US Patent 8397946 Cartridge based dispenser system

A cartridge based dispensing system includes a cartridge having a rotatable compartmentalized receptacle for supporting a plurality of items in separate compartments along with a housing for removably supporting the cartridge. The housing includes an opening for enabling dispensing of an item from an aligned separate compartment and a mechanism is provided for rotating the receptacle within the cartridge in order to align compartments with the housing opening. The mechanism may be configured for causing different discrete angular rotations of the receptacle corresponding to compartment size.