A pill depouching and sorting device

Technical Field

The inventions relates to a depouching and sorting apparatus capable of automatically removing pharmaceutical pills from plastic pouch packaging and sorting the various sizes and types from one another.

Disclosure of Invention

A major problem arises when pharmaceutical pills are packaged into plastic pouches for individual doses and distribution. Pills are packaged in this way by wholesale suppliers and others to provide several days or weeks prescriptions to individuals or groups. Such rolls of pouches may include any number of types of pills.

It is often necessary for providers to unpackage and sort such rolls, such as when there are incorrect process runs or a need to dispose of unused pharmaceutical pills in a certain manner. It is a long and arduous process to remove pills manually from pouches and sort them by hand. Also the only automated machines that can perform this function rely on visual recognition technology and computerisation which are extremely expensive. This often leads to a backlog of pouched pills that must either be separated manually, or disposed of in bulk at great cost.

It is an object of this invention to provide a means to depouch and separate pharmaceutical pills in an automated manner through the use of their unique size and dimensions. This method requires no form of computerisation or visual recognition, relying only on the physical dimensions of the pills themselves. The machine is designed to make use of these dimensions, in conjunction with gravity, to sort the pills in a simple and automated manner. According to the invention, there is provided a pill depouching and sorting apparatus comprising a tension loading mechanism, a depouching unit, a separation unit with mass loading capability, a sorting mechanism, and a control mechanism to drive the motors and mechanised parts.

In one embodiment the tension loading system comprises:

an adjustable spooling guide to allow for accurate mounting of pouch spools onto the tension loader,

the tension loader which allows for adjustable tension levels,

the guide fingers which ensure an aligned spool feed is maintained.

In another embodiment the depouching unit comprises:

a four track mechanism to grip and move the spool of pouched pills,

a circular motorised blade to open pouched,

a guide finger mechanism to motion pills out of pouches in conjunction with the track mechanism,

a pill slide to capture depouched pills and move them to the separation and mass loading embodiment and

a motor connection to drive the depouching unit.

In another embodiment separation & mass loading mechanism comprises:

a slide and motorised caracal to control the separation and spacing of pills as they move through the invention,

a mass loading port to enable manual loading and sorting functionality of non pouched pills,

a drop chute to control the progression of pills into the roller embodiment and a motor connection to drive the caracal unit.

In another embodiment the sorting rollers & collection mechanism comprises:

a set of adjustable cylindrical rollers, one with a raised lip, that use an upward motion and divergent spacing to move and sort pills

a series of drop funnels to guide the sorted pills in specific collection bin,

a series of collection bins to collect pills from the first tier of rollers,

a drop chute to control the passage and momentum of pills from the first tier of rollers to the second tier,

a second tier of adjustable cylindrical rollers, one with a raised lip, that use an upward motion and divergent spacing to move and sort pills as above,

a second series of drop funnels to guide the sorted pills into specific collection bins as above and

a motor connection to drive the rollers.

In another embodiment the control mechanism & motors comprises:

an electronic control mechanism to drive the motors of the above embodiments,

a storage space to house the cleaning unit,

a control panel and emergency stop to drive the invention and

a status light to show which mode the machine is in.

Description of Figures

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof, given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the depouching and sorting machine.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the top part of the machine and the internal sections.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the spool loader.

Fig. 4 is a plan view from above the spool loader.

Fig. 5 is a plan view from the side of the spool loader.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the spool loader and the depouching unit.

Fig. 7 is a plan view showing a cross section of the depouching unit.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the guide fingers in isolation.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the depouching unit from the side.

Fig. 10 is a plan view showing a cross section of the depouching unit from above.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing a cross section of the depouching unit.

Fig. 12 is a plan view showing the depouching unit from above.

Fig. 13 is a perspective of the depouching fingers.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing the slide, caracal and the loose product port.

Fig. 15 is a plan view showing the interior of the drop chute.

Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing the rollers.

Fig. 17 is a perspective view showing the rollers and drop funnels.

Fig. 18 is a plan view from the front showing the rollers and the collection bins. Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention

Referring to the drawings, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 most clearly show the machine where the tension loading system 1, the depouching unit 2, the separation unit 3 and the sorting and collection mechanism 4 are the main embodiments.

Fig. 1 shows the tension loading system I ₃ the loose product port 5, the upper Perspex safety cover 6 and the lower Perspex safety cover 7. These safety covers are equipped with a safety interlock which prevents the machine from running while they are open. The device is also equipped with a status light 8, a control interface 9 to start and stop the machine, a storage space 10 for the cleaning equipment and a locked housing for the electronic control unit 11.

Fig. 2 shows the tension loading system 1, the depouching unit 2, the separation unit 3 and the sorting and collection mechanism 4. Each of these embodiments is described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

Tension Loading System 1:

Firstly Fig. 2 shows the pill and spooling guide 12. The spooling guide serves two purposes; it centres the pills in the packaging which aids their removal from the packaging later in the process and ensures an even package feed to the spool loader 13 which prevents jams.

The second part of the tension lading system is the spool loader 13. The spool loader is best understood with reference to Figures 3, 4 and 5 which show the spool loader in perspective and in plan from above and the side. The spool loader comprises an adjustable guide 14 which allows the machine to cater to different package sizes. The guide is adjusted by loosening the adjustor knob 15, sliding one of the guide side along the shaft thereby setting the desired size, and then tightening the adjustor knob 15 again.

The third and last part of the tension loader is the guide fingers 16. Fig. 6 shows the location of the guide fingers 16, which are attached to the depouching unit 2, while Fig. 7 is a cross section showing the guide fingers from above. Fig. 8 shows the guide fingers 16 alone in perspective and the directing groove 17 through which the packaged pills are fed. The directing groove again pushes pills into the centre of packages which prevents jams during depouching.

Depouching Unit 2:

Firstly the depouching unit comprises four belt tensioners 18, which grip and move the pouches of packaged pills through the depouching unit 2. Two of the belt tensioners 18 can be seen in Fig. 9, which shows the depouching unit from the side. Fig. 11 shows a cross section of the depoucher and further illustrates the belt tensioners 18.

Secondly the circular motorised blade 19 cuts and opens the packages. Fig. 10 shows the blade from above while Fig. 10 is a cross section of the depouching unit showing the blade in perspective. The blade can also be seen in Fig. 7.

Thirdly the depouching fingers 20 are seen most clearly in Fig. 13, force the pills out of the opened packages as the belt tensioners 18 move the packages through the depouching unit 2. As the packages are fed through the depouching fingers, the lack of space and the angle of the fingers, push the pills to the opened side of the pouches and out of the packaging.

Fourthly, the pill chute 21, catches the depouched pills and delivers them, to the separation unit 3. The pill chute is located directly behind the blade 19 and is most clearly shown in Fig. 11.

Fifthly, the drive shaft 22 and flexi drive motor 23 drive the depouching unit and all of its elements. Sixthly, the waste packaging output port 24 feeds the waste packaging out of the depouching unit.

Separation Unit 3:

The separation unit comprises a slide 25 and a caracal 26 which slow the progression of the pills through the machine and control the feeding of pills to the sorting and collection mechanism 4. This is essential to prevent pills jamming at the sorting stage, The caracal is driven by a built in motor 28. Fig. 14 most clearly illustrates these parts.

The pills are then feed through the caracal 26 to the drop chute 27, an internal plan view of which is shown in Fig. 15. The drop chute contains two pace restrictors 29 which slow the pills as they fell to the sorting and collection mechanism 4. This is essential to prevent the pills bouncing at the sorting stage which would affect sorting accuracy.

Sorting and Collection Unit 4:

The pills then fell through the drop chute 27 onto the sorting rollers. The sorting and collection unit uses two sets of adjustable rollers to sort pills set over two tiers. Each set of rollers comprises a smooth roller 30 and a grooved roller 31. The rollers are divergently spaced and this spacing can be adjusted. The rollers rotate and the raised lip serves to move the pills along the rollers. As the pills progress between the rollers, they eventually reach a point where the space between the rollers is equal to their smallest physical dimension. At this point 1he pills drop between the rollers.

As the pills fell between the rollers, the direction they fall in is controlled by the rows of drop funnels 32. The machine can be calibrated by adjusting the divergent space between the rollers. In conjunction with the drop funnels, this allows the machine to be set for different mixes of pill sizes and ranges. The pills then fall into collection bins 33. As the pills progress from the upper to the lower tier of rollers they pass through a second drop chute 34 which again contains two pace restrictors 29 as in Fig. 15. The rollers are driven by a drive belt and motor 35.