Personal medication dispenser

• US 7,213,721 B2
• Filed: 02/17/2006
• Issued: 05/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Antioch Holdings Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Antioch Holdings Incorporated
• Inventors: Dean, Chadwick E., Abdulhay, Gazi
• Primary Examiner(s): Crawford; Gene O.
• Assistant Examiner(s): COLLINS, MICHAEL
• Application Number:
  US11/356,764
• Publication Number:
  US 20060201961A1
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 221/15, 221/16, 221/243
• US Class Current: 221/3
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/10 two or more magazines having a common delivery chute
• 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 11/70 in which the articles are formed in the apparatus from components, blanks, or material constituents
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 13/025 wherein the volume is determined during delivery
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00

Abstract

An automated personal pill dispenser has one or more chambers for holding a supply of pills. A feed mechanism is associated with each chamber and is selectively operable to dispense an incremental number of pills from each respective chamber. A programmable controller is coupled to control and operate the feed mechanism. The controller has a timer, a memory and an input means and is programmably operable by the user and/or by remote input from a smart card, PDA or various networks such as one having access to data from a pharmacy. The programming presets at least one of a time and a number of pills to be dispensed from each chamber. The controller operates an alarm to alert the user and operates the feed mechanism to dispense pills at the preset time and number, also detecting the user'"'"'s access to obtain the dispensed pills.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing a dose of pill medication, comprising:

at least one chamber for holding a supply of like, loose and randomly oriented pills, and including a bottom portion having a chamber opening sized for accepting a randomly oriented pill;

a feed mechanism associated with said chamber and operable selectively to incrementally feed a number of said randomly oriented pills from said chamber opening; and

a programmable controller coupled to control said feed mechanism, wherein said controller has a timer, a memory and an input means, wherein said controller is operable programmably to preset at least one of a time and a number of pills to be dispensed from each said chamber, and to operate said feed mechanism to feed pills from each said chamber at said preset time and number.

2. The pill dispenser of claim 1, further comprising an alarm coupled to said controller, operable to alert a user when said feed mechanism is operated to feed said pills.

3. The pill dispenser of claim 1, further comprising a user-operated element for extracting pills that are produced by said feed mechanism, and further comprising a sensor coupled to said controller, operable to signal said controller when said user has operated user-operated element.

4. The pill dispenser of claim 3, further comprising an alarm coupled to said controller, operable to alert a user when said feed mechanism is operated to feed said pills, and wherein said alarm is operated at least one of continuously and intermittently until said user-operated element has been operated.

5. The pill dispenser of claim 1, wherein said controller is operable to maintain a schedule dispensing of pills from each said chamber according to at least one of a predetermined dosage amount and time, and wherein said dosages and times for of said chamber can involve different frequencies, start times and special warnings.

6. The pill dispenser of claim 1, further comprising an interface coupled to said controller for programming data including at least one of a pill identity, a user identity, a dosage schedule and a special instruction.

7. The pill dispenser of claim 6, wherein said controller is programmable from user-operable switches under prompting from a controller-operable display panel.

8. The pill dispenser of claim 7, wherein said controller program is subject to override by input from said user-operable switches, so as to dispense a pill from said at least one chamber, apart from a present program in said controller.

9. The pill dispenser of claim 8, wherein said controller is operable to monitor at least one of a count of pills remaining in said at least one chamber and a count of pills dispensed to said user, and to produce at least one report based thereon.

10. The pill dispenser of claim 9, wherein said report includes a warning to said user indicating impending exhaustion of a supply in said at least one chamber.

11. The pill dispenser of claim 8, wherein pills dispensed by said controller under said override are counted by said controller in determining at least one of a count of pills remaining in said at least one chamber and a count of pills dispensed to said user.

12. The pill dispenser of claim 1, wherein said controller is programmable by access to data from at least one of a pharmacy, a smartcard reader, a programmable digital assistant (PDA) and a network.

13. The pill dispenser of claim 1, wherein said at least one chamber includes multiple chambers to accommodate pills of different sizes.

14. A pill dispenser for dispensing a dose of pill medication, comprising:

at least one chamber holding a supply of like, loose and randomly oriented pills in bulk, and including a bottom portion having a chamber opening sized for accepting a randomly oriented pill;

programmable means for producing a dose signal and a timing signal; and

a dispensing system responsive to said programmable means for selectively and incrementally dispensing from said at least one chamber said dose determined by said dose signal at a time determined by said timing signal.

15. The pill dispenser as in claim 14, wherein said programmable means are operable for maintaining a schedule for dispensing pills from said at least one chamber according to at least one of a predetermined dosage amount and time, said producing a dose signal and a timing signal are produced responsive to said schedule.

16. A pill dispenser, comprising:

at least one chamber for holding a supply of pills;

a feed mechanism associated with said at least one chamber operable selectively to feed an incremental number of pills from each said at least one chamber;

a programmable controller coupled to control said feed mechanism, wherein said controller has a timer, a memory and an input means, wherein said controller is operable programmably to preset at least one of a time and a number of pills to be dispensed from said at least one chamber and to operate said feed mechanism to feed pills from said chamber at said preset time and number; and

an interface coupled to said controller for programming data including at least one of a pill identity, a user identity, a dosage schedule and a special instruction, and wherein each of said data can be different for said at least one chamber.

17. A pill dispenser for dispensing a dose of pill medication, comprising:

at least one chamber holding a supply of like, loose and randomly oriented pills in bulk and having a bottom portion with a chamber opening sized for accepting a randomly oriented pill;

a feed mechanism associated with said at least one chamber operable selectively to downwardly dispense a number of said randomly oriented pills from said chamber opening; and

a programmable controller coupled to control said feed mechanism, wherein said controller has a timer, a memory and an input means, wherein said controller is operable programmably to preset at least one of a time and a number of pills to be dispensed from said at least one chamber, and to operate said feed mechanism to feed pills from said at least one chamber at said preset time and number.

18. An apparatus for dispensing medication comprising:

a chamber shaped to hold a supply of loose, like and randomly-oriented pills and having an opening sized to accept at least one of the pills;

a device that dispenses the pills from the chamber through the opening, the mechanism being adapted to dispense the pills to a receptacle area one pill at a time; and

a controller that is programmable to direct the mechanism to dispense a pre-selected number of the pills at a pre-selected time of day or time interval.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the at least one chamber includes a funnel-shaped portion.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the funnel-shaped portion is removable from the chamber.