Intelligent dispenser
First Claim
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1. An apparatus for dispensing pills of various sizes, the apparatus comprising:
- a storage section for storing pills to be dispensed;
a dispensing section connected to said storage section to dispense pills stored in said storage section through an outlet, said dispensing section including an adjusting device to adjust a variable size cavity for receiving from said storage section a pill to be dispensed and an ejecting device for ejecting the pill from the variable size cavity;
a controller for controlling said dispensing section; and
a sensor to detect the pill to be dispensed, said sensor communicating with said controller,wherein said controller controls said adjusting device to adjust a size of the variable size cavity according to a size of the pill to be dispensed, controls said ejecting device to eject the pill from the variable size cavity, and receives a signal from the sensor when the pill has been successfully ejected from the variable size cavity,wherein said dispensing section defines the variable size cavity with a sizing ring, a movable dispensing ring, and a movable depth ring, andwherein said controller controls said dispensing section to position the movable dispensing ring at a predetermined rest position relative to the sizing ring in order to establish a maximum width of the variable size cavity, and to position the movable depth ring in a vertical direction to establish a depth of the variable size cavity.
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Abstract
A pill dispenser for dispensing pills of various sizes includes a pill storage section, a dispensing section located at a lower end of the storage section, an optical sensor, a memory and a controller. The dispensing section includes a device for adjusting a variable size cavity configured to adjust to various pill sizes. The controller adjusts the variable size cavity of the dispensing section depending on the individual pill specifications, and determines if the optical sensor has sensed presence of the pill to be dispensed.
27 Citations
17 Claims
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1. An apparatus for dispensing pills of various sizes, the apparatus comprising:
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a storage section for storing pills to be dispensed; a dispensing section connected to said storage section to dispense pills stored in said storage section through an outlet, said dispensing section including an adjusting device to adjust a variable size cavity for receiving from said storage section a pill to be dispensed and an ejecting device for ejecting the pill from the variable size cavity; a controller for controlling said dispensing section; and a sensor to detect the pill to be dispensed, said sensor communicating with said controller, wherein said controller controls said adjusting device to adjust a size of the variable size cavity according to a size of the pill to be dispensed, controls said ejecting device to eject the pill from the variable size cavity, and receives a signal from the sensor when the pill has been successfully ejected from the variable size cavity, wherein said dispensing section defines the variable size cavity with a sizing ring, a movable dispensing ring, and a movable depth ring, and wherein said controller controls said dispensing section to position the movable dispensing ring at a predetermined rest position relative to the sizing ring in order to establish a maximum width of the variable size cavity, and to position the movable depth ring in a vertical direction to establish a depth of the variable size cavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An apparatus for dispensing pills of various sizes, the apparatus comprising:
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a storage section for storing pills to be dispensed; a dispensing section connected to said storage section to dispense pills stored in said storage section through an outlet, said dispensing section including an adjusting device to adjust a variable size cavity for receiving from said storage section a pill to be dispensed and an ejecting device for ejecting the pill from the variable size cavity; a controller for controlling said dispensing section; a sensor to detect the pill to be dispensed, said sensor communicating with said controller; a removable top portion covering said storage section; another sensor to determine if the removable top portion has been removed from said storage section; and an actuator, located on said removable top portion, for beginning a dispensing process of the pill, wherein said controller controls said adjusting device to adjust a size of the variable size cavity according to a size of the pill to be dispensed, controls said ejecting device to eject the pill from the variable size cavity, and receives a signal from the sensor when the pill has been successfully ejected from the variable size cavity.
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12. A method of operating a pill dispenser, comprising the steps of:
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determining if an elapsed time is at least equal to a predetermined time period; alerting a user when the elapsed time is at least equal to the predetermined time period; determining whether the user has actuated the dispenser to release a pill from the pill dispenser; and releasing the pill from the pill dispenser if the dispenser has been activated, wherein said releasing step comprises positioning a pill to be dispensed in a dispensing cavity defined by a sizing ring, a dispensing ring and a depth ring set to a size of a specific pill, moving the dispensing ring relative to the sizing ring and the depth ring to move a single pill, and determining by a sensor that the pill has been dispensed. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification