System and method for determining the orientation of a unit dose package
AssigneeAesynt Incorporated
InventorsPatrick Joseph Braun, James Anderson Smith
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system are provided for determining an orientation of a unit dose package, such as by determining whether the cavity that houses the medication is facing upwards or downwards. As a result of the determination of the orientation of the unit dose package, a method and system may also be provided for selectively picking a unit dose package, thereby enabling automated restocking of singulated unit dose packages by taking into account the orientation of the unit dose packages.
Claims15
A method of determining an orientation of a unit dose package, the method comprising:
- supporting a unit dose package upon a support surface, wherein the unit dose package (a) defines a cavity having a predefined pattern and an opening, (b) comprises a medication disposed in the cavity, (c) comprises a substantially opaque support member sealed to the cavity covering the opening, and (d) is configured to (i) redirect the predefined pattern of the cavity indicating that the unit dose package has a predetermined orientation in an instance in which the opaque support member is in contact with the support surface and (ii) not redirect the predefined pattern of the cavity indicating that the unit dose package has a predetermined orientation in an instance in which the cavity is in contact with the support surface;
- directing light at the unit dose package upon the support surface, wherein directing light comprises directing light along a path that defines an acute angle of less than a predefined threshold with respect to the support surface;
- detecting the light following redirection by the unit dose package to permit the orientation of the unit dose package to be determined based at least in part upon the presence or absence of a predefined pattern created by the light following redirection by the unit dose package, wherein detecting the light comprises capturing an image;
- and
- determining whether the image comprises a predefined pattern indicating that the unit dose package has a predetermined orientation.
A system for determining an orientation of a unit dose package, the system comprising:
- a support surface configured to support a unit dose package, wherein the unit dose package (a) defines a cavity having a predefined pattern and an opening, (b) comprises a medication disposed in the cavity, (c) comprises a substantially opaque support member sealed to the cavity covering the opening, and (d) is configured to (i) redirect the predefined pattern of the cavity indicating that the unit dose package has a predetermined orientation in an instance in which the opaque support member is in contact with the support surface and (ii) not redirect the predefined pattern of the cavity indicating that the unit dose package has a predetermined orientation in an instance in which the cavity is in contact with the support surface;
- a light source configured to direct light at the unit dose package, wherein the light source is configured to direct the light along a path that defines an acute angle of less than a predefined threshold with respect to the support surface;
- and
- a camera configured to (a) detect the light following redirection by the unit dose package and (b) capture an image formed by the light following redirection by the unit dose package, wherein from the image it is determinable that the unit dose package has a predetermined orientation based at least in part upon the presence or absence of a predefined pattern in the image.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.