Visual counting system
First Claim
1. A visual counting system comprising:
- a housing having a bottom member, four sides extending up from said bottom member, and a top member;
a counting surface mounted within said top member of said housing such that light may be transmitted through the counting surface;
at least one removable receptacle for receiving and retaining items from said counting surface attached to said top member of said housing and positioned adjacent to at least one side of said counting surface such that items may slide from said counting surface into said receptacle for temporary placement, so that items may be contained within said removable receptacle after said receptacle is removed from said housing;
an imaging means positioned within said housing, disposed underneath and facing upwardly toward said counting surface for receiving light reflecting off of items disposed on said counting surface;
an infrared light source positioned within said housing and disposed underneath said counting surface; and
an image processing means operably connected to said imaging means for counting items placed onto said counting surface.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A low-profile visual counting system is provided and designed to count pills or other small discrete objects. This technology is vision based, which allows a pharmacist or other user to pour pills onto a counting surface in a single layer, and then the device tells the user how many pills are on that surface. The present device places the camera and preferably an infrared light source below the counting surface. This offers the unique advantage of not having to mount a camera above the counting surface which reduces the size and improves the aesthetic characteristics of such a device. The image is captured and then processed to determine the number of pills on the surface. This system may be interfaced with other networks, terminals, and existing pharmacy management systems.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A visual counting system comprising:
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a housing having a bottom member, four sides extending up from said bottom member, and a top member; a counting surface mounted within said top member of said housing such that light may be transmitted through the counting surface; at least one removable receptacle for receiving and retaining items from said counting surface attached to said top member of said housing and positioned adjacent to at least one side of said counting surface such that items may slide from said counting surface into said receptacle for temporary placement, so that items may be contained within said removable receptacle after said receptacle is removed from said housing; an imaging means positioned within said housing, disposed underneath and facing upwardly toward said counting surface for receiving light reflecting off of items disposed on said counting surface; an infrared light source positioned within said housing and disposed underneath said counting surface; and an image processing means operably connected to said imaging means for counting items placed onto said counting surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of counting pills comprising the steps of:
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providing a layered counting surface opaque to visible light that comprises a layer capable of transmitting infrared light disposed adjacent to a glass layer; providing an infrared light source, an imaging means, and an image processing means disposed underneath said counting surface; placing a plurality of pills on said counting surface; transmitting infrared light through said counting surface to illuminate said pills from below said counting surface; using said imaging means to capture infrared light reflected back through said counting surface off pills positioned on said counting surface; processing said captured infrared light with said image processing means; and determining the number of pills on said counting surface. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification