Prescription bottle imaging system and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- a plurality of pill cameras arranged in a row and oriented on a first axis, the plurality of pill cameras being positioned above an uncapped prescription bottle row of a pallet, the uncapped prescription bottle row including a plurality of uncapped prescription bottles, a first pill camera of the plurality of pill cameras to capture a first pill image from a first uncapped prescription bottle of the uncapped prescription bottle row, a second pill camera of the plurality of pill cameras to capture a second pill image from a second uncapped prescription bottle of the uncapped prescription bottle row;
a plurality of label image cameras arranged in a row and oriented on a second axis, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis, a first label image camera of the plurality of label image cameras to capture a first label image from the first uncapped prescription bottle, a second label image camera of the plurality of label image cameras to capture a second label image from the second uncapped prescription bottle; and
a lift mechanism includingan upper bearing plate having a plurality of circular cavities arranged in a row to receive the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row; and
a plurality of lower lift pushers arranged in a row, the plurality of lift pushers to lift the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row out of the pallet such that when the upper bearing plate is lowered onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet a neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row is received in the plurality of circular cavities, the plurality of pill cameras and the plurality of label image cameras to simultaneously capture pill image data and label image data respectively when the upper bearing plate is lowered onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet and the neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row is received in the plurality of circular cavities, the pill image data including the first pill image and the second pill image, the label image data including the first label image and the second label image.
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Abstract
The invention is directed to a prescription imaging system for capturing, storing and displaying images of prescription bottles during the prescription fulfillment process to monitor the quality of the fulfillment process. The system includes one or more pill cameras for capturing images of pills dispensed into one or more prescription bottles and one or more label cameras for capturing images of the bottle labels. The images are stored on a storage device in a database record. The images can be used to verify that the pills in each bottle correspond with the associated prescription.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a plurality of pill cameras arranged in a row and oriented on a first axis, the plurality of pill cameras being positioned above an uncapped prescription bottle row of a pallet, the uncapped prescription bottle row including a plurality of uncapped prescription bottles, a first pill camera of the plurality of pill cameras to capture a first pill image from a first uncapped prescription bottle of the uncapped prescription bottle row, a second pill camera of the plurality of pill cameras to capture a second pill image from a second uncapped prescription bottle of the uncapped prescription bottle row; a plurality of label image cameras arranged in a row and oriented on a second axis, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis, a first label image camera of the plurality of label image cameras to capture a first label image from the first uncapped prescription bottle, a second label image camera of the plurality of label image cameras to capture a second label image from the second uncapped prescription bottle; and a lift mechanism including an upper bearing plate having a plurality of circular cavities arranged in a row to receive the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row; and a plurality of lower lift pushers arranged in a row, the plurality of lift pushers to lift the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row out of the pallet such that when the upper bearing plate is lowered onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet a neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row is received in the plurality of circular cavities, the plurality of pill cameras and the plurality of label image cameras to simultaneously capture pill image data and label image data respectively when the upper bearing plate is lowered onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet and the neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row is received in the plurality of circular cavities, the pill image data including the first pill image and the second pill image, the label image data including the first label image and the second label image. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A method comprising:
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lifting, using a plurality of lower lift pushers arranged in a row, a plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of an uncapped prescription bottle row out of a pallet; lowering an upper bearing plate onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet to engage a neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row within a plurality of circular cavities of the upper bearing plate; and simultaneously capturing pill image data and label image data using a plurality of pill cameras arranged in a row and oriented on a first axis and a plurality of label image cameras arranged in a row and oriented on a second axis respectively when the upper bearing plate is lowered onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet and the neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row is received in the plurality of circular cavities, the plurality of pill cameras being positioned above the uncapped prescription bottle row of a pallet, the second axis being perpendicular to the first axis, the plurality of label cameras being positioned to the side of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet when the upper bearing plate is lowered onto the top of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row of the pallet and the neck portion of the plurality of uncapped prescription bottles of the uncapped prescription bottle row is received in the plurality of circular cavities.
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Specification