Patent ID: 7412302
Filing Date: 2008-08-12
Classification: A61J,G07F

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for counting pharmaceutical units, comprising: (a) a deck assembly; (b) a cylindrical chamber carried by the deck assembly, wherein the walls of the chamber are oriented vertically; (c) a pharmaceutical unit storage section, carried by the deck assembly and positioned within the cylindrical chamber, the storage section having walls, a floor and an opening adjacent the floor from which to discharge the pharmaceutical units; (d) a horizontally oriented transport ring carried by the deck assembly and rotatable relative to the walls of the cylindrical chamber and the walls of the storage section, the transport ring having an inner perimeter, an outer perimeter and a top surface, wherein the outer perimeter of the transport ring is positioned within the walls of the cylindrical chamber, and the storage section is positioned within the inner perimeter of the transport ring, thereby forming a passage for the pharmaceutical units between the walls of the cylindrical chamber and the walls of the storage section, and further wherein the floor and opening of the storage section are oriented above the transport ring, to allow the pharmaceuticals units to be fed by gravity onto the top surface of the transport ring; (e) a motor for rotating the transport ring; (f) an outlet in the cylindrical chamber for discharging the pharmaceutical units from the transport ring; (g) a hopper for receiving the pharmaceutical units discharged through the outlet; (h) a counting system, for counting the pharmaceutical units discharged to the hopper; and (i) a controller for receiving prescription data, initiating a count cycle, controlling the transport ring motor, receiving a pharmaceutical unit count from the counting system and ending a count cycle.