The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Sep. 07, 2010
Filed:
Sep. 26, 2007
Kevin Hutchinson, Pineville, LA (US);
Anthony Self, Colfax, LA (US);
Joseph Inabnet, Pineville, LA (US);
Monroe Milton, Lecompte, LA (US);
Mike Bergeron, Pineville, LA (US);
Kevin Hutchinson, Pineville, LA (US);
Anthony Self, Colfax, LA (US);
Joseph Inabnet, Pineville, LA (US);
Monroe Milton, Lecompte, LA (US);
Mike Bergeron, Pineville, LA (US);
McKesson Automation Systems, Inc., Pittsburgh, PA (US);
Abstract
Methods are disclosed for storing and dispensing medications. A medication storing and dispensing cassette is comprised of a housing defining at least a portion of a bulk storage chamber for storing a medication, defining at least a portion of a pick-up area, and defining at least a portion of a discharge chute sized to temporarily store a quantity of the medication. A divider wall is positioned between the bulk storage chamber and the pick-up area. A gate is positioned to control an exit end of the discharge chute. A rotatable conveying wheel having openings proximate to the periphery thereof is positioned such that a portion of the wheel is in communication with the pick-up area while another portion of the wheel is adjacent to an entrance end of the discharge chute. A calibration arm is positioned adjacent the openings of the rotatable wheel. A baffle is positioned to block those openings in that portion of the rotatable wheel adjacent to the discharge chute. An air agitation system is provided so that pills may be moved from the bulk storage chamber to the pick-up area. In one embodiment, air agitation is used to move pills from the bulk storage chamber to the pick-up area, for automatically setting the position of the calibration arm and for automatically learning the setting for the calibration arm for an unclassified medication.