MEDICAMENT BOTTLE DISPENSER
First Claim
1. A bottle pickup assembly comprising:
- a rotatable pick wheel;
at least one pick arm mounted to the pick wheel and configured to retrieve a first medicament bottle from a plurality of medicament bottles as the pick wheel rotates;
a chute to receive the first medicament bottle from the at least one pick arm;
a pickup platform to receive the first medicament bottle from the chute and to retain the first medicament bottle; and
a gating mechanism positioned in the vicinity of the chute and configured to prevent passage of the first medicament bottle from the chute to the pickup platform if a second medicament bottle is present on the pickup platform.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A bulk loading medicament bottle dispenser comprises a hopper and a medicament bottle dispenser. The hopper includes a ramped shelf and a bin and is configured to receive a plurality of medicament bottles from an external source and roughly align the plurality of medicament bottles to be picked up one at a time. The medicament bottle dispenser includes at least one pick arm, a pick wheel, a chute, a pickup platform, and a gating mechanism. The pick arm is coupled to the pick wheel and may pick up and retain a first medicament bottle from the plurality of medicament bottles as the pick wheel rotates. The chute may receive the first medicament bottle from the pick arm and may pass the first medicament bottle to the pickup platform. However, the gating mechanism may retain the first medicament bottle in the chute if there is already a second medicament bottle present on the pickup platform.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A bottle pickup assembly comprising:
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a rotatable pick wheel; at least one pick arm mounted to the pick wheel and configured to retrieve a first medicament bottle from a plurality of medicament bottles as the pick wheel rotates; a chute to receive the first medicament bottle from the at least one pick arm; a pickup platform to receive the first medicament bottle from the chute and to retain the first medicament bottle; and a gating mechanism positioned in the vicinity of the chute and configured to prevent passage of the first medicament bottle from the chute to the pickup platform if a second medicament bottle is present on the pickup platform. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A medicament bottle rotating unit comprising:
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a turntable of disc shape with a central opening and configured to be rotated while retaining a medicament bottle that includes an alignment feature; a drive motor coupled to the turntable and configured to rotate the turntable; and a sensor positioned near the opening of the turntable and configured to determine the orientation of the medicament bottle by detecting the alignment feature. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A medicament bottle dispenser, the dispenser comprising:
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a hopper configured to receive a plurality of medicament bottles from an external source and roughly align the plurality of medicament bottles to be picked up one at a time; and a medicament bottle dispenser including— a rotatable pick wheel; at least one pick arm mounted to the pick wheel and configured to retrieve a first medicament bottle from a plurality of medicament bottles as the pick wheel rotates; a chute to receive the first medicament bottle from the at least one pick arm, a pickup platform to receive the first medicament bottle from the chute and to retain the first medicament bottle, and a gating mechanism positioned in the vicinity of the chute and configured to prevent passage of the first medicament bottle from the chute to the pickup platform if a second medicament bottle is present on the pickup platform. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification