Multi-Rotor Pill Dispensing Mechanism for Accurate Counting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pill dispensing devices are either inaccurate, require human involvement, or fail to handle pills of varying shapes and colors effectively, limiting their reliability and efficiency in automated counting processes.
Innovation Solution
A pill dispensing machine featuring a cassette with multiple rotors that move pills along a spiral path, allowing for controlled feeding and separation, with adjustable speeds and rotor geometries such as concentric disks, curved bowls, or cones, and radial grooves to manage pill alignment and movement, enabling accurate and efficient dispensing into a single line or queue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If multiple rotors are used to separate pills into a single line, then counting accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the pill handling function into multiple rotors (first rotor, second rotor, third rotor) that operate independently but coordinate to separate pills into a single file. Each rotor handles a specific portion of the separation process, with the first rotor receiving pills from the hopper, the second rotor separating them, and the third rotor delivering them to the discharge chute. This segmentation enables accurate counting while maintaining manageable complexity through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotors are arranged concentrically with the first rotor at the center, the second rotor surrounding it, and the third rotor at the outermost position. This nested arrangement allows multiple separation stages to occupy the same spatial envelope, with each rotor interacting with the previous one's output. The compact nested structure achieves high-accuracy pill separation without proportionally increasing the overall device footprint or complexity.
2Measurement precision
If outer rotors rotate faster than inner rotors to separate pills, then pill separation into single line is improved, but pill feed speed decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts rotor speeds based on the operational phase. During the counting and separation phase, outer rotors rotate faster than inner rotors to effectively separate pills into a single file. When returning remaining pills to storage, the speed differential is reduced to maximize throughput. This dynamic speed adjustment allows the system to optimize between separation accuracy and feed speed depending on the current operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotational speed parameter of each rotor is independently controllable and can be adjusted based on the operational mode. The controller modifies the speed parameters of the first, second, and third rotors differently during counting operations versus return operations. This parameter change capability enables the system to achieve both accurate pill separation when needed and high throughput when returning pills, resolving the contradiction between separation accuracy and feed speed.
3Manufacturing precision
If radial grooves are added to rotors to prevent rolling, then pill movement control is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Radial grooves are added only to specific rotors (the second and third rotors) rather than all rotors, and only in specific locations where pill separation and control are most critical. The first rotor may have different surface characteristics optimized for its specific function of receiving pills from the hopper. This localized application of grooves provides the necessary pill movement control where needed while minimizing the overall manufacturing complexity compared to grooving all rotors uniformly.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a pill dispensing method and apparatus wherein a first rotor rotates pills about a rotation axis along a first part of a spiral path at a first rotational speed whereupon the pills move spirally away from the rotation axis. A second rotor receives the pills from the first rotor and rotates the pills about the rotation axis along a second part of the spiral path at a second, greater rotational speed whereupon the pills move spirally away from the rotation axis toward a discharge chute which dispenses the pills into a pill bottle or a storage container.