John W Havener, Age 91315 Highway 150 N, West Union, IA 52175

4697721, Oct 6, 1987

Jun 24, 1985

6/748404

Robert D. Johnson - West Union IA
John W. Havener - West Union IA
Mark F. Reyner - West Union IA
Franklin W. Reyner - West Union IA
Loren K. Whitver - West Union IA
Norman W. Kilburn - West Union IA

Pharmaceutical Innovators Ltd. - West Union IA

B65B 5720

221211

An improved pill storage and dispensing cassette includes front and back side walls, opposite end walls, and opposite top and bottom walls defining a storage chamber therein. A rotatable pill conveying wheel is positioned in the back side wall and has a plurality of openings for holding and conveying a pill to a discharge chute upon actuation of a remote vacuum source. A separator member is positioned over the openings of the conveying wheel to dislodge the pills from the conveying wheel and such that the pills fall through the chute into the desired receptacle. An adjustment shoe is provided so that only one pill is held and conveyed by each opening in the conveying wheel. A central wall is included within the cassette to divide the pill chamber into forward and rearward compartments with the pills being primarily stored in the forward compartment with a limited number of pills passing through a recessed area in the central wall to the rearward compartment for conveyance by the conveying wheel. An agitator is positioned within the rearward compartment for rotation in the opposite direction as the conveying wheel to agitate the pills and prevent bridging across the top surface thereof. An insert is provided at the opening of the discharge chute to direct the dislodged pills into a receiving vial.

4018358, Apr 19, 1977

Sep 18, 1975

5/607782

Robert D. Johnson - West Union IA
John W. Havener - West Union IA
Franklin W. Reyner - West Union IA
Loren K. Whitver - West Union IA
Norman W. Kilburn - West Union IA
Jack M. Hoglan - Independence IA

Pharmaceutical Innovators, Ltd. - West Union IA

B65B 5720

221 7

Different types of pills are stored in separate cassettes which may be operated by a dispensing machine for dispensing from the cassette into a vial. The dispensing machine provides a vacuum supply and a drive for operating a wheel in the cassette having a series of openings annularly arranged to pick up pills in the bottom of the cassette and carry them to a discharge opening under the vacuum pressure. A separator wall extending across the line of travel of the holes carrying pills deflects the pills through the discharge opening. A gauge is adjustable to overlie a portion of the openings in the wheel to vary the opening size so that only a single pill is carried by each opening. A photoelectric cell triggered by a fiber optic scanner at the discharge opening counts each pill. An agitator turns with the conveying wheel to break up pills bridged together. A switch is utilized to set an electronic counter to the number of pills desired.