Pill dispensing apparatus
First Claim
1. A pill dispenser comprising:
- a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a central hub, each of said plurality of pill chambers including a bottom portion, and a mechanism that withdraws a pill from each of said bottom portions by grasping said pill from above, and delivers said pill to an exit port.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An automated pill dispenser includes a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a hub. The hub includes a rotatable plate capable of rotating to a selected pill chamber and removing a pill therefrom. A vacuum tip including a bellows extends through an access opening formed within the rotatable plate to withdraw a pill from a bottom portion of the selected pill chamber by grasping the pill from above. A reflective bar code is disposed beneath the rotatable plate and detectable through an opening through the plate to indicate plate position relative to the pill chambers. A computer enables a user to programmably operable the pill dispenser and select the pill chamber, dosage amount and time.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A pill dispenser comprising:
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a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a central hub, each of said plurality of pill chambers including a bottom portion, and a mechanism that withdraws a pill from each of said bottom portions by grasping said pill from above, and delivers said pill to an exit port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method for dispensing pills from a pill dispenser comprising:
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providing a pill dispenser with a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a central hub, each pill chamber having a subjacent portion disposed below a retrieval mechanism;
selecting a selected pill chamber of said plurality of pill chambers;
rotating said retrieval mechanism to position said retrieval mechanism over said subjacent portion of said selected pill chamber;
withdrawing a pill from said subjacent portion of said selected pill chamber using said retrieval mechanism;
further rotating said plate to position said pill over a release tray; and
releasing said pill into said release tray. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A method for dispensing pills from a pill dispenser comprising:
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providing a pill dispenser with a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a central hub, each pill chamber having a subjacent portion disposed below a portion of said central hub;
selecting a selected pill chamber of said plurality of pill chambers;
rotating a plate with an access opening extending therethrough, to position said access opening over said subjacent portion of said selected pill chamber;
withdrawing a pill from said subjacent portion of said selected pill chamber through said access opening; and
releasing said pill into a release tray.
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Specification