Dispensing having a compartment for detecting and counting the dispensed objects especially adapted for dispensing medication and method of using the same
First Claim
1. A process of dispensing a plurality of units of medication, said units being contained within the hollow interior of a receptacle having a compartment disposed between and in communication within the hollow receptacle interior and the receptacle exterior and having means for counting the number of medication units in said compartment, said process comprising the steps of:
- maneuvering at least one medication unit from said hollow receptacle interior into said compartment;
preventing said at least one medication unit from passing from said compartment to the receptacle exterior as said at least one medication unit is being maneuvered from said hollow receptacle interior into said compartment;
counting the number of medication units in said compartment with said counting means;
preventing said at least one medication unit from passing between said compartment and the receptacle exterior as the number of medication units in said compartment is counted by said counting means;
permitting said at least one medication unit to pass from said compartment to the receptacle exterior after the number of medication units in said compartment has been counted by said counting means; and
preventing medication units from passing between the hollow receptacle interior and said compartment whenever said at least one medication unit is permitted to pass from said compartment to the receptacle exterior.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A medication dispenser that includes a receptacle having a counting compartment with a first opening into the receptacle and a second opening through which the pills are dispensed. To be dispensed, the pills must passthrough the counting compartment and are counted during such passage. Both openings are blocked or unblocked by logic built into or remotely connected to the dispenser, which logic determines whether the pills in the compartment should be dispensed. In one embodiment of the dispenser, the pills are counted by sensing the amount of light that is passed through the compartment. The logic counts the pills by subtracting the amount of light transmitted through the compartment when it contains pills from the amount of light transmitted through an empty compartment and comparing the result to the known size of the pills. In an alternative embodiment, the pills are weighed in the counted compartment and the weight is compared to the known weight of a single pill. In a second alternative embodiment, radiation emitted by the pills is counted with a radiation detector.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A process of dispensing a plurality of units of medication, said units being contained within the hollow interior of a receptacle having a compartment disposed between and in communication within the hollow receptacle interior and the receptacle exterior and having means for counting the number of medication units in said compartment, said process comprising the steps of:
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maneuvering at least one medication unit from said hollow receptacle interior into said compartment; preventing said at least one medication unit from passing from said compartment to the receptacle exterior as said at least one medication unit is being maneuvered from said hollow receptacle interior into said compartment; counting the number of medication units in said compartment with said counting means; preventing said at least one medication unit from passing between said compartment and the receptacle exterior as the number of medication units in said compartment is counted by said counting means; permitting said at least one medication unit to pass from said compartment to the receptacle exterior after the number of medication units in said compartment has been counted by said counting means; and preventing medication units from passing between the hollow receptacle interior and said compartment whenever said at least one medication unit is permitted to pass from said compartment to the receptacle exterior. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A process of dispensing a plurality of objects, said objects being contained within the hollow interior of a receptacle having a compartment disposed between and in communication with the hollow receptacle interior and the receptacle exterior and having means for counting the number of objects in said compartment, said process comprising the steps of:
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maneuvering at least one object from said hollow receptacle interior into said compartment; preventing said at least one object from passing from said compartment to the receptacle exterior as said at least one object is being maneuvered from said hollow receptacle interior into said compartment; counting the number of objects in said compartment with said counting means; preventing said at least one object from passing between said compartment and the receptacle exterior as the number of objects in said compartment is counted by said counting means; permitting said at least one object to pass from said compartment to the receptacle exterior after the number of objects in said compartment has been counted by said counting means; and preventing objects from passing between the hollow receptacle interior and said compartment whenever said at least one object is permitted to pass from said compartment to the receptacle exterior. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A medication dispenser for counting medication units dispensed comprising:
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a receptacle having a substantially hollow interior for storing a plurality of medication units to be dispensed; a counting compartment having a substantially hollow interior for holding medication units during counting; an internal opening between said receptacle and said counting compartment; an external opening between said counting compartment and an exterior of the dispenser through which medication units are dispensed; means for selectively communicating said internal opening with said hollow interior of said receptacle to allow passage of medication units into said counting compartment and for selectively communicating said external opening with the exterior of the dispenser to allow dispensing of medication units; and counting means for counting medication units during passage through said counting compartment, said counting means including means for determining the magnitude of a uniform characteristic of medication units in said counting compartment and comparing the magnitude of said uniform characteristic with the magnitude of said uniform characteristic of a single medication unit. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A dispenser for counting objects dispensed comprising:
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a receptacle having a substantially hollow interior for storing a plurality of objects to be dispensed; a counting compartment having a substantially hollow interior for holding objects during counting; an internal opening between said receptacle and said counting compartment; an eternal opening between said counting compartment and an exterior of the dispenser through which objects are dispensed; means for selectively communicating said internal opening with said hollow interior of said receptacle to allow passage of objects into said counting compartment and for selectively communicating said external opening with the exterior of the dispenser to allow dispensing of objects; and counting means for counting objects during passage through said counting compartment, said counting means including means for determining the magnitude of a uniform characteristic of objects in said counting compartment and comparing the magnitude of said uniform characteristic with the magnitude of said uniform characteristic of a single object. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification