CN113994342A - Card mounting device, card loading and unloading device, card holder, and tray conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

Translated fromChinese

卡片装卸装置(150)具备：从表面吸附重写卡的卡片吸附部(151)、使卡片吸附部所吸附的重写卡弯曲的引导部(152、153)、支撑部(161)、支撑轴(162、163)及弹簧(164、165)、以及使弯曲的重写卡沿着从卡片支架的正面侧朝向卡片支架的第一方向移动的Z轴电动机(173)。

The card loading and unloading device (150) includes: a card suction part (151) for suctioning the rewrite card from the surface, guide parts (152, 153) for bending the rewrite card suctioned by the card suction part, a support part (161), and a support shaft (162, 163), springs (164, 165), and a Z-axis motor (173) that moves the bent rewrite card in the first direction from the front side of the card holder toward the card holder.

Description

Card mounting device, card loading and unloading device, card holder, and tray conveying device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a card attachment device and the like.

Background

Conventionally, a medicine dispensing system used in a medical institution such as a hospital or a pharmacy stores medicines or the like in a predetermined tray prepared for each patient based on prescription data. A rewrite card that displays information such as the name of a medicine stored in the tray or the name of a patient to whom the medicine is administered is detachably held in the tray. The information on the rewrite card is rewritten by a display changing device that changes the information displayed on the rewrite card, for example, after the medicine is completely stored in the tray. Specifically, the rewrite card pulled out from the tray is conveyed to the display changing device, and the display changing device rewrites the information of the rewrite card to information matching the storage content of the current tray. The rewritten card is returned from the display changing device to the original tray.

Patent document 1 discloses a mounting and dismounting device for mounting and dismounting a rewrite card to and from a tray. Specifically, the attachment/detachment device inserts or removes the rewrite card into or from the attachment portion via an insertion opening formed in a side surface of the attachment portion by sliding the rewrite card in the attachment portion to which the rewrite card is attached.

[ Prior art documents ]

[ patent document ]

Patent document 1: japanese patent, Japanese patent No. 4679168

Disclosure of Invention

(problems to be solved by the invention)

However,patent document 1 discloses that the rewrite card is inserted into and removed from the mounting portion by sliding the rewrite card, but does not specifically disclose a method for attaching and detaching the rewrite card other than sliding.

Patent document 1 does not specifically disclose a method of arranging a tray having a rewritten card on a tray storage rack.

An object of one aspect of the present invention is to realize a card mounting device capable of mounting a card with high accuracy with respect to a card holding portion that holds the card.

Further, the present invention aims to realize a card holder capable of accurately attaching and detaching a card.

In addition, an aspect of the present invention is to realize a tray conveying apparatus capable of improving user convenience.

(means for solving the problems)

A card mounting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a card mounting apparatus for mounting a card on a card holding portion having a gap into which a part of an outer edge portion of the card holding portion is to be inserted in a state where the card having flexibility is held, the card mounting apparatus including: a card suction unit that sucks the card from a front surface side; a bending mechanism that bends the card attracted by the card attracting portion; and an insertion operation portion that moves the card bent by the bending mechanism in a first direction from a front side of the card holding portion toward the card holding portion, thereby inserting the outer edge portion into the gap.

In addition, a card holder according to an embodiment of the present invention is a card holder which is provided on a side surface of a tray for storing a medicine and holds a flexible card, wherein a pair of claw portions which protrude in a direction of deformation of the card when the card is removed from a front surface of the card holder while being bent or when the card is attached to the card holder while being bent are provided in opposing portions of an outer edge portion of the card holder.

In addition, a tray conveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is a tray conveying apparatus that conveys trays to a tray storage rack that stores a plurality of trays containing medicines, the tray conveying apparatus including a tray conveying unit that, when the plurality of trays are divided into a first tray group and a second tray group having different transfer destinations and are sent to the tray storage rack, receives a user input indicating that the second tray group is permitted to be sent to the tray storage rack when the first tray group is sent to the tray storage rack, and then starts sending of the second tray group after the sending of the first tray group to the tray storage rack is completed.

(effect of the invention)

According to the card mounting device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the card can be mounted on the card holding portion with high accuracy.

Further, according to the card holder according to the embodiment of the present invention, the card can be attached and detached with high accuracy.

In addition, according to the tray conveying apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, convenience of a user can be improved.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a medicine dispensing system.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the tray.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a rewrite card.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the tray issuing device.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the card information changing unit.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a position sensor provided in the card-attaching/detaching device.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing a structure of the card conveyance device.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the card suction portion when the rewrite card is stored in the card holder.

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the card-handling device when the rewrite card is pulled out from the card holder.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an operation of the card loading/unloading device for loading the rewrite card on the card loading portion.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the lifting device.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the second support portion.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the first support portion and the second support portion when the pallet is conveyed to the pallet storage rack.

Fig. 14 is a diagram showing an example of storage of trays in the tray storage rack.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of control performed by the elevation control unit.

Fig. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the card holder.

Fig. 17 is a view showing a modification of the card holder.

Fig. 18 is a view showing a modification of the card holder.

Fig. 19 is a view showing a modification of the card holder.

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing another configuration of the card information changing means.

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the structure of the tray.

Fig. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the card holder.

Fig. 23 is a diagram showing an operation example when the rewrite card is attached to the card holder.

Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing an example of the structure of the tray.

Fig. 25 is a view showing a state in which the rack holding member is attached to the tray.

Fig. 26 is a view showing a state in which the rack holding member is attached to the tray.

Fig. 27 is a diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of the tray issuing device.

Fig. 28 is a diagram showing an example of a pallet storage rack.

Fig. 29 is a diagram showing an example of tray conveyance when the tray is conveyed to a storage position other than the lowermost stage of the tray storage rack.

Fig. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the conveyance of the pallet when the pallet is conveyed to the third position on the lowest stage of the pallet storage rack.

Fig. 31 is a diagram showing an example of conveying a pallet when the pallet is conveyed to the second lowermost position and the first lowermost position of the pallet storage rack.

Fig. 32 is a perspective view showing an example of the lock mechanism.

Fig. 33 is a diagram showing an operation example of the lock mechanism.

Fig. 34 is a diagram showing an example of a lock mechanism according to a modification.

Fig. 35 is a plan view showing an internal structure of a lock mechanism according to a modification.

Detailed Description

[ first embodiment ]

[ dispensing System ]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of amedicine dispensing system 1. Thedispensing system 1 is a system that dispenses a medicament (e.g., an injection) according to prescription data. As shown in fig. 1, for example, themedication dispensing system 1 includes: atray supply device 10, alabel printing device 20, variousmedicine dispensing devices 31 to 34, an injectionsheet printing device 40, atray dispensing device 50, and a tray storage rack 60 (hand rack). Further, a tray conveying mechanism 80 (see fig. 11) for conveying thetray 600 is provided on the bottom of each apparatus.

The prescription data is input to a prescription input terminal device (not shown) that can communicate with themedication dispensing system 1, and themedication dispensing system 1 acquires the prescription data from the prescription input terminal device. The prescription input terminal device is an example of a higher-level system of themedication dispensing system 1, and is, for example, an electronic medical record system disposed in a hospital, an elderly care facility, or the like, or a medication dispensing management system disposed in a pharmacy inside or outside the hospital. The prescription data may be input through thetouch panel 70 provided in themedication dispensing system 1.

In addition, prescription data is also referred to as "prescription data involved in administering a drug to a patient". The prescription data for administration to a patient includes, for example, the following (1) to (3).

(1) Medication related data (prescription data for a patient unit) administered to a patient.

(2) Dose-related data (prescription data for a prescription unit) for administration to a patient.

(3) Data relating to a classification (prescription data in units of 1RP (taste)) when a classification is given to a prescription of a single dose of a drug administered to a patient).

Thetray supply device 10 stores trays 600 (empty trays 600) for storing medicines emitted from the dispensingdevices 31 to 34, and supplies the trays to thedispensing devices 31 to 34 according to prescription data.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of thetray 600. As shown in fig. 2, a card holder 500 (card holding portion, first card holding portion) for holding a flexible rewrite card RC (card) is provided on a side surface of thetray 600. Thecard holder 500 is provided at a position of thetray 600 facing the card attaching/detaching device 150 (suction device) of the cardinformation changing unit 100 described later. Thecard holder 500 has a gap into which a part of the outer edge portion of the rewrite card RC is inserted while holding the rewrite card RC by having a pair ofclaw portions 514a to 514d (refer to 16001 in fig. 16) described later. The details of thecard holder 500 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dispensingdevices 31 to 34 dispense medicines to thetray 600 for each patient according to prescription data, respectively. Examples of themedicine dispensing devices 31 to 34 include a returnable medicine dispensing device, a fixed medicine dispensing device, a special medicine dispensing device, and a bottle dispensing device. The return medicine dispensing device is a device that dispenses a medicine (return medicine) to be returned by a patient room or the like. A fixed-drug dispensing device is a device that dispenses a drug (fixed drug) that is previously stored by a user (for example, a medical care provider such as a doctor or a nurse). The special drug dispensing device is a device that dispenses a special medicament. The bottle issuing device is a device that issues a bottle containing a liquid medicine. Examples of the special drug include drugs that require special management, drugs used for complicated diseases, and relatively expensive drugs. Hereinafter, the dispensingdevices 31 to 34 are collectively referred to as "dispensingdevice 30". Themedication dispensing system 1 may include at least onemedication dispensing device 30. In addition, the injectionsheet printing device 40 prints an injection sheet according to prescription data.

Thetray issuing device 50 issues thetray 600 containing the medicine issued by themedicine issuing device 30 to thetray storage rack 60. Before thetray issuing device 50 issues thetray 600 to thetray storage rack 60, the rewrite card RC is pulled out from thecard holder 500, and then the display information of the rewrite card RC is rewritten according to the prescription data. After the rewrite card RC in which the display information is rewritten is returned to thetray 600, thetray issuing device 50 issues thetray 600 to thetray storage rack 60. This allows the display content of the rewrite card RC to match the storage content of thetray 600.

The rewrite card RC displays various information related to the medicines housed in thetray 600. The display information of the rewrite card RC is rewritten by adisplay change device 250 of the cardinformation change unit 100 described later. Thus, the rewrite card RC can display the contents of thetray 600 in response to a change. The rewrite card RC may be any member that can change display information, and examples thereof include a colorless card and a white-turbid card.

Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the rewrite card RC. As shown in fig. 3, the rewrite card RC displays information such as the name of the patient to whom the medicine stored in thetray 600 is to be administered, the name and room number of the ward in which the patient is hospitalized, and the date of administration of the medicine to thetray 600. In the example of fig. 3, information indicating the medicine stored in thetray 600 is displayed in the form of a barcode on the rewrite card RC.

In the rewrite card RC of the present embodiment, the corner RCc is formed in a curved shape (substantially C-shaped). This can improve the accuracy of mounting (insertion and delivery) to thecard holder 500 or the card placing section 210 (card holding section, second card holding section) (see fig. 5 and 7).

Thetray storage rack 60 stores thetrays 600 sent by thetray sending device 50. Thetray storage rack 60 is provided with m × n (m and n are each an integer of 1 or more) tray storage sections (storage positions) capable of storing a plurality of trays 600 (see fig. 14). Thetray issuing device 50 stores thetray 600 in a state where thetray storage rack 60 is disposed in the insertion port 53 (see fig. 11) so as to face thetray issuing device 50.

Themedication dispensing system 1 further includes atouch panel 70. Thetouch panel 70 displays, for example, prescription data and the operating condition of themedication dispensing system 1. Thetouch panel 70 receives various user inputs such as start and stop of the operation of themedication dispensing system 1.

[ tray issuing device ]

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of thetray issuing device 50. As shown in fig. 4, thetray issuing device 50 includes a cardinformation changing unit 100, alifting device 300, and acontrol device 400. Thecontrol device 400 is not necessarily provided in thetray issuing device 50, and may be connected to thetray issuing device 50 and thetouch panel 70 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

Thelifting device 300 conveys thetray 600 conveyed from the dispensingdevice 30 from the cardinformation changing unit 100 to thetray storage rack 60. That is, thelifting device 300 functions as a tray conveying device (discharge lifter) that conveys thetray 600 to thetray storage rack 60. The details of thelifting device 300 will be described later.

The cardinformation changing unit 100 includes a card loading/unloading device 150, acard feeding device 200, and adisplay changing device 250.

The card attachment/detachment device 150 attaches the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500 or the card placing unit 210 (described later), or detaches the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 or thecard placing unit 210. As described later, thecard placing portion 210 is provided at a position facing the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 of the card conveyance device 200 (see fig. 5). Thecard placing section 210 functions as a placing table for conveying the rewrite card RC removed by the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 between the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 and thedisplay changing device 250.

In the present embodiment, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 will be described by taking as an example a case in which the following two functions are realized: (1) a function of attaching the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500 or thecard placing section 210, and (2) a function of removing the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 or thecard placing section 210. In other words, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 is a device that: the rewrite card RC held by thecard holder 500 or thecard placing unit 210 can be removed while having a function realized by a card attachment device (see modification example five) described later.

Thecard conveyance device 200 conveys the rewrite card RC placed on thecard placing portion 210 to thedisplay change device 250, or conveys the rewrite card RC in which the display information is rewritten by thedisplay change device 250 to thecard placing portion 210. The details of the card-loading/unloading device 150 and the card-conveyingdevice 200 will be described later.

Thedisplay changing device 250 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC conveyed by thecard conveying device 200. Thedisplay changing device 250 is provided in thecard conveying device 200 at a position near thecard placing portion 210.

The control means 400 centrally controls the tray issuing means 50. Thecontrol device 400 includes anelevation control unit 410, amovement control unit 420, a solenoidvalve control unit 430, a cardpresence determination unit 440, a cardconveyance control unit 450, a displaychange control unit 460, and a touchpanel control unit 470.

Theelevation control part 410 controls theelevation device 300. The cardconveyance control section 450 controls thecard conveyance device 200. The displaychange control unit 460 controls thedisplay changing device 250. The touchpanel control unit 470 controls display or input to thetouch panel 70.

Themovement control unit 420 controls movement of thecard suction unit 151 and theguide units 152 and 153 (both will be described later) provided in the card loading andunloading device 150. The electromagneticvalve control portion 430 controls the suction of the outside air through thecard adsorbing portion 151 by controlling the ON/OFF (ON/OFF) of theelectromagnetic valve 172. The cardpresence determining unit 440 determines whether or not the card is mounted on thecard holder 500.

The details of each part of thecontrol device 400 will be described together with the description of each device described later.

< card information changing means >

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the cardinformation changing unit 100. In fig. 5, a perspective view of the cardinformation changing unit 100 when viewed from two different directions is shown byreference numerals 5001 and 5002. As shown in fig. 5, the cardinformation changing unit 100 includes a card loading andunloading device 150, acard conveying device 200, and adisplay changing device 250.

The card attaching and detachingdevice 150 includes acard adsorbing portion 151, guideportions 152 and 153 (a pair of guide portions), and asupport portion 161. The card attaching/detachingdevice 150 includes afilter 171, asolenoid valve 172, a Z-axis motor 173 (insertion operating unit), a θ -axis motor 174 (rotating unit), anadsorption confirmation sensor 175, acard detecting unit 176, a vacuum pump (not shown), and a plurality of position sensors. The Z axis is an axis (a Z axis shown by a solid line in fig. 5) indicating a direction in which thecard suction portion 151 faces thecard holder 500 or a direction away from thecard holder 500, or an axis (a Z axis shown by a broken line in fig. 5) indicating a direction toward thecard placing portion 210 or a direction away from thecard placing portion 210. The θ axis is an axis in a horizontal plane perpendicular to the Z axis. The plurality of position sensors will be described later with reference to fig. 6.

In thecontrol device 400, themovement control unit 420 controls the Z-axis motor 173 and the θ -axis motor 174. The solenoidvalve control portion 430 controls thesolenoid valve 172. The card presence/absence determination unit 440 determines the presence/absence of the rewrite card RC in thecard holder 500 based on the signal from thecard detection unit 176.

Thecard suction portion 151 is a suction pad that sucks the rewrite card RC from the surface side thereof. Thecard suction portion 151 is a cup-shaped member formed of a flexible material and having an edge portion that comes into contact with the rewrite card RC. In the present embodiment, thecard suction portion 151 is attached to thesupport portion 161.

Thefilter 171 is a filter for removing dust and the like from the air sucked by the vacuum pump. Thesolenoid valve 172 is a valve that controls the vacuum pump to suck the space defined by thecard suction unit 151 and the rewrite card RC. Thecard adsorption unit 151 is connected to a vacuum pump via afilter 171 and asolenoid valve 172.

When thesolenoid valve 172 is turned ON (ON), the air in the space is sucked by the vacuum pump, and the rewrite card RC is sucked by thecard suction portion 151. On the other hand, in the OFF state of thesolenoid valve 172, the air in the space is not sucked by the vacuum pump, and therefore, the rewrite card RC is released from thecard suction portion 151.

The Z-axis motor 173 moves the rewrite card RC bent by a bending mechanism (described later) including theguide portions 152 and 153 in the front-back direction thereof, thereby attaching or detaching the rewrite card RC to or from thecard holder 500 or thecard loading portion 210 of thecard conveyance device 200. The front-back direction may include: (1) a first direction from the front side of the card holder 500 (or the card placing section 210) toward the card holder 500 (or the card placing section 210), and (2) a second direction opposite to the first direction. The front-back direction (first direction or second direction) includes a vertical direction with respect to the surface of the rewrite card RC when held in thecard holder 500 or thecard placing section 210, but is not limited to this direction, and may be a direction inclined with respect to this vertical direction. Hereinafter, the vertical direction will be described as an example of the front-back direction.

Specifically, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thecard suction unit 151 in the vertical direction. The above-mentioned vertical direction is the Z-axis direction shown in fig. 5 and described above. That is, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thecard suction unit 151 in the Z-axis direction. In the present embodiment, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 in this direction, thereby moving thecard suction portion 151 attached to thesupport 161. However, the Z-axis motor 173 may move only thecard suction unit 151. The Z-axis motor 173 is, for example, a stepping motor.

The Z-axis motor 173 attaches or detaches the rewrite card RC to or from thecard holder 500 while bending the rewrite card RC. Specifically, the Z-axis motor 173 guides and bends the rewrite card RC by theguide portions 152 and 153. By bending the rewrite card RC in this manner and attaching or detaching the rewrite card RC to or from thecard holder 500, it is possible to smoothly attach and detach the rewrite card RC. Further, as compared with a configuration in which the rewrite card RC is attached and detached by sliding the rewrite card RC in a direction parallel to the surface of the rewrite card RC using, for example, a roller, it is possible to avoid a problem such as the rewrite card RC being jammed during attachment and detachment of the rewrite card RC.

When the rewrite card RC is attracted, themovement control section 420 causes thecard attraction section 151 and theguide sections 152 and 153 to approach thecard holder 500 in the first direction by the Z-axis motor 173. Thereby, the rewrite card RC held by thecard holder 500 is attracted by thecard attracting portion 151. Further, in a state where thecard suction portion 151 sucks the rewrite card RC, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thecard suction portion 151 in the above-described second direction relatively to theguide portions 152 and 153. For example, the Z-axis motor 173 pulls thecard suction portion 151 into the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 than theguide portions 152 and 153 that contact the rewrite card RC. Thus, when the rewrite card RC is removed from thecard holder 500, the rewrite card RC to be attracted can be bent.

When the rewrite card RC is pressed (mounted) into thecard holder 500, themovement control section 420 causes thecard suction section 151 and theguide sections 152 and 153 to approach thecard holder 500 in the first direction by the drive of the Z-axis motor 173. Thereby, the rewrite card RC held in a bent state by the card-receivingsuction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 is pressed into thecard holder 500. Therefore, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 can attach the rewrite card RC held in the bent state to thecard holder 500 while keeping the bent state.

The θ -axis motor 174 rotates thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 so that thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 are opposed to thecard holder 500 and thecard placing portion 210 provided in thecard conveyance device 200, respectively. In the present embodiment, the θ -axis motor 174 rotates thesupport portion 161 about an axis parallel to the above-described θ axis as shown in fig. 5, thereby rotating thecard adsorbing portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153. In this manner, by rotating thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153, the state in which the rewrite card RC faces thecard holder 500 and the state in which the rewrite card RC faces thecard placing portion 210 are switched. This can reduce the space of the card attaching/detachingdevice 150, compared to a configuration in which, for example, the rewrite card RC is moved in parallel. The θ -axis motor 174 is, for example, a stepping motor.

In the present embodiment, when the rewrite card RC is loaded and unloaded by the card loading andunloading device 150, thecard holder 500 is positioned in the horizontal direction of the card loading andunloading device 150. That is, the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 is provided at the following positions: that is, thecard holder 500 is opposed to the position where thetray 600 conveyed from themedicine dispensing device 30 by thetray conveying mechanism 80 is stopped (see 11001 in fig. 11). Further, thecard placing portion 210 is positioned in the vertical direction of the card attaching and detachingdevice 150. Therefore, the rewrite card RC held by thecard holder 500 arranged on the side surface of thetray 600 can be attached or detached without changing the posture of thetray 600. Further, the rewrite card RC removed from thetray 600 can be moved to a position for placing on the card placing portion 210 (or vice versa) simply by rotating the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 by 90 °. Therefore, the space required for the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 can be reduced, and the degree of freedom in mounting the cardinformation changing unit 100 can be improved.

Theadsorption confirmation sensor 175 is an air pressure sensor, and outputs: in a state where thecard suction portion 151 is in contact with the rewrite card RC, an air pressure signal of a space defined by thecard suction portion 151 and the rewrite card RC. In the example shown in fig. 5, theadsorption confirmation sensor 175 is provided between thefilter 171 and theelectromagnetic valve 172.

When the air pressure indicated by the output signal of thesuction confirmation sensor 175 is smaller than the predetermined threshold value, themovement control unit 420 determines that the rewrite card RC is sucked by thecard suction unit 151. On the other hand, if the air pressure indicated by the output signal is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold, themovement control unit 420 determines that the rewrite card RC is not being attracted by thecard attracting unit 151.

Thecard detection section 176 is a sensor that detects whether or not the rewrite card RC is held by thecard holder 500. Thecard detection unit 176 includes, for example, a light emitting unit that emits light to the rewrite card RC or thecard holder 500, and a light receiving unit that receives light reflected by the rewrite card RC or thecard holder 500.

Thecard detection unit 176 is used for determining whether or not a card is present in thecard holder 500 by the cardpresence determination unit 440. The card presence/absence determination section 440 detects whether or not the rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500 based on the color of light received by the light receiving section of thecard detection section 176.

Here, there is also a possibility that another rewriting card RC different from the rewriting card RC fed to thedisplay changing apparatus 250 is held in thecard holder 500. If the other rewriting card RC is held in thecard holder 500 and the rewriting card RC conveyed to thedisplay changing device 250 is not returned to thecard holder 500, a state is made in which only the other rewriting card RC is held in thecard holder 500. The other rewriting card RC is likely to display other patient information different from the patient who should provide the medicine dispensed into thetray 600 provided with thecard holder 500. In this case, the medicine to be dispensed to thetray 600 is supplied to another patient different from the patient to be supplied according to the display information of the other rewrite card RC, which becomes a big problem.

Therefore, while the display information of the rewrite card RC is changed by thedisplay changing device 250, the cardpresence determining unit 440 may perform an operation of detecting whether or not another rewrite card RC different from the rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500 by thecard detecting unit 176. The "period for changing the display information of the rewrite card RC" may include the following period: that is, thecard conveyance device 200 conveys the rewrite card RC placed on thecard placing unit 210 from thecard placing unit 210 to thedisplay changing device 250. Further, the following period may be included: that is, thecard conveyance device 200 conveys the rewrite card RC, the display information of which has been changed by thedisplay changing device 250, from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210.

When the above-described detection operation is performed, themovement control section 420 moves thesupport section 161 so that thecard detection section 176 faces thecard holder 500. When the other rewrite card RC is not held in thecard holder 500, thecard detection section 176 does not detect the rewrite card RC. On the other hand, when the other rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500, thecard detection section 176 detects the rewrite card RC. Therefore, the card presence/absence determination section 440 can determine whether or not thecard holder 500 holds the unnecessary rewrite card RC by the detection of thecard detection section 176.

When the card presence/absence determination unit 440 determines that the other rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500, thecontrol device 400 stops the operation of the cardinformation change unit 100. The touchpanel control unit 470 displays that another rewrite card RC is held on thetouch panel 70. On the other hand, when the cardpresence determining section 440 determines that the other rewrite card RC is not held in thecard holder 500, themovement control section 420 moves thesupport section 161 so that thecard suction section 151 and the like face thecard placing section 210. That is, themovement control unit 420 moves thesupport portion 161 so that the rewrite card RC returned from thedisplay change device 250 can be adsorbed.

Theguide portions 152 and 153 guide the rewrite card RC sucked by thecard suction portion 151. Theguide portions 152 and 153 are disposed on both sides of the surface direction of the rewrite card RC with respect to thecard adsorption portion 151. By thus providing theguide portions 152 and 153, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 can bend the rewrite card RC with theguide portions 152 and 153 as fulcrums. In other words, theguide portions 152 and 153 function as a fulcrum when the rewrite card RC sucked by thecard suction portion 151 is bent.

Theguide portions 152 and 153 are provided with rollers 154 and 155, respectively, and the rollers 154 and 155 assist the movement of the rewrite card RC in the above-described vertical direction by rotating. The rollers 154 and 155 have rotation axes parallel to each other and to the surface of the rewrite card RC. By rotating the rollers 154 and 155 in a state where theguide portions 152 and 153 are in contact with the rewrite card RC, respectively, the rewrite card RC can be smoothly bent.

The rollers 154 and 155 may be disengaged from thecard suction portion 151 and brought into contact with the rewrite card RC placed on thecard placing portion 210. In this case, the rollers 154 and 155 assist the movement of the rewrite card RC in the direction of conveyance of the rewrite card RC by thecard conveyance device 200, respectively. When the rewrite card RC placed on thecard placing unit 210 is conveyed from thecard placing unit 210 to thedisplay changing device 250, the conveyance is assisted by the rotation of the rollers 154 and 155 by bringing the rollers 154 and 155 into contact with each other in advance. Therefore, the conveyance can be performed more smoothly.

In addition, each of theguide portions 152 and 153 is provided with a buffer member for buffering an impact at the time of contact of the rewrite card RC, at least a part of a contact surface with the rewrite card RC. In the present embodiment, theguide portions 152 and 153 are provided with O-rings 156 and 157, respectively, as cushioning members. Theguide portions 152 and 153 are in contact with the rewrite card RC by means of O-rings 156 and 157, respectively. Therefore, the impact sound when theguide portions 152 and 153 contact the rewrite card RC is suppressed, and in addition, the load applied to the rewrite card RC and theguide portions 152 and 153 is reduced. The shape of the cushioning material is not limited to a shape provided only on a part of theguide sections 152 and 153, such as the O-rings 156 and 157, and may cover theentire guide sections 152 and 153.

Thesupport portion 161 is a member that supports thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 movably in the above-described vertical direction. Specifically, thesupport portion 161 is provided with support shafts 162 and 163 that support theguide portions 152 and 153, respectively. The support shafts 162 and 163 extend in the above-described vertical direction in a direction from thesupport portion 161 toward the rewrite card RC. The support shafts 162 and 163 support theguide parts 152 and 153 so that theguide parts 152 and 153 can move independently of each other in the above-described vertical direction with respect to thesupport part 161.

As described above, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thecard suction portion 151 by moving thesupport 161. Therefore, the Z-axis motor 173 also moves theguide portions 152 and 153 in the above-described vertical direction together with thecard suction portion 151. According to this configuration, themovement control unit 420 only needs to control the Z-axis motor 173, and therefore, the process can be simplified as compared with a configuration in which a motor for moving theguide units 152 and 153 is separately provided, for example.

The support shafts 162 and 163 are provided with springs 164 and 165 (telescopic members), respectively, and the springs 164 and 165 are extended or contracted in accordance with the movement of theguide portions 152 and 153, respectively. Thereby, a force on the opposite direction side to the suction force provided by thecard suction portion 151 can be applied to the rewrite card RC. In addition, as described above, since the support shafts 162 and 163 move independently of each other, the springs 164 and 165 expand and contract independently of each other. Therefore, even when the distances from theguide portions 152 and 153 to thecard holder 500 or thecard placing portion 210 are different, both theguide portions 152 and 153 can be brought into contact with the rewrite card RC by moving theguide portions 152 and 153 by the Z-axis motor 173.

In a state where the springs 164 and 165 are of natural length, theguide portions 152 and 153 are supported at positions farther from thesupport portion 161 than thecard adsorbing portion 151. Therefore, when thesupport portion 161 moves toward the rewrite card RC (i.e., toward the above-described first direction), theguide portions 152 and 153 abut against the rewrite card RC before thecard suction portion 151. When thecard suction portion 151 is further moved toward the rewrite card RC in a state where theguide portions 152 and 153 are in contact with the rewrite card RC, the springs 164 and 165 are compressed, and thecard suction portion 151 is in contact with the rewrite card RC. On the other hand, when thesupport portion 161 moves in the second direction while thecard suction portion 151 sucks the rewrite card RC, thecard suction portion 151 moves together with thesupport portion 161. On the other hand, even if thesupport 161 moves in the above-described second direction, theguide portions 152 and 153 do not move relative to thecard holder 500 or thecard placing portion 210 until the compressed springs 164 and 165 return to their natural lengths (original states). As a result, thecard suction portion 151 is drawn into theguide portions 152 and 153, and therefore the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 can bend the sucked rewrite card RC. In addition, the rewrite card RC can be held in this state.

As described above, at least theguide portions 152 and 153, thesupport portion 161, the support shafts 162 and 163, and the springs 164 and 165 function as a bending mechanism for bending the rewrite card RC sucked by thecard sucking portion 151. For example, these members bend the rewrite card RC so that the outer edge portion of the rewrite card RC is positioned near the entrance of the above-described gap.

As described above, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 to move the bent rewrite card RC in the first direction, thereby inserting the outer edge into the gap. In the present embodiment, as described above, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 to move the bent rewrite card RC in the second direction, thereby removing the outer edge portion from the gap. That is, the Z-axis motor 173 of the present embodiment has both a card insertion function of inserting the outer edge portion into the gap and a card extraction function of extracting the outer edge portion from the gap.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a position sensor provided in the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150. In fig. 6, the components supporting the position sensor are appropriately omitted. As shown in fig. 6, the card-handlingdevice 150 includes a first Z-axis limit sensor 181, a second Z-axis limit sensor 182, a first θ -axis limit sensor 183, and a second θ -axis limit sensor 184. These position sensors may be disposed at any position as long as they can detect the position of thecard suction portion 151. In the following description, the Z-axis direction is set to be a positive direction in a direction toward thecard holder 500 or thecard placing section 210 when the rewrite card RC is attached and detached. In the θ -axis direction, the rotation direction from thecard holder 500 to thecard placing portion 210 is set to a positive direction.

The first Z-axis limit sensor 181 is: and a sensor for outputting a signal to themovement control unit 420 when thecard suction unit 151 reaches the upper limit of the movement range in the Z-axis direction. When a signal is input from the first Z-axis limit sensor 181, themovement control unit 420 stops the movement of thecard suction unit 151 in the positive Z-axis direction.

The second Z-axis limit sensor 182 is: and a sensor for outputting a signal to themovement control unit 420 when thecard suction unit 151 reaches the lower limit of the movement range in the Z-axis direction. When a signal from the second Z-axis limit sensor 182 is input, themovement control unit 420 stops the movement of thecard suction unit 151 in the negative Z-axis direction. When the operation of the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 is started, thecard suction unit 151 moves in the negative direction of the Z-axis direction until the second Z-axis limit sensor 182 outputs a signal, and moves to the standby position with reference to the position at which the second Z-axis limit sensor 182 outputs a signal.

The first θ -axis limit sensor 183 is: and a sensor that outputs a signal when thecard suction unit 151 reaches the upper limit of the rotation range in the θ -axis direction. When the first θ -axis limit sensor 183 outputs a signal, thecard adsorbing portion 151 stops rotating in a direction from the direction facing thecard holder 500 to the direction facing thecard placing portion 210.

The second θ -axis limit sensor 184 is: and a sensor that outputs a signal when thecard suction unit 151 reaches the lower limit of the rotation range in the θ -axis direction. When the second θ -axis limit sensor 184 outputs a signal, thecard suction portion 151 stops rotating in a direction from the direction facing thecard placing portion 210 to the direction facing thecard holder 500. When the operation of the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 is started, thecard suction unit 151 rotates until the second θ -axis limit sensor 184 outputs a signal, and rotates to the standby position with reference to the position at which the second θ -axis limit sensor 184 outputs a signal.

The standby position is a position that is a reference for movement of thecard suction unit 151 and the like. Themovement controller 420 controls the positions of thecard suction unit 151 and the like with reference to the standby position by using a Z-axis motor 173 and a θ -axis motor 174 as stepping motors. When thecard suction unit 151 or the like moves to an unintended position due to a failure, thecard suction unit 151 or the like is detected by the first Z-axis limit sensor 181, the second Z-axis limit sensor 182, the first θ -axis limit sensor 183, or the second θ -axis limit sensor 184, and the movement is stopped.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of thecard conveyance device 200. As shown in fig. 7, thecard conveyance device 200 includes acard placing portion 210, aconveyor belt 220, afirst sensor 230, and asecond sensor 240.

Thecard placing section 210 is a placing table on which the rewrite card RC is placed. Thecard placing section 210 includes: an opening 211 for allowing the rewrite card RC to be attached and detached, a bottom 212 on which the rewrite card RC is placed, and asidewall 213 connected to the bottom 212 and forming theopening 211.

In the present embodiment, theside wall 213 stands substantially perpendicular to the bottom 212, and at least a part of theside wall 213 is inclined with respect to the conveying direction of theconveyor belt 220. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7, theside wall 214, which is a part of theside wall 213, is inclined with respect to the above-described conveying direction in a plan view of thecard placing section 210, and is provided so that the corner of theopening 211 takes a substantially curved shape (substantially C-shape). In other words, theside wall 214 is provided at the corner of thecard placing portion 210 in such a manner that: in the short side region where thefirst sensor 230 and thesecond sensor 240 are provided, the width of theopening 211 in the direction substantially perpendicular to the predetermined direction is made shorter toward the predetermined direction. The predetermined direction here means: the direction in which the rewrite card RC extends when the rewrite card RC is inserted while being bent.

In other words, theside walls 213 and 214 define a region (i.e., theopening 211 in a plan view) where the rewrite card RC is mounted. Moreover, the corner portions (i.e., the side walls 214) of theopening portion 211 are formed as: when thecard placing section 210 is viewed in plan, the width in the direction perpendicular to the predetermined direction is made shorter at the end of theopening 211 toward the predetermined direction. The predetermined direction here means: when the rewrite card RC is mounted from the front surface of thecard placing section 210 while being bent, the direction in which the rewrite card RC extends is rewritten. In this example, the end portions of theopening 211 are regions on both short sides of thecard placing section 210.

By providing theside wall 214 as described above, when the rewrite card RC which is attracted by thecard attraction portion 151 is delivered to thecard placing portion 210, the rewrite card RC is guided by theside wall 214 and placed at an accurate position while being placed on thecard placing portion 210 even if the position of the rewrite card RC is slightly displaced from theopening 211. That is, theside wall 214 has the same function as the card guide 515 (see fig. 16) described later. Further, theside wall 213 may be configured to: thebottom portion 212 is not substantially vertically erected, but is inclined from the upper portion (the opening 211) toward thebottom portion 212.

The guiding of the rewrite card RC by theside wall 214 is described in further detail below. In the following description, a portion of the side wall forming theopening 211 other than the side wall 214 (i.e., a side wall that is not inclined with respect to the conveying direction of the conveyor belt 220) is referred to as aside wall 213.

The length of theopening 211 in the height direction (direction corresponding to the short side of the rewrite card RC) is longer than the length of the rewrite card RC in the short side direction. Therefore, when the placement position of the rewrite card RC by thecard suction portion 151 is an accurate position on thebottom portion 212, the rewrite card RC does not contact theside walls 213 and 214.

When the position where the rewrite card RC is placed by thecard suction portion 151 is deviated from the correct position on thebottom portion 212 in the height direction of theopening 211, the corner portion RCc (arc-shaped portion) of the rewrite card RC in the bent state first comes into contact with theside wall 213. Then, as the rewrite card RC approaches thebottom portion 212, the corner portion RCc is guided by theside wall 213 while the short side of the rewrite card RC comes into contact with thebottom portion 212, and further, after that, in the process of returning the rewrite card RC from the bent state to the original state, the corner portion RCc is further guided by theside wall 214, whereby the rewrite card RC is guided to an accurate position on thebottom portion 212. When the position of the rewrite card RC placed by thecard suction portion 151 deviates slightly from the correct position on thebottom portion 212, the corner portion RCc of the rewrite card RC in the bent state does not contact theside wall 213 but only theside wall 214.

If the deviation from the above-described accurate position is large to such an extent that the corner RCc of the rewrite card RC in the bent state does not contact theside wall 213, the rewrite card RC cannot be guided by theside walls 213 and 214. In addition, even when the card RC is deviated in the left-right direction (direction corresponding to the long side of the rewrite card RC) from the above-described accurate position, the rewrite card RC cannot be guided by theside walls 213 and 214.

Theconveyance belt 220 conveys the rewrite card RC placed on thecard placing section 210 to thedisplay changing device 250. Thecarriage 220 conveys the rewrite card RC in which the display information is rewritten by thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210. Theconveyor belt 220 is controlled by a cardconveyance control section 450 of thecontrol device 400.

Thefirst sensor 230 and thesecond sensor 240 are sensors that detect the rewrite card RC existing directly above itself. Thefirst sensor 230 is provided on thedisplay changing device 250 side with respect to thecard placing unit 210. Thesecond sensor 240 is provided on the opposite side of thecard placing section 210 from thedisplay changing device 250. Thesecond sensor 240 has a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion arranged to sandwich an end portion of the rewrite card RC placed on thecard placing portion 210. By the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion, thecard placing portion 210 has a gap into which a part of the outer edge portion thereof should be inserted in a state of holding the rewrite card RC.

Thefirst sensor 230 is used for the cardconveyance control section 450 to confirm that the rewrite card RC has been appropriately conveyed from thecard placing section 210 to thedisplay changing device 250. When the rewrite card RC is conveyed from thecard placing unit 210 to thedisplay changing unit 250 by theconveyance belt 220, the detection signal detected by thefirst sensor 230 changes from a signal indicating that the rewrite card RC is detected to a signal indicating that the rewrite card RC is not detected. When the signal changes in this manner, the cardfeed control unit 450 confirms that the rewrite card RC has been properly fed from thecard placing unit 210 to thedisplay changing device 250.

Thesecond sensor 240 is used for the cardconveyance control unit 450 to confirm that the rewrite card RC has been appropriately conveyed from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210. When the rewrite card RC is conveyed from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210, the detection signal detected by thesecond sensor 240 changes from a signal indicating that the rewrite card RC is not detected to a signal indicating that the rewrite card RC is detected. When the signal changes in this manner, the cardfeed control unit 450 confirms that the rewrite card RC has been properly fed from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210.

After the cardconveyance control unit 450 confirms that the rewrite card RC has been appropriately conveyed from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210, the solenoidvalve control unit 430 turns ON (ON) thesolenoid valve 172. This reduces the possibility that the rewrite card RC being conveyed is erroneously attracted by thecard attracting portion 151.

In addition, thecard conveyance device 200 may not include one or both of thefirst sensor 230 and thesecond sensor 240. In this case, the cardconveyance control unit 450 confirms whether or not the rewrite card RC exists in thecard placing unit 210, for example, by thecard detection unit 176 of the card attaching and detachingdevice 150.

Thedisplay changing device 250 may be connected to an exhaust path of a vacuum pump for sucking the rewrite card RC by thecard sucking unit 151. In this case, the dust in thedisplay changing device 250 can be removed by exhausting the vacuum pump.

Fig. 8 is a side view of thecard suction portion 151 when the rewrite card RC is stored in thecard holder 500. In fig. 8, the rewrite card RC is in a state of being bent while being guided by theguide portions 152 and 153. Here, theguide portions 152 and 153 are omitted in fig. 8 for simplicity.

As shown in fig. 8, thecard adsorption portion 151 has a corrugatedportion 158 having a corrugated shape. Therefore, thecard suction portion 151 can be displaced in the direction perpendicular to the rewrite card RC. Therefore, when the corner RCc of the rewrite card RC is guided by the card guide 515 (see 16001 in fig. 16) and the rewrite card RC is displaced, the possibility of the rewrite card RC coming off from thecard suction portion 151 can be reduced.

< example of operation of card information Change means >

Fig. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the card-handlingdevice 150 when the rewrite card RC is removed from thecard holder 500. An example of the operation of the card-loading/unloading device 150 when the card is removed from thecard holder 500 will be described with reference to fig. 9.

In the operation example shown in fig. 9, first, themovement control unit 420 moves thecard suction unit 151 to the initial position. The initial position is: the position of thecard suction portion 151 is detected by the second Z-axis limit sensor 182 and the second θ -axis limit sensor 184. Next, as indicated by 9001 in fig. 9, themovement control unit 420 moves thecard suction unit 151 from the initial position to a standby position separated from the initial position by a predetermined distance in the Z-axis direction. In this state, the solenoidvalve control unit 430 turns ON (ON) thesolenoid valve 172.

Next, when themovement control section 420 moves thecard suction section 151 toward the rewrite card RC, theguide sections 152 and 153 come into contact with the rewrite card RC first, as shown by 9002 in fig. 9. When themovement control portion 420 further moves thecard adsorbing portion 151, as shown in 9003 in fig. 9, the springs 164 and 165 are compressed, and thecard adsorbing portion 151, theguide portions 152 and 153 abut against the rewrite card RC. At this time, the rewrite card RC is attracted by thecard attracting portion 151.

After the suction of the rewrite card RC is confirmed by thesuction confirmation sensor 175, themovement control section 420 moves thecard suction section 151 in a direction away from thecard holder 500 as shown in 9004 of fig. 9. At this time, theguide portions 152 and 153 are kept in contact with the rewrite card RC by the elastic forces of the springs 164 and 165, and therefore, the rewrite card RC is in a state of being guided by theguide portions 152 and 153 and bent.

When themovement control unit 420 further moves thecard suction unit 151 in a direction away from thecard holder 500, the rewrite card RC is pulled out from thecard holder 500 as indicated by 9005 in fig. 9. After that, as indicated by 9006 in fig. 9, themovement control section 420 rotates the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 by 90 °. Thus, the card loading/unloading device 150 faces thecard placing portion 210 of thecard conveyance device 200.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing an operation of the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 to mount the rewrite card RC on the card-mountingportion 210. Immediately after the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 has rotated, thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 are separated from thecard placing portion 210 as shown by 10001 in fig. 10. When themovement control section 420 moves thecard suction section 151 toward thecard placing section 210, as shown by 10002 in fig. 10, theguide sections 152 and 153 first come into contact with thecard placing section 210 via the rewrite card RC. When themovement control unit 420 further moves thecard suction unit 151, thecard suction unit 151 also comes into contact with thecard placing unit 210 via the rewrite card RC, as shown by 10003 in fig. 10. At this time, the rewrite card RC is in an unbent state.

When the solenoidvalve control section 430 turns OFF (OFF) thesolenoid valve 172 in this state, the rewrite card RC is released from thecard adsorption section 151 as shown by 10004 in fig. 10. When themovement control section 420 moves thecard suction section 151 in a direction away from thecard placing section 210, as shown by 10005 in fig. 10, thecard suction section 151, theguide sections 152 and 153 are away from the rewrite card RC. In this state, thecard conveyance device 200 conveys the rewrite card RC to thedisplay change device 250, and thedisplay change device 250 changes the display of the rewrite card RC.

However, when the rewrite card RC is mounted on thecard placing unit 210, the operation of 10005 in fig. 10 may be omitted. Specifically, the configuration may be such that: as shown by 10004 in fig. 10, thecard conveyance device 200 conveys the rewrite card RC to thedisplay changing device 250 in a state where theguide portions 152 and 153 (specifically, the rollers 154 and 155) are held in contact with the rewrite card RC mounted on thecard placing unit 210. That is, themovement control part 420 moves thesupport part 161 to the following state: that is, after the rewrite card RC is mounted on thecard placing section 210, theguide sections 152 and 153 abut against the rewrite card RC and thecard suction section 151 is separated from the state of the rewrite card RC. In this case, the rewrite card RC can be conveyed from thecard placing unit 210 to thedisplay changing device 250 more smoothly.

While the display of the rewrite card RC is changed by thedisplay changing device 250, the card presence/absence determination unit 440 may perform the operation of detecting whether or not another rewrite card RC different from the removed rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500 as described above. When this detection operation is performed, themovement control unit 420 rotates the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 and returns to the position facing thecard holder 500.

After the detection operation, if the cardpresence determining unit 440 determines that another rewritable card RC is not held in thecard holder 500, themovement control unit 420 rotates the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 and returns to thestate 10005 in fig. 10. However, as described above, when the rewrite card RC is conveyed from thecard placing unit 210 to thedisplay changing unit 250 in the state of 10004 in fig. 10, themovement control unit 420 may rotate the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 to return to the state of 10004 in fig. 10. In this case, the conveyance of the rewrite card RC from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210 can be assisted by the rotation of the rollers 154 and 155. Therefore, the conveyance can be performed more smoothly.

The operation of the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 to remove the rewrite card RC from thecard placing unit 210 is the same as the operation to remove the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 described with reference to fig. 9, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted. The procedure of mounting the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500 by the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 is the same as the operation of mounting the rewrite card RC to thecard mounting portion 210 described with reference to fig. 10, and therefore, the description thereof is omitted.

< modification example I >

In addition, an identifier may be attached to the rewrite card RC. In this case, the displaychange control unit 460 may manage the number of times of change of the display of the rewrite card RC using the identifier, and may set in advance the number of times of change that is considered to be deterioration of the rewrite card RC.

When the number of times of change of the display of the rewrite card RC reaches the preset number of times of change, the displaychange control unit 460 discards the display of the rewrite card RC sent to thedisplay change device 250 without changing it. Then, the display of the spare rewriting card RC stored in advance in thedisplay changing device 250 is changed.

In addition, the spare rewriting card RC may also be held in thecard holder 500 in advance. In this case, when the number of times of change of the display of the rewrite card RC reaches a preset number of times of change, the card attachment/detachment device 150 removes the old rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 and discards it. Then, the card-handlingdevice 150 further removes the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 and places it on thecard placing section 210.

In addition, in this case, in principle: in a state where the rewrite card RC is removed from thecard holder 500, the spare rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500. Therefore, the card presence/absence determination section 440 does not perform the operation of detecting whether or not the other rewrite card RC is held in thecard holder 500.

< modification example two >

In addition, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 does not necessarily have to include a vacuum pump. The card attaching/detachingdevice 150 may be provided with a suction cup as thecard suction portion 151, and the flow of air into thecard suction portion 151 may be controlled by thesolenoid valve 172. When the rewrite card RC is sucked, thecard suction portion 151 sucks the rewrite card RC by pushing thecard suction portion 151 against the rewrite card RC in a state where thesolenoid valve 172 is turned OFF (OFF). When the rewrite card RC is released, thesolenoid valve 172 is turned ON (ON), so that air flows into thecard suction portion 151, and the rewrite card RC is released from thecard suction portion 151. However, when thecard suction unit 151 is a suction cup, the rewrite card RC may not be reliably sucked. From the viewpoint of reliably adsorbing the rewrite card RC, it is preferable to suck the air in thecard adsorption portion 151 by a vacuum pump as described above. In this case, since the suction can be confirmed by thesuction confirmation sensor 175, the rewrite card RC can be reliably sucked.

< modification example III >

Fig. 20 is a schematic diagram showing another configuration of the cardinformation changing means 100. In the configuration shown in fig. 20, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 moves between: that is, the position at which the attachment/detachment operation of the rewrite card RC to/from thecard holder 500 is performed is located between the two points of the card conveyance device 200 (mounting table) disposed in the vicinity of the position. The card conveyance device 200 (card placing section 210) is not located in the vertical direction of the card loading andunloading device 150. The card loading/unloading device 150 removes, for example, the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500, and then moves the rewrite card RC in parallel to convey the rewrite card RC to thecard conveyance device 200.

The card attaching/detachingdevice 150 is connected to a moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 between the two points. Since thecard suction unit 151 and the like are not rotated by the θ -axis motor 174, the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 does not include the θ -axis motor 174.

As described above, the card information changing means 100 according to the present embodiment may have the configuration shown in fig. 20. However, considering the miniaturization and the degree of freedom of mounting of the cardinformation changing unit 100, it is preferable that: as described above, thecard placing unit 210 is positioned in the vertical direction of the card attaching and detachingdevice 150, and thecard suction unit 151 and the like are rotated by the θ -axis motor 174.

< fourth modification >

The card attaching/detachingdevice 150 bends the rewrite card RC attracted by thecard attraction portion 151 by the bending mechanism including theguide portions 152 and 153, and moves the rewrite card RC in the bent state in the vertical direction by the Z-axis motor 173. In other words, the case where the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 realizes the card attaching mechanism for performing the attaching operation of the rewrite card RC and the card removing mechanism for performing the removing operation of the rewrite card RC by the common mechanism including thecard adsorbing portion 151, the bending mechanism, and the Z-axis motor 173 has been described. However, the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 may be provided with a card attaching mechanism and a card removing mechanism as different mechanisms from each other.

For example, the card attachment mechanism may be realized by thecard suction unit 151, the bending mechanism, the Z-axis motor 173, and the like, while the card removal mechanism may be realized by a mechanism different from thecard suction unit 151, the bending mechanism, the Z-axis motor 173, and the like. In this case, the card removing mechanism may have a claw portion hooked on a part of the outer edge portion of the rewrite card RC, for example, and may remove the rewrite card RC by hooking the rewrite card RC on the claw portion by moving the claw portion in the vertical direction.

That is, in this case, the Z-axis motor 173 functions as a device that achieves only the following functions: that is, the above-described card insertion function of mounting the rewrite card RC on thecard holder 500 or thecard placing section 210 by moving the rewrite card RC in the above-described first direction.

< fifth modification example >

The card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 may be realized as a card-attaching device that functions only as the card-attaching mechanism at least with respect to the card holder 500 (see fig. 2). That is, the card attachment device is not provided with the above-described card removal mechanism at least for thecard holder 500.

Specifically, the card attaching device does not perform the removing operation of removing the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 shown in fig. 9 and the attaching operation of attaching the rewrite card RC to thecard placing section 210 shown in fig. 10. The card attaching device performs a removing operation (the same step as the removing operation shown in fig. 9) of removing the rewrite card RC from thecard placing section 210, and an attaching operation (the same step as the attaching operation shown in fig. 10) of attaching the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500. That is, the card attaching device may have a function of attaching the rewrite card RC, which is conveyed from thedisplay changing device 250 and has changed the display information, to thecard holder 500.

In this case, for example, thecard conveyance device 200 may function as a device for conveying the rewrite card RC, which is conveyed from thedisplay changing device 250 and has changed the display information, to the card mounting device. Thedisplay changing device 250 may be provided with a card storage unit (a placement unit for placing the rewrite card RC) (not shown) for temporarily storing the rewrite card RC for changing the display information.

For example, the user takes out the rewrite card RC from a plurality of (for example, 100)trays 600 sent to thetray storage rack 60, and stores the taken-out rewrite card RC in the card storage section. When the displaychange control unit 460 receives a user operation to start the change processing of the display information, it controls thedisplay change device 250 to sequentially change the display information of the rewrite card RC stored in the card storage unit according to the prescription data. Thedisplay changing device 250 delivers the rewrite card RC, the display information of which has been changed, to thecard conveyance device 200.

The cardconveyance control unit 450 controls thecard conveyance device 200 to convey the rewrite card RC, the display information of which has been changed, from thedisplay changing device 250 to thecard placing unit 210. Themovement control unit 420 and the solenoidvalve control unit 430 control the card attachment device to attach the rewrite card RC, which is placed on thecard placing unit 210 and whose display information has been changed, to thecard holder 500.

Even in this card mounting apparatus, the rewrite card RC sucked and bent can be mounted on thecard holder 500 from the front side of thecard holder 500 by at least thecard sucking section 151, the bending mechanism, and the Z-axis motor 173.

Further, the user may remove the rewrite card RC whose display information has been changed from thedisplay changing device 250 and then attach the rewrite card RC to the card attaching device. In this case, the cardinformation changing unit 100 may not include thecard conveyance device 200. For example, in the card mounting device, the mounted rewrite card RC is sucked by thecard sucking section 151, and the rewrite card RC is bent by the bending mechanism. In this state, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 from the front side of thecard holder 500 to thecard holder 500, and the card attaching device attaches the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500. That is, in this case, the card attachment device may not be provided with the card removing mechanism for thecard placing portion 210.

The card attaching device may attach the rewrite card RC to thecard placing unit 210. In this case, for example, the rewrite card RC is removed from thecard holder 500 by the user and attached to the card mounting device. Then, the card mounting device mounts the rewrite card RC on thecard placing section 210 in a state of being attracted and bent. After the rewrite card RC is conveyed to thedisplay changing device 250 by thecard conveying device 200, the display information thereof is changed by thedisplay changing device 250. Then, the rewrite card RC is conveyed to thecard placing portion 210 by thecard conveying device 200, and the card attaching device removes the rewrite card RC from thecard placing portion 210 and attaches it to thecard holder 500. The user may remove the rewrite card RC from the display changing device 250 (or the card placing unit 210) and attach the rewrite card RC to the card attaching device.

< lifting device >

Next, a configuration example of thelifting device 300 will be explained. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of thelifting device 300.

As shown in 11001 in fig. 11, thelifting device 300 is provided inside aframe 51, wherein theframe 51 defines aninsertion port 53 into which thetray storage rack 60 is inserted. Thelifting device 300 conveys thetray 600 in which the display information of the rewrite card RC is rewritten by the cardinformation changing unit 100 from thetray conveying mechanism 80 to thetray storage rack 60 disposed in theinsertion port 53.

As shown in 11002 in fig. 11, thelifting device 300 includes atray conveying unit 301. Thetray conveying unit 301 conveys thetray 600 on thetray conveying mechanism 80, which is conveyed from the dispensingdevice 30 and in which the display information of the rewrite card RC is rewritten, to thetray storage rack 60. Thetray conveying section 301 mainly includes asupport column 303, abeam section 305, and atray supporting section 307.

Thesupport 303 supports abeam 305 extending in the x-axis direction so as to be slidable in the z-axis direction. Thebeam portion 305 supports atray support portion 307 capable of supporting thetray 600 so as to be slidable in the extending direction (x-axis direction) of thebeam portion 305. With this configuration, thetray support portion 307 can be moved in the xz plane (vertical plane). As a result, thetray conveying unit 301 can convey thetray 600 on thetray conveying mechanism 80 to each storage position of thetray storage rack 60.

Thetray support portion 307 includes a drivingportion 307a, afirst support portion 307b, a first movingportion 307c, asecond support portion 307d, and a second movingportion 307 e.

The drivingportion 307a moves the first supportingportion 307b in the y-axis direction by operating the first movingportion 307 c. The first movingportion 307c supports the first supportingportion 307b and slides the first supportingportion 307b in the y-axis direction. Thefirst support portion 307b is a claw portion that supports the short side of thetray 600. Thefirst support part 307b is temporarily engaged by the engaging part 601 (see fig. 2) to support the short side of thetray 600. The engagingportion 601 is an edge portion provided on a short side of the edge portion of thetray 600, and is used to temporarily engage with the first supportingportion 307b inserted from below the edge portion. Thus, thetray 600 can be conveyed (pushed) to thetray storage rack 60 while the first supportingportion 307b supports the short side of thetray 600.

The drivingportion 307a moves the second supportingportion 307d in the x-axis direction or the z-axis direction by operating the second movingportion 307 e. The second movingportion 307e includes an operation portion 307ea and aguide portion 307 eb. The operating portion 307ea is connected to thesecond support portion 307d, and a part (a distal end portion) thereof is fitted inside a guide portion 307eb for guiding the operatingportion 307 ea. Therefore, thesecond support portion 307d moves along theguide portion 307 eb. As shown in 11002 in fig. 11, the guide portion 307eb extends in the z-axis direction, but curves outward below it.

Thesecond support portion 307d is a rod-shaped member that supports the long side of thetray 600. Thesecond support portion 307d supports the long side of thetray 600 by supporting the protruding portion 602 (see fig. 2). The protrudingportion 602 is an eaves portion provided on the long side of the edge of thetray 600 and supported by thesecond support portion 307 d. Thereby, thesecond support portion 307d can support the long side of thetray 600. When the tray is transported to each storage position of thetray storage rack 60, the protrudingportion 602 is supported by the guide rail provided at the storage position.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of thesecond support portion 307 d. As indicated by 12001-12004 in FIG. 12, the second supportingportion 307d is in a standby state at four positions.

12001 in fig. 12 indicates the initial position of thesecond support portion 307 d. As indicated by 12001 in fig. 12, thesecond support portion 307d is opened in the X-axis direction at a position Po1 (lowermost portion) farthest from the drivingportion 307 a. At the position Po1, the second supportingsection 307d waits for the cardinformation changing unit 100 to rewrite the display information of the rewrite card RC.

12002 in fig. 12 shows a state in which thesecond support portion 307d is closed in the x-axis direction at a position (uppermost portion) Po2 closest to the drivingportion 307 a. When the state of thesecond support portion 307d is changed from the state of 12001 to the state of 12002 in fig. 12, thetray transport mechanism 80 can support the protrudingportion 602 of thetray 600 from below and transport the tray to an arbitrary storage position of thetray storage rack 60. That is, the state of 12002 in fig. 12 is a state in which thesecond support portion 307d supports thetray 600.

12003 in fig. 12 shows a state where thesecond support portion 307d is lowered by a predetermined distance from the state of 12002 in fig. 12. Thesecond support portion 307d stops at a position Po3 between the positions Po1 andPo 2. In this state, thesecond support portion 307d does not support the protrudingportion 602 of thetray 600, and thetray 600 is supported by two points, i.e., thefirst support portion 307b and the guide rail 61 (see fig. 13) at an arbitrary storage position of thetray storage rack 60. The position Po3 may be any of the following positions: that is, when thetray 600 can be inserted into any storage position of thetray storage rack 60 while the support of thetray 600 is released, thesecond support portion 307d is located at a position not interfering with thetray 600.

12004 in fig. 12 shows a state where thesecond support portion 307d is further lowered from the state of 12003 in fig. 12. In this state, a part of the action portion 307ea inserted into the guide portion 307eb is located at the curved portion of the guide portion 307eb, and thesecond support portion 307d is stopped at a position (height) close to the position Po1, that is, the position Po 4. Therefore, even if thetray 600 accidentally drops while thetray 600 is inserted into any storage position of thetray storage rack 60, thesecond support portion 307d can receive the droppedtray 600. After thetray 600 is inserted into the storage position, thesecond support 307d returns to the initial position indicated by 12001 in fig. 12.

In 12001 of fig. 12, while the display information of the rewrite card RC is rewritten by the cardinformation changing means 100, thesecond support portion 307d stands by in an open state at theposition Po 1.

For example, theelevation control section 410 may move thesecond support section 307d from the open state at the position Po1 to the closed state at the position Po4 during the above-described rewriting period. For example, theelevation control unit 410 may move thesecond support portion 307d from the open state to the closed state using the case where the rewrite card RC is transferred to the cardinformation change unit 100 as a trigger point (trigger). That is, thesecond support portion 307d moves from the most opened state to the closed state in which it is closed to a position where it can support the protrudingportion 602 of thetray 600.

In this case, when the rewriting of the display information of the rewriting card RC is completed and the rewriting card RC is returned from the cardinformation changing unit 100 to thetray 600, thesecond support portion 307d assumes a state of supporting the protrudingportion 602 of thetray 600. Therefore, when the rewrite card RC is returned to thetray 600, the time required to move from the open state at the position Po1 to the closed state at the position Po4 can be shortened.

< example of operation of tray conveying section >

Next, an operation example of thetray conveying unit 301 will be described. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the operation of the first supportingportion 307b and the second supportingportion 307d when thetray 600 is conveyed to thetray storage rack 60.

Conventionally, thetray conveying unit 301 inserts thetray 600 into each storage position of thetray storage rack 60 by supporting thetray 600 by the first supportingportion 307b and the second supportingportion 307d and pushing thetray 600 to thetray storage rack 60 side at a predetermined trajectory in a state where the tray is tilted. In this case, when thetray storage rack 60 is tilted with respect to thetray issuing device 50, thetray conveying unit 301 cannot push out thetray 600 while absorbing the tilt, and thetray 600 may be caught in thetray storage rack 60 during conveyance. Thetray conveying unit 301 according to the present embodiment can suppress the occurrence of the jamming of thetray 600 as described above by inserting thetray 600 into thetray storage rack 60 as follows.

As shown by 13001 in fig. 13, theelevation control unit 410 controls thetray conveying unit 301 to move thetray 600 from the tray conveying mechanism 80 (see fig. 11) to the front of the predetermined storage position of thetray storage 60. At this time, thetray 600 is moved to a height above theguide rail 61 by a predetermined distance (for example, about 5 mm) from theguide rail 61. This is because thetray 600 does not collide with theguide rail 61 when inserted into the storage position. The first supportingportion 307b is engaged with the engagingportion 601 on the short side of thetray 600 opposite to thetray storage rack 60. As indicated by 12002 in fig. 12, thesecond support portion 307d is in a state of supporting theprotrusion 602 of thetray 600 at theposition Po 2. In the state of 13001 in fig. 13, thetray 600 is in a substantially horizontal state.

Next, theelevation control unit 410 conveys thetray 600 from the state of 13001 in fig. 13 substantially horizontally to the storage position. Then, as shown at 13002 in fig. 13, theelevation control unit 410 stops thetray conveying unit 301 at a position where the short side (end 600e1) of thetray 600 facing thetray storage 60 is inserted at the storage position.

Next, as shown by 13003 in fig. 13, theelevation control section 410 raises thefirst support section 307b, thereby placing the end 600e1 of thetray 600 on theend 61a of theguide rail 61. Further, as indicated by 12003 in fig. 12, theelevation control unit 410 moves thesecond support portion 307d from the position Po2 to the position Po3, thereby releasing the support of the protrudingportion 602 of thetray 600 by thesecond support portion 307 d. Therefore, in thestate 13003 of fig. 13, thetray 600 is in a state of being supported by two points of thefirst support portion 307b and therail 61.

Next, theelevation control unit 410 moves thefirst support portion 307b in a state where thetray 600 is tilted, and further inserts thetray 600. At each storage position, adrop prevention claw 62 for preventing thetray 600 from dropping from the storage position is provided in the vicinity of theend 61a of theguide rail 61. As shown by 13004 in fig. 13, when thetray 600 moves from theend 61a of theguide rail 61 to a position beyond the drop-preventingclaws 62, theelevation control section 410 stops thefirst support section 307 b.

Next, as shown by 13005 in fig. 13, theelevation control section 410 lowers thefirst support section 307b while maintaining the state of supporting thetray 600, thereby returning thetray 600 to a substantially horizontal state. At this time, as indicated by 12004 in fig. 12, theelevation control part 410 lowers thesecond support part 307d from the position Po3 to the position Po 4. Then, theelevation control unit 410 pushes thetray 600 into the storage position.

Then, theelevation control unit 410 moves thefirst support portion 307b downward and separates it from the engagingportion 601 of thetray 600, thereby storing thetray 600 at the storage position.

When thetray 600 is thus conveyed to thetray storage rack 60, as shown by 13003 in fig. 13, when the end 600e1 of thetray 600 is inserted into the storage position, thetray conveying unit 301 lifts the end 600e2 opposite to theend 600e 1. Thereby, thetray 600 is supported by two points, i.e., theend portion 61a of therail 61 and thefirst support portion 307 b. Thereafter, as shown by 13005 in fig. 13, thetray conveying unit 301 inserts thetray 600 into thetray storage rack 60.

In this case, since thetray 600 is inserted in a two-point supported state, the freedom of movement of thetray 600 is improved as compared with a case where thetray 600 is inserted in a three-point supported state (i.e., along a predetermined trajectory) of thefirst support portion 307b and the twosecond support portions 307 d. Therefore, even in a state where thepallet storage rack 60 is inclined with respect to thepallet launching device 50, thepallet 600 can be inserted into thepallet storage rack 60 while absorbing the inclination.

< control example of elevating device >

Next, a control example of thelifting device 300 will be explained. In general, thelifting device 300 issues thetrays 600 into a plurality oftray holders 60 prepared for each place (e.g., patient room) where thetrays 600 are carried. Alternatively, thelifting device 300 may issue thetrays 600 so that the trays are stored in onetray storage rack 60 separately for each location. Information indicating the location where tray 600 (i.e., the medicine stored in tray 600) is conveyed is managed in association with medicine data indicating the medicine.

In the conventional lifting device, a case where thepallet 600 transported to a different place is delivered to thepallet storage rack 60 is considered. In the conventional lifting device, after the delivery of thepallet 600 conveyed to any place to thepallet storage rack 60 is completed, an image for receiving a delivery start instruction (delivery permission) for thepallet 600 conveyed to a place different from the any place is displayed on thetouch panel 70. For example, the arbitrary place is the a ward, and the place different from the arbitrary place is the B ward. Further, for example, the start instruction is issued including a replacement instruction for replacing thepallet storage rack 60 storing thepallets 600 transported to the different location. In the conventional elevator apparatus, after receiving a user input indicating that a start instruction is issued, the user starts to issue thetray 600 to thetray storage rack 60 to be transported to the different location.

However, in this case, in order to recognize the completion of the dispatch of thetray 600 to the above-mentioned arbitrary place, the user needs to monitor the dispatch status of thetray 600 transported to the arbitrary place as needed. Further, if a number of pallets remain until the discharge of thepallet 600 transported to the arbitrary place is completed, the user needs to wait for the discharge of the number of pallets.

On the other hand, in the present control example, thetray conveying unit 301 executes the following processing. Consider the following case: that is, when the tray 600 (first tray group) used in the arbitrary place is sent out to thetray storage rack 60, the user input indicating that the sending out of the tray 600 (second tray group) used in the different place to thetray storage rack 60 is permitted is received. In this case, thetray conveying unit 301 starts to discharge thetray 600 used in the different place after the completion of the discharge of thetray 600 used in the arbitrary place to thetray storage rack 60.

In addition, the first tray group is a tray group including at least onetray 600 used in any of the above-described places. The second tray group is a tray group including at least onetray 600 used in the different places. In addition, it can be said that: the control example described above defines the processing when the plurality oftrays 600 are divided into the first tray group and the second tray group having different transfer destinations and sent to thetray storage rack 60.

Specifically, theelevation control unit 410 counts the number ofleft pallets 600 to be transported to the a-ward. When the number of remaining output signals becomes a predetermined number (e.g., 4 to 5), the up-downcontrol unit 410 notifies the touchpanel control unit 470 that an image for accepting the user input is displayed on thetouch panel 70. The touchpanel control section 470 receives the notification and causes thetouch panel 70 to display the image.

Theelevation control section 410 monitors: before all thetrays 600 to be transported to the a-ward are delivered, the touchpanel control unit 470 receives the user input. When theelevation control unit 410 determines that the user input is accepted before the completion of the dispatch, the dispatch of thetray 600 to be transported to the patient a room to thetray storage rack 60 is completed, and then the dispatch of thetray 600 used in the patient B room is started.

Thus, the user can reduce the labor and time required for monitoring the state of thetray 600 being sent out and waiting for thetray 600 to be sent out at any time, as in the conventional lifting device. Therefore, user convenience can be improved.

Thetray conveying unit 301 may convey thetray 600 used in the different place to a position separated from thetray 600 used in any place stored in thetray storage rack 60. That is, during the issue processing of thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward, when receiving the above-described user input, thetray conveying unit 301 conveys thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward to the following storage position: that is, a storage position different from the storage position adjacent to the storage position of thetray storage rack 60 to which thetray 600 to be transported to the a ward has been transported. The different storage position is, for example, a storage position that is left empty by one storage position from the storage position at which thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward is finally stored. Note that the storage position at which thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward is stored last and the storage position at which thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward is stored first may be separated from each other by a plurality of storage positions, instead of one storage position. Thetrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward may be stored in a different row from the row in which thetrays 600 to be transported to the a-ward are stored last in thetray storage rack 60.

In this case, when thetrays 600 to be transported to a plurality of places are stored in onetray storage 60 without changing thetray storage 60, the storage positions of thetrays 600 can be visually classified for each place. Therefore, the user can easily grasp the transport location of thetray 600.

Thetray conveying unit 301 arranges thetrays 600 in thetray storage rack 60 in the conveying order. 14001 to 14003 in fig. 14 are views showing an example of storage of thetray 600 in thetray storage rack 60. In the example shown in fig. 14, thetray transport unit 301 stores thetrays 600 in the transport order from the uppermost layer to the lowermost layer of the storage area SAr1, and stores thetrays 600 in the lowermost layer of the storage area SAr1 from the uppermost layer to the lowermost layer of thestorage area SAr 2. When the tray is stored in the lowermost storage area SAr2, thetray conveying unit 301 stores the tray from the uppermost storage area SAr3 toward the lowermost storage area SAr.

In 14001 of fig. 14, thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward is set to be stored in the entire storage area SAr1 and the upper part of thestorage area SAr 2. When the above-described user input is received during the issue processing of thetray 600 to be transported to the a ward, as shown in 14002 in fig. 14, thetray conveying section 301 leaves the storage position (space Sp1) where onetray 600 can be stored, and conveys thetray 600 to be transported to the B ward (600 (B) in the figure). Then, when the above-described user input is received during the issuing process of thetray 600 to be transported to the B ward, as shown in 14003 in fig. 14, thetray conveying section 301 leaves the storage position (space Sp2) where onetray 600 can be stored, and conveys thetray 600 to be transported to the C ward (600 (C) in the figure).

Further, theelevation control unit 410 may receive a user input indicating that thetray 600 is allowed to be delivered to each of the different plurality of places during the delivery process of thetray 600 to be transported to the arbitrary place. For example, during the issue processing of thetray 600 to be carried to the a-ward, not only the issue permission of thetray 600 to be carried to the B-ward but also the issue permission of thetray 600 to be carried to the C-ward can be received. In this case, since the number of operations by the user can be reduced, the convenience of the user can be further improved.

(treatment example)

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing an example of control performed by theelevation control unit 410. In this processing example, the following are set: after the issuance of thetray 600 to be carried to the a-ward is completed, the issuance of thetray 600 to be carried to the B-ward is performed.

As shown in fig. 15, when the issuance of thetray 600 to be transported to the a ward is completed (S1), theelevation control unit 410 determines whether or not a user input indicating that the issuance of thetray 600 to be transported to the B ward is permitted has been received (S2).

When the user input is received (yes in S2), theelevation control unit 410 determines, in thetray storage rack 60, a storage position of thetray 600 to be transported to the first ward of the B ward, as: the storage position that is last sent out as thetray 600 to be transported to the a ward is left empty by one. Then, theelevation control unit 410 controls thetray transfer unit 301 to transfer thefirst tray 600 to be transferred to the B-ward to the determined storage position (S3).

On the other hand, when it is judged that: when the user input is not received until the issuance of thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward is completed (no in S2), theelevation control unit 410 notifies that the issuance of thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward is completed (S4). Specifically, the touchpanel control section 470 controls thetouch panel 70 so that thetouch panel 70 displays an image for receiving the issue permission of thetray 600 to be transported to the B ward.

Theelevation control unit 410 monitors whether or not the issue permission is received by the image (S5). When determining that the issue permission is received (yes in S5), theelevation control unit 410 executes the process of S3. Theelevation control unit 410 executes the process of S5 until a predetermined time elapses (no in S5). When the predetermined time has elapsed without receiving the issue permission, theelevation control unit 410 ends the issue process of thetray 600.

< control example of other elevating device >

Thelifting device 300 may also issue the trays 600 (first tray group) to be transported to any place and the trays 600 (second tray group) to be transported to a different place to thetray stocker 60, respectively, by other methods than the above. The following is an example for explanation: that is, after the completion of the dispatch to thetray rack 60 of thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward, the dispatch to thetray rack 60 of thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward is performed.

(control example one)

Theelevation control unit 410 may be configured to: after thepallet 600 to be transported to the a-ward is delivered to the pallet storage rack 60 (first pallet storage rack), thepallet 600 to be transported to the B-ward is delivered to another pallet storage rack 60 (second pallet storage rack) different from thepallet storage rack 60 even if there is a vacant area in thepallet storage rack 60. For example, theelevation control unit 410 is configured to: when it is detected that the second pallet holding rack is provided, thepallet 600 to be carried to the patient a room starts to be sent out to the second pallet holding rack after all thepallets 600 to be carried to the patient a room are sent out to the first pallet holding rack.

Theelevation control unit 410 may be configured to: for example, when the user has received the issue permission of the second pallet holder, the second pallet holder starts issuing thepallets 600. Further, theelevation control unit 410 may be configured to: when the installation detection unit (not shown) detects that thetray storage rack 60 is installed in theinsertion port 53, the second tray storage rack starts to send out thetrays 600. The installation detection unit is a device that detects whether or not thetray storage rack 60 is installed in theinsertion port 53, and is installed in thehousing 51 of thetray issuing device 50, for example. In this case, the issue of thepallet 600 to the second pallet storage rack can be automatically started without receiving the issue permission to the second pallet storage rack issued by the user.

In addition, when a pallet storage rack conveying system (not shown) that automatically conveys thepallet storage rack 60 to theinsertion port 53 is used, the user does not need to set thepallet storage rack 60 to theinsertion port 53. When the pallet storage rack transport system is used together with the setting detection unit, the setting of the nextpallet storage rack 60 and the sending of thepallet 600 to the nextpallet storage rack 60 are automatically performed. Therefore, the user does not need to issue the issue permission described above nor does the user need to perform the setting of thepallet storage rack 60.

(control example two)

Theelevation control unit 410 may be configured to: after thepallet 600 to be transported to the a ward is sent out to thepallet holding rack 60, it is determined whether or not there is a vacant area in thepallet holding rack 60. When it is determined that there is a vacant area, theelevation control unit 410 may issue thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward to the vacant area without receiving the issue permission. As described above, theelevation control unit 410 may store thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward and thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward in thetray storage rack 60 in such a manner as to be separated from each other, so that thetray 600 to be transported to the a-ward and thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward can be visually distinguished.

(control example III)

Theelevation control unit 410 may be configured to: when it is determined that all thetrays 600 to be transported to the B ward cannot be stored in the vacant area, the user is notified to install anothertray storage rack 60 in theinsertion port 53. For example, theelevation control unit 410 notifies the touchpanel control unit 470 to display an image for prompting the user to set anothertray storage rack 60 in theinsertion port 53 on thetouch panel 70. The touchpanel control section 470 receives the notification and causes thetouch panel 70 to display the image.

Here, the storage unit (not shown) of thecontrol device 400 stores the total number oftrays 600 to be transported to each ward based on, for example, prescription data. Further, the total number oftrays 600 stored in thetray storage 60 provided in theinsertion port 53 is stored. Thus, each time thepallets 600 are stored in thepallet storage rack 60, theelevation control unit 410 can calculate the number ofleft pallets 600 to be sent out and the number ofleft pallets 600 stored in the pallet storage rack 60 (the size of the vacant area of the pallet storage rack 60).

For example, when determining that the remaining number oftrays 600 stored in thetray storage rack 60 storingtrays 600 to be transported to the a-ward is smaller than the total number oftrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward, theelevation control unit 410 notifies the user to set anothertray storage rack 60 in theinsertion port 53. That is, when determining that thetray storage rack 60 has a vacant area but all thetrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward cannot be sent out (stored) to thetray storage rack 60, theelevation control unit 410 notifies the user to set anothertray storage rack 60 in theinsertion port 53. In this case, even if there is a vacant area in thetray storage rack 60, thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward can be delivered to anothertray storage rack 60.

In this case, theelevation control unit 410 may start to issue thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward to anothertray storage rack 60, for example, when the issue permission is received or when the installation detection unit detects the installation of anothertray storage rack 60.

Further, for example, even when the remaining number oftrays 600 stored in thetray storage rack 60 storingtrays 600 to be transported to the a-ward is determined to be smaller than the total number oftrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward, theelevation control unit 410 may store thetrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward in the vacant area until the vacant area of thetray storage rack 60 is filled with thetrays 600. In this case, theelevation control unit 410 issues thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward to thetray storage rack 60 until the remaining storage count becomes 0, and temporarily stops the issuance when the remaining storage count becomes 0. Then, theelevation control unit 410 starts to issue thetray 600 to be transported to the B-ward to anothertray storage rack 60, for example, when the issue permission is received or when the installation detection unit detects the installation of anothertray storage rack 60. This allows thetrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward to be stored in different tray storage racks 60.

In this manner, when it is determined that the remaining number oftrays 600 stored is smaller than the total number oftrays 600 to be transported to the B ward, for example, either one of the following two processes is executed.

(1) Even if there is a vacant area in thetray storage rack 60 storing thetrays 600 to be transported to the a-ward, thetrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward are stored in anothertray storage rack 60 different from thetray storage rack 60.

(2) After thetrays 600 to be transported to the B-ward are stored in thetray storage rack 60 for storing thetrays 600 to be transported to the a-ward until the empty area does not exist, the remainingtrays 600 are stored in the other tray storage racks 60.

In this case, which of the above-described (1) and (2) is executed by theelevation control unit 410 may be determined by a preset setting or may be determined by a user selection at the time of the above determination.

< other constitution >

Thehousing 51 of the pallet sending-outdevice 50 is provided with a fixing member for temporarily fixing thepallet holder 60 when thepallet holder 60 is inserted into theinsertion port 53. The fixing member is, for example, a magnet. By providing the fixing member, thetray storage rack 60 can be prevented from moving while thetray 600 is being sent out by the tray sending-outdevice 50.

The fixing member may be connected to a rotation shaft in the horizontal direction and mounted to be rotatable about the rotation shaft. Thus, even if thepallet storage rack 60 is inserted in a tilted state with respect to thepallet sending device 50, thepallet sending device 50 and thepallet storage rack 60 can be brought into a substantially parallel state by moving thepallet storage rack 60. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of thetray 600 being caught at the storage position when thetray 600 is inserted into any storage position due to thetray storage rack 60 being inclined with respect to thetray issuing device 50.

[ card holder ]

Next, the details of thecard holder 500 will be explained. Fig. 16 is a diagram showing a configuration example of thecard holder 500. 16001 in fig. 16 is a plan view of thecard holder 500 as viewed from the front side, and 16002 in fig. 16 is a plan view of thecard holder 500 as viewed from the back side.Reference numeral 16003 in fig. 16 denotes a cross-sectional view of thecard holder 500 along the line a-a shown in 16001 in fig. 16.

Thecard holder 500 is a member that is provided on a side surface of thetray 600 and holds the rewrite card RC. As indicated by 16001 in fig. 16, thecard holder 500 includes anouter edge portion 511 forming an opening and abottom portion 512 on which the rewrite card RC is placed. The removal of the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 500 or the attachment (insertion) of the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500 is performed through the opening formed in theouter edge portion 511. In addition, a space (a rectangular area surrounded by a dotted line in the drawing) defined by theouter edge portion 511 and thebottom portion 512 functions as acard attaching portion 513 for holding (attaching) the rewrite card RC. In addition, the rectangular area substantially coincides with the size of the rewrite card RC.

Thecard holder 500 is formed, for example, by engaging an upper member defining theouter edge portion 511 with a lower member defining thebottom portion 512. The upper member and the lower member are made of resin, for example.

The front surfaces of the upper member and the lower member that are thecard holder 500 are processed to reduce light reflection. For example, a fine uneven shape (e.g., surface roughening) is formed on the surface. Thus, when thecard detection unit 176 irradiates thecard holder 500 with light, reflection of the light by theouter edge portion 511 or thebottom portion 512 can be suppressed. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the rewrite card RC can be improved.

In addition, the processing is not necessarily performed unless the improvement of the detection accuracy is considered. Alternatively, thecard holder 500 may be manufactured by molding a single plate-like member.

A pair ofclaw portions 514 is provided at opposite portions of theouter edge portion 511. In the present embodiment, fourclaw portions 514a to 514d are provided near corner portions of thecard holder 500 on both short sides of thecard holder 500. The pair ofclaw portions 514 is constituted by the pair ofclaw portions 514a and 514b and the pair ofclaw portions 514c and 514 d.

The pair ofclaw portions 514 protrude in a deformation direction of the rewrite card RC, which is: the direction of deformation of the rewrite card RC when the rewrite card RC is removed from the front surface of thecard holder 500 while being bent or when the rewrite card RC is attached from the front surface of thecard holder 500 while being bent. In the present embodiment, the deformation direction is the direction of thearrows 16001 and 16003 in fig. 16 (the direction in which the long sides extend). Specifically, theclaw portions 514 protrude from both short sides of the card holder 500 (specifically, thesecond side walls 511b of the outer edge portion 511) toward the opening portion side (the inside of the card holder 500) formed in theouter edge portion 511. The sidewall of the long-sideouter edge portion 511 is referred to as afirst sidewall 511a, and the sidewall of the short-sideouter edge portion 511 is referred to as asecond sidewall 511 b.

By providing theclaw portion 514, a gap into which a part of the outer edge portion thereof should be inserted while holding the rewrite card RC can be formed between theclaw portion 514 and a plane including the bottom portion 512 (hereinafter, also referred to as between theclaw portion 514 and the bottom portion 512). By providing theclaw portions 514, the rewrite card RC restored to the original state by being pushed in a bent state with respect to thecard holder 500 from the front face (the opening portion formed by the outer edge portion 511) of thecard holder 500 can be held at the end portion of the rewrite card RC. That is, theclaw portion 514 functions as a retaining portion of the rewrite card RC. In addition, the rewrite card RC held in thecard holder 500 can be pulled out from the front of thecard holder 500 in a bent state. In particular, by providing theclaw portions 514 so as to protrude in the deformation direction, the load on theclaw portions 514 can be reduced when the rewrite card RC is removed or attached while being bent. That is, the rewrite card RC can be smoothly removed and attached while being bent. Therefore, since the occurrence of deformation or damage of the rewrite card RC can be suppressed, the life of the rewrite card RC can be extended.

In addition, although the case where theclaw portions 514 are provided on the opposing portions of the two short sides has been described in the present embodiment, theclaw portions 514 may be provided on the opposing portions of the two long sides. Theclaw portions 514 may be provided so as to face each other at least in the deformation direction. Further, a pair ofclaws 514 may be provided at the opposing portions of the two short sides, and a pair ofclaws 514 may be provided at the opposing portions of the two long sides. That is, the opposing portions provided with the pair ofclaw portions 514 are: (1) at least one of the portions of theouter edge portion 511 that face each other in the deformation direction (for example, the portions facing each other on the two short sides), and (2) the portions of theouter edge portion 511 that face each other in the direction perpendicular to the deformation direction (for example, the portions facing each other on the two long sides).

Further, as indicated by 16003 in fig. 16, the inner wall of theclaw portion 514 opposed to theopening portion 517 is inclined in the following manner: that is, the height Hi between theclaw portion 514 and thebottom portion 512 increases from the outer edge portion 511 (thesecond side wall 511b (short side) in the present embodiment) toward the inside of thecard holder 500.

Therefore, the rewrite card RC which is pulled out or attached while being bent can be suppressed from being caught on theclaw portion 514 or thebottom portion 512. For example, even when the rewrite card RC deteriorates to become easily stuck, occurrence of the sticking can be suppressed. Therefore, the accuracy of removal or attachment of the rewrite card RC can be improved. In addition, since the load applied to the rewrite card RC can be reduced, the rewrite card RC can be prevented from being deformed or the like. In addition, if this is not taken into consideration, the inner wall of theclaw portion 514 may extend substantially parallel to thebottom portion 512, for example.

Further, the outer edge portion 511 (specifically, the vicinity of the corner portion of the outer edge portion 511) is provided with acard guide portion 515, and when a corner portion RCc of the rewrite card RC pushed in a curved state with respect to thecard holder 500 comes into contact, thecard guide portion 515 guides the corner portion RCc to the pair ofclaw portions 514.

Specifically, as shown at 16001 in fig. 16, thecard guide 515 is provided: thecard holder 500 is formed such that the corner portion of the opening formed by theouter edge portion 511 is formed in a substantially curved shape (substantially C-shape) when viewed in plan. In other words, thecard guide 515 is provided at a corner of thecard holder 500 so that the width of the opening in the direction in which the short side extends becomes shorter from the inner side toward the short side of thecard holder 500 in the short side region where theclaw 514 is provided. In other words, thecard guide 515 is provided at the corner of thecard holder 500 in such a manner that the width of the opening in the direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the rewrite card RC extends is shortened in the direction in which the rewrite card RC extends when the rewrite card RC is attached while being bent in the above-described region. In the present embodiment, thecard guide portion 515 is a side wall extending from thefirst side wall 511a toward the claw portion 514 (thesecond side wall 511 b).

In other words, thecard guide portion 515 is a part of theouter edge portion 511 that defines an area where the rewrite card RC is mounted (i.e., an opening portion formed by the outer edge portion 511). Thecard guide portion 515 is provided at a corner portion of the opening so that a width in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction in which the rewrite card RC extends is shortened toward an end portion of the opening when thecard holder 500 is viewed in plan. The end of the opening is the region on the short side in this example.

Here, the rewrite card RC is set to be mounted offset to the longer side than thecard mounting section 513. At this time, the rewrite card RC is mounted while returning from the bent state to the original state, and is in contact with the side walls defining thecard guide portion 515. The corner portion RCc of the rewrite card RC which is in contact with thecard guide portion 515 is guided along the side wall from thefirst side wall 511a side to thesecond side wall 511b side. As described above, the corner portion RCc of the rewrite card RC is formed in a curved shape, and is easily guided by thecard guide portion 515, in which thecard guide portion 515 defines an end portion of the opening formed by theouter edge portion 511 in a substantially C-shape. As a result, the end portion of the rewrite card RC is inserted between theclaw portion 514 and thebottom portion 512, thereby holding the rewrite card RC by theclaw portion 514.

By providing thecard guide portion 515 in this manner, even when the rewrite card RC is attached while being shifted to the long side (in a direction different from the above-described deformation direction), the rewrite card RC can be moved to a predetermined position where the rewrite card RC is held. Therefore, even if a misalignment occurs when the rewrite card RC is attached, the rewrite card RC can be held by theclaw portion 514.

In addition, avent hole 516 is provided in the bottom 512. As described above, the rewrite card RC is pulled out from thecard holder 500 by suction. In the case where thevent hole 516 is not provided, when the rewrite card RC is attracted, not only the rewrite card RC but also thecard holder 500 itself may be attracted via the rewrite card RC by the attraction force. In this case, the rewrite card RC cannot be removed.

In the case where thevent hole 516 is provided, when the rewrite card RC is sucked, the space between the rewrite card RC and thebottom portion 512 can be kept from being in a vacuum state, and therefore, the force of sucking thecard holder 500 can be reduced. Therefore, the rewrite card RC can be removed with high accuracy. However, in the case where the rewrite card RC can be removed even when the suction force (suction force) is relatively small, thevent hole 516 is not necessarily provided.

Further, as indicated by 16001 to 16003 in fig. 16, anopening 517 is provided at least in a region of thebottom portion 512 facing theclaw portion 514.

The rewrite card RC is pulled out or mounted while being bent. Therefore, in the case where theopening 517 is not provided, there is a possibility that the end portion of the rewrite card RC is caught between theclaw portion 514 and thebottom portion 512 on theclaw portion 514 or thebottom portion 512, and the rewrite card RC cannot be removed or attached.

By providing theopening 517 in the above-described region, the possibility of the rewrite card RC being stuck can be suppressed. Therefore, the accuracy of removal or attachment of the rewrite card RC can be improved. In addition, since the load applied to the rewrite card RC can be reduced, deformation and the like of the rewrite card RC can be suppressed.

In addition, as shown at 16003 in fig. 16, the bottom 512 is flat. In the case where a recess (described later) is provided in thebottom portion 512, the rewrite card RC is easily removed, but the possibility of dropping the rewrite card RC increases accordingly. When the bottom 512 is flat, the possibility of the rewrite card RC falling can be suppressed. However, if the possibility of falling can be reduced by examining the size, shape, depth, formation position, and the like of the recess, the recess may be provided in thebottom portion 512 instead of theopening 517. In this case, the rewrite card RC can be easily removed.

< modification example >

Next, a modified example of thecard holder 500 will be explained. Fig. 17 to 19 are views showing modifications of thecard holder 500.

(card holders 501 and 502)

Reference numeral 17001 in fig. 17 is a plan view showing a configuration example of thecard holder 501. Further, 17002 in fig. 17 is a plan view showing a configuration example of thecard holder 502. Thecard holder 501 differs from thecard holder 500 in that the shape of the bottom 521 and the shape of thecard guide 515 are different. Thecard holder 502 is different from thecard holder 501 in that the bottom 512 is flat.

Specifically, thebottom 521 of thecard holder 501 is provided with arecess 522. Therecess 522 is provided: extending in a direction in which the two short sides provided with theclaw portions 514 extend (extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the above-described deformation direction). The recessedportion 522 is provided in an end region on the short side of thebottom portion 521 including a position opposing thepawl portion 514. In other words, thecard holder 501 is lower than the other areas of the bottom 521 in at least the area (end area) of the bottom 521 opposed to theclaw 514.

As described above, in the end region, the end of the rewrite card RC is between theclaw portion 514 and thebottom portion 521, and is easily caught on theclaw portion 514 or thebottom portion 521. In thecard holder 501, therecess 522 is provided in the end region, and thus, the occurrence of the jam can be suppressed as in the case where theopening 517 is provided.

In addition, the recessedportion 522 does not necessarily have to be provided in the entire end region. The recessedportions 522 may be provided in regions facing theclaw portions 514a to 514d, for example, as long as the occurrence of the above-described seizing can be suppressed.

However, as described above, therecess 522 may not be provided, from the viewpoint of reducing the possibility of the held rewrite card RC falling. As shown at 17002 in fig. 17, thecard holder 502 is an example of a configuration in which therecess 522 is not provided in the card holder 501 (the bottom 512 is flat). However, in thecard holder 502, although the above-described occurrence of dropping due to theconcave portion 522 can be reduced, when the rewrite card RC is removed or attached, there is a possibility that the end portion of the rewrite card RC is caught by theclaw portion 514 or thebottom portion 512. In consideration of this point, it is preferable to provide theopening 517 in theflat bottom 512 instead of therecess 522, as in thecard holder 500.

The card guides 523 of thecard holders 501 and 502 are inclined from thetop surface 511c of the outer edge 511 (a part of the outer edge 511) toward the vicinity of the regions of the bottom 521 facing theclaw portions 514a to 514d, respectively. Thecard guide portion 523 is inclined from thetop surface portion 511c toward the end portion region at a position where the long-sideouter edge portion 511 is connected to theclaw portion 514. The inclined area of thecard guide 523 increases toward theclaw portion 514.

Thus, even when the rewrite card RC is attached while being shifted to the long side, the end portion of the rewrite card RC is inserted into thebottom portion 521 or thebottom portion 512 through the inclined region to a position facing theclaw portion 514. Therefore, even when a misalignment occurs at the time of attaching the rewrite card RC, the rewrite card RC can be held by theclaw portion 514.

However, depending on the state of the rewrite card RC, such as the aged deterioration of the rewrite card RC (deformation or damage of the corner portion RCc), the end portion of the rewrite card RC guided by thecard guide portion 523 may be caught by theclaw portion 514 when inserted into theclaw portion 514. In the case of thecard guide portion 515, thecard guide portion 523 is not inclined from thetop surface portion 511c toward thebottom portion 521 or thebottom portion 512. That is, thecard guide portion 515 is formed by a side wall rising substantially perpendicularly from thebottom portion 521 or thebottom portion 512, and defines an end portion of an opening formed by theouter edge portion 511 in a substantially C shape. Therefore, the occurrence of the above-described seizure can be reduced.

(card holders 503 and 504)

Thecard holder 503 shown at 18001 in fig. 18 differs from thecard holder 500 in that: thecard holder 503 includes a bottom 531 provided with arecess 532 in the above-described end region and aclaw portion 533 provided on the entire short side. In thecard holder 500, theclaw portions 514 are provided on a part of the short sides (specifically, at two positions of each short side). Even in the shape of theclaw portion 533, the rewrite card RC can be removed and attached while being bent, similarly to thecard holder 501, while holding the rewrite card RC.

In this configuration, as shown at 18001 and 18002 in fig. 18, therecess 532 is provided in the bottom 531 as in thecard holder 501 shown at 17001 in fig. 17. In fig. 18, 18002 is a cross-sectional view of thecard holder 503 when a portion surrounded by a broken line is cut in the longitudinal direction.

As illustrated in 18002 in fig. 18, in thecard holder 503, the distance D1 (depth) from theclaw portion 533 to the bottom portion 531 (recessed portion 532) can be set longer than the distance D2 from theclaw portion 533 to the bottom portion (position shown by the broken line) when the recessedportion 532 is not present (when the above-described end region is flat). Therefore, even if the rewrite card RC is inserted and held while being slightly shifted in the longitudinal direction, as described above, the end portion of the rewrite card RC can be suppressed from being caught on theclaw portions 533 or thebottom portions 531. In this way, in thecard holder 503 having theclaw portions 533 provided over the entire short sides, the removal accuracy of the rewrite card RC can be improved.

Thecard holder 504 shown by 19001 in fig. 19 is different from thecard holder 503 in that acard guide 551 is provided. Similarly to thecard guide portion 523, thecard guide portion 551 is inclined from thefirst side wall 511a of the outer edge portion 511 (a part of the outer edge portion 511) toward the vicinity of the region of thebottom portion 531 facing theclaw portions 533. Specifically, as shown by 19002 in fig. 19, thecard guide 551 is inclined from thefirst side wall 511a toward the above-described end region. By providing thecard guide 551, the rewrite card RC can be held by theclaw portions 533 as in the case of thecard guide 523 even if a misalignment occurs when the rewrite card RC is attached.

In thecard holder 504, thecard guide 551 is provided only on one end side of each of the pair ofclaw portions 533. That is, thecard guide portions 551 are provided at two positions near the end of the onefirst side wall 511 a. However, without being limited to this, thecard guide portions 551 may be provided at both ends of each of the pair of claw portions 533 (i.e., at two positions (four positions in total) near the ends of each of the twofirst side walls 511 a).

[ second embodiment ]

Other embodiments of the present invention will be described below. For convenience of explanation, members having the same functions as those described in the above embodiments are given the same reference numerals and the explanation thereof will not be repeated. The same applies to the following embodiments.

In the second embodiment, an example of the operation of the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 when thetray 610 is used as a tray for conveying medicine instead of thetray 600 will be described. Before describing this operation example, thetray 610 and thecard holder 510 provided on thetray 610 will be described.

[ tray and card holder ]

Fig. 21 is a diagram showing a configuration example of thetray 610. Fig. 22 is a diagram showing a configuration example of thecard holder 510. 22001 of fig. 22 is a front view of thecard holder 510, and 22002 of fig. 22 is a perspective view of thecard holder 510. A state in which the rewrite card RC is mounted in thecard holder 510 is shown in 22001 of fig. 22.

As with thetray 600, thetray 610 is a member that stores medicines and the like that are discharged from themedicine dispensing device 30 in themedicine dispensing system 1. Thetray 610 containing the medicine and the like is sent to thetray storage 60 by thetray sending device 50.

A card holder 510 (card holding portion, first card holding portion) capable of holding the rewrite card RC is provided in place of thecard holder 500 at a position facing the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 on the side surface of thetray 610. Wherein the height of thetray 610 is lower than the height of thetray 600. Therefore, when the card holder 500 (having substantially the same height as the side surface of the tray 600) provided on thetray 600 as shown in fig. 2 is provided on the side surface of thetray 610, a part of thecard holder 500 protrudes from the side surface of thetray 610. When thetrays 610 are stacked on each other, the protruding portions of thecard holder 500 interfere with each other, and thus thetrays 610 may not be stacked. Further, since the protruding portion of thecard holder 500 interferes with each device and the like constituting themedicine dispensing system 1, there is a possibility that the conveyance of thetray 610 in themedicine dispensing system 1 is hindered. Therefore, the height of thecard holder 510 provided to thetray 610 is limited to some extent. The height of thecard holder 510 is the length of the short side of the card holder 510 (the length in the direction substantially perpendicular to the deforming direction Dt of the rewrite card RC).

In addition, the length of the short side of thecard holder 510 may be specified to have a margin with respect to the length of the short side of the rewrite card RC according to the height of thetray 610. Therefore, as shown in fig. 16, even if thecard guide portion 515 is provided at the corner portion (both end portions of the short side) of the opening portion formed by theouter edge portion 511, thecard guide portion 515 is less likely to cause the above-described interference. On the other hand, since the height of thecard holder 510 is limited to a certain extent, the above-described interference may occur when thecard guide 515 is provided.

Therefore, as shown at 22001 in fig. 22, thecard guide 515 is not provided on thecard holder 510, and the length of the short side of thecard holder 510 is specified to be substantially the same as the length of the short side of the rewrite card RC. This can reduce the amount of protrusion of thecard holder 510 from the upper portion of thetray 610, and can reduce the possibility of occurrence of the above-described interference.

As shown in fig. 21, thecard holder 510 may be provided obliquely with respect to the side surface of thetray 610 so as to be away from the side surface of thetray 610 from the bottom of thetray 610 toward the upper portion. In this case, the length of the short side of the card holder 510 (the apparent height Ht of the card holder 510) in a plan view of the side surface on which thecard holder 510 is provided can be made shorter than the actual length of the short side of thecard holder 510. This can further reduce the projection amount. Further, thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 of the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 can be brought into contact with thecard holder 510 substantially in parallel. Therefore, the rewrite card RC after the suction of thecard suction portion 151 is released can be held more stably by theguide portions 152 and 153 and thecard holder 510.

However, when thecard guide 515 cannot be provided, if the rewrite card RC is offset in the short-side direction with respect to thecard holder 510 and abuts against the card guide, the offset may not be corrected. In the case where the offset cannot be corrected, there is a possibility that the rewrite card RC cannot be inserted into the gap formed between thebottom portion 562 of thecard holder 510 and the pair of claw portions 564 (i.e., the rewrite card RC cannot be attached to the card holder 510). Therefore, in order to reduce the possibility of the occurrence of the misalignment, thecard holder 510 is not provided with thecard guide 515, but has a structure capable of realizing a mounting method of mounting the rewrite card RC by the card attaching and detachingdevice 150 of the present embodiment. The structure of thecard holder 510 and the mounting method of the rewrite card RC by the card attaching/detaching device 150 (operation example of the card attaching/detaching device 150) will be described below.

As shown at 22002 in fig. 22, thecard holder 510 includes anouter edge portion 561 and abottom portion 562, similarly to thecard holder 500. Like thecard holder 500, the side walls of theouter edge portion 561 define an area where the rewrite card RC is mounted. The space defined by theouter edge portion 561 and thebottom portion 562 functions as acard attaching portion 563, and thecard attaching portion 563 defines the above-described area.

Here, in the present embodiment, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 causes the rewrite card RC to abut against thecard holder 510 at a position shifted from the card attachment portion 563 (the region where the rewrite card RC is attached) to the + z-axis direction shown in fig. 23. The region (position) where the rewrite card RC is attached when thecard holder 510 is viewed in plan may be referred to as a first position, and a position shifted from the first position may be referred to as a second position. The second position may be a position where a part of the rewrite card RC can abut against thecard holder 510.

Specifically, the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 causes the rewrite card RC in the bent state to abut against thecard holder 510 from the front side of thecard holder 510 at the second position, and then to be pushed into thecard holder 510. Thereby, at the second position, the rewrite card RC is restored to the original state. Then, the card-handlingdevice 150 moves the rewrite card RC from the second position to the first position, thereby mounting the rewrite card RC on thecard holder 510.

In other words, the rewrite card RC is mounted to thecard holder 510 by being moved to the first position after coming into contact with thecard holder 510 from the front side of thecard holder 510 at the second position.

In consideration of the mounting of the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 510 in this manner, acutout 566 is formed in theupper wall 561t of theouter edge portion 561. Theupper wall 561t is a side wall on the side where the rewrite card RC abuts thecard holder 510.Notches 566 are formed on both sides (short sides) of theupper wall 561t along the deformation direction Dt.

By forming thenotch 566 at the position of both sides, the end of the rewrite card RC in the bent state can be brought into contact with thebottom portion 562. Then, the rewrite card RC is pushed in, and the end portion moves on thebottom portion 562 along the above-described deforming direction Dt, whereby the end portion can be inserted into the gap formed between thebottom portion 562 and thepawl portion 564. Therefore, the rewrite card RC can be reliably attached to thecard holder 510.

In addition, the area where theupper wall 561t interferes when the rewrite card RC moves from the second position to the first position can be reduced. Therefore, the rewrite card RC can be smoothly guided to the first position.

In the present embodiment, acutout 567 is also formed in thelower wall 561b of theouter edge portion 561.Notches 567 are formed on both sides of thelower wall 561b along the deformation direction Dt. Thenotches 566 and 567 formed on one end side of theupper wall 561t and thelower wall 561b and thenotches 566 and 567 formed on the other end side of theupper wall 561t and thelower wall 561b are located in the regions on the straight line along the direction perpendicular to the deformation direction Dt. The area is: when the rewrite card RC moves from the second position to the first position, theguide portions 152 and 153 press the rewrite card RC against the area where thecard holder 510 moves while being moved, respectively. Therefore, by providing thenotches 566 and 567 on the one end side and the other end side, it is possible to reduce the possibility of interference with theupper wall 561t and thelower wall 561b when theguide portions 152 and 153 move.

Thelower wall 561b functions as a card support portion for supporting the rewrite card RC. Therefore, not only the rewrite card RC can be supported by thecard support portion 565 described later, but also the rewrite card RC can be supported by thelower wall 561 b. Therefore, thecard holder 510 can stably hold the rewrite card RC.

Although thecutout 566 is formed in theupper wall 561t, the entireupper wall 561t may be removed.

Thecard holder 510 includes a pair ofclaw portions 564. As with thecard holder 500, the pair ofclaw portions 564 are provided on thecard holder 510 so as to project in the above-described deformation direction Dt. However, unlike the case of thecard holder 500, the pair ofclaw portions 564 extend along the respective short sides of the card holder 510 (the outer edge portion 561). Each short side is two of the four sides forming the above-described region (card attaching portion 563).

Acard support portion 565 for supporting the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 510 is provided at an end (first end) of each of the pair ofclaw portions 564 on the opposite side to the side where the rewrite card RC abuts against thecard holder 510. Thereby, the rewrite card RC moved from the second position to the first position is supported by thecard support portion 565. Therefore, the possibility that the rewrite card RC moves beyond the first position can be reduced. In the present embodiment, thecard support portions 565 are provided at both ends of thelower wall 561 b. Therefore, the possibility of falling below the card holder 510 (the-z-axis direction shown in fig. 23) can be reduced.

Further, acutout portion 564a may be formed in an end portion (second end portion) of each of the pair ofclaw portions 564 on the side where the rewrite card RC abuts against thecard holder 510. By providing thenotch portion 564a, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the rewrite card RC interferes with theclaw portion 564 when the rewrite card RC is moved from the front surface of thecard holder 510 to the second position.

The longer the length of thenotch 564a in the extending direction of thepawl 564 is, the closer the second position can be to the first position. That is, the rewrite card RC can be brought into contact with thecard holder 510 at a position close to the first position. Therefore, the amount of movement of theguide sections 152, 153 in the z-axis direction shown in fig. 23 can be reduced. However, as the above-described length of thecutout portion 564a becomes longer, the length of thepawl portion 564 in this direction becomes shorter, and therefore the holding of the rewrite card RC by thepawl portion 564 may become unstable. The above-described length of thecut portion 564a is defined in consideration of this point.Notch portion 564a does not necessarily have to be formed.

[ example of operation of card-handling device ]

23001 to 23004 in fig. 23 show an operation example when the rewrite card RC is attached to thecard holder 510.

In the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 of the present embodiment, the Z-axis motor 173 (see fig. 5) causes the rewrite card RC attracted by the card-receivingattraction portion 151 and bent by theguide portions 152, 153 and the like (bending means) to abut against thecard holder 510 at the second position. Then, the θ -axis motor 174 (see fig. 5) functions as a card moving unit that moves the rewrite card RC from the second position to the first position.

As a premise of the operation example shown in fig. 23, thecard suction unit 151 sucks and holds the rewrite card RC in a state bent by theguide units 152 and 153 (bending mechanism). After the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 removes the rewrite card RC from thecard placing unit 210, thecard suction unit 151 and theguide units 152 and 153 face thecard holder 510 by the rotation of the θ -axis motor 174.

In this state, the θ -axis motor 174 rotates thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 by a predetermined angle to move thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 in the direction of the arrow (upward) shown in 23001 in fig. 23.

As described above, thecard holder 510 is disposed to be inclined with respect to the side of thetray 610. By this rotation, thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 can be moved substantially parallel to thecard holder 510 provided obliquely to the side surface of thetray 610. Further, thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 can be moved so that the rewrite card RC comes into contact with a part of thecard holder 510 at the second position Po12 (a position shifted upward with respect to the card holder 510). The predetermined angle may be a size that allows thecard suction unit 151 and theguide units 152 and 153 to move as described above.

Then, as shown at 23002 in fig. 23, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 in the first direction, thereby moving thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 toward thecard holder 510. Thus, the Z-axis motor 173 causes the rewrite card RC to abut thecard holder 510 at the second position Po12 on the side where thenotch 566 is provided. That is, the Z-axis motor 173 brings the rewrite card RC into contact with thecard holder 510 in a state where a part of the rewrite card RC protrudes from thecard holder 510.

Then, the solenoidvalve control portion 430 turns OFF (OFF) thesolenoid valve 172, whereby the rewrite card RC is released from thecard adsorbing portion 151. In this state, as shown at 23003 in fig. 23, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 in the first direction, thereby further moving thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 toward thecard holder 510. By pushing the rewrite card RC into thecard holder 510, the bent rewrite card RC is restored to the original state, and a part of the rewrite card RC is inserted into the gap formed between thebottom portion 562 and theclaw portion 564.

Then, as shown by 23004 in fig. 23, the Z-axis motor 173 moves thesupport 161 in the second direction to pull thecard suction portion 151 into the card attaching/detachingdevice 150 while keeping theguide portions 152 and 153 in contact with the rewrite card RC. In this state, the θ -axis motor 174 rotates thecard suction unit 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 by a predetermined angle to move thecard suction unit 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 in the direction of the arrow (downward) shown in 23004 in fig. 23. That is, the θ -axis motor 174 moves thecard attraction section 151 and theguide sections 152 and 153 in the direction opposite to the direction of movement in 23001 in fig. 23. Thereby, thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 are moved to positions facing the horizontal direction (y-axis direction).

In thestate 23004 in fig. 23, theguide portions 152 and 153 abut against the rewrite card RC. By moving thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 downward, theguide portions 152 and 153 move the abutting rewrite card RC in the direction of the first position Po11 by a frictional force. Therefore, as shown in 23005 in fig. 23, the rewrite card RC can be mounted at the first position Po11 (card mount 563, i.e., a normal mounting position). The above-described predetermined angle may also be said to be an angle that enables the rewrite card RC to move from the second position Po12 to the first position Po 11.

In this way, the Z-axis motor 173 and the θ -axis motor 174 can mount the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 510 by moving thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153. Therefore, the card attachment/detachment device 150 can attach not only the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500 but also the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 510. That is, the card-loading/unloading device 150 can be commonly used for mounting the rewrite card RC to thecard holder 500 and thecard holder 510 only by changing the operation thereof.

The removal of the rewrite card RC from thecard holder 510 may be performed in the reverse order of the operation order shown in fig. 23, or may be performed in the same manner as in the embodiment. The mounting and removal of the rewrite card RC to and from thecard placing section 210 may be the same as in the first embodiment. However, when thecard placing section 210 has the same shape as thecard holder 510, the operation sequence of fig. 23 or the reverse order may be performed to rewrite the attachment and detachment of the card RC to and from thecard placing section 210.

The card moving unit may be realized by a member different from the Z-axis motor 173. That is, in order to move the rewrite card RC between the first position Po11 and the second position Po12, a mechanism (for example, a lifting mechanism) for moving thecard suction portion 151 and theguide portions 152 and 153 may be provided as the card moving portion.

[ third embodiment ]

In themedicine dispensing system 1A of the third embodiment, as a tray for delivering a medicine, atray 610 or 620 may be used instead of thetray 600. In addition, in thedispensing system 1A, acard holder 510A may be used instead of thecard holder 510.

First, an example of thetrays 610 and 620 and an example of theholder holding member 700 that holds thecard holder 510A and is attached to thetray 610 or 620 will be described.

[ tray ]

Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of thetrays 610 and 620. In fig. 24, 24001 shows a configuration example of thetray 610, and 24002 shows a configuration example of thetray 620.

As 24001 in fig. 24, thetray 610 includes anedge portion 611, a first protrudingportion 612, and a second protrudingportion 613. Thetray 610 is the same component as thetray 610 shown in fig. 21.

Theedge portion 611 is a short side portion among edge portions defining an opening portion of thetray 610, and is a portion that holds therack holding member 700. Theedge portion 611 has a thickness in the vertical direction. The length of theedge portion 611 in the longitudinal direction is denoted by L1.

Thefirst protrusion 612 and thesecond protrusion 613 protrude from theedge portion 611 in the vertical direction, and are portions that restrict movement of therack holding member 700 in the longitudinal direction. Thefirst protrusion 612 and thesecond protrusion 613 are portions connected to both ends of theedge portion 611, respectively, and define corner portions of thetray 610.

As shown in 24002 in fig. 24, thetray 620 includes arim 621, athird protrusion 622, and afourth protrusion 623. The height of thetray 620 is higher than that of thetray 610. In the present embodiment, the height of thetray 620 is defined to be about twice the height of thetray 610. By defining the height of thetray 620 to be an integral multiple of the height of thetray 610, thetray 620 can be stored in atray storage rack 60A (see fig. 28) for storing thetray 610, which will be described later.

Theedge portion 621 is a short side portion among edge portions defining an opening portion of thetray 610, and is a portion that holds theholder holding member 700. Theedge portion 621 has a thickness in the vertical direction. The thickness of theedge portion 611 and theedge portion 621 is substantially the same. The length of theedge 621 in the longitudinal direction is denoted as L2. Length L2 is shorter than length L1.

Thethird protrusion 622 and thefourth protrusion 623 protrude from theedge portion 621 in the vertical direction, and are portions that restrict the movement of thestent holding member 700 in the longitudinal direction. Thethird protrusion 622 and thefourth protrusion 623 are portions connected to both ends of theedge portion 621, respectively, and define corner portions of thetray 620.

[ Stent holding Member ]

Fig. 25 is a diagram showing a state in which theholder holding member 700 is attached to thetray 610. Fig. 25 is afront view 25001 of the state where therack holding member 700 is mounted on thetray 610. In fig. 25, 25002 is a plan view of a state where therack holding member 700 is attached to thetray 610.

Theholder holding member 700 is a member for holding thecard holder 510A. When thetray 610 or 620 is conveyed to the card information changing unit 100 (see fig. 27), theholder holding member 700 holds thecard holder 510A at a position facing the card attaching and detaching device 150 (see fig. 27) of the cardinformation changing unit 100. In other words, theholder holding member 700 holds thecard holder 510A at the following position: that is, the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 510A can be taken out and the taken-out rewrite card RC can be attached to the position of thecard holder 510A.

When theholder holding member 700 is attached to thetray 610 or 620, thecard holder 510A is provided to thetray 610 or 620, similarly to thecard holder 510 of the second embodiment. That is, thecard holder 510A is held by theholder holding member 700 such that: thetray 610 is inclined with respect to the side surface of thetray 610 so as to be separated from the side surface of thetray 610 from the bottom toward the top of thetray 610.

Thecard holder 510A has the same configuration (e.g., size and shape) as thecard holder 510, except that it includes aprojection 571 to be described later. In the present embodiment, theholder holding member 700 and thecard holder 510A are described as separate members, but they may be integrally formed.

Theholder holding member 700 includes: abase 701 for holding thecard holder 510A, and aprojection 702 provided at one end of thebase 701.

Thebase 701 includes atop surface 703, abottom surface 705, and aside surface 704, and theside surface 704 is connected to thetop surface 703 and thebottom surface 705 and holds thecard holder 510A. The cross-sectional shape of thebase 701 is limited to a C-shaped cross section by thetop surface portion 703, theside surface portion 704, and thebottom surface portion 705, and the C-shaped cross section forms an opening that opens in the depth direction of thepaper 25001 in fig. 25. The cross section is a cross section taken on a plane including vertical lines of thetop surface portion 703, theside surface portion 704, and thebottom surface portion 705. The height of the opening of thebase 701 is substantially the same as the thickness of theedge portions 611 and 621. This allows theedge portions 611 and 621 to be fitted to thebase portion 701, and reduces the possibility of thebase portion 701 moving in the vertical direction. Therefore, the possibility that thecard holder 510A moves in the vertical direction can be reduced.

Theprotrusion 702 is provided at one end of thebase 701, and is a portion for adjusting the length of therack holding member 700 in the longitudinal direction. Theprotrusion 702 is provided to be cut by forceps or the like, for example. When the length in the longitudinal direction of thestent holding member 700 including theprotrusion 702 is set to L3, the length L3 is substantially the same as the length L1 in the longitudinal direction of theedge portion 611.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 25, when thebase 701 is attached to theedge portion 611, theprotrusion portion 702 contacts thefirst protrusion portion 612, and the end portion of the base 701 opposite to theprotrusion portion 702 contacts thesecond protrusion portion 613. Therefore, thefirst projection 612 and thesecond projection 613 can reduce the possibility of theholder holding member 700 moving in the longitudinal direction, and therefore, the possibility of thecard holder 510A moving in the longitudinal direction can be reduced.

Fig. 26 is a diagram showing a state in which therack holding member 700 is attached to thetray 620. 26001 in fig. 26 is a front view of a state in which theholder holding member 700 is attached to thetray 620. 26002 in fig. 26 is a plan view of the state where theholder holding member 700 is attached to thetray 620.

As described above, theprotrusion 702 may be cut. As shown in fig. 25 and 26, the length of thestent holder 700 in the longitudinal direction when theprotrusion 702 is cut (i.e., the length L4 of the base 701 in the longitudinal direction) is substantially the same as the length L2 of therim 621 in the longitudinal direction.

Therefore, when attaching theholder holding member 700 to thetray 620, the user cuts the protrudingportion 702. Thus, as shown in fig. 26, when thebase 701 is attached to theedge portion 621, the end portion provided with the protrudingportion 702 is in contact with the third protrudingportion 622, and the end portion of the base 701 opposite to the end portion provided with the protrudingportion 702 is in contact with the fourth protrudingportion 623. Therefore, similarly to the case where theholder holding member 700 is attached to thetray 610, the third protrudingportion 622 and the fourth protrudingportion 623 can reduce the possibility that theholder holding member 700 moves in the longitudinal direction, and therefore, the possibility that thecard holder 510A moves in the longitudinal direction can be reduced.

By providing thebreakable protrusion 702 at one end of theholder holding member 700 in this manner, theholder holding member 700 can be fixed to theedge portion 611 and theedge portion 621, which have different lengths in the longitudinal direction and are the attachment positions of theholder holding member 700, in a pluggable manner.

[ card holder ]

As shown in fig. 25 and 26, aprojection 571 is provided on the bottom surface of theupper wall 561t of thecard holder 510A. Theprojection 571 has the following functions: that is, when the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 510A moves toward theupper wall 561t side, the function of stopping the movement of the rewrite card RC.

As described in the second embodiment using fig. 23, when the rewrite card RC is mounted on thecard holder 510A, the rewrite card RC is inserted from the second position Po12 on theupper wall 561t side to the position (the first position Po 11) of the card mount 563 (see fig. 22) of thecard holder 510A. In order to smoothly insert thecard holder 510A, anotch 566 is provided. However, since thenotch 566 is provided, the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 510A is easily detached from thecard holder 510A. By providing theprojection 571, the rewrite card RC can be made less likely to fall off thecard holder 510A, and the possibility of the rewrite card RC falling off can be reduced.

Theprojection 571 may protrude from the bottom surface of theupper wall 561t to such an extent that the rewrite card RC is not irreversibly deformed when the card attachment/detachment device 150 removes the rewrite card RC.

[ integral constitution of tray issuing device ]

The overall configuration of thetray issuing device 50A of the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 27 is a perspective view of 27001 showing an example of a schematic configuration of thetray issuing device 50A. Themedicine dispensing system 1A of the present embodiment is different from themedicine dispensing system 1 in that: thetray issuing device 50A is provided instead of thetray issuing device 50 of themedicine dispensing system 1 shown in fig. 1. Themedicine dispensing system 1A performs medicine dispensing to thetray 610 or 620 instead of thetray 600 or on the basis of thetray 600. That is, thetray issuing device 50A mainly performs issuing of thetray 610 or 620, but can also perform issuing of thetray 600. Hereinafter, a case where themedicine dispensing system 1A handles thetray 610 will be described as an example thereof.

In thetray issuing device 50 according to the first embodiment, as shown in fig. 11, the cardinformation changing unit 100 is attached to theinsertion port 53 side (i.e., the side to which thetray storage 60 is attached and the near side of the tray issuing device 50). In thetray issuing device 50A of the present embodiment, as shown in 27001 in fig. 27, the cardinformation changing unit 100 is attached to the side opposite to the insertion port 53 (i.e., the inside of thetray issuing device 50A) with thetray conveying mechanism 80 interposed therebetween.

As shown in fig. 28, thetray storage rack 60A according to the present embodiment is provided with a plurality of storage positions for storingtrays 610. Fig. 28 is a front view of an example of thetray storage rack 60A at 28001, and a side view of thetray storage rack 60A at 28002.

In thetray storage rack 60A, the shape of each storage position is defined according to the shape (particularly, height) of thetrays 610 and 620. Thetray 610 is stored in each of the plurality of storage positions. As described above, the height of thetray 620 is specified to be about twice the height of thetray 610. Therefore, thetray storage rack 60A can store onetray 620 at two storage positions in the height direction (z-axis direction).

Thetray storage rack 60 according to the first embodiment can insert or remove thetray 600 at both sides of each storage position. That is, thetray storage rack 60 is provided with two openings through which thetray 600 can be inserted or removed, and in fig. 14, thetray 600 may be inserted or removed from the near side toward the paper surface side, or from the inside toward the paper surface side. On the other hand, as shown in fig. 28, unlike thetray storage rack 60, thetray storage rack 60A has only oneopening 61A through which thetray 610 can be inserted or removed. That is, thetray storage rack 60A is provided with aback wall 63A connected to theside wall 62A.

In order for the user to visually confirm thecard holder 510A in a state where thetray 610 is held in thetray holding rack 60A, thetray 610 is required to be held in thetray holding rack 60A so that thecard holder 510A faces theopening 61A side. Therefore, thetray 610 is required to be conveyed from thetray issuing device 50A to thetray storage 60A so that thecard holder 510A faces thetray issuing device 50A side (i.e., faces the inside of thetray issuing device 50A). In order to meet this requirement, in thetray issuing device 50A, a cardinformation changing unit 100 for changing display information of the rewriting card RC mounted in thecard holder 510A is provided inside thetray issuing device 50A.

As shown at 27002 in fig. 27, as thetray conveying mechanism 80, a firsttray conveying mechanism 80A, a secondtray conveying mechanism 80B, and a thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C are provided at the bottom of thetray issuing device 50A. Fig. 27 is atop view 27002 schematically showing an example of the bottom of thetray issuing device 50A. The firsttray conveying mechanism 80A, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B, and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C are respectively disposed at the first stop position Po21, the second stop position Po22, and the third stop position Po23, respectively.

Thetray 610 is conveyed toward thetray issuing device 50A from the direction of the arrow in the figure. That is, the first stop position Po21 is a position at which thetray 610 stops at the injection sheet printing apparatus 40 (refer to fig. 1) on the upstream side adjacent to thetray issuing apparatus 50A. The second stop position Po22 is a position at which thetray 610 conveyed from the first stop position Po21 stops, and is a position facing the card-attaching/detachingdevice 150 of the cardinformation changing unit 100. The insertion and removal of the rewrite card RC by the card-handlingapparatus 150 is performed at the secondstop position Po 22. The third stop position Po23 is a position at which thetray 610 conveyed from the second stop position Po22 is stopped. Theelevator 300 conveys thetray 610 conveyed to the third stop position Po23 to thetray storage rack 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53.

The firsttray conveying mechanism 80A, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B, and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C are independently controlled by the control device 400 (see fig. 4). Thecontrol device 400 may be a device that controls not only thetray issuing device 50A but also each device or mechanism constituting themedicine dispensing system 1A.

In addition, arotating mechanism 54 for changing the orientation of thetray 610 is provided at the bottom of thetray issuing device 50A. As therotation mechanism 54, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A is provided at the first stop position Po21, and thesecond rotation mechanism 54B is provided at the third stop position Po 23. Thecontrol device 400 controls thefirst rotation mechanism 54A and thesecond rotation mechanism 54B independently. When thetray 610 is rotated, therotation mechanism 54 lifts thetray 610 and rotates the tray so that thetray 610 does not collide with thetray conveying mechanism 80.

Thetray 610 is conveyed from a short side of the tray 610 (specifically, the side on which thecard holder 510A is mounted) toward thetray issuing device 50A. Thecontroller 400 controls thefirst rotation mechanism 54A to change the orientation of thetray 610 stopped at the first stop position Po21 so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100 at the secondstop position Po 22.

Thelifting device 300 conveys thetray 610 to thetray storage rack 60A so that thecard holder 510A is on theopening 61A side when thetray 610 is stored in thetray storage rack 60A. Therefore, theelevator 300 conveys thetray 610 from the third stop position Po23 to thetray storage rack 60A while maintaining the orientation of thetray 610 changed at the first stop position Po 21. That is, thelifting device 300 conveys thetray 610 from the third stop position Po23 to thetray storage rack 60A without changing the orientation of thetray 610 at the third stop position Po 23.

However, for example, when thetray 600 is conveyed to thetray storage rack 60, thelifting device 300 may convey thetray 600 such that thecard holder 500 faces the front side of thetray issuing device 50A (the near side of thetray issuing device 50A, the + y-axis direction shown in fig. 27). In this case, the user can confirm the display information of the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 500 in a state where thetray storage rack 60 is inserted into theinsertion port 53.

In this manner, when thelifting device 300 conveys thetray 600 so that thecard holder 500 faces the front side of thetray issuing device 50A, thecontrol device 400 changes the orientation of thetray 600 by 180 degrees by rotating the secondrotating mechanism 54B. That is, thesecond rotation mechanism 54B changes the orientation of thetray 600 after the display information of the rewrite card RC is changed at the second stop position Po22 so that the card holder 500 (i.e., the rewrite card RC) faces the front of thetray issuing device 50A.

In addition, when thecard holder 510A is used for ejecting thetray 610 in a state of facing the front of thetray ejecting apparatus 50A, thecontrol apparatus 400 may drive the secondrotating mechanism 54B as described above.

In addition, thepallet 610 is conveyed from the third stop position Po23 to thepallet holder 60A, but may be conveyed from the first stop position Po21 or the second stop position Po22 to thepallet holder 60A. However, when thetray 610 is conveyed from the first stop position Po21 to thetray storage rack 60A, thetray conveying mechanism 80 conveys (returns) thetray 610 from the second stop position Po22 to the first stop position Po 21. Therefore, thetray conveying mechanism 80 cannot convey thesubsequent tray 610 to the first stop position Po21 until the conveyance of thetray 610 to thetray storage rack 60A is completed. When thetray 610 is conveyed from the second stop position Po22 to thetray storage rack 60A, thetray conveying mechanism 80 cannot convey thenext tray 610 to the second stop position Po22 until the conveyance of thetray 610 to thetray storage rack 60A is completed. In consideration of this, it is preferable to convey thetray 610 from the third stop position Po23 to thetray storage rack 60A.

Thetray conveying mechanism 80 and therotating mechanism 54 provided at the bottom of thetray issuing device 50A may be provided in thetray issuing device 50 in the same manner. However, in thetray issuing device 50, the cardinformation changing unit 100 is provided on the front side of thetray issuing device 50. Therefore, thecontrol device 400 controls the firstrotating mechanism 54A to rotate thetray 600 so that thecard holder 500 faces the near side of thetray issuing device 50.

[ Pallet conveyance and pallet storage control ]

Thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys the plurality oftrays 610 in any one of the following manners (1) to (4), for example, while viewing thetray storage rack 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53 from thetray issuing device 50A side. In the first embodiment, thepallet 600 may be similarly conveyed to thepallet storage rack 60. The transport mode of thetray 610 is set according to convenience of each user.

(1) Thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the uppermost layer of the rightmost row to the lowermost layer, and then sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the uppermost layer of the adjacent row (the center row in the example of fig. 28) to the lowermost layer. Then, thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys thetray 610 from the uppermost layer of the leftmost column to the lowermost layer.

(2) Thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the uppermost layer of the leftmost column to the lowermost layer, and then sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the uppermost layer of the central column to the lowermost layer. Then, thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys thetray 610 from the uppermost layer of the rightmost row to the lowermost layer.

(3) Thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the rightmost row of the uppermost layer to the leftmost row, and then sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the rightmost row of the adjacent lower layer to the leftmost row. Thelifting device 300 repeats the conveying action and sequentially conveys thetrays 610 to the lowermost layer.

(4) Theelevator 300 sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the leftmost column of the uppermost layer to the rightmost column, and then sequentially conveys thetrays 610 from the leftmost column of the adjacent lower layer to the rightmost column. Thelifting device 300 repeats the conveying action and sequentially conveys thetrays 610 to the lowermost layer.

In the present embodiment, the case where thetray 610 is conveyed to thetray storage rack 60A in the above-described (3) will be described.

Here, when thetray storage rack 60A is attached to thetray issuing device 50A, the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A is closer to the bottom of thetray issuing device 50A (the tray conveying mechanism 80) than when thetray storage rack 60 is attached to thetray issuing device 50A. That is, the lowermost layer of thepallet holder 60A is located at a lower position than the lowermost layer of thepallet holder 60. When thetray 610 is conveyed to a certain storage position at the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A, a case where thetray 610 is placed on thetray conveying mechanism 80 facing the storage position is considered. In this case, the following may occur: thetray 610 to be conveyed collides with thetray 610 placed on thetray conveying mechanism 80, and thetray 610 to be conveyed cannot be stored at the storage position.

In the present embodiment, when thetray 610 is conveyed to the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A, thecontrol device 400 controls the conveyance of thetray 610 so that thetray 610 is not placed at a position on the bottom of thetray issuing device 50A which is opposite to the storage position where thetray 610 is conveyed. Thecontrol device 400 controls the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A to the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C, the tray conveying mechanism 80 (hereinafter referred to as "fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D" for convenience) provided in the injectionsheet printing apparatus 40, and the elevatingdevice 300, thereby realizing the above-described conveying process. Thus, even when thepallet storage rack 60A is used, thepallets 610 can be conveyed to thepallet storage rack 60A safely without collision between thepallets 610. In addition, no additional device is required for safe transportation.

Fig. 29 is a diagram showing an example of the conveyance of thetray 610 when thetray 610 is conveyed to a storage position other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A (normal conveyance). Fig. 30 is a diagram showing an example of the conveyance of thetray 610 when thetray 610 is conveyed to the storage position (third position of the lowermost layer) facing the third stop position Po23 in the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A. In fig. 31, 31001 is a view showing an example of the conveyance of thetray 610 when thetray 610 is conveyed to the storage position (the second position of the lowermost layer) facing the second stop position Po22 in the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A. In fig. 31, 31002 is a view showing an example of the conveyance of thetray 610 when thetray 610 is conveyed to the storage position (the first position of the lowermost layer) facing the first stop position Po21 in the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A.

In the drawings, for convenience, thetrays 610 are shown astrays 610A to 610D andtrays 610P to 610V in order to distinguish thetrays 610 sequentially conveyed by thetray conveying mechanism 80. As a representative example of fig. 29 to 31, S11 in fig. 29 shows cardinformation changing section 100. Refer to 27002 in fig. 27 for the first to thirdtray conveying mechanisms 80A to 80C, the firstrotating mechanism 54A, and the secondrotating mechanism 54B.

(tray transport processing in Normal transport)

A tray transfer process when thetray 610B is transferred to a storage position other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A after thetray 610A will be described with reference to fig. 29.

As shown in fig. 29, the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D and the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A convey thetray 610A from the injectionsheet printing apparatus 40 to the first stop position Po21 (S11). Then, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610A so that thecard holder 510A faces the card information changing unit 100 (S12).

Thereafter, the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B convey thetray 610A from the first stop position Po21 to the second stop position Po22 (S13). At this time, the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D and the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A convey thetray 610B from the injectionsheet printing apparatus 40 to the first stop position Po 21.

Then, at the second stop position Po22, the cardinformation changing unit 100 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC mounted on thecard holder 510A of thetray 610A (S14). At this time, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610B so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100.

Thereafter, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C convey thetray 610A from the second stop position Po22 to the third stop position Po23 (S15). At this time, the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B convey thetray 610B from the first stop position Po21 to the secondstop position Po 22. Further, the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D and the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A convey thetray 610C from the injectionsheet printing apparatus 40 to the first stop position Po 21.

Then, thelifting device 300 starts to transport thetray 610A from the third stop position Po23 to a storage position other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A (S16). At this time, at the second stop position Po22, the cardinformation changing unit 100 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC mounted on thecard holder 510A of thetray 610B. Further, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610C so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100.

Thereafter, while thelifting device 300 stores thetray 610A in the storage position other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C convey thetray 610B from the second stop position Po22 to the third stop position Po23 (S17). The term "storage period" means: theelevator 300 is in a period from the start of the conveyance of thetray 610 to thetray storage 60A to the storage position of thetray 610. At this time, the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B convey thetray 610C from the first stop position Po21 to the secondstop position Po 22. In addition, the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D and the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A convey thetray 610D from the injectionsheet printing apparatus 40 to the first stop position Po 21.

Then, thelifting device 300 starts to transport thetray 610B from the third stop position Po23 to a storage position other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A (S18). At this time, at the second stop position Po22, the cardinformation changing unit 100 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC mounted on thecard holder 510A of thetray 610C. Further, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610D so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100.

By repeating this process, thelifting device 300 sequentially conveys thetrays 610 conveyed to the third stop position Po23 by thetray conveying mechanism 80 to the storage positions other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage 60A.

(tray transfer processing when storing in the third position of the lowest layer)

A tray conveying process when thetray 610S is conveyed to the lowermost third position of thetray storage rack 60A facing the third stop position Po23 will be described with reference to fig. 30. The processes (S21 to S25) untiltrays 610P, 610Q, and 610R are conveyed from third stop position Po23 to storage positions other than the lowermost layer oftray storage rack 60A are realized by repeating the processes of S16 to S18 shown in fig. 29.

At S26, while thelifting device 300 is storing thetray 610R in the storage position other than the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C convey thetray 610S from the second stop position Po22 to the third stop position Po 23. At this time, the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B convey thetray 610T from the first stop position Po21 to the secondstop position Po 22. In addition, the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D and the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A convey thetray 610U from the injectionsheet printing apparatus 40 to the first stop position Po 21.

Then, theelevator 300 starts to convey thetray 610S from the third stop position Po23 to the lowermost third position of thetray storage rack 60A (S27). At this time, at the second stop position Po22, the cardinformation changing unit 100 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC mounted on thecard holder 510A of thetray 610T. Further, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610U so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100.

Thereafter, while thelifting device 300 stores thetray 610S in the lowermost third position of thetray storage rack 60A, the first to fourthtray conveying mechanisms 80A to 80D are not driven, and thetray 610T, thetray 610U, and thetray 610V are stopped (S28). Thus, thelifting device 300 can transport and store thetray 610S at the third position of the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A so that thetray 610S does not collide with thetray 610T at the third stop position Po 23.

(tray transfer processing when storing in the second position of the lowest layer)

A tray conveying process when thetray 610S is conveyed to the lowermost second position of thetray storage rack 60A facing the second stop position Po22 will be described with reference to 31001 of fig. 31.

After the process of S26 of fig. 30, thelifting device 300 lifts thetray 610S at the third stop position Po23 (S31). Thelifting device 300 lifts thetray 610S to a height (safe position) at which thetray 610T placed at the second stop position Po22 does not collide with thetray 610S. At this time, at the second stop position Po22, the cardinformation changing unit 100 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 510A of thetray 610T. Further, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610U so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100.

Then, thelifting device 300 conveys the liftedtray 610S from the third stop position Po23 to the second stop position Po22 (S32). However, thelifting device 300 does not place thetray 610S at the second stop position Po22 while maintaining the state where thetray 610S is lifted. At this time, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C convey thetray 610T from the second stop position Po22 to the third stop position Po 23. During this conveyance, the firsttray conveyance mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveyance mechanism 80B are not driven, and thetray 610U is stopped.

Thereafter, theelevator 300 starts to convey thetray 610S from the second stop position Po22 to the lowermost second position of thetray storage rack 60A (S33). During storage of thetray 610S, the first to fourthtray conveyance mechanisms 80A to 80D are not driven, and thetray 610T, thetray 610U, and thetray 610V are stopped (S34).

When thetray 610S is thus conveyed to the second stop position Po22, thelift device 300 moves thetray 610T from the second stop position Po22, and the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B stop thetray 610U. Therefore, when thetray 610S is transported and stored from the second stop position Po22 to the lowermost second position of thetray storage rack 60A, it is possible to form: a state where thetray 610 stopped at the second stop position Po22 does not exist. Therefore, thelifting device 300 can transport and store thetray 610S in the lowermost second position of thetray storage rack 60A so that thetray 610S does not collide with thenext tray 610T andtray 610U.

(tray transfer processing when storing in the first position of the lowermost layer)

A tray conveying process when thetray 610S is conveyed to the lowermost first position of thetray storage rack 60A facing the second stop position Po22 will be described with reference to 31002 of fig. 31.

After the process of S26 of fig. 30, thelifter 300 lifts thetray 610S at the third stop position Po23 (S41), as in S31 of fig. 31. At this time, at the second stop position Po22, the cardinformation changing unit 100 changes the display information of the rewrite card RC mounted on thecard holder 510A of thetray 610T. Further, at the first stop position Po21, thefirst rotation mechanism 54A changes the orientation of thetray 610U so that thecard holder 510A faces the cardinformation changing unit 100.

Then, thelifting device 300 conveys the liftedtray 610S from the third stop position Po23 to the first stop position Po21 (S42). However, thelifting device 300 does not place thetray 610S at the first stop position Po21 while maintaining the state where thetray 610S is lifted. At this time, the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B and the thirdtray conveying mechanism 80C convey thetray 610T from the second stop position Po22 to the third stop position Po 23. Further, the firsttray conveying mechanism 80A and the secondtray conveying mechanism 80B convey thetray 610U from the first stop position Po21 to the secondstop position Po 22. The fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D is not driven, and stops thetray 610V.

Thereafter, theelevator 300 starts to convey thetray 610S from the second stop position Po22 to the lowermost first position of thetray storage rack 60A (S43). During storage of thetray 610S, the first to fourthtray conveyance mechanisms 80A to 80D are not driven, and thetray 610T, thetray 610U, and thetray 610V are stopped (S44).

In this manner, when thetray 610S is conveyed to the first stop position Po21, thelifting device 300 moves thetray 610T from the second stop position Po22, and moves thetray 610U from the first stop position Po 21. Further, the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D stops thetray 610V. Therefore, when thetray 610S is transported and stored from the first stop position Po21 to the lowermost first position of thetray storage rack 60A, it is possible to form: a state where thetray 610 stopped at the first stop position Po21 does not exist. Therefore, thelifting device 300 can transport and store thetray 610S in the first position of the lowermost layer of thetray storage 60A so that thetray 610S does not collide with thetray 610T, thetray 610U, and thetray 610V that follow.

(other treatment)

Further, thecontrol device 400 may be configured to: when themedicine dispensing system 1A is operated (at least when thetray 610 starts to be conveyed to thetray storage rack 60A), it is determined whether or not thetray 610 is stored in each storage position of the lower two levels of thetray storage rack 60A.

The firsttray conveying mechanism 80A to the fourth tray conveying mechanism 80D convey thetray 610 toward the first stop position Po21 to the third stop position Po23, but do not convey in the opposite direction. Therefore, when thetray 610 is completely stopped at the first to third stop positions Po21 to Po23, the first to fourthtray conveying mechanisms 80A to 80D cannot empty any of the first to third stop positions Po21 to Po 23. Therefore, when only the lowermost layer of thetray storage rack 60A is empty and thetrays 610 are all stopped at the first to third stop positions Po21 to Po23, thetrays 610 collide with each other when the process of conveying thetrays 610 to thetray storage rack 60A is performed.

By executing the determination processing described above, thecontrol device 400 can execute the above-described conveyance processing to the lowermost layer when none of the storage positions of thetray storage rack 60A from the second tier from the bottom is empty, and when the lowermost layer is empty. Therefore, the possibility of thetrays 610 colliding with each other can be reduced.

[ locking mechanism ]

Fig. 32 is a perspective view showing an example of thelock mechanism 58. Fig. 33 is a diagram showing an operation example of thelock mechanism 58.

As shown in 27001 in fig. 27 and 32001 in fig. 32, thetray issuing device 50A is provided with alock mechanism 58. Thelock mechanism 58 is a fixing member that temporarily fixes thetray storage rack 60A to thetray issuing device 50A when thetray storage rack 60A is inserted into theinsertion port 53. As shown by 27001 in fig. 27, alock mechanism 58 is provided on a part of a portion of theframe body 51 of thetray issuing device 50A that defines theinsertion port 53. Thelock mechanisms 58 are provided in theframe body 51 at positions opposed to the twoside walls 62A of thetray storage rack 60A, respectively.

The pallet sending-outdevice 50 according to the first embodiment is provided with a magnet as a fixing member for temporarily fixing thepallet storage rack 60. Since the frame constituting thepallet storage rack 60 is made of iron, thepallet storage rack 60 is fixed to thepallet issuing device 50 by a magnet. On the other hand, since the frame constituting thetray holding rack 60A is made of aluminum, thetray holding rack 60A is not fixed to thetray issuing device 50A by a magnet. Therefore, the pallet sending-outdevice 50A is provided with alock mechanism 58 that mechanically fixes thepallet storage rack 60A.

As shown in 32002 in fig. 32, thelock mechanism 58 includes alock member 581, acard detection section 582, aroller 583, and adriving section 584.

The two lockingmembers 581 provided at opposite positions in theframe 51 hold thetray holder 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53 from both sides, thereby fixing thetray holder 60A. Thelock member 581 is movable in a direction perpendicular to the side wall 585 (in the direction of thearrow 33001 in fig. 33) by the driving of the drivingportion 584. The amount of protrusion of the lockingmember 581 from theside wall 585 is changed by the driving of the drivingportion 584.

Thecard detecting section 582 detects thetray holder 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53 and arranged at a position where thetray issuing device 50A can convey thetray 610. In other words, thecard detection section 582 detects thetray holder 60A arranged at a position held by the tworollers 583.

In a state where thecard detecting section 582 does not detect thetray holding rack 60A (a state where thetray holding rack 60A is not inserted into the insertion port 53), as shown by 33001 in fig. 33, thelock member 581 is stopped at a minimum protruding position where the protruding amount is minimum.

When thecard detection section 582 detects thetray holding rack 60A, as shown by 33002 in fig. 33, thedriving section 584 moves thelock member 581 from the minimum projection position toward the maximum projection position (in the arrow direction) where the projection amount becomes maximum, and stops it at the maximum projection position. At the maximum projecting position, the lockingmember 581 presses theside wall 62A of thetray holder 60A. The two lockingmembers 581 press theside walls 62A of thetray holder 60A, respectively, thereby sandwiching and fixing thetray holder 60A. Thus, while thetray 610 is being conveyed to thetray storage rack 60A, thetray storage rack 60A can be fixed to thetray issuing device 50A.

When the transfer of thetray 610 to thetray storage rack 60A is completed, thecontrol device 400 displays a rack replacement message (described later) on the touch panel 70 (see fig. 1), and releases the fixation (locking) by thelock member 581. That is, at this time, the drivingportion 584 moves thelock member 581 from the maximum projecting position to the minimum projecting position.

Theroller 583 contacts thetray storage rack 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53, and rotates in accordance with the insertion and removal of thetray storage rack 60A into and from theinsertion port 53. The tworollers 583 provided at opposite positions in theframe 51 hold thetray holder 60A by sandwiching thetray holder 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53 from both sides.

To achieve this grip, theroller 583 is connected to a force applying member (e.g., a spring). The connection relationship between theroller 583 and the urging member is the same as that between theroller 593 and the urgingmember 591 in fig. 35. When thetray holder 60A is inserted into theinsertion port 53, theroller 583 presses theside wall 62A of thetray holder 60A by the urging force of the urging member. That is, the tworollers 583 are urged by the urging member and function as card holding portions that press and hold theside walls 62A of thetray storage rack 60A.

Theroller 583 assists the fixing of the lockingmember 581 to thetray holder 60A. Theroller 583 holds thetray holder 60A until thetray holder 60A inserted into theinsertion port 53 is fixed by the lockingmember 581. This can reduce the possibility that thetray storage rack 60A starts moving due to the floor inclination or the like. Therefore, after thetray storage rack 60A is inserted into theinsertion port 53, the user can release his/her hands from thetray storage rack 60A without waiting for the lockingmember 581 to fix the tray storage rack. Theroller 583 holds thetray storage rack 60A until the user moves thetray storage rack 60A after the fixing of thelock member 581 is released. This can reduce the possibility that thetray storage rack 60A starts moving due to the floor inclination or the like. Therefore, the user does not need to hold thetray storage rack 60A until or shortly after thelock member 581 is released from being fixed.

< modification example >

Fig. 34 is a diagram showing an example of alock mechanism 58A as a modification of thelock mechanism 58. In fig. 34, 34001 is a perspective view of thelock mechanism 58A, and 34002 is a front view of thelock mechanism 58A. Fig. 35 is a plan view showing the internal structure of thelock mechanism 58A. At 35001 in fig. 35, the operation of thelocking mechanism 58A when thetray holder 60A is inserted into theinsertion port 53 is explained. At 35002 in fig. 35, the operation of thelocking mechanism 58A when thetray storage rack 60A is pulled out from theinsertion port 53 is explained.

As shown in fig. 34, thelock mechanism 58A includes acard detection section 582 androllers 593. Thelock mechanism 58A differs from thelock mechanism 58 in that: thelock mechanism 58A is not provided with thelock member 581, and is provided with aroller 593 instead of theroller 583. In thelock mechanism 58A, theroller 593 realizes the function of thelock member 581.

As shown in fig. 35, thelock mechanism 58A includes an urgingmember 591, aratchet mechanism 592, aroller 593, a drivingportion 594, and ashaft portion 595.

The urgingmember 591 is connected to theroller 593, and applies an urging force to theroller 593 so that theroller 593 can press thetray holder 60A in accordance with the pulling and inserting of thetray holder 60A in theinsertion port 53 as described above. As shown at 35001 in fig. 35, when thetray holder 60A is inserted into theinsertion port 53, therollers 593 press theside wall 62A of thetray holder 60A by the urging force of the urgingmember 591.

Ratchet mechanism 592 is coupled toroller 593 and limits the direction of rotation ofroller 593 to one direction. Theratchet mechanism 592 includes agear 592A and apawl 592B.Gear 592A is disposed on the rotational axis ofroller 593. The direction of rotation ofgear 592A is limited to one direction bypawl 592B.

Thedriver 594 rotates thepawl 592B about theshaft portion 595. This enables switching between the following two states: namely, a state in which pawl 592B is hooked ongear 592A to causeratchet mechanism 592 to function, and a state in which pawl 592B is disengaged fromgear 592A to causeratchet mechanism 592 to function.

As shown at 35001 in fig. 35, when thetray holder 60A is inserted into theinsertion opening 53, thedrive portion 594 disengages thepawl 592B from thegear 592A to disable theratchet mechanism 592. In this case, theroller 593 is rotatable similarly to theroller 583. Therefore, the user can smoothly insert thetray storage rack 60A into theinsertion port 53. After being inserted into theinsertion opening 53, theside wall 62A of thetray holder 60A is pressed by theroller 593, whereby thetray holder 60A can be kept from moving.

When thecard detecting section 582 detects thetray holder 60A, as shown at 35002 in fig. 35, thedriving section 594 hooks thepawl 592B to thegear 592A to operate theratchet mechanism 592. Thereby, the rotation direction of theroller 593 is limited to one direction (the insertion direction of thetray storage rack 60A). Therefore, while thetray 610 is being conveyed to thetray storage rack 60A, thetray storage rack 60A can be reduced from moving in the opposite direction and falling off from theinsertion port 53.

When the conveyance of thetray 610 to thetray storage rack 60A is completed, thecontrol device 400 displays a rack replacement message (described later) on thetouch panel 70, and disengages theratchet mechanism 592 by disengaging thepawl 592B from thegear 592A. Thereby, theroller 593 can rotate freely. Therefore, the user can smoothly pull out thetray storage rack 60A from theinsertion port 53. Further, the release of the function of theratchet mechanism 592 can be performed by receiving a user input.

In addition, when the user pulls out thetray storage holder 60A from theinsertion port 53 with a force of a certain degree or more while theratchet mechanism 592 is functioning, the function of theratchet mechanism 592 can be deactivated. That is, in this case, even if theratchet mechanism 592 is activated, thetray storage rack 60A can be pulled out from theinsertion port 53. This function is effective, for example, when abnormal.

[ control in case of error ]

For example, when an error occurs in thetray issuing device 50A, thecontrol device 400 stops driving thetray conveying mechanism 80, the cardinformation changing unit 100, and the elevatingdevice 300. In addition, thecontrol device 400 notifies the user of the occurrence of an error via thetouch panel 70. The user receives the notification and confirms the inside of thetray issuing device 50A.

For example, when thetray 610 is jammed by the rotation of thetray 610 at the third stop position Po23, the user takes out thetray 610 and places it on thetray conveying mechanism 80 again. At this time, the user may change the orientation of thetray 610 and place it. When thetray 610 is placed at the third stop position Po23 with the orientation of thetray 610 changed, thelifting device 300 cannot be placed at the destination of conveyance of the tray 610 (for example, thetray storage 60A) so that the orientation of thecard holder 510A faces a predetermined direction. In addition, thelifting device 300 may not be able to hold thetray 610.

In the present embodiment, as shown in 27002 of fig. 27, a firsttray detecting portion 55 is provided in a bottom portion of thetray issuing device 50A at a position defining a third stop position Po23 on a side wall of the conveyance path of thetray 610. The firsttray detecting portion 55 is provided on a side wall on the side where the cardinformation changing unit 100 is provided. The firsttray detecting section 55 detects the rewrite card RC attached to thecard holder 510A when thetray 610 is placed at the third stop position Po 23.

That is, when thecard holder 510A is not oriented toward the cardinformation changing unit 100, the firsttray detecting unit 55 cannot detect the rewrite card RC. Therefore, by providing the firsttray detecting unit 55, thecontrol device 400 can determine whether the orientation of thetray 610 is appropriate. Therefore, when the user has relocated thetray 610 to the third stop position Po23 and thecard holder 510A is not facing the cardinformation changing unit 100, thecontrol device 400 can notify the user to relocate thetray 610.

In the present embodiment, when the user takes out thetray 610 and places it on thetray conveying mechanism 80 again, thetray conveying mechanism 80 moves thetray 610 from the third stop position Po23 to the side opposite to the second stop position Po22 by a predetermined distance (for example, several centimeters or so). Then, thetray conveying mechanism 80 performs the process of returning to the third stop position Po 23. By executing this processing, thecontrol device 400 can determine whether or not thetray 610 is placed at the third stop position Po23 substantially in parallel with the side wall and thetray conveying mechanism 80. The state where thetray 610 is placed substantially parallel to the side wall and thetray conveying mechanism 80 is a state where thetray 610 is properly placed.

In order to execute this determination processing, as shown by 27002 in fig. 27, a secondtray detecting portion 56 is provided at a position of the third stop position Po23 of the side wall. The secondtray detecting portion 56 is provided with: thetray 610 can be detected at the third stop position Po23, but the position of thetray 610 cannot be detected in a state where thetray 610 is moved by a predetermined distance.

When thetray 610 is properly placed, thetray 610 moves along the side wall when thetray transport mechanism 80 moves thetray 610 placed at the third stop position Po23 by a predetermined distance. In this case, the secondtray detecting unit 56 cannot detect thetray 610. Therefore, when the secondtray detecting unit 56 becomes unable to detect thetray 610, thecontrol device 400 can determine that thetray 610 is properly placed.

On the other hand, when thetray 610 is not properly placed, even if thetray transport mechanism 80 moves thetray 610 placed at the third stop position Po23 by a predetermined distance, thetray 610 is stopped in a state where a part of thetray 610 is caught by the side wall and is inclined. In this case, the secondtray detecting unit 56 continues to detect thetray 610. Therefore, when the secondtray detecting unit 56 continues to detect thetray 610 after moving the predetermined distance, thecontrol device 400 may determine that thetray 610 is not properly placed.

The card information changing unit 100 (e.g., the top surface of the card attaching/detaching device 150) is provided with a light emitting device (not shown). When an error occurs, thecontrol device 400 stops the driving of the cardinformation changing unit 100 and turns on the light emitting device. This allows the user to recognize that the cardinformation changing unit 100 is in a safe state even if touched.

Further, anobject detection unit 57 is provided above theinsertion port 53. In a state where thetray holder 60A is inserted into theinsertion port 53, theobject detection unit 57 detects thetray 610 which has jumped out of theopening 61A of thetray holder 60A. This reduces the possibility that thetray 610 being conveyed to thetray storage rack 60A collides with thetray 610 that has jumped out from theopening 61A.

When an error occurs, theobject detection unit 57 functions as a sensor for detecting the entry of an object into thetray issuing device 50A from theinsertion port 53. When an error occurs, each part of thetray issuing device 50A stops, and therefore, even if the user enters the inside of thetray issuing device 50A, the safety of the user can be ensured. However, when the error is released, the respective units included in thetray issuing device 50A start driving. At this time, when the driving is directly started in a state where the user enters the inside of thetray issuing device 50A, the user is put in danger.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, when theobject detection unit 57 detects the entry of the object during the error occurrence period, thecontrol device 400 does not drive each unit included in thetray issuing device 50A. Therefore, the safety of the user can be ensured.

Further, the traysound emission device 50A may be provided with a sound output device, and thecontrol device 400 may cause the sound output device to output sound when an error occurs or when the error is cancelled.

[ Rack Change Notification control ]

The following time may be mentioned as the time when thecontrol device 400 displays the rack replacement message. The storage rack replacement message is: a message for reminding the user to replace thetray holder 60A to be inserted into theinsertion port 53.

(1) The ward where thenext pallet 610 issued is to be carried is different from the ward where thepallet 610 issued before that is carried. However, when thetemporary pallet 610 is issued by being plugged in during the issuance of thepallet 610 based on the prescription data, the rack replacement message is not displayed.

(2) When thepallet holder 60A is full.

In the present embodiment, when thelifting device 300 stores all thetrays 610 to be transported to a plurality of wards in onetray storage 60A, the touchpanel control unit 470 may not display the storage rack replacement message on thetouch panel 70.

When the rack replacement message is displayed, thelifting device 300 stops the conveyance of thetray 610 toward thetray rack 60A. Thelifting device 300 does not perform the re-issuing operation of thetray 610 as long as the user does not perform the user input for issuing thetray 610 to thetray storage rack 60A on thetouch panel 70. Even when the wards to which thetrays 610 are transported are different, when thetrays 610 are stored in onetray storage 60A, thetray storage 60A does not need to be replaced. Therefore, as described above, by not displaying the rack replacement message in this case, thelifting device 300 can continue the conveyance of thetray 610 without stopping the conveyance. Therefore, the processing time for the conveyance can be shortened.

On the other hand, consider the following case: that is, it is determined that thelifting device 300 cannot store all thetrays 610 to be transported to the B-ward in thetray storage rack 60A in which thetrays 610 to be transported to the a-ward are to be stored, for example. In this case, when all thetrays 610 to be transported to the a-ward are stored in thetray storage 60A, thecontrol device 400 displays a storage replacement message on thetouch panel 70. Thus, the user can insert anothertray storage rack 60A for storing thetray 610 to be transported to the B-ward into theinsertion port 53. Further, the possibility that thetray 610 to be transported to the B ward is stored in thedifferent tray storage 60A can be reduced.

In addition, the number oftrays 610 to be carried to each ward is calculated based on prescription data. Therefore, thelifting device 300 can determine whether or not thetrays 610 to be transported to a plurality of wards can be stored in onetray storage 60A. The number oftrays 610 may be calculated by thecontrol apparatus 400 or a higher-level system of thecontrol apparatus 400, for example.

[ tray supply device ]

As shown in fig. 1, thetray supply device 10 holds trays 610 (trays 600 in fig. 1) in a stacked state. Thetray supply device 10 places only thelowermost tray 610 on the tray conveying mechanism 80 (see fig. 27) that conveys thetray 610 to each device. When thetray conveying mechanism 80 conveys thetrays 610 to thelabel printing apparatus 20, thetray supply apparatus 10 places thetray 610 at the lowermost layer among thetrays 610 stacked and held on thetray conveying mechanism 80.

When thetray 600 of the first embodiment is used, it is required that all thetrays 600 are stacked so that the surfaces of thetrays 600 on which thecard holders 500 are provided face in the same direction. When thetrays 600 are stacked such that the surfaces face in the same direction, as shown in fig. 1, thetrays 600 can be stably stacked such that the opening surfaces (top surfaces for storing or taking out the medicines) of thetrays 600 are substantially parallel. In other words, thetrays 600 cannot be stably stacked unless the surfaces are stacked so as to face in the same direction.

All thetrays 600 are arranged on thetray supply device 10 in a state of being stacked with the above-described surface facing thelabel printing device 20 side. However, in order for thecontrol device 400 to determine whether or not thetray 600 is disposed in this state, a holder detection unit (not shown) is provided in thetray supply device 10 at a position facing thecard holder 500 of thetray 600 placed on thetray conveying mechanism 80.

The carriage detection unit is a sensor that detects thecard carriage 500 of thetray 600 placed on thetray conveying mechanism 80. The carriage detection section can detect thecard carriage 500 only when thecard carriage 500 of thetray 600 placed on thetray conveying mechanism 80 is directed toward thelabel printing apparatus 20 side. Therefore, when thetray 600 is placed on thetray conveying mechanism 80 with thecard holder 500 facing the opposite side to thelabel printing apparatus 20, thecontrol apparatus 400 can notify the user of the removal of thetray 600.

As described above, when thetrays 600 are used, all thetrays 600 are arranged on thetray supply device 10 in a state of being stacked with the face provided with thecard holder 500 facing thelabel printing device 20 side direction. Therefore, the carriage detecting unit may execute the detecting operation of thecard carriage 500 of thetray 600 only when thetray supply device 10 first places thetray 600 on the tray conveying mechanism 80 (when thetray 600 of the lowermost layer is placed).

On the other hand, when thetray 610 of the present embodiment is used, even if thetrays 610 are not stacked so that the surfaces provided with thecard holders 510A face in the same direction, thetrays 610 can be stably stacked. Therefore, thecard holders 510A of thetrays 610 stacked in thetray supply device 10 are not limited to all facing thelabel printing device 20 side. For example, even if thelowermost tray 610 faces thelabel printing apparatus 20 side, thecard holder 510A may face the opposite side to thelabel printing apparatus 20 in thetray 610 of the upper layer. Therefore, when the above-described detection operation is performed only on thetray 610 at the lowermost layer, even if there is atray 610 in which thecard holder 510A faces the side opposite to thelabel printing apparatus 20, thetray 610 cannot be detected. In this case, before the error occurs that the card attachment/detachment device 150 of the cardinformation changing unit 100 cannot remove the rewrite card RC, the user cannot be notified that thecard holder 510A is directed to the opposite side from thelabel printing apparatus 20. Since an error is notified after the medicine is stored in thetray 610, it takes time until the operation of themedicine dispensing system 1A is resumed.

In the present embodiment, when thetray 610 is used, the holder detection unit performs the detection operation of thecard holder 510A each time thetray feeding device 10 places thetray 610 on the tray conveying mechanism 80 (i.e., for each tray). When the holder detecting section cannot detect thecard holder 510A, thecontrol device 400 notifies the user of removal of thetray 610. Therefore, before thetray 610 is conveyed by thetray conveying mechanism 80, the user can be notified that thecard holder 510A is directed to the opposite side from thelabel printing apparatus 20. Therefore, since there is no need to notify an error after the medicine is stored in thetray 610, the operation of themedicine dispensing system 1A can be resumed in a short time.

In addition, when thetray 600 is used, the rack detecting unit may perform the detecting operation for each tray. When thetray 600, which is not directed to thelabel printing apparatus 20 side by thecard holder 500, is disposed in thetray supply apparatus 10, the tray detection portion can detect thetray 600.

[ example of implementation by software ]

The control block of the control device 400 (particularly, theelevation control unit 410, themovement control unit 420, thesolenoid control unit 430, the card presence/absence determination unit 440, the cardconveyance control unit 450, the displaychange control unit 460, and the touch panel control unit 470) may be implemented by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be implemented by software.

In the latter case, thecontrol device 400 includes a computer that executes instructions of a program that is software for realizing the respective functions. The computer includes, for example, one or more processors, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program. In the computer, the processor reads the program from the recording medium and executes the program, thereby achieving the object of the present invention. As the processor, for example, a CPU (central processing unit) can be used. As the recording medium, for example, "non-transitory tangible medium" such as a ROM (read only memory) and the like, a magnetic tape, a magnetic disk, a card, a semiconductor memory, a programmable logic circuit, and the like can be used. Further, a RAM (random access memory) or the like for expanding the program may be further provided. The program may be supplied to the computer via an arbitrary transmission medium (a communication network, a broadcast wave, or the like) through which the program can be transmitted. An embodiment of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, the program being realized by electronic transmission.

(Note attached)

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope shown in the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining technical means disclosed in the respective embodiments are also intended to be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

(symbol description)

60. 60A … tray storage rack

150 … card loading and unloading device (card mounting device)

151 … card adsorption part

152. 153 … guide part (bending mechanism)

154. 155 … roller

156. 157 … O ring (buffer component)

161 … support (bending mechanism)

162. 163 … support shaft (bending mechanism)

164. 165 … spring (Telescopic parts)

173 … Z-axis motor (insertion action part)

174 … theta axis motor (rotating part, card moving part)

200 … card conveying device

210 … card holder (card holding part, second card holding part)

211 … opening part (zone)

212 … bottom

213. 214 … side wall

250 … display changing device

300 … lifting device (tray conveying device)

301 … tray conveying part

500 ~ 504, 510A … card holder (card holder, first card holder)

511. 561 … outer edge part

512. 521, 531, 562 … bottom

514. 533, 564 … claw part

516 … vent hole

515. 523, 551 … card guide

517 … opening part

561t … Upper wall (side wall)

563 … card mounting part (area)

565 … card support

566 … cut-out portion

600. 610, 620 … tray

RC … rewriting card (card)

Corner of RCc …

Po11 … first position

Po12 … second position

Claims (27)

1. A card mounting device for mounting a card on a card holding portion having a gap into which a part of an outer edge portion of the card holding portion is to be inserted in a state where the card having flexibility is held,

the card-mounting device is characterized in that,

the disclosed device is provided with:

a card suction part which sucks the card from the surface side,

a bending mechanism that bends the card attracted by the card attracting portion, an

And an insertion operation portion that inserts the outer edge portion into the gap by moving the card bent by the bending mechanism in a first direction from a front side of the card holding portion toward the card holding portion.

2. The card mounting apparatus of claim 1,

the bending mechanism includes a pair of guide portions provided on both sides of the card suction portion in a surface direction of the card and functioning as a fulcrum when the card sucked by the card suction portion is bent.

3. The card mounting apparatus of claim 2,

the insertion operation portion moves the pair of guide portions together with the card suction portion in the first direction.

4. The card mounting apparatus of claim 3,

the insertion operation portion causes the card suction portion and the pair of guide portions to approach the card holding portion in the first direction, thereby pushing the card held in a bent state by the card suction portion and the pair of guide portions into the card holding portion.

5. The card mounting apparatus of claim 3 or 4,

a support shaft supporting each of the pair of guide portions is provided with a telescopic member which is expanded or contracted in accordance with the movement of each of the pair of guide portions.

6. The card mounting apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 5,

each of the pair of guide portions includes a roller that assists in moving at least the card in the first direction by rotating.

7. The card mounting apparatus of claim 6,

the card holding portion is a second card holding portion provided in a card transport device that transports the card to a display changing device for changing display information of the card;

the roller assists movement of the card in a transport direction in which the card is transported toward the card transport device by abutting against the card in which the outer edge portion is inserted into the gap.

8. The card mounting apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 7,

each of the pair of guide portions is provided with a buffer member for mitigating an impact at the time of card contact, at least in a part of a contact surface with the card.

9. The card mounting apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 8,

the card holding portion is (1) a first card holding portion provided on a side surface of a tray for housing a medicine, or (2) a second card holding portion provided in a card conveying device that conveys the card to a display changing device for changing display information of the card;

the card attaching device includes a rotating portion that rotates the card suction portion and the pair of guide portions so that the card suction portion and the pair of guide portions face the first card holding portion and the second card holding portion, respectively.

10. The card mounting apparatus of claim 9,

the first card holding portion is located in a horizontal direction of the card mounting device,

the second card holding portion is disposed in a vertical direction of the card attachment device.

11. The card mounting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10,

the card holding part is a first card holding part arranged on the side surface of the tray for accommodating the medicament;

the card mounting device includes a card detection unit that detects whether or not the card is held by the first card holding unit;

the card detection unit performs a detection operation of whether or not another card different from the card whose display information is changed is held in the first card holding unit while the display information of the card is changed by a display changing device for changing the display information of the card.

12. The card mounting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11,

the card holding portion is a second card holding portion provided in a card conveying device that conveys the card to a display changing device that changes display information of the card;

the side wall of the second card holding portion defines an area in which the card is mounted;

the corners of the region are formed as: in a plan view of the second card holding portion, a width in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the card extends when the card is attached from the front surface of the second card holding portion while being bent toward the card is made shorter at an end of the region.

13. The card mounting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12,

the card mounting device includes a card moving unit that moves the card, which is in contact with the card holding unit at a second position offset from a first position where the card is mounted on the card holding unit and is bent by the bending mechanism, from the second position toward the first position when the card holding unit is viewed in plan.

14. A card attaching/detaching device having a function realized by the card attaching device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, and removing the card held by the card holding portion,

the card-handling device is characterized in that,

the insertion operation unit has a function of moving the card bent by the bending mechanism in a second direction opposite to the first direction, thereby removing the outer edge portion from the gap.

15. The card handling device of claim 14,

the bending mechanism has a pair of guide portions provided on both sides of the card suction portion in a surface direction of the card and functioning as a fulcrum when bending the card sucked by the card suction portion;

the insertion operation portion moves the pair of guide portions together with the card suction portion in the first direction or the second direction;

the insertion operation unit further performs the following processing:

the card held by the card holding portion is attracted by the card attracting portion by causing the card attracting portion and the pair of guide portions to approach the card holding portion in the first direction,

the card suction portion is moved in the second direction relative to the pair of guide portions in a state where the card is sucked by the card suction portion, and the card is bent.

16. A card holder which is provided on a side surface of a tray for storing a medicine and holds a flexible card,

the card holder is characterized in that,

a pair of claw parts are arranged on the opposite parts of the outer edge part of the card holder;

the pair of claw portions protrude along a deformation direction of the card, the deformation direction being: a direction of deformation of the card when the card is removed from the front face of the card holder while being bent or when the card is attached from the front face of the card holder while being bent.

17. The card holder of claim 16,

the card is pulled out from the card holder by adsorption;

and the bottom of the card support is provided with a vent hole.

18. The card holder of claim 16 or 17,

the outer edge portion is provided with a card guide portion that guides the corner portion of the card to the pair of claw portions when the card guide portion comes into contact with the corner portion of the card pushed against the card holder in a bent state.

19. The card holder of claim 18,

the card guide is a portion of the outer edge portion that defines an area in which the card is mounted,

the card guide is disposed at a corner of the area in such a manner that: in a plan view of the card holder, a width in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the card extends when the card is mounted from the front of the card holder is made shorter toward a side of the region bent toward the card.

20. The card holder of claim 18,

the card guide portion is inclined from a part of the outer edge portion toward the vicinity of regions in the card holder bottom portion which are opposed to the pair of claw portions, respectively.

21. The card holder of any of claims 16 to 20,

an opening portion is provided in at least a region of the card holder bottom portion opposed to the pair of claw portions.

22. The card holder of any of claims 16 to 21,

the bottom of the card holder is flat.

23. The card holder of any of claims 16 to 21,

at least an area of the card holder bottom portion opposed to the pair of claw portions is lower than other areas of the bottom portion.

24. The card holder of any of claims 16 to 23,

the outer edge portion defines an area in which the card is mounted;

the card is mounted on the card holder at a position offset from the region by moving to the region after coming into contact with the card holder from a front surface side of the card holder;

notches are formed in both sides of a side wall of the outer edge portion on a side where the card abuts against the card holder.

25. The card holder of claim 24,

a pair of the claw portions respectively extending along two sides defining the region;

a card support portion for supporting the card is provided at an end portion of each of the pair of claw portions on a side opposite to a side where the card abuts against the card holder.

26. A tray conveying device for conveying trays to a tray storage rack for storing a plurality of trays containing medicines,

the tray conveying device is characterized in that,

has a tray conveying part, wherein,

the tray conveying unit, when dividing the plurality of trays into a first tray group and a second tray group different from each other in conveyance and sending them to the tray storage rack,

when the user input indicating that the second tray group is permitted to be issued to the tray storage rack is accepted while the first tray group is being issued to the tray storage rack, the second tray group is issued after the first tray group is issued to the tray storage rack.

27. The tray conveying apparatus according to claim 26,

the tray conveying unit conveys the second tray group to a position separated from the first tray group stored in the tray storage rack.

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