Article dispensing system

• US 6,490,502 B2
• Filed: 01/31/2001
• Issued: 12/03/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fellows, Eugene E., Hardy, Lawrence C.
• Original Assignee: Fellows, Eugene E., Hardy, Lawrence C.
• Inventors: Fellows, Eugene E., Hardy, Lawrence C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Crawford, Gene O.
• Application Number:
  US09/773,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20020103573A1
• Time in Patent Office: 671 Days
• Field of Search: 700/231, 700/242, 700/243, 221/92, 221/113, 221/119, 221/120
• US Class Current: 700/231
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/54 about vertical axes
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 1/0045 with a code reader for reading of an identifying code of the article to be registered, e.g. barcode reader or radio-frequency identity [RFID] reader

Abstract

An article or product dispensing system to selectively dispense products having a dispensing module including a carousel to store the plurality of products rotatable by a carousel positioning device between a dispensing station and a rejecting station to selectively position the carousel relative thereto. A product ejector selectively ejects product at the dispensing station and a product rejector selectively ejects product at the rejecting station. A product detector verifies the product at the dispensing station is the selected product. A control system including a product input to select the product to be dispensed is operatively coupled to the carousel positioning device, the product ejector and the product rejector, such that the carousel positioning device rotates the carousel to position the selected product at the dispensing station and the product ejector ejects the selected product when the product is detected. The carousel positioning device rotates the carousel to position the product at the rejecting station when product other than the selected product is detected at the dispensing station and the product rejector ejects product at the rejecting station.

Claims

1. An article dispensing system operable in a dispensing mode or a stocking mode to dispense products selected from a plurality of products comprising a dispensing module including a carousel having a plurality of product compartments to store the plurality of products therein selectively rotatable between a dispensing station, a rejecting station and a stocking station by a carousel positioning device having a carousel position detector to determine the rotational position of the carousel relative to the dispensing station, the rejecting station or the stocking station and a drive motor to selectively position the carousel relative to the dispensing station, the rejecting station or the stocking station, a product detector to selectively detect the product at the dispensing station, and a product ejector to selectively eject product at the dispensing station and a product rejector to selectively eject product at the rejecting station, and a system control including a product input to select product to be dispensed from the article dispensing system operatively coupled to said carousel positioning device and said carousel position detector, said product detector, said product ejector and said product rejector such that when the article dispensing system is operating in the dispensing mode said carousel position device rotates the product compartment designated to contain the selected product to the dispensing station and said product ejector ejects the selected product from said product compartment when the selected product at the dispensing station is detected and rotates said product compartment designated to contain the selected product from the dispensing station to the rejecting station and said product rejector ejects the product at the rejecting station when product other than the selected product is detected by said product detector at the dispensing station and rotates said product compartment designated to contain the selected product from the dispensing station to the stocking station to allow restocking of the selected product to be stored in designated product compartment when the designated product compartment is detected by said product detector at the dispensing station when operating in the stocking mode.

2. The article dispensing system of claim 1 wherein each said product compartment comprises a rear wall and a pair of side walls that cooperatively form a substantially U-shaped product channel, a front retention flange on the outer end portion of each said side wall extending across at least a portion of said substantially U-shaped product channel to retain product within said substantially U-shaped product channel, a lower product support extending inwardly from the lower portion of each said side wall to support a stack of product within said substantially U-shaped product channel and a product dispensing slot formed between the lower portion of said front retention flange and corresponding lower product support to selectively dispense product from said substantially U-shaped product channel through said product dispensing slot.

3. The article dispensing system of claim 1 wherein each said product compartment comprises a product channel having a retention flange formed on each side thereof to retain product therein and a lower product support to support a stack of product within said product channel and a product dispensing slot formed the front thereof to selectively dispense product.

4. The article dispensing system of claim 1 further comprises a product dispensed sensing device including means to sense the dispensing of a selected product from said product compartment at the dispensing station to generate a dispensed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product had been dispensed.

5. The article dispensing system of claim 4 wherein said product dispensed sensing device including means to sense no product was dispensed from said product compartment at the dispensing station to generate a nondispensed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product has not dispensed.

6. The article dispensing system of claim 5 wherein said product dispensed sensing device includes means to sense that a product was partially dispensed from said product compartment at the dispensing station and to generate a jammed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product was partially dispensed causing a jam.

7. An article dispensing system to selectively dispense products comprising a dispensing module including a carousel to store the plurality of products rotatable by a carousel positioning device between a dispensing station and a rejecting station to selectively position the carousel relative to the dispensing station or the rejecting station, a product ejector to selectively eject product at the dispensing station and a product rejector to selectively eject product at the rejecting station, a product detector to verify the product at the dispensing station is the selected product and a control system including a product input to select the product to be dispensed from said article dispensing system operatively coupled to said carousel positioning device, said product ejector and said product rejector such that said carousel positioning device rotates said product compartment designated to contain the selected product to the dispensing station and said product ejector ejects the selected product from said product compartment when the selected product is verified and said carousel positioning device rotates said product compartment designated to contain the selected product from the dispensing station to the rejecting station when product other than the selected product is detected by said product detector at the dispensing station and said product rejector ejects product at the rejecting station.

8. The article dispensing system of claim 7 wherein each said product compartment comprises a rear wall and a pair of side walls that cooperatively form a substantially U-shaped product channel, a front retention flange on the outer end portion of each said side wall extending across at least a portion of said substantially U-shaped product channel to retain product within said substantially U-shaped product channel, a lower product support extending inwardly from the lower portion of each said side wall to support a stack of product within said substantially U-shaped product channel and a product dispensing slot formed between the lower portion of said front retention flange and corresponding lower product support to selectively dispense product from said substantially U-shaped product channel through said product dispensing slot.

9. The article dispensing system of claim 7 wherein each said product compartment comprises a product channel having a retention flange formed on each side thereof to retain product therein and a lower product support to support a stack of product within said product channel and a product dispensing slot formed the front thereof to selectively dispense product.

10. The article dispensing system of claim 7 wherein said carousel positioning device comprises a carousel drive to rotate said carousel and a carousel position indicator including logic to generate a feedback signal fed to said system control to indicate the position of said carousel relative to the dispensing station and the rejecting station.

11. The article dispensing system of claim 10 wherein said carousel drive comprises a drive member disposed to engage the interior of said carousel and a motor to selectively drive said drive member.

12. The article dispensing system of claim 7 further comprises a product dispensed sensing device including means to sense the dispensing of a selected product from said product compartment at the dispensing station to generate a dispensed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product had been dispensed.

13. The article dispensing system of claim 12 wherein said product dispensed sensing device including means to sense no product was dispensed from said product compartment at the dispensing station to generate a nondispensed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product has not dispensed.

14. The article dispensing system of claim 13 wherein said product dispensed sensing device includes means to sense that a product was partially dispensed from said product compartment at the dispensing station and to generate a jammed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product was partially dispensed causing a jam.

15. An article or product dispensing system a to dispense products selected from a plurality of products comprising a dispensing module including a carousel to store the plurality of products selectively rotatable by a carousel positioning device between a dispensing station and a rejecting station to selectively position the carousel relative thereto, a product ejector to selectively eject product at the dispensing station and a product rejector to selectively eject product at the rejecting station, a product detector to verify the product at the dispensing station is the selected product and a control system including a product input to select the product to be dispensed operatively coupled to said carousel positioning device, said product ejector and said product rejector such that said carousel positioning device rotates said carousel to position the selected product at the dispensing station and said product ejector ejects the selected product when the product is detected and said carousel positioning device rotates said carousel to position the product at the rejecting station when product other than the selected product is detected at the dispensing station and said product rejector ejects product at the rejecting station.

16. The article dispensing system of claim 15 wherein each said product compartment comprises a rear wall and a pair of side walls that cooperatively form a substantially U-shaped product channel, a front retention flange on the outer end portion of each said side wall extending across at least a portion of said substantially U-shaped product channel to retain product within said substantially U-shaped product channel, a lower product support extending inwardly from the lower portion of each said side wall to support a stack of product within said substantially U-shaped product channel and a product dispensing slot formed between the lower portion of said front retention flange and corresponding lower product support to selectively dispense product from said substantially U-shaped product channel through said product dispensing slot.

17. The article dispensing system of claim 15 wherein said carousel positioning device comprises a carousel drive to rotate said carousel and a carousel position indicator including logic to generate a feedback signal fed to said system control to indicate the position of said carousel relative to the dispensing station and the rejecting station.

18. The article dispensing system of claim 17 wherein said carousel drive comprises a drive member disposed to engage the interior of said carousel and a motor to selectively drive said drive member.

19. The article dispensing system of claim 15 further comprises a product dispensed sensing device including means to sense the dispensing of a selected product from said product compartment at the dispensing station to generate a dispensed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product had been dispensed.

20. The article dispensing system of claim 19 wherein each said product compartment comprises a product channel having a retention flange formed on each side thereof to retain product therein and a lower product support to support a stack of product within said product channel and a product dispensing slot formed the front thereof to selectively dispense product.

21. The article dispensing system of claim 19 wherein said product dispensed sensing device including means to sense no product was dispensed from said product compartment at the dispensing station to generate a nondispensed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product has not dispensed.

22. The article dispensing system of claim 21 wherein said product dispensed sensing device includes means to sense that a product was partially dispensed from said product compartment at the dispensing station and to generate a jammed signal fed to said system control to indicate the selected product was partially dispensed causing a jam.