Article dispensing – With empty supply source responsive means
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-31
2001-02-20
Noland, Kenneth W. (Department: 3651)
Article dispensing
With empty supply source responsive means
C221S192000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06189728
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to an ampule feeder for feeding, per prescriptions, injection drug ampules or vials stored randomly in a container.
Ampule feeders of this type are disclosed in unexamined Japanese patent publications 7-300237, 8-230826 and 8-225140.
The feeder or article storage device disclosed in the first publication has a head having a recessed top surface formed with grooves and retracted under the bottom of a container that accommodates ampules randomly. The head is pushed up by a cylinder rod to receive some ampules on the top surface and raise them. The ampules thus raised are attracted to a sucker and moved onto a conveyor.
The feeder of the second publication has a container in which ampules are stored randomly and having a movable partitioning plate partitioning the interior of the container into two variable-volume chambers. A pushrod having an ampule-receiving member on top is provided in each chamber. By pushing each ampule-receiving member to a level where its inclined top smoothly connects with a feed line, ampules thereon are discharged into the feed line.
The feeder or ampule dispenser of the third publication has an ampule storage container having an inclined bottom formed with a hole through which a pusher is moved up and down. By pushing up the pusher, one ampule is raised. When the pusher is raised to a level where its inclined top is aligned with a second inclined bottom plate, the ampule on the pusher rolls down onto the second bottom plate. The ampule on the second bottom plate is then pushed up by a second pusher to a new height. Ampules are thus taken out one by one safely without getting broken.
Today's ampule feeders are mostly of this type, i.e. the type which can randomly store ampules, because these feeders require no orderly arrangement of ampules.
In such a random storage arrangement, ampules are taken out, raised and dispensed before one or more than one ampule is taken out, arranged and fed. Thus, necessary ampules are dispensed not immediately upon request but only after a certain time has passed.
One way to cope with this problem would be to connect a discharge means which can store a plurality of ampules beforehand and dispense them one by one to a discharge port of the feeder so that ampules can be dispensed immediately when an ampule dispensing signal is received. Such a discharge means has to be able to operate smoothly and efficiently in association with the taking out, raising and dispensing of ampules.
In an ampule feeder that can cope with these problems, preparation for discharging ampules in as short a time as possible is needed inside. Further, in such an ampule feeder, when an ampule discharge command is produced, if the number of ampules to be discharged is greater than the number of ampules prepared for discharge, when all the ampules prepared are discharged, ampules that are short have to be resupplied and discharged. Such resupplying and discharging also have to be carried out speedily and efficiently.
An object of this invention is to provide an ampule feeder which can solve various problems by connecting discharge means for temporarily storing a predetermined number of ampules to a dispenser of the ampule feeder to instantly discharge ampules one by one in response to a discharge signal.
Another object of this invention is to provide an ampule feeder which can resupply and discharge ampules speedily and efficiently when ampules are discharged by the discharge means.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an ampule feeder which can set sensors for checking the existence of ampules stored in the discharge means by the ampule feeder so as to operate correctly without the need for mounting adjustment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to this invention, there is provided an ampule feeder comprising an ampule container in which are randomly stored many ampules, an ampule receiver provided on one side of the ampule container and moved up and down with the ampules received orderly from the ampule receiver, a dispenser means for dispensing the ampules on the ampule receiver out of the ampule container one at a time, a discharge means for storing the dispensed ampules and discharging them one by one, and a control unit for detecting the existence of the ampules dispensed from the dispenser and for controlling the ampule receiver and the dispenser means in cooperation with the discharge means such that if no ampules are detected in the discharge means, a required number of ampules are stored.
With the ampule feeder according to this invention, ampules are discharged by the control unit in the following manner. Ampule feeders are e.g. a plurality of cylindrical devices arranged in tiers. Different kinds of ampules are stored in different feeders. Based on prescription data for each patient entered into the host computer, a discharge signal is transmitted to each control unit, which is a computer of each ampule feeder.
When such a discharge signal is fed to a specific ampule feeder, the control unit of the particular ampule feeder controls a drive unit in response to the command to discharge ampules. In order to discharge ampules immediately when the ampule discharge command is inputted, it is necessary to take a necessary number of ampules out of the ampule container, dispense them and store them in the discharge means. Thus, before the discharge command is inputted, ampules are dispensed into the discharge means beforehand for waiting preparation.
But in the case of the random-storage type, if trials are made to take ampules one by one out of the container, it may be sometimes difficult to dispense ampules reliably for every dispensing operation. Thus, in controlling the ampule receiver, dispensing means and discharge means, the control unit repeatedly actuates the ampule receiver and the ampule dispenser every time no riding of ampules into the discharge means is detected to repeat the same operation until a necessary number of ampules are received in the ampule receiving grooves of the rotor of the discharge means for waiting preparation to store the necessary number of ampules.
According to the present invention, the detecting action of the sensors provided in the discharge means is judged by different reference values for the respective sensors based on the setting of a threshold by the control unit.
Other features and objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
REFERENCES:
patent: 405120539 (1993-05-01), None
patent: 7-300237 (1995-11-01), None
patent: 8-225140 (1996-09-01), None
patent: 8-230826 (1996-09-01), None
Kano Kunihiko
Kodama Tsuyoshi
Shigeyama Yasuhiro
Yasuda Shinya
Yuyama Shoji
Kabushiki Kaisha Yuyama Seisakusho
Noland Kenneth W.
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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