A system enables management of dispensable units by supporting functions such as retrieval, scheduled distribution, analysis, and notifications. To this end, a dispensable retrieval mechanism may be programmed to carry out blind retrievals of dispensable units using a retrieval strategy with a predetermined sequence of retrieval attempts (e.g., fixed or varying two-dimensional retrieval patterns), which may be open loop or closed loop. Techniques may also include the identification of dispensable units through optical sensors and weight measurement devices that can detect, e.g., a texture, a shape, and a size of dispensable units. Such identification can be used to program retrieval attempts by a retrieval robot and in the formulation of the retrieval pattern. Additionally, networked notification systems for dispensable units can be used for updating rules or schedules related to the dispensable units, or alerting users and remote resources of any potential misuse or hazards of the dispensable units.

A bottle system is presented including a bottle portion having electronics including a display, an accelerometer, an acoustic sensor, and a processor, the bottle portion configured to hold a quantity of pills, and a cap portion joinable to the bottle portion. The accelerometer and processor are configured to determine an acceleration of shaking of the bottle portion and cap portion with the quantity of pills contained therein, and further wherein the acoustic sensor, accelerometer, and processor are configured to determine a frequency spectrum of an acoustic signal obtained when the bottle portion and cap portion are shaken and determine an estimated quantity of pills based on the frequency spectrum.

A bottle system is presented including a bottle portion having electronics including a display, an accelerometer, an acoustic sensor, and a processor, the bottle portion configured to hold a quantity of pills, and a cap portion joinable to the bottle portion. The accelerometer and processor are configured to determine an acceleration of shaking of the bottle portion and cap portion with the quantity of pills contained therein, and further wherein the acoustic sensor, accelerometer, and processor are configured to determine a frequency spectrum of an acoustic signal obtained when the bottle portion and cap portion are shaken and determine an estimated quantity of pills based on the frequency spectrum.

A device for dispensing articles, the device comprising: a conveying member comprising n receptacles, of which nm are suitable for receiving articles, the receptacles being movable between an article receiving position and an article dispensing position; a sensor for sensing the presence of articles in the receptacles, the sensor positioned between the receiving position and the dispensing position; wherein m of said receptacles is a blank receptacle which is unable to receive an article and the sensor is unable to distinguish an empty receptacle from a blank receptacle such that the maximum number of detectable articles conveyed once n receptacles have passed the sensor is nm, where m is at least 1.

A device for dispensing articles, the device comprising: a conveying member comprising n receptacles, of which nm are suitable for receiving articles, the receptacles being movable between an article receiving position and an article dispensing position; a sensor for sensing the presence of articles in the receptacles, the sensor positioned between the receiving position and the dispensing position; wherein m of said receptacles is a blank receptacle which is unable to receive an article and the sensor is unable to distinguish an empty receptacle from a blank receptacle such that the maximum number of detectable articles conveyed once n receptacles have passed the sensor is nm, where m is at least 1.

A vibratory tablet feeder includes a reservoir for storing a supply of tablets with a pathway that leads to an exit opening for discharging tablets therefrom. Vibration of the reservoir moves tablets as a flow of tablets along the pathway to the exit opening. The feeder can include a wiper spaced vertically from the pathway. The wiper has a wiping surface that is configured to guide at least one vertically-bunched tablet in the flow of tablets away from the exit opening for return to the reservoir in order to provide singulated flow of tablets at the exit opening. A portion of the pathway may define a chamfered edge that is configured to guide at least one horizontally-bunched tablet in the flow of tablets away from the exit opening for return to the reservoir in order to provide singulated flow of tablets at the exit opening.

A vibratory tablet feeder includes a reservoir for storing a supply of tablets with a pathway that leads to an exit opening for discharging tablets therefrom. Vibration of the reservoir moves tablets as a flow of tablets along the pathway to the exit opening. The feeder can include a wiper spaced vertically from the pathway. The wiper has a wiping surface that is configured to guide at least one vertically-bunched tablet in the flow of tablets away from the exit opening for return to the reservoir in order to provide singulated flow of tablets at the exit opening. A portion of the pathway may define a chamfered edge that is configured to guide at least one horizontally-bunched tablet in the flow of tablets away from the exit opening for return to the reservoir in order to provide singulated flow of tablets at the exit opening.

Provided is a measuring device including: a tablet measuring part that includes a plurality of housing parts that are each configured to house one tablet; a measuring-number selecting part that enables to select a measuring number of tablets by selecting a number of housing parts available for housing tablets out of the plurality of the housing parts; and a measuring-number fixing part that locks the measuring number selecting part to prevent the measuring number selected by the measuring-number selecting part from being changed.

Provided is a measuring device including: a tablet measuring part that includes a plurality of housing parts that are each configured to house one tablet; a measuring-number selecting part that enables to select a measuring number of tablets by selecting a number of housing parts available for housing tablets out of the plurality of the housing parts; and a measuring-number fixing part that locks the measuring number selecting part to prevent the measuring number selected by the measuring-number selecting part from being changed.

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.