US 12,266,435 B2
Medicine dispensing apparatus
Noboru Fujitani, Kadoma (JP); and Masayuki Hironaga, Hirakata (JP)
Assigned to TAKAZONO CORPORATION, Kadoma (JP)
Appl. No. 17/913,661
Filed by TAKAZONO CORPORATION, Osaka (JP)
PCT Filed Mar. 4, 2021, PCT No. PCT/JP2021/008334
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Sep. 22, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/192880, PCT Pub. Date Sep. 30, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 2020-052904 (JP), filed on Mar. 24, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2023/0116594 A1, Apr. 13, 2023
Int. Cl. G16H 20/13 (2018.01); A61J 7/00 (2006.01)
CPC G16H 20/13 (2018.01) [A61J 7/0084 (2013.01)] 12 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A medicine dispensing apparatus comprising:
a conveyer that
conveys a medicine container, from a storage site storing a plurality of the medicine containers each containing a medicine, to a delivery site where the medicine contained in the medicine container is removed from the medicine container, and
returns, from the delivery site to the storage site, the medicine container from which the contained medicine is partially removed; and
a conveyance control unit that controls conveyance of the medicine container by the conveyer, wherein
a standby site where the medicine container unloaded from the storage site and directed toward the delivery site is allowed to stand by is located between the storage site and the delivery site,
the medicine dispensing apparatus further comprises
a determination unit that determines whether or not the medicine contained in the medicine container conveyed to the delivery site for medicine preparation is to be used also for subsequent medicine preparation, and
the conveyance control unit
returns the medicine container containing the medicine determined, by the determination unit, not to be used for the subsequent medicine preparation, from the standby site to the storage site, and
causes the medicine container containing the medicine determined, by the determination unit, to be used also for the subsequent medicine preparation, to stand by at the standby site until the subsequent medicine preparation, without being returned to the storage site.