VACUUM OPERATED MEDICINE DISPENSER

• Main Authors: BERRY, JOHN FRANKLIN, OBER, CLIFFORD DEAN, MAYER, ROBERT RANDALL, JR, ROGERS, LISA WEDEMEYER, KELLEY, SCOTT ALLEN, HOSKINS, VAN WOOD, WEIDO, VINCENT CHARLES, HENCKEL, MARK G, KUCHAR, MICHAEL CYRIL, KRAFT, THOMAS LOUIS, THOMPSON, JOHN ARTHUR, III
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French
• Published: 05.01.1995
• Edition: 6
• Subjects: BABY COMFORTERS; CONTAINERS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR MEDICAL OR PHARMACEUTICALPURPOSES; CONVEYING; DEVICES FOR ADMINISTERING FOOD OR MEDICINES ORALLY; DEVICES FOR RECEIVING SPITTLE; DEVICES OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR BRINGINGPHARMACEUTICAL PRODUCTS INTO PARTICULAR PHYSICAL ORADMINISTERING FORMS; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL; HUMAN NECESSITIES; HYGIENE; MACHINES, APPARATUS OR DEVICES FOR, OR METHODS OF, PACKAGINGARTICLES OR MATERIALS; MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; PACKING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PNEUMATIC TUBE CONVEYORS; SHOP CONVEYOR SYSTEMS; STORING; TRANSPORT OR STORAGE DEVICES, e.g. CONVEYORS FOR LOADING ORTIPPING; TRANSPORTING; UNPACKING

A vacuum operated system (100) 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 by the user. The invention includes medicine dispensing equipment (104) and a computer (106) for user interface. A plurality of storage containers (210) arranged in a rotatable carousel (206) or a rectilinear array may contain various pharmaceutical articles. The storage containers (210) may be easily refilled by inserting modular refill cartridges (212) into the storage containers (210). After user enters data into computer (106), a universal vacuum probe (1001) is aligned with the storage container (210) that contains the desired items. The universal vacuum probe (1001) is lowered to the desired storage container (210) and engaged with a container probe (614) exclusive to that storage container (210) and is placed into a cup (108) or an envelope (2300).