Medicament dispensing cell with dual platens
First Claim
1. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
- a housing having walls configuring a storage section, a discharge section leading to an outlet, and a passage between said sections;
a rotatable storage platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said storage section and operable during rotation to convey medicament units from said storage sections to said passage for delivery to said discharge section; and
a rotatable discharge platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said discharge section and configured for receiving medicament units from said storage section by way of said passage and operable during rotation to convey medicament units so received to said outlet thereby dispensing medicament units from said dispensing cellsaid discharge platen having a periphery, said housing including discharge walls adjacent a portion of said periphery with a juncture therebetween, said discharge platen being sloped toward said periphery for inducing medicament units toward said juncture during rotation of said discharge platen in order to induce spreading of said medicament units into single file along said juncture.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The preferred medicament dispensing cell (10) for use in an automatic dispensing machine (12) includes dual rotary platens (20,22). A storage platen (20) delivers medicament units (14) such as tablets and capsules from a storage section (86) to a discharge platen (22) in the discharge section (88) to deliver the units (14) to an outlet (50). In preferred forms, the platens (20,22) are sloped toward the respective peripheries in order to induce spreading of the units (14) into a single file for accurate counting during dispensing. The preferred embodiment also includes a discharge gate assembly (24) for receiving a medicament unit (14) in a gage chamber (108) to define the width of the discharge channel (110) leading to the outlet (50), and further includes an arcuate metering wall (26) shiftable into and out of the passage (84) between the storage and discharge sections (86,88) for metering medicament units (14) into the discharge section (88).
94 Citations
33 Claims
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1. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
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a housing having walls configuring a storage section, a discharge section leading to an outlet, and a passage between said sections; a rotatable storage platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said storage section and operable during rotation to convey medicament units from said storage sections to said passage for delivery to said discharge section; and a rotatable discharge platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said discharge section and configured for receiving medicament units from said storage section by way of said passage and operable during rotation to convey medicament units so received to said outlet thereby dispensing medicament units from said dispensing cell said discharge platen having a periphery, said housing including discharge walls adjacent a portion of said periphery with a juncture therebetween, said discharge platen being sloped toward said periphery for inducing medicament units toward said juncture during rotation of said discharge platen in order to induce spreading of said medicament units into single file along said juncture. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
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a housing having walls configuring a storage section, a discharge section leading to an outlet, and a passage between said sections; a rotatable storage platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said storage section and operable during rotation to convey medicament units from said storage sections to said passage for delivery to said discharge section; and a rotatable discharge platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said discharge section and configured for receiving medicament units from said storage section by way of said passage and operable during rotation to convey medicament units so received to said outlet thereby dispensing medicament units from said dispensing cell, said discharge platen having a periphery, said housing including discharge walls adjacent a portion of said periphery with a juncture therebetween, said discharge platen being sloped toward said periphery for inducing medicament units toward said juncture during rotation of said discharge platen in order to induce spreading of said medicament units into single file along said juncture, said housing including an outlet wall adjacent said outlet and including a stop wall, said dispensing cell further including a discharge gate assembly coupled with said housing and positioned adjacent said outlet, said gate assembly including a shiftable body having a gate shiftable relative to said outlet wall defining a discharge channel therebetween, and having a gage wall shiftable relative to said stop wall with a gage chamber therebetween, said chamber being configured for receiving a medicament unit therein, said gage wall being shiftable toward and away from said stop wall for engaging a medicament unit therebetween at a gage position, said gate being shiftable in registration with said gage wall to define the width of said discharge channel in correlation with the width of a medicament unit held in said chamber when said gage wall is in said gage position. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
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a housing having walls configuring a storage section, a discharge section leading to an outlet, and a passage between said sections; and a rotatable discharge platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said discharge section and configured for receiving medicament units from said storage section by way of said passage and operable during rotation to convey medicament units so received to said outlet thereby dispensing medicament units from said dispensing cell, said discharge platen having a periphery, said housing including discharge walls adjacent to portion of said periphery with a juncture therebetween, said discharge platen being sloped toward said periphery for inducing medicament units toward said juncture during rotation of said discharge platen in order to induce spreading of said medicament units into a single file along said juncture. - View Dependent Claims (27)
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28. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
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a housing having walls configuring a storage section, a discharge section leading to an outlet, and a passage between said sections, said housing including an outlet wall adjacent said outlet and including a stop wall; a rotatable discharge platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said discharge section and configured for receiving medicament units from said storage section by way of said passage and operable during rotation to convey medicament units so received to said outlet thereby dispensing medicament units from said dispensing cell; and a discharge gate assembly coupled with said housing and positioned adjacent said outlet, said gate assembly including a shiftable body having a gate shiftable relative to said outlet wall defining a discharge channel therebetween, and having a gage wall shiftable relative to said stop wall with a gage chamber therebetween, said chamber being configured for receiving a medicament unit therein, said gage wall being shiftable toward said stop wall for engaging a medicament unit therebetween at a gage position, said gate being shiftable in registration with said gage wall to define the width of said discharge channel in correlation with the width of a medicament unit held in said chamber when said gage wall is in said gage position.
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29. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
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a housing having walls configuring a storage section, a discharge section leading to an outlet, and a passage between said sections; and a rotatable discharge platen forming at least a portion of the bottom wall of said discharge section and configured for receiving medicament units from said storage section by way of said passage and operable during rotation to convey medicament units so received to said outlet thereby dispensing medicament units from said dispensing cell; and a metering wall shiftably coupled with said housing and selectively shiftable into and out of said passage in order to selectively restrict the flow of medicament units therethrough, said discharge platen having a periphery, said metering wall being arcuately shaped and slidable adjacent said periphery.
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30. In an automatic medicament dispensing machine, a dispensing cell for dispensing units of medicament comprising:
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a housing having a plurality of walls including a plurality of circumscribing housing side walls defining a storage compartment configured to store medicament units, said housing including an outlet; a dispensing mechanism coupled with said housing an operable to receive medicament units from said storage section and to dispense medicament units so received through said outlet; and a housing extension including a plurality of extension walls configured to make and couple with said housing side walls in order to extend the height thereof and thereby to increase storage capacity of said storage compartment. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33)
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Specification