container mounting portion specified by the means for specifying the container mounting portion into a notification display state,

wherein the medicine dispensing device is configured to perform a medicine recovery process for recovering the medicine from the dispensing container to an original medicine receiving container.

18. The medicine dispensing device of claim 17, wherein the dispensing container is a vial bottle.

19. A medicine dispensing device, comprising:

a plurality of medicine receiving containers;

a display portion displaying portions to which the medicine receiving containers are mounted respectively;

means for filling a medicine of a kind and in an amount corresponding to contents of a prescription from the medicine receiving container to a dispensing container;

means for inputting medicine specifying information used for specifying the medicine;

means for specifying the container mounting portion to which the medicine receiving container receiving the medicine corresponding to the medicine specifying information input through the means for inputting medicine specifying information is mounted; and

means for bringing the display portion displaying the container mounting portion specified by the means for specifying the container mounting portion into a notification display state,

wherein the medicine dispensing device is configured to perform a medicine supply process for supplying a medicine that is not received in the dispensing container to the medicine receiving container receiving the same medicine as the medicine that is not received in the dispensing container.

20. The medicine dispensing device of claim 19, wherein the dispensing container is a vial bottle.