Method and control unit for medication administering devices
First Claim
1. A method for programming and controlling scheduled events for at least one object, comprising the steps of(a) providing a programming-information carrier encoded with predetermined programming information concerning said object,(b) providing a programming-information reader that is capable of reading said programming information from said programming-information carrier and converting it into appropriate programming-information signals,(c) providing a predetermined user-request protocol that includes a plurality of predetermined user requests, where presenting said programming-information carrier to said programming-information reader in a predetermined manner indicates a specific user request,(d) providing a processing unit that couples to said programming-information reader, said processing unit comprising a processor, a clock and a memory unit, and being programmed to(1) decode said programming information from said programming-information signals,(2) determine said user requests according to said user-request protocol,(3) selectively use said programming information to take predetermined control actions in response to said user requests, said control actions including programming said scheduled events and generating control signals accordingly,whereby a user can express different requests dynamically using said programming-information carrier, said scheduled events are programmed and controlled automatically without user manual input.
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Abstract
A method and control unit for medication administering devices. The first aspect of the present invention is automatic programming of the scheduled events. The second aspect is simple user-request expression. The third aspect is guided user operation. The forth aspect is automatic medication-storage mapping. The fifth aspect is no clock setting. Prior art systems typically require the user to figure out a loading-scheduling plan, follow the plan to load the medications, program the scheduled events and tell the system how the medications are stored (manual medication-storage mapping). The system of the present invention does the opposite: it figures out the loading-scheduling plan, guides the user to load the medications, program the scheduled events, and establishes medication-storage mapping, all automatically. The system of the present invention is extremely easy to use, and vision-impaired users can easily use it.
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Citations
7 Claims
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1. A method for programming and controlling scheduled events for at least one object, comprising the steps of
(a) providing a programming-information carrier encoded with predetermined programming information concerning said object, (b) providing a programming-information reader that is capable of reading said programming information from said programming-information carrier and converting it into appropriate programming-information signals, (c) providing a predetermined user-request protocol that includes a plurality of predetermined user requests, where presenting said programming-information carrier to said programming-information reader in a predetermined manner indicates a specific user request, (d) providing a processing unit that couples to said programming-information reader, said processing unit comprising a processor, a clock and a memory unit, and being programmed to (1) decode said programming information from said programming-information signals, (2) determine said user requests according to said user-request protocol, (3) selectively use said programming information to take predetermined control actions in response to said user requests, said control actions including programming said scheduled events and generating control signals accordingly, whereby a user can express different requests dynamically using said programming-information carrier, said scheduled events are programmed and controlled automatically without user manual input.
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6. A control unit for controlling at least one medication administering unit, comprising:
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(a) at least one programming-information reader that is capable of reading encoded programming information concerning at least one medication from at least one type of programming-information carrier and convening it into appropriate programming-information signals, (b) a processing unit that couples to said programming-information reader, said processing unit comprising a processor, a clock, and a memory unit, and being programmed to (1) decode said programming information from said programming-information signals, (2) selectively use said programming information to take predetermined control actions, said control actions including programming at least one scheduled medication administering event, providing guidance to guide the user to complete predetermined user operations, and generating predetermined control signals accordingly to control said medication administering unit, (3) determine user requests according to a predetermined user-request protocol and take predetermined actions accordingly, said user-request protocol including a plurality of predetermined user requests, where presenting said programming-information carrier to said programming-information reader in a predetermined manner indicates a specific user request.
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7. A medication administering device, comprising:
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(a) at least one programming-information reader that is capable of reading encoded programming information concerning at least one medication from at least one type of programming-information carrier and converting it into appropriate programming-information signals, (b) a medication administering unit that comprises a plurality of storages for different types of medications, (c) a processing unit that couples to said programming-information reader and said medication administering unit, said processing unit comprising a processor, a clock, and a memory unit, and being programmed to (1) decode said programming information from said programming-information signals, (2) selectively use said programming information to take predetermined control actions, said control actions including programming at least one scheduled medication administering event for at least one medication, establishing medication-storage mapping for said medication, and generating predetermined control signals accordingly to control said medication administering unit, (3) determine user requests according to a predetermined user-request protocol and take predetermined actions accordingly, said user-request protocol including a plurality of predetermined user requests, where presenting said programming-information carrier to said programming-information reader in a predetermined manner indicates a specific user request, (d) said medication administering unit taking predetermined controlled actions in response to said control signals, said controlled actions including at least one selected from the group consisting of producing alarm, indicating a medication, indicating unit dosage, indicating time, indicating storage, indicating said scheduled administering event, indicating scheduled future administering event, and dispensing a medication.
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Specification