Abstract:
A loader for an automated pill dispenser has a plastic body with two rows of pill cavities which are positioned to overlie pill compartment blocks in the speciality pill dispensing carousel of a conventional automated pill dispenser. Two guides affixed beneath the loader body restrain a flat floor member, which has a handle to permit it to be moved between a retracted loading positioned and an extended dispensing position. The floor member has a single slot running its width through which front row pill cavities empty when the floor member is extracted. The guides define positioning holes which allow the loader to be rapidly brought into position with respect to the automated pill dispenser drawer. The loader may be filled with pills at a location remote from the automated dispenser, and rapidly engaged with and removed from the dispenser to most effectively make use of the dispenser&#39;s processing time.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     Not applicable. 
     STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT 
     Not applicable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to automated dispensing equipment in general, and to devices for loading automated pill dispensers in particular. 
     Tremendous strides in pharmacology have developed treatments for numerous human ailments which were once debilitating or fatal, but which are now readily controllable with careful medication. The modem medical practitioner has available a vast pharmacopeia for treatment of a wide range of physical and mental afflictions. Technological advancements in the development and production of pharmaceuticals has been accompanied by mechanical and electrical advancements in the development of automated machinery such that, at the present time, automated dispensers of pill form medicaments are widely used to collect in convenient labeled packets just those pills which are to be consumed by a particular patient at a particular time. 
     In hospitals, nursing homes, extended care facilities, and other institutions caring for multiple patients, automated pill dispensers can contribute to the expeditious, sanitary, and accurate distribution of necessary medications. In one known automated pill dispenser, several hundred 10-inch tall canisters within the apparatus are loaded with the most common medications required by the patients served by the dispenser. Under computer control, the dispenser collects just those pills required for a particular patient and routes them into a labeled packet. However, even with several hundred medications available on demand, there are always specialized patient needs requiring medications not loaded in one of the large canisters of the dispenser. To attend to the need for specialized medications, the automated pill dispensers are outfitted with a retractable carousel having 20 to 60 cavities into which small quantities of pills may be loaded. This specialty carousel is mounted on slides which permit it to be extracted from the process path of the dispenser where each numbered carousel compartment may be loaded by hand with a particular medication whose identity is keyed into the controlling computer. The drawbacks of this system are readily apparent: the expensive automated dispenser must be halted while the carousel is retracted and loaded, reducing the productivity of the machine, and consuming additional labor; moreover, individual loading of carousel cavities under time pressure places undue stress on operating personnel. 
     What is needed is an apparatus for loading medications into an automated pill dispenser specialty carousel which reduces machine downtime, relieves operator pressures, and facilitates accurate and expeditious medication dispensing. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The loader for an automated pill dispenser of this invention has a plastic body with two rows of pill cavities which are positioned to overlie the pill compartment blocks in the speciality pill dispensing carousel of a conventional automated pill dispenser. Two guides affixed beneath the loader body restrain a flat floor member, which has a handle to permit it to be moved between a retracted loading positioned and an extended dispensing position. The floor member has a single slot running its width through which one row of pill cavities empty when the floor member is extracted. The guides define positioning holes which allow the loader to be rapidly brought into position with respect to the automated pill dispenser drawer. The loader may be filled with pills at a location remote from the automated dispenser, and rapidly engaged with and removed from the dispenser to most effectively make use of the dispenser&#39;s processing time. 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a loader for an automated pill dispenser which is easy to operate. 
     It is a further object of the present invention to provide a loader for an automated pill dispenser which is rapidly mounted to the pill dispenser without tools. 
     It is another object of the present invention to provide a loader for an automated pill dispenser which is of low cost and of high reliability. 
     Further objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of the pill dispenser loader of this invention shown in relation to a conventional automated pill dispenser. 
     FIG. 2 is across-sectional view of the pill dispenser loader of FIG. 1 taken along section line  2 — 2 , showing pills prior to being discharged from the loader. 
     FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the pill dispenser loader of FIG. 2 shown discharging pills. 
     FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the pill dispenser loader of FIG. 1 taken along section line  4 — 4 . 
     FIG. 5 is bottom plan view of the pill dispenser loader of FIG. 1 with the loader floor member being shown in fragmentary view on the left in a closed position, and in fragmentary view on the right in an open position. 
     FIG. 6 is an isometric view of an alternative embodiment pill dispenser loader of this invention having a shallower profile. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-6, wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, a loader  20  for an automated pill dispenser  22  is shown in FIGS. 1-5. The loader  20  can be filled with individual charges of pills  24  at a location remote from the automated pill dispenser  22 , and then rapidly emptied into the automated pill dispenser at the appropriate time. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional automated pill dispenser  22  has extensive mechanized conveyor machinery for advancing precise numbers of pills of various types into patient-specific packaging. In addition to large capacity canisters for frequently requested pills, the automated pill dispenser  22  also has a specialty pill carousel  26  which is mounted within a retractable drawer  28  mounted on slides  30  which allow the carousel to be extracted from the main body  32  of the automated pill dispenser. The drawer  28  has a top wall  40  which has an oval opening and which is connected to the drawer by several upwardly projecting knurled mounting screws  34 , two in front and is two in back. The specialty pill carousel  26  is comprised of an endless looped chain of pill compartment blocks  36  which traverse an oval track under automated control to advance a particular pill compartment block  36  to machinery within the automated pill dispenser  22  which takes in the pills from the quantity contained within the compartment block. Each compartment block  36  has an initial position in which each compartment block is registered with respect to a marking  38  on the top wall  40  of the drawer  28 . The markings  38  will typically be Arabic numbers arranged in two rows corresponding to the two rows of compartment blocks  36  within the oval track. 
     The loader  20  has a tray body  42  to which two guide members  44  are connected. The tray body  42  has portions which define two rows  48 ,  49  of pill cavities  50  which pass entirely through the tray body. The illustrated loader has ten pill cavities in the back row  49 , and eleven pill cavities in the front row. It should be noted that the number of pill cavities will correspond to the number of pill block compartments, which can be as high as  61 . Usually, there will be unequal numbers of pill cavities in each row, because there is a space in the carousel to unload the individual pill compartment blocks. A floor member  46  is engaged between the tray body  42  and the guide members  44  for slidable motion between a first position which allows loading of pills  24  into the pill cavities  50 , and a second position which allows dispensing of the contents of the pill cavities into the pill compartment blocks  36 . The tray body  42  and the guide members  44  and floor member  46  may be molded or machined plastic elements. For example, the tray body  42  and guide members  44  may be formed of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, such as TIVAR® 1000 plastic material (available from Poly Hi Solidur, Inc., 2710 American Way, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46809, www.polyhisolidur.com) which meets FDA guidelines for food handling and pharmaceutical processing. The floor member  42  may be formed from an acrylic material such as LUCITE® plastic. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, each pill cavity  50  has an upper inlet opening  52 , through which pills are introduced into the pill cavity; and a lower outlet opening  54  through which pills are discharged from the loader  20 . Each pill cavity  50  has a substantially vertical inner wall  56  and two outwardly extending substantially vertical side walls  58  which connect the inner wall  56  to an outer wall  60 . The side walls may have a chamfered upper edge. The outer wall is sloped toward the lower outlet opening  54 , for example, at about a 45 degree angle. The pill cavities  50  serve as funnels which direct pills toward the lower outlet openings  54 . The vertical and steeply sloped walls of the cavities  50  are conducive to the ready flowing of the entire contents of the cavities through the outlet openings  54 . The inlet opening  52  of a pill cavity  50  may be about 2 ⅝ inches in the front to back direction, and about 1 inch in the side to side direction, while each outlet opening  54  may be about 1⅛ inches in the front to back direction, and 1 inch in the side to side direction. The tray body is about 1½ inches tall. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, each guide member  44  is connected to the underside  62  of the tray body  42  by screw fasteners  64 . A front positioning opening  66  and a rear positioning opening  68  is formed in each guide member  44 . The positioning openings  66  are of a size and at a location to overlie the four knurled mounting screws  34  on the drawer  28 . Thus when the loader  20  is set in place over the drawer  28 , the positioning holes ensure that each pill cavity  50  overlies a pill compartment block  36 . Two narrow aligned shelves  70 ,  71  are formed in each guide member  44 . The floor member  46  has sidewardly extending front tabs  72  and rear tabs  74  which are received on the shelves  70 ,  71 . Each guide member  44  has a rear stop  76  which terminates the rear shelf  71 , and a middle stop  78  which terminates the front shelf  70 . The floor member front tabs  74  are supported on the front shelves  70  and the rear tabs  74  are supported on the rear shelves  71 . As shown in FIG. 5, the floor member  46  is movable between a loading position, shown on the left in FIG. 5, in which the floor member is fully retracted; and a dispensing position, shown on the right in FIG. 5, in which the floor member is fully extended. 
     A slot  80  extends through the floor member  46  and runs parallel to a rear edge  82  of the floor member. The slot defines a rear segment  88  which is rearward of the slot, and a front segment  90  which is frontward of the slot. The slot  80  has a width in the front to back direction which is at least as great as the width of the outlet openings  54  of the pill cavities  50  in the same direction. The distance between the rear edge  82  of the floor member  46  and the rear edge  84  of the slot  80  is great enough that in the loading position the slot does not underlie any pill cavity  50 , and the floor member fully blocks any escape of pills  24  from the pill cavities. However, when the floor member is in the dispensing position, the slot  80  fully reveals all the outlet openings  54  of the pill cavities  50  in the front row  48  and the rear edge  82  of the floor member is positioned frontwardly of the back row  49  of pill cavities, fully revealing all the outlet openings  54  of the back row of pill cavities. 
     As shown in FIG. 2, a knob or handle  86  is fastened to the floor member  46  at a segment of the floor member which protrudes frontwardly from the body  42  at all times. The operation of the loader  20  is illustrated in FIGS. 2-3. The loader  20  is first filled with pills. This filling may take place at a location remote from the automatic pill dispenser  22 . Hence, an operator may at leisure charge the loader  20  with the required variety of pills while the dispenser  22  is processing prescriptions. Indeed, if desired, multiple loaders  20  maybe filled ahead of time for optimal usage of the automatic pill dispenser  22 . 
     When the time arrives to add additional quantities of pills to the specialty pill carousel drawer  28  of the automated pill dispenser  22 , the drawer  28  is extended, and the loader  20  is mounted to the drawer such that the four knurled fasteners  34  are received within the front positioning openings  66  and the rear positioning openings  68 . As shown in FIG. 2, the floor member  46  is in the loading position when the loader  20  is first mounted to the extended drawer  28 . The operator then grasps the handle  86  and pulls the floor member  46  frontwardly. In so doing, the rear segment  88  of the floor member  46  is moved frontwardly to reveal the back row  49  of pill cavities  50 , and the slot  80  is advanced to reveal the front row  48  of pill cavities. As shown in FIG. 3, once the floor member  46  has been thus advanced to the dispensing position, the pills contained within the pill cavities  50  flow under the force of gravity out of the loader  20  and into the individual pill compartment blocks  36  of the carousel  26 . 
     Complete removal of the floor member  46  from the loader is prevented by the engagement of the floor member rear tabs  74  with the middle stops  78  of the guide members  44 . With all the pills  24  exhausted from the loader  20  into the automated pill dispenser  22 , the loader may be lifted off the drawer  28  and returned for filling with additional pills. It should be noted that the rear stops  76  engage with the rear tabs of the floor member  46  when the floor member is returned to its loading position and ensure that the slot  80  is not pushed rearwardly too far. 
     It will be noted that the loader is rapidly and easily positioned on tie drawer  28  without the need for tools or operation of any fasteners. In just the same way, the loader is removed from the drawer  28  rapidly and simply without operation of any fasteners. The loader  20  thus presents a time-saving, precise, and easy to operate means of carrying a variety of pills to desired pill compartment blocks within the automated pill dispenser. Increased speed in loading the automated pill dispenser  22  translates to less down time for the automated pill dispenser, and more efficient use of the capital invested in the automated pill dispenser. 
     An alternative embodiment loader  100  of this invention is shown in FIG.  6 . The loader  100  is adapted for loading directly by hand, and hence eliminates the funnel shape of the pill cavities of the loader  20 . The loader  100  thus has a shallower tray body  102 , and shallower guide members  104  and floor member  106 . The pill cavities  108  are generally square with rounded comers, and have four substantially vertical side walls  110 . The inlet openings  112  are thus approximately the same size as the outlet openings  114  of the pill cavities. It should be noted that the pill cavities  108  are preferably smaller than the openings in the pill compartment blocks, to facilitate entry of the pills into the pill compartment blocks. 
     It should be noted that wherever the term “pill” is used herein, any solid form medicament or pharmaceutical product is intended to be encompassed including capsules, lozenges, and caplets. 
     It is understood that the invention is not limited to the particular construction and arrangement of parts herein illustrated and described, but embraces all such modified forms thereof as come within the scope of the following claims.