Smart medicine container

• US 8,985,388 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2008
• Issued: 03/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nitesh Ratnakar
• Original Assignee: Nitesh Ratnakar
• Inventors: Ratnakar, Nitesh
• Primary Examiner(s): Kumar, Rakesh
• Application Number:
  US12/267,555
• Publication Number:
  US 20090057328A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,328 Days
• Field of Search: 364/479, 700/242, 235/150.51, 221/97, 221/154, 221/1, 221/208, 221/254, 221/218, 177/25.18
• US Class Current: 221/218
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/02 Pill counting devices
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0418 with electronic history memory
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0436 resulting from removing a drug from, or opening, a container
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0481 working on a schedule basis
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/049 automatically changing in response to a schedule deviation by the patient
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/26 Endless bands
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/44 in which magazines the articles are stored in bulk
• 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

Abstract

Present invention discloses a dispenser having means to dispense desired number of pills from a bulk supply of pills contained in the dispenser. The dispenser comprises of storage compartment having bulk supply of pills and having a discharge port emptying into counting compartment. The counting compartment contains first and second conveyors moving at first and second speed; wherein the second speed is greater than the first speed thereby enabling pill separation; the second conveyor discharges pills into dispensing compartment. Sensors are strategically placed along the conveyors to count pills discharged into dispensing compartment. A pill recovery system and apparatus is disposed inside the dispenser having means to recover pills remaining on first and second conveyors upon completion of a dispensation cycle and there after deposit recovered pills back into the storage compartment for use in future dispensation cycles.

Claims

1. A portable medical container configured to recover there-inside one or more pills remaining in a conveying means after completion of a dispensing cycle, the medical container comprising:

an enclosure means including a cap, a base, and one or more side walls extended between the cap and the base, the enclosure means configured to define a substantially enclosed inner chamber of a portable size;

a storage compartment inside the inner chamber, the storage compartment configured to receive a bulk supply of pills, the storage compartment having a discharge port configured to controllably discharge one or more pills stored therein, and a recovery inlet configured to receive one or more recovered pills and deposit the received one or more recovered pills back into the storage compartment;

a dispensing means, the dispensing means having an inlet and configured to receive one or more pills transported to the inlet and dispense the one or more pills received from the inlet for a user to access;

a conveying means inside the inner chamber, the conveying means configured to receive pills discharged from the discharge port of the storage compartment, transport at least a subset of the pills received from the discharge port to the inlet of the dispensing means for dispensing through the dispensing means so as to complete a dispensing cycle, the conveying means further configured to have an outlet for discharging one or more pills remaining therein after the completion of the dispensing cycle; and

a pill recovery means inside the inner chamber, the recovery means configured to receive, from the outlet of the conveying means, the one or more pills remaining in the conveying means after the completion of the dispensing cycle, and transport and deposit the received one or more remaining pills back to the storage compartment through the recovery inlet of the storage compartment.

2. The portable medical container of claim 1, wherein the pill recovery means comprises a recovery receptacle, and wherein, during a pill recovery operation, the recovery receptacle is configured to be positioned just below the outlet of the conveying means in a recovery position so as to recover therein the one or more pills remaining in the conveying means after the dispensing cycle and discharged from the outlet of the conveying means, and is further configured to be positioned substantially in flush with the recovery inlet of the storage compartment in a depositing position so as to deposit the recovered one or more pills back into the storage compartment through the recovery inlet of the storage compartment.

3. The portable medical container of claim 2, wherein, during the pill recovery operation, the recovery receptacle is operatively connected to a recovery motor, the recovery motor configured to reversibly move the recovery receptacle to the recovery position for recovering therein the one or more pills discharged from the outlet of the conveying means.

4. The portable medical container of claim 2, wherein, during the pill recovery operation and after the recovery receptacle recovers therein the one or more pills discharged from the outlet of the conveying means in the recovery position, the recovery receptacle is configured to be moved from the recovery position to the depositing position so as to deposit the recovered one or more pills back into the storage compartment through the recovery inlet of the storage compartment.

5. The portable medical container of claim 4, wherein the recovery receptacle is inclined at such a second angle that the one or more pills recovered therein are deposited into the storage compartment through the recovery inlet of the storage compartment by virtue of gravity when the recovery receptacle is positioned in the depositing position.

6. The portable medical container of claim 2, wherein the recovery receptacle is inclined at such a first angle that prevents the one or more pills recovered therein from falling into the inner chamber when the recovery receptacle is being moved from the recovery position to the depositing position.

7. A method of recovering inside a portable medical container one or more pills remaining in a conveying means after completion of a dispensing cycle, the portable medical container configured to dispense a predetermined number of one or more pills for a patient to consume, the portable medical container comprising:

(1) an enclosure means including a cap, a base, and one or more side walls extended between the cap and the base, the enclosure means configured to define a substantially enclosed inner chamber of a portable size;

(2) a storage compartment inside the inner chamber, the storage compartment configured to receive a bulk supply of pills, the storage compartment having a discharge port configured to controllably discharge one or more pills stored therein, and a recovery inlet configured to receive one or more recovered pills and deposit the received one or more recovered pills back into the storage compartment;

(3) a dispensing means, the dispensing means having an inlet and configured to receive one or more pills transported to the inlet and dispense the one or more pills received from the inlet for a user to access;

(4) the conveying means inside the inner chamber, the conveying means configured to receive pills discharged from the discharge port of the storage compartment, transport at least a subset of the pills received from the discharge port to the inlet of the dispensing means for dispensing through the dispensing means so as to complete a dispensing cycle, the conveying means further configured to have an outlet for discharging one or more pills remaining therein after the completion of the dispensing cycle; and

(5) a pill recovery means inside the inner chamber, the pill recovery means including a recovery receptacle, the method comprising;

positioning the recovery receptacle just below the outlet of the conveying means in a recovery position;

recovering in the recovery receptacle the one or more pills remaining in the conveying means after the dispensing cycle by discharging the one or more remaining pills from the outlet of the conveying means into the recovery receptacle;

moving the recovery receptacle containing the recovered one or more pills from the recovery position and positioning the recovery receptacle substantially in flush with the recovery inlet of the storage compartment in a depositing position; and

depositing the recovered one or more pills back into the storage compartment through the recovery inlet of the storage compartment.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the recovery receptacle is inclined at such a first angle that prevents the one or more pill recovered therein from falling into the inner chamber when the recovery receptacle is being moved from the recovery position to the depositing position.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the recovery receptacle is inclined at such a second angle that the one or more pills recovered therein are deposited into the storage compartment through the recovery inlet of the storage compartment by virtue of gravity when the recovery receptacle is positioned in the depositing position.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the recovery receptacle is operatively connected to a motor, the motor configured to control movement of the recovery receptacle from the recovery position to the depositing position.