U.S. patent number 3,823,844 [Application Number 05/234,863] was granted by the patent office on 1974-07-16 for small article dispenser and counter.
Invention is credited to Glenn L. Beall, Bernard Linkemer, Larry Michelson.
United States Patent |
3,823,844 |
Linkemer , et al. |
July 16, 1974 |
SMALL ARTICLE DISPENSER AND COUNTER
Abstract
A device for dispensing a predetermined number of small articles
from a storage container, in which the small articles move in
response to a vibrator through an adaptor unit in communication
with the storage container; and, as the small articles leave the
outlet of the adaptor unit, they are detected by a counting
mechanism which stops the vibrator after the predetermined number
of small articles has been counted.
Inventors: |
Linkemer; Bernard (Chicago,
IL), Michelson; Larry (Chicago, IL), Beall; Glenn L.
(Gurnee, IL) |
Family
ID: |
26678817 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/234,863 |
Filed: |
March 15, 1972 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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08938 |
Feb 5, 1970 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
221/13; 198/771;
221/200; 221/7; 250/223R |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J
7/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61J
7/00 (20060101); A61J 7/02 (20060101); G07f
011/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;221/2,7,4,9,13,200,204
;198/22DC,DIG.11 ;250/22BA,223R ;133/1,8 ;53/78 ;193/2 ;235/98,132
;222/196 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Reeves; Robert B.
Assistant Examiner: Skaggs, Jr.; H. Grant
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Alter, Weiss, Whitesel &
Laff
Parent Case Text
This application is a continuation-in-part of copending application
Ser. No. 8,938, filed by Bernard Linkemer, Larry Michelson and
Glenn L. Beall, on Feb. 5, 1970, now abandoned.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles from
a storage container into a separate receptacle comprising:
means for temporarily positioning said storage container on said
apparatus so that the articles may be dispensed therefrom;
counting means;
a vibrator adapted to be activated by said counting means and
de-activated thereby when a predetermined number of articles have
been dispensed;
means for maintaining said receptacle in a receiving position;
means for transporting said articles from said storage container to
said receptacle including:
a chute member, means for receiving vibratory motion from said
vibrator, and flexible means disposed between said container and
said chute portion;
means for temporarily attaching said transporting means to said
storage container;
means for transmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to
said transporting means whereby said predetermined number of
articles are caused to move through said transporting means into
said receptacle;
wherein said chute member has a triangularly shaped outlet and is
adapted to be rotated so that the apex of each angle of the
triangle may be moved to the lowermost position and act as the
outlet angle.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the angles forming said
triangularly shaped chute portion each differ from each other so as
to accommodate different sized and shaped articles.
3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the means for receiving
vibratory motion from said vibrator is a cam adjacent said chute
member and the flexible means disposed between said chute member
and the storage container is a flexible elbow.
4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said counting means includes a
photoelectric cell which intercepts a beam of light in the path of
the articles as they emerge from the outlet of the chute member and
into the receptacle, whereby each of said articles interrupts said
beam of light, and means interconnected between said cell and said
vibrator to de-activate said vibrator after a predetermined number
of articles have interrupted said beam of light.
5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said angles of said chute
member are about 30.degree., 60.degree. and 90.degree..
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the chute includes an insert
in the form of a ribbon having its ends secured flat against the
two sides of said chute which define said angle of 90.degree..
7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said flexible elbow has
baffling means therein for restricting the flow of articles into
the chute.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein said means for maintaining
said receptacle in a receiving position comprise two arms having
overlapping jaws for holding said receptacle, said arms being
adjustable with respect to each other so as to accommodate varying
sized receptacles.
9. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles from
a storage container into a separate receptacle comprising:
means for temporarily positioning said storage container on said
apparatus so that the articles may be dispensed therefrom;
counting means;
a vibrator adapted to be activated by said counting means and
de-activated thereby when a predetermined number of articles have
been dispensed;
means for maintaining said receptacle in a receiving position;
means for transporting said articles from said storage container to
said receptacle;
means for temporarily attaching said transporting means to said
storage container;
means for transmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to
said transporting means whereby said predetermined number of
articles are caused to move through said transporting means into
said receptacle;
said transporting means including a dispensing chute and a hollow
flexible member for connecting said container with said chute, and
a baffle located within said flexible member and secured to the end
of said flexible member adjacent said chute, said baffle being
formed of relatively rigid material, and a resilient rod secured to
said baffle and extending upwardly therefrom into said container
for transmitting vibrations from said baffle to articles within the
bottom portion of said container, said rod being formed of the same
material as said baffle and having a relatively small diameter.
10. Apparatus for dispensing a predetermined number of articles
from a storage container into a separate receptacle comprising:
means for temporarily positioning said storage container on said
apparatus so that the articles may be dispensed therefrom;
counting means;
a vibrator adapted to be activated by said counting means and
de-activated thereby when a predetermined number of articles have
been dispensed;
means for maintaining said receptacle in a receiving position;
means for transporting said articles from said storage container to
said receptacle;
means for temporarily attaching said transporting means to said
storage container;
means for transmitting the vibratory motion from said vibrator to
said transporting means whereby said predetermined number of
articles are caused to move through said transporting means into
said receptacle;
said transporting means including a dispensing chute and a flexible
member for connecting said container with said chute, said flexible
member having a hollow chamber therein, and a baffle located within
said chamber and secured to the end of said flexible member
adjacent said chute, said baffle being formed of self-supporting
material and having a plurality of panels secured interiorly
thereto to define a passageway leading from said container to said
chute which increases in cross section in stepwise fashion from
said container to said chute.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said baffle includes a
tubular portion having a circular cylindrical cross section, and an
outwardly extending flange secured to the end of said tubular
portion, and locking means for securing said flange to said
flexible member adjacent said chute.
12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein said flexible member has an
outwardly extending flange adjacent the flange of said baffle, said
resilient flange having a plurality of protuberances thereon, and
the flange of said baffle having a plurality of apertures aligned
with said protuberances to secure said baffle member and said
resilient member in aligned relation.
13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a cam member is included,
surrounding a portion of said flexible member and said baffle
inwardly of said flanges, said cam member having a tubular portion
adapted to extend outwardly beyond the said flanges, and said
locking means comprises a ring adjustably threaded onto said cam
member whereby rotation of said ring relative to said cam member is
effective to adjust the amount of compression between said flanges.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to apparatus for dispensing a measured
number of small articles such as medicinal pills, capsules and the
like. Heretofore, pills and the like have been generally dispensed
manually by pharmacists. Some pill counting mechanisms have been
developed, such as the one shown in Roseberg U.S. Pat. No.
3,376,970, but these devices do not completely preclude manual
contact with the pills. Also, these devices could not be used to
count pills such as penicillin, because of cross contamination.
Apparatus constructed in accordance with the present invention
overcomes the disadvantages of the prior devices and practices. It
automatically and accurately dispenses a measured amount of
medicinal pills and thereby relieves the pharmacist from the time
consuming task of manually counting the pills. It permits him to
devote his attention to other matters while a predetermined number
of pills is being counted, and to fill prescriptions without
touching the pills. Another object of the invention is to provide a
compact apparatus that can be economically manufactured and is
adapted to be used in existing pharamacies with conventional drug
containers and prescription vials. Further objects will become
manifest from the ensuing description, the drawings and the
claims.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The apparatus of this invention includes, generally, a housing, an
adaptor unit, and a vibrator mounted in the housing, the vibrator
being connected with the adaptor unit and causing the same to
vibrate. The adaptor unit is capable of being connected to an
ordinary container of pills and, when it is vibrated, the pills
move one by one out of the adaptor unit and into a prescription
vial. As the pills pass out of the adaptor unit, they are counted
by counting means employing a photoelectric cell. The prescription
vial is retained in place by gripping means which positions the
vial in the proper location for receiving pills from the adaptor
unit. The adaptor unit has a rotatable chute of triangular cross
section. The angles of the cross section are 30.degree., 60.degree.
and 90.degree., each angle providing a differently shaped and sized
outlet to accommodate the various sizes and shapes of pills,
capsules and the like. The angle which is in the lowermost position
acts as the outlet.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of dispensing apparatus incorporating
one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a side elevation view, partly in cross section, of a
portion of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the vibrator assembly associated
with the apparatus of FIG. 1, illustrating the manner of
cooperation between the vibrator assembly and the cam ring;
FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of a baffle structure incorporated
in the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the apparatus of FIG.
6, taken along the section line 7--7;
FIG. 8 is a side elevation view of a portion of the apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 4;
FIG. 9 is an exploded view of the various parts of the apparatus
which make up the dispensing adaptor unit incorporated in the
apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the
present invention, partly broken away to disclose an interior
portion thereof;
FIG. 11 is a partial plan view of the front of the apparatus
illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus illustrated in
FIGS. 10 and 11, taken along the section line 12--12 in FIG.
11;
FIG. 13 is a side elevation view of the intermediate elbow portion
of the dispensing adaptor unit;
FIG. 14 is a front elevation view of the intermediate elbow portion
of the dispensing adaptor unit;
FIG. 15 is a side elevation view of the cap portion of a dispensing
adaptor unit adapted for attachment to conventional counters having
a supply of small articles;
FIG. 16 is a plan view of the cap portion of the dispensing adaptor
unit incorporated in the apparatus of FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 is a side elevation of the chute portion of the dispensing
adaptor unit;
FIG. 18 is a front elevation of the triangular chute portion of the
dispensing adaptor unit; and
FIG. 19 is a rear elevation view of the triangular chute portion of
the dispensing adaptor unit.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Referring now to the drawings and specifically to FIGS. 1 to 3, the
dispensing and counting apparatus 10 of the present invention is
provided with a housing 12, with means for supporting a storage
container 14 containing a plurality of pills, capsules or the like.
The container 14 is connected to a dispensing adaptor unit 16
having a chute 22 from which pills or other articles are dispensed
one at a time in single file, to drop from the end 23 of the chute
22 into a container such as a prescription vial 24, or the like.
The housing 12 also contains counting apparatus 18 having a
manually rotatable knob 19, cooperating with a dial 20. The knob 9
may be rotated to set the counter 18 to a predetermined number,
which number is indicated by the dial 20. When the counter 18 has
thus been set, the vibrator apparatus (shown in FIG. 5) is
energized by means of a push-button switch 21, after which
operation of the vibrator causes pills or other articles to be
dispensed from the container 14 through the chute 22 into the vial
24.
As the pills drop from the end of the chute 22 into the vial 24
they are counted by means of a photoelectric cell mounted in an arm
26, which arm is supported by the housing 12. Signals developed by
the photoelectric cell are communicated to the counter 18, and when
the number of signals generated by the photoelectric cell are equal
to the number set into the dial 20, operation of the vibrator
apparatus is stopped and feeding of the pills or other articles
ceases.
The counter 18 may be of any standard type, and is preferably one
which operates at line voltage and has a double-pole, double-throw
relay to actuate and de-actuate the vibrator. The counter is
preferably set by knob 19 to any number from 1 to 999. In place of
the knob 19 and dial 20, the counter may optionally be of the type
which is set by push buttons and has indicator lamps for indicating
the number to which the counter is set.
As used hereinafter, the term "front" denotes that side of the
dispensing apparatus 10 which is visible in FIG. 1, which "rear"
denotes the opposite side.
The housing 12 is formed with two vertical side walls 29 and 31
between which a number of other walls and panels are secured. A
pair of vertical panels 28 and 30 are secured to the side walls 20
and 31 near their rear edges, and the panels 28 and 30 extend
toward each other for a short distance. The panel 28 has a vertical
slot 32 in the upper portion of its inward edge, and the panel 30
has a corresponding vertical slot 34. The slots 32 and 34 receive
ears integrally formed on a cap 36, which cap closes the opening of
the container 14. The cooperation of the ears with the slots 32 and
34 maintains the position of the container 14 in relation to he
housing 12. The cap 36 forms a part of the dispensing adaptor unit
16, and the bottom portion thereof is connected directly to an
intermediate elbow portion 37, which in turn is connected to the
chute 22. A cam ring 38 is provided near the junction of the
intermediate elbow portion with the chute 22 and the lower portion
of its periphery extends a slight distance downwardly through an
aperture 42 through a panel 40 secured between the side walls 29
and 31 of the housing 12. The cam ring 38 cooperates with the
vibrator apparatus so that it, the chute 22, and the intermediate
elbow portion 37 are caused to vibrate and thus to feed the pills
through the chute 22.
The arm 26 which houses the photoelectric cell, is fixed to the
housing 12 and is provided with an aperture 44 through which light
passes to reach the photoelectric cell. The light is produced by a
lamp or other illuminating means mounted in an arm 46, secured to
the housing 12 and extending in a direction parallel to the arm 26
in such a position that pills passing out from the end of the chute
22 interrupt the light beam.
The vial 24 is positioned beneath the end of the chute 22 by means
of a pair of cooperating jaws 48 and 50 respectively supported by a
pair of arms 52 and 54, which pass through an aperture 56 in a
vertical panel 58 extending between walls 29 and 31 of the housing
12. The arms 52 and 54 have their rear ends supported on a pair of
vertical shafts (not shown) interior of the housing 12, which are
geared together so that the front ends of the arms move in opposite
directions. Thus movement of the end 53 of the arm 48 opens the
jaws 48 and 50 together to receive a vial therebetween. The arms 52
and 54 are spring biased toward closed position by means not shown
so that the vial is securely positioned beneath the end of the
chute 22. A horizontal panel 60 is secured between the walls 29 and
31 of the housing 12 to support the vial 24 as it is held in place
by the jaws 48 and 50. Small vials are supported by the jaws 48 and
50 above the panel 60.
The cap 36 is formed of rigid plastic or the like and has a set of
threads 59 (FIG. 4) which permits it to be screwed onto the
container 14.
The intermediate elbow portion 37 of the dispensing adaptor unit 16
is formed of soft rubber or other similar flexible material, and is
shown in detail in FIGS. 4, 8 and 9. The upper end thereof slips
over a lower spout portion 62 of the cap 36. The other end of the
elbow section is provided with an enlarged circular collar 64. The
cam ring 38 surrounds the collar 64, and has an inwardly extending
flange 66 disposed adjacent the rear face of the enlarged collar
64. the
A baffle member 68 is disposed within the intermediate elbow
portion 37, and one end thereof has a circular tubular portion 70
terminating in an outwardly extending flange 72, disposed adjacent
the front face of the collar 64. A plurality of projections 74
extend outwardly from the surface of the collar 64 in a direction
parallel to the axis of the tubular portion 70, and engage
apertures provided in aligned positions in the flange 72 so that
the baffle member 68 is securely positioned relative to the
intermediate elbow portion 37.
The chute 22 is secured at its rear end to a circular disk 76, the
disk having a diameter approximately equal to that of the flange
72. The disk is positioned adjacent the front surface of the flange
72. A locking ring 80, having threads 81 engaged with threads 82
provided on the interior surface of the cam ring 38, is positioned
forwardly of the disk 76, and bears against it, whereby the entire
assembly of cam ring 38, elbow portion 37, baffle member 68, and
disk 76 are secured together. The amount of force effective between
the cam ring 38 and the locking ring 80 depends upon the tightness
with which the locking ring 80 is screwed onto the cam ring 38. A
set of index numbers are printed on the front face of the cam ring
38, and an index mark 85 (FIG. 9) is printed on the locking ring
80, so that any desired force between the locking ring 80 and the
cam ring 38 may be selected by rotating the index mark 85 to the
proper number of the cam ring 38. The outer extremity of the cam
ring 38 is in the form of a circular O-ring (FIG. 4). The lower
portion of the ring is received in a circular recess in a saddle
member 82 secured to a plate 84 by means of screws 86 (FIG. 5). The
plate 84 is resiliently mounted on a base 91 by a resilient member
93. The plate 84 is connected to a vibrator plate 90 by means of
rods 88. The action of the vibrator is to vibrate the plate 84 in a
direction longitudinal to the direction of the rods 88, and this
vibration is transmitted to the cam ring 38 by means of the saddle
82. By this means the cam ring 38 is caused to move in a forward
and back direction. As the elbow section 37 is formed of flexible
material, the chute 22 and the portion of the elbow section 37
which is connected thereto are caused to vibrate freely while the
container 14 is rigidly secured in association with the housing
12.
One type of vibrator which may be used is a 115 volt, 60 cycle
electromechanical type having a frequency of 3,600 cycles per
minute, a vibration amplitude of 0.25 inch, and a capacity of 10
pounds.
The chute 22 and the disk 76 are formed of a rigid material such as
styrene or the like. The triangular cross section of the chute 22
has three angles of 30.degree., 60.degree. and 90.degree.. The disk
76 is rotatable relative to the locking ring 80, to bring any
desired angle to the lowermost position to form the dispensing
outlet. The three different angles are preferable since they
accommodate the greatest number of sizes and shapes of pills,
capsules, tablets and the like. A narrow strip of semiflexible
material, such as Teflon, is supported at the 90.degree. angle of
the chute 22, and the two ends of the strip are secured to the two
sidewalls forming the corner, in order to facilitate arranging
relatively large pills into single file.
The attitude of the chute 22, as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 8,
extends at a slight incline rising from the intermediate elbow
portion 37 to its free end. The amount of this incline is
approximately 4.degree.. It has been found desirable to provide
such an incline in order to encourage pills or other articles to
travel in single file fashion, and in order to inhibit round pills
from rolling out of the chute 22.
The baffle member 68 is formed of relatively rigid plastic
material. The front end of the baffle comprises a tubular portion
70 to which the flange 72 is connected. The lower portion of the
rear end of the tubular portion 70 joins with a portion 70a formed
as a quarter of a sphere, and generally conforms to the interior
surface of the elbow 37. The upper rear edge 70b of the tube 70 is
inclined, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, along the locus of
intersection that the tube 70 would make with a vertical circular
cylinder. A pair of curved fillets 75 are secured to opposite ends
of the edge 70b and extend downwardly therefrom to the plane of the
upper edge of the portion 70a. A vertical panel 77 extends
downwardly from the central portion of the edge 70b to the plane of
the upper edge of the portion 70a, immediately forward of the
fillets 75. The middle of the bottom edge of the panel 77 has a
semicircular notch. A horizontal panel 79 is connected to the upper
extremity of the portion 74, and forms a baffle across the rear
part of the circular passageway leading down from the cap 36. A
horizontal panel 87 is secured to the front face of the panel 77,
and extends forwardly therefrom to the plane of the flange 72. The
panel 87 defines a cavity with the upper portion of the tube
70.
A rod 78 is connected to the panel 79 and extends upwardly for a
distance sufficiently to penetrate into the bottom of the container
14 where the pills may be somewhat congested as they prepare to
pass through the opening at the bottom of the container 14. The
presence of the rod 78, vibrating with the cam ring 38, tends to
relieve this congestion and line up the pills for passage
downwardly through the semicircular opening defined by the wall 77
and the front edge of the panel 79. In order to move along this
path, pills must pass around the front edge of the panel 79, after
which they enter the chamber defined by the bottom of the tube 70
and the portion 70a. The pills then pass outwardly through this
chamber past the baffle provided by the panel 77 and the fillets 75
into a chamber of larger cross section defined by the wall 87 and
the bottom portion of the tube 70. As they enter the triangular
chute 22 passing the wall 84 and the disk 76, the pills or other
articles are travelling essentially in single file. Thus they pass
out the end of the chute 22 one by one.
It has been found that the provision of the rod 78 and the various
panels of the baffle member 68 tends materially to increase the
speed at which the pills can pass out of the pill container 14 and
to the chute 22, and facilitates their being ordered into
single-file arrangement.
In operation, the dispensing adaptor unit 16 is attached to a
storage container 14 and the unit is positioned for operation by
inserting ears 33 and 35 within the slots 32 and 34 of the panels
28 and 30. If several adaptor units 16 are employed, each adaptor
unit 16 preferably remains on a storage container even when pills
are not being dispensed therefrom, i.e., when the container is on
the shelf, and the end 23 of the chute 22 is then closed by a
suitable dustproof closure 98 (FIG. 4). This obviates the necessity
for attachment of an adaptor unit to a particular storage container
each time pills therefrom are to be taken from it; and, further,
obviates the need for cleaning the adaptor units each time they are
used, since only one type of pill is used with each unit.
The receptacle or vial 24 for the pills or other small articles is
positioned below outlet 23 and maintained in a receiving position
by the jaws 48 and 50. The counter 18 is then set for dispensing
the desired number of articles by appropriate adjustment of the
knob 19. Finally, the amount of force on the connection between the
intermediate elbow portion 37 and the chute 22 is adjusted by
turning the locking ring 80. The more force that is placed on this
connection (i.e., the tighter the connection is made), the greater
will be the amplitude of vibration imparted to the chute 22. For
some pills or other articles the vibration should be greater than
for other articles, to facilitate single-file feeding of the pills
and guard against breaking or abrading the more delicate ones. At
this time, the photoelectric cell within the arm 26 becomes
operative and the vibrator is energized. The cam ring 38,
positioned in the saddle 82, imparts a vibrating motion to adaptor
unit 16 so that the small articles from the container 14 move from
the container into the dispensing adaptor unit 16 and emerge one by
one from outlet 23. As the small articles emerge from outlet 23,
they interrupt the beam of light from the photocell and each
interruption is transmitted to the counter 18. When a predetermined
number of small articles have been dispensed, the vibrator is
de-energized and dispensation of the articles ceases. The small
articles remaining within adaptor unit 16 are returned into the
storage container 14 when the container and attached adaptor unit
are inverted for shelf storage.
When the dispensing and counting apparatus of this invention is
used, the articles to be dispensed are not handled. This is
particularly advantageous for pharmaceutical use because it is
sanitary. Moreover, dispensation and counting of the small articles
are accomplished automatically so that human counting errors are
eliminated and the efficiency of the pharmacist is increased
because he can devote his attention to other matters and never lose
time because of the need to recount pills for prescriptions.
Referring now specifically to the alternative embodiment shown in
FIGS. 10-19 of the drawings, the dispensing and counting apparatus
includes a housing 92 having a vibrator 94 disposed therein,
similar to the vibrator which has been described, except that it is
arranged to vibrate in an up-and-down direction, instead of back
and forth. The vibrator 94 cooperates with an adaptor unit 96
consisting of a cap 36, identical to that described above, an
intermediate elbow portion 100 and a triangular-shaped chute 102.
The chute 102 has a dispensing outlet 103.
The number of small articles which are dispensed from the outlet
103 are counted by means of a counter 114, identical to that
described above. Each time a pill passes the photoelectric cell 116
(which is mounted on an arm 117), and interrupts the light beam,
this interruption is electrically transmitted to the counter 114.
The counter 114 is electrically connected to the vibrator 94 so
that when the desired number of pills have been dispensed (and have
thereby passed the photoelectric cell), the electric circuit to the
vibrator is de-energized.
Also disposed in the housing 92 are arms 104 and 106, which are
biased toward closed or gripping position by spring means (not
shown). The terms 104 and 106 are provided with jaws 108 and 110
for clasping a small article receptacle (not shown), such as a
medicinal pill vial. The arms 104 and 106 are arranged in
overlapping relationship so as to accommodate receptacles or vials
of various sizes, including exceptionally small diameter vials. The
arms 104 and 106 are movable longitudinally and simultaneously by
means of the intermeshing gear-type mating relationship at the
inner ends thereof as shown at 112. Accordingly, arms 104 and 106
can be readily positioned so as to maintain the opening of a small
article receptacle beneath the dispensing outlet 103 in the adaptor
unit 96.
The adaptor unit 96 is shown in detail in FIGS. 11 through 18. The
elbow section 100 of the adaptor unit 96 is similar to the elbow
section 37, described above, except that it is connected to the
chute 102 in a different manner. The forward end of elbow section
110 is provided with an enlarged circular collar 130 with a smaller
circular collar 142 positioned inwardly therefrom so as to provide
space for securely maintaining a drive cam member 134 therein. The
cam member 134 is in the form of a circular O-ring and formed of a
rigid material such as, for example, impact styrene and the like.
Member 134 rests on the vibrator 94 and thereby transmits vibratory
motion to the chute 102. By using the flexible elbow 100 and the
rigidly mounted chute 102, the latter are vibrated more vigorously
than the container 14. This makes the dispensing unit more
adaptable to different sized containers 14 and obviates the need
for a vibrator larger than the one used.
The triangular shaped chute member 102 is formed of a rigid
material such as styrene and the like, and is identical to the
chute 22 except for its manner of connection with the elbow portion
100. The chute has a circular portion 105 at its rear end which is
adapted for insertion and frictional engagement within collar 130
of the elbow portion 100. The chute 102 is rotatable with respect
to the elbow 100 so that any one of the angular sides of the chute
can be positioned in the lowermost position to form the dispensing
outlet 103. Means comprising protuberances 137 located on the
periphery of the chute 102 and recesses 139 provided in the elbow
section 100, shown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19, are used to control the
rotating movement of the chute. The recesses 139 are molded into
the elbow section 100, as shown in FIG. 14, and are adapted to
receive the protuberances 137, so that the chute can be accurately
set in any one of the three dispensing positions.
A baffle member 136 (see FIG. 12) is provided within the elbow 100
to direct the flow of small articles. The baffle member snaps into
the elbow 100 and conforms to the inside wall thereof. It is
provided with three different sized openings 138 and is attached to
and rotates with the chute 102. The openings 138 vary in size, and
correspond to the different sized angles of the chute 102. When the
narrowest angle of the chute 102 is in use, the smallest hole 138
of the baffle member 136 will be in operative position. When the
largest angle of the chute is employed, the largest hole is
used.
Pill storage containers are conventional sized bottles and there
are only a relatively few different sized caps used on them. Cap 36
is adapted to replace the caps of these conventional containers.
Thus, the diameter of cap 36 can be varied so as to replace various
sized caps and to accommodate various sized storage containers. The
operation of the unit shown in FIG. 10 is the same as has been
described above for the embodiment of FIG. 1.
While specific embodiments of this invention have been described,
modifications of this embodiment may be made. For example, various
types of vibrators and counting mechanisms may be employed and
other suitable means for holding the receiving vial can be used.
These modifications and others are within the spirit and scope of
this invention and are intended to be covered by the appended
claims.
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