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Mechanism for dispensing pills from an array-type package

  • US 10,343,806 B2
  • Filed: 07/08/2015
  • Issued: 07/09/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 07/08/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A mechanism for dispensing pills in an individual container, the individual container being one of a plurality of individual containers in an array-type pill package in which the individual containers are attached to one another in an arrangement of rows and columns and have a common top surface, the plurality of individual containers extending from the common top surface on a same side thereof, said mechanism comprising:

  • a chassis;

    a package holder supported by the chassis for supporting the array-type pill package;

    a cutting mechanism supported by the chassis and configured to cut a sidewall of the individual container adjacent the common top surface in order to separate the individual container from the array-type pill package;

    a dispensing mechanism supported by the chassis and configured to receive and dispense a cut individual container therein; and

    a control system operatively connected to at least one of the package holder and the cutting mechanism, the control system being configured to control a relative position of the cutting mechanism and the package holder along at least two degrees of freedom;

    wherein the package holder and the cutting mechanism are movably mounted to the chassis and the control system is configured to control the relative position of the package holder and the cutting mechanism along a first of the at least two degrees of freedom by displacing the package, and along a second line of the at least two degrees of freedom by displacing the cutting mechanism;

    wherein the control system comprises a first motor configured to displace the package holder along the first degree of freedom, and a second motor configured to displace the cutting mechanism along the second degree of freedom; and

    wherein the package holder has a cylindrical shape with a periphery and a longitudinal axis, the first motor being configured to rotate the package holder about the longitudinal axis, and the second motor being configured to actuate the cutting mechanism in a plane generally tangent to the periphery of the package holder.

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