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:
Nov. 16, 2010
Filed:
Aug. 07, 2007
Edward Joseph Karwacki, Jr., Garner, NC (US);
Richard D. Michelli, Raleigh, NC (US);
David Newcomb, Morrisville, NC (US);
Edward Joseph Karwacki, Jr., Garner, NC (US);
Richard D. Michelli, Raleigh, NC (US);
David Newcomb, Morrisville, NC (US);
PARATA Systems, LLC, Durham, NC (US);
Abstract
A method is provided for dispensing solid pharmaceutical articles using an apparatus including a housing and a sensor system, the housing defining a dispensing passage having a dispensing inlet and a dispensing outlet downstream of the dispensing inlet, the sensor system including first and second sensors spaced apart along the dispensing channel such that the second sensor is located downstream of the first sensor. The method includes: forcing at least one article along a path through the dispensing passage; generating detection signals using the first and second sensors responsive to articles passing through the dispensing channel; and using the detection signals from the first and second sensors to monitor dispensing performance of the apparatus.