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US 11,419,793 B2Granted
Pill sorting apparatus
OwnerRobert Stevensinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A novel apparatus for allocating pills from a pharmacy pill container into a weekly pill storage container is described herein. The pill sorting apparatus is made of two parts, each with seven holes. The pills are poured into the sorting apparatus, and the two parts are shifted so that the holes align, allowing the seven pills to drop into the weekly pill storage container.
Claims16
A sorting apparatus for pills, the sorting apparatus comprising:
- a trough with seven trough holes on a trough bottom of the trough, said trough having two trough side walls and an open trough top, wherein the trough holes are sized to hold the pills and the trough holes are spaced to align with boxes in a weekly pill container;
- and
- an outer sleeve with seven sleeve holes, wherein the outer sleeve is attached to the trough such that the outer sleeve slides along the trough bottom, and the seven sleeve holes are offset from the seven trough holes in a first position and aligned with the seven trough holes in a second position,
- wherein the two trough side walls include tabs on an outside of the two trough side walls and the outer sleeve includes two outer sleeve walls where the two outer sleeve walls include slots in the two outer sleeve walls, where the tabs slide in the slots.
1 more element
A method for sorting pills, the method comprising:
- drawing an outer sleeve in a first direction relative to a trough of an assembled pill sorter wherein the trough includes two trough side walls that include tabs on an outside of the two trough side walls and the outer sleeve includes two outer sleeve walls where the two outer sleeve walls include slots in the two outer sleeve walls, where the tabs slide in the slots when drawn;
- placing the pill sorter on top of a weekly pill container;
- pouring at least seven pills into the trough from a pharmacy container;
- manipulating the pill sorter until at least one pill in the trough falls into at least one trough hole located in a bottom of the trough;
- drawing the outer sleeve in a second direction, dropping the pills into the weekly pill container;
- and
- separating the pill sorter from the weekly pill container.
4 more elements
A sorting system for pills, the sorting comprising:
- a weekly pill container with seven boxes;
- and
- a pill sorter, the pill sorter comprising:
- a trough with seven trough holes on a trough bottom of the trough, said trough having two trough side walls and an open trough top, wherein the trough holes are sized to hold the pills and the trough holes are spaced to align with the seven boxes in the weekly pill container;
- and
- an outer sleeve with seven sleeve holes, wherein the outer sleeve is attached to the trough such that the outer sleeve slides along the trough bottom, and the seven sleeve holes are offset from the seven trough holes in a first position and aligned with the seven trough holes in a second position,
- wherein the two trough side walls include tabs on an outside of the two trough side walls and the outer sleeve includes two outer sleeve walls where the two outer sleeve walls include slots in the two outer sleeve walls, where the tabs slide in the slots.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.