Pill Counting via Step Feeder and Image Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pill singulating devices face reliability and accuracy issues due to complex mechanical operations and sensor limitations, making precise counting of small, varied objects challenging.
Innovation Solution
A pill counting device with a loading hopper, step feeder, count chamber equipped with image capturing devices, and an indexer unit, controlled by a programmable logic controller and processing unit, which analyzes images to determine object characteristics and increment counts accurately, and routes pills to vials with adjustable mechanisms for precise distribution.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional mechanical singulating devices with cassettes, spinning drums, and vacuum systems are used, then pill distribution is achieved, but reliability and counting accuracy deteriorate due to complex mechanical operation and sensor limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical singulating devices (cassettes, spinning drums, vacuum systems) with a mechanical arm system that uses controlled movement and image capture to achieve pill distribution. The mechanical arm picks up pills from a bulk container and places them into a target container based on image guidance, eliminating the need for complex mechanical conveyance systems while improving counting accuracy through visual verification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses image capturing devices to create a visual copy of the pill bulk container and target container. This optical copy allows the system to identify pill locations, count pills, and verify distribution accuracy without relying on complex mechanical sensors. The image processing system serves as an information copy that guides the mechanical arm's operations.
2Measurement precision
If photoelectric sensors are used to count pills, then counting function is achieved, but accuracy deteriorates due to sensor limitations with small, varied objects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces photoelectric sensors with image capturing devices that create visual copies of each pill. The image processing system analyzes these visual copies to identify, count, and verify pill characteristics. This approach overcomes sensor limitations by using multi-pixel image data that can distinguish between pills of different sizes, shapes, and positions, providing superior measurement precision for small, varied objects.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from electrical signal detection (photoelectric sensors) to optical image analysis. By capturing images and processing pixel data, the system can extract multiple parameters (position, size, shape, orientation) for each pill, improving counting precision and object identification capability compared to single-parameter photoelectric detection.
Data Source
AI summary
A pill counting device includes a step feeder having moveable slats interleaved with fixed slats. The movable slats are vertically offset from one another and are configured to move vertically between top platforms of adjacent fixed slats to carry pills vertically up the step feeder. A top movable slat orients a subset of the plurality of pills into a row of pills to be fed into a count chamber. A camera configured to capture an image of a pill of the individual pills as it falls through the count chamber. The device further includes a control system configured to control movement of the movable slats and to control capturing of images by the camera. The control system is further configured to calculate a characteristic of the pill from the image, and to increment a pill counter in response to the characteristic of the pill meeting predefined criteria.