Patents by Inventor Nicholas J. Sleep

Nicholas J. Sleep has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20030176942
    Abstract: An automated packaging line has capability of filling large and small orders, of one or more bottles, each bottle filled with a respective one of a plurality of different pharmaceutical tablets, in a single run. Structure is provided for filling orders for an individual consumer, for a pharmacist, and for a wholesaler, simultaneously, using differently sized bottles, and providing customized labels for each bottle. A flexible filler station simultaneously fills plural bottles with respective tablets. An intelligent data carrying puck carries each bottle, including therein information describing, among others, the bottle, the customer, the order, the pharmaceutical, the bottle size and label information. Puck handling stations (PHS) are dispersed throughout the line, to verify a number of operations implemented on the line and to reject a puck at the earliest opportunity, while permitting subsequent rejection by a subsequent PHS.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 16, 2002
    Publication date: September 18, 2003
    Applicant: MERCK & CO., INC.
    Inventors: Nicholas J. Sleep, Andrew H. Proudfoot, Stephen Owen, Adrian Neil Bargh, Michael Kennedy
  • Patent number: 6522945
    Abstract: An automated packaging line has capability of filling large and small orders, of one or more bottles, each bottle filled with a respective one of a plurality of different pharmaceutical tablets, in a single run. Structure is provided for filling orders for an individual consumer, for a pharmacist, and for a wholesaler, simultaneously, using differently sized bottles, and providing customized labels for each bottle. A flexible filler station simultaneously fills plural bottles with respective tablets. An intelligent data carrying puck carries each bottle, including therein information describing, among others, the bottle, the customer, the order, the pharmaceutical, the bottle size and label information. Puck handling stations (PHS) are dispersed throughout the line, to verify a number of operations implemented on the line and to reject a puck at the earliest opportunity, while permitting subsequent rejection by a subsequent PHS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Date of Patent: February 18, 2003
    Assignee: Merck & Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas J. Sleep, Andrew H. Proudfoot, Stephen Owen, Adrian Neil Bargh, Michael Kennedy
  • Publication number: 20020099467
    Abstract: An automated packaging line has capability of filling large and small orders, of one or more bottles, each bottle filled with a respective one of a plurality of different pharmaceutical tablets, in a single run. Structure is provided for filling orders for an individual consumer, for a pharmacist, and for a wholesaler, simultaneously, using differently sized bottles, and providing customized labels for each bottle. A flexible filler station simultaneously fills plural bottles with respective tablets. An intelligent data carrying puck carries each bottle, including therein information describing, among others, the bottle, the customer, the order, the pharmaceutical, the bottle size and label information. Puck handling stations (PHS) are dispersed throughout the line, to verify a number of operations implemented on the line and to reject a puck at the earliest opportunity, while permitting subsequent rejection by a subsequent PHS.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 12, 2001
    Publication date: July 25, 2002
    Applicant: MERCK & CO., INC.
    Inventors: Nicholas J. Sleep, Andrew H. Proudfoot, Stephen Owen, Adrian Neil Bargh, Michael Kennedy
  • Patent number: 6317648
    Abstract: An automated packaging line for filling large and small orders, of one or more bottles, each bottle filled with a respective one of a plurality of different pharmaceutical tablets, in a single run. An intelligent data carrying puck carries each bottle, including therein information describing, among others, the bottle, the customer, the order, the pharmaceutical, the bottle size and label information. Puck handling stations (PHS) are dispersed throughout the line, to verify a number of operations implemented on the line and to reject a puck at the earliest opportunity, while permitting subsequent rejection by a subsequent PHS. The PHS units are substantially identical, with DIP switch modifying operation of the controlling software thereof to implement different features at different points on the line.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 1997
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2001
    Assignee: Merck & Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Nicholas J. Sleep, Andrew H. Proudfoot, Stephen Owen, Adrian Neil Bargh, Michael Kennedy