Medicament container

• US 8,712,587 B2
• Filed: 12/30/2010
• Issued: 04/29/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/13/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Original Assignee: Helene Laliberte, Michael Handfield
• Inventors: Handfield, Michael, Laliberte, Helene
• Primary Examiner(s): WAGGONER, TIMOTHY R
• Application Number:
  US12/982,579
• Publication Number:
  US 20110270441A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,216 Days
• Field of Search: 221/241, 221/263, 221/265, 221/274, 700/236, 700/242, 700/244
• US Class Current: 700/244
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/03 for pills or tablets containers for pills or tablets with special dispensing means therefor B65D83/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/30 Printed labels
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0076 Medicament distribution means with pill counting devices A61J7/02; with time indication A61J7/04; containers or packages with special means for dispensing contents B65D83/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0084 for multiple medicaments
• CPC Class Codes: G06V 20/66 Trinkets, e.g. shirt buttons or jewellery items recognising microscopic objects G06V20/69
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/24 Rotary or oscillatory members
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/38 in which the magazines are horizontal
• 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 17/0092 for assembling and dispensing of pharmaceutical articles medical dispensers for private use, A61J7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 9/026 for alarm, monitoring and auditing in vending machines or means for indication, e.g. when empty
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system that utilizes one or more cassettes or trays that hold medicaments for dispensing. In one embodiment a medicaments container includes control logic configured to enable the medicaments container to operate with an apparatus; control logic configured to determine whether the medicaments container is authorized for operation with the apparatus; and control logic configured to generate an alert if the medicaments container is not authorized for operation with the apparatus.

Claims

1. A medicaments container, comprising:

a housing;

a chamber within the housing to store a plurality of medicament units in bulk form;

a motorless dispenser disposed in the housing and configured to dispense a predetermined quantity of the medicament units from the plurality of medicament units in response to a signal from an apparatus, the motorless dispenser comprising a rotatable structure comprising at least one groove configured to hold it predetermined number of medicament units, wherein one dimension of the at least one groove is changeable by sliding a slidably fitted door along the one dimension to accommodate multiple sizes of medicament units; and

a wireless communication device disposed in the housing and configured to communicate with an external device in accordance with a communication protocol having an anti-collision feature.

2. The medicaments container of claim 1, Wherein the apparatus is a dispensing machine.

3. The medicaments container of claim 2, wherein the wireless communication device comprises an RFID tag.

4. The medicaments container of claim 3, wherein the wireless communication protocol comprises an RFID communication protocol.

5. The medicaments container of claim 3, wherein the external device comprises an RFID reader configured to read an electromagnetic signal from the RFID tag.

6. The medicaments container of claim 5, wherein the RFID reader is disposed in the dispensing machine.

7. The medicaments container of claim 5, wherein the anti-collision feature permits multiple RFID tags disposed within a given proximity to operate simultaneously and communicate with the RFID reader.

8. The medicaments container of claim 7, wherein the dispensing machine is configured to receive multiple medicaments containers, and each of the multiple RFID tags is disposed in corresponding one of the multiple medicaments containers.

9. The medicaments container of claim 3, wherein the RFID tag comprises a custom integrated circuit (IC).

10. The medicaments container of claim 7, wherein the custom IC comprises an anti-collision command controller implementing the anti-collision feature.

11. The medicaments container of claim 1, wherein the motorless dispenser further comprises a structure comprising a stopper configured to allow dispensing of one medicament unit at a time from the at least one groove.

12. A medicaments container, comprising:

a housing;

a chamber within the housing to store a plurality of medicament units in bulk, form;

means for dispensing a predetermined quantity of the medicament units from the plurality of medicament units in response to a signal from an apparatus, the means for dispensing motorless and comprising a rotatable structure comprising at least one groove configured to hold a predetermined number of medicament units, wherein one dimension of the at least one groove is changeable by sliding a slidably fitted door along the one dimension to accommodate multiple sizes of medicament units; and

means for communicating with an external device in accordance with a communication protocol having an anti-collision feature.

13. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein the apparatus is a dispensing machine.

14. The medicaments container of claim 13, wherein the means for communicating comprises an RFID tag.

15. The medicaments container of claim 14, wherein the communication protocol comprises an RFID communication protocol.

16. The medicaments container of claim 14, wherein the external device comprises an RFID reader configured to read an electromagnetic signal from the RFID tag.

17. The medicaments container of claim 16, wherein the RFID reader is disposed in the dispensing machine.

18. The medicaments container of claim 16, wherein the anti-collision feature permits multiple RFID tags disposed within a given proximity to operate simultaneously and communicate with the RFID reader.

19. The medicaments container of claim 18, wherein the dispensing machine is configured to receive multiple medicaments containers, and each of the multiple RFID tags is disposed in corresponding one of the multiple medicaments containers.

20. The medicaments container of claim 12, wherein the motorless dispenser further comprises a structure comprising a stopper configured to allow dispensing of one medicament unit at a time from the at least one groove.