Medicine verification device and medicine verification method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2020411158-A1
Application number	US-202017020090-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Sep 14, 2020
Priority date	Mar 29, 2018
Publication date	Dec 31, 2020
Grant date	—

Abstract

In the present invention, an image of a verification target medicine disposed on an arrangement unit is captured, prescription condition information indicating a prescription condition is acquired, an external force application unit is caused to execute an external force applying operation of applying an external force to the medicine disposed on the arrangement unit to move the medicine when an operation execution condition is satisfied, wherein the operation execution condition includes at least one of: a first operation execution condition that the number of the verification target medicines appearing in the image differs from the quantity of the medicines specified from the prescription condition information; and a second operation execution condition that a shape of the verification target medicine appearing in the image differs from a shape corresponding to a type of the medicine specified from the prescription condition information.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A medicine verification device comprising:
an arrangement unit on which a verification target medicine is disposed; an image capturing unit that captures an image of the verification target medicine disposed on the arrangement unit; a light irradiation unit that emits light to the verification target medicine disposed on the arrangement unit when the image capturing unit captures the image; a prescription condition information acquisition unit that acquires prescription condition information indicating a prescription condition set for prescribing a medicine; an external force application unit that executes an external force applying operation of applying an external force to the verification target medicine disposed on the arrangement unit to move the verification target medicine; and a control unit that causes the external force application unit to execute the external force applying operation when an operation execution condition is satisfied, wherein the operation execution condition includes at least one of: a first operation execution condition that the number of the verification target medicines appearing in the image differs from the quantity of the medicines specified from the prescription condition information; and a second operation execution condition that a shape of the verification target medicine appearing in the image differs from a shape corresponding to a type of the medicine specified from the prescription condition information, and the operation execution condition further includes: a third operation execution condition that a plurality of medicines are disposed on the arrangement unit as the verification target medicine and that one medicine and another medicine out of the plurality of medicines are adjacent to each other in an irradiation direction when the light irradiation unit performs light emission; and a fourth operation execution condition that an arrangement position, within the arrangement unit, of the verification target medicine appearing in the image is a position within a predetermined region.

2 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the first operation execution condition is that the number of verification target medicines appearing in the image is smaller than the quantity of medicines specified from the prescription condition information.

3 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the third operation execution condition is that the plurality of medicines are disposed on the arrangement unit and that the one medicine and the other medicine having a thickness greater than the one medicine are adjacent to each other in the irradiation direction in a state where the other medicine is disposed at a position that blocks light emitted from the light irradiation unit.

4 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the light irradiation unit has a plurality of light emitting units and emits light in different directions using the plurality of light emitting units, and when the third operation execution condition is satisfied, the control unit causes the external force application unit to execute the external force applying operation in a case where there exists at least one combination of the one medicine and the other medicine adjacent to each other in the irradiation direction.

5 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the region is a region separated from the light emitting unit of the light irradiation unit by a distance being a threshold or more in the light irradiation direction.

6 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the operation execution condition further includes a fifth operation execution condition that a posture of the verification target medicine appearing in the image is a posture that causes identification information formed on the verification target medicine to be outside an imaging range of the image capturing unit.

7 . The medicine verification device according to claim 6 , wherein the image capturing unit includes a plurality of cameras, and
the fifth operation execution condition is that the posture of the verification target medicine appearing in the image is a posture that causes the identification information to be outside an imaging range of each of the plurality of cameras.

8 . The medicine verification device according to claim 6 , wherein, when the fifth operation execution condition is satisfied after causing the external force application unit to execute the external force applying operation, the control unit causes the external force application unit to repeatedly execute the external force applying operation.

9 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the verification target medicine is disposed on the arrangement unit in a state of being packed in a light-transmissive packaging bag.

10 . The medicine verification device according to claim 9 , further comprising:
a conveyance unit that conveys a continuous packaging bag having a strip-like shape including continuously arranged packaging bags, along a conveyance path; and a condition determination unit that determines whether the operation execution condition is satisfied, wherein the arrangement unit is provided at an intermediate position of the conveyance path, the packaging bag in the continuous packaging bag disposed on the arrangement unit is switched by the conveyance of the continuous packaging bag by the conveyance unit, and the image capturing unit captures the image every time the packaging bag disposed on the arrangement unit is switched.

11 . The medicine verification device according to claim 10 , wherein, in a case that the condition determination unit has determined that the operation execution condition is satisfied, the control unit causes the external force application unit to execute the external force applying operation of applying an external force to the verification target medicine within the packaging bag disposed on the arrangement unit at a time when a result of the determination is obtained by the condition determination unit.

12 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the verification target medicine is disposed in an unpackaged and exposed state on the arrangement unit.

13 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , further comprising a verification unit that verifies type and the number of the verification target medicines.

14 . The medicine verification device according to claim 13 ,
wherein the verification unit reads a master image pre-registered for the type of medicine specified from the prescription condition information and verifies the type of the verification target medicine by using the image captured by the image capturing unit and the master image, and the operation execution condition includes the second operation execution condition, in which the second operation execution condition is that the shape of the verification target medicine appearing in the image captured by the image capturing unit differs from the shape of the medicine appearing in the master image.

15 . The medicine verification device according to claim 1 , wherein the external force application unit applies any one of vibration, swing, impact, and pressing force to the verification target medicine disposed on the arrangement unit, as an external force.

16 . A medicine verification method comprising:
disposing a verification target medicine on an arrangement unit; capturing an image of the verification target me

Assignees

• Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co Ltd

Inventors

• Iwami Kazuchika
• Yokouchi Koji

Classifications

• G06V10/44

  Local feature extraction by analysis of parts of the pattern, e.g. by detecting edges, contours, loops, corners, strokes or intersections; Connectivity analysis, e.g. of connected components · CPC title

• H04N23/74

  by influencing the scene brightness using illuminating means · CPC title

• G06F18/22

  Matching criteria, e.g. proximity measures · CPC title

• H04N23/56

  provided with illuminating means · CPC title

• H04N23/90

  Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums · CPC title