Smart cap system
First Claim
1. A cap for use with a bottle containing a plurality of pills comprising:
- a casing having a pill dispensing opening, the casing being configured to securely attach to the bottle; and
a pill dispensing track assembly that includes an adjustable pill ramp for delivering pills to the pill dispensing opening, wherein the adjustable pill ramp is adjustable along a longitudinal direction which is a direction in which each pill travels from the bottle to the pill dispensing opening, wherein the adjustable pill ramp is configured to move between a plurality of different pill dispensing positions by moving the adjustable pill ramp along the longitudinal direction, wherein the pill dispensing position of the adjustable pill ramp dictates and defines a size of pills that can travel along the pill ramp and be dispensed through the pill dispensing opening, wherein at least a portion of the adjustable ramp comprises a sloped floor on which the pills travel in a downward direction toward the dispensing outlet and a ceiling spaced from the floor for allowing the pills to travel therebetween, wherein a distance between the floor and the ceiling is variable due to movement of the adjustable pill ramp in the longitudinal direction and the distance is set such that the pills are presorted as the pills travel along the pill ramp such that the pills only travel in series along the sloped floor to the dispensing outlet.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A medicine container cap for use with a bottle containing a plurality of pills includes a casing having a pill dispensing opening. A pill dispensing track assembly is removably coupled to the casing and includes a pill ramp for delivering pills to the pill dispensing opening and an insert that includes a pill dispenser slot that receives pills from the pill ramp and is open to the pill dispensing opening. The insert is detachably from the pill ramp and is insertable through an opening in the casing for being attached to the pill ramp. The pill ramp includes an adjustable member that modifies a characteristic of the pill ramp based on at least one characteristic of the insert that is selected, inserted through the opening in the casing and coupled to the pill ramp.
146 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A cap for use with a bottle containing a plurality of pills comprising:
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a casing having a pill dispensing opening, the casing being configured to securely attach to the bottle; and a pill dispensing track assembly that includes an adjustable pill ramp for delivering pills to the pill dispensing opening, wherein the adjustable pill ramp is adjustable along a longitudinal direction which is a direction in which each pill travels from the bottle to the pill dispensing opening, wherein the adjustable pill ramp is configured to move between a plurality of different pill dispensing positions by moving the adjustable pill ramp along the longitudinal direction, wherein the pill dispensing position of the adjustable pill ramp dictates and defines a size of pills that can travel along the pill ramp and be dispensed through the pill dispensing opening, wherein at least a portion of the adjustable ramp comprises a sloped floor on which the pills travel in a downward direction toward the dispensing outlet and a ceiling spaced from the floor for allowing the pills to travel therebetween, wherein a distance between the floor and the ceiling is variable due to movement of the adjustable pill ramp in the longitudinal direction and the distance is set such that the pills are presorted as the pills travel along the pill ramp such that the pills only travel in series along the sloped floor to the dispensing outlet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A cap for use with a bottle containing a plurality of pills comprising:
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a casing configured to securely attach to the bottle and represent a cap structure that closes off the bottle; a pill dispensing track assembly that is removably coupled to the casing and includes an adjustable pill ramp for delivering pills to a pill dispenser slot from which the pills are dispensed to a user, wherein in a pill dispensing position, the pill ramp is configured such that the pills are ordered and slide along the pill ramp to the pill dispenser slot and the pills enter and are held within the pill dispensing slot; and a pill dispenser mechanism that is arranged relative to the pill dispenser slot and configured such that only one pill is dispensed at a time from the pill dispenser slot, wherein the pill dispenser mechanism includes a moveable plunger member which, when in a first position, allows a pill to be released into a dispensing location of the pill dispensing slot, the pill dispensing slot being defined by first and second opposing side walls, the first side wall defining an opening through which the plunger member travels into the pill dispensing slot, and, when in a second position, the moveable plunger member at least partially occupies the pill dispensing slot and prevents a pill from being released. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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24. A dispenser for dispensing a plurality of articles comprising:
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a casing configured to securely attach to an open end of a receptacle holding the plurality of articles; a first mechanism that is coupled to the casing and is configured to receive the plurality of articles within the receptacle and position the plurality of articles such that the plurality of articles travel to a dispensing slot in an orderly manner; a second mechanism that is arranged relative to the dispensing slot and configured such that only one article can be dispensed at a time from the dispensing slot; and a door member coupled to the casing and movable between a closed position and a dispensing position in which the dispensing slot is open and only one article is released at a time as a result of the second mechanism which controls article dispensing from the dispensing slot and is configured such that a next-in-line article assumes a dispensing position in the dispensing slot only when the one article is dispensed and the door member moves back towards the closed position. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method for dispensing pills from a pill dispenser comprising the step of:
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entering a dispensing schedule into memory of a processor associated with the pill dispenser, the pill dispenser further including a timer and the processor is configured to execute the dispensing schedule that includes predefined dispensing conditions for dispensing one pill at a time from the container only when the predefined dispensing conditions are satisfied; causing the pills to be received within a first mechanism that is part of a cap and is configured to contact and position the pills such that the pills travel to a pill dispensing slot in a pre-ordered manner; and opening a door member when the predefined dispensing conditions are satisfied, the door member being part of the cap to cause dispensing of only one pill at a time from the pill dispensing slot and detecting and recording each time one pill is dispensed from the pill dispensing slot, wherein the door member moves between a closed position in which the one pill in the pill dispensing slot is not accessible and an open position in which the one pill in the pill dispensing slot freely passes through an opening directly defined by the door member in the open position and is dispensed to a user, wherein the door member is operatively coupled to a biased plunger member, that is biased in a direction toward the pill dispensing slot, such that movement of the door member is translated into movement of the biased plunger between a first position in which the biased plunger member allows one pill to be released into a pill dispensing location of the pill dispensing slot and a second position in which the biased plunger member at least partially occupies the pill dispensing slot and prevents a next in line pill from being released to the pill dispensing location.
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Specification