CN101309846A - Pill Dispensing Equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

An automated pill dispenser includes a plurality of pill chambers peripherally disposed about a hub. The hub includes a rotatable plate capable of rotating to a selected pill chamber and removing a pill therefrom. A vacuum tip including a bellows extends through an access opening formed within the rotatable plate to withdraw a pill from a bottom portion of the selected pill chamber by grasping the pill from above. A reflective bar code is disposed beneath the rotatable plate and detectable through an opening through the plate to indicate plate position relative to the pill chambers. A computer enables a user to programmably operable the pill dispenser and select the pill chamber, dosage amount and time.

Description

Pill Dispensing Equipment

Cross References to Related Applications

This application is related to US Application Serial No. 10/438,452, filed March 14, 2003, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference into this application.

technical field

The present invention relates generally to medication dispensers, and more particularly to dispensers capable of dispensing solid pill medication according to a user-programmed regimen.

Background technique

Pill dispensing systems that dispense pills according to a pre-programmed regimen are widely used and very valuable in today's society. It would be advantageous for such a pill dispenser to dispense different doses of different pills at different frequencies and thus at different times. Various pill dispensers currently on the market have a plurality of pill chambers and means for dispensing pills contained within the chambers. However, each of these cavities only holds a single dose of drug for a specific time. A single drug dose may contain two, three, or more than three different types of pill drugs to be given at a specific time. Thus, each pill chamber must be individually filled with these different pill medications for a given specific time. For example, the pill cavity 1 can accommodate two health care pills, a single antibiotic pill and two cholesterol lowering pills, all of which are intended for the user to take at 8 am. This type of pill dispensing system requires that the chamber be properly loaded with the various types and quantities of pill medication to be dispensed at a specific time. Therefore, if the user needs to take the medicine four times a day, the user must separately pack twenty-eight chambers to meet the medicine demand for a week. Additionally, the user is required to count the pill medications correctly and place each pill medication in the correct pill cavity. This user-focused technology is prone to human error, making it difficult to maintain correct dispensing schedules and doses, and further leading to increased health costs from non-compliance.

Therefore, there is a need for an improved automatic pill dispenser that will reliably dispense the correct number of various pills at a predetermined programmed time, provide a simple and efficient means of placing the desired medication in the dispenser, will complement The need for a pill drug contained in a pill cavity extends from days to months, is less prone to failure or error, is easier to manufacture, and is less expensive to manufacture. The present invention aims to overcome the disadvantages of conventional pill dispensers and to provide such an improved pill dispenser.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides an improved pill dispensing device comprising a cylindrical base unit having one or more pill dispensing chambers aligned radially along the outer circumference of the base. Each pill dispensing chamber may include a removable top that protects the pills from airborne contaminants. Each pill dispensing chamber further includes a vertically positioned pill storage chamber for storing a quantity of a particular pill type which will then be transferred to the lower dispensing chamber. A portion of the lower dispensing cavity partially protrudes toward the center of the base. The transfer area between the pill storage chamber and the dispensing chamber is sloped inwardly to guide the pill drug towards the raised portion of the dispensing chamber. The top portion of the lower dispensing chamber has an aperture that allows internal access to the pill drug. Thus, the pill cavities are arranged around the circumference of the base to facilitate internal access to each stored pill drug. Additionally, at least one vibration motor may be mounted on the base to slightly vibrate the chamber and assist in moving the pills from the storage chamber to the dispensing chamber.

Axially mounted inside the base is a disc-shaped rotating platform powered by a set of gears and a first DC motor. Part pie shaped holes located on the periphery of the platform allow access to the respective pill drug through each dispensing cavity as the platform rotates.

A semi-reflective barcode strip, which has reflective and non-reflective stripes, can also be attached to the base unit. The striped pattern forms a unique code for each pill dispensing chamber. Further attached to the rotating platform is an infrared optical emitter and detector pair that cooperatively communicates with the barcode strip. As the platform rotates relative to the base unit, the optical emitter emits infrared radiation from the emitter that is reflected or absorbed by the strip. Reflections from the strips are received by optical detectors, which in turn generate electrical signals corresponding to the barcode for each cavity. The electrical signals represent the relative position of the platform relative to each pill dispensing chamber.

A DC powered suction pump having an inlet port in fluid communication with the outlet port may further be mounted on top of the rotating platform. When the vacuum pump is energized, a vacuum is created at the inlet port. The inlet port is then connected to an elastic conduit which is then further connected to the inlet port of a solenoid-operable fluid switch. The outlet port of the fluid switch is in fluid communication with atmosphere. Energizing the solenoid creates fluid communication between the atmosphere and the conduit, which drastically reduces any vacuum that exists in the conduit. Further connected to the elastic conduit is the inlet port of the pressure sensor. A pressure sensor generates an electrical signal that indicates the presence or absence of a vacuum in the elastic conduit. The elastic conduit is then attached to the top of the pill dispensing assembly.

The distribution assembly further includes a vertically positioned rigid conduit having an upper end in fluid communication with the aforementioned elastic conduit and a lower end in fluid communication with an attached elastic silicon bellows. A springably biased and vertically movable sheath is positioned concentrically around the rigid conduit such that the bellows protrudes from the lower portion of the rigid conduit. A limit switch is positioned above the sheath and closes when the sheath reaches an uppermost allowable vertical position.

The pill dispensing assembly may be attached to a vertically movable rack which further meshes with a pinion powered by a second DC motor. The pill dispensing assembly is further positioned above the access aperture of the rotating platform. Thus, the dispensing assembly is movable in an upward or downward direction through the platform access aperture, the position of which is determined by the direction of rotation of the second DC motor. Two additional limit switches were further placed at the furthest allowable vertical top and bottom distribution assembly positions, and when the assembly reached these positions, the two switches were respectively closed.

A microcontroller is provided and communicates with all three limit switches, pressure sensors, vacuum motor, table rotation first DC motor, vibration motor, second DC motor for dispensing, light emitter and detector and Solenoid valve interface. A programmable controller communicates with and controls the mechanical parts of the pill dispenser. The microcontroller is further in two-way electrical communication with a single board computer having a touch screen liquid crystal display. The computer responds to user input in a programmable manner and contains a real-time clock and associated memory.

It will be appreciated that the above mechanical description is exemplary only and that various suitable variations may be used.

In an exemplary embodiment, a user may enter a dispensing regimen by using an LCD touch screen through an interactive dialog to specify pill chambers (ie, pill drug type), the amount of pills to dispense from each pill chamber, and the time to dispense the drug. The single board computer controls the user interface and creates assignments through an interactive dialog. Once the user has finished entering the dispensing plan information, the computer then breaks down the dispensing plan into a more basic plan that separately lists each time each pill is dispensed from each chamber. The single board computer is programmable and can be programmed to preset when and/or how many pills are dispensed from each pill chamber. The single board computer is operable to maintain a schedule of dispensing pills from each of the respective pill chambers according to a predetermined dose and a predetermined time. Dosage and timing can include varying frequencies and starting times. When it is time to dispense the medication, the computer sends a single pill dispense command to the microcontroller to dispense only a single pill from the corresponding cavity. If more than one pill from the same chamber is required, another single pill dispense command is repeated until the correct number of pills have been dispensed from the pill chamber for that particular pill type. This procedure continues until all pills have been successfully dispensed from the respective chambers.

The microcontroller is also programmable to operate the mechanism for removing the pill from the pill chamber. The microcontroller places the dispense assembly in the uppermost position in response to a single dispense command, which is indicated by closing the uppermost limit switch. The microcontroller then rotates the platform until the light circuit indicates that the platform access hole is over the correct selected pill chamber. Next, the microcontroller turns on the vacuum pump, vibration motor, and lowers the dispensing assembly through the platform access hole and into the pill cavity. If the elastic bellows engages the pill, a vacuum will be created in the fluid circuit. A pressure sensor sends a signal to the microcontroller in response to the vacuum to indicate that the bellows has picked up the pill. Next, the controller raises the dispense assembly and moves the platform over the release tray. Next, the vacuum pump is stopped and the solenoid switch is activated, thereby removing the vacuum from the fluid circuit and releasing the pill. The pills then fall by gravity into the release tray. The sheath switch or the lowermost limit switch sends a signal to the microcontroller if the pill is not picked up. The microcontroller raises the dispensing assembly in response to the sheath or lower limit switch signal until the uppermost limit switch signals the microcontroller. The microcontroller repeats the dispensing procedure again for the programmed number of attempts, after which the microcontroller sends a "pill pick failed" command to the single board computer. The single board computer then notifies the user audibly and/or visually using the LCD touch screen.

Description of drawings

A comprehensive understanding of the present invention can be obtained by reading the following description of various embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 depicts a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of the present invention having a rack and pinion dispatch assembly;

Figure 2 depicts a top view of an exemplary pill dispenser;

Figure 3 shows the distribution platform;

Figure 4 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of an exemplary vacuum distribution system;

Figure 5 depicts an electrical block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 shows a breakdown of the distribution of commands from the single board computer to the microcontroller;

Figure 7 depicts an exemplary control algorithm for dispensing a single pill of medication;

Figure 8 depicts a partial cross-sectional view of an exemplary vacuum dispensing system for engaging granular pills; and

Figure 9 depicts a radial distribution assembly.

Detailed ways

Referring to FIG. 1 , it is an internal sectional view of a pill dispenser 1 with a support hub 10 . The support hub 10, also known as a support base, may have a cylindrical shape with mounting grooves 12a, 12b (not shown), 12c and 12d-12f (not shown) formed in the top surface 11, the The grooves slidably accommodate and retain respective pill chambers 14a-14c and 14d-14f (not shown). The pill cavities 14a-14f may be radially aligned along the circumference of the hub 10, although other configurations may alternatively be used. Each cavity is formed with a corresponding vertically aligned pill storage cavity 22 and a horizontally aligned dispensing cavity 24 that is generally orthogonal to the vertically aligned pill storage cavity 22 . Each dispensing chamber has the capacity to hold a quantity of a particular pill type. By way of example, the pill dispenser 1 described here consists of six pill chambers 14a-14f and is thus capable of dispensing six different types of pill medication. However, the number of cavities can be increased by using a hub 10 with a larger circumference and/or aligning more dispensing cavities radially around the base or using cavities with different sizes. An inclined transfer zone 26 between the chambers 22 and 24 of each dispensing chamber is formed so as to guide the stream of pills drawn down from the chamber 22 and into the chamber 24 obliquely by gravity. Each dispensing cavity is further formed to be interlocked with each other and radially mounted on the outer circumference of the hub 10 so that the entire distributor 1 has a cylindrical appearance. To protect the pills from dust and other airborne contaminants, each dispensing chamber is advantageously fitted with a respective removable cover 16a-16c and 16d-16f (not shown). Pills 30 are contained within the pill chambers 14a-14f. Although the pill is depicted as having a conventional pill shape, in other exemplary embodiments the pill may have other shapes. In an exemplary embodiment, the pill may be tablet shaped or oval shaped.

Still referring to FIG. 1 , the top of each dispensing chamber 18 is formed with an access aperture 20 (eg, the depicted access aperture 20 a ) that allows internal access to a pill contained within the chamber 24 . The pill chamber 14 is preferably fixed to the hub 10 and does not rotate. The unillustrated release tray 15 and puller 15a are more fully disclosed in FIG. 2 .

The hub 10 is further formed with a cylindrical support 13 which is axially aligned with the circumference of the hub 10 . The support 13 extends beyond the top surface 18 of the pill chamber 14 . A fixed spur gear 50 is attached to the support 13 . A semi-reflective strip 112 is placed circumferentially on the top surface of the gear 50 .

FIG. 2 is a top view of an exemplary arrangement of a pill dispenser 1 comprising pill cavities 14 a - 14 f arranged circumferentially around the support hub 10 . It further shows the pill cavity 14c with the corresponding cover 16c removed, thereby revealing the pill 30 stored in the pill storage cavity 22c. For clarity, platform 60 and associated components are not shown. Pill dispensing chambers 24a-24f are further shown in the figures, containing their corresponding pills of various shapes. A peripherally arranged and inclined release tray 15 is positioned below the pill cavities 14a-14f into which pills are dispensed for access by the user by pulling out the drawer 15a. Pills removed from the cavities 24a-24f are placed over the tray 15 and then released into the tray 15. The inclination of the tray 15 allows gravity to further force the pills into the drawer 15a. Arrow 15c indicates a typical dispensed pill path from tray 15 to drawer 15a.

Referring additionally to FIG. 3 , the cylindrical dispensing platform 60 is rotatably attached to the support 13 by pins 62 . The platform 60 is further formed with a pie-shaped dispensing hole 61a, a square optical access hole 61b, and an axially positioned mounting hole 61c. In other embodiments, the shape and orientation of holes 61a, 61b, and 61c may vary. An electric motor 63 is attached to the top side of platform 60 . The shaft of the motor 63 protrudes from the platform 60 through the hole 61 d and is further attached to a pinion 64 designed to mesh with the gear 50 . The diameter of the pinion 64 is smaller than that of the gear 50, thereby increasing the drive torque generated by the motor 63 and also rotating the platform 60 at a rotational speed less than the rotational speed of the motor shaft. The motor 63 is further electrically connected to a printed circuit board 68 via wires 63a and 63b. A printed circuit board 68 is mounted to the platform 60 and rotates with the platform 60 . The powered motor 63 rotates the platform 60 and also rotates the plate 68 so that the dispensing aperture 61a is aligned over the dispensing chamber 24 of the selected pill chamber.

Further attached to the platform 60 is a diaphragm suction pump 70 having an inlet port 72 and an outlet port 74 . Power for the pump 70 is provided via a motor 71 . Inlet port 72 is in fluid communication with tube 76 . Attached to the tube 76 is a solenoid valve 78 having an inlet port 79a and an outlet port 79b. Inlet port 79a is in fluid communication with tube 76 . The solenoid is connected to the printed circuit board 68 via wires 78a and 78b. The outlet port 79b is in fluid communication with the surrounding atmosphere. The other end of the tube 76 is connected to and in fluid communication with a pressure sensor 80 . The other end of the pressure sensor 80 is connected to and in fluid communication with a tube 82 . The other end of tube 82 is connected to and in fluid communication with distribution conduit 90 . A resilient silicon bellows 92 is provided on the other end of the conduit 90, although other types of bellows could alternatively be used. Connected to conduit 90 is a suction cup assembly 91 , which is explained more fully below. Bellows 92, conduit 90, tube 82, sensor 80, tube 76, solenoid valve 78, inlet port 72, outlet port 74, and pump 70 form a fluid circuit and are in fluid communication with each other.

The conduit 90 is further vertically supported by a vertically movable rack 94 . The rack gear 94 is positioned to mesh with a corresponding pinion gear 96 . A pinion 96 is attached to a shaft 97 of a DC motor 98 . The motor 98 is attached to the platform 60 via a support 99 . Motor wires 98a and 98b are connected to plate 68 .

Limit switches 100 and 102 are attached to platform 60 by brackets (not shown) or other means. These switches engage rack 94 at the vertical end of travel of rack 94 with switch 100 engaged at the uppermost end of travel and switch 102 engaged at the lowermost end of travel. Switches 100 and 102 are also electrically connected to board 68 using wires (not shown).

Vibration motors 105 and 107 are installed on the bottom surface of hub 10 . Motor 105 is electrically connected to plate 68 via wires 105a and 105b. Motor 107 is electrically connected to plate 68 via wires 107a and 170b. Vibration motors 105 and 107 are sized and powered accordingly to vibrate hub 10 and all pill chambers 14 . The vibrating motors 105 and 107 assist in changing the orientation of the pills in the dispensing chamber 24 to make it easier to grab the pills from above by the vacuum tip of the bellows 92 of the assembly 91 .

An infrared optical emitter and detector module 110 is further attached to platform 60 and positioned above gear 50 such that module 110 is in optical communication with reflective strip 112 through aperture 61b. Module 110 is in electrical communication with board 68 (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 4 , further details of assembly 91 are depicted with bellows 92 inserted in conduit 90 . The bellows 92 further has an open conduit 106 extending from the bottom of the bellows 92 to the top of the bellows 92 . Thus, fluid communication is continuous from the bottom (vacuum) tip of bellows 92 to port 74 of vacuum pump 70 . A removable sheath 108 is placed along the outside of catheter 90 . Grooves 109 are formed on the sides of the sheath 108 . Pin 113 is inserted into slot 109 and is attached to the side of conduit 90 . Sheath 108 is free to move vertically a predetermined distance as indicated by arrow 117 . The degree of vertical movement is bounded by the top end 109a and the bottom end 109b of the slot 109 . The bottom 114 of the sheath 108 further has holes 115 which allow the bellows 92 to protrude freely through the bottom 114 .

Attached to the outer wall of conduit 90 is a push button single pole single throw sheathed limit switch 120 . When button 122 is pressed into the body of switch 120, it closes the switch, which in turn connects switch leads 124a and 124b. Leads 124a and 124b are further connected to board 68 .

The upper end of the compression spring 126 is attached to the guide tube 90 and the lower end of the guide tube 90 engages the upper edge 128 of the sheath 108 . As such, the sheath 108 is springably biased in a vertically extending position in which the pin 113 engages the top end 109a of the slot 109 .

Thus, it is appreciated that assembly 91 moves in a vertical direction as depicted by arrow 130 independently of both the vertical displacement of sheath 108 and bellows 92 .

Referring additionally now to FIG. 5 , an exemplary electrical block diagram of the pill dispenser 1 is shown in which the microcontroller 200 is shown in bi-directional electrical communication with the single board computer 210 via the bus 206 . Microcontroller 200 further has random access memory (RAM) 201 and flash and EPROM memory 202 . The memory 201 temporarily stores information received by the computer 210 . The memory 202 contains a dispensing algorithm for controlling the dispensing of the drug stored in the pill chamber 14 . In one exemplary embodiment, microcontroller 200 is part number MC68HC08GP32, formerly manufactured by Motorola and now manufactured by Freescale Semiconductor, although it should be understood that any suitable microcontroller having the same computing resources could alternatively be used as the microcontroller 200. Computer 210 is in bi-directional electrical communication with touch screen LCD 220 via bus 215. User input and output communication 222 with the computer 210 is via a touch screen and an LCD display panel, respectively, both of which are incorporated into the LCD screen 220 .

Microcontroller 200 is preferably further combined with solenoid valve 78, dispense motor 98, vibration motors 105 and 107, platform rotation motor 63, vacuum motor 71, pressure sensor 80, sheath limit switch 120, limit switches 100 and 102, The optical emitter 110a and the optical detector 110b of the component 110 are in electrical communication, so that the above device is responsive to the microcontroller 200. The power supply 230 supplies necessary power to all the electrical block components shown in FIG. 5 . It is further appreciated that the necessary interface power circuits for controlling the individual motors according to microcontroller control signals are well known in the art and are therefore not included in FIG. 5 .

Computer 210 is a single board computer, and may advantageously be an Application Data System part number AGX system having the following components: 32-bit digital Xscale PXA250 RISC Intel processor running at 400 MHz; 64 megabytes of 100 MHz SDRAM; 128 megabytes 64 megabytes of synchronous flash memory; Ethernet 10/100BT interface; 22 digital I/O lines; three RS-232 serial ports; SPI communication port; real-time clock; and other peripherals . It should be appreciated that this is exemplary only, and that other computers may be used in other exemplary embodiments.

The light emitter 110a emits infrared radiation 111a which is reflected off the surface of the semi-reflective strip 112 and received by the light detector 110b. Fixed strip 112 contains a plurality of reflective and non-reflective sections, particularly non-reflective strip 112a and reflective strip 112b, which may form a barcode representing the relative position of platform 60 with respect to pill chambers 14a-14f. It will be appreciated that the relative position of assembly 110 with respect to strip 112 determines whether radiation 111a is reflected or absorbed by strip 112b or 112a, respectively, and is thus received by photodetector 110b as reflected radiation. The photodetector 110b then generates an electrical signal representative of the position.

In operation, and referring now to FIG. 6, the user enters the amount of medication and the time for dispensing the medication. This procedure is more fully described in previously incorporated pending application Ser. No. 10/438,452, filed March 14, 2003, entitled Personal Medication Dispenser. The computer 210 receives the medicine dispensing request information via the touch screen LCD 220, and generates the dispensing plan 300. The scheme 300 further includes a time-ordered sequence of allocated time blocks 307 . Each time box 307 contains a dispense time 310 , a pill cavity identification number 330 and the number 320 of pills that should be dispensed at time 310 .

Computer 210 further decomposes scheme 300 into decomposed scheme 340 . The decomposition scheme 340 further consists of a sequence of individual time-ordered assignment blocks 315 . Each box 315 contains a time 317 along with an individual pill dispensing chamber number designation 319 . Thus, the time block 307 requiring two pills from chamber 1 is broken down into two blocks 315a and 315b, each of which contains separate instructions for dispensing a single pill from chamber 1 . The computer 210 then compares the real-time clock time to the time 317 and, if a match occurs, begins transmitting the dispense instructions 342 to the microcontroller 200 via the bus 206 at time t1. Thus, the microcontroller 200 is instructed by the computer 210 to dispense only one pill at a time. Dispense instructions 342 contain the desired pill cavity 14 to store the pill.

Referring now additionally to FIG. 7 , upon receiving a dispense instruction 342 from computer 210 , microcontroller 200 begins execution of dispense algorithm 400 . Microcontroller 200 remains in wait state 405 until allocation instruction 342 is received. At step 410 , the microcontroller 200 receives the dispensing instruction 342 from the computer at time t1 and then responds to the computer 210 at step 420 with the received command 343 . The computer 210 then compares the echoed command with the original instruction 342 and issues an error and stops dispensing, or allows the microcontroller to proceed to step 425 . In step 425, microcontroller 200 inputs a voltage on line 230a and checks whether switch 100 is closed. If switch 100 is not closed, microcontroller 200 outputs a command to motor 98 in step 427 to rotate pinion 96 in a clockwise direction, thereby raising rack 94 and thus assembly 91 . Power is continuously supplied to the motor 98 until the switch 100 is closed. In response to the closure of switch 100 , microcontroller 200 turns off motor 98 , thereby stopping the upward vertical movement of rack 94 , and proceeds to step 430 .

In step 430, and with the previously positioned rack 94 in the uppermost vertical position (indicated by the closure of switch 100), microcontroller 200 then activates light emitter 110a. The light emitter 110a emits radiation 111a which is reflected or absorbed by the strip 112 . The reflected energy 111b activates the light detector 110b which sends a signal indicative of the current position of the platform 60 relative to the desired pill cavity 14 previously received by the microcontroller 200 from the computer 210 in instruction 342 . In step 435, the microcontroller 200 then powers the motor 63 which in turn rotates the platform 60 in order to position the platform 60 and access the aperture 61a and select the pill cavity from which the pill will be removed. As the platform 60 rotates, the relative position of the platform 60 relative to the pill chamber 14 is communicated to the microcontroller 200 through the optics assembly 110 and strap 112 . When the platform 60 is aligned with the selected pill chamber 14 and the corresponding access aperture 61a is above the dispensing chamber 24, the microcontroller 200 sends a command to stop the motor 63 in step 440, thereby stopping the platform 60. Aperture 61 a is now centered over aperture 20 , allowing assembly 91 vertical access to pill 30 contained within cavity 24 . All other pill chamber access holes are covered by platform 60 . Program flow then continues to step 445 .

In step 445, microcontroller 200 initializes RAM 201 memory register variable TRY to 5. Microcontroller 200 additionally turns on pump motor 71 and vibration motors 105 and 107 . Program flow then continues to step 447 where microcontroller 200 turns on motor 98 , which now rotates in a counterclockwise direction, thereby lowering assembly 91 . The assembly 91 now begins to descend vertically downward to pass through the access hole 61a, the hole 20a and into the dispensing chamber 24a. Program flow now continues to step 450 .

In step 450, microcontroller 200 inputs a signal from switch 102 via line 102a. If line 102a is at a logic high indicating switch 102 is closed, program flow now advances to step 455 where microcontroller 200 immediately reverses the direction of motor 98 to clockwise, thereby raising assembly 91 . Closure of switch 102 indicates that assembly 91 is at the furthest vertical descent allowed into cavity 24 . This would happen, for example, if the pill chamber 24 was empty. Program flow then proceeds to step 462 . If switch 102 is not closed, program flow continues to step 457 .

In step 457, microcontroller 200 inputs a signal through line 120a and checks the state of switch 120. If switch 120 is closed, program flow continues back to step 455 . If switch 120 is not closed, program flow continues to step 460 .

In step 460 , microcontroller 200 inputs a signal from pressure sensor 80 . If the bellows 92 has engaged the pill in the chamber 24, creating a vacuum seal in the fluid circuit, the sensor 80 senses an increase in vacuum pressure. Program flow then continues to step 480 . If the signal from sensor 80 indicates that there is no vacuum seal, program flow loops back via node A to step 450 .

Referring now additionally to FIG. 8 , the bellows 92 is shown engaging the top surface of the pill 500 . Bellows 92 deforms to the surface topology of pill 500 and will generally form a vacuum seal. However, there are cases where the bellows 92 is completely deformed but still does not form a vacuum seal. This may occur if the bellows 92 engages the edge of the pill such that the conduit 106 remains partially open to atmospheric pressure, thereby preventing a vacuum seal from forming. With bellows 92 fully compressed without forming a vacuum seal, sheath 108 begins to move upward against the force of spring 126 and switch 120 . Eventually, the switch 120 closes, preventing further downward movement of the assembly 91 and preventing possible crushing or otherwise breaking of the pills located below the assembly 91 . Additionally, the downward force of the sheath 108 by the force of the compression spring 126 acting on the sheath 108 creates a downwardly directed force 505 around the pill 501 , forcing the pill 501 away from the bellows 92 .

In step 462, the microcontroller inputs a signal on line 100a and checks whether switch 100 is closed. If switch 100 is closed, program flow continues to step 464 . If switch 100 is open, program flow loops back to step 455, raising arm assembly 91 until switch 100 is closed.

In step 464, the variable TRY is decremented by one. Program flow then continues to step 466 .

In step 466, microcontroller 200 compares the current value of variable TRY to zero. If TRY=0, program flow continues to step 470 . In step 470, after five attempts to pick up the pill, the microcontroller 200 sends a failure message 344 to the single board computer 210 indicating that a failure occurred. The microcontroller 200 then turns off the motor 98 . If TRY is not equal to 0, program flow loops back to step 447. The TRY variable can be set to any value, and has been set equal to five for illustration purposes.

Referring now to step 460 , if bellows 92 picks up a pill, a vacuum is established in the fluid circuit and sensor 80 sends a signal to microcontroller 200 . Then, program flow continues to step 480 .

In step 480 , and in response to the signal from sensor 80 , microcontroller 200 turns on motor 98 , thereby raising assembly 91 . Also, the vibration motors 105 and 107 are turned off. Program flow then continues to step 482 .

In step 482, microcontroller 200 inputs a signal on line 100a and checks whether switch 100 is closed. Once switch 100 is closed, program flow continues to step 484 . In step 484, microcontroller 200 turns off motor 98, thus causing assembly 91 to stop moving vertically, and then turns on motor 63, causing platform 60 to rotate. Program flow then continues to step 486 .

In step 486, the microcontroller 200 inputs the signal from the light detector 110b and determines whether the platform 60 is in the correct position to drop the picked pill. The picked pills may preferably be dropped into a release tray, such as the release tray 15 shown in FIG. 2 . The correct location for dropping the picked pill advantageously includes the access hole 61a shown in FIGS. . When the drop position is reached, program flow proceeds to step 490 .

In step 490, the microcontroller 200 turns off the motor 63, which causes the rotation of the platform 63 to stop. The microcontroller then turns off the pump motor 71, thereby stopping the creation of vacuum in the fluid circuit. Additionally, to quickly release the vacuum and subsequently release the pill, the microcontroller 200 opens the solenoid valve 78, which allows the fluid circuit to be in fluid communication with the atmosphere. Now, the previously held pill is released, which falls under the force of gravity from the bellows 92 and into the release tray 15, from where it is forced into the drawer 15a and becomes accessible to the user/patient. Program flow continues to step 492.

In step 492, the microcontroller 200 inputs the signal from the pressure sensor 80 and determines whether the fluid circuit is still maintaining vacuum. The microcontroller 200 then waits until the vacuum is exhausted, and program flow then continues to step 494 . In step 494, microcontroller 200 closes solenoid valve 78, thereby blocking atmospheric pressure from the fluid circuit through port 79b. Program flow continues to step 496.

In step 496 , microcontroller sends success command 344 back to single board computer 210 via bus 206 . Next, the microcontroller 200 is placed in a wait state in step 405 where it is ready to accept the next sequential disassembly command 315b from the computer 210 .

Figure 9 shows another exemplary embodiment of a pill retrieval mechanism. Referring to Fig. 9, the dispensing algorithm 400 may alternatively use a cantilever arm to move the dispensing assembly 91 rather than a rack 94 and pinion 96 system to dispense the pills. As shown in FIG. 9 , the swivel arm 600 is attached to the shaft 97 of the motor 98 , and the swivel arm 600 is further attached to the assembly 91 . Limit switches 100 and 102 are now positioned to engage and limit radial movement 605 of arm 600 .

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and substitutions to these details may be developed in light of the general teachings of the disclosure. For example, an AC powered motor could be used instead of DC motor 98 . Furthermore, the number of cavities can be increased or decreased by appropriately enlarging the circumference of the hub 10 or adjusting the size of the cavities accordingly. More or fewer than the six pill chambers exemplarily shown may be used. In addition, the power source 230 may also include a battery. Accordingly, it is intended that the particular arrangements disclosed are illustrative only and not restrictive of the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the claims appended hereto and any and all equivalents thereof.

Claims (31)

1. pill distributor, it comprises:

A plurality of pill chamber, around the central hub setting, each in described a plurality of pill chamber all comprises base section along the periphery for it, and

Mechanism, it comes the described pill of each taking-up from described base section by grasp pill from the top, and described pill is delivered to the outlet port.

2. pill distributor according to claim 1, wherein said a plurality of pill chamber are adjacent one another are, and along circumference around described central hub setting.

3. pill distributor according to claim 1, it further comprises the member of the selected pill chamber that is used for selecting described a plurality of pill chamber.

4. pill distributor according to claim 3, the wherein said member that is used to select comprise have at least one pass wherein near the rotatable plate of opening and be used for being positioned at the member of the described base section top of described selected pill chamber near opening with described, described mechanism is arranged on the described rotatable plate and takes out described pill near opening from the described base section of described selected pill chamber by described.

5. pill distributor according to claim 4, the wherein said member that is used to locate comprises computing machine and motor, and described motor makes described rotatable plate rotation, and described motor responds to described computing machine.

6. pill distributor according to claim 4, wherein said plate is circular, and describedly radially extends in described plate circumferential near opening.

7. pill distributor according to claim 4, the wherein said member that is used to locate comprises: fixed surface, its reflecting part and non-reflective portion are arranged on the detection opening below that is formed in the described rotatable plate; Light source, its guiding light passes described detection opening; And sensor, the light that its sensing leaves from the reflection of described reflecting part.

8. pill distributor according to claim 7, wherein said reflecting part comprises a plurality of sections and described non-reflective portion comprises a plurality of non-reflector segment, described section is arranged in pattern with described non-reflector segment, and described pattern forms the described rotatable plate of indication with respect to each the code of position in the described pill chamber that is in a fixed position.

9. pill distributor according to claim 8, it further comprises Programmable Logic Controller and is used for sending to described Programmable Logic Controller the member of the electric signal of the described position of indication.

10. pill distributor according to claim 1, wherein each pill chamber comprises vertical component, described vertical component basically with described base section quadrature.

11. pill distributor according to claim 1, it further comprises a plurality of institutes that are positioned at described a plurality of pill chamber

State pill, and in the wherein said pill chamber each all comprises vertical component and inclined surface, described inclined surface is directed to described base section with the pill in described a plurality of pills from described vertical component.

12. pill distributor according to claim 1, wherein said mechanism can rotate with respect to described a plurality of pill chamber, and described mechanism also takes out described pill from described base section separately respectively.

13. pill distributor according to claim 1, it further comprises a plurality of described pill and at least one vibrating motor that is arranged in described a plurality of pill chamber, it is directed and force described pill to enter in the described base section that described vibrating motor changes the pill of described a plurality of pill in described base section, and each vibrating motor all is arranged in the base part of described wheel hub.

14. pill distributor according to claim 1, wherein said mechanism comprises vacuum tip and bellows part, and described vacuum tip and bellows partly grasp described pill.

15. pill distributor according to claim 14, wherein said mechanism is installed on the rotatable plate, described rotatable plate have pass wherein near opening, described vacuum tip is extensible pass described near opening and enter in the described base section.

The terminal part of the pipe that 16. pill distributor according to claim 15, wherein said vacuum tip are approximate vertical to be moved.

17. pill distributor according to claim 1, it further comprises computing machine, and described computing machine is communicated by letter with Programmable Logic Controller, and described controller is communicated by letter with described mechanism, and described computing machine comprises timer and memory device and user's input is responded.

18. pill distributor according to claim 17, wherein said computing machine can be operated with programmable way, with default will be from the time of each distribution described a plurality of pill chamber and in the pill number at least one, and operate described mechanism and take out described pill with from described base section each.

19. pill distributor according to claim 17, wherein said computing machine can be operated to keep the pill allocative decision that each branch from described each pill chamber doses out pills according to predetermined close and in the time at least one, described dosage comprises different frequencies and time opening with the time, and operates described pill distributor to distribute described pill according to described allocative decision.

20. pill distributor according to claim 1, wherein said central hub is columniform, and each outside face of described a plurality of pill chamber makes up and the formation circle.

21. pill distributor according to claim 1, wherein said outlet port comprise the drawer that is arranged on described pill chamber below, and further comprise the inclined surface that is arranged on central authorities, described surface forces described pill to enter in the described drawer.

22. one kind is used for the method that doses out pills from the pill distributor branch, it comprises:

Provide to have a plurality of pill distributors along the peripheral pill chamber that are provided with around central hub, each pill chamber has and is arranged on the underclad portion of obtaining the mechanism below;

Select the selected pill chamber in described a plurality of pill chamber;

Make the described mechanism rotation of obtaining, will describedly obtain above the described underclad portion that mechanism is positioned at described selected pill chamber;

Use the described mechanism that obtains to take out pill from the described underclad portion of described selected pill chamber;

Further make described plate rotation, discharge the pallet top so that described pill is positioned at; And described pill is discharged in the described release pallet.

23. method according to claim 22, the wherein said mechanism that obtains is arranged on the rotatable plate, described rotatable plate have pass wherein near opening, and described rotation comprises and is positioned at the described underclad portion top of described selected pill chamber with described near opening, and described taking-up comprises described unloading device and extends through described near opening.

24. method according to claim 22, the described central hub of its further involving vibrations is to change the pill orientation at least one of described pill chamber.

25. method according to claim 22, it comprises that further computing machine sends signal to described pill distributor, with in causing described rotation, take out and being further rotated at least one.

26. method according to claim 25, it further comprises and uses the touch-screen described computing machine of programming.

27. method according to claim 25, it further comprises the described pill distributor of programming, to divide and dose out pills according to comprising at least one scheme in dosage, distribution time and the assigned frequency.

28. method according to claim 22, wherein said taking-up comprise vacuum arm is reduced in the described underclad portion, to grasp described pill from the top.

29. method according to claim 22, wherein said plate comprises the detection hole that extends through wherein, and the surface that comprises reflecting part and non-reflective portion is arranged on described plate below, and comprise that further guiding light passes described detection opening, and provide can sensing from the detector of the light of described opening reflection.

30. method according to claim 29, wherein said reflection and described non-reflective portion form code, described code indicates described rotatable plate with respect to each the position in the described pill chamber, and wherein said rotation further comprises based on the described code of described detector senses and with the described top that is positioned at the expectation underclad portion near opening.

31. one kind is used for the method that doses out pills from the pill distributor branch, it comprises:

Pill distributor with a plurality of pill chamber that are provided with along the periphery around central hub is provided, and each pill chamber has the underclad portion of the part below that is arranged on described central hub;

Select the selected pill chamber in described a plurality of pill chamber;

Make have extend through wherein near the rotation of the plate of opening, will describedly be positioned at above the described underclad portion of described selected pill chamber near opening;

Take out pill near opening from the described lower layer part office of described selected pill chamber by described; And

Described pill is discharged in the release pallet.

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