PROGRAMMED DISPENSER

• US 3,744,867 A
• Filed: 04/03/1972
• Issued: 07/10/1973
• Est. Priority Date: 04/03/1972
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Joseph D. Shaw
• Original Assignee: Joseph D. Shaw
• Inventors: Shaw, Joseph D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tollberg, Stanley H.
• Application Number:
  US05/240,869
• Time in Patent Office: 463 Days
• Field of Search: 221/4,13,69,87,89 312/209,234,35,234.2,234.5 116/121
• US Class Current: 312/234
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/04 Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine, e.g. programmed dispensers

Abstract

A programmed dispenser particularly useful for the dispensation of prescribed pharmaceuticals to hospital patients and having a cabinet containing individually coded drawers for the pharmaceuticals and an indexed selector means adapted to periodically receive the cabinet to thereby open certain drawers into a dispensing position.

Claims

1. In combination with a generally rectangular cabinet having a number of compartments therein for slidably receiving a plurality of drawers which includes:

a. a back wall for each drawer having a lateral row of spaced apart coding means formed thereon, b. a decoding case having an open front and adapted to slidably receive the cabinet therethrough, c. a selector mounted for intermittent lateral movement In the rear of the case, d. a plurality of cooperative coding means on one major face of the selector and each said means positioned for association with a row of coding means on a drawer, e. indexing means between the case and the selector controlling the lateral advancement of the selector in the case, f. and means removably mounted in predetermined positions along the coding means on each drawer and associated with the cooperative coding means on the selector to slide the associated drawer out of the cabinet into an opened dispensing position when the cabinet is slid into the case.

2. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the spaced apart coding means is a row of spaced apart holes formed in said back wall of each drawer and the cooperative coding means are pins mounted on the selector and each adapted to normally pass through the holes in a drawer.

3. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the means removably mounted in the coding means on a drawer is a removable plug.

4. In dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the means removably mounted in the coding means on a drawer is a removable pin.

5. In a dispensing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the spaced apart coding means on each drawer is a plurality of longitudinally spaced, lateral rows, each row being spaced at different distances from a lateral edge of the back wall of each drawer, and the selector is mounted for alternating the cooperative coding means thereon with the rows of coding means on each drawer.

6. In a dispensing apparatus:

a. a cabinet containing a number of compartments, b. a plurality of dispensing units each slidably disposed in a compartment, c. a lateral wall for each unit having a lateral row of spaced apart coding means formed thereon, d. a decoding case adapted to slidably receive the cabinet, e. a selector mounted for intermittent lateral movement in the case, f. a plurality of cooperative coding means on a major face of the selector facing the cabinet and each said means positioned for association with a row of coding means on the lateral wall of a unit, and g. means removably mounted in predetermined positions along the coding means on each lateral wall and associated with a cooperative coding means on the selector to move selected units from the compartments when the cabinet is slid into the case.

7. The dispensing apparatus set forth in claim 6 wherein the coding means on the selector are pins extending uniform distances from the major face of said selector, and the means removably mounted in predetermined positions along the coding means on each lateral wall of each unit are plugs having different lengths.