U.S. patent number 3,871,156 [Application Number 05/457,676] was granted by the patent office on 1975-03-18 for pelletized medicament dispensing system.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Sherwood Medical Industries Inc.. Invention is credited to Walter L. Bessinger, Robert M. Conklin, Elmer A. Koenig, Jack A. Russell.
United States Patent |
3,871,156 |
Koenig , et al. |
March 18, 1975 |
**Please see images for:
( Certificate of Correction ) ** |
Pelletized medicament dispensing system
Abstract
A pelletized medicament dispensing system having a plurality of
medicament pellet containing bowls mounted on a rotatable member in
a helical array. A control system rotates the array to bring a
selected bowl to a packaging station. At the packaging station, a
varying magnetic field vibrates the selected bowl effecting
movement of a selected number of pellets, one at a time, through a
bowl outlet and into a packaging cup. Patient and medicament data
is printed on a label that also serves as a package cover for the
cup. The package of pellets is then dispensed from the system for
use. An electronic control system for automatically dispensing the
desired kind and number of pellets, and for printing the desired
patient information on the label is also provided. The
pellet-containing bowls are elliptical and are provided with a pair
of storage bins which are selectively opened to replenish the
bowls.
Inventors: |
Koenig; Elmer A. (Kirkwood,
MO), Conklin; Robert M. (Chappaqua, NY), Bessinger;
Walter L. (Grand Haven, MI), Russell; Jack A.
(Libertyville, IL) |
Assignee: |
Sherwood Medical Industries
Inc. (St. Louis, MO)
|
Family
ID: |
23817700 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/457,676 |
Filed: |
April 3, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
53/501; 53/268;
221/113; 221/203; 53/168; 221/2; 221/120 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F
17/0092 (20130101); B65B 57/20 (20130101); B65B
57/04 (20130101); B65B 37/04 (20130101); B65B
61/025 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65B
37/00 (20060101); B65B 37/04 (20060101); B65B
57/02 (20060101); B65B 57/04 (20060101); B65B
57/20 (20060101); B65B 61/02 (20060101); B65B
57/00 (20060101); B65B 61/00 (20060101); B65b
057/20 () |
Field of
Search: |
;53/59R,78,168,268
;221/113,119,120,129,130,132,203,2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: McGehee; Travis S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Garber; Stanley N. O'Meara; William
R.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A dispensing system for dispensing a predetermined number of
designated medicament pellets comprising a plurality of movable
medicament pellet storage units each adapted to contain different
types of medicament pellets, means for moving said storage units to
position a selected one of said units containing said designated
pellets at a packaging station, each of said units including a bowl
having an outlet for discharging pellets therefrom, means for
positioning an open container adjacent said outlet for receiving
pellets from the bowl, means located at the packaging station for
effecting discharge of the pellets through the outlet and into the
container, means for counting the discharged pellets, means for
terminating the discharge of pellets when said predetermined number
is discharged, and means for closing the container.
2. The system of claim 1 including an elongated rotatable member at
the packaging station having a recess adjacent each end for
receiving an open container, means for moving one end thereof to a
position adjacent the outlet of a bowl of a storage unit positioned
at the packaging station, means for rotating said member to
position said one end at a printing station, means for printing a
label and covering a container at said printing station, means for
moving said one end to a discharge station, means for discharging
the closed container from said member, and means for moving said
one end to a container dispensing station to move an empty
container into said recess of said member at said one end.
3. A dispensing system for dispensing medicament pellets comprising
a turret having an array of medicament pellet storage units
connected thereto containing different kinds of medicament pellets,
means for rotating said turret to position a selected one of said
units at a packaging station, each of said units including a bowl
having an outlet for discharging pellets therefrom and magnetic
means thereon for effecting vibration of the bowl in response to a
varying magnetic field applied thereto to move stored pellets from
the bowl through the outlet, means for positioning an open
container adjacent said outlet for receiving pellets from the bowl,
magnetic field producing means located at the packaging station for
applying a varying magnetic field to the bowl magnetic means of the
unit while positioned at the packaging station, and means for
closing the container.
4. The system of claim 3 wherein said storage units are positioned
on said turret in a helical array to pass said packaging station in
a serial manner.
5. The system of claim 4 including means for moving said turret to
move each of said units through a helical path.
6. The system of claim 4 further including motion translation means
for effecting vertical movement of said turret simultaneously with
rotary movement thereof so that each of said units traverse a
helical path.
7. The system of claim 5 wherein said means for closing said
container includes means for printing a label and covering the open
container with the label.
8. A dispensing system for dispensing a predetermined number of
medicament pellets into a container comprising information source
means for receiving information designating the type and number of
medicament pellets to be dispensed, turret means carrying a
plurality of coded storage units each including a bowl having an
outlet and magnetic means for vibrating the bowl in response to an
applied magnetic field to move stored pellets through the outlet,
each of said storage units containing a different type of
medicament pellets, control means for moving said storage means to
position a selected storage unit at a dispensing station in
response to designated information applied to the information
source, magnetic field producing means mounted in fixed relation at
the dispensing station and closely spaced from the bowl magnetic
means of the selected storage unit positioned at the dispensing
station, means for providing an open container at the dispensing
station adjacent the bowl outlet, said magnetic field producing
means being operable to effect vibration of the bowl and movement
of pills out of the bowl and into the container, and counting means
for controlling the number of the pellets moved into the container
in accordance with the designated information applied to the
information source.
9. The system of claim 8 further including means for closing the
container.
10. The system of claim 8 wherein said storage means is a
continuous helical array of storage units which are mounted to said
turret means and movable in a helical path.
11. The system of claim 10 wherein said control system includes
drive means for rotatably driving the helical turret in opposite
vertical directions, code means for detecting when a predetermined
storage unit containing a prescribed medicament pellet is at the
dispensing station, and stopping means responsive to said code
means for stopping the drive means when the predetermined storage
unit has been transferred to the dispensing means.
12. The system of claim 10 further including a first vertically
extending rotatable member, rotatable drive means for rotating said
first member, a second vertically extending cylindrical member
concentric with said first member and having said storage units
connected thereto, coupling means connecting said second member to
said first member for simultaneous rotation but permitting vertical
movement of said second member relative to said first member, and
motion translating means for converting rotary movement of said
drive means into vertical movement of said second member.
13. The system of claim 12 wherein said motion translating means
comprises a vertically extending threaded shaft rotatable with said
second member about the vertical axis of said second member, a
stationary ring gear, a gear on said shaft engaged with said ring
gear to rotate said shaft about its own vertical axis during
rotation of said second member, and a threaded coupling element
fixed to said second member and movable axially in response to
rotation of said shaft about its own axis.
14. The system of claim 12 wherein said coupling means includes
vertically slidable interconnected key and keyway means connected
between said first and second members.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
While vending machines are available that will dispense on command
packages containing a predetermined amount of ingredients per
package, these machines do not have the capability of varying the
number of elements or amount of material in each package. Also,
they do not have the capability of forming a package and providing
a label thereon.
In the dispensing of pelletized medicaments, such as pills,
tablets, capsules, suppositories, lozenges, and the like, in a
hospital, the pharmacist fills a prescription by packaging a
predetermined number of pellets in a container and places a typed
label thereon indicating the patient, room number, type of drug,
and dosage. Because of the large variety of medicament pellets and
the variations in the number of pellets for each prescription,
prepackaged medicament pellets have not been generally dispensed by
a dispensing machine.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a
pelletized medicament dispensing system capable of dispensing
packages containing any of a variety of medicament pellets in any
desired quantity. Another object is to provide medicament pellet
containers for use in a medicament dispensing system of the above
type wherein the container is capable of holding a relatively large
number of pellets while requiring a relatively small space so as to
reduce the overall size of the apparatus, and wherein pellets can
be dispensed one at a time. Still another object is to provide
storage means associated with medicament pellet containers of the
above type wherein a relatively large number of pellets can be
actuated selectively to reduce the number of times the dispensing
machine must be entered for replenishing pellets.
In accordance with one form of the invention, a pellet dispensing
system is provided which includes an array of medicament pellet
containing bowls each capable of being vibrated by a magnetic field
to discharge pellets therefrom and including a variable magnetic
field device. The magnetic field device and array are relatively
movable to bring a selected one of the bowls and the device into
cooperative position so vibration caused by the magnetic field of
the device effects movement of a selected number of pellets out of
the bowl and into a packaging member.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention
will become apparent from the following detailed description and
accompanying drawings. The novel features which are believed to be
characteristic of this invention are set forth with particularity
in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a pelletized medicament dispensing
system, with an upper portion removed for clarity, in accordance
with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an elevational view partly in section of the turret
mechanism of the dispensing system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view illustrating one of the
pellet storage units of the system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 4--4 of FIG.
3;
FIG. 5 is a right-hand end view of the pellet container of FIG.
3;
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 6--6 of FIG.
3;
FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the bowl of the container unit of FIG.
3 removed from other portions of the storage unit;
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 8--8 of FIG.
7;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of one of the storage boxes of the
pellet container unit of FIG. 3;
FIG. 10 is a fragmentary vertical cross-sectional view of the drive
mechanism of the turret of the dispensing system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 11--11 of
FIG. 10 with portions broken away for clarity;
FIG. 12 is an elevational view illustrating a motor drive system
for the turret of FIG. 1;
FIG. 13 illustrates an elevational view of the motor drive system
of the packaging station of the dispensing system of FIG. 1;
FIG. 14 illustrates a sectional view taken along the line 14--14 of
FIG. 1 illustrating the feeding of pellets and auxiliary storage
operating mechanism;
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an automatic control system
of the dispensing system of FIG. 1; and
FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a completed sealed prescription
package of medicament pellets with a cover label thereon dispensed
from the dispensing system of FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1-3, a
pelletized medicament dispensing system 10 is shown including a
rotatable medicament storage turret 12 having a carriage 14 in the
form of a helix carrying a plurality of coded pellet storage units
16 disposed in a helical array. The system 10 is automatically
controlled to dispense packages of a selected kind and number of
medicament pellets by an electronic control system 15 shown in FIG.
15 which will be described in detail hereinafter.
Rotation of the turret is controlled so as to bring a selected one
of the storage units 16 to a pellet feeding and packaging station
indicated generally at 18. Each storage unit may store a different
kind of medicament pellet. At the packaging station 18, a
preselected number of pellets of a preselected kind are packaged
with a label and dispensed from the system.
The dispensing system 10 is shown enclosed in a cabinet 20 having a
front lower door 22 with a horizontal upper cover 23 hinged to the
cabinet to provide access to the turret drive mechanism illustrated
in FIGS. 10 and 12, and the packaging station driving unit
illustrated in FIG. 13.
The turret assembly 12, as also seen in FIGS. 10-12, includes a
vertical stationary tubular member 24 fixed at its lower end to a
supporting member 26 by bolts 27 with the supporting member
provided with pads bearing on a base or floor 28 of the system. A
rotatable tubular drive member 30 concentric with tubular member 24
is fixed to a rotatable drive wheel or drive pulley 32 supported by
bearings 31 on the supporting plate 26. A drive belt 34 on pulley
32 rotates the pulley and is driven by a stepping motor 36, as seen
in FIG. 12, through a ratio changing pulley arrangement 38. A
rotatable tubular member 30 is provided with three axially
extending rectangular keys (one shown) 40 which are received in
keyways 42 (FIG. 10) provided in lower and upper circular coupling
members 44 and 46 that are connected to a vertically extending
tubular support member 48. The web 14 carrying the pellet storage
unit 16 is fixed, such as by bolts, to the exterior of support
member 48. Thus, the tubular member 48 carrying the units 16 is
rotatable with the tubular member 30 due to the connection between
the coupling members 44 and 46 of member 48 and the keys 40 fixed
to the member 30.
Turret 12 carrying the helical array of units 16 is movable up and
down as it rotates by means of a rotary-to-vertical movement
translating device, indicated generally at 50 and as best seen in
FIG. 10. Device 50 includes a vertically extending threaded shaft
52 mounted for rotation in a bearing 53 in the drive wheel 32 and
having a small gear 54 at the lower end engaged with internal
threads of a ring gear 56 fixed to the supporting member 26. As the
drive member 32 rotates, bearing 53 and shaft 52 rotate with it.
The gear 54 causes rotation of shaft 52 as the gear 54 rotates
about the stationary ring gear 56. The supporting tubular member 48
is moved up and down during rotation by means of an internally
threaded coupling nut on bushing 58 threadedly received on the
threaded shaft 52 and fixed by nuts 59 to the member 48. Thus, when
the drive pulley 32 rotates, the gear 54 and shaft 52 rotate to
cause the coupling nut 58 to move vertically up or down on the
shaft 52 due to its threaded connection therewith, to thereby
effect rotation as well as vertical movement of the member 48. In
this way, the array of storage units 16 can be moved to position
any one of them at the packaging station 18.
Turret 12 is provided with a counter-balance in the form of a
weight 49 slidable in tubular member 24 and connected by a cable 51
over a wheel at the top to tubular member 48 carrying units 16.
Weight 49 rises as the turret 12 lowers and lowers as the turret
rises to obtain a substantially constant load on stepping motor
36.
Referring now especially to FIGS. 3-9, each of the storage units 16
includes an upper metal supporting frame 60 removably secured to
the web 14 by means of a rotatable lever 62 (FIGS. 3 and 4) having
a lower eccentric abutment member 63 engageable with a rear band 64
on the frame 60 to clamp the frame to the web. The pair of pins are
shown in phantom in FIG. 3 entering holes in the rear of the frame
60 to insure that the unit 16 is rigidly connected to the web.
Frame 60 is elongated and extends radially outwardly from the web
to support a pellet-carrying bowl 66 of generally elliptical
configuration. Preferably, the bowl is formed of a suitable
plastic, such as polypropylene. Bowl 66 is suspended in spaced
relation from the frame 60 by three inclined spring members 68a,
68b and 68c, which may also be formed of a suitable plastic such as
polypropylene. Each of springs 68a, 68b and 68c is connected at the
top by a screw 71 to the frame 60 and at the bottom of the bowl 66
by any suitable means, such as a plastic rivet or weld 72. Each of
the legs extends downwardly from the frame 60 and is inclined in
the same circumferential direction so that any vertical force
applied to the bowl relative to the frame will cause a generally
circumferential or circular movement of the bowl relative to the
frame.
A plate 74 of magnetic material such as iron or steel is secured by
a pair of screws 75 to the bottom of the bowl, it being centered
over the center of gravity of the bowl. The plate 74 is adapted to
be positioned in a variable magnetic field during the feeding or
dispensing of pellets at the packaging station. A single magnetic
field producing device is indicated generally at 76 in FIGS. 4 and
5, and is positioned in fixed relation at the packaging station
where the pellets are to be fed into a cup. It includes an iron
core 77 and a coil 78. Since the array of bowls moves in a helical
path, the magnetic plate 74 of the bowl and the pole faces of
magnetic member 76 are parallel to each other but inclined to the
vertical so that the bowls pass the magnetic member 76 without
interference, and such that when a bowl stops at the dispensing
station above the magnetic member 76, the gap is of constant
dimension. At the feeding station, a magnetic field is created by
alternating current flow in coil 78 which acts on plate 74 to
create forces causing rotary vibratory effects on the bowl 66 due
to the springs 68a-68c. Thus, the bowl tends to rotate back and
forth at a rate dependent on the frequency of current flowing in
coil 78 which may be, for example, 60 cycle current. This vibration
effect, of course, causes pellets in the bowl to vibrate and move
in a direction toward the outlet of the bowl.
It has generally been considered a necessity that the bowl and
other portions, such as the springs, be generally symmetrical or
circular in order to obtain vibration feeding of particles out of a
bowl. Use of generally circular bowls with spring members equally
angularly related and having their neutral axes equally distant
from the center of gravity were considered general requirements for
proper operation. The use of oblong or generally elliptical bowls,
such as bowl 66, instead of circular bowls in a system having an
array, such as the helical array of bowls of turret 12, however,
greatly reduces the overall size, as well as the size of parts and
the inertia involved in moving a turret such as turret 12. Use of
plastic bowls 66 further decreases the total weight of the
turret.
As seen in FIG. 7, the bowl 66 has a bottom wall 80 with a high
point or hump 81 adjacent the front portion of the bowl. A ramp,
indicated at 82, has an entrance at 83 near the hump 81. Ramp 82
continuously rises and extends in a generally elliptical curve to
an outlet indicated at 84 connected with a discharge chute 85 of
transparent material such as plastic. The ramp is generally
inclined or banked downwardly towards the outer wall 86 of the bowl
for substantially the entire length of the ramp. The ramp 82 has an
inner wall which is generally elliptical, as indicated at 87, and
which extends above the floor of the ramp to prevent pellets from
falling back into the central area 80 during feeding operations.
The incline of ramp 82 is more clearly seen in FIGS. 4, 6 and
8.
It will be apparent from FIG. 7 that the three springs 68a-68c are
not symmetrically angularly disposed about the bowl or its center
of gravity, indicated by a point 87. Springs 68a and 68b are
disposed near the outer end of the bowl while spring 68c is near
the inner end. With this construction, the pills stored in the
central portion 80 will vibrate and move into the ramp entrance 83
and then move along the ramp 82 to the exit or outlet 84. The hump
81 aides in moving the pellets outwardly and tends to prevent them
from circulating in the center portion 80.
In order to insure that only one pellet at a time moves out of the
bowl for counting purposes, a scraper member 88 is shown connected
by screws to the frame 60 (FIGS. 6 and 7) and extends angularly
across the ramp 82 and touches the side wall of the bowl near the
outlet of the ramp. Member 88 is flexible so that it does not
interfere or prevent bowl vibration. It is preferably of thin
plastic material. Scraper 88 is in the path of the moving pellets
and allows only one pellet to pass under it by scraping off any
pellets that happen to ride on the top of another pellet. Between
the scraper 88 and the ramp outlet 84 is a pill return chute 89
which has the effect of narrowing the ramp adjacent the outlet so
that should more than one pill pass scraper 88, all of them will
fall into the chute 89 and back into the bowl. Also, a vertically
extending wall 90 is provided at the outlet 84 to prevent pellets
in the center portion 80 from being vibrated directly to the outlet
84. The wall 90 is spaced from the bowl 66 so as not to interfere
with the bowl vibration.
A feed gate 92, as seen in FIG. 5, normally closes the outlet 84 of
the bowl to prevent loss of pellets. When a bowl reaches the
feeding station to dispense pellets, an actuating arm 93 connected
to an actuating motor 94 controlled by the electronic system, for
example, is operated to engage the feed gate 92 and move it
upwardly out of the path of movement of the pellets at the outlet
84 to permit the pellets to feed out of the bowl.
As seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, the frame 60 has a pair of generally
rectangular openings 96 and 97 which communicate with the interior
of the storage bowl 66. Each of the openings 96 and 97 is adapted
to receive an auxiliary storage bin or box 98, as seen in FIG. 9.
In FIG. 3, the openings 96 and 97 are shown receiving auxiliary
storage boxes 98a and 98b, respectively. Each of the storage boxes
is adapted to carry an auxiliary supply of pellets to be
selectively dispensed into the bowl when the bowl is empty. As seen
in FIG. 9, the auxiliary storage box 98 has a generally rectangular
storage portion 108 and a lid 110 pivotally connected to one side
of the storage portion 108. The storage portion 108 has a
peripheral flange 112 which extends outwardly from the box and is
adapted to engage a peripheral flange 114 around each of the
openings 96 and 97 of the frame. The boxes as seen in FIG. 3 are
held in their openings by a resilient spring clip 109 at each end
of the openings 96 and 97. The lid 110, when closed, frictionally
engages the interior of the peripheral flange 112 of the storage
portion of the box 98 to hold the pellets therein with the pellets
resting on the interior surface of the lid, such as seen in FIG. 4.
The auxiliary storage box 98 is shown as a single-piece member
formed of a suitable plastic such as polypropylene with the lid 110
integrally hinged to the storage portion 108.
Each of the auxiliary boxes 98 has a substantially straight side
indicated at 116 and a slightly curved or multi-sided opposed side
118 to which the lid is hinged. A pair of cut-outs or grooves 120
and 122 are provided in the opposed ends 123 and 124 of the storage
portion 108 which extend through the flange 112 adjacent the
straight side 116. The lid 110 is provided with a pair of opening
tabs 126 and 128 which, when the lid 110 is closed, enter the slots
or grooves 120 and 122 in the periphery of the storage portion
108.
For proper operation of the vibrating bowl, the bowl should not be
overfilled with pellets. Thus, by utilizing two auxiliary storage
bins or boxes 98 which can be selectively opened after the bowls
are empty, the device can operate to dispense a relatively large
number of pellets without refilling the dispensing device. When a
particular bowl 66 has been emptied, only one of the auxiliary
boxes 98 is opened and the pellets therein drop into the bowl, thus
replenishing the pellets for future feeding. After the replenished
bowl is again empty, the second auxiliary storage box is emptied
into the bowl. For this purpose, a lid actuating or operating
member 140, as seen more clearly in FIGS. 3, 5 and 14, is mounted
for controlled rotation on the front or radially outer wall of the
frame 60. Operating member 140 includes a pair of actuating wheels
142 and 144 fixed together by a hub 146 which is mounted for
rotation on a shaft 148 that is fixed to a pair of extensions 150
and 152 on the frame 60.
Actuating wheel 142 has a pair of radially outwardly extending lugs
or projecting abutments 154 and 156 disposed 180.degree. apart, and
wheel 144 has a pair of similar lugs or abutments 158 and 160
disposed 180.degree. from each other. The two wheels are related in
fixed relation such that the four lugs are spaced 90.degree. apart.
The two wheels are located on the frame 60 such that during any
given 90.degree. rotation, one of the four lugs of actuating member
140 will engage one of the tabs 126 or 128 on one of the lids 110
of one of the auxiliary storage boxes 98 to thereby move the lid
downwardly to dump the stored pellets into the main center portion
80 of the bowl 66. For example, when both of the auxiliary boxes
98a and 98b are closed and filled with pellets, and the wheels are
in the position indicated in FIGS. 3, 5 and 14, the lug 154 and
wheel 142 will move downwardly and engage lid tab 126 to snap open
the auxiliary storage box 98a to dump all of the pellets from that
box into the bowl 66.
Movement of wheel 142 is effected by a dump actuating mechanism
indicated generally at 164 in FIG. 14. Mechanism 164 includes a
link 166 pivotally connected eccentrically or off-center on a
rotatable crank or disc 167. Link is biased by a spring 168 toward
the actuating member 140. It has a roller 169, shown in phantom,
located near the center of the link which is engageable with a cam
surface 170. At the lower opposite end of link 166 is an actuating
pin 172, seen also in phantom in FIG. 3, which is long enough to
engage both wheels 142 and 144. Pin 172, for one complete rotation
of the disc 168, traverses a path indicated by the dash line with
arrows at 173. It will be seen that the actuating pin 172 will hit
one of the lugs on one of the wheels 142 or 144 on actuating member
140 to effect a 90.degree. rotation of that wheel to thereby move
the opposed lug of that wheel so that it engages one of the tabs
126 or 128 on the lid 110 of one of the storage boxes 98a or 98b to
thereby dump the stored pellets into the bowl. During movement of
the actuating pin 172 through the path 173, the roller 169 will, of
course, leave the cam surface 170, but the cam surface will serve
to guide the link 166 during return movement and to hold it in a
parked position clear of the storage unit 16. In this manner, upon
command from the control system 15, the mechanism 164 will cause
only one storage package 98 to dump its contents at a time. That
is, the two storage boxes cannot be operated simultaneously and
overfill the bowl.
An elongated rotatable cup-carrying member 180, as seen in FIGS. 1,
13 and 14, is provided with openings at each end for holding cups
181 that are adapted to receive pellets from a selected storage
unit 16. The member 180 is operated by a motor 182, as seen in FIG.
13, through a four-position geneva gear assembly 183. In the pellet
feeding position 187 of the member 180, such as shown in FIG. 1, a
cup 181 is disposed beneath the pellet chute 85 of the selected
storage unit 16. After the feed gate 92 is opened, as seen in FIG.
5, and the magnetic field producing device 76 is energized, the
bowl will vibrate and pellets will move out of the bowl 66 and into
the cup as indicated in FIG. 14. A light source 190 and a
photodetector 192 actuate electronics in the control system to
count the number of pills being dispensed and to stop the
energization of the magnetic device 12 and close the feed gate 92
after a desired number of pellets have been dispensed into the cup.
After the selected number of pellets have been placed in cup 181,
the cup-carrying member 180 is rotated 90.degree. by the geneva
gear to position it at a printing, labeling and covering station
194. As best seen in FIG. 13, the printing mechanism may be of
conventional design which includes a supply roll 201 of strip
material such as paper strip 202 which may have a heat sensitive
layer of adhesive on one side. The paper is advanced by paper
advance rollers 204 between a rotatable printer roller 206 and a
hammer mechanism 208. An ink roller 210 is shown engaging the
periphery of print roller 206 to apply ink to the characters on its
periphery. The roller 206 may be provided with a plurality of
axially spaced circumferential lines of type. The hammer mechanism
208 may include a plurality of electromagnetically operated hammers
corresponding to the desired number of lines of type and which are
actuated to hit the paper at the time a desired character is facing
it. An encoder disc (not shown) for example, provides signals to
the control system to control the hammers for obtaining a label
printed in accordance with the selected or desired input
information supplied to the control system. The printed strip 202
is cut by a cutter 220 into a labeled lid of suitable size
sufficient to cover the cup located at the label station. The label
may contain the patient's name, room number, dosage, and kind of
medicament. After the strip 202 has been cut by cutter 220, a label
pull element 224 is actuated to pull the label over the open top of
cup 181 to close it. A heating element 230 is then actuated to move
down onto the label and activate the adhesive on the label to seal
it to the periphery of the cup. The member 180 is rotated another
90.degree. to bring the cup to a dispensing station 232.
As seen in FIG. 13, an operating label pull mechanism 234 for
operating element 230, and a cup-drop mechanism for dropping a cup
into member 180 at a cup drop station 260 are shown controlled by
cams driven by motor 182 through suitable gearing 238. Also, a park
switch 265 is activated to signal the control system 15 to insure
that a cup is in place before feeding operations take place.
At the dispensing station 232, the completed sealed cup or
prescription package may be blown out by a blower (not shown) or by
other suitable discharge means to a position for retrieval and use.
FIG. 16 shows a completed prescription package with a labeled
lid.
By using the cup-carrying member as described, the packaging
station performs its operations in a relatively short period of
time since the printing operation and label may be applied while a
cup is being moved into an empty cup-receiving opening in one
position of member 180; also, a given cup may be filled while a
completed package of pellets is discharged from the device.
It will be apparent that control of the operation of the turret and
other functions may be done manually, semi-automatically by
suitable control means or fully automatically by control
electronics such as shown in FIG. 15. For example, an information
input device 300 may be a suitable source of binary coded
information, for example, a card reader punched in the ASCII Code
or other device such as a magnetic tape input or CRT terminal. The
interface electronics 302 connected to receive the coded
information, in the illustrated example, supplies input date in the
proper form to a random access memory 304 and provides a sync pulse
to a write-in address counter 306 to effect addressing of the
random access memory through an address switching network 308
during the write-in cycle. In this case, a read only memory 310 is
used to address the random access memory 304. A read-out address
counter is provided for the read only memory and is connected to
the write-in address counter to transfer control between the
write-in counter and read-out counter as the circuit transfers from
the write-in cycle to the read-out cycle. The output of the random
access memory supplies data control information to the control
logic indicated at 314. The control logic 314 controls, for
example, the magnetic field producing member 76 for feeding pills
from the bowl 66 into a cup, the control dump mechanism 164 and the
pill counter 192 as seen in FIG. 14, as well as supplying signals
for controlling the packaging motor through a package control 320.
Also, logic 314 is used to control signals through a motor pulse
circuit 325 to control the motor 36 which operates the turret or
helical storage array 12. For stopping the turret 12 to selectively
position a desired storage unit 16 at the packaging station, an
encoder disc 330 having a plurality of code holes in serial radial
array which correspond respectively to each of the units 16, is
used to stop the turret at the packaging station. For example, the
control logic in response to a given input signal to the control
system, keeps the turret 12 turning by means of motor 36 until a
signal from a photocell hole detector senses that the requested
coded storage unit 16 has reached or is about to reach the
packaging station. The encoded disc 330 is coupled through a
suitable mechanical ratio changer 339 to the motor. There is also
provided another disc 345 coupled to the stepping motor that has a
slot at the periphery thereof. A photosensitive detector 352 is
provided to detect the passing of the slot and is connected to the
logic to insure that the unit is always stopped at precisely the
packaging station location or in an exact parking position for
proper feeding of pellets. The discs 330 and 345 are shown also in
FIG. 12 coupled to the motor 36.
It is to be understood that the foregoing description and
accompanying drawings have been given only by way of illustration
and example, and that alterations and changes of the present
disclosure, which will be readily apparent to one skilled in the
art, are contemplated as within the scope of the present
invention.
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