Blister Pack Tray with Selective Illumination for Pill Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pill filling systems for blister packs face challenges in accurately identifying and verifying the correct filling of pills, especially when multiple prescriptions are involved, due to difficulty in distinguishing individual pills and ensuring proper filling.
Innovation Solution
A tray system comprising a mounting tray with recesses for blister packs, a depositing plate with pill-drop surfaces and holes, and a sliding tray that moves between pill-drop and chamber-filling positions, illuminated by lights to guide pill placement, allowing camera verification and blurring elements to conceal filled pills during imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If photographs are taken of blister packs after filling to verify prescription accuracy, then quality assurance is improved, but it becomes difficult to properly identify individual pills and assess correct filling when multiple prescriptions are involved
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the verification process by using individual lights to illuminate specific pill chambers corresponding to different prescriptions. Each light can be independently controlled to highlight only the relevant chamber, dividing the complex multi-prescription verification into manageable individual chamber assessments.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by providing selective illumination to specific pill chambers based on which prescription is being verified. The lighting system creates localized bright spots on relevant chambers while leaving others darker, enabling the camera to focus on and clearly identify pills in the illuminated chambers without interference from surrounding chambers.
2Reliability
If all pill chambers are illuminated to verify filling, then verification completeness is improved, but individual pill identification becomes difficult due to light diffusion and overlapping views
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses periodic or sequential illumination where lights are activated in a controlled sequence or pattern rather than all simultaneously. This allows the camera to capture images during specific illumination periods when only relevant chambers are lit, ensuring both complete verification coverage and clear individual pill identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary selective illumination of specific pill chambers before image capture. By pre-identifying which chambers need verification and illuminating only those chambers beforehand, the system ensures that when the camera takes the photograph, the relevant chambers are already optimally lit for clear pill identification without interference from other chambers.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables accurate verification of pill placement and filling compliance with prescriptions by allowing camera detection of pills on the depositing plate while hiding those in the blister pack, ensuring correct filling and tracking of each pill chamber content.
Implementation Method 1
The depositing plate material can be selected to allow light emissions from the lights to pass through the pill-drop surfaces and hide the pills in the pill-chambers
Implementation Method 2
the depositing plate material may include a blurring element. The blurring element may be adapted to allow the diffused light to pass through the depositing plate while dimming the view of the pills
Data Source
AI summary
A tray system for filling pills into a blister pack is provided, as well as a corresponding method. The system includes a mounting tray to support the blister pack, rows of lights, with each light adapted to illuminate the pill-chambers of the blister pack; a depositing plate placed over the mounting tray and includes depositing-plate rows with pairs of pill-drop surface and a pill-hole, each pill-hole faces a corresponding pill-chamber; a sliding tray placed over the depositing plate which includes sliding-tray rows with opened cavities, and is slidable over the depositing plate from a pill-drop position to a chamber-filling position. Moving the sliding tray from the pill-drop position to the chamber-filling position pushes the pills from the pill-drop surfaces to the pill-chambers. The depositing plate material allows lights emissions to pass through the pill-drop surfaces while hiding the pills in the pill-chambers of the blister pack.