MANNER

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a drug preparation machine that can allow pills provided in a tablet form to be grouped in a meal-based manner according to a prescription order.

PRIOR ART

Today, pills are used in treating diseases. Pills are elements that are swallowed by people in order to get better. Also these pills are used for therapeutic purposes in the healthcare system. Particularly with increasing age, there is heavy pill use in the treatments of individuals. Heavy pill use can cause confusion, especially in increased ages. With increasing age, the number of pills taken due to health issues increases. The increasing number of drugs may lead to incorrect drug use, especially for elderly. This incorrect drug use can cause serious health problems and even death. There are some studies in the present art to prevent this.

The application No. CN103491927A known in the literature relates to a drug delivery system that can manually deliver drugs and package drugs. The system according to the invention knows what is in the package in the capsule and when to use it by reading the information in the prescription and reminds the user when to take the drug.

The application No. KR101716620B1 known in the literature relates to packaging a prescription drug automatically. According to the present invention, prescription pills are dropped into a single reservoir and then placed into a pill bag or a pill bottle. And an apparatus for packaging a prescription drug automatically is configured to have a separate drug discharge tube in a pill supply cartridge that stores the pills. After the prescription is read, the pill bottle is automatically inserted into the drug discharge tube of the pill supply cartridge that stores the prescription drug. Thus, the packaging process of a prescription drug can be carried out at one time. Sorting is carried out during drug classification and packaging according to the prescription in this embodiment. Thus, foreign substances or drug elements other than prescription drug do not mix with each other. The application No. US2002053183A1 known in the literature relates to a drug packaging device. Said device packages the drug to be taken at each dosage time into a drug bag. Said device can change the packing order or the dosage order based on the prescription data. Although these studies known in the literature include some steps to improve a person’s drug use, the desired improvement in the art has not been achieved.

As a result, all of the above-mentioned problems have made it necessary to make an innovation in the related technical field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a drug preparation machine in order to eliminate the above- mentioned disadvantages and bring new advantages to the related technical field.

An object of the invention is to provide a drug preparation machine with drug and patient safety.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drug preparation machine that can perform safe drug dosing.

Another object of the invention is to provide a drug preparation machine capable of grouping drugs in the same meal for them to dissolve in the stomach.

In order to realize all the objects which are mentioned above and will emerge from the detailed description below, the present invention is a drug preparation machine that can allow pills provided in a tablet form to be grouped in a meal-based manner according to a prescription order. Accordingly, its novelty is that it comprises is at least one recognition module that can detect the type of pill tablet in said drug preparation machine, at least one drug reservoir on which the tablets are placed, at least one puncturing module having at least one puncturing end provided to force the tablet in order to allow the pills removed from the tablets in said drug reservoir, at least one combining module that can coat the pills per meals which are removed from the tablet with a capsule material being able to dissolve in the stomach, at least one packaging module that places the pill capsules into the packages in the neighborhood of said combining module. Thus, a drug preparation machine is obtained that can allow the pills removed from their tablets to be grouped and made ready for the person’s use in a meal-based manner. Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one vacuum element to which said packaging module is connected. Thus, a de-aerated package can be obtained.

Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one printer provided in the packaging module. Thus, the package usage information of a person can be printed on the package.

Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that there is at least one UV light source at the outlet of the drug reservoir. Thus, the pills are disinfected.

Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that said puncturing end is connected with at least one linear bearing for actuation. Thus, it is ensured that the puncturing end can be displaced.

Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that it comprises at least one processor that can detect the dose usage information in a meal-based manner. Thus, the prescription is automatically detected.

Another possible embodiment of the invention is characterized in that said puncturing module is optionally used. Thus, manufacturing costs can be reduced in cases where the drug preparation machine is not used industrially.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

In Figure 1 , a representative schematic view of a drug preparation machine according to the invention is given.

In Figure 2, another representative schematic view of a drug preparation machine according to the invention is given.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, subject matter of the invention is only explained by way of examples that will not have any limiting effect for understanding the subject matter better. In Figure 1 , a representative schematic view of a drug preparation machine (1) according to the invention is given. Accordingly, the invention relates to a drug preparation machine (1). The drug preparation machine (1) according to the invention, is used in categorizing the pills used in treatments. The drug preparation machine (1), due to its nature, groups the drugs given to the patient in a meal-based manner or in a session-based manner. In this way, problems such as taking the wrong drug or forgetting to take drug are eliminated, especially in people with heavy drug use, who are elderly or having attention deficiency. The drug preparation machine (1) can be used in health units such as pharmacies and hospitals when it is desired to be used in industrial areas. For personal uses, it is suitable for individual patients at home.

In Figure 2, another representative schematic view of a drug preparation machine (1) according to the invention is given. Accordingly, the drug preparation machine (1) has a structure in which various components work together in a synchronized way. While some of these components are essential, some of them can optionally be contained on the drug preparation machine (1). These components are described below.

There is at least one recognition module (10) on the drug preparation machine (1). Said recognition module (10) allows the drug tablets placed in a predetermined place in the drug preparation machine (1) to be identified. Presence of a QR code on the drug and presence of sensors in the recognition module (10) that will recognize this QR code, are among possible examples of this recognition module (10). In alternative embodiments, there may be a sensor camera on the recognition module (10). This sensor camera can detect the information about the drug on the drug tablet. In this way, the drug tablet to be grouped is allowed to be detected by the drug preparation machine (1).

There is at least one processor (20) on the drug preparation machine (1). Said processor (20) is configured such that the user can access dose usage information in a meal-based manner. The processor (20) can access the user’s prescription from an online platform, via the e-pulse application or by reading the prescription given after the examination. In addition to detecting this, the processor can be configured to drive other components in the drug preparation machine (1).

There is at least one drug reservoir (30) on the drug preparation machine (1). Said drug reservoir (30) has a structure on which drugs can be placed. Drugs can be placed into the drug reservoir (30) in boxes or tablets. A further process may be required to remove the drug from the box in cases where the drugs are placed in boxes. Moreover, there may be separate chambers (31) in the drug reservoir (30) for each drug type. These chambers (31) can each be connected with a flow path (32). By means of said flow path (32), the pills removed from the tablets can be dropped to a predetermined place.

There is at least one puncturing module (40) on the drug preparation machine (1). Said puncturing module (40) is configured to allow the pill to be removed from the tablet. In order to do this, there can be at least one linear bearing (42) and at least one puncturing end (41) on the puncturing module (40). Said puncturing end (41) allows the pill to be removed from the tablet by at least partially applying pressure to the place where the pill is located in the tablets on the drug reservoir (30). Thus, the pill can be dropped from the flow path (32). The linear bearing (42) is configured to displace the puncturing end (41). By means of the linear bearing (42) the puncturing end (41) is aligned to the predetermined place of the tablet, thereby contributing to the ejection of the pill. The movement of the puncturing end on the linear bearing (42) can be provided by a drive element. The puncturing module (40) can be optionally contained on the drug preparation machine (1) when desired. The person can supply the drugs separately by himself/herself in cases where the puncturing module (40) is not present. In this way, costs can be reduced during the manufacture of the drug preparation machine (1). In addition, special sensors can be used to eliminate errors that may occur in loading drugs by the user without using the puncturing module (40). By means of these sensors, the correctness of the drug loading performed manually by the user is controlled and it is ensured that an incorrect drug loading is prevented.

There is at least one combining module (50) on the drug preparation machine (1). Said combining module (50) is configured to make the pills to be used in the same meal/session into a single capsule. In order to do this, the combining module (50) is connected to the flow paths on the drug reservoir (30). The dropped pill for each meal/session is collected in this section and coated as a single capsule. For this collecting process, a ramp (51) can be contained in the combining module (50). Pills dropped by means of this ramp (51) can be collected in one place. Drugs per meals, which are made into a single capsule in the combining module (50) can be taken at one time. This combining module (50) can be activated or deactivated for the drug preparation machine (1) depending on the need. The pills can be grouped freely separate from each other, as well as being made into a single capsule, depending on the compatibility of the chemical properties of the drugs with each other. When the grouped pills are a single capsule, this capsule is made of material that can dissolve in the stomach. In this way, drugs work effectively by reacting with gastric acid upon swallowing the capsule. Also, there is at least one UV light (52) between the combining module (50) and the drug reservoir (30) in a possible embodiment of the invention. Said UV light (52) at least partially sterilize the pills conveyed if they contain any microbes.

There is at least one packaging module (60) on the drug preparation machine (1). Said packaging module (60) provides packaging of the pills sorted per day/session. In a possible embodiment of the invention, this package can be a package structure for single meal or a package structure for multiple meals. Thereby, pills can be placed in an encapsulated form or grouped freely separate from each other. Placing the grouped pills into a package is completed with the packaging module (60). This package can suitably store the pills for future use. The packaging module (60) is also connected with at least one vacuum element (61). Said vacuum element (61) can be an air suction source to prevent the contact of the pills in the compartments in the package with air. As in the combining module (50), the packaging module (60) can also be activated or deactivated depending on the need. In this way, the pills sorted per day can be used as capsules or in packages. Also a printer (62) can be optionally contained on the packaging module (60). Said printer (62) can be designed such that it can print an informative letter to the person about the method of use of the drug.

In a possible use of the invention, the user places the drug tablets into the drug reservoir (30). The pills placed in this section are detected by the recognition module (10) and removed from their tablets by the linear bearing (42) and puncturing end (41) on the puncturing module (40). In this removing process, which pill will be in which dose is determined by the processor (20). In an alternative embodiment, the pills can also be supplied manually by the user without the puncturing module. Pills can be conveyed via the flow path (32) to the combining module (50) and/or directly to the packaging module (60). These two units can be as one piece or separately on the drug preparation machine (1). The pills sorted in a meal-based manner can be coated into a single capsule in the combining module (50) and can be made into a form that the user can take at one time. And with the packaging module (60), these pills are packaged and made ready for use per multiple days.

An automation system is provided for drug use with this whole embodiment. With this drug preparation machine (1), problems such as taking the wrong drug or forgetting to take drug are eliminated, especially in people with heavy drug use, who are elderly and having attention deficiency. In addition to that, a customized drug preparation machine (1) structure can be created, with the drug preparation machine (1) being modular and these modular parts being able to be used optionally. The scope of protection of the invention is defined in the attached claims and cannot be limited in any way to what is described in this detailed description for exemplary purposes. It is obvious that a person skilled in the art can provide similar embodiments in the light of what has been described above without departing from the main theme of the invention.

REFERENCE NUMBERS GIVEN IN THE FIGURES

1 Drug Preparation Machine 10 Recognition Module 20 Processor

30 Drug Reservoir

31 Chamber

32 Flow Path 40 Puncturing Module 41 Puncturing End

42 Linear Bearing 50 Combining Module

51 Ramp

52 UV Light 60 Packaging Module

61 Vacuum Element

62 Printer