INTELLIGENT MEDICINE DISPENSER

• US 20160107820A1
• Filed: 10/16/2014
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: RxCap Inc.
• Original Assignee: Dosesmart, Inc.
• Inventors: MACVITTIE, David, Kpetigo, Hale, Furlotti, Michael A.
• Granted Patent: US 10,730,687 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2200/30 Compliance analysis for taking medication
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0472 of the count-down type, i.e. counting down a predetermined interval after each reset
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 83/0454 the whole forming a circular container with rotating parts B65D83/0463 takes precedence

Abstract

An article dispensing apparatus includes a carousel and an upper casing with a dispensing face including a dispensing orifice through which the articles are dispensed. The carousel includes plural holding sections for holding the articles to be dispensed and is rotationally movable. A controller controls application of a force to cause the carousel to rotate relative to the dispensing face when an instruction to dispense an article is received. When the carousel is moved so that one of its holding sections having an article therein is aligned with the dispensing orifice, the article is allowed to be dispensed therethrough. A locking mechanism selectively engages the carousel to prevent any relative movement of the carousel when the article dispensing unit is not mounted on the main housing and disengages from the carousel to allow intended relative movement when the article dispensing unit is mounted on the main housing.

Claims

1. A dispensing apparatus comprising:

a main housing having a mounting section;

an article dispensing unit mounted in the mounting section of the main housing, the article dispensing unit including a carousel and a stationary casing having a dispensing face including a dispensing orifice through which the articles are dispensed, the carousel including plural holding sections for holding the articles to be dispensed and being rotationally movable relative to the main housing and the dispensing face; and

a locking mechanism configured to selectively lock the carousel from movement relative to the dispensing face,

wherein the locking mechanism engages the carousel to prevent movement of the carousel relative to the dispensing face when the article dispensing unit is not mounted on the main housing and disengages from the carousel to allow intended relative movement when the article dispensing unit is mounted on the main housing.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carousel includes at least one radial groove on its periphery and the locking mechanism includes a projection to engage with the at least one radial groove when the article dispensing unit is not mounted on the main housing.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the locking mechanism is held in the stationary casing and is movable between a locking position and an unlocking position relative to the stationary casing.

4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the locking mechanism is biased to the locking position.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the main housing includes a member for engaging the locking member and moving the locking member from a locking position to an unlocking position as the article dispensing unit is mounted in the mounting section of the main housing.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an actuating unit configured to apply a force to the carousel to cause the carousel to move rotationally relative to the main housing and the dispensing face;

a controller for controlling the actuating unit to apply the force to the carousel to move the carousel relatively to the dispensing face so that one of the holding sections that has an article therein is aligned with the dispensing orifice to allow the article to be dispensed through the dispensing orifice; and

a detector configured to detect when an article is within one of the holding sections aligned with the dispensing orifice and when the article is no longer within the one of the holding sections aligned with the dispensing orifice.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the detector includes an emitter and a receiver, with one of the emitter and the receiver being disposed near a center of the carousel and the other of the emitter and the receiver being disposed adjacent an outer periphery of the carousel and the dispensing orifice.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the article dispensing unit is removably mountable in the mounting section of the main housing.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a processor mounted on the article dispensing unit, the processor being configured to process and store information.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to communicate with a main control unit on the main housing through a physical connection when the article dispensing unit is mounted on the main housing.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor for sensing whether the carousel has been separated from the stationary casing.

12. A dispensing apparatus comprising:

a main housing having a mounting section including a central mounting hub, an actuating unit, and a main controller; and

an article dispensing unit mounted in the mounting section of the main housing, the article dispensing unit including a holding unit having plural holding sections for holding articles to be dispensed, a central recess for receiving the mounting hub, a processor configured to communicate with the main controller, and a dispensing orifice through which the articles are dispensed, wherein

the actuating unit is configured to manipulate the article dispensing unit to allow one of the articles to be dispensed from the dispensing orifice at a time,

the main controller is configured to control the actuating unit to manipulate the dispensing unit to allow the article to be dispensed through the dispensing orifice, and

the processor communicates with the main processor through communication lines provided in the central mounting hub.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the communication lines include at least one pin extending from the central mounting hub, the processor is disposed in the central recess and includes a contact surface that is exposed in the central recess, and the contact surface contacts the at least one pin when the article dispensing unit is mounted in the mounting section of the main housing.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the at least one pin is biased in an axial direction of the central hub.

15. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the article dispensing unit is comprised of the holding unit, a casing in which the dispensing orifice is provided, and a connector for securing the holding unit to the casing, the connector including a sensor member that contacts the processor when the holding unit is secured to the casing and does not contact the processor when the holding unit is disassembled from the casing.

16. The apparatus according to claim 15, wherein when the sensor member contacts the processor, the processor determines that the holding unit is secured to the casing and the article dispensing unit is not disassembled.

17. An article dispensing unit, comprising:

a carousel including plural holding sections for holding articles to be dispensed;

a stationary casing having a dispensing face including a dispensing orifice through which the articles are dispensed;

a connector for securing the carousel to the stationary casing and configured to allow the carousel to be rotationally movable relative to the stationary casing; and

a sensor for sensing whether the connector has been released and the carousel has been separated from the stationary casing.

18. The dispensing unit according to claim 17, wherein the sensor includes a switch that breaks contact when a distance between the carousel and the stationary casing is more than a predetermined distance.

19. The dispensing unit according to claim 17, further comprising a processor, wherein the connector includes a sensor member that contacts the processor when the carousel is secured to the stationary casing and does not contact the processor when the carousel is disassembled from the stationary casing, the sensor being comprised of the processor and the sensor member.

20. The dispensing unit according to claim 19, wherein when the sensor member contacts the processor, the processor determines that the carousel is secured to the stationary casing and the article dispensing unit is not disassembled.