Medicine collection system and method for collecting medicines

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a medicine collection system according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] Such a medicine collection system is known from WO 2013/034504 A1.

[0003] Because of their health, many people require one or more types of medicine. As the number and/or types of medicines required increases, it is preferred to pre-pack such medicines, pills in particular, using medicine collection systems to collect the medicines, into medicine packaging system, to pack the collected pills into a package, and optionally to provide such a package with instructions on the use of the medicines inside the package.

[0004] Such medicine collection systems may comprise canisters, the canisters comprising a reservoir of solid medicines, and an opening into the drawer. These drawers are arranged in a frame. These medicine collection systems have a number of disadvantages.

[0005] Pills released from the canisters are released into the drawer and then collected at a central location. Because of such a construction, many pills may be transferred in the medicine collection system along the same path. This may increase the chance of damage to the medicines and clogging of the medicine collection system. In order to resolve the clogging of the system, the system has to be shut down temporarily, and may have to be dismantled which is burdensome and inefficient.

[0006] In addition, in such a medicine collection system, the replacement of an empty canister is burdensome as well since it requires the operator to take out the drawer, search for the canister to be replaced among the other canisters in the drawer and replace the canister, most often again requiring a temporary shutdown of the medicine collection system.

[0007] It is additionally known that, because of the length of the collection path, in many of the currently available medicine collection systems, the pills may finally be delivered into the wrong package, thereby causing further inefficiencies in the first place, and possibly serious health and maybe fatal consequences for the user of the package when taking a medicine by error.

[0008] Altogether, currently available medicine collection systems are error-prone, burdensome, slow and inefficient.

[0009] It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a medicine collection system and a method for collecting medicines using such a medicine collection system in which the above stated drawbacks are reduced or even obviated.

[0010] This object is achieved with a medicine collection system according claim 1.

[0011] The medicine collection system comprises at least one dispensing unit with a reservoir from which solid medicines are dispensed into a dispensing opening by the dosing means. The dispensing opening opens out to a collection area, in which at least one collection column is movable along the wall, such that a receiving opening of the collection column may be placed adjacent to the dispensing opening of the dispensing unit.

[0012] The dosing means may for instance comprise a plate covering the dispensing opening in a closed position, but may also or alternatively have an appearance such as for instance disclosed in one of the preferred embodiments below.

[0013] The data processing unit is used to allocate at least one collection column to one order for one patient, and accordingly to synchronize the movement of a collection column along the wall with the movement of the dosing means such that a receiving opening of the allocated collection column is adjacent to the dispensing opening when dispensing the medicine in the order for the patient.

[0014] While the medicine collection system may have only one collection column, the efficiency of the system is further improved if more than one collection column is provided, because it allows simultaneous processing of multiple orders. It may also allow faster processing of one order, since the collection time of one order is decreased. When more collection columns are provided, this also provides the advantage that individual collection columns may be temporarily removed from the system for cleaning without requiring temporary shutdown of the complete system. Preferably, in such a case, the collection columns have different colors in order to ease scheduling alternating maintenance to the collection columns.

[0015] Preferably, the medicine collection system comprises more than one dispensing unit which may be stacked on top of each other. The height of dispensing units stacked on top of each other is preferably no larger than the height of an average person, such that an operator may be able to maintain all dispensing units without requiring additional tools such as ladders, thereby increasing the speed of maintenance. For the most common dispensing units, this means that the number of stacked dispensing units on top of each other is preferably no larger than five.

[0016] The increase of the number of dispensing units will also in general, provide a possibility to provide backup units of a dispensing unit in the medicine collection system with a type of pill to use when the main dispensing unit with the same type of pill is empty, although the system may also give timely warnings to an operator to maintain the dispensing unit when the amount of pills in a dispensing unit is low.

[0017] The medicine collection system according to the invention is most preferably connected to one or more other medicine collection systems, which may be a medicine collection system according to the invention. Preferably, the data processing units of the individual systems may be connected to each other in order to allow for coordination in the processing of an order. Even more preferably, the medicine collection system or the set of medicine collection systems is connected to a medicine packaging system, such as for instance the medicine packaging system disclosed in the application filed by the applicant on the same date as the current application. It has been shown that connection of at least one medicine collection system according to the invention to such a medicine packaging system may allow for packaging rates down to 0.5 seconds per package. Most preferably, the arrangement of the medicine collection systems is such that an operator may easily walk around all parts of the arrangement for increasing the ease of maintenance.

[0018] By attaching closing means on the bottom of the collection column, the medicine distribution system is able to at least temporarily hold the medicines collected in a closed state. When the transfer of the medicines to a secondary system is required, such as a transport system to further process the order, the closing means are moved to an open state.

[0019] The secondary system preferably comprises a transporting means with at least one receptacle, wherein the at least one receptacle is alignable with the bottom of the collection column. This allows easy transfer of the contents of an allocated collection column to a receptacle on the transporting means processing the same order and allows the contents of the collection column to be joined with the contents of other collection columns, which may be in another medicine collection system, or may allow transfer to a packaging system.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the medicine collection system according to the invention, the reservoir comprises a reservoir opening connected to a first end of the dosing means, wherein the dispensing opening is connected to the other end of the dosing means, and wherein the dosing means comprises a rotor with at least one cavity for a medicine, wherein the rotor is at least rotatable between a position with the cavity aligned with the reservoir opening and a position with the cavity aligned with the dispensing opening.

[0021] In this embodiment, the dosing means, comprising a rotor, is arranged between the reservoir and the dispensing opening of the dispensing unit, such to control the process of dispensing by the rotor. The rotor may be controlled by the data processing unit of the medicine collection system such to ensure that a pill of an order is in the cavity aligned with the dispensing opening when the receiving opening of the collection column allocated to the order is adjacent to the dispensing opening. The dimensions of the cavity are suitable for transferring the medicine in the reservoir to the dispensing opening into the collection column.

[0022] Preferably, the rotor is provided more than one cavity rotatable between a position with the cavity aligned with the reservoir opening and a position with the cavity aligned with the dispensing opening. An increased amount of such cavities increases the speed of release, since the rotor may not require a full rotation for a pill to be dispensed into the collection column.

[0023] The cavity may comprise a channel which is aligned with the reservoir opening at all positions of the rotor, but which is only aligned with the dispensing opening in a reduced number of positions of the rotor.

[0024] In another preferred embodiment of the medicine collection system according to the invention, the dispensing units are arranged next to each other along the circumference of the collection area.

[0025] The at least partial arrangement of the dispensing units next to each other increases the amount of dispensing units arranged in the medicine collection system and therefore increases the types of pills distributed from the system.

[0026] In the medicine collection system according to the invention, the collection area is cylindrical and wherein the at least one collection column is arranged to a rotating axis axially arranged in the cylindrical collection area.

[0027] The arrangement of the wall of dispensing units around a cylindrical collection area with the at least one collection column travelling along the circumference of the cylindrical collection area along the wall of dispensing units, the at least one collection column arranged to a rotating axis axially arranged in the collection area allows for easy movement of the collection columns in the collection process, since the movement takes place by simply rotating the rotating axis. As a consequence, chains or rails along the circumference of the collection area are therefore only optional. The use of a rotating axis to drive the collection columns may also reduce the amount of maintenance required to the medicine collection system and may also reduce power consumption.

[0028] Preferably, the closing means is a diaphragm shutter.

[0029] A diaphragm shutter is a closing means which comprises a number of blades connected to each other, closing an opening in the bottom of the collection column in its closed state, and which may be set into its open state by rotation of the individual blades along individual blade axes, which blade axes are preferably perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the collection column. Such a closing means may be easily and reliably switched between the closed and the open state and therefore prevents misalignments of the collecting column and the secondary system.

[0030] Most preferably, the closing means are controlled by the data processing unit.

[0031] The data processing unit preferably synchronizes the movement of the secondary system and the collection column allocated to one order. The control of the closing means of the collection column by the data processing unit allows the allocated collection column and the allocated location in a secondary system in such a process to approach each other in a closed position of the collection column, and quick release of the contents of the collection column into the secondary system when the allocated position of the secondary system is adjacent to the bottom of the collection column. This reduces the chance of an erroneous dosage, such as dosage in a wrong position on the secondary system.

[0032] In a preferred embodiment of the medicine collection system according to the invention, the dispensing units are removably attached to the wall.

[0033] Removable attachment of the dispensing units to the wall allows for more thorough maintenance of the dispensing units and the system and also increases the ease of refilling of the dispensing units when they are empty.

[0034] In another preferred embodiment of the medicine collection system according to the invention, the dispensing units comprises a tag, and a sensor for reading the tag of the dispensing unit is arranged to the wall, the sensor being connected to the data processing unit.

[0035] Tags on a dispensing units, such as for instance RFID-tags, may be provided with information on the type and number of pills in the dispensing units. Such information may be read by a sensor in the medicine collection system and allows the data processing unit to determine the type and number of pills available at each position in the wall of dispensing units and therefore allows for easy processing of an order to the system. It also allows the data processing unit to issue a warning to an operator when a dispensing unit is almost or completely empty.

[0036] The tag may be overwritten by the operator with the type and number of pills in the reservoir of the dispensing unit, or the number of pills added during refilling. When the operator is instructed to completely fill the reservoir upon removal with the same type of pill as before removal from the wall, the number of pills may also be calculated with a reasonable safety margin and the tag may be automatically reset to the number calculated upon removal from the wall.

[0037] The object of the invention is further achieved with a method for collecting medicines, comprising the steps of:

• moving the at least one collection column from a medicine collection system according to the invention along the circumference of the collection area and,
• while moving, collecting medicines in the at least one collection column from the dispensing opening of the dispensing units adjacent to the collection column.

[0038] Movement of the at least one collection column of the medicine collection system allows medicines in the wall to be collected in a central location before further processing, such as in a secondary system. The medicines are released from the dispensing unit when the dispensing opening of the dispensing unit is aligned to the receiving opening of the collecting column.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the method for collecting medicines, the method comprises the steps of:

• providing the data processing unit with at least one order comprising the number and type of pills requested for a patient;
• allocating a collection column to the order provided by the data processing unit;
• determining at least one dispensing unit provided with pills in the medicine collection system from information in a memory by the data processing unit; and
• moving the allocated collection column by the data processing unit along the determined at least one dispensing unit to align the receiving opening of the allocated collection column with the dispensing opening of the dispensing unit; and
• controlling the dosing means by the data processing unit to dose a medicine via the dispensing opening.

[0040] The data processing unit is provided with at least one order comprising the number and type of pills required in the order and the data processing unit is used to coordinate the movement of the elements of the medicine collection system, such as the collection column or columns allocated to the order, the dosing means of a dispensing unit and possibly the closing means or the links to secondary systems, so as to increase the efficiency of collection.

[0041] The data processing unit may for instance determine the shortest route along the dispensing units, based on the contents of the order, and may accordingly synchronize the process of collection with the secondary system, and may accordingly release the collected medicines when appropriate.

[0042] These and other elements of the invention will be further elucidated in the following figures.

Figure 1 shows a perspective overview of an embodiment of a medicine collection system according to the invention.

Figure 2 shows a cross sectional view of a detail of the embodiment of figure 1.

Figure 3 shows a further detail in cross sectional view of figure 2.

Figure 4 shows a perspective view of a detail of figure 3.

[0043] Figure 1 shows a perspective overview of an embodiment 1 of a medicine collection system according to the invention.

[0044] The medicine collection system 1 has a cylindrical wall 2, in which a carousel 3 rotates. A transport system 4 is provided to transport medicines, collected by the collection system 1 to for example a packaging station 5, in which the medicines are packaged in plastic bags and labeled.

[0045] Figure 2 shows a cross sectional view of a detail of the embodiment 1 of figure 1. On the outside of the wall 2 a number of dispensing units 6 are arranged underneath each other. Each dispensing unit has a drive mechanism 7 on which a canister or reservoir 8 is arranged. The drive mechanism 7 is coupled to the canister 8. By driving the canister 8, one item of the medicine is dispensed via a dispensing opening 9, which debouches through the wall 2.

[0046] On the inside of the wall 2 a carousel 3 is arranged with a central axis 10 and a number of arms 11 on which outer end collection columns 12 are arranged. Preferably the collection columns 12 are arranged side by side along the full periphery of the carousel 3.

[0047] Each collection column 12 has a number of receiving openings or funnels 13 corresponding to the dispensing openings 9 of a column of dispensing units 6. At the bottom of each collection column 12 a closure 14 is provided, via which collected medicines can be discharged into a receptacle, which is then transported via transport system 4.

[0048] Figure 3 shows a further detail in cross sectional view of figure 2.

[0049] The dispensing unit 6 has a reservoir 8 with a sloping bottom wall 15. In the bottom 15 a dosing rotor 16 is provided, which is driven by a motor 17 of the drive mechanism. By rotating the dosing rotor 16, pills 18 are separated and can be fed to the dispensing opening 9 one by one.

[0050] A counter can be provided to count the number of pills dispensed via the dispensing opening 9, to make sure, that the correct number of pills is dispensed.

[0051] A dispensed pill 18 will fall via the dispensing opening, through the wall 2, the funnel 13 into the collection column 12.

[0052] Typically, the carousel 3 will rotate at a constant speed and a controller will control the dispensing units 6 such that the correct medicines for a batch are dispensed in the correct collection column. This ensures that after a full revolution of a collection column in the carousel all required medicines for a specific order are collected in the collection column and the collected medicines can be discharged via the closure 14 into a receptacle in the transport system 4.

[0053] Figure 4 shows a perspective view of the closure 14. The closure 14 is a diaphragm shutter with a number of blades 19, which can be rotated radially out by operating a cam 20 of a shutter mechanism, such that an opening is created in the center. This has the advantage, that the collected medicines fall straight down and are not damaged by the closure 14.

Claims

1. Medicine collection system (1), comprising:

- a wall (2) with at least one dispensing unit (6), said at least one dispensing unit (6) comprising a reservoir (8) for accommodating solid medicines (18) such as pills or tablets, a dispensing opening (9), connected to the reservoir (8), the dispensing opening (9) comprising dosing means for dosing a solid medicine (18) from the reservoir (8) to the dispensing opening (9);

- a collection area, surrounded by the wall (2), the collection area comprising a number of collection columns (12), movable along the wall (2) and said at least one dispensing opening (9), each collection column (12) comprising at least one receiving opening (13), wherein said at least one receiving opening (13) is aligned to the at least one dispensing opening (9) in at least one position of said collection column (12); and

- a data processing unit, for controlling the movement of the collection columns (12) and the dosing means;

- a transporting means (4) with at least one receptacle, moveable by the transporting means (4), wherein the top of said at least one receptacle is adjacent to the bottom of one of the collection columns (12) in at least one position of said one collection column (12) and at least one position of said at least one receptacle in the transporting means (4);

characterized in that

- the wall (2) is cylindrical, in which a carousel (3) rotates; and

- the carousel (3) is arranged on the inside of the wall and said carousel has a central axis (10) and a number of arms (11) on which outer end the collection columns (12) are arranged.

2. Medicine collection system (1) according to claim 1, wherein the reservoir (8) comprises a reservoir opening connected to a first end of the dosing means, wherein the dispensing opening (9) is connected to the other end of the dosing means, and wherein the dosing means comprises a rotor (16) with at least one cavity for a medicine, wherein the rotor (16) is at least rotatable between a position in which the cavity is aligned with the reservoir opening and a position in which the cavity is aligned with the dispensing opening (9).

3. Medicine collection system (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dispensing units (6) are arranged next to each other along the circumference of the collection area.

4. Medicine collection system (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of said collection columns comprises closing means (14) arranged on its bottom.

5. Medicine collection system (1) according to claim 4, wherein the closing means (14) is a diaphragm shutter.

6. Medicine collection system (1) according to claims 4 or 5, wherein the closing means (14) are controlled by the data processing unit.

7. Medicine collection system (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the dispensing units (6) are removably attached to the wall (2).

8. Medicine collection system (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one dispensing unit (6) comprises a tag, and wherein a sensor for reading the tag is arranged on the wall (2), the sensor being connected to the data processing unit.

9. Method for collecting medicines (18), comprising the steps of:

- moving the collection columns (12) of a medicine collection system (1) according to any of the preceding claims along the circumference of the collection area and,

- while moving, collecting medicines (18) in at least one of the collection columns (12) from the dispensing openings (9) of the dispensing units (6) adjacent to said at least one collection column (12).

10. Method for collecting medicines (18) according to claim 9, comprising the steps of:

- providing the data processing unit with at least one order comprising the number and type of pills (18) requested for a patient;

- allocating one of the collection columns (12) to the order provided to the data processing unit;

- determining by the data processing unit at least one dispensing unit (6) provided with pills (18) from said at least one dispensing unit in the medicine collection system (1) using information in a memory; and

- moving the allocated collection column (12) by the data processing unit along the determined at least one dispensing unit (6) to align at least one of the receiving openings (13) of the allocated collection column (12) with the dispensing opening (9) of said determined at least one dispensing unit (6); and

- controlling the dosing means by the data processing unit to dose a medicine (18) via the dispensing opening (9).

Ansprüche

1. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1), umfassend:

- eine Wand (2) mit mindestens einer Ausgabeeinheit (6), wobei die mindestens eine Ausgabeeinheit (6) einen Behälter (8) zum Aufnehmen fester Arzneimittel (18), wie Pillen oder Tabletten, eine Ausgabeöffnung (9), die mit dem Behälter (8) verbunden ist, umfasst, wobei die Ausgabeöffnung (9) Dosierungsmittel zum Dosieren eines festen Arzneimittels (18) aus dem Behälter (8) an die Ausgabeöffnung (9) umfasst;

- einen Sammelbereich, der von der Wand (2) umgeben ist, wobei der Sammelbereich eine Zahl an Sammelsäulen (12) umfasst, die entlang der Wand (2) und der mindestens einen Ausgabeöffnung (9) beweglich sind, wobei jede Sammelsäule (12) mindestens eine Aufnahmeöffnung (13) umfasst, wobei die mindestens eine Aufnahmeöffnung (13) mit der mindestens einen Ausgabeöffnung (9) in mindestens einer Position der Sammelsäule (12) ausgerichtet ist; und

- eine Datenverarbeitungseinheit, zum Steuern der Bewegung der Sammelsäulen (12) und der Dosierungsmittel;

- ein Beförderungsmittel (4) mit mindestens einem Gefäß, das vom Beförderungsmittel (4) bewegbar ist, wobei die Decke des mindestens einen Gefäßes an den Boden einer der Sammelsäulen (12) in mindestens einer Position der einen Sammelsäule (12) und mindestens einer Position des mindestens einen Gefäßes im Beförderungsmittel (4) angrenzt;

dadurch gekennzeichnet, dass

- die Wand (2) zylindrisch ist, in der sich ein Karussell (3) dreht; und

- das Karussell (3) an der Innenseite der Wand angeordnet ist und das Karussell eine Mittelachse (10) und eine Zahl an Armen (11) aufweist, an deren Außenende die Sammelsäulen (12) angeordnet sind.

2. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach Anspruch 1, wobei der Behälter (8) eine Behälteröffnung umfasst, die mit einem ersten Ende des Dosierungsmittels verbunden ist, wobei die Ausgabeöffnung (9) mit dem anderen Ende des Dosierungsmittels verbunden ist, und wobei das Dosierungsmittel einen Rotor (16) umfasst, mit mindestens einem Hohlraum für ein Arzneimittel, wobei der Rotor (16) mindestens zwischen einer Position, in der der Hohlraum mit der Behälteröffnung ausgerichtet ist, und einer Position, in der der Hohlraum mit der Ausgabeöffnung (9) ausgerichtet ist, drehbar ist.

3. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei die Ausgabeeinheiten (6) nebeneinander entlang des Umfangs des Sammelbereichs angeordnet sind.

4. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei mindestens eine der Sammelsäulen ein Schließmittel (14) umfasst, das an ihrem Boden angeordnet ist.

5. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach Anspruch 4, wobei das Schließmittel (14) ein Blendenverschluss ist.

6. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach Anspruch 4 oder 5, wobei die Schließmittel (14) durch die Datenverarbeitungseinheit gesteuert werden.

7. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei die Ausgabeeinheiten (6) entfernbar an der Wand (2) befestigt sind.

8. Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche, wobei die mindestens eine Ausgabeeinheit (6) eine Markierung umfasst und wobei ein Sensor zum Lesen der Markierung an der Wand (2) angeordnet ist, wobei der Sensor mit der Datenverarbeitungseinheit verbunden ist.

9. Verfahren zum Sammeln von Arzneimitteln (18), umfassend die Schritte zum:

- Bewegen der Sammelsäulen (12) eines Arzneimittelsammelsystems (1) nach einem der vorstehenden Ansprüche entlang des Umfangs des Sammelbereichs und

- während des Bewegens, Sammeln von Arzneimitteln (18) in mindestens einer der Sammelsäulen (12) von den Ausgabeöffnungen (9) der Ausgabeeinheiten (6), angrenzend an mindestens eine Sammelsäule (12).

10. Verfahren zum Sammeln von Arzneimitteln (18) nach Anspruch 9, umfassend die Schritte zum:

- Versorgen der Datenverarbeitungseinheit mit mindestens einer Bestellung, umfassend die Anzahl und den Typ von Pillen (18), die für einen Patienten angefragt werden;

- Zuweisen einer der Sammelsäulen (12) zu der Bestellung, die an die Datenverarbeitungseinheit versorgt wird;

- Ermitteln durch die Datenverarbeitungseinheit mindestens einer Ausgabeeinheit (6), die mit Pillen (18) von der mindestens einen Ausgabeeinheit im Arzneimittelsammelsystem (1) versorgt wird, unter Verwendung von Informationen in einem Speicher; und

- Bewegen der zugewiesenen Sammelsäule (12) durch die Datenverarbeitungseinheit entlang der ermittelten mindestens einen Ausgabeeinheit (6), um mindestens eine der Aufnahmeöffnungen (13) der zugewiesenen Sammelsäule (12) mit der Ausgabeöffnung (9) der ermittelten mindestens einen Ausgabeeinheit (6) auszurichten; und

- Steuern des Dosierungsmittels durch die Datenverarbeitungseinheit, um ein Arzneimittel (18) über die Ausgabeöffnung (9) zu dosieren.

Revendications

1. Système de collecte de médicament (1) comprenant :

- une paroi (2) avec au moins une unité de distribution (6), ladite au moins une unité de distribution (6) comprenant un réservoir (8) pour loger des médicaments solides (18) tels que des pilules ou comprimés, une ouverture de distribution (9), raccordée au réservoir (8), l'ouverture de distribution (9) comprenant un moyen de dosage pour le dosage d'un médicament solide (18) depuis le réservoir (8) à l'ouverture de distribution (9) ;

- une zone de collecte, entourée par la paroi (2), la zone de collecte comprenant un nombre de colonnes de collecte (12), mobiles le long de la paroi (2) et ladite au moins une ouverture de distribution (9), chaque colonne de collecte (12) comprenant au moins une ouverture de réception (13), dans lequel ladite au moins une ouverture de réception (13) est alignée sur l'au moins une ouverture de distribution (9) dans au moins une position de ladite colonne de collecte (12) ; et

- une unité de traitement de données pour la commande du mouvement des colonnes de collecte (12) et du moyen de dosage ;

- un moyen de transport (4) avec au moins un réceptacle, mobile par les moyens de transport (4), dans lequel le dessus dudit au moins un réceptacle est adjacent au fond d'une des colonnes de collecte (12) dans au moins une position de ladite une colonne de collecte (12) et au moins une position dudit au moins un réceptacle dans les moyens de transport (4) ;

caractérisé en ce que

- la paroi (2) est cylindrique, dans laquelle un carrousel (3) tourne ; et

- le carrousel (3) est agencé sur l'intérieur de la paroi et ledit carrousel présente un axe central (10) et un nombre de bras (11) sur l'extrémité extérieure desquels les colonnes de collecte (12) sont agencées.

2. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon la revendication 1, dans lequel le réservoir (8) comprend une ouverture de réservoir raccordée à une première extrémité du moyen de dosage, dans lequel l'ouverture de distribution (9) est raccordée à l'autre extrémité du moyen de dosage, et dans lequel le moyen de dosage comprend un rotor (16) avec au moins une cavité pour un médicament, dans lequel le rotor (16) est au moins rotatif entre une position dans laquelle la cavité est alignée sur l'ouverture de réservoir et une position dans laquelle la cavité est alignée sur l'ouverture de distribution (9).

3. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel les unités de distribution (6) sont agencées l'une près de l'autre le long de la circonférence de la zone de collecte.

4. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel au moins une desdites colonnes de collecte comprend un moyen de fermeture (14) agencé sur son fond.

5. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon la revendication 4, dans lequel le moyen de fermeture (14) est un obturateur à diaphragme.

6. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon la revendication 4 ou 5, dans lequel les moyens de fermeture (14) sont commandés par l'unité de traitement de données.

7. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel les unités de distribution (6) sont attachées de manière amovible à la paroi (2).

8. Système de collecte de médicaments (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes, dans lequel ladite au moins une unité de distribution (6) comprend une étiquette, et dans lequel un capteur pour la lecture de l'étiquette est agencé sur la paroi (2), le capteur étant raccordé à l'unité de traitement de données.

9. Procédé de collecte des médicaments (18) comprenant les étapes de :

- déplacement des colonnes de collecte (12) d'un système de collecte de médicament (1) selon l'une quelconque des revendications précédentes le long de la circonférence de la zone de collecte et,

- pendant le déplacement, collecte de médicaments (18) dans au moins une des colonnes de collecte (12) depuis des ouvertures de distribution (9) des unités de distribution (6) adjacentes à ladite au moins une colonne de collecte (12).

10. Procédé de collecte de médicaments (18) selon la revendication 9, comprenant les étapes de :

- dotation de l'unité de traitement de données d'au moins un ordre comprenant le nombre et le type de pilules (18) requises pour un patient ;

- attribution d'une des colonnes de collecte (12) à l'ordre fourni à l'unité de traitement de données ;

- détermination par l'unité de traitement de données d'au moins une unité de distribution (6) dotée de pilules (18) depuis ladite au moins une unité de distribution dans le système de collecte de médicament (1) en utilisant l'information dans une mémoire ; et

- déplacement de la colonne de collecte attribuée (12) par l'unité de traitement de données le long de l'au moins une unité de distribution déterminée (6) pour aligner au moins une des ouvertures de réception (13) de la colonne de collecte attribuée (12) sur l'ouverture de distribution (9) de ladite au moins une unité de distribution déterminée (6) ; et

- commande du moyen de dosage par l'unité de traitement de données pour doser un médicament (18) via l'ouverture de distribution (9).

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