Patent ID: 7958701
Filing Date: 2011-06-14
Classification: B65B

Abstract:
1. A device for dispensing pills, the device comprising: a plurality of pill canisters, each of the pill canisters containing pills; a control adapted to release a desired quantity of the pills from a selected pill canister of the plurality of pill canisters, the control adapted to release the desired quantity of the pills at a target location; a plurality of platens, each of the platens being substantially planar and having edges, each of the plurality of platens having a machine-readable platen identifier, each of the platens having a different configuration of pill locations corresponding to one of more specific packaging configurations; a frame situated beneath the target location, the frame having at least three walls, each of the walls interfacing to a corresponding edge of a selected platen that has been placed in the frame, the selected platen is removably and interchangeably held in the frame and the selected platen moves in both an X axis and a Y axis responsive to movement of the frame in both the X axis and the Y axis; a reading device for reading data from the machine-readable platen identifier; and a determining device reads the data from the reading device and determines which platen of the plurality of platens is loaded in the frame; whereas the selected platen removably holds and supports a target container and the frame moves the selected platen in the X and the Y direction responsive to the determining device, thereby depositing the desired quantity of the pills into the a target package that is held by the selected platen.