Item dispenser and tracker
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An item tracking apparatus, comprising:
- a tag interrogator that transmits an interrogation signal and receives a signal emitted by a tag affixed to an item in response to the tag receiving the interrogation signal, wherein the tag and item are part of a bio-compatible consumable dosage delivery unit;
a controller that determines a state of the item based on the received signal;
an item holder configured to hold the item; and
a reader that reads electronic information about the item from an electronic tag on a container holding the item before the item is loaded in the holder.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An item tracking apparatus includes a tag interrogator that transmits an interrogation signal and receives a signal emitted by a tag affixed to an item in response to the tag receiving the interrogation signal, wherein the tag and item are part of a bio-compatible consumable dosage delivery unit and a controller that determines a state of the item based on the received signal. A consumable dosage delivery unit includes a dosage form and a bio-compatible wireless communications tag.
22 Citations
37 Claims
-
1. An item tracking apparatus, comprising:
-
a tag interrogator that transmits an interrogation signal and receives a signal emitted by a tag affixed to an item in response to the tag receiving the interrogation signal, wherein the tag and item are part of a bio-compatible consumable dosage delivery unit; a controller that determines a state of the item based on the received signal; an item holder configured to hold the item; and a reader that reads electronic information about the item from an electronic tag on a container holding the item before the item is loaded in the holder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
-
-
13. A consumable dosage delivery unit, comprising:
-
a dosage form; and a bio-compatible wireless communications tag, wherein a container holding the consumable dosage delivery unit includes an electronic tag that is read by a reader of a dispenser that will dispense the consumable dosage delivery units before the consumable dosage delivery unit is loaded in the dispenser; wherein the tag includes silk and electrically conductive nano-particles utilized as an antenna; and wherein the conductive nano-particles are patterned for communication in the terahertz range of the electromagnetic spectrum. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
-
-
22. A method, comprising:
-
matching information read from a tag of a container holding a consumable dosage deliver unit with information provided by a remote computing system; conveying a signal to the remote computing system indicating whether the information matches; transmitting, via a transmitter, a tag interrogation signal; waiting for a response signal emitted by a tag in response to receipt of the tag interrogation signal by the tag, wherein the tag is a bio-compatible tag affixed to an item of a consumable dosage deliver unit; and generating a first signal indicating that the consumable dosage deliver unit has been consumed by a user in response to receiving no response signal within a predetermined time window and a second signal indicating that the consumable dosage deliver unit has not been consumed by the user in response to receiving the response signal within the predetermined time window. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
-
-
29. A system, comprising:
-
a container including at least one item to dispense, wherein the container includes an electronic tag storing information about the at least one item; an item tracking apparatus that reads the information about the at least one item from the electronic tag of the container and selectively programs the item tracking apparatus to dispense the at least one item based on a predetermined schedule when the at least one item is transferred to the item tracking apparatus; and a remote computing system, of a source of the item, that at least one of communicates a signal including information about the at least one item to the item tracking apparatus or receives a signal including information about the at least one item to carried by the item tracking apparatus from the item tracking apparatus, wherein the item tracking apparatus assigns a dispensing station of the item tracking apparatus for the at least one item before the at least one item is placed in the item tracking apparatus based on the signal from the remote computing system. wherein the item tracking apparatus assigns a dispensing station of the item tracking apparatus for the at least one item before the at least one item is placed in the item tracking apparatus based on the signal from the remote computing system. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
-
Specification