MEDICAMENTS CONTAINER HAVING ENCRYPTED INFORMATION

• US 20110125315A1
• Filed: 11/29/2010
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Original Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Inventors: Handfield, Michael, Laliberte, Helene
• Application Number:
  US12/955,805
• Publication Number:
  US 20110125315A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/231
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/03 for pills or tablets containers for pills or tablets with special dispensing means therefor B65D83/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/30 Printed labels
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/24 Rotary or oscillatory members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/38 in which the magazines are horizontal
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/44 in which magazines the articles are stored in bulk
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/62 in which the articles are stored in compartments in fixed receptacles
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A medicaments container having encrypted information is disclosed. The container includes a housing and a dispenser disposed in the housing and configured to dispense a medicament unit in response to a signal from an apparatus. The container further includes a memory disposed in the housing and configured to store encrypted information and control logic disposed within the housing and configured to decrypt at least a portion of the encrypted information.

Claims

1. A medicaments container, comprising:

a housing;

a dispenser disposed in the housing and configured to dispense a medicament unit in response to a signal from an apparatus;

a memory disposed in the housing and configured to store encrypted information; and

control logic disposed within the housing and configured to decrypt at least a portion of the encrypted information.

2. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein the encrypted information comprises data indicative of the medicament unit and/or a patient to whom the medicament unit is prescribed.

3. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein the encrypted information comprises microinstructions for operating the apparatus.

4. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein the encrypted information comprises quality control data.

5. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein the medicaments container further comprises a communication device configured to communicate a signal comprising the decrypted information to the apparatus.

6. The medicaments container of claim 5, wherein the communication device is a wireless communication device.

7. The medicaments container of claim 6, wherein the wireless communication device is one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, a smart card, infrared device, and a Bluetooth device.

8. The medicaments container of claim 6, wherein the apparatus comprises a reader device and configured to receive the electromagnetic signal from the wireless communication device.

9. The medicaments container of claim 8, wherein the reader device is one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, a smart card reader, an infrared reader, and a Bluetooth reader.

10. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a dispensing machine.

11. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the encrypted information is decrypted at the apparatus.

12. A medicaments container, comprising:

means for dispensing a medicament unit in response to a signal from an apparatus;

means for storing encrypted information, and

means for decrypting at least a portion of the encrypted information.

13. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein the encrypted information comprises data indicative of the medicament unit and/or a patient to whom the medicament unit is prescribed.

14. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein the encrypted information comprises microinstructions for operating the apparatus.

15. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein the encrypted information comprises quality control data.

16. The medicaments container system of claim 12 further comprises means for communicating a signal comprising the decrypted information to the apparatus.

17. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein the apparatus is a dispensing machine.

18. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein at least a portion of the encrypted information is decrypted at the apparatus.

19. A computer readable program embedded on a computer readable medium and executable by a processing device disposed within a medicaments container, comprising

computer readable code for storing encrypted information in a memory within the medicaments container;

and

computer readable code for decrypting at least a portion of the encrypted information.