Medicine inspection device, and medicine packaging device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9233767-B2
Application number	US-201313895335-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 15, 2013
Priority date	Apr 28, 2011
Publication date	Jan 12, 2016
Grant date	Jan 12, 2016

Abstract

A medicine inspection device includes: an inspection unit on which a medicine for inspection is disposed, the medicine being contained in a sachet; an imaging unit capable of photographing the sachet disposed on the inspection unit; and a medicine information detector capable of detecting at least either of a quantity or type of the medicine based on an image obtained by the imaging unit. The inspection unit includes a backlight with illumination areas located dottedly per predetermined pitch which is capable of illuminating the sachet from backside when photographing. The medicine information detector is further configured to implement: a basic image acquisition process for acquiring a basic image; an inspection area defining process for defining the area of inspection; an inspection image acquisition process for acquiring the inspection image; and an image inspection process for performing image inspection.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A medicine inspection device, comprising:
an inspection unit on which a medicine for inspection is disposed, the medicine being contained in a sachet;
an imaging unit capable of photographing the sachet disposed on the inspection unit; and
a medicine information detector capable of detecting at least either of a quantity or type of the medicine based on an image obtained by the imaging unit;
wherein the inspection unit comprises a backlight capable of illuminating the sachet from backside when photographing, the backlight comprising illumination areas located dottedly per predetermined pitch, and
wherein the medicine information detector is configured to implement:
a basic image acquisition process for acquiring a basic image for medicine inspection based on a back lit image photographed by illuminating a packaging paper from behind by the backlight;
an inspection area defining process for defining an area for inspection by executing an exclusion process of excluding a dot-shaped translucent region contained in the basic image obtained in the basic image acquisition process;
an inspection image acquisition process for acquiring an inspection image by extracting an area corresponding to the area for inspection from a back unlit image obtained by photographing same region as the back lit image in a state where the backlight is unlit; and
an image inspection process for performing image inspection to detect the medicine quantity or type or both based on the inspection image.

2. The medicine inspection device according to claim 1 , wherein the backlight comprises a light source, and a mesh member disposed between the light source and the sachet and having perforations through which light passes through at each predetermined pitch.

3. The medicine inspection device according to claim 2 , wherein the backlight is configured to generate red light or a light of a longer wavelength than red.

4. The medicine inspection device according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a medicine present area defining unit for determining a medicine present area in a medicine region identification image obtained by photographing a sachet disposed in the inspection unit with the imaging unit; and
a foreign object detection process for detecting a foreign object existing in the sachet based on an image for position recognition containing position signs provided with coordinates for each predetermined pitch, and a basic image acquired by the medicine information detector;
wherein the foreign object detection process is configured to implement:
an object existence area coordinate extraction process for extracting position coordinates existing in a region determined by the inspection area defining process by superposing the image for position recognition and basic image,
a medicine coordinates group derivation process for extracting position coordinates existing inside a medicine-existing area defined by the medicine present area defining unit by superposing an image for medicine area determination and the basic image; and
a foreign object determination process for judging a presence of a foreign object in coordinate position on condition that coordinates that are different from the medicine area coordinates group are existing in the object existence area coordinates group.

5. The medicine inspection device according to claim 2 , wherein in the inspection area defining process, an expansion process is executed for expanding an area remaining after an execution of elimination process by a predetermined amount towards outside.

6. The medicine inspection device according to claim 2 , wherein an image of a medicine provided on the inspection unit is able to be clipped by use of a back lit image obtained by photographing with the imaging unit in a irradiated state wherein the inspection unit is irradiated by the backlight and a back unlit image obtained by photographing by the imaging unit in a back non-irradiated state wherein the inspection unit is not irradiated by the backlight, and
an image of medicine provided on an inspection unit is able to be obtained by:
acquiring a back lit binary image by binarization of a back lit RGB resolution image comprising at least one from among the back lit R channel image, back lit G channel image and back lit B channel image obtained from the RGB resolution of the back lit image,
assuming an intensity distribution of medicine and the back lit image in the said back lit binary image to be a Gaussian distribution,
deriving mean value Mm and standard deviation σm of the intensity distribution corresponding to the medicine, and mean value Mb and standard deviation σb of the intensity distribution corresponding to the back image;
creating a mask for medicine image clipping for masking a region of an intensity higher than an intensity Mm+3σm on condition that Mm+3σm≧Mb-3σb;
creating a mask for medicine image clipping for masking a region of an intensity higher than an intensity Mb-3σb on condition that Mm+3σm<Mb-3σb; and
clipping a back unlit image based on the mask for medicine image clipping.

7. The medicine inspection device according to claim 2 , further comprising a photographing jig comprising a translucent stage, wherein
the photographing jig with the medicine to be photographed disposed on the stage is moved to the inspection unit, an outline of the medicine is derived based on the back lit image obtained by photographing with the imaging unit in an irradiation state where the stage is irradiated by the backlight,
in the back unlit image obtained by photographing the jig disposed in the inspection unit by the imaging unit in a non-irradiated state wherein the stage is not irradiated by the backlight, the device is able to construct a contour image database by accumulating appearance images showing external appearance of the medicine obtained by clipping a region corresponding to a region surrounded by the outline of the medicine derived based on the back lit image.

8. The medicine inspection device according to claim 7 , wherein the stage comprises a plurality of imaging zones associated with each side of a medicine, and a medicine is arranged in each imaging area such that a side associated with each imaging area is orienting towards the imaging unit, and by using a back lit image and back unlit image obtained when the photographing jig is moved to the inspection unit, a database is created by storing a contour image of each side of the medicine.

9. The medicine inspection device according to claim 7 , wherein an installation guide is provided in the stage to facilitate disposing a medicine in a predetermined location, and size of the installation guide is smaller than presumed size of a medicine and foreign object.

10. The medicine inspection device according to claim 7 , wherein a color of the stage is white.

11. The medicine inspection device according to claim 7 , further comprising a backlit imaging unit for photographing a back lit image, and a back unlit imaging unit for photographing a back unlit image.

12. The medicine inspection device according to claim 1 , wherein a medicine packaged in a printed packaging paper is able to be supplied for the inspection unit as a medicine for inspection, and the medicine information detector is capable of executing an image processing to vary size of a region surrounded by outline in the basic image, and as a result of such image processing if a continuous region is formed wherein a region surrounded by the outline is contiguous, the medicine information detector is capable of executing a printed area exclusion process for excluding an area containing the said continuous region

Assignees

• Yuyama Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Amano Hirokazu
• Ito Koji
• Tsuda Hiromichi
• Yoshikawa Yasuyuki
• Nakamura Keigo
• Shimizube Dai

Classifications

• B65B57/10

  responsive to absence, presence, abnormal feed, or misplacement of articles or materials to be packaged · CPC title

• G07F9/026

  for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty · CPC title

• G01N21/9508

  Capsules; Tablets · CPC title

• G07F17/0092

  for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles (medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00) · CPC title

• H04N7/18

  Closed-circuit television [CCTV] systems, i.e. systems in which the video signal is not broadcast · CPC title