Importance

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Abstract

A medication storing and dispensing cassette is comprised of a housing defining at least a portion of a bulk storage chamber for storing a medication, defining at least a portion of a pick-up area, and defining at least a portion of a discharge chute sized to temporarily store a quantity of the medication. A divider wall is positioned between the bulk storage chamber and the pick-up area. A gate is positioned to control an exit end of the discharge chute. A rotatable conveying wheel having openings proximate to the periphery thereof is positioned such that a portion of the wheel is in communication with the pick-up area while another portion of the wheel is adjacent to an entrance end of the discharge chute. A calibration arm is positioned adjacent the openings of the rotatable wheel. A baffle is positioned to block those openings in that portion of the rotatable wheel adjacent to the discharge chute. An air agitation system is provided so that pills may be moved from the bulk storage chamber to the pick-up area. Methods are also disclosed in which air agitation is used to move pills from the bulk storage chamber to the pick-up area, for automatically setting the position of the calibration arm and for automatically learning the setting for the calibration arm for an unclassified medication. A counter is also disclosed for use with the cassette. The counter is comprised of a loader for receiving a cassette, a sensor for sensing whether a cassette is in the loader, means for moving the loader into an operative position, a vacuum unit for applying a vacuum to the cassette, a drive unit for driving a driven portion of the cassette and a counter for counting medication within a portion of the cassette. Methods of operating the counter are also disclosed.

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First Claim