System and method to count pills
US12036185B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 12, 2022 |
| Grant date | Jul 16, 2024 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 12, 2042 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61J2200/70
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A pill counting device includes a step feeder having moveable slats interleaved with fixed slats. The movable slats are vertically offset from one another and are configured to move vertically between top platforms of adjacent fixed slats to carry pills vertically up the step feeder. A top movable slat orients a subset of the plurality of pills into a row of pills to be fed into a count chamber. A camera configured to capture an image of a pill of the individual pills as it falls through the count chamber. The device further includes a control system configured to control movement of the movable slats and to control capturing of images by the camera. The control system is further configured to calculate a characteristic of the pill from the image, and to increment a pill counter in response to the characteristic of the pill meeting predefined criteria.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.