EP2301850A2

EP2301850A2 - An automatic blister pack pill dispenser

Info

Publication number: EP2301850A2
Application number: EP10173078A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Michael Anthony Reynolds
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2009-09-14
Filing date: 2010-08-17
Publication date: 2011-03-30
Also published as: EP2301850A3; GB0916076D0

Abstract

An automated blister pack pill dispenser (1) is provided to enable pills to be dispensed from relatively quickly and in relatively large numbers from blister packs. The dispenser (1) is provided with sensors (9, 19) operative to detect the size of the blister pack, and the position of the blister pockets on the blister pack. The sensors (9, 19) generate a signal used by a controller (51) to alter the relative transverse and longitudinal position of a pill dispensing head (25) comprising an electronic plunger (33) such that the plunger (33) is aligned with a blister pocket. When so aligned, the electronic plunger (33) is actuated to force a pill from the blister pack. The controller (51) is then operative to index the blister pack, or the pill dispensing head (25), such that the plunger (33) is aligned with the next blister pocket in the row. When the row is completed, the controller (51) is operative to adjust the relative position of the blister pack and the pill dispensing head (25) such that the plunger is aligned with the second row of blister pockets.

The sensors may comprise cameras.

Description

The present invention relates to an automated blister pack pill dispenser and particularly but not exclusively relates to a dispenser capable of dispensing pills from blister packs of varying shapes and sizes and having blister pockets of varying shapes and sizes.
Pills are often packaged in a blister pack comprising a base provided with a plurality of pill pockets in which the pills are held, and a foil sheet that closes the pill pockets. To access the pills, either the foil sheet has to be removed, or more typically, the pills are forced through the foil sheet by applying pressure to the pill pockets. The blister pack base is typically of a plastics material, whilst the foil may be a metal or plastic membrane.
It is sometimes desirable, or even a requirement, that a number of pills are dispensed from a blister pack and then repackaged. For example, nursing homes and care homes often require pills to be repackaged into specialised packaging particular to a particular patient, dosage or to conform to a maximum amount of a particular pill the home is legally allowed to keep. It is a problem to rapidly, efficiently and accurately dispense multiple pills from a blister pack or packs.
Furthermore, blister packs can take a wide variety of shapes and sizes and are used for pills of a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Thus the length, width and depth of the blister packs may vary considerably, as may the length, width and depth of the blister pockets. Generally the blister pockets are arranged in parallel, straight rows, but the length and transverse spacing of the rows can vary, as can the longitudinal spacing of blister pockets in each row.
We have proposed, in our UK patent GB 2383988 B , a blister pack pill dispenser comprising an electronically actuated plunger that forces a pill from a blister pocket when the pocket is placed in a locating slot beneath the plunger by a dispenser operator. The present invention stems from some work in trying to provide an even more efficient electronically actuated pill dispenser.
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided an automated blister pack pill dispenser comprising a blister pack loader operative to receive a blister pack and load the blister pack onto a platform, and at least one blister pack sensor operative to sense the blister pack on the platform and to generate at least one blister pack signal indicative of the transverse and longitudinal positions of the pills on the blister pack relative to a datum, the dispenser further comprising a pill dispensing head comprising a plunger driven by an electrically powered plunger actuator, and a pill dispensing plate comprising at least one aperture located beneath the plunger, the plate being configured to at least partially support the blister pack, at least one motor being provided to enable relative movement between the pill dispensing head and the platform in directions transverse and longitudinal to the datum, an electronic controller being provided operative to receive the blister pack signal and to process the blister pack signal to control the motor such that the relative transverse position and the relative longitudinal position between the pill dispensing head and the datum are arranged such that a pill pocket of the blister pack is transversely and longitudinally aligned with the plunger, the controller being further operative to subsequently activate the plunger activator to drive the plunger to push a pill from the aligned blister pack pocket, the dispensed pill dropping through the aperture in the pill dispensing plate.
The pill dispensing head may be mounted on one end of a cantilevered transversely extending arm, the other end of the transverse arm being mounted on the dispenser.
The pill dispensing head may be mounted on a carriage movably mounted on a track on the dispenser.
Preferably the loader comprises a chute having at least one movable side to enable the width of the loader to be adjustable.
Preferably the chute is inclined relative to the platform.
Preferably the platform is provided with at least one side guide against which a margin of the blister pack abuts in use.
Preferably the side guide is movably mounted on the dispenser such that the transverse position of the side guide can be altered so as to enable the width of the platform to be adjustable.
The blister pack sensor may further comprise a width detector operative to generate a width signal indicative of the width, that is, the transverse dimension, of a blister pack.
Preferably the controller is operative to receive and process the width signal, to automatically adjust the transverse position of the movable loader, the side of the movable side guide of the platform and the pill dispensing head to correspond to the width of the blister pack.
Preferably the blister pack sensor comprises a blister pack sensor camera. More than one camera may be used.
Preferably the width detector comprises a width detector camera.
The camera may include an illuminator to illuminate an area detected by the camera.
Preferably the loader is provided with a blister pack indexing mechanism operative to index one blister pack at a time from the loader onto the platform.
Preferably the indexing mechanism comprises upper and lower retractable pins, the pins being movable from a projecting position in which they project into the chute to support a blister pack in the chute, to a retracted position in which the blister pack can drop down the chute, the upper and lower pins being controlled by the controller to sequentially project and retract such that one blister pack at a time drops down the chute.
Preferably the platform comprises a conveyor operative to convey the blister pack from the loader to the pill dispensing head.
Preferably the conveyor comprises a conveyor belt.
Preferably the controller is operative to control the conveyor, when a blister pack is on the conveyor, to index adjacent blister pockets of the blister pack to a position longitudinally aligned with the plunger.
Preferably the conveyor comprises an inlet and an outlet conveyor, longitudinally opposed on each side of the plate.
Preferably a pill retaining tray is provided beneath the pill dispensing plate to retain pills that drop through the aperture.
Preferably a dispensed pill receptacle is provided to receive dispensed pills from the pill retaining tray.
Preferably the dispensed pill container comprises an electronic identifier such as a bar code or RFID chip for example.
Preferably the pill dispensing plate is movable with the pill dispensing head.
The dispenser may be provided with a plurality of plates each provided with differently shaped and/or differently sized apertures.
A single plate may be provided comprising a plurality of differently shaped and/or differently sized apertures, the plate being movably mounted on the dispenser such that a selected aperture can be aligned with the plunger, a plate motor being provided to move the plate in response to a plate control signal from the controller, the plate control signal being generated in dependence upon the size and shape of blister pocket detected by the blister pack sensor such that the selected aperture corresponds to the detected blister pocket.
The, some or each aperture may comprise a cut-out portion cut away from a side margin of the plate.
Preferably the controller includes a touch screen.
Preferably the controller stores data relating to the pill or pills dispensed.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a dispenser assembly comprising a dispenser according to the first aspect of the invention mounted on a dispenser desk.
The dispenser desk may comprise a trolley provided with wheels to enable the desk and dispenser to be moved.
Other aspects of the present invention may include any combination of the features or limitations referred to herein.
The present invention may be carried into practice in various ways, but embodiments will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a dispenser in accordance with the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the dispenser of Figure 1 mounted on a dispenser trolley;
Figures 3a to 3d are schematic front views of a loader mechanism comprising part of the dispenser of Figures 1 and 2, in different conditions; and
Figures 4a to 4d are enlarged plan views of different examples of a dispensing plate comprising part of the dispenser of Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to the Figures, an automated blister pack pill dispenser 1 is mounted on a dispenser desk comprising a wheeled trolley 3.
The dispenser 1 comprises an oblong base frame 5 at one end of which is mounted a blister pack measuring table 7 and a blister pack width sensor in the form of a first camera 9, the width sensor comprising part of a blister pack sensor.
A blister pack loader 11 is mounted on the base frame 5 adjacent the measuring table 7 and comprises an inclined chute the front of which is open, and the opposed sides 13, 14 of which are provided with respective indexing mechanisms 15 operative to index a stack of blister packs sequentially down the chute 11. The side 14 of the chute 11 is movably mounted on a transversely movable chassis 16 such that the relative transverse spacing between the sides 13, 14 can be adjusted by a suitable motor 18 to accommodate the desired width of blister pack.
The transversely movable chassis 16 extends along the length of the base frame 5 and is movably mounted thereon via suitable carriages 20 and tracks 22.
A platform comprising an input conveyor in the form of conveyor belt 17 is located beneath the lowermost end of the chute 11 and extends longitudinally along the base frame 5 away from the chute 11. The conveyor belt 17 passes beneath a pill pocket sensor in the form of a second camera 19 that comprises part of the blister pack sensor. Elongate guides are provided at the transversely opposed sides of the conveyor belt 17 and comprise an outer fixed guide 21, and a transversely movable inner guide 23 that can be moved towards and away from the longitudinal axis of the conveyor belt 17 to vary the width of the conveyor belt to accommodate the desired width of blister pack. The inner guide 23 is mounted on the chassis 16.
A pill dispensing head, shown generally at 25, is also movably mounted on the base frame 5 at the end of the conveyor belt 17 distal from the chute 11.
The head 25 is transversely movably mounted on the base frame 5 such that it can be moved towards or away from the longitudinal axis of the conveyor belt 17 so as to alter the relative transverse position of the head 25 and the conveyor belt 17. A motor 27 generates the required transverse movement.
The head 25 comprises a transversely extending support arm 29, one end of which may be mounted on the chassis 16, or on a separate mount/carriage independently movable from the chassis 16.
The other end of the arm 29 is provided with an electronically controllable moving coil plunger actuator 31 connected to a pill dispensing plunger 33, the longitudinal axis of the plunger 33 being inclined to the vertical and to the plane of the conveyor belt 17.
A pill dispensing plate 35 is provided on the head 25 beneath the plunger 33, the upper planar surface of the plate 35 being substantially flush with the plane of the upper surface of the conveyor belt 17. The plate 35 is provided with an aperture 37 directly below the tip of the plunger 33.
A pill tray 39 is mounted on the head 25 beneath the plate 35 and is in communication with a pill receptacle 41.
An outlet conveyor in the form of conveyor belt 43 is provided on the other side of plate 35 from inlet conveyor belt 17 so as to be longitudinally opposed thereto. The conveyor belt 43 again comprises a fixed outer guide 45 and a transversely movable inner guide 47 that is movable towards and away from the longitudinal axis of the belt 43, the movable guide 47 being mounted on the chassis 16. The end of the second belt 43 distal from the plate 35 is adjacent a waste receptacle 49. The dispenser 1 further comprises an electronic controller 51 which in this example comprises at least one microprocessor and a touchscreen 53. The controller 51 is operative to receive signals from the first and second cameras 9, 19, and to control the loader 11, the first and second conveyor belts 17, 43, the adjustable guides 23, 47, the transversely movable chassis 16, the transverse position of the dispensing head 25, and the actuation of the plunger 33.
With particular reference to Figure 3, each indexing mechanism 15 of the loader 11 comprises upper and lower retractable pins 55, 57 that are spaced apart on the inside of each side 13, 14 of the chute. The pins 55, 57 can be moved from a projecting position in which the pins 55, 57 project into the chute, to a retracted position in which the tips of the pins 55, 57 do not substantially project into the chute. The movement of the pins 55, 57 is controlled by the controller 51 via suitable electromagnetic mechanisms such as solenoids, or via hydraulic or pneumatic valves and pipework (not shown).
The controller 51 is operative to control the upper pair of pins 55 separately from the lower pair of pins 57. In use, a stack of blister packs are placed in the chute of the loader 11 with the foil 63 of the lowermost pack 61 resting on the upper pair of pins 55, the upper pins 55 at this stage projecting into the chute. The pins 55, 57 are controlled to index the blister packs down the chute and onto the first conveyor belt 17, one blister pack at a time. Thus, the upper set of pins 55 are retracted such that lowermost blister pack 61 drops onto the lower set of pins 57. The upper set of pins 55 is then extended so as to project into the chute and support the next blister pack 65. The lower set of pins 57 are then retracted so that the first blister pack 61 drops out of the chute and onto the first conveyor belt 17. The lower set of pins 57 is subsequently extended and the process is repeated at the required time, as controlled and determined by the controller 51.
In use of the dispenser 1, a blister pack is initially placed on the measuring table 7. The width, or transverse dimension, of the blister pack is measured using the first camera 9. The first camera 9 generates a width signal indicative of the shortest dimension of the blister pack. This width signal is received and processed by the controller 51 which then generates a width adjustment signal used to control a motor or motors 18 to adjust the transverse position of the chute side wall 14, the inner conveyor guides 23, 47, and the dispensing head 25. Thus, before the blister pack reaches the loader 11, the transverse position of all of the necessary components of the dispenser 1 are adjusted to correspond to the measured width of the blister pack in question.
The blister packs corresponding to the measured blister pack are then placed in a stack in the chute of the loader 11, the foil of the lowermost blister pack resting on the upper pins 55 of the indexing mechanisms 15.
The indexing mechanisms 15 are controlled as described above such that the lowermost blister pack drops onto the first conveyor belt 17. The conveyor belt 17 may already be activated, or may be activated when the blister pack is dropped onto it, and transfers the blister pack towards the dispensing head 25, the blister pack being guided and prevented from skewing or falling from the belt 17 by side guides 21,23.
Before the blister pack reaches the dispensing head 25, properties of the blister pack are measured using second camera 19. The measurements include some or all of the width and length of the blister pack, the diameter of pill pocket, the shape of pill pocket, the number of pill pockets, the longitudinal spacing between pill pockets, and the transverse spacing between pill pockets. The measurements made by the second camera 19 are sufficient to first generate a signal indicative of the required relative transverse position of the dispensing head 25 for the plunger 33 to be aligned with a row of pockets on the blister pack, and to secondly generate a signal indicative of the timing of plunger actuations for the plunger 33 to sequentially contact the blister pockets in the row, as the blister pack is moved in a longitudinal direction under the head 25.
The signals from the second camera 19 are thus received and processed by the controller 51 which generates an output to control head motor 27 to adjust the transverse position of the head 25 such that the plunger 33 is transversely aligned with a first row of blister pockets. The first conveyor belt 17 continues to move the blister pack longitudinally towards the head 25 until the first pocket of the first row of pockets on the blister pack is beneath the plunger 33, that is, the pocket is longitudinally and transversely aligned with the tip of the plunger 33. The plunger actuator 31 is then activated by the controller such that the plunger tip is rapidly moved downwardly into contact with the blister pocket, forcing the pill inside the pocket to pierce the foil, drop through the aperture 37 in the dispensing plate 35, into the pill tray 39 and into the pill receptacle 41.
The first and second conveyors 17, 47 then move the blister pack longitudinally such that the next blister pocket in the first row of pockets is aligned with the tip of the plunger 33, wherein the dispensing process is repeated.
Thus, the dispenser 1 can automatically measure and dispense the required number of pills from an entire row of a blister pack relatively quickly, and without intervention from an operator.
The signals generated by the second camera 19 may also indicative of the number of rows of pill pockets on the blister pack. Thus the transverse position of the dispensing head 25 is altered via a control signal generated by the controller 51 such that the tip of the plunger 33 is subsequently transversely aligned with the second row of pill pockets. The transverse position of the blister pack on the first conveyor 17 remains constant in this example.
When the transverse position of the dispensing head 25 has been altered so as to be aligned with the second row of blister pockets, the longitudinal motion of the first and second conveyor belts 17, 47 is reversed such that the blister pack moves back towards the loader 11, at least to a position where the first blister pocket is aligned with the tip of the plunger 33 such that the pill dispensing process described above in connection with the first row of blister pockets can then take place with the second row of blister pockets. Thus once the blister pack has been moved back to the start position, the direction of motion of the conveyors 17, 47 resumes their initial longitudinal direction to move the blister pack underneath the plunger 33 and onto the waste receptacle 49, the dispensed pills falling into the pill tray 39 and into the pill receptacle 41.
It will be appreciated that variations of the above process are envisaged in order to operate the dispenser 1 as efficiently as possible. For example, the loader 11 may be operative to sequentially load multiple blister packs onto the first conveyor 17 such that more than one blister pack is on the conveyor 17 at any one time. Likewise it may be possible to dispense pills from the blister pockets of a second row of pockets whilst the conveyor 17 is moving in the reverse direction - ie the pills in the first row can be dispensed with the blister pack moving past the plunger 33 in a first direction, whilst the pills in the second row can be dispensed with the blister pack moving in the opposite direction. It is also envisaged that the dispensing head may operate transversely across each line of blister packs so as to dispense pills from the first transverse line of pockets, move the blister pack longitudinally such that the second line of pockets is longitudinally aligned with the plunger, and then dispense pills transversely from the second line of pockets.
The pill receptacle 41 may be provided with electronic identification such as a barcode, RFID or any other form of electronic identifier used to indicated the type and quantity of pills in the receptacle 41. The dispenser 1 may be automated such that once a stack of blister packs has been loaded into the loader 11, the electronic identifier on the receptacle is scanned by a suitable scanner on the dispenser 1, the scanning signal being used by the controller 51 to dispense the required number of pills into the receptacle 41. Likewise, the operator may manually select the number of pills to be dispensed via the touchscreen or the like.
It is envisaged that the operating speed of the conveyors 17, 47 and the plunger 33 may be varied according to a desired throughput, or according to the physical characteristics of the pills to be dispensed. Likewise the force applied by the actuator 31 to the plunger 33 may be controlled accordingly and indeed a force feedback system may be provided to automatically control the force applied to the blister pockets in relation to the feedback signal received.
With reference to Figure 4, the aperture 37 in the pill dispensing plate 35 may be of any desired shape or size to enable the pill to be dispensed through the aperture and the foil to remain attached to the blister pack. For example, the aperture 37 may be egg shaped or triangular. The aperture 37 may comprise a cut-out at one margin of the plate 35 to encourage the pill to incline through the cut-out when pressure is applied by the plunger 33.
The conveyors 17, 47 may be comprise any suitable belt or track and may be provided with ribs or protrusions to help grip the blister pack and resist it slipping along the conveyors 17, 47.
The control means 51 may include a readable memory operative to store details of the pills dispensed in a given time. Such details may include the type of pill, the number of pills, and the intended recipient of the pills for example. A printer may be provided to print suitable reports in this regard.
In a modified dispenser, a modified pill dispensing plate is movably mounted on the dispenser 1 and is transversely movable by a separate plate motor controlled by controller 51 relative to the pill dispensing head 25. The motor may comprise a linear motor or a stepper motor driving an indexing screw mechanism for example. The modified plate may additionally or alternatively be longitudinally movable relative to the pill dispensing head 25.
The modified plate comprises a plurality of pill dispensing apertures and examples of these can be seen with reference to Figure 4. Other shapes, sizes and profiles of aperture are envisaged as may be required to dispense pills of the desired shape and size.
In use, a plate control signal is generated by the controller 51 in response to the blister pack signal from the second camera 19. The blister pack signal is indicative of the shape and size of the detected blister pockets and is used by the controller 51 to match the detected blister pocket with the appropriately shaped, sized and profiled aperture on the modified plate. In particular the controller 51 generates a plate control signal that activates the plate motor to move the plate such that the required aperture is longitudinally and transversely aligned with the plunger 33. Thus the plate is independently movable relative to the dispensing head 25.

Claims

An automated blister pack pill dispenser comprising a blister pack loader operative to receive a blister pack and load the blister pack onto a platform, and at least one blister pack sensor operative to sense the blister pack on the platform and to generate at least one blister pack signal indicative of the transverse and longitudinal positions of the pills on the blister pack relative to a datum, the dispenser further comprising a pill dispensing head comprising a plunger driven by an electrically powered plunger actuator, and a pill dispensing plate comprising an aperture located beneath the plunger, the plate being configured to at least partially support the blister pack, at least one motor being provided to enable relative movement between the pill dispensing head and the platform in directions transverse and longitudinal to the datum, an electronic controller being provided operative to receive the blister pack signal and to process the blister pack signal to control the motor such that the relative transverse position and the relative longitudinal position between the pill dispensing head and the datum are arranged such that a pill pocket of the blister pack is transversely and longitudinally aligned with the plunger, the controller being further operative to subsequently activate the plunger activator to drive the plunger to push a pill from the aligned blister pack pocket, the dispensed pill dropping through the aperture in the pill dispensing plate.
The dispenser of claim 1 wherein the pill dispensing head is mounted on one end of a cantilevered transversely extending arm, the other end of the transverse arm being mounted on the dispenser.
The dispenser of claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the pill dispensing head is mounted on a carriage movably mounted on a track on the dispenser.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the loader comprises a chute having at least one movable side to enable the width of the loader to be adjustable.
The dispenser of claim 4 wherein the chute is inclined relative to the platform.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the platform is provided with at least one side guide against which a margin of the blister pack abuts in use.
The dispenser of claim 6 wherein the side guide is movably mounted on the dispenser such that the transverse position of the side guide can be altered so as to enable the width of the platform to be adjustable.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the blister pack sensor further comprises a width detector operative to generate a width signal indicative of the width, that is, the transverse dimension, of a blister pack.
The dispenser of claim 8 wherein the controller is operative to receive and process the width signal, to automatically adjust the transverse position of the movable loader, the side of the movable side guide of the platform and the pill dispensing head to correspond to the width of the blister pack.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the blister pack sensor comprises a blister pack sensor camera.
The dispenser of claim 8 or claim 9 wherein the width detector comprises a width detector camera.
The dispenser of claim 10 or claim 11 wherein the camera includes an illuminator to illuminate an area detected by the camera.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the loader is provided with a blister pack indexing mechanism operative to index one blister pack at a time from the loader onto the platform.
The dispenser of claim 13 wherein the indexing mechanism comprises upper and lower retractable pins, the pins being movable from a projecting position in which they project into the chute to support a blister pack in the chute, to a retracted position in which the blister pack can drop down the chute, the upper and lower pins being controlled by the controller to sequentially project and retract such that one blister pack at a time drops down the chute.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the platform comprises a conveyor operative to convey the blister pack from the loader to the pill dispensing head.
The dispenser of claim 15 wherein the conveyor comprises a conveyor belt.
The dispenser of claim 15 or claim 16 wherein the controller is operative to control the conveyor, when a blister pack is on the conveyor, to index adjacent blister pockets of the blister pack to a position longitudinally aligned with the plunger.
The dispenser of any one of claims 15 to 17 wherein the conveyor comprises an inlet and an outlet conveyor, longitudinally opposed on each side of the plate.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein a pill retaining tray is provided beneath the pill dispensing plate to retain pills that drop through the aperture.
The dispenser of claim 19 wherein a dispensed pill receptacle is provided to receive dispensed pills from the pill retaining tray.
The dispenser of claim 20 wherein the dispensed pill container comprises an electronic identifier such as a bar code or RFID chip for example.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the pill dispensing plate is movable with the pill dispensing head.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the dispenser is provided with a plurality of plates each provided with differently shaped and/or differently sized apertures.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the plate comprises a plurality of differently shaped and/or differently sized apertures, the plate being movably mounted on the dispenser such that a selected aperture can be aligned with the plunger, a plate motor being provided to move the plate in response to a plate control signal from the controller, the plate control signal being generated in dependence upon the size and shape of blister pocket detected by the blister pack sensor such that the selected aperture corresponds to the detected blister pocket.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the aperture comprises a cut-out portion cut away from a side margin of the plate.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the controller includes a touch screen.
The dispenser of any one of the preceding claims wherein the controller is operative to store data relating to the pill or pills dispensed.
A dispenser assembly comprising a dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 27 mounted on a dispenser desk.
The dispenser assembly of claim 28 wherein the dispenser desk comprises a trolley provided with wheels to enable the desk and dispenser to be moved.