Vacuum Apparatus and Methods for Handling Pills
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A pill handling apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of rotary slats that are each rotatable about a first axis, each of said rotary slats having an outer surface defining a plurality of receptacles for receiving pills; and
a vacuum assembly disposed in fluid communication with each of said rotary slats and configured to draw air into at least a portion of said receptacles to urge pills to be received by said portion of said receptacles.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A pill handling apparatus having a plurality of rotary slats delivers pills from a reservoir to a number of containers. The rotary slats have receptacles in fluid communication with a vacuum assembly and the pills are drawn into the receptacles by vacuum. The pill may be released into containers by expelled air from a blower assembly. Pills entering containers may be individually counted to assure accurate filling of the containers. A conveyor may position the containers at filling stations to receive pills. The rotary slats may be independently rotatable for delivering accurate pill counts to the containers. Optical devices may inspect the pills as they travel toward the containers.
-
Citations
19 Claims
-
1. A pill handling apparatus comprising:
-
a plurality of rotary slats that are each rotatable about a first axis, each of said rotary slats having an outer surface defining a plurality of receptacles for receiving pills; and a vacuum assembly disposed in fluid communication with each of said rotary slats and configured to draw air into at least a portion of said receptacles to urge pills to be received by said portion of said receptacles. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A method of handling pills comprising:
-
disposing a plurality of pills into contact with a plurality of rotary slats, each rotary slat having an outer surface defining a plurality of receptacles for receiving pills; drawing air into at least a portion of the receptacles such that pills are urged to be received by the portion of the receptacles. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
Specification