Patent ID: 7472803

Claim:
An automated dispensing assembly comprising: a base; a shuttle mounted in the base and movable under automated control between a loading position and a dispensing position, wherein the shuttle includes a cavity configured to carry an object, the depth of the cavity in the shuttle being approximately the same as the thickness of one of the objects; a storage module mounted proximate the shuttle, wherein the storage module is configured to store a plurality of objects and includes an opening exposing the next object to be dispensed, further wherein the cavity is positioned adjacent the opening in the storage module in the loading position and an edge of the cavity separates the object to be dispensed from the other objects in the storage module as the shuttle moves to the dispensing position; an actuator coupled to move the shuttle between the loading position and the dispensing position; a sensor coupled to detect and generate a signal indicating the position of at least one of the group consisting of: the shuttle and the actuator; and a controller configured to: control operation of a handling system to remove the object from the cavity; receive signals from the sensor; and control operation of the actuator by automatically determining whether another object should be dispensed.