Vacuum operated medicine dispenser
US5480062A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 30, 1995 |
| Grant date | Jan 2, 1996 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 30, 2015 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG07F17/0092
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A vacuum operated system for individually dispensing items of oral solid medicine from bulk storage to a user, where the medicine is dispensed under computer control, and the quantity and type of medicine is selected in advance by the user. The invention includes medicine dispensing equipment and a computer that provides a user interface. A plurality of storage containers arranged in a rotatable carousel or a rectilinear array may contain various pharmaceutical articles, or various types, dosages, ages, and lot numbers of medicines. The storage containers may be easily refilled by inserting modular refill cartridges into the storage containers. After a user enters certain data into the computer, the invention aligns a universal vacuum probe with the storage container that contains the desired items. The universal vacuum probe is lowered to the desired storage container and engaged with a container probe that is exclusive to that storage container. After a vacuum source creates suction within the universal vacuum probe and the container probe, the universal vacuum probe and the container probe are operated to individually extract items from the storage container. In one embodiment, …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.