US 11,731,176 B2
Refurbishing system for reusable child-safe containers
Daniel Anthony Estoque, Boulder, CO (US)
Assigned to MEDILOQ LLC, Boulder, CO (US)
Filed by Daniel Anthony Estoque, Boulder, CO (US)
Filed on Mar. 26, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/831,412.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/827,212, filed on Apr. 1, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0307845 A1, Oct. 1, 2020
Int. Cl. B08B 9/08 (2006.01); B65B 55/24 (2006.01); B67C 7/00 (2006.01); B65B 43/46 (2006.01); B08B 9/093 (2006.01); B08B 9/087 (2006.01); B25J 11/00 (2006.01); B65B 43/00 (2006.01)
CPC B08B 9/0826 (2013.01) [B08B 9/087 (2013.01); B08B 9/093 (2013.01); B25J 11/0085 (2013.01); B65B 43/46 (2013.01); B65B 55/24 (2013.01); B67C 7/00 (2013.01); B08B 2209/08 (2013.01); B65B 43/00 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A child-safe container refurbishment system, comprising:
a washing station operable to wash a cap and a container body;
an assembly station configured to install the cap on the container body to define a child-safe container after the cap and the container body have been washed by the washing station, wherein said assembly station comprises a container cap gripper and a separate container body gripper, wherein said container cap gripper is configured to be movable along a first axis and relative to said container body gripper and is further configured to rotate said container cap gripper about said first axis, wherein said container cap gripper is movable in a first direction along said first axis and towards said container body gripper, and is movable in a second direction along said first axis and away from said container body gripper, and wherein, to perform testing of a child-safe function of the child-safe container, the assembly station operates the container cap gripper attempting to move the cap relative to the container body in at least one dimension to assess securement of the cap to the container body wherein, during the testing, the assembly station performs programmed pushing, pulling, and rotating actions on the cap;
an output tray configured to receive child-safe containers from said assembly station; and
a robotic arm comprising a gripper and configured to move between said washing station, said assembly station, and a storage station, wherein said robotic arm is configured to separately transfer the cap and the container body or to transfer the cap and the container body together as the child-safe container that have been washed in said washing station to said assembly station for the testing of the child-safe function and from the assembly station to the storage station only when the child-safe container is successfully tested as being able to perform the child-safe function.