阅读说明：本技术 用于自动包装机的通用供给机构 (Universal feed mechanism for automatic packaging machines ) 是由 W.K.霍姆斯 于 2018-10-15 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供了一种包括仓和仓机构的自动包装机。用于自动包装机的仓包括贮存器和轮子,贮存器用于存储多个药物,轮子包括放置在贮存器中的底部部分。仓还包括舀取部件,该舀取部件设置在轮子上,以与轮子一起旋转并使来自贮存器的药物单个化。用于自动包装机的仓机构包括相机系统和构造成从仓接收药物的平台。仓机构还包括联接到相机系统的电子处理器,该电子处理器配置成响应于确定预期药物被递送到平台而从仓分配药物,并且响应于确定预期药物未被递送到平台而使药物返回到仓。(An automatic packaging machine including a magazine and a magazine mechanism is provided. A cartridge for an automatic packaging machine includes a reservoir for storing a plurality of medications and a wheel including a bottom portion disposed in the reservoir. The cartridge further includes a scooping member disposed on the wheel to rotate with the wheel and singulate the medicament from the reservoir. A magazine mechanism for an automatic packaging machine includes a camera system and a platform configured to receive a medication from a magazine. The cartridge mechanism also includes an electronic processor coupled to the camera system, the electronic processor configured to dispense the drug from the cartridge in response to determining that the drug is expected to be delivered to the platform, and to return the drug to the cartridge in response to determining that the drug is not expected to be delivered to the platform.)

1. A magazine for an automatic packaging machine, the magazine comprising:

a reservoir for storing a plurality of medicaments;

a wheel comprising a bottom portion disposed in the reservoir, the wheel being rotatable relative to the reservoir; and

a scooping member disposed on the wheel to rotate with the wheel and singulate the medicament from the reservoir.

2. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein said scooping member includes an inward projection extending inwardly into said wheel, and wherein said reservoir includes a curved shape to direct said plurality of medicants toward said inward projection when said scooping member is positioned within said reservoir.

3. The cartridge of claim 2, wherein said scooping member includes a stop along a circumferential end of said inward projection to retain said medicament as said wheel rotates.

4. The cartridge of claim 3, further comprising a retaining pin extending through said wheel and said scoop, wherein said drug is singulated by retaining a single drug between said retaining pin, said stopper, and said circumferential end of said scoop.

5. The cartridge of claim 4, further comprising a cam and follower mechanism coupled to said retaining pin and configured to advance and retract said retaining pin in said scooping member.

6. The cartridge of claim 5, wherein said cam and follower mechanism is configured to advance said retaining pin as said scooping member rotates past said bottom portion of said wheel and retract said retaining pin as said scooping member rotates past a top portion of said wheel.

7. The cartridge of claim 1, wherein the wheel comprises teeth disposed on an outer circumferential surface of the wheel, wherein the teeth interlock with teeth of a motor assembly, and wherein the motor assembly rotates the wheel.

8. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising a chute portion disposed above the reservoir to direct the medicament from a bulk container of medicament to the reservoir.

9. The cartridge of claim 8, further comprising a reservoir cover pivotably coupled to the chute portion to pivot between an open position and a closed position.

10. The cartridge of claim 1, further comprising an RFID tag configured to store information of the cartridge.

11. A bin mechanism for an automatic packaging machine, the bin mechanism comprising:

a platform configured to receive a drug from a cartridge;

a camera system;

an electronic processor coupled to the camera system, the electronic processor configured to

Controlling the camera system to capture an image of the platform;

determining whether a drug is expected to be delivered to the platform based on the image;

dispensing the drug from the cartridge in response to determining that the expected drug is delivered to the platform; and

returning the drug to the cartridge in response to determining that the expected drug is not delivered to the platform.

12. The cartridge mechanism of claim 11 further comprising:

a shuttle disposed above the platform that moves the drug from the platform to a first location and a second location; and

a shuttle drive coupled to the shuttle, the shuttle drive driving the shuttle between the platform, the first position, and the second position,

wherein the electronic processor is further configured to:

controlling the shuttle driver to drive the shuttle to the first position to dispense the drug from the cartridge; and

controlling the shuttle driver to drive the shuttle to the second position to return the drug to the cartridge.

13. The cartridge mechanism of claim 12 wherein the shuttle is positioned over the reservoir of the cartridge when the shuttle is in the first position, and wherein the shuttle is positioned over the conduit of the cartridge when the shuttle is in the second position.

14. The cartridge mechanism of claim 13 further comprising a pill sensor disposed alongside the conduit, the pill sensor detecting whether the medicament is dispensed through the conduit.

15. The cartridge mechanism of claim 12, further comprising a motor assembly that drives a singulation mechanism of the cartridge, wherein the electronic processor is further configured to control the motor assembly to deliver the drug to the platform.

16. The cartridge mechanism of claim 15, further comprising a position sensor that detects a position of the singulation mechanism and provides a position signal indicative of the position of the singulation mechanism to the electronic processor, wherein the electronic processor is further configured to determine that the drug is delivered to the platform based on the position signal received from the position sensor.

17. The bin mechanism according to claim 12, wherein said camera system comprises:

a mirror placed at an angle above the stage; and

a camera to capture the image of the platform using the mirror.

18. The cartridge mechanism of claim 12, further comprising an antenna, wherein the electronic processor is coupled to the antenna and is further configured to:

using the antenna to read the RFID tag of the cartridge to determine the type of medication dispensed from the cartridge.

19. The bin mechanism of claim 12, further comprising a lighting system controlled by the electronic processor, wherein the electronic processor is further configured to control the lighting system to illuminate contents of the platform when the camera system is capturing the image of the platform.

20. A method of using a cartridge mechanism to dispense medication from a cartridge, the method comprising:

a platform to deliver medication to the cartridge mechanism;

controlling a camera system using an electronic processor to capture an image of the platform;

determining, using the electronic processor, whether a drug is expected to be delivered to the platform based on the image;

dispensing the drug from the cartridge in response to determining that the expected drug is delivered to the platform; and

returning the drug to the cartridge in response to determining that the expected drug is not delivered to the platform.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

controlling a shuttle driver using the electronic processor to drive a shuttle of the cartridge mechanism to a first position to dispense the drug from the cartridge; and

controlling, using the electronic processor, the shuttle driver to drive the shuttle to a second position to return the drug to the cartridge,

wherein the shuttle is located over the reservoir of the cartridge when the shuttle is in the first position, and wherein the shuttle is located over the conduit of the cartridge when the shuttle is in the second position.

22. The method of claim 21, further comprising using a pill sensor alongside the catheter to detect whether the medicament is dispensed through the catheter.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising controlling a motor assembly using the electronic processor to deliver a drug to the platform, wherein the motor assembly drives a singulation mechanism of the cartridge to deliver the drug.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

detecting a position of the singulation engine using a position sensor;

using the position sensor to provide a position signal indicative of the position of the singulation mechanism to the electronic processor; and

determining that the medication is delivered to the platform based on the location signal received from the location sensor.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising controlling, using the electronic processor, a lighting system to illuminate contents of the platform while the camera system is capturing the image of the platform.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an automatic packaging machine for medications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a feeding mechanism for supplying medicines to an automatic packaging machine.

Disclosure of Invention

One embodiment provides a cartridge for an automatic packaging machine, the cartridge comprising a reservoir for storing a plurality of medications and a wheel comprising a bottom portion disposed in the reservoir. The wheel is rotatable relative to the reservoir. The cartridge further includes a scooping member disposed on the wheel to rotate with the wheel and singulate the medicament from the reservoir.

Another embodiment provides a bin mechanism for an automatic packaging machine that includes a camera system and a platform configured to receive a medication from a bin. The cartridge mechanism also includes an electronic processor coupled to the camera system. The electronic processor is configured to control the camera system to capture an image of the platform and determine whether the drug is expected to be delivered to the platform based on the image. The electronic processor is further configured to dispense the drug from the cartridge in response to determining that the drug is expected to be delivered to the platform. The electronic processor is further configured to return the drug to the cartridge in response to determining that the drug is not expected to be delivered to the platform.

Another embodiment provides a method of dispensing a medicament from a cartridge using a cartridge mechanism. The method includes delivering the drug to a platform of the cartridge mechanism, and controlling a camera system using an electronic processor to capture an image of the platform. The method also includes determining, using the electronic processor, whether the drug is expected to be delivered to the platform based on the image. The method includes dispensing a drug from the cartridge in response to determining that the drug is expected to be delivered to the platform, and returning the drug to the cartridge in response to determining that the drug is not expected to be delivered to the platform.

Drawings

Fig. 1A-C are plan views of an automatic packaging machine according to some embodiments.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a universal feed cassette according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the universal feed cassette of fig. 2 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the universal feed cassette of fig. 2 with the top and side frames removed, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 5 is a front plan view of a cartridge of the universal feed mechanism of fig. 2, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 6 is a planar rear view of the cartridge of fig. 5 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the cartridge of fig. 5 with the reservoir removed, in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the scoop tray of the cartridge of FIG. 5 according to some embodiments.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are perspective views of the scooping tray of FIG. 8 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the platform of the cartridge of fig. 5 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the cartridge of FIG. 5 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart of a method of dispensing medication from the cartridge of fig. 5 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view of an automatic packaging machine according to some embodiments.

Fig. 14A and 14B are perspective views of a universal feed cassette according to some embodiments.

15A, 15B, and 15C are perspective views of a universal feed cassette according to some embodiments with the top and side frames removed and showing the cartridge assembly of the universal feed mechanism.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view of the cartridge assembly of fig. 15 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 17A, 17B, and 17C are perspective views of the cartridge of fig. 15 with the chute (spout) removed, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 18A, 18B and 18C are perspective views of the scooping tray of the cartridge of fig. 15 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the scooping tray of the cartridge of FIG. 15 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 20 is another perspective view of the scooping tray of the cartridge of FIG. 15 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 21 is a plan view of the scoop tray of the cartridge of FIG. 15 showing a cam and follower mechanism, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 22 is a block diagram of the bin component of fig. 15 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 23 is a front perspective view of an automatic packaging machine according to some embodiments.

Fig. 24 is a front perspective view of a universal feed cassette of the automatic packaging machine of fig. 23 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 25 is a front perspective view of the universal feed cassette of FIG. 24 with portions of the housing removed, according to some embodiments.

Fig. 26 is a plan view of the universal feed cassette of fig. 24 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 27 is a perspective view of a cartridge of the universal feed cassette of FIG. 24 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 28 is a rear perspective view of the cartridge of fig. 27 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 29 is a rear perspective view of the cartridge of fig. 27 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 30 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge of fig. 27 according to some embodiments.

FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a cartridge mechanism of the universal feed cartridge of FIG. 24 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 32 is a perspective view of the wheels of the bin of fig. 27 and a camera system and shuttle (shuttlet) system of the bin mechanism of fig. 31, in accordance with some embodiments.

Fig. 33 is a perspective view of the cartridge of fig. 27 and the cartridge mechanism of fig. 31 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 34 is a perspective view of the cartridge of fig. 27 and the cartridge mechanism of fig. 31 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 35 is a block diagram of the bin mechanism of fig. 31 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 36 illustrates a backing applied to a platform of the bin mechanism of fig. 31 according to some embodiments.

Fig. 37 is a flow diagram of a method of delivering a drug to the platform of the bin mechanism of fig. 31, according to some embodiments.

Detailed Description

Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways.

Pharmacies use several types of packaging to provide pharmaceutical products or medications to consumers. The type of packaging may include strip pack, blister (blister) card, etc. Most pharmacies use automatic packaging machines to package medications into strip packs or blister cards and provide instructions on these packages. In some embodiments, the blister card may also be hand-packaged by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician. Automatic packaging machines allow pharmacies to service a large number of customers by efficiently packaging medications. The automatic packaging machine includes a motor base to receive one or more cassettes. Each cassette stores a particular type or size of medication and is operated by the motor base to dispense the medications one-by-one into the packaging machine.

Due to the mechanisms involved in dispensing medication separately from the cassette, the cassette is expensive, stores a limited amount of medication, and takes up a lot of space. The pharmacy may have to keep a large number of cassettes to serve the patient, which increases costs. The cassette also lacks a verification system to verify that the medication is properly dispensed from the cassette.

To reduce costs of the pharmacy, a separate embodiment of the present invention provides a universal supply mechanism for a packaging machine that allows the pharmacy to use inexpensive universal bulk canisters to store and dispense different types (e.g., shapes, sizes, etc.) of medications to the packaging machine. The universal canister has a large capacity to store hundreds of drugs. As referred to herein, medicaments may include pills, capsules, tablets, and the like.

Fig. 1A-C illustrate an example automatic packaging machine 100 that includes a first universal feed carton 105A, a second universal feed carton 105B, and a packaging unit 110. The first and second universal supply cassettes 105A and 105B may be collectively referred to as a universal supply cassette 105. The universal feed cassette 105 receives the medication from the bulk canister and individually dispenses the pills to the packaging unit 110. Each universal feed cassette 105 can dispense 10 individual pills simultaneously. In the arrangement shown in fig. 1B and 1C, which includes two universal feed cassettes 105, the automatic packaging machine 100 can be used to simultaneously dispense and package twenty different pills. In some embodiments, the automatic packaging machine 100 may include only a single universal feed cassette 105.

The packaging unit 110 receives individual pills and packages the pills into a blister card or sachet package for presentation to the consumer. In the example shown in fig. 1A and 1B, the packaging unit is a blister card packaging machine 110. The blister card packaging machine 110 receives individual medications from the universal supply cassette 105 and packages the medications into blister cards for distribution to consumers. Blister card packaging machine 110 includes a first drawer 112A and a second drawer 112B. The blister card packaging machine 110 alternates between packaging blister cards in a first drawer 112A and packaging blister cards in a second drawer 112B. As such, when blister card packaging machine 110 packages blister cards in second drawer 112B, the pharmacist may access first drawer 112A to remove the packaged blister cards. In some embodiments, the blister card may be automatically packaged by blister card packaging machine 110, and the label may be automatically applied by blister card packaging machine 110. Alternatively, the blister card may be packaged by a pharmacist or pharmacy technician and the label may be applied by the pharmacist or pharmacy technician.

In the example shown in fig. 1C, the packaging unit is a strip packaging machine 110. Example strap wrapping machines are described in U.S. patent application publication No. 2013/0318931 and U.S. patent application publication No. 2017/0015445, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Fig. 1A-C illustrate only an exemplary embodiment of an automatic packaging machine 100. The automatic packaging machine 100 may include more or fewer components than shown in fig. 1A-C and may perform functions in addition to those explicitly described herein.

Fig. 2-6 show various views of the universal feed cassette 105. As shown in fig. 4, the universal feed cassette 105 includes a plurality of silos 115 disposed within a housing of the universal feed cassette 105. In one example, a universal supply cartridge may include up to ten silos 115. The pharmacist may load the medication from the bulk canister into each of the bins 115. The same medication may be loaded into each of the bins 115, or different medications may be loaded into each of the bins 115. The bins 115 independently dispense the medicament to the packaging units 110.

Referring to fig. 2 and 3, the universal feed cartridge 105 includes a dispensing opening 205 through which the cartridge dispenses medicament to the packaging unit 110. In addition, the universal feeding cassette 105 also includes a pass-through (pass-through) conduit 225 located at the rear of the universal feeding cassette 105. On the automatic packaging machine 100, the through-conduit 225 of the first universal feed cassette 105A is aligned with the dispensing opening 205 of the second universal feed cassette 105B. As such, the packaging unit 110 receives the medicament from the first universal supply cassette 105A through the dispensing opening 205 of the first universal supply cassette 105A and receives the medicament from the second universal supply cassette 105B through the through conduit 225 of the first universal supply cassette 105A.

As shown in fig. 5-7 and 11, each bin 115 includes a chute 120, a reservoir 125, wheels 130, a camera system 135, and a shuttle system 140 (e.g., an authentication system). The bin 115 also includes other electronics and sensors not shown. A chute 120 is provided on top of the reservoir 125 to direct the medicament from the bulk canister to the reservoir 125. The reservoir 125 stores the medicament during the dispensing process. The reservoir 125 and chute 120 can be disengaged from the bin 115, allowing a pharmacist to remove the reservoir 125 and chute 120 after a dispensing process. The pharmacist may return any unused medication to the bulk container after the dispensing process by removing the reservoir 125 and emptying the reservoir 125 into the bulk container using the chute. The pharmacist may also clean the chute 120 and reservoir 125 if the bin 115 is to be loaded with a different type of medication.

The wheels 130 are disposed inside the bin 115 and include a bottom portion that is placed in the reservoir 125. The wheels 130 are driven by a motor assembly 145 disposed at the top of the bin 115. In particular, the wheel 130 includes teeth that interlock with the motor assembly 145, and the motor assembly 145 rotates the wheel 130 using the interlocking teeth of the wheel and motor assembly 145. Referring to fig. 6, a sensor disk 165 is fixed to the rear surface of the wheel 130 and includes a magnetic bar 170. The magnetic bar 170 is sensed by the position sensor 175 of the motor assembly 145 to determine the speed and/or position of the wheel 130. The position sensor 175 is secured to the side housing of the cartridge 115 such that the position sensor 175 is aligned with the magnetic bar 170 of the sensor disk 165. In one example, the position sensor 175 is a hall effect sensor.

Referring to fig. 8-9B, a scooping tray 150 (e.g., a scooping member or scooping attachment) snaps onto the wheel 130 to scoop the medication 180 from the reservoir 125. The scooping pan 150 includes one or more inward projections 155 and pockets 160 located at the outer corners of the inward projections 155. In the example shown, the scooping pan 150 includes four inward projections 155 and four cavities 160. The inward projection 155 projects into the tray toward the wheel 130. During rotation of the wheel 130, when the inward projection 155 encounters the reservoir 125 and the quantity of medicament 180 in the reservoir 125, the medicament 180 moves inward into the inward projection 155. The medicament 180 is oriented in the direction of the cavity 160 due to the rotation of the wheel 130 and the inward projection 155. As the cavity 160 rotates past the oriented medication 180, the cavity 160 scoops the individual medication 180. The motor assembly 145 continues to rotate the wheel 130 such that the cavity 160 moves past the top of the wheel 130 and delivers the scooped medication 180 to the shuttle system 140. In some embodiments, the scooping tray 150 may include an aperture to pick up the medication 180 instead of the inward projection 155 and cavity 160. In these embodiments, a vacuum system may be used to pick up the drug 180 from the reservoir 125. For example, a vacuum pump may be placed at the rear of the wheel 130 to provide a vacuum force through the aperture. When the aperture is moved to the reservoir 125 by rotation of the wheel 130, the vacuum force causes the drug 180 to stick to the aperture. In some embodiments, the scooping pan 150 (e.g., scooping member) may be integrally formed with the wheel 130, rather than being separate from the wheel 130. The wheel 130 and scoop pan 150 may together be referred to as a singulation mechanism.

Each of the cartridges 115 may include a scoop tray 150 having different sized inward projections 155 and cavities 160. This allows different cartridges 115 to be used for different sizes or types of medications 180. The scoop tray 150 may also be removable so that the pharmacist may change the scoop tray based on the size or type of medication dispensed from the cartridge 115.

As the pocket 160 and the pleat protrusions 155 pass by the shuttle system 140, the drug 180 is delivered individually to the shuttle system 140. The camera system 135 may be used to verify that the intended drug 180 (e.g., only a single intact (or unbroken) drug 180) is delivered to the shuttle system 140. The illustrated camera system 135 includes a mirror 185 placed over the shuttle system 140 and a camera 190 placed on top of the chute 120. The mirror 185 is tilted so that the camera 190 can acquire images of the contents of the shuttle system 140. Camera system 135 may additionally include an illumination system (e.g., an LED illumination system) to illuminate the contents of shuttle system 140 when camera 190 captures an image.

Shuttle system 140 includes a platform 195, a shuttle 200, and a shuttle drive 210. Referring to fig. 10, the platform 195 includes a central base portion 215, a first opening 220 on a first side of the base portion 215, and a second opening 230 on a second side of the base portion 215. The first opening 220 is positioned above the reservoir 125 to return the one or more drugs 180 to the reservoir 125. The second opening 230 is positioned above the dispensing opening 205 (shown in fig. 3) disposed at the bottom of each bin 115. The platform 195 may be made of a transparent or translucent plastic material. As described above, LED illumination systems may be disposed above and/or below the platform 195 to illuminate the contents when the camera system 135 captures an image of the contents on the base portion 215 of the platform 195. The LED lighting system may emit visible or infrared light to illuminate the base portion 215 for the camera 190.

Shuttle 200 is movable between base portion 215, first opening 220, and second opening 230. The shuttle 200 transfers the drug from the base portion 215 to the reservoir 125 through the first opening 220 or to the dispensing opening 205 through the second opening 230. The shuttle 200 is driven by a shuttle driver 210. The shuttle driver 210 may be a motor assembly, an actuator, or the like that moves the shuttle 200 between the base portion 215, the first opening 220 (e.g., a first position), and the second opening 230 (e.g., a second position).

Referring back to fig. 5-7, the cartridge 115 can additionally include a conduit 235 (fig. 7) between the second opening 230 and the dispensing opening 205. Pill sensor 240 may be disposed alongside conduit 235, pill sensor 240 sensing whether a pill is dispensed through conduit 235. Pill sensor 240 may be an object sensor such as an infrared sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, a photoelectric sensor, a light/laser beam, a camera, and the like. A PCB assembly 245 including the electronics of the silo 115 may also be disposed alongside the conduit 235. The PCB assembly 245 is electrically coupled to the camera system 135, the shuttle system 140, and/or the pill sensor 240 to control the operation of the cartridge 115.

The universal feed cassette 105 may also include an indicator system 250 (see FIG. 11), such as an LED indicator system. In the illustrated example, one or more LEDs are provided for each bin 115. The indicator system 250 may change color to indicate the status of each bin 115. For example, the indicator system 250 may turn on a green LED to indicate that the bin 115 is functioning properly. The indicator system 250 may turn on a red LED to indicate that the bin 115 is empty or that there is a blockage in the bin 115. The indicator system 250 may also indicate, for example, whether the cartridge 115 is locked or unlocked, whether the cartridge 115 needs to be replaced, etc.

Figure 11 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the bin 115. In the illustrated example, the cartridge 115 includes an electronic processor 305, a memory 310, a transceiver 315, a camera system 135, a shuttle drive 210, and a pill sensor 240. The electronic processor 305, memory 310, transceiver 315, camera system 135, motor assembly 145, shuttle drive 210, and pill sensor 240 communicate over one or more control and/or data buses (e.g., communication bus 320). Fig. 10 shows only one example embodiment of the bin 115. The cartridge 115 may include more or fewer components and may perform functions other than those explicitly described herein.

In some embodiments, the electronic processor 305 is implemented as a microprocessor with a separate memory, such as memory 310. In other embodiments, the electronic processor 305 may be implemented as a microcontroller (with the memory 310 on the same chip). In other embodiments, the electronic processor 305 may be implemented using multiple processors. Additionally, electronic processor 305 may be implemented, in part or in whole, as, for example, a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc., and may not require memory 310 or modify memory 310 accordingly. In the example shown, the memory 310 comprises a non-transitory computer-readable memory storing instructions received and executed by the electronic processor 305 to implement the functions of the bin 115 described herein. Memory 310 may include, for example, a program storage area and a data storage area. The program storage area and the data storage area may include a combination of different types of memory, such as read-only memory and random access memory.

Transceiver 315 enables wired or wireless communication between the control system of automatic packaging machine 100 and electronic processor 305. In some embodiments, the cartridge 115 may include separate transmit and receive components (e.g., a transmitter and a receiver) instead of the transceiver 315.

The camera system 135 receives control signals from the electronic processor 305. Based on control signals received from electronic processor 305, camera system 135 controls camera 190 and indicator system 250 illuminating platform 195. The motor assembly 145 may send signals of the position sensor 175 to the electronic processor 305 and receive control signals to operate the motor of the motor assembly 145 based on the position sensor signals. As described above, the shuttle drive 210 may be a motor assembly or an actuator. The shuttle driver 210 may additionally include a position sensor to determine the position of the shuttle 200. The shuttle driver 210 may send a position sensor signal to the electronic processor 305 and the electronic processor 305 sends a control signal to the shuttle driver 210 to move the shuttle 200 based on the position sensor signal. In some embodiments, shuttle system 140 may also include a shuttle home sensor that indicates whether shuttle 200 is in a home position. Signals from the shuttle in situ sensor are provided to an electronic processor 305 to control the movement of the shuttle 200.

Pill sensor 240 communicates with electronic processor 305 to provide an indication of whether a pill is being dispensed through conduit 235. The electronic processor 305 also controls the indicator system 250 to provide an indication of the status of each bin 115. The cartridge 115 may also include additional electronics 325, such as a cartridge sensor and a solenoid lock. The cartridge sensor determines whether the cartridge 115 is in the correct position in the universal feed cassette 105 and whether the cartridge 115 is properly installed. The solenoid lock holds the cartridge 115 in place during the dispensing process to prevent other medications (e.g., of a different kind than the medications dispensed by the cartridge 115) from being added to the cartridge 115.

Fig. 12 is a flow chart illustrating one example method 400 of dispensing medication from a cartridge 115. As shown in fig. 12, the method 400 includes rotating the wheel 130 to deliver the drug 180 to the shuttle system 140 (at block 405). When the dispensing process begins, the electronic processor 305 provides a control signal to the motor assembly 145 to rotate the wheel 130. The scooping disk 150 secured to the wheel 130 uses the cavity 160 to scoop the individual medications 180. In some embodiments, the scoop pan 150 may use a vacuum system as described above to pick up the medication 180. In these embodiments, the electronic processor 305 may also provide control signals to operate the vacuum system. When the wheel 130 is rotated such that the cavity 160 is positioned above the shuttle system 140, the scoop pan 150 delivers the medication 180 to the shuttle system 140. The medication 180 is delivered to the base portion 215 of the platform 195.

The automatic packaging machine 100 may package only a single medicament belonging to a certain category in any one package. Accordingly, the cartridge 115 may need to verify that the intended medication 180 (e.g., a single unbroken medication 180) is being dispensed to the packaging unit 110. The method 400 further includes determining whether only a single unbroken drug 180 is delivered to the shuttle system 140 (at block 410). This may also be referred to as singulation verification. The electronic processor 305 controls the camera system 135 to acquire images of the contents of the base portion 215. The mirror 185 reflects the contents of the base portion 215 to the camera 190, and the camera 190 captures an image. Camera 190 provides the captured image to electronic processor 305 for verification. The electronic processor 305 may use image recognition techniques on the captured images to ensure that only a single unbroken drug 180 is delivered to the shuttle system. Example image recognition techniques are described in U.S. patent application publication No. 2018/0091745, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

When the electronic processor 305 determines that more than one drug 180 has been delivered to the shuttle system 140 or that a broken drug 180 has been delivered to the shuttle system 140, the method 400 includes returning the contents of the shuttle system 140 to the reservoir 125 (at block 415). The electronic processor 305 controls the shuttle driver 210 to move the shuttle 200 from the base portion 215 to the first opening 220 (e.g., the first position). The shuttle 200 returns the contents from the base portion 215 to the reservoir 125 through the first opening 220. The method 400 returns to block 405 to deliver the next medication 180 to the shuttle system 140.

When the electronic processor 305 determines that only one unbroken drug 180 has been delivered to the shuttle system 140, the method 400 includes determining whether the correct drug 180 has been delivered to the shuttle system 140 (at block 420). As described above, the electronic processor 305 can use the image recognition techniques incorporated above to determine whether the correct type of drug 180 has been delivered to the shuttle system 140.

When electronic processor 305 determines that the wrong type of drug 180 is being delivered to shuttle system 140, method 400 moves to block 415 to return the contents of shuttle system 140 to reservoir 125 (as described above). Accordingly, in blocks 410 and 420, the method 400 determines whether the drug 180 is expected to be delivered to the shuttle system 140. In some embodiments, determining whether the drug 180 is expected to be delivered may include only one of blocks 410 or 420, or blocks 410 and 420 may be performed in a different order. In other embodiments, rather than checking whether a single unbroken drug 180 is delivered to the shuttle system 140, determining whether a drug 180 is expected to be delivered to the shuttle system 140 may include determining whether the correct type of drug is delivered to the shuttle system 140 regardless of the number of drugs delivered to the shuttle system 140. In still other embodiments, determining whether the drug 180 is expected to be delivered to the shuttle system 140 may include determining whether the correct amount of drug is delivered to the shuttle system 140.

When the electronic processor 305 determines that the correct type of medication 180 is being delivered to the shuttle system 140, the method 400 includes delivering the medication 180 to the packaging unit 110 (at block 425). The electronic processor 305 controls the shuttle driver 210 to move the shuttle 200 from the base portion 215 to the second opening 230 (e.g., the second position). The shuttle 200 delivers the medication 180 from the base portion 215 to the packaging unit 110 through the second opening 230, the conduit 235 and the dispensing opening 205.

The method 400 also includes verifying delivery of the medication 180 to the packaging unit 110 (at block 430). Pill sensor 240 detects whether a pill is being dispensed through conduit 235 and provides an indication signal to electronic processor 305. When the electronic processor 305 determines that the drug 180 is delivered to the packaging unit 110, the method returns to block 405 to deliver the next drug. When the electronic processor 305 determines that the medication 180 is not being delivered to the packaging unit 110, the electronic processor 305 sends an interrupt to the control system of the automatic packaging machine 100 and returns to block 405 to re-deliver the medication 180.

Fig. 13 illustrates an example automatic packaging machine 500 including a universal feed magazine 505 and a packaging unit 510 according to another embodiment. The universal feed cassette 505 receives the medication from the bulk canister and individually dispenses the pills to the packaging unit 510. Each universal feed cassette 505 can dispense 10 individual pills simultaneously. In some embodiments, the automatic packaging machine 500 may include more than one universal feed magazine 505.

In the example shown in fig. 13, the packaging unit is a strip packaging machine 510. Example strap wrapping machines are described in U.S. patent application publication No. 2013/0318931 and U.S. patent application publication No. 2017/0015445, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Fig. 13 shows only one example embodiment of an automatic packaging machine 500. The automatic packaging machine 500 may include more or fewer components than shown in fig. 13 and may perform functions in addition to those explicitly described herein.

Referring to fig. 14A and 14B, the universal feed cassette 505 includes a plurality of bins 515 disposed within a housing of the universal feed cassette 505. In one example, the universal feed cartridge 505 may include up to ten bins 515 that are received in the bin slots 520. The pharmacist may load the medication from the bulk canister into each of the bins 515. The same medication may be loaded into each of the bins 515, or different medications may be loaded into each of the bins 515. The bins 515 independently dispense medication to the packaging units 510.

The cartridge 515 is removably secured to the universal feed cassette 505. A pharmacist or technician may remove each individual bin 515 from bin slot 520 to fill bin 515 with medication from the bulk canister. Bin 515 may then be placed into any of bin slots 520.

Referring to fig. 15A, 15B, and 15C, each cartridge slot 520 includes a cartridge mechanism 525, the cartridge mechanism 525 being activated to dispense medication from the cartridge 515. Together, the cartridge mechanism 525 and the cartridge 515 may be referred to as a cartridge assembly 530. When the cartridge 515 is received in the cartridge slot 520, the cartridge 515 is removably secured to the cartridge mechanism 525.

Referring to fig. 16-17C, the bin assembly 530 includes a chute 535, a reservoir 540, wheels 545, a camera system 550, and a shuttle system 555 (e.g., a verification system). The cartridge assembly 530 also includes other electronics and sensors not shown. A chute 535 is provided on top of the reservoir 540 to direct the medicament from the bulk canister to the reservoir 540. The reservoir 540 stores the medicament during the dispensing process. Reservoir 540 and chute 535 are disengagable from cartridge 515, allowing the pharmacist to remove reservoir 540 and chute 535 after the dispensing process. The pharmacist may return any unused medication to the bulk container after the dispensing process by removing reservoir 540 and emptying reservoir 540 into the bulk container using chute 535. The pharmacist may also clean chute 535 and reservoir 540 if the bin 515 is to be loaded with a different type of medication.

The wheels 545 are disposed inside the cartridge 515 and include a bottom portion that is placed in the reservoir 540. The wheels 545 are driven by a motor assembly 560 disposed at the top of the bin assembly 530. In particular, the wheel 545 includes teeth that interlock with the motor assembly 560, and the motor assembly 560 rotates the wheel 545 using the interlocking teeth of the wheel 545 and the motor assembly 560. As described above, the position sensor assembly may be used to determine the position and/or speed of the wheel 545 to control the rotation of the wheel 545.

Referring to fig. 18A-20, a scooping disk 565 (e.g., a scooping member or scooping attachment) is mounted to the wheel 545 to scoop the medicament 180 from the reservoir 540. The scooping disk 565 includes one or more inward projections 570 and a retaining pin 575 projecting from an inboard portion of the scooping disk 565. In the example shown, the scooping disk 565 includes four inward projections 570 and four retaining pins 575. The inward protrusion 570 protrudes into the disk toward the wheel 545. The inward protrusion 570 includes a stopper 580 along a circumferential end of the inward protrusion 570. The retaining pin 575 and the stop 580 are used to retain the drug 180 during rotation of the scooping disk 565.

During rotation of the wheel 545 and scoop tray 565, when the inward projection 570 encounters the reservoir 540 and the quantity of medicament 180 in the reservoir 540, the medicament 180 moves inward into the inward projection 570. As the inward protrusion 570 moves along the reservoir 540 at the downward position of the wheel 545, the retaining pin 575 is retracted. When the inward projection 570 is removed from the reservoir 540, the retaining pin 575 is advanced toward the circumferential end of the inward projection 570 to engage the medicament 180. As a result, the medicament 180 is retained between the circumferential end of the inward projection 570, the retaining pin 575, and the stop 580, as shown in fig. 18A-18C. The inward projection 570 and the retaining pin 575 can be used to retain medications 180 having many different sizes. That is, the same cartridge 515 may be used for any type of medication 180. Typically, only a single medicament 180 is sandwiched between the retaining pin 575 and the inward projection 570, while during rotation of the wheel 545, other medicaments 180 fall back into the reservoir 540. As inward projection 570 approaches shuttle system 555, retaining pin 575 is once again retracted to release drug 180 into shuttle system 555. The wheel 545 and scoop tray 565 may together be referred to as a singulation mechanism. In some embodiments, the scooping disk 565 (e.g., the scooping member) may be integrally formed with the wheel 545 rather than being separate from the wheel 545.

Fig. 21 illustrates a cam and follower mechanism 585 for advancing and retracting the retaining pin 575. A cam and follower mechanism 585 is provided on the inside surface of the scooping disk 565, for example, between the scooping disk 565 and the wheel 545. The cam and follower mechanism 585 includes a cam 590 and a plurality of followers 595. As shown in fig. 21, the bin assembly 530 includes four followers 595 and four retaining pins 575, one follower 595 and one retaining pin 575 for each inward protrusion 570. Cam 590 includes an arcuate portion 592 and a cut-out portion 594. The arcuate portion 592 extends farther toward a central portion of the cam 590 than the cut-out portion 594. The follower 595 includes a first arm 600 that engages the cam 590 and a second arm 605 that is secured to the retaining pin 575. The first arm 600 and the second arm 605 pivot about the central portion 610 of the follower 595.

When the first arm 600 is engaged by the arcuate portion 592 of the cam 590, the first arm 600 is urged toward the circumference of the wheel 545. As a result, the second arm 605 retracts toward the center of the wheel 545 due to the pivoting action of the central portion 610, thereby retracting the retaining pin 575. When the first arm 600 is engaged by the cut-out portion 594 of the cam 590, the first arm 600 moves toward the center of the wheel 545. As a result, the second arm 605 advances toward the circumference of the wheel 545 due to the pivoting action of the central portion 610, thereby advancing the retaining pin 575 into the inward projection 570. Cam 590 is fixed such that retaining pin 575 is retracted when inward protrusion 570 drops drug 180 into shuttle system 555 and when inward protrusion 570 is within the reservoir. In addition, the cam 590 is fixed such that the retaining pin 575 advances as the inward projection 570 exits the reservoir 540.

Referring to fig. 20, as the retaining pins 575 are retracted over the shuttle system 555, the drugs 180 are individually delivered to the shuttle system 555. Camera system 550 can be used to verify that an intended drug 180 (e.g., a single intact (or unbroken) drug 180) is delivered to shuttle system 555. The illustrated camera system 135 includes a mirror 615 placed over a shuttle system 555 and a camera 620 placed on top of a chute 535. Mirror 615 is tilted so that camera 620 can acquire an image of the contents of shuttle system 555. Camera system 550 may additionally include a lighting system (e.g., an LED lighting system) to illuminate the contents of shuttle system 555 when camera 620 captures an image.

Shuttle system 555 includes platform 625, shuttle 630, and shuttle driver 635. Platform 625 may be made of a transparent or translucent plastic material. As described above, the LED illumination system may be disposed above and/or below the platform 625 to illuminate the contents on the platform 625 as the camera system 550 captures images of the contents. The LED lighting system may emit visible or infrared light to illuminate the platform 625 for the camera 620.

Shuttle 630 is movable between over platform 625, reservoir 540, and over conduit 640 (shown in fig. 15C). Shuttle 630 transfers drugs from platform 625 to reservoir 540 or catheter 640. Shuttle 630 is driven by shuttle driver 635. The shuttle driver 635 may be a motor assembly, actuator, or the like that moves the shuttle 630 between over the platform 625, the reservoir 540, and over the conduit 640.

Conduit 640 is similar to conduit 235 described above. In addition, the universal feed cartridge 505 and the cartridge assembly 530 may include components similar to the universal feed cartridge 105 and the cartridge 115 as described above.

FIG. 22 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a bin assembly 530. In the example shown, the cartridge assembly 530 includes an electronic processor 705, a memory 710, a transceiver 715, a camera system 550, a shuttle drive 635, and a pill sensor 240. The electronic processor 705, memory 710, transceiver 715, camera system 550, motor assembly 560, shuttle drive 635, and pill sensor 240 communicate via one or more control and/or data buses (e.g., communication bus 720). Fig. 22 illustrates only one example embodiment of the bin assembly 530. The cartridge assembly 530 may include more or fewer components and may perform functions in addition to those explicitly described herein.

In some embodiments, electronic processor 705, memory 710, and transceiver 715 are implemented similarly to electronic processor 305, memory 310, and transceiver 315. In some embodiments, the universal feed cassette 505 or the automated packaging machine may include a single electronic processor 705, a single memory 710, and a single transceiver 715 that control all of the cartridge assemblies 530.

The camera system 550 receives control signals from the electronic processor 705. Based on control signals received from the electronic processor 705, the camera system 550 controls the camera 620 and the lighting system that illuminates the platform 625. The motor assembly 560 may send a position sensor signal to the electronic processor 705 and receive a control signal to operate the motor of the motor assembly 560 based on the position sensor signal. As described above, shuttle drive 635 may be a motor assembly or an actuator. Shuttle driver 635 also includes a position sensor 650 (shown in fig. 18A-18C) to determine the position of shuttle 630. Shuttle driver 635 may send a signal of position sensor 650 to electronic processor 705, and electronic processor 705 sends a control signal to shuttle driver 635 to move shuttle 630 based on the position sensor signal. In some embodiments, shuttle system 555 may also include a shuttle home sensor that indicates whether shuttle 630 is in a home position. Signals from the shuttle in situ sensor are provided to electronic processor 705 to control the movement of shuttle 630.

Pill sensor 240 communicates with electronic processor 705 to provide an indication of whether a pill is being dispensed through conduit 640. Electronic processor 705 also controls indicator system 250 to provide an indication of the status of each bin 515. The cartridge 515 may also include additional electronics 725, such as a cartridge sensor and a solenoid lock. The cartridge sensor determines whether the cartridge 515 is in the correct position in the universal feed cassette 505 and whether the cartridge 515 is properly installed. The solenoid lock holds the cartridge 515 in place during the dispensing process to prevent other medications (e.g., of a different kind than the medications dispensed by the cartridge 515) from being added to the cartridge 515.

Fig. 23 illustrates an example automatic packaging machine 800 including a universal feed magazine 805 and a packaging unit 810 according to yet another embodiment. In the example shown, the universal feed cassette 805 can dispense up to 20 individual pills simultaneously. In the example shown in fig. 23, the packaging unit 810 is a strip packaging machine. As discussed above, example strap packaging machines are described in U.S. patent application publication No. 2013/0318931 and U.S. patent application publication No. 2017/0015445, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Referring to fig. 24-26, the universal supply cartridge 805 includes a housing 815, the housing 815 having a plurality of bins 820 within the housing 815. The opening 825 is disposed on a front side (e.g., a first side) of the housing 815, and the cartridge cover 830 covers a rear side (e.g., a second side) of the housing 815. The dispensing opening 835 is disposed on the bottom side of the housing 815. The dispensing opening 835 is in communication with the chute 832 of the packaging unit 810.

In the example shown in fig. 24-26, the universal feed cassette 805 includes at most twenty bins 820. The plenums 820 are arranged in a dual pattern such that a second row of plenums 820 is disposed above the first row of plenums 820 within the housing 815. Fig. 26 shows a side view of a dual version of the sump 820. A separation platform 834 is disposed between the first row of silos 820 and the second row of silos 820. The cartridge slot 820 receives a cartridge 840 through an opening 825. A plurality of bin mechanisms 845 (one bin mechanism 845 for each bin 820) are secured to the top of the housing 815 for the second row of bin slots 820 and to the separation platform 834 for the first row of bin slots 820. When the cartridge 840 is received in the cartridge slot 820, the cartridge 840 is coupled to the cartridge mechanism 845. The cartridge mechanism 845 dispenses the medicament 180 individually from the cartridge 840, as described in detail below. The dispensing opening 835 transfers the medicament 180 from the cartridge 840 to the packaging unit 810 for packaging. The cartridge cover 830 can be removed to access the cartridge mechanism 845 from the rear side of the housing 815. The cartridge mechanism 845 is removably secured to the housing 815 such that a technician can remove the cartridge mechanism 845 for servicing.

Referring to fig. 27-30, the cartridge 840 comprises a reservoir 850, a reservoir cover 855, a wheel 860 and a scoop 865. The reservoir 850 stores the medicament 180 during the dispensing process. Wheels 860 are provided on one side of the cartridge 840 and extend into a bottom portion of the reservoir 850. The bottom portion of the reservoir 850 has a curved shape starting from the sides opposite the sides of the wheels 860, the front and rear sides, and ending at the center of the bottom portion of the wheels 860 (see fig. 30). The curved shape of the reservoir 850 directs the medicament 180 within the reservoir 850 toward the bottom of the wheel 860, and in particular into the scooping portion 865 of the wheel 860.

The reservoir cover 855 covers a portion of the reservoir 850 (e.g., the chute portion 870). The reservoir cover 855 is pivotally attached to the chute portion 870 to pivot between an open position and a closed position. As the pharmacist empties the contents of the cartridge 840, the reservoir cover 855 pivots to an open position to allow the drug 180 to flow from the reservoir 850 into the bulk container. During the dispensing process, the cartridge mechanism 845 includes a stop 846 to prevent the reservoir cover 855 from opening. As such, the medicament 180 within the reservoir 850 is not accessible outside of the machine during the dispensing process.

Teeth 875 are provided on the outer circumferential surface of wheel 860. During the dispensing process, the teeth 875 interlock with the teeth of a shaft driven by the motor assembly of the cartridge mechanism 845. The wheel 860 is provided with three scooping means 865 to scoop the individual medicament 180 from the reservoir 850. The scooping member 865 includes an inward projection 866 that extends into the wheel 860. The curved surface of the reservoir 850 directs the medicament 180 into the inward projection of the scooping member 865. The scooping member 865 includes a stopper 868 along a circumferential end of the inward protrusion, the stopper 868 holding the medicine 180 when the wheel 860 rotates. The scooping member 865 may be manufactured in different sizes to accommodate different sizes of the medicine 180. The scooping members 865 are interchangeable to configure the cartridge 840 to dispense different sizes of medicament 180. The scoop 865 may also be removed for cleaning. In some embodiments, the scooping member 865 may be integrally formed with the wheel 860 rather than being separate from the wheel 860. In these embodiments, the wheels 860 or the cartridges 840 may be interchanged to dispense different sizes of the drugs 180.

The wheel 860 includes a retaining pin 880 (see fig. 32) that extends and retracts from the inside of the wheel 860 during rotation of the wheel 860. The scooping member 865 includes an opening to receive the retaining pin 880. The retaining pin 880 along with the stopper and the circumferential surface of the inward protrusion 866 serves to retain the medicament 180 as the wheel 860 rotates. During rotation of the wheel 860, when the inward projection 866 of the scooping member 865 encounters the reservoir 850, the medicament 180 in the reservoir 850 moves inward into the scooping member 865 due to the curved shape of the reservoir 850. When the scooping member 865 is moved along the reservoir 850 at the bottom portion of the wheel 860, the retaining pin 880 is retracted. When the scooping member 865 is removed from the reservoir 850, the retaining pin 880 is advanced toward the circumferential end of the scooping member 865 to engage the medicament 180. The medicament 180 is retained between the circumferential end of the scoop 865, the retaining pin 880 and the stop 868. The scooping member 865 and the retaining pin 880 may be used for any type of medicine 180. Typically, only a single medicament 180 is sandwiched between the retaining pin 880 and the scooping member 865, while the other medicaments 180 fall back into the reservoir 850 during rotation of the wheel 860. When the scooping member 865 passes the top portion of the wheel 860, the retaining pin 880 is once again retracted to release the medicament 180 into the cartridge mechanism 845. The wheel 860 and scoop 865 can together be referred to as a singulation mechanism.

Fig. 28-29 illustrate a cam and follower mechanism 885 for advancing and retracting the retention pin 880. A cam and follower mechanism 885 is provided in the wheel 860. The cam and follower mechanism 885 includes a cam 890 and a plurality of followers 895. In the example shown, the cartridge 840 includes three followers 895, one for each of the retention pins 880. The retaining pin 880 is attached to the follower 895 to move with the follower 895. Cam 890 is fixed to cartridge 840 and remains stationary even as wheel 860 rotates. Cam 890 includes an arcuate portion 892 and a cut-out portion 894. The curved portion 892 extends further from the center of the cam 890 than the cut-out portion 894. The follower 895 includes a flat portion 896 coupled to the retention pin 880 and an outward projection 898 extending from the flat portion 896 to engage the circumferential surface of the cam 890. A spring mechanism is connected to the radially inner end of the follower 895 to provide an inward biasing force to the follower 895. The retaining pins 880 are advanced when the corresponding follower 895 engages the curved portion 892 of the cam 890, and the retaining pins 880 are retracted when the corresponding follower 895 engages the cutout portion 894 of the cam 890. When the follower engages the cut-out portion 894 of the cam 890, the follower 895 retracts due to the biasing force of the spring mechanism.

Referring to fig. 31-35, the bin mechanism 845 includes a shuttle system 900 (e.g., an authentication system), a camera system 905, a motor assembly 910, a printed circuit board 915, and a locking mechanism 916. The shuttle system 900 shown in fig. 33 includes a platform 920, a shuttle 925, and a shuttle drive 930. Platform 920 may be made of a transparent or translucent plastic material. As described above, the LED illumination system 922 may be disposed above and/or below the platform 920 to illuminate the contents on the platform 920 when the camera system 905 captures an image of the contents. LED lighting system 922 may emit visible or infrared light to illuminate platform 920.

Typically, a single LED device may be used under the platform 920 to illuminate the translucent platform 920. However, a single LED device may not provide uniform illumination in all surface areas of the platform 920. In particular, each LED device includes a light signature (signature) such that the center of the platform 920 is brighter than the edges of the platform. Such brightness irregularities may cause misidentification of the medication 180 during the image recognition process. To provide a uniform brightness over the entire surface area of the platform, several LED devices may be placed around the bottom surface of the platform. In some embodiments, the light marks of the LED devices are detected and a backing 924 (see fig. 36) may be applied to the platform to correct the light marks of the LED devices. As shown in fig. 36, backing 924 includes dark spots that simulate the light markings of an LED device to correct for the brightness irregularities observed on platform 920. Because each LED device has a different light indicia, a different backing 924 is developed, one backing 924 for each of the bin mechanisms 845. When the backing 924 is applied to the platform 920, the backing 924 distributes the light from the LED devices of the LED lighting system 922 so that each portion of the platform 920 is illuminated with a similar brightness.

The shuttle 925 is laterally movable between over the platform 920, the reservoir 850, and over the conduit 935. Shuttle 925 transfers the drug from platform 920 to reservoir 850 or conduit 935. The shuttle 925 is driven by a shuttle driver 930. The shuttle drive 930 may be a motor assembly, actuator, or the like that moves the shuttle 925 between over the platform 920, the reservoir 850, and over the conduit 935. In the example shown, the shuttle drive 930 includes a rotating screw 932 that moves the shuttle 925 laterally between the platform 920, the reservoir 850, and the conduit 935.

Camera system 905 includes camera 940 and mirror 945. The camera 940 is positioned at the rear of the bin mechanism 845. The camera 940 may be a still camera or a video camera that captures images of the contents of the platform. The mirror 945 is placed directly above the platform 920 and tilted at a 45 degree angle so that the camera 940 positioned at the rear of the bin mechanism 845 can capture an image of the platform 920.

The motor assembly 910 includes a motor 950 that drives a shaft 955 positioned in the middle of the bin mechanism 845. The shaft 955 includes teeth 956 (see fig. 33) that interlock with the teeth 875 of the wheel 860. When the motor 950 is driven, the shaft 955 rotates the wheel 860 to individually dispense the medicament 180.

The PCB 915 includes the electrical components of the cartridge mechanism 845. The PCB 915 is positioned on a side opposite the side of the wheels 860. In some embodiments, the PCB 915 includes an antenna 960 (see fig. 31) that detects an RFID tag 965 (see fig. 28-29) placed on the bin 840. RFID tag 965 can store information for bin 840. The information stored on the RFID tag 965 can include, for example, identification information for the cartridge 840, medication restrictions for the cartridge 840 (e.g., specific to an allergic medication or a non-allergic medication), and the like.

The locking mechanism 916 is, for example, a locking solenoid that prevents the cartridge 840 from loading onto the cartridge mechanism 845 when the locking mechanism 916 is activated. Not all of the cartridge mechanism 845 is used for a prescription during the dispensing process. In these cases, the locking mechanism 916 is used to prevent the cartridge 840 from being placed over the inactive cartridge mechanism 845. Additionally, a locking mechanism 916 may be used to prevent incompatible or incorrect cartridges 840 from being loaded into the cartridge mechanism. For example, the bin mechanism 845 can read the RFID tag 965 to determine if a correct and compatible bin 840 is loaded into the bin mechanism. The bin mechanism 845 can deactivate the locking mechanism 916 only when the correct bin 840 is loaded into the bin mechanism 845. The locking mechanism 916 may also be used to prevent removal of the cartridge 840 from the cartridge mechanism 845. In particular, the locking mechanism 916 locks the cartridge 840 in place when the cartridge 840 is loaded onto the cartridge mechanism 845. During the dispensing process, the locking mechanism 916 is activated to prevent removal of the cartridge 840. When the dispensing process is complete and the cartridge 840 can be removed from the cartridge mechanism 845, the locking mechanism 916 can be deactivated.

Fig. 35 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a bin mechanism 845. In the example shown, the cartridge mechanism 845 includes an electronic processor 970, a memory 975, a transceiver 980, a camera system 905, a motor assembly 910, a locking mechanism 916, a shuttle drive 930, an antenna 960, a pill sensor 240, and an indicator system 990. Electronic processor 970, memory 975, transceiver 980, camera system 905, motor assembly 910, locking mechanism 916, shuttle drive 930, and pill sensor 240 communicate over one or more control and/or data buses (e.g., communication bus 985). Fig. 35 illustrates only one example embodiment of the bin mechanism 845. The cartridge mechanism 845 can include more or fewer components, and can perform functions other than those explicitly described herein.

In some embodiments, electronic processor 970, memory 975, and transceiver 980 are implemented similar to electronic processor 305, memory 310, and transceiver 315. In some embodiments, the universal feeding cartridge 805 or the automatic packaging machine 800 may include a single electronic processor 970, a single memory 975, and a single transceiver 980 that control all of the magazine mechanisms 845.

Camera system 905 receives control signals from electronic processor 970. Based on control signals received from electronic processor 970, camera system 905 controls camera 940 and the lighting system that illuminates platform 920. The motor assembly 910 may send signals of the position sensor 175 to the electronic processor 970 and receive control signals to operate the motor of the motor assembly 910 based on the signals of the position sensor 175. As described above, the shuttle drive 930 may be a motor assembly or an actuator. The shuttle drive 930 may also include a position sensor to determine the position of the shuttle 925. The shuttle driver 930 may send a position sensor signal to the electronic processor 970, and the electronic processor 970 sends a control signal to the shuttle driver 930 to move the shuttle 925 based on the position sensor signal. In some embodiments, the shuttle system 900 may also include a shuttle home sensor that indicates whether the shuttle 925 is in a home position. Signals from the shuttle in situ sensor are provided to electronic processor 970 to control movement of shuttle 925.

Pill sensor 240 communicates with electronic processor 970 to provide an indication of whether a pill is being dispensed through conduit 935. Electronic processor 970 also controls indicator system 250 to provide an indication of the status of each of the bins 840. The indicator system 990 may comprise one or more LEDs disposed behind a translucent plastic material. Electronic processor 970 can use indicator system 990 to provide an indication, for example, whether cartridge 840 is properly placed in cartridge slot 820. Electronic processor 970 can activate, for example, a blue LED to indicate that the next bin 840 should be placed in the corresponding bin slot 820 (i.e., the bin slot 820 corresponding to the bin mechanism 845 having the blue LED activated). Electronic processor 970 can activate, for example, a green LED to indicate that cartridge 840 is properly placed in cartridge slot 820. Electronic processor 970 can activate, for example, a red LED to indicate that cartridge 840 is not properly placed in cartridge slot 820. In addition, electronic processor 970 can use indicator system 990 to provide an indication of where to place cartridge 840 and when to remove cartridge 840. For example, electronic processor 970 can activate a blue LED to indicate that the pharmacist can place cartridge 840 in cartridge slot 820 corresponding to the activated LED. Electronic processor 970 can again activate the blue LED to indicate that the dispensing process is complete and can remove cartridge 840 from the cartridge slot 820.

Fig. 37 is a flow chart illustrating one example method 1060 of delivering a medication to platform 920. As shown in fig. 37, the method 1060 includes rotating the scooping member 865 through the bottom portion of the reservoir 850 using the motor assembly 910 (at block 1065). Referring to fig. 30, when the scooping member 865 is located at the bottom portion of the reservoir 850, the medicament 180 moves into the inward projection 866 of the scooping member 865 due to the curved shape of the reservoir 850. As the medicament 180 moves into the inward projection 866, the stop 868 of the scooping component 865 carries the at least one medicament 180 past the bottom portion of the reservoir 850 as the scooping component 865 rotates past the bottom portion of the reservoir 850. The scooping member 865 is placed inside the wheel 860 along the circumferential end of the wheel 860. The wheel 860 is rotated to rotate the scooping part 865. As described above, the teeth 875 of the wheel 860 interlock with the teeth of the shaft 955 driven by the motor 950.

The method 1060 also includes using a cam and follower mechanism 885 to advance the retaining pin 880 into the scooping component 865 (at block 1070). Referring to fig. 28 and 30, as the scooping member 865 rotates past the bottom portion of the reservoir 850, the follower 895 corresponding to the scooping member 865 encounters the arcuate portion 892 of the cam 890. Then, the follower 895 advances, which advances the retaining pin 880 toward the circumference of the inward protrusion 866 of the scooping member 865.

The method 1060 further includes retaining the drug between the retention pin 880 and the stop 868 (at block 1075). When the retaining pin 880 advances, the medicament 180 is retained between the retaining pin 880, the circumferential end of the scooping component 865, and the stop 868. The medicament 180 is retained in this manner until the scooping member 865 moves past the top portion of the wheel 860.

The method 1060 also includes rotating the scooping component 865 past the top portion of the wheel 860 (at block 1080) using the motor assembly 910. As discussed above, the motor assembly 910 rotates the wheel 860 to rotate the scooping member 865. The motor assembly 910 may also include a position sensor (not shown) to detect the position of the wheels 860. For example, the motor assembly 910 may include hall sensors to detect magnets placed at certain locations on the wheel 860 to determine the position of the wheel 860. In other embodiments, the position sensor may be an optical sensor or the like.

The method 1060 further includes retracting the retaining pins 880 using the cam and follower mechanism 885 to drop the medication 180 onto the platform 920 (or, for example, a verification system that verifies that the intended medication 180 (e.g., the correct, individual, and unbroken medication 180) is being delivered) (at block 1085). Referring to fig. 28 and 30, as the scooping member 865 rotates past the top portion of the wheel 860, the follower 895 corresponding to the scooping member 865 encounters the cut-off portion 894 of the cam 890. The follower 895 then retracts, which retracts the retaining pin 880 away from the circumference of the inward protrusion 866 of the bail 865. When the retaining pin 880 is retracted, the medicament 180 drops from the scooping component 865 onto the platform 920. The scooping member 865 may be shaped to include a curved portion at a radially inner portion of the scooping member 865. When the medicament 180 is released by the retaining pin 880, the curved portion pushes the medicament 180 away from the wheel 860 and onto the platform 920. Accordingly, method 1060 delivers a single drug 180 to platform 920.

The present invention therefore provides, among other things, a universal feed mechanism for an automatic packaging machine.