IT201900018299A1 - Vending machine for items - Google Patents

Description

Title

"Automatic article dispenser"

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a dispenser of articles for medical purposes, for example for delivering medicines to a user in the form of pills or capsules according to a predetermined administration schedule. The invention also relates to an article distribution system which comprises a plurality of connected article distributors.

STATE OF THE ART

Common dispensers of articles for medical applications are already known in the state of the art, for example for dispensing a predetermined number of pills or capsules belonging to a predetermined type. These dispensers can be used by patients who take one or more drugs at pre-established time intervals: the dispenser therefore works both as a reminder to not forget to take the prescribed drugs, and as a dispenser to take the prescribed amount of the relative drug. In all cases, item distributors are designed so that drugs are only licensed under a predetermined delivery schedule, preventing abuse or taking drugs in large quantities (drug overdose). In the case of non-self-employed patients and patients in home or residential care, the distributors of articles also prevent inappropriate or suboptimal use of drugs (drug overdose). Document US200302424943A1 is directed to a drug dispensing device which comprises a movable rotating carousel and which carries a plurality of containers for the storage of pharmaceutical articles in the form of pills or tablets, in which a sampling probe allows the withdrawal of these articles for later distribution to you. The device also includes a removable cover placed to cover the carousel and, once removed, allows access to the carousel and the filling of the containers with new items.

The owner points out some drawbacks that affect the device described in US200303024943A1: removing the cover exposes the plurality of containers, presenting a greater risk for users who can fill a wrong container with articles, or mix different categories of articles in a single container. For example, in this configuration, a drug pill may mistakenly fall into a container that is supposed to contain another type of drug. Therefore, the subsequent dispensing process performed by the appliance can pose high risks to the health and safety of the user, due to an unintentional refueling error or carelessness. In addition, full access to the interior of the device involves contamination risks. The internal parts of the appliance may inadvertently come into contact with the hands or fingers of users and dirt and liquids can penetrate the appliance more easily, generating undesirable consequences.

Document US9501887B2 is also directed to a drug dispensing device which includes a carousel which carries a plurality of containers for storing pharmaceutical articles in the form of pills or tablets, and in which a recovery probe allows the withdrawal of these articles for the subsequent distribution to a consumer. A process of filling containers with new items takes place from a side opening, through which the user can manually remove a container from the carousel for subsequent filling. The dispensing device also comprises a first receptacle for the articles to be distributed to the user and a second receptacle, distinct from the first, for the rejected articles.

The owner also points out some drawbacks, which concern the device described in document US9501887B2, relating to the refilling process which involves the complete manual extraction of a container from the device. Once the container has come out of the device, the user is able to manipulate it for refilling: the direct interaction of the container with the user is mandatory here and leads to contamination of the container itself and makes the refilling process more difficult. and time-consuming. Additionally, the continual extraction of containers from the carousel for periodic replenishment can lead to reliability problems such as damage to the carousel itself, the carousel rotation mechanism or the coupling means configured for mounting the containers on the carousel. On the other hand, if you want to solve or at least reduce these reliability problems, the cost-benefit ratio will certainly suffer.

Furthermore, the owner emphasizes that the supply of separate containers for the delivery of the articles to the user and for the collection of the rejected articles is also complex from the design point of view and slightly increases the cost and the overall volume of the apparatus. Above all, the presence of two distinct containers can lead to confusion and the patient may not know which is the right container from which to take pills.

FIELD OF APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The objectives of this invention are therefore to solve, at least in part, one or more of the drawbacks and / or limitations of the previous solutions.

The first objective is to provide a dispenser of items that are easy to refill with new items and, above all, an item dispenser capable of preventing any user error or carelessness during the refilling process.

The second objective is to provide a distributor of articles capable of avoiding or reducing as much as possible the problems of contamination deriving from a direct interaction between the user and the containers, in particular during refueling.

The third goal is to provide a reliable article dispenser, even after several dispensing and filling procedures.

The fourth object is to provide an article distribution system in which an article distributor (master) can be connected to other distributors and / or control one or more distributors of slave articles.

A further object is to provide a remotely connected dispenser to provide feedback information to a remote server and / or connected to the user's mobile devices for programming, control and reporting activities.

Another goal is to provide distributors of easy-to-produce and low-cost items.

These and other objectives, which will appear in more detail from the following description, are substantially achieved by an article distributor and an article distribution system in accordance with one or more of the following claims and / or aspects.

SUMMARY SECTION

A first aspect refers to a dispenser of articles (100), in particular for dispensing pills or capsules, said dispenser (100) comprising:

- an external container (1) which defines an internal volume (2);

- at least one carousel (10) housed in said internal volume (2) and movable by rotation around an axis of rotation (A), said at least one carousel (10) comprising a plurality of containers (11) arranged around said axis of rotation rotation (A), wherein each of the plurality of said containers (11) is configured to store a plurality of articles (P);

- a withdrawal probe (20) housed in said internal volume (2) and configured to withdraw at least one of said articles (P) from a container (11) of the plurality of containers and to release said article (P) for subsequent dispensing to a user;

- an access door (3) defined on said external container (1);

- a duct (4), which defines a passage for the articles (P), which extends at least between a first opening (4a) arranged on the access door (3) and a second opening (4b) arranged near the carousel (10 );

- a control unit (50) configured for moving said carousel (10) and for controlling said pick-up probe (20);

wherein the control unit (50) is configured to control the article distributor (100) in at least one loading configuration for filling the containers (11) with said articles (P),

wherein, in said loading configuration, the control unit (50) moves the carousel (10) and positions a selected container (11) at a time of the plurality of containers at the second opening (4b) of the duct (4), in said loading configuration being allowed the passage of one or more articles (P) from said access door (3), through said duct (4), towards and into said selected container (11).

A second aspect refers to a dispenser of articles (100), in particular for dispensing pills or capsules, said dispenser comprising:

- an external container (1) which defines an internal volume (2);

- at least one carousel (10) housed in said internal volume (2) and movable by rotation around an axis of rotation, said at least one carousel (10) comprising a plurality of containers arranged around said axis of rotation, in which each of said plurality of said containers is configured to store a certain number of said articles;

- a pre-delivery system (30) comprising a pre-delivery vessel (31);

- a withdrawal probe (20) housed in said internal volume (2) and configured to withdraw at least one of said articles from a container (11) of the plurality of containers and to release said article into said pre-delivery container (31) ;

- a drawer (60) comprising a dispensing receptacle (61) and a disposal receptacle (62), the dispensing receptacle (61) and the disposal receptacle (62) of the drawer (60) define a single body,

- a control unit (50) configured to selectively move the drawer (60) between:

or a collection position in which the dispensing vessel (61) is put in communication with the pre-delivery vessel (31) to allow the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery vessel (31) to the dispensing vessel (61) for subsequent delivery to the user; the waste container (62) is located in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; optionally the dispensing container (61) is further away in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; optionally the dispensing container (61) is further away in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user;

or a disposal location where the disposal vessel (62) is communicated with the pre-delivery vessel (31) to allow passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery vessel (31) to the disposal vessel (62); the waste container (62) is located inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user;

or optionally a dispensing position, in which the dispensing vessel (61) is at least partially disposed outside the inner volume (2) of the outer container (1) to allow user access, while the disposal vessel (62) it is located inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent user access; or optionally a recovery position, in which the disposal container (62) is at least partially disposed outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to allow access by a user.

In a 3rd aspect according to the preceding aspect, the article distributor (100) comprises a duct (4), which defines a passage for the articles, which extends at least between a first opening (4a) arranged at the inlet ( 3) and a second opening (4b) arranged near the carousel (10); in which the article distributor (100) is configurable at least in one loading configuration to be filled with said articles, in which, in said loading configuration, a selected container (11) at a time of the plurality of containers is moved to the second opening (4b) of the duct (4), in said loading configuration one or more articles being allowed to pass from said access door (3), through said duct (4), towards and in said selected container (11).

In a 4th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, said selected container (11) of the plurality of containers is any container (11) selected among said plurality of containers.

In a 5th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the access door (3) is movable between an open position and a closed position, in which, when the dispenser (100) is arranged in the load condition, the access door (3) is in the open position to allow the passage of one or more articles (P) through the access door (3) in said duct (4), optionally the control unit (50) allowing the access door (3 ) to move to the open position.

In a 6th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article dispenser (100) is configurable in a closed configuration in which the access door (3) is arranged in a closed position to occlude the duct (4), so to prevent the passage of one or more articles from said access door (3) to the duct (4), in particular preventing the passage of one or more elements from said access door (3) to the duct (4), in particular preventing a communication between the external environment and any container (11) of the carousel (10), possibly the control unit (50) preventing the access door (3) from moving towards the open position.

In a 7th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, a predetermined angular rotation of the carousel (10) with respect to the duct (4) determines the alignment between said duct (4) and said selected container (11) of the plurality of containers, said alignment by placing the duct (4) with said selected container (11) to allow the passage of one or more elements through the duct (4) and into said selected container (11).

In an 8th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, a further angular rotation of the carousel (10) with respect to the duct (4) determines the alignment between said duct (4) and another selected container (11) of the plurality of containers.

In a 9th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the first opening (4a) of the duct (4), in particular the access door (3), is arranged in an upper part of the external container (1).

In a 10th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the first opening (4a) of the duct (4) is arranged, in particular at least when the dispenser is placed in standard operating conditions, at a height higher than the height of the second opening (4b) of the duct (4).

In an 11th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, when the article distributor (100) is in the loading configuration, the passage of one or more articles from said access door (3), through said duct (4), towards and into the selected container (11) is determined by gravity, for example, by falling or sliding.

In a 12th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the conduit (4) is configured to guide one or more elements from the first opening (4a) to the second opening (4b) in the selected container (11).

In a 13th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, each container (11) of the plurality of containers comprises an inlet opening (11a), in particular an inlet opening (11a) for receiving the articles (P) when the vending machine is in the loading configuration and to allow the picking probe (20) to pick up one or more items.

In a 14th aspect according to the preceding aspect, the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) is arranged in correspondence with said inlet opening (11a) at least when the dispenser is arranged in the loading configuration.

In a 15th aspect according to the previous aspects 13 and 14, the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) has an overall dimension which is less than or at most equal to the overall dimension of the inlet opening (11a) of each container (11 ).

In a 16th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) is arranged, in particular at least when the dispenser is placed in standard operating conditions, at a height higher than that of the container selected (11), in particular of any one of the plurality of containers (11).

In a 17th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the duct (4) is fixed with respect to the outer container (1).

In an 18th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the carousel (10) is movable by rotation with respect to the duct (4).

In a 19th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, in the loading configuration, the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) is positioned in proximity to an inlet opening (11a) of the single container (11) in so that there is no opening or gap between the conduit (4) and the container (11) to drop the loaded items through the first opening (4a) and out of the second opening (4b) of the conduit (4) into a place other than the selected container (11).

In a 20th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the access door (3) comprises a door hooked to the external container (1) and movable in rotation or translation with respect to the external container (1) to define both the opening position and the closed position of the access door (3).

In a 21st aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the control unit (50) is placed inside said internal volume (2) of the external container (1).

In a 22nd aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the control unit (50) is configured to arrange the article dispenser (100) in said loading configuration: - aligning the selected container (11) of the carousel (10) with the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) by means of a rotation of the carousel (10); And

- move the access door (3) to the open position.

In a 23rd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article dispenser (100) comprises an angular sensor configured to emit a signal representative of the angular position of the carousel (10).

In a 24th aspect according to the preceding aspect, the control unit (50) is configured to receive such a representative signal to provide a value or an indication of a measured angular position of the carousel (10), in particular the position angular being established.

In a 25th aspect according to the previous aspects 23 and 25, the step of aligning the selected container (11) of the carousel (10) with the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) is based on said measured angular position of the carousel ( 10).

In a 26th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the dispenser r of articles (100) comprises a motor operatively connected to the access door (3), in particular to the door of the access door (3), the control unit (50) being configured to drive said motor to move said access door (3) into the open or closed position.

In a 27th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the article distributor (100) comprises a motor operatively connected to the carousel (10), whose control unit (50) is configured to drive said motor to determine the rotation of said carousel (10), in particular said rotation being a predetermined or measurable angular rotation.

In a 28 ° aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, each container (11) of the plurality of containers is associated with a predefined angular position with respect to the carousel (10) or with respect to a fixed portion of the dispenser, so that, on the base of the signal representative of the angular position of the carousel (10) measured by the angular sensor, the control unit (50) is configured to determine the position of each container (11).

In a 29th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article spenser (100) comprises a graphical user interface (40) in communication with the control unit (50) and configured to receive one or more inputs from the user.

In a 30th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the control unit (50) is configured to implement a loading procedure comprising:

- receive from the user, through the graphical user interface (40), an input representative of the selected container (11) and / or an input of a type of articles to be loaded, optionally each type of article is associated with the position of a container (11) to be selected from the plurality of containers;

- optionally evaluating the actual angular position of the carousel (10), in particular by means of said angular sensor;

- based on user input and optionally based on the actual angular position of the carousel (10), rotate the carousel (10) to align the selected container (11) of the carousel (10) with the second opening (4b) of the duct (4).

In a 31st aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the graphical user interface (40) is arranged on the external container (1), in particular the graphical user interface is physically connected to the external container (1).

In a 32nd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the graphical user interface (40) is arranged on a remote device, such as a smartphone, tablet or computer, such remote device being operatively connected to the control unit ( 50) of the distributor of articles (100).

In a 33rd aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the sampling probe (20) is movable vertically, optionally along a direction substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the carousel (10), towards and from a container (11) of the plurality of containers.

In a 34th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, a rotation of the carousel (10) determines the alignment of the sampling probe (20) with a container (11) from which to pick up one or more objects.

In a 35 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the sampling probe (20) is movable along a single degree of freedom, in particular it is movable only along a single direction, this direction being substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the carousel (10), either being a substantially vertical direction, or a linear direction or a single curved path.

In a 36th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the disposer of articles (100) comprises a motor operatively connected to the picking probe (20) to determine the movement of the latter, while a control unit (50) it is connected to this motor to control the movement of the sampling probe (20).

In a 37th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the dispenser r of articles (100) comprises a vacuum system (5) operatively connected to the sampling probe (20), the vacuum system (5) being configured to determine the 'coupling between a terminal tip (21) of the sampling probe (20) and an article (P) stored in a container (11) of the plurality of containers, in particular the vacuum system (5) defines a suction of gas in correspondence with the terminal tip (21) of the sampling probe (20) to determine the coupling with an article.

In an aspect 37a according to any of the preceding aspects, the terminal tip (21) of the sampling probe (20) defines a suction cup.

In a 38th aspect according to the two preceding aspects, the vacuum system (5) of the sampling probe (20) comprises a pressure sensor configured to emit a signal representative of the pressure measured in the vacuum system (5), while the The control unit (50) is connected to such a pressure sensor and configured to provide a value or an indication of said measured pressure.

In a 39th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the sampling probe (20) is configured to hook a single element (P) at a time, in particular in the container in which, once the single element has been hooked, the pick (20) must release the single element before hooking another element.

In a 40th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article distributor (100) comprises a pre-delivery system (30) housed in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) and comprising, at least when the pre-delivery (30) is arranged in the storage position, a pre-delivery vessel (31).

In a 41st aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the withdrawal probe (20) is configured to release one or more articles (P), taken from one or more of the plurality of containers (11), into said pre-container -delivery (31) before the delivery to the user of said one or more items picked up.

In a 42nd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, said pre-delivery container (31) is not reachable by the user during normal use of the apparatus.

In a 43 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the pre-delivery system (30) is movable, in particular by rotation, between said storage position, in which the pre-delivery container (31) is configured to receive and house one or more articles picked up by the sampling probe (20), and at least one unloading position, in which the pre-delivery system (30) is configured to unload, from the pre-delivery container (31), said one or more articles, especially by gravity.

In a 43rd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the pre-delivery system (30) comprises a support base (32) comprising at least one through opening (32a), with the pre-delivery vessel (31) being configured so as to slide on said support base (32) between said storage position and said unloading position.

In a 45th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, when

- the pre-delivery system (30) is in the storage position, the pre-delivery container (31) comprises a lower wall defined by at least a part of the support base (32); while - when the pre-delivery system (30) is in the unloading position, the pre-delivery container (31) is arranged on the through opening (32a) of the support base (32), in said unloading position the pre-delivery vessel (31) is devoid of at least a part of the bottom wall, so that one or more items can be unloaded from the pre-delivery vessel (31).

In a 46th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the carousel (10) is arranged at a height greater than a height of the pre-delivery system (30), in particular at a height of the pre-delivery vessel (30). delivery (31).

In a 47th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the sampling probe (20) is arranged at a height higher than that of the pre-delivery system (30).

In a 48th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, wherein an object picked up by the pickup probe (20) falls by gravity from the pickup probe (20) to the pre-delivery vessel (31).

In a 49th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the control unit (50) is configured to implement a picking procedure comprising:

- rotating the carousel (10) to determine the alignment, in particular the axial alignment, between the selected container (11) and the sampling probe (20);

- activate the vacuum system of the sampling probe (20);

- moving the withdrawal probe (20) towards the bottom of the selected container (11) of the plurality of containers to determine the coupling of an article with the withdrawal probe (20).

In a 50th aspect according to the previous aspect, the withdrawal procedure also includes the steps of:

- evaluating a pressure variation, in particular a pressure drop, in the vacuum system of the sampling probe (20) by means of the pressure sensor;

- comparing said pressure variation with a predetermined threshold;

- on the basis of this comparison, assess whether the commitment of said article has been correctly carried out.

In a 51 ° aspect according to the previous aspects 49 and 50, the withdrawal procedure further includes the steps of:

- if it is estimated that the sampling probe (20) is coupled to an element, move the sampling probe (20) away from the container (11) and rotate the carousel (10) to determine the alignment of the opening (12) with the sampling probe (20), in particular a vertical alignment:

- release this item into the pre-delivery container (31), in particular when the pre-delivery system (30) is in the storage position.

In a 52nd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects 49, 50 and 51, the sampling procedure, if it judges that the sampling probe (20) has not engaged the object, also includes the steps of:

o move the sampling probe (20) away from the container (11),

or optionally generating a shaking of the carousel (10), in particular of said container (11), to rearrange the articles inside the container (11),

or optionally rotate the carousel (10) a few degrees clockwise or counterclockwise, to change the relative position between the sampling probe (20) and the items inside the container (11),

or repeating the step of moving the pick-up probe (20) towards the bottom of the selected container (11) of the plurality of containers to determine the coupling of an article by the pick-up probe (20).

In a 53rd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, if the delivery of two or more items is requested, the control unit (50) is configured to iteratively repeat said picking procedure until the total number of items requested is is housed in the pre-delivery container (31).

In a 54th aspect according to any one of the foregoing aspects, the article distributor (100) comprises a drawer (60) which in turn comprises a dispensing vessel (61) configured to receive, collect and deliver to the user one or more several articles picked up by the picking probe (20), in particular said one or more articles unloaded by the pre-delivery system (30) if arranged in the unloading position.

In a 55th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the drawer (60) further comprises a container for disposal (62), compartmentalized with respect to the dispensing container (61), the dispensing container (61) and the container for the disposal (62) of the drawer (60) defines a single body, movable with respect to the external casing (1).

In a 56th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the control unit (50) selectively moves the drawer (60) between:

- a collection position in which the dispensing container (61) is put in communication with the pre-delivery container (31) to allow the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery container (31) to the dispensing container (61) for subsequent delivery to the user; the waste container (62) is located in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; optionally the dispensing container (61) is further away in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; optionally the dispensing container (61) is further away in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user;

- a disposal position in which the disposal vessel (62) is put in communication with the pre-delivery vessel (31) to allow the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery vessel (31) to the disposal vessel (62); the waste container (62) is located inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user;

- optionally a dispensing position, in which the dispensing container (61) is at least partially arranged outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to allow access by the user, while the disposal container (62) it is located inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent user access;

- optionally a recovery position, in which the disposal container (62) is at least partially disposed outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to allow access by a user; optionally the dispensing vessel (61) is at least partially disposed outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1).

In a 57th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article distributor (100) comprises a motor operatively connected to the drawer (60) and to the control unit (50), the control unit (50) is configured to control said motor to determine the movement of the drawer (60) in the collection position and in the disposal position, optionally in the dispensing position and in the recovery position.

In a 58th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the pre-delivery system (30) is arranged at a height greater than a height of the drawer (60), in particular greater than a height of the dispensing vessel ( 61) and / or the disposal container (62).

In a 59th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, when the pre-delivery system (30) is moved to the unloading position, the articles are unloaded by gravity from the pre-delivery container (31) to the drawer (60).

In a 60th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article dispenser (100) comprises an access key configured to move the drawer (60) to the recovery position, this access key being a physical key configured to be inserted in a lock of the drawer (60) or a code, for example a password to be entered through a graphical user interface, the drawer (60) being configurable in the recovery position only by means of said access key.

In a 61st aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the access key is a button (65) that can be pressed by a user and arranged in a lower part of the drawer (60), pressing the button (65) causes the unlocking of the drawer (60) to bring it to the recovery position.

In a 62nd aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, when the bin (60) is disposed in the collection position, said dispensing vessel (61) is disposed just below the pre-delivery vessel (31) at least when the system of pre-delivery (30) is arranged in the unloading position, in particular the dispensing container (61) being just below the through opening (32a) of the support base (32).

In a 63rd aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the pre-delivery system (30), when disposed in the unloading position and when the drawer (60) is disposed in the withdrawal position, is configured to unload one or more by gravity. several articles, housed in the pre-delivery container (31), in said dispensing container (61).

In a 64th aspect according to any of the foregoing aspects, when the bin (60) is disposed in the disposal position, said disposal vessel (62) is disposed just below the pre-delivery vessel (31) at least when the system of pre-delivery (30) is arranged in the unloading position, in particular the disposal container (62) being just below the through opening (32a) of the support base (32).

In a 65th aspect according to any one of the foregoing aspects, the pre-delivery system (30), when disposed in the unloading position and when the drawer (60) is disposed in the disposing position, is configured to unload one or more by gravity. several articles, housed in the pre-delivery vessel (31), in said disposal vessel (62).

In a 66 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the drawer (60) is movable horizontally, in particular transversely to the axis of rotation of the carousel (10), in particular by sliding.

In a 67th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the drawer (60), including the dispensing container (61) and the disposal container (62), defines a single body movable with respect to the external container (1) of the distributor (100).

In a 68th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the sampling probe (20) and the pre-delivery vessel (31) are vertically aligned, in particular the pre-delivery vessel (31) and the sampling probe (20) are aligned on the same axis when the pre-delivery system (31) is placed in the storage position, so that when the picking probe (20) releases an article, the latter falls by gravity into the pre-delivery container (31).

In a 69th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the control unit (50) is configured to receive, for example from the user by means of a graphical user interface, a delivery program of the items to be delivered to the user , said delivery program comprising at least one of:

- delivery times for one or more items;

- a type of article of the items to be delivered;

- the number of items to be delivered for each type of item,

on the basis of this delivery program, the control unit (50) is configured to perform a series of picking procedures for picking up the requested items towards the pre-delivery container (31) for subsequent delivery to the user.

In a 70th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, a control unit (50) is configured to receive, for example from the user via a graphical user interface or via a push button, a delivery command to execute a procedure delivery of one or more items, the control unit (50) being configured for:

- check if the delivery program is compatible with the delivery command, in particular check if the actual time is compatible with the preset times;

if the delivery schedule is compatible with the delivery command, the delivery procedure also includes:

- move or keep the drawer (60) in the collection position;

- moving the pre-delivery system (30) from the storage position to the unloading position to determine the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery container (31) to the delivery container (61) of the drawer (60);

- optionally move the drawer (60) from the collection position to the dispensing position.

In a 71st aspect according to any of the above aspects, a control unit (50) is configured to check whether the delivery schedule is compatible with the delivery command, if the delivery schedule is incompatible with the delivery command delivery, in particular if the actual time is not compatible with the preset times, the control unit (50) is configured to implement a disposal procedure comprising:

- move or keep the drawer (60) in the disposal position;

- moving the pre-delivery system (30) from the storage position to the unloading position to determine the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery container (31) to the disposal container (62) of the drawer (60).

In a 72nd aspect according to any of the foregoing aspects, the delivery procedure also includes the withdrawal procedure.

In a 73rd aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article dispenser (100) comprises a physical button (42) disposed on the external container (1) of the dispenser and reachable by the user, in which the activation of this physical button, for example by pressing the button, activates the dispensing command.

In a 74th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the carousel (10) comprises at least one opening (12) located between two adjacent containers (11).

In a 75th aspect according to the previous aspect, the control unit (50) is configured, after the withdrawal of an object performed by the sampling probe (20), for:

- aligning said opening (12) of the carousel (10) with the sampling probe (20) and with the pre-delivery container (31), the latter being arranged in the storage position;

- unhook said article from the pick-up probe (20) to allow the article to fall by gravity through this opening (12) into the pre-delivery container (31), in particular if the pre-delivery system (30) is arranged in storage position.

In a 76th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the axis of rotation of the carousel (10) is vertical.

In a 77th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, in any configuration of the dispenser, in particular when the dispenser is in the loading configuration, or in the closed configuration or in any operating condition, each container (11) of the plurality of containers is housed inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1), in particular the containers not being directly accessible by a user.

In a 78 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, a loading procedure to fill the carousel (10) with the articles does not imply a direct interaction, in particular any contact, between the user and any container (11) of the plurality of containers.

In a 79th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the internal volume (2) defined by the external container (1) is closed at least when the dispenser is in the closed configuration.

In an 80th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, in said loading configuration, the duct (4) is in communication with said selected container (11) of the plurality of containers.

In an aspect 81 ° according to any of the preceding aspects, the duct (4) has a conical shape, where the first opening (4a) of the duct (4) is larger than the second opening (4b).

In an 82 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, each container (11) comprises a bottom wall and a side wall that emerges from said bottom wall, defining a concave container (11), the bottom wall being inclined, optionally conical in shape, to allow the items stored in the container (11) to settle at the lowest level.

In an 83rd aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the containers are physically separated from each other.

In an 84th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, each container (11) is carried by the carousel (10), the carousel (10) and the containers are made separately.

In an 85th aspect, according to any one of the preceding aspects, the carousel (10) comprises a number of containers comprised between 2 and 15, in particular between 4 and 8.

In an 86th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the plurality of containers is equally angularly spaced about the axis of rotation of the carousel (10).

In an 87th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article distributor (100) comprises a single carousel (10) carrying the plurality of containers, or two or more carousels (10) each moving around the same axis of rotation, in particular the carousels (10) being stacked one above the other, each of the carousels (10) carrying a plurality of said containers (11).

In an 88th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the article distributor (100) comprises a data communication device configured to put the article distributor (100) in operative communication with a remote device, such as a smartphone, a tablet or a computer, in particular this data communication device being an Internet access via web such as a SIM card, a Wi-Fi module.

In an 89th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the data communication device is configured to control or modify one or more parameters of the article dispenser (100) via a remote device, in particular these parameters being at least one of the program delivery, an outcome of the delivery procedures implemented, a power failure.

A 90 ° aspect refers to an article distribution system (200), in particular for dispensing pills or capsules, said distribution system comprising a plurality of article dispensers (100), in particular two or more dispensers of articles, at least one and in particular each of them, being in accordance with any of the preceding aspects, said plurality of article distributors (100) being operatively associated with each other and communicating with each other.

In a 91st aspect according to the preceding aspect, the control unit (50) of an article distributor (100), defining a master article distributor (100a), of the article distribution system (200) is configured to communicate directly with the control units (50) of the other article distributors (100), defining slave article distributors (100b), of the article distribution system (200), and to control such slave article distributors (100b) to perform a procedure for delivering one or more items to the user.

In a 92 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, said control unit (50) of the master article dispenser (100a) is configured to receive, for example from the user via a graphical user interface, said delivery program, on the basis of said delivery program, said control unit (50) of the master article dispenser (100a) is configured to control the slave article dispensers (100b) to each perform a respective delivery procedure.

In a 93 ° aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, the plurality of article dispensers (100) are connected to each other by means of a data cable or a wireless communication module, in particular each dispenser of such plurality of dispensers of items (100) is configured to implement a respective part of a same delivery procedure to deliver items to the same user.

In a 94th aspect according to any of the preceding aspects, said article dispenser (100), comprising said control unit (50), further comprises said graphical user interface (40) connected to said control unit (50) and configured to allow the user to set said delivery program, in particular the slave article distributor (100b) not including any graphical user interface capable of setting the delivery program.

In a 95th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the master article distributor (100a) controls the operations of any other article distributor (100) of the article distributor system (200), in particular the article distributor slave (100b) not communicating with each other.

In a 96th aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the delivery program comprises two or more personalized delivery programs of the same patient prescription, each of these two or more personalized delivery programs being associated with an item distributor (100 ) among the plurality of article distributors (100), wherein the control unit (50) of the master article distributor (100a) is configured to command the slave article distributors (100b) to perform a respective delivery procedure based on the respective individual delivery schedule.

In a 97th aspect depending on any of the preceding aspects, said two or more personalized delivery programs differ from each other in at least one of:

- the predefined times for the delivery of one or more items of each dispenser (100);

- an article type of the articles to be delivered by each article distributor (100); - a certain number of items to be delivered, in particular the number of items for each type of item, from each item distributor (100);

in particular each personalized delivery program by determining, through the control unit (50) of the single article dispenser (100), a respective delivery procedure for each single article dispenser (100)

DRAWINGS

Some embodiments and some aspects of the invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings, provided for illustrative purposes only, in which:

Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views of the article dispenser according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of Figure 1 with the dispenser arranged in a loading configuration according to the present invention;

Figures 4 and 5 are respectively a perspective view and a top view of a distributor of articles arranged in a loading configuration according to the present invention;

Figures 6 and 7 are detailed perspective views of the interior of a dispenser during a withdrawal procedure according to the present invention;

Figures 6A and 7A are respectively cross-sectional views of Figures 6 and 7; Figure 8 is a detailed perspective view of the interior of a vending machine according to the present invention with the pre-delivery system arranged in the storage position; Figure 9 is a detailed perspective view of the interior of a vending machine according to the present invention in which the pre-delivery system is arranged in the unloading position; Figure 9A is a cross-sectional view of Figure 9 in which the drawer is arranged in the pick-up position and the delivery system is arranged in the discharge position; Figure 10 is a sectional view of a dispenser according to the invention in which the drawer is arranged in the dispensing position;

Figure 11 is a sectional view of a dispenser according to the present invention in which the drawer is arranged in the disposal position;

Figure 12 is a sectional view of a dispenser according to the present invention in which an article is secured in the container for disposal;

Figure 13 is a cross-sectional view of a dispenser according to the present invention in which the drawer is arranged in the recovery position;

Figure 14 is a bottom perspective view of the interior of a dispenser according to the present invention;

Figure 15 is a detailed view of the access door of a vending machine according to the present invention;

Figure 16 is a perspective view of an article distribution system according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In this detailed description, the corresponding parts illustrated in the various figures are indicated with the same numerical references. The figures may illustrate the invention by means of non-scale representations; therefore, the parts and components illustrated in the figures relating to the object of the invention can refer exclusively to schematic representations.

Distributor of 100 items

The reference number 100 is directed to an article distributor as shown, from an external view, in Figures 1 and 2. The dispenser 100 is directed to the medical field and is configured to provide a user, for example a patient, drugs in the form of pills or capsules or tablets. In particular, the dispenser of articles 100 is configured to alert and deliver to the user a type and a number of predetermined articles, for example one or more specific drugs at predetermined times. In particular, the dispenser is mainly intended for personal use at home, where, for example, following a correct configuration according to a medical prescription, the dispenser dispenses the correct pills or capsules in the type, number and delivery times of a therapy, usually cyclic therapy. The detailed features related to this 100 item dispenser are described below.

The dispenser 100 comprises an external container 1, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, which defines an internal volume 2: the external container is preferably made of plastic material or alternatively it can be made of metal sheet, such as aluminum or steel or a combination thereof . In other words, the external container 1 defines the external walls of the dispenser to prevent the user from accessing the internal volume. In one embodiment, the external container 1, which defines the overall dimensions of the dispenser 100, has a height between 10 and 50 cm, in particular between 20 and 40 cm, a width between 10 and 40 cm, in particular between 15 and 25 cm, and a depth between 10 and 40 cm, in particular between 15 and 30 cm. The dimensions of the article dispenser and the weight of the latter are compatible with a device that can be placed at home on a table or on a shelf.

The dispenser of articles 100 comprises an access door 3 defined on the external container 1 movable between an open position, shown in Figures 1 and 3 in which the articles can be inserted into the internal volume 2 and in which the latter is in communication with the external environment, and a closed position, shown in Figure 2 in which no article can be inserted into the internal volume 2 which is isolated from the external environment. The access door 3 is arranged in an upper portion of the external container facing upwards and comprises a door hooked to the external container 1 movable in rotation or translation with respect to the external container 1, to define both the opening and closing position of the access door 3. The access door 3 can have a polygonal or circular shape, or a combination of the two, which can optionally have a length between 5 and 25 cm, in particular between 10 and 20 cm, and a width between 5 and 25 cm, especially between 10 and 20 cm.

Access door 3 is locked in the closed position. In this regard, the dispenser 100 also comprises a closing system 6 in turn comprising a movable hook 6a movable between a locked position, illustrated in more detail in Figure 15, in which the door is in the closed position and an opening thereof. the latter is prevented, and an unlocked position, in which the door is free to open or to be opened. The closing system 6 can also comprise an actuator 6b operatively connected to the movable hook 6a and configured to move the hook 6a from the locked position to the release position and, optionally, vice versa. In one embodiment, the access door comprises a spring which acts on the door and is configured to open the latter when the movable hook 6a of the locking system 6 is moved to the release position. The spring also allows the door to be kept open to facilitate loading of the articles through the access door 3. The article dispenser also comprises a control unit 50 operatively connected to this actuator 6b to command the latter to move the hook 6a from the locked position to the unlocked position and vice versa. When the movable hook 6a is moved to the release position, the spring determines the opening of the door of the access door 3. A subsequent closing of the door can be carried out manually by a user (as in the realization of the drawings).

In an alternative embodiment, not shown in the attached figures, a door actuator is operatively connected to the door of the access door 3 and is configured to move, in particular to rotate, the latter in a closed and open position. In this embodiment, the opening and closing of the door can be completely controlled by this actuator, which in turn is controlled by the control unit 50.

The dispenser 100 comprises a carousel 10 movable for rotation around the rotation axis A and housed in the internal volume 2 as shown in Figures 3 to 7A. The axis of rotation A is preferably substantially vertical or transverse to a support plane of the dispenser 100. The carousel has a circular shape around this axis of rotation A: alternatively, the carousel 10 can have a polygonal shape, such as a shape rectangular or square, or a combination of these. The carousel has a single degree of freedom, i.e. rotation around the axis of rotation A: in the preferred embodiment, the carousel 10 is not axially movable along the axis of rotation A or along a direction transverse to this axis of rotation . The carousel 10 has a radius or a radial size comprised between 10 and 30 cm, preferably comprised between 15 and 25 cm. One embodiment of the dispenser 100 implies a carousel 10 made of plastic material, otherwise the metallic material can be used alternatively or in combination with plastic material.

The carousel 10 also comprises a plurality of containers 11, represented in Figures 4 to 7A, arranged around the axis of rotation A, in which each of said containers 11 is configured to store a plurality of articles P. The containers are supported by the carousel 10 itself and / or engaged to the latter, so that a rotation of the carousel 10 determines a respective rotation of the plurality of containers 11. The carousel 10 determines a respective rotation of the plurality of containers. The containers 11 are arranged around the rotation axis A, preferably angularly spaced from each other, where each container 11 occupies a respective angular sector: in an embodiment not shown in the attached figures, the containers can be equally spaced angularly around the axis of rotation A. In the embodiment shown in the attached figures, the containers have the shape of slices of cake around the axis of rotation A, in particular having a wedge shape. The carousel 10 comprises a number of containers comprised between 2 and 15, more particularly between 3 and 8: figure 7 shows a preferred embodiment in which the carousel 10 comprises 4 wedge-shaped containers shaped around the axis of rotation A. containers can have the same shape and dimensions (as shown) or can be of different shape and / or volume in particular depending on the items to be stored. Each container of the plurality of containers is configured to contain a respective type of articles: for example, each container 11 is configured to contain a predetermined drug.

The containers 11 can be removed from the carousel, for example for maintenance or for ease of production: in particular, each container 11 is made in one piece. Alternatively, in an embodiment not shown in the attached figures, the carousel 10 and the plurality of containers 11 are made in one piece, defining a single body. The container 11 comprises a bottom wall and side walls which emerge from the bottom wall, defining a concave container to allow the housing of a plurality of articles P. In one embodiment, each bottom wall of the plurality of containers 11 is tapered downwards, in particular it has a conical shape, to allow the articles stored in the container 11 to settle at a lower level. The tapered back wall allows the articles to be concentrated at the lower end of the container, so as to increase the probability of withdrawing an article P for subsequent delivery to a user.

Each container 11 comprises an inlet opening 11a arranged in an upper part of the container: the inlet opening 11a defines an access for the entry of the articles P into a respective container 11. Basically, the inlet opening is delimited by the upper edge of the side wall.

The carousel 10 further comprises at least one through opening 12 arranged between the adjacent containers 11 and within the radial dimensions of the carousel itself: the opening 12 can have a circular, rectangular or square shape or a combination of the two. In a preferred embodiment, the carousel 10 comprises two openings 12 arranged in opposite positions with respect to the axis of rotation A of the carousel. The openings 12 are configured in such a way as to allow the passage of one or more articles P through the carousel 10 as described further on in detail: therefore, the size of the opening is greater than that of the articles P that the dispenser 100 should dispense: in a preferential form, the opening 12 has a radius between 1 cm and 10 cm, in particular between 2 cm and 5 cm.

The dispenser 100 also comprises a motor 13 for the carousel, in particular an electric motor, operatively connected to the carousel 10, as shown in Figure 3, and configured to cause the rotation of the latter by means of a gear or belt transmission. In the embodiment of the attached figures, the carousel 10 comprises a ring gear 14 arranged in a lower part of the carousel 10 and coupled with a gear 13a of the motor of the carousel 13, as shown in figure 14. The dispenser 100 also comprises an angular sensor configured for emit a signal representative of the angular position of the carousel 10 with respect to a predetermined or initial angular position of the carousel itself or with respect to a fixed portion of the outer container 1. The angle sensor can be an encoder capable of detecting the angular position of the carousel by means of of a plurality of teeth arranged on the outer circumference of the carousel.

The article dispenser also comprises a control unit 50 operatively connected to the angle sensor and configured to receive the representative signal for providing a value or indication of a measured angular position of the carousel 10. The control unit 50 is also configured to command the motor 13 to rotate the carousel clockwise and / or counterclockwise by means of a predetermined angular rotation: in particular the motor 13 of the carousel can be a step-by-step electric motor.

In an optional embodiment not shown in the attached figures, the dispenser 100 can comprise two or more carousels 10, each movable by rotation around the same rotation axis A: for example the carousels 10 can be stacked one on top of the other, in which each carousel 10 carries a plurality of containers 11. This embodiment of the article dispensers 100 allows a greater number of containers to be transported inside the internal volume 2 11. The containers 11 of the article dispenser 100, before a standard working condition for to deliver items P to a user, they must be filled with items: according to this, the item dispenser 100 further comprises a conduit 4, shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, which defines a passage for items P from the access 3 to a selected container 11 of the carousel 10, so that, during a condition of loading of the dispenser of articles 100, a user is able to fill the container Itor 11 selected with one or more articles of the same type from the access door 3 and through the conduit 4. In other words, the conduit 4 is configured to guide one or more articles P from the access door 3 to the selected container 11, where the container 11 selected can be any container selected from the plurality of containers 11 carried by the carousel 10.

The duct 4 extends between a first opening 4a, arranged at the access door 3, and a second opening 4b arranged near the carousel 10. In particular, the first opening 4a is arranged in an upper part of the external container, so that the second opening 4b is at a lower height than the first opening 4a. In other words, the first opening 4a is higher than the second opening 4b, so that the objects can fall by gravity from the access door 3, through the duct 4 and towards the selected container 11. In a preferred embodiment, the first opening 4a has an overall dimension similar to an overall dimension of the access door 3. Furthermore, in an accessory embodiment, the duct 4 has a conical shape, as shown in Figure 3, where the first opening 4a of the duct 4 is larger than the second opening 4b.

The second opening 4b of the duct 4 is arranged at the inlet opening 11a of a single container 11: in particular the second opening 4b of the duct 4 is arranged, at least when the dispenser is in standard operating conditions, at a slightly higher height to that of the containers 11. In one embodiment, the second opening 4b of the duct 4 has a size less than or at most equal to the size of the inlet opening 11a of each container 11: this allows the articles to end up in the selected container 11, avoiding that any article enters erroneously into another container 11, different from the one selected.

The duct 4 is fixed with respect to the external container 1 of the dispenser 100: a relative movement between the carousel 10 and the duct is determined by the rotation of the carousel 10. According to this, the control unit 50 is configured to drive the dispenser 100 in the loading configuration for filling the containers 11 with the articles P: in this loading configuration, the control unit 50 is configured to rotate the carousel 10 and to position a selected container 11 at the second opening 4b of the duct 4, as shown in the cross section of Figure 3 and in the top view of Figure 5. The rotation of the carousel 10 with respect to the second opening of the conduit 4 determines the alignment between the conduit and the container 11 selected, so that the articles can only fall in the selected container 11, avoiding that the articles end up in any other container 11 of the carousel 10. The phase of aligning the selected container The ion 11 of the carousel 10 with the second opening 4b of the duct 4 is based on the measured angular position of the carousel 10 provided by the angular sensor: in other words the angular sensor supplies the actual angular position of the carousel to the control unit 50, and this the latter controls the rotation of the carousel 10 by means of the motor 13 of the carousel to determine the alignment between the duct 4 and the container 11 selected. The control unit 50, on the basis of the actual angular position of the carousel 10 and on the basis of the knowledge of the angular sector associated with each container 11, is able to determine the position of each container 11, to carry out the alignment of a specific container 11 selected with conduit 4.

The control unit 50 is configured to impose a predetermined angular rotation to determine the alignment between the duct 4 and a selected container 11: in particular a respective angular rotation of the carousel 10 is associated with each container 11, so that the control unit 50 is capable of aligning a desired selected container 11 with the conduit 4 to fill the articles P. If a first predetermined angular rotation determines the alignment between the conduit 4 and a first selected container, a further predetermined angular rotation will determine the alignment between the conduit 4 and another container selected from the plurality of containers 11. A further predetermined angular rotation will determine the alignment between the conduit 4 and another container selected from the plurality of containers 11. When the item dispenser 100 is arranged in the load configuration, the control unit 50 is further confi designed to arrange the access door 3 in the open position, to allow the passage of the articles P from the access door 3 to the selected container 11 through the duct 4.

The 100-article dispenser also comprises a sampling probe 20, shown in Figures 3 to 13 according to the different operating conditions, housed in the internal volume 2 and configured to take at least one of said articles P from a container 11 of the plurality of containers 11 and, therefore, to release the product P for subsequent delivery to a user. In particular, the sampling probe 20 is configured to pick up a single element P at a time. The withdrawal probe 20 is movable towards and away from the lower wall of the plurality of containers 11: in particular the withdrawal probe 20 has only one degree of freedom along a rectilinear direction B, more in detail along a (substantially) vertical direction. This direction B is in particular substantially parallel to the axis of rotation A of the carousel 10, or it is a substantially vertical direction, or a linear direction or a single curved path. In one embodiment, the withdrawal probe 20 is arranged above the carousel 10, in particular above the selected container 11 or to any of the selected containers 11: in detail, the withdrawal probe 20 is arranged at a height higher than the carousel 10 , in particular with respect to the selected container 11 or to any container of the plurality of containers 11.

The dispenser 100 comprises a motor 22 operatively connected to the sampling probe 20 and configured to determine the movement of the latter along the direction B by means of, for example, a toothed coupling. In one embodiment, the motor 22 of the sampling probe 20 can be a stepping motor configured to move the sampling probe 20 and to monitor the position of the latter along the direction B. In particular, the sampling probe 20 comprises a toothed rack coupled to a gear of the motor 22, so that a rotation of the motor 22 determines a linear movement of the pick-up probe 20. The motor 22 is also operationally connected to the control unit 50, where the latter is configured for controlling this motor 22 to determine the movement of the sampling probe 20.

The sampling probe 20 comprises a tubular body which extends axially between an end 21 and an upper end, where the end 21 is configured to determine engagement with at least one article P, in particular a single article P, stored in a container 11 of the plurality of containers. The dispenser 100 comprises a vacuum system 5 operatively connected to the sampling probe 20 to cause, at least during a withdrawal condition of the dispenser 100, a gas aspiration from an orifice 21a of the end 21 of the sampling probe 20: aspiration of the gas allows the sampling probe 20 to hook an element P from the container, for subsequent delivery. The vacuum system 5 comprises a vacuum pump driven by an electric motor controlled by the control unit 50: a tube connects the vacuum pump to the upper end of the sampling probe 20, where the upper end is in communication of fluid with the end 21 through the tubular body of the sampling probe 20. The vacuum system 5 also comprises a pressure sensor configured to emit a signal representative of the pressure measured in the vacuum system 5: the control unit 50 is connected to this pressure sensor and configured to provide a value or indication of the measured pressure. The activation and deactivation of the vacuum system 5, through the control unit 50, allows respectively the gripping and release of an article P, in particular of a single article P housed in the selected container 11. The end 21 of the sampling probe is preferably made of soft material, such as rubber or silicone, to determine a hermetic seal with an element P during sampling, to increase the effectiveness of the vacuum system 5: in particular the end 21 defines a suction cup.

In a preferred embodiment, the pick-up probe 20 is configured to hook a single element P at a time: in other words, once the element has been hooked, the pick-up probe 20 must release the element before hooking it. another.

The control unit is configured in such a way as to cause a predetermined rotation of the carousel 10 to determine the alignment, in particular vertical, of the sampling probe 20 with a sampling container 11: once the alignment has been carried out, the control 50 can command the pick-up probe 20 to move towards the lower wall of the pick-up container 11 and to activate the suction system 5, to pick up a single element P, from the selected container 11. In particular, the sampling probe can be aligned (along its axis of movement B) with the lowest part of the container in which an article must be presented even in the container of an almost empty container (see for example, fig. 6A) .

The dispenser 100 further comprises a pre-delivery system 30 housed in the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 and comprising, at least when the pre-delivery system 30 is arranged in the storage position, a pre-delivery container 31 such as indicated in figures 6 to 7A and in particular in figure 8. The pre-delivery container 31, housed in the internal volume 2, comprises a bottom wall and a side wall to house one or more articles: for safety reasons, the pre-delivery container 31 cannot be reached by the user during normal use of the dispenser.

The pick-up probe 20 is configured to deliver one or more articles P, picked from one or more of the plurality of containers 11, to this pre-delivery vessel 31 so that the pre-delivery system 30 defines an intermediate step to locate one or more items picked up by the picking probe 20 before final delivery to the user. All the articles to be delivered in a determined period of time are first withdrawn from the respective containers 11 and all housed in the pre-delivery container, before the subsequent delivery to the user, as explained below.

The pre-delivery system 30 is mobile, in particular by rotation, between the storage position, indicated in figure 8 where the pre-delivery container 31 is configured to receive, from the sampling probe 20, and house one or more items, and an unloading position, indicated in Figures 9, 9A and 11 where the pre-delivery system 30 is configured to unload, from the pre-delivery container 31, the articles stored in the pre-delivery container 31. unloading of the articles from the pre-delivery receptacle 31 is determined by gravity.

In particular, the pre-delivery system 30 comprises a support base 32 comprising at least one through opening 32a, as shown in figure 8, in which the support base is fixed with respect to the external container 1: the pre-delivery container 31 it is configured to slide on said support base 32 between the storage position and the unloading position. The pre-delivery vessel 31, when the pre-delivery system 30 is in the storage position, comprises a bottom wall defined by at least a part of the support base 32 (see figure 8) while, when the pre-delivery system pre-delivery 30 is in the unloading position, the pre-delivery container 31 is arranged above the through opening 32a of the support base 32. In this unloading position, the pre-delivery container 31 is devoid of at least one part of the lower wall, so that one or more articles can be unloaded by gravity from the pre-delivery vessel 31 to the dispensing vessel 61, as indicated in the cross section of Figure 9A.

In one embodiment, the pre-delivery system 30 is arranged at a height lower than that of the carousel 10: in particular, the pre-delivery system 30 is arranged at a height lower than that of the pick-up probe 20, in so that an object can fall by gravity from the sampling probe 20 to the pre-delivery container 31 as shown in figure 7. In particular, the pre-delivery container 31, when the pre-delivery system 30 is in the storage position , is positioned just below the sampling probe 20, as clearly indicated in the cross section of Figure 7A. According to the embodiment shown in the attached figures, the pre-delivery container 31, when the pre-delivery system 30 is in the storage position, is placed at least partially under the carousel 10, so that a predetermined rotation of the carousel 10 determines the alignment of the pre-delivery container 31 with the opening 12 of the carousel 10 and with the sampling probe 20: in this condition, shown in Figures 7 and 7A, the sampling probe 20 can allow an element P to fall through the opening 12 of the carousel 10 into the pre-delivery container 31.

The dispenser 100 further comprises a pre-delivery motor 33 operatively connected to the pre-delivery system 30 and configured to move the pre-delivery container 31 from the storage position to the unloading position and vice versa. The pre-delivery motor 33 is connected to the control unit 50, where the latter is configured to control the activation of the pre-delivery motor 33.

The dispenser 100 further comprises a drawer 60 arranged in a lower part of the dispenser 100: in particular, a front part of the drawer 60 is positioned in a lower part of the external container. In particular, at least a part of the drawer 60 is placed under the pre-delivery system 30 and optionally under the carousel 10, so that when the pre-delivery system 30 is moved to the unloading position, the articles are unloaded by gravity from the drawer. of pre-delivery 31 to drawer 60.

The drawer 60 is movable along a direction transversal to the axis of rotation A of the carousel 10: in particular the drawer 60 is movable horizontally, substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation A of the carousel 10. In other words, the drawer 60 is movable parallel to a support surface of the dispenser 100 as shown in figure 2. In the embodiment shown in the attached figures, the drawer 60 has a single degree of freedom, that is a sliding horizontal linear translation.

The drawer 60 in turn comprises a dispensing receptacle 61 and a disposal receptacle 62, the latter compartmentalized with respect to the dispensing receptacle 61, as indicated in the cross section of Figure 9A. In other words, the dispensing vessel 61 and the disposal vessel 62 define two separate containers of the same drawer. In the embodiment illustrated in the attached figures, the dispensing container 61 and the disposal container 62 define a single movable body with respect to the external casing. The dispensing vessel 61 is configured to receive, collect and deliver to the user one or more articles picked up by the picking probe 20 and subsequently unloaded by the pre-delivery system 30, when moved to the unloading position. Similarly, the disposal container 62 is configured to receive and collect one or more articles picked up by the picking probe 20 and subsequently unloaded by the pre-delivery system 30, when moved to the unloading position. The dispenser 100 also comprises a motor 63 for the drawer operatively connected to the drawer 60 and configured for moving the drawer, in which the control unit 50 is configured to command the activation of the motor 63. In particular the control unit 50 is configured to selectively move drawer 60 between a collection position and a disposal position.

When the drawer 60 is in the withdrawal position, indicated in Figure 9A, the dispensing container 61 is put in communication, through the through opening 32a, with the pre-delivery container 31 to allow the passage of the articles from the container. pre-delivery 31 to the dispensing vessel 61 for subsequent delivery to the user. In this pick-up position, the dispensing container 61 of the drawer 60 is located just below the through opening 32a of the pre-delivery system 30, in particular the dispensing container 61 of the drawer 60 is located just below the pre-delivery container. delivery 31 when the latter is placed in the unloading position. The process of unloading the articles from the pre-delivery container 31 to the dispensing container 61 takes place by gravity. When the drawer 60 is in the collection position, the disposal container 62 is not in communication with the dispensing container 61 and is located inside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 to prevent access to the user. In other words, when the dispenser 100 is in the collection position, the articles cannot pass from the pre-delivery container 31 to the disposal container 62. In a preferred embodiment, the collection position also implies that the delivery container delivery 61 is placed inside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 to prevent access to the user: in an alternative embodiment, the collection position may imply that the delivery container 61 is positioned outside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 so that the user can access the dispensing container 61 to take the collected objects.

When the drawer 60 is arranged in the disposal position, indicated in Figure 11, the disposal container 62 is put in communication with the pre-delivery container 31 to allow the passage, through the through opening 32a, of the objects P from the the pre-delivery vessel 31 to the disposal vessel 62. In this disposal position, the disposal vessel 62 of the drawer 60 is located just below the through opening 32 of the pre-delivery system 30, in particular the disposal vessel 62 of the drawer 60 is placed just below the pre-delivery container 31 when the latter is arranged in the unloading position. The process of unloading the articles from the pre-delivery container 31 to the disposal container 62 takes place by gravity. When the drawer 60 is in the disposal position, the dispensing vessel 61 is not in communication with the dispensing vessel 61. In other words, when the dispenser 100 is in the disposal position, the items cannot pass through the dispensing vessel. -delivery 31 to the dispensing container 61. Furthermore, according to a preferred embodiment, when the drawer 60 is in this disposal position, the container 62 is inside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 to prevent access to the 'user. Therefore, the objects contained in the disposal container 62 are protected from attempts by the user to pick up them. In an optional embodiment, when the drawer 60 is in this disposal position, the dispensing vessel 61 is moved out of the internal volume 2 of the outer container 1, so as to allow access for a user to the dispensing vessel 61. Figure 12 shows a condition following the disposal position, in which the item (s) P are safely stored in the container 62 and in which both the dispensing container 61 and the container 62 for disposal are in the internal volume 2.

In an embodiment illustrated in Figure 10, the drawer 60 can be arranged in a dispensing position, in which the dispensing container 61 is at least partially outside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 to allow the user to withdraw the housed objects P in the dispensing vessel 61 received in the collection position. In this dispensing position, the disposal container 62 is still inside the inner volume 2 of the outer casing 1 to prevent access to the user. In other words, when the drawer 60 is in the dispensing, collection or disposal position, the disposal container 62 is always kept inside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 to prevent access to the user.

It should be noted that in the collection position, in the disposal position and in the dispensing position, at least a part of the drawer 60 is kept within the internal volume 2 of the dispenser 100: in other words, in these positions, the drawer 60 is not completely extracted or separate from the dispenser.

The drawer can also be arranged in a recovery position as shown in Figure 13, where the disposal container 62 is at least partially arranged outside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1 to allow access by a user. In this recovery position, the drawer 60 is substantially outside the internal volume 2, so that the dispensing container 61 is also arranged outside the internal volume 2 of the external container 1. In one embodiment, in this recovery position, the drawer 60 can be completely outside the internal volume 2 and possibly physically separated from the dispenser 100, in particular from the external container 1 of the dispenser 100. In another embodiment, the drawer is only partially outside the internal volume 2 and is still coupled to a dispenser structure 100.

The dispenser 100 also includes an access key configured to move the drawer 60 to the retrieval position: the drawer 60 can be configured in the retrieval position only by means of this access button. This means that a user who does not have the access key does not have permission to access the container for disposal. The key can be a physical key configured to be inserted into a lock of drawer 60 or it can be a code, for example a password to be entered through a graphical user interface of the 100-item dispenser. More specifically, the access key can be a button 65 that can be pressed by a user to allow the drawer to be released and moved to the recovery position: the button 65, shown in figure 14, is arranged in a lower part of the drawer 60 and includes a hook configured for coupling with a lower part of the external container 1 or with a lower structure of the dispenser 100. Once the button has been pressed, the drawer can be partially or completely extracted from the internal volume 2 to allow the access to the waste container 62: in the opposite container, if the button 65 is released, the hook of the button 65 is configured so as to prevent the extraction of the drawer and, therefore, the access of a user to the waste container 62. In each container, the button 65, whether in the depressed or released state, does not prevent the drawer from moving into the collection position or the er position. ogation or disposal location. Obviously, even the simple mechanical locking of the drawer 60, which requires a predefined (and not obvious) sequence of release steps, can be used to allow a specific user to completely extract the drawer 60 and empty the container 62 for disposal. Without knowledge of the disengagement steps, the user is unable to fully extract the drawer and access the container for disposal.

The drawer motor 63 is configured to move the drawer 60 at least to the collection, disposal and dispensing position. In an optional embodiment, the drawer motor 63 can also be configured to move the drawer 60 to the retrieval position.

In a preferred embodiment, the control unit 50 is physically carried by the dispenser 100, in particular it is arranged in the internal volume 2 of the dispenser 100: alternatively, the control unit 50 (or part of the control unit) can be placed on a remote device, such as a smartphone, tablet or computer.

The dispenser 100 can also comprise a graphical user interface 40 (GUI) in communication with the control unit 50 and configured to display information and / or receive one or more inputs from the user. The GUI 40 may comprise a display or a touch screen 41 to allow the user to communicate with the control unit 50 to determine, for example, a delivery schedule which includes predefined times in which one or more items are to be delivered , the type of items to be delivered, the number of items for each type to be delivered. Furthermore, the front panel can also comprise one or more buttons 42 which can be pressed by the user to control the article dispenser 100 to deliver the articles according to the delivery schedule. The GUI 40 can also be configured to receive information from the user on the type of articles to be loaded into the containers 11: for example, if more categories of articles are to be loaded in the article dispenser, the GUI 40 is configured to communicate to the control 50 to select different containers to load the respective articles, in order to avoid mixing different types of articles in the same container 11. The GUI 40 is configured to communicate to the control unit 50 to select different containers to load the respective articles , in order to avoid mixing different types of items in the same container.

The graphical user interface 40 can be arranged on the external container 1, as shown in Figure 1, in which the GUI 40 is physically arranged on the dispenser 100, in particular on the external container 1, being defined on a portion of the external container 1: in this configuration the GUI 40 is physically connected to the control unit 50.

Alternatively, the graphical interface 40 can be placed on a remote device, such as a smartphone, a tablet or a computer, in which the remote device is operationally connected with the control unit 50.

The control unit 50 is configured to synchronously control the movement of the carousel 10, the movement of the sampling probe 20 and the activation of the vacuum system 5 connected to the sampling probe 20, the movement of the sampling system. -delivery 30 and the movement of the drawer 60. In particular the control unit 50 is configured to implement a series of procedures that allow the user to receive one or more items, for example a drug in the form of a pill or capsule, for example predetermined time intervals, in which these articles can belong to different categories: the article distributor is therefore configured to deliver to the user the correct number of articles belonging to a predetermined type of article.

In particular, the control unit 50 is configured to implement a loading procedure, which comprises the steps of receiving by the user, for example, through the graphical user interface 40, a user input representative of the selected container 11. and / or an input of a type of articles to be loaded into the article dispenser 100. For example, each type of article can be associated with a container 11 to be selected from the plurality of containers 11, so that the control unit 50 is aware of the type of article stored in each container 11. The loading procedure also includes the evaluation of the actual angular position of the carousel 10, in particular through the angle sensor, and, based on user input and optionally in based on the actual angular position of the carousel 10, rotating the carousel 10 to vertically align the selected container 11 of the carousel 10 with the second opening 4b of the duct 4. The loading procedure also provides for a step for preparing the access door 3 in the open position: this step implies that the control unit 50 commands the closing system 6, by means of the respective actuator, in the opening position. unlock. Once the selected container 11 is aligned with the conduit 4 and the access door 3 is arranged in the open position, the user is authorized to fill the dispenser 100 with the articles P from the access door 3. Note that during the loading procedure a single single container 11 among the plurality of containers 11 is in communication with the duct 4, thus defining a selective loading procedure which increases safety to avoid mixing of the articles between adjacent containers. Furthermore, the loading procedure for filling the carousel 10 with the articles does not imply a direct interaction or any contact between the user and any container 11, or any other internal component, so that the user, during the loading procedure, cannot reach the containers or the items withdrawn, already stored in the containers, through the access door 3 and the duct 4.

The control unit is also configured to implement a picking procedure for picking up the articles from a selected container 11 and for inserting them into the pre-delivery container 31. The picking procedure is based on the delivery schedule defined through the GUI 40 , in particular on the time intervals for the delivery of the articles, the type of articles or the number of articles to be delivered, and the picking container from which the picking probe 20 must pick up one or more articles. In particular, the control unit 50 controls the picking procedure based on the delivery program only: this implies that the article distributor begins to prepare the articles to be delivered regardless of user interactions. The control unit 50 is configured to start the picking procedure before the delivery time of the articles to the user: in particular, the control unit 50 is configured to start the picking procedure with a predetermined advance with respect to the timing delivery of the articles to the user, so that at the appropriate time the articles are already collected in the pre-delivery container 31. This predetermined time is sufficient to place all the items to be delivered in the pre-delivery container, before the actual delivery time to the user. Therefore, the predetermined amount of time is longer than the sum of each individual prescription delivery time interval. In a simplified embodiment, a fixed and sufficiently long time is used, for example the picking procedure is started 30 minutes (or 20 minutes) before the actual delivery time.

The sampling procedure comprises the rotation of the carousel 10 to determine the axial alignment between the sampling container 11 and the sampling probe 20, the activation of the vacuum system of the sampling probe 20, the displacement of the sampling probe 20 towards a lower wall of the withdrawal container 11 of the plurality of containers for determining the coupling of a single article with the terminal tip 21. The withdrawal procedure may also comprise an evaluation of the pressure variation, for example a pressure drop, in the system 5 of the sampling probe 20 by means of the pressure sensor and, subsequently, comparing the pressure variation with a predetermined threshold: on the basis of this comparison, the control unit 50 is configured to evaluate whether the engagement of the article was executed successfully. The pressure variation in the vacuum system 5 is due to the fact that the object, once inserted at the end 21 of the sampling probe, at least partially occludes the orifice 21a of the sampling probe which allows the gas to be sucked: if no significant pressure change is observed, it means that no engagement is established between the sampling probe and an object.

The withdrawal procedure further comprises, if it is estimated that the withdrawal probe 20 has picked up an element, the step of moving the withdrawal probe 20 away from the container 11 and the rotation of the carousel 10 to determine the alignment of the opening 12 with the picking probe 20, in particular a vertical alignment: once the vertical alignment has been established, the picking procedure involves releasing an item from the picking probe 20 to the pre-delivery container 31, while the pre-delivery system 30 is in the storage position: the article falls from the pick-up probe 20, through the opening 12, to the pre-delivery container 31 by gravity.

Alternatively, if it is estimated, for example on the basis of the change in pressure measured by the pressure sensor in the vacuum system 5, that the sampling probe 20 has not picked up the object, the picking procedure may include moving backwards of the sampling probe 20 from the container 11, and the determination of a shaking of the carousel 10, in particular a shaking of the selected container 11, to rearrange the objects inside the container 11. The coupling can be carried out by means of the motor 13 of the carousel which can cause a rotational vibration. Optionally, the picking procedure may involve rotating the carousel 10 a few degrees clockwise and / or counterclockwise, to change the relative position between the picking probe 20 and the items stored inside the container 11. In this way, the picking probe 20 has more chances of finding an item to pick up. Once the shaking and / or rotation of the carousel 10 has been carried out (note that the two actions can be performed alone or both), the sampling procedure involves repeating the step of moving the sampling probe 20 towards a lower wall of the selected container 11 of the plurality of containers to determine the coupling of an article by the picking probe 20. When the delivery of two or more articles is requested, the control unit 50 is configured to iteratively repeat the picking procedure until a when the total number of articles requested is collected in the pre-delivery container 31: in this container the control unit 50 will perform a number of picking procedures equal to the number of articles requested.

The control unit 50 is also configured to activate an alarm, for example an audible alarm, based on the delivery schedule, to remind the user to take the items, i.e. the prescribed drugs. The alarms can come from the dispenser 100 itself by means of a loudspeaker arranged on or in the external container 1, or alternatively or in combination the alarm can be activated on a remote device, such as a smartphone, a tablet, a computer or a control device. voice command. Software, such as a smartphone application, can be installed on the remote device and configured to both control and monitor the operations performed by the item dispenser 100.

The control unit is further configured to receive, for example via key 42, a delivery command for carrying out a delivery procedure. In other words, the dispensing command implies that the user must interact with the dispenser, for example by pressing key 42 once the alarm has been activated. The delivery command serves as proof that the user is ready to collect the items from the dispenser 100. Once the control unit 50 receives the delivery command, the control unit 50 is configured to implement the delivery procedure only if the delivery schedule is compatible with the delivery command, in particular if the actual time is compatible with the preset times. In other words, if the user provides the delivery command at a time that is outside the predetermined times defined by the delivery schedule, or if the user requests more items than those prescribed in the delivery schedule, the control unit 50 does not activate the delivery procedure.

Conversely, if the delivery schedule is compatible with the delivery command, the control unit 50 is configured to initiate the delivery procedure which includes moving or holding drawer 60 in the picking position and moving the delivery system. pre-delivery 30 from the storage position to the unloading position, to determine the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery container 31 to the dispensing container 61 of the drawer 60. Furthermore, the delivery procedure may comprise moving the drawer 60 from the pick-up position to dispensing position.

In case the user does not provide any delivery command to the GUI 40, which means that the user is not ready to collect the items P (for example due to forgetfulness or because the user is not physically close to the dispenser 100 items to pick up the items) or if the delivery schedule is incompatible with the delivery command (e.g. the user pressed the delivery command button too late compared to the delivery schedule set times), the control unit 50 is configured to implement the disposal procedure which includes moving or keeping the drawer 60 in the disposal position, and moving the pre-delivery system 30 from the storage position to the unloading position to determine the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery container 31 to the disposal container 62 of the drawer 60. In this way, the articles stored in the pre-delivery container 31 are discharged into the container disposal tank 62, so that these items are no longer handed over to the user in a subsequent delivery procedure. In this way, the pre-delivery container 31 is now ready for the storage of the articles according to a subsequent delivery schedule.

The dispenser 100 can also comprise a data communication device configured to put the dispenser 100 in operational communication with a remote device, such as a smartphone, a tablet or a computer: the data communication device can be an Internet access via web, such as a SIM card, or a Wi-Fi module. The communication device of the article dispenser 100 can be configured to send a plurality of information to the remote device, such as the delivery schedule which includes the delivery times of the articles, the type of articles stored in the containers and the delivery procedures that are the items that have been discarded into the disposal container 62. For example, the communication device can also send an alert to one or more remote devices, such as a smartphone, to warn if the user forgot to collect items according to the delivery schedule or if containers need to be refilled with new items. Furthermore, the communication device can also be configured to define or add changes to the delivery schedule via the remote device: in this way the times can be changed, for example the time interval between successive deliveries can be varied according to new prescriptions, or the quantity of items or the categories of items to be delivered may be varied.

The dispenser 100 comprises an electric power supply to allow the dispenser to operate: the dispenser 100 can also comprise a battery or a set of batteries to ensure the operation of the dispenser 100 in a domestic power failure or power failure container. The battery, according to a preferred embodiment, can keep the dispenser 100 in operation up to 36 hours, in particular up to 24 hours.

200 article distribution system

Reference number 200 is directed to an article distribution system shown in Figure 16 and comprises a plurality of article distributors 100 of the type described above or in accordance with any one of the appended claims or aspects. The article distribution system can comprise two or more article distributors operatively associated with each other, in particular the two or more article distributors communicate with each other in order to carry out coordinated delivery activities. In one configuration, the control unit 50 of a 100 article dispenser, which defines a dispenser 100a, among the plurality of 100 article dispensers is configured to communicate with the control units 50 of the other 100 article dispensers, which define the dispensers 100b . Furthermore, the master article dispenser 100a is configured to command the slave article dispensers 100b to perform a procedure for delivering one or more articles to the user. In other words, the master article distributor 100a controls the operations of all other slave article distributors 100b of the article distribution system 200.

The control unit 50 of the master article dispenser 100a is configured to receive, for example from the user via the graphical user interface 40, the delivery program: according to one embodiment, (at least) the master article dispenser 100a comprises the GUI 40 while the slave article distributors 100b may not include any GUI 40. In this way, a user interacts with a single GUI 40 of the master article distributor 100a, which in turn controls all the other slave article distributors 100b . In particular, the control unit 50 of the master article dispenser 100a is configured to control the slave article dispensers 100b of the article distribution system 200 to perform the respective delivery procedures and the picking procedures. Furthermore, it is the master dispenser 100a that also controls the loading procedures of the slave dispensers.

The plurality of the article dispensers 100 of the article dispenser system 200 are connected to each other via a data cable, as shown in Figure 16, or a wireless communication module. In a first embodiment, the wired connection can be obtained with a USB cable connecting the master with the slave. For example, an electronic card - connected or comprising the control unit 50 - of the master includes a USB port (e.g. Micro USB) and an electronic card - connected or comprising an additional control unit - of the slave includes a port USB (eg Micro USB); the USB ports (eg Micro USB) are physically connected with the USB cable. Alternatively (or in combination), the wireless communication module can include a Bluetooth module in each of the master and slave units.

The master dispenser of articles 100a can also comprise the communication device for sending information to one or more remote devices. This information can be related both to the master article distributor 100a and to the slave article distributors 100b, in particular this information can be related to the delivery program associated with each article distributor 100 of the article distribution system 200. According to this, the delivery schedule of each article distributor 100 of the article distribution system 200 can be monitored and modified via a remote device.

The delivery program can comprise two or more customized delivery programs, each associated with a respective article dispenser 100 of the article dispenser system 200: the control unit 50 of the master article dispenser 100a is configured to command each dispenser of 100 items to carry out the respective delivery procedure according to its custom delivery schedule. For example, each 100 article dispenser of the 200 article dispenser system can store different categories of articles to be dispensed: therefore, each 100 dispenser can implement its own delivery procedure at different times than the other 100 article dispensers: this means that the The control unit 50 of the master article dispenser 100a is capable of autonomously controlling each slave dispenser. It should be noted that, although the slave dispensers 100b may have their own control unit configured to implement the respective dispensing and withdrawal procedures, the command to start these procedures always comes from the control unit of the master dispenser 100a.

In an optional embodiment, the power supply is carried only by the master dispenser 100a: the slave dispensers 100b, once connected to the master dispenser 100a, are configured to receive electrical energy from the master dispenser. In particular, the master dispenser can also be equipped with batteries to allow the dispensers to operate in a power failure or power failure container. In an alternative embodiment, each dispenser 100 of the article distribution system 200 comprises its own power supply and, optionally, also its own battery.

The control unit 50

Any part of the control unit 50 can be made through a data processing hardware unit, in the case of an arithmetic logic unit, suitable for performing at least part of the phases of the signal processing algorithms described here. In particular, the control unit 50 can execute an appropriate program, comprising portions of software code which, once executed, causes the execution of one or more steps indicated in the present description. The program can be considered software or firmware and can be stored in a memory, in particular a non-transient memory, in particular electrical, accessible by the control unit 50; this memory can be physically arranged inside or outside the body of the apparatus. The data processing unit of the control unit 50 can take the form of a computer of the general type or of a dedicated computer; parts of the control unit 50 and / or of said data processing unit may comprise a specific integrated circuit or through an FPGA.

In one or more embodiments, the dispenser 1 can use or the dispensing method can be implemented using one or more computer programs run on programmable computers, such as computers that include, for example, processing capabilities, data storage (for example , volatile or non-volatile memory and / or storage elements), input devices and output devices. The program code and / or logic described here can be applied to the input data to perform the functionality described here and generate the desired output information. The outgoing information can be applied as input to one or more other devices and / or methods as described herein or as it would be implemented in a known way.

The program used to implement the methods and / or processes described herein can be provided using any programmable language or code, for example, a high-level and / or object-oriented programming language or code, suitable for communication with a computer system. Such programs may, for example, be stored on any suitable device, for example, a storage medium, which can be read by a general or special purpose program running on a computer system (for example, including processing equipment) for the configuration and operation of the computer system when the suitable device is read to perform the procedures described in this document. In other words, at least in one embodiment, the dispenser 1 can use or the dispensing method can be implemented using a computer-readable storage medium, configured with a computer program, where the storage medium thus configured causes the computer operate in a specific and predefined way to perform the functions described here. Furthermore, in at least one embodiment, the dispenser 1 can use or the delivery method can be described as implemented by a logic (e.g., object code) encoded in one or more non-transient media which includes the execution code and, when run by a processor, it can be used to perform operations such as the methods, processes and / or features described here.

The control unit 50 can be, for example, any fixed or mobile computer system (for example, a controller, a microcontroller, a personal computer, a mini computer, etc.). The exact configuration of the control unit 50 is not it is limiting and it is possible to use essentially any device capable of providing adequate calculation and control capabilities (for example, graphic processing, equipment control, etc.).

As described herein, a digital file can be any medium (e.g., volatile or non-volatile memory, a CD-ROM, a punch card, recordable magnetic tape, etc.) containing digital bits (e.g., encoded in binary format , ternary, etc.). Furthermore, as described in this document, a file in user-readable format can be any representation of data (for example, ASCII text, binary numbers, hexadecimal numbers, decimal numbers, graphically, etc.) presentable on any medium (for example , paper, display, etc.) readable and / or understandable by an operator.

In light of the above, it will be immediately apparent that the functionality described in the present description can be implemented in any way that is known to one skilled in the art. As such, the computer language, computer system or any other software / hardware that must be used to implement the processes described herein must not limit the range of the device, sensor, processes or programs (for example, the functionality provided by such device, sensor, processes or programs) described here.

The methods and / or logic described in the present description can be implemented, at least in part, in hardware, software, firmware or any combination thereof. For example, various aspects of the techniques may be implemented within one or more processors, including one or more microprocessors, DSPs, ASICs, FPGAs, or any other equivalent integrated or discrete logic circuit, as well as any combination of such components or other devices. The term "processor" or "processing circuits" can generally refer to any of the above logic circuits, alone or in combination with other logic circuits, or any other equivalent circuit. Such hardware, software and / or firmware can be implemented within the same device or within separate devices to support the various operations and functions described in this description. Furthermore, any of the described components can be implemented together or separately as discrete but interoperable logic devices. The representation of different characteristics, for example using block diagrams, etc. it is intended to highlight different functional aspects and does not necessarily imply that these characteristics must be realized by separate hardware or software components. Rather, functionality can be performed by separate hardware or software components or integrated into common or separate hardware or software components.

If implemented in the software, the functionalities attributed to the control unit, the dispenser and the methods described in this description can be incorporated as instructions and / or logic on a computer readable medium such as RAM, ROM, NVRAM, EEPROM, FLASH memory, magnetic data storage media, optical data storage media or the like. The instructions and / or logic may be executed by one or more processors to support one or more aspects of the functionality described in this disclosure.

Claims (13)

Claims 1. A dispenser of articles (100), in particular for dispensing pills or capsules, said dispenser (100) comprising: - an external container (1) which defines an internal volume (2); - at least one carousel (10) housed in said internal volume (2) and movable by rotation around an axis of rotation (A), said at least one carousel (10) comprising a plurality of containers (11) arranged around said axis of rotation rotation (A), in which each of the plurality of said containers (11) is configured to store a plurality of articles (P); - a withdrawal probe (20) housed in said internal volume (2) and configured to withdraw at least one of said articles (P) from a container (11) of the plurality of containers and to release said article (P) for subsequent dispensing to a user; - an access door (3) defined on said external container (1); - a duct (4), which defines a passage for the articles (P), which extends at least between a first opening (4a) arranged near the access door (3) and a second opening (4b) arranged near the carousel ( 10); - a control unit (50) configured to move said carousel (10) and to control said pick-up probe (20); in which the control unit (50) is configured to control the distributor of articles (100) in at least one loading configuration for filling the containers (11) with said articles (P), in which, in said loading configuration , the control unit (50) moves the carousel (10) and positions a selected container (11) at a time of the plurality of containers at the second opening (4b) of the duct (4), in said loading configuration the passage of one or more articles (P) from said access door (3), through said duct (4), towards and into the selected container (11), being allowed. Distributor of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, in which the access door (3) is movable between an open position and a closed position, in which, when the distributor (100) is arranged in the load condition , the access door (3) is in the open position to allow the passage of one or more articles (P) through the access door (3) in said duct (4), optionally the control unit (50) allowing the access door (3) to switch to the open position, the article dispenser (100) can be further configured in a closed configuration in which the access door (3) is arranged in a closed position to occlude the duct (4), so as to prevent the passage of one or more articles from said access door (3) to the duct (4), in particular preventing communication between the external environment and the eventual container (11) of the carousel (10), optionally the control unit (50) preventing the access door (3) to move to the open position. Distributor of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, in which the duct (4) is fixed with respect to the external container (1), the carousel (10) being movable by rotation with respect to the duct (4), a rotation predetermined angle of the carousel (10) with respect to the duct (4) which determines the alignment between said duct (4) and said selected container (11) of the plurality of containers, said alignment putting the duct (4) in communication with said selected container (11) to allow the passage of one or more elements through the duct (4) and into said selected container (11), the duct (4) being configured to guide one or more elements from the first opening (4a) to the second opening ( 4b) in the selected container (11), wherein a further angular rotation of the carousel (10) with respect to the duct (4) determines the alignment between said duct (4) and another selected container (11) of the plurality of containers. Distributor of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first opening (4a) of the duct (4), in particular the access door (3), is arranged in an upper part of the external container (1 ), in which the first opening (4a) of the duct (4) is arranged, in particular when the appliance is placed in standard operating conditions, at a height greater than that of the second opening (4b) of the duct (4), so that, when the article distributor (100) is set in the loading configuration, the passage of one or more articles from said access door (3), through said duct (4), towards and into the selected container (11) it is determined by gravity, for example, by falling or sliding. Distributor of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein each container (11) of the plurality of containers comprises an inlet opening (11a), in particular an inlet opening (11a) for receiving the articles (P) when the distributor is in the loading configuration and to allow the sampling probe (20) to withdraw one or more items, the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) being arranged in correspondence with the aforementioned inlet opening (11a ) at least when the dispenser is arranged in the loading configuration, in particular the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) having a total dimension less than or at most equal to the total dimension of the inlet opening (11a) of each container ( 11), in which the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) is arranged, at least when the dispenser is placed in standard operating conditions, at a height higher than that of the selected container (11), in particular of any one asi of the plurality of containers (11). Dispenser of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, in which, in the loading configuration, the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) is positioned in proximity to an inlet opening (11a) of a container (11) so that there is no opening or slit between the duct (4) and the container (11) to drop the items loaded through the first opening (4a) and exiting the second opening (4b) of the duct (4 ) in a place other than the selected container (11), in which each container (11) comprises a bottom wall and a side wall emerging from said bottom wall, defining a concave container (11), the bottom wall being inclined, optionally conical in shape, to allow the articles stored in the container (11) to settle at the lowest level. Article dispenser (100) of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (50) is configured to arrange the article dispenser (100) in said loading configuration by: - aligning the selected container (11) of the carousel (10) with the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) by means of a rotation of the carousel (10); And - moving the access door (3) to the open position; the article dispenser (100) comprising an angular sensor configured to emit a signal representative of the angular position of the carousel (10), while the control unit (50) is configured to receive such a representative signal to provide a value or an indication of a measured angular position of the carousel (10), in particular said angular position being calculated, the step of aligning the selected container (11) of the carousel (10) with the second opening (4b) of the duct (4) taking place on the basis of said measured angular position of the carousel (10). Distributor of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a graphical user interface (40) for implementing a loading procedure, the graphical user interface being in communication with the control unit (50) and configured to receive one or more user inputs, where the graphical user interface (40) is arranged: - on the external container (1), in particular the graphic user interface being physically connected to the external container (1); and / or - on a remote device, such as a smartphone, tablet or computer, said remote device being operatively connected with the control unit (50) of the article dispenser (100), while the control unit (50) is configured to implement the loading procedure which includes: ● receiving from the user, through the graphical user interface (40), an input representative of the selected container (11) and / or an input of a type of items to be loaded, optionally any type of articles being associated with the position of a container (11) to be selected from the plurality of containers; ● optionally calculating the actual angular position of the carousel (10), in particular by means of said angular sensor; ● based on user input and optionally based on the actual angular position of the carousel (10), rotate the carousel (10) to align the selected container (11) of the carousel (10) with the second opening (4b) of the duct (4). Distributor of articles (100) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising a vacuum system (5) operatively connected to the sampling probe (20), the vacuum system (5) being configured to determine the coupling between a tip terminal (21) of the sampling probe (20) and an article (P) stored in a container (11) of the plurality of containers, in particular the vacuum system (5) defining a gas suction at the end (21) of the sampling probe (20) to determine the coupling with an object, the vacuum system (5) of the sampling probe (20) comprising a pressure sensor configured to emit a signal representative of the pressure measured in the vacuum system (5 ), the control unit (50) being connected to said pressure sensor and configured to provide a value or an indication of said measured pressure. in which the sampling probe (20) moves vertically, optionally along a direction substantially parallel to the rotation axis of the carousel (10), towards and away from a container (11) of the plurality of containers, the sampling probe ( 20) being movable along a single degree of freedom, in particular being movable only along a single direction, this direction being substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the carousel (10), or being a substantially vertical direction, or a linear direction or a single curved path, in which a rotation of the carousel (10) determines the alignment of the sampling probe (20) with a container (11) from which one or more objects can be removed. Distributor of articles (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a pre-delivery system (30) housed in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) and comprising, at least when the pre-delivery system ( 30) is arranged in the storage position, a pre-delivery container (31), in which the pre-delivery system (30) comprises a support base (32) comprising at least one through opening (32a), the probe (20) being configured to release one or more articles (P), picked from one or more of the plurality of containers (11), into said pre-delivery container (31) before delivering to the user of said picked articles , the carousel (10) being arranged at a height greater than a height of the pre-delivery system (30), in particular at a height of the pre-delivery container (31), and the sampling probe (20 ) being arranged at a height higher than that of the pre-delivery system (30), an article taken by gravity from the sampling probe (20) falling from the sampling probe (20) to the pre-delivery container (31), in particular if said pre-delivery container (31) not being reachable by the user during normal use of the dispenser, in which the pre-delivery system (30) is mobile, in particular in rotation, between: - said storage position, in which the pre-delivery container (31) is configured to receive and house one or more articles picked up by the sampling probe (20), and - at least one unloading position, in which the pre-delivery system (30) is configured to unload, from the pre-delivery container (31), one or more articles in particular by gravity, the pre-delivery container (31 ) being configured to slide on said support base (32) between said storage position and said unloading position, in which: - when the pre-delivery system (30) is in the storage position, the pre-delivery container (31) comprises a lower wall defined by at least a part of the support base (32); while - when the pre-delivery system (30) is in the unloading position, the pre-delivery container (31) is arranged near the through opening (32a) of the support base (32), in said unloading position the pre-delivery vessel (31) being devoid of at least a part of the bottom wall, so that one or more items can be discharged from the pre-delivery vessel (31). Article distributor (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the control unit (50) is configured to implement a picking procedure comprising: - rotating the carousel (10) to determine the alignment, in particular axial alignment, between the selected container (11) and the sampling probe (20); - activate the vacuum system of the sampling probe (20); - moving the withdrawal probe (20) towards the bottom of the selected container (11) of the plurality of containers to determine the coupling of an article with the withdrawal probe (20); - evaluating a pressure variation, in particular a pressure drop, in the vacuum system of the sampling probe (20) by means of the pressure sensor; - comparing said pressure variation with a predetermined threshold; - on the basis of this comparison, assess whether the commitment of this article has been correctly executed; - if it is estimated that the sampling probe (20) has coupled to an element, move the sampling probe (20) away from the container (11) and rotate the carousel (10) to determine the alignment of the opening (12) with the sampling probe (20), in particular a vertical alignment: - release this item to the pre-delivery container (31), in particular when the pre-delivery system (30) is in the storage position; - alternatively, if it is estimated that the sampling probe (20) did not pick up the object: o move the sampling probe (20) away from the container (11), or optionally causing a shaking of the carousel (10), in particular of said container (11), to rearrange the articles inside the container (11), o optionally rotate the carousel (10) a few degrees clockwise or counterclockwise, to change the relative position between the sampling probe (20) and the items inside the container (11), or repeating the step of moving the pick-up probe (20) towards the bottom of the selected container (11) of the plurality of containers to determine the coupling of an article by the pick-up probe (20); in which, if the delivery of two or more items is required, the control unit (50) is configured to repeat said picking procedure iteratively until the total number of items requested is housed in the pre-delivery container ( 31). Dispenser of articles (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a drawer (60) which in turn comprises a dispensing vessel (61) configured to receive, collect and deliver to the user one or more articles picked up by the probe (20), in particular the one or more articles unloaded from the pre-delivery system (30) when arranged in the unloading position, in which the drawer (60) further comprises a container for disposal (62), the container for dispensing (61) and container for disposal (62) of the drawer (60) define a single body movable with respect to the external casing (1); in which the control unit (50) selectively moves the drawer (60) between: - a collection position in which the dispensing container (61) is put in communication with the pre-delivery container (31) to allow the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery container (31) to the dispensing container (61) for subsequent delivery to the user; the waste container (62) is located in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; optionally the dispensing container (61) is further away in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; optionally the dispensing container (61) is further away in the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; - a disposal position in which the disposal vessel (62) is put in communication with the pre-delivery vessel (31) to allow the passage of one or more items from the pre-delivery vessel (31) to the disposal vessel (62); the waste container (62) is located inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent access to the user; - optionally a dispensing position, in which the dispensing container (61) is at least partially arranged outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to allow access by the user, while the disposal container (62) it is located inside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to prevent user access; - a recovery position, in which the disposal container (62) is at least partially disposed outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1) to allow access by a user; optionally the dispensing vessel (61) is at least partially disposed outside the internal volume (2) of the external container (1). Article dispenser (100) according to the preceding claim, wherein, when the drawer (60) is arranged in the pick-up position, said dispensing container (61) is arranged just below the pre-delivery container (31) at least when the pre-delivery system (30) is arranged in the unloading position, in particular the dispensing container (61) being just below the through opening (32a) of the support base (32), the pre-delivery system (30), when arranged in the unloading position and when the drawer (60) is disposed in the withdrawal position, is configured to unload one or more articles, housed in the pre-delivery container (31), in said dispensing vessel (61), when the drawer (60) is disposed in the disposal position, said disposal vessel (62) being disposed just below the pre-delivery vessel (31) at least when the pre-delivery system (30) is disposed in the unloading position , in particular the disposal container (62) being just below the through opening (32a) of the support base (32), the pre-delivery system (30), when placed in the unloading position and when the drawer (60 ) is arranged in the disposal position, is configured to unload one or more articles, housed in the pre-delivery vessel (31), into said disposal vessel (62), in which the drawer (60) moves horizontally, in particular transversely to the axis of rotation of the carousel (10), in particular by sliding. the sampling probe (20) and the pre-delivery vessel (31) being vertically aligned, in particular the pre-delivery vessel (31) and the sampling probe (20) being aligned on the same axis when the pre-delivery system -delivery (31) is in the storage position, so that when the sampling probe (20) releases an article, the latter falls by gravity into the pre-delivery container (31).