Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6581797
-
Patent Number
6,581,797
-
Date Filed
Friday, June 15, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, June 24, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
Agents
- Fliesler, Dubb, Meyer & Lovejoy LLP
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 221 2
- 221 3
- 221 7
- 221 8
- 221 13
- 221 15
- 221 76
- 221 82
- 221 84
- 221 85
- 368 10
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A programmable vitamin and pill dispenser that is capable of storing multiple pill groups. The dispenser provides reminders to an individual when it is time to ingest the next serving. The serving is dispensed into a cup upon depressing a dispenser button. By loading the individual compartments specific to each serving, an individual does not have to create the serving each time.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a vitamin and pill dispensing device. More particularly, this present invention pertains to a device that can be programmed to automatically alert a user when it is time to take the next pill.
BACKGROUND
The use of vitamins and pills has increased significantly in the past years. With this increase in use, there has grown a need to have a pill storage device which may be conveniently used by an individual as a dispenser of pills. Particularly, the individual may be using several different vitamins or pills, requiring a multi-compartment device that is easy to use at home. A central requisite of a pill dispenser is the ability for convenient pill filling and dispensing.
Pill dispensing mechanisms have been commercially available for many years. Typically, a dispensing mechanism comprises a box having dosage compartments and indicia indicating what dosage should be taken on a particular day. However, the user is still dependent on his/her memory to open the correct compartment, at the appropriate dosage time. Thus these devices are not convenient for use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
What would be desired is to provide an automatic dosage dispenser device where the user is alerted up to a number of times daily, via, by way of example only, an audible alarm or visual alarm that a proper dose is available for ingestion. In this respect, the vitamin and pill dispensing device according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art.
Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continued need for a new and improved vitamin and pill dispensing device which can be used for dispensing a predetermined quantity of vitamins and pills. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills the need.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a vitamin and pill dispensing device that has multiple compartments for storing pill groups. The multiple compartments provides an individual with the ability to store several servings for dispensing over a multiple hour or multiple day period.
It is yet another object of the present invention to dispense each pill group into a removable pill container so that the user can easily ingest each serving.
Another object of the present invention is for an individual to have the ability to program the dispensing unit to automatically dispense and/or provide a reminder when to take the vitamin or pill.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a rear view of an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3
is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention with the front cover removed to illustrate the individual compartments for storing the pills.
FIG. 4
is an enlarged front view of the display controls of the embodiment of FIG.
1
.
FIG. 5
is a schematic representation of an embodiment of the electronic circuitry of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The pill dispenser
100
(
FIGS. 1
,
2
,
3
) is used for storing and dispensing vitamins and pills. The pill dispenser
100
contains a housing
101
, a removable front cover
102
, a rotating belt
116
, dividers
117
and a dispensing area
120
. The housing
101
has a base
122
that provides support allowing the housing
101
to stand vertically when placed upon a flat surface. The base
122
also provides a platform for the cup
108
to sit upon. The cup
108
can be designed to be removable if desired. The housing
101
also has a hanger
134
on the back surface so that the dispenser
100
can be hung from a wall (see FIG.
2
).
The pill dispenser
100
preferably has twenty-eight (28) individual compartments
124
for storing vitamin and/or pill servings. It can be appreciated that different numbers of compartments can be used depending upon the number of pills, or combinations of pills that are desired to be stored, and also depending upon the number of hours or days such storage and dispensing is desired. The compartments
124
are created by the dividers
117
that extend substantially perpendicular from the rotatable belt
116
. As many individuals must ingest more than one pill or vitamin in a serving, each compartment
124
is large enough to hold several vitamins and/or pills.
The rotatable belt
116
is placed around a motor-driven drum and a second drum (both not shown) to provide tension within the belt
116
. The belt
116
is preferably manufactured from a flexible plastic or rubber. Other materials such as metal may also be used. However, the belt
116
should be manufactured from a flexible material because the belt
116
must wrap around the motor-driven drum and the second drum.
Since the belt
116
is continuous, only one drum needs to have a motor to rotate the belt. The second drum only needs to provide tension and guidance. The pill dispenser may have two motor-driven drums, but the additional motor mechanism will add cost unnecessarily to the pill dispenser
100
.
Preferably, the dividers
117
and the belt
116
are molded to form one piece. However, it is within the scope of the invention that the dividers
117
are connected with the belt
116
. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the dividers
117
can be fastened in many different ways such as, but not limited to, a pin or adhesive. Any method of fastening whereby the divider
117
is rigid and extends substantially perpendicular from the belt
117
is acceptable.
The dispenser
100
has a removable front cover
102
, allowing easy access to the compartments
124
. To load the compartments
124
, an individual can place the dispenser
100
on the back surface of the housing
101
so that the compartments
124
are facing upward. By removing the front cover
102
, individual servings can be placed within each of the compartments
124
. A complete individual serving should be placed within each compartment
124
. By doing so, an individual will receive the complete serving he/she should take with one push of the control button
106
. Another advantage of placing a complete serving in each compartment
124
is that an individual can load from several days to one month worth of servings at one time. For example, if an individual has three different regimens per day, nine days worth of servings can be loaded at one time. As the compartments
124
rotate in a single direction sequentially, the compartments
124
should be filled in the sequence that the regimens will be ingested.
An individual can program the pill dispenser
100
to customize the operation of the dispenser
100
to his or her specific regimen. The pill dispenser
100
should be programmed to remind the individual when it is time to take the next serving. The pill dispenser
100
has a four position slide switch
110
to set how many servings per day an individual will require (See FIG.
4
). The four position slide switch
110
allows an individual to select from one to four servings per day.
The pill dispenser
100
can automatically calculate serving times based on the first serving time of the day. To set a timing schedule, first move the switch
118
to the “1
st
serving time set” position. To set the first serving-time of the day an individual may depress the hour button
114
and the minute button
112
to reach a specific time. The display
104
will show the time selected. Then, an individual must select the number of servings per day. The four position slide switch
110
allows an individual to select either 1, 2, 3 or 4 servings per day. By setting the switch
118
to the “run” position, the pill dispenser
100
will automatically calculate the serving time for the second, third and fourth servings of the day. For example, if an individual sets the first serving time for 8:00 a.m. and schedules four servings for the day, the timer will calculated subsequent serving times at 1:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. Further examples are shown below in Table 1.
TABLE 1
|
|
Number of
Alarm
|
Servings
Interval
First
Second
Third
Fourth
|
|
1X
24 hrs
8:00 am
|
2X
12 hrs
8:00 am
8:00 pm
|
3X
7 hrs
8:00 am
3:00 pm
10:00 pm
|
4X
5 hrs
8:00 am
1:00 pm
6:00 pm
11:00 pm
|
|
The timer
200
(See
FIG. 5
) has an algorithm that calculates the serving times. Referring to Table 1 above, when an individual sets the switch
110
to one serving per day, the timer will calculate subsequent servings to be twenty-four hours apart. When the switch
110
is set to two servings per day, the timer will calculate the second serving to be twelve hours after the first serving. When the switch
110
is set to three servings a day, the timer
200
will calculate the subsequent servings to be seven hours apart. When the switch
110
is set to four servings per day, the timer
200
calculates the subsequent servings to be five hours apart.
The serving times can also be individually programmed. To set the first serving time, place the switch
110
to the first position and the switch
118
to “1
st
serving time set.” Then, select the specific time by depressing the hour button
114
and the minute button
112
. To set the second serving time, first place the switch
110
in the second position and then select the specific time by using the hour button
114
and the minute button
112
. Repeat this procedure with the switch
110
in the third and fourth position to set the third and fourth serving time. Finally, place switch
118
back to the “run” position. By completing this process, the pill dispenser
100
will repeat the programmed serving times every day. Any serving time can be changed by placing the switch
110
to the specific serving time, the switch
118
to “clock set” and using the hour button
114
and the minute button
112
.
Once the dispenser
100
is programmed, the dispenser
100
will notify the individual when it is time to ingest a serving. For example, the serving time and serving number on the display
104
will flash to indicate that it is time for a serving. In addition, a piezo-electric beeper
107
and/or LED
105
will activate at the same time. For example, if the pill dispenser
100
is set for three servings per day and the first serving is set at 8:00 am, an alarm will activate at 8:00 am, 3:00 pm and 10:00 pm. The pill dispenser
100
may be used without the LED reminder or the piezo-electric beeper
107
set and enabled. The back surface of the housing
101
has a beeper alarm on/off switch
130
and an LED on/off switch
132
(See FIG.
2
). In addition, the back surface of the housing
101
has a battery compartment
136
and a wall mount
134
.
When an individual is ready to take the next serving, manually activating the dispense control
106
will cause the rotating belt
116
to index forward one space, allowing the pills in the next compartment
124
to fall into the cup
108
. The timer
200
controls the display
104
, piezo-electric beeper
107
and LED
105
. In this embodiment the timer does not automatically advance the rotating belt
116
. Even when the timer
200
signals it is time for the next serving, the individual must activate the dispense control
106
to actuate the rotating belt
116
and dispense the serving contents into the cup
108
. The cup
108
can then be removed from the dispenser
100
. Alternatively, the timer
200
can be used to power a motor in order to drive the belt
116
to the next position. Further, a serving can be dispensed by sound. The sound-activated mechanism indexes the belt
116
one space so that the next serving can be dispensed. The motor that rotates the belt is connect with a similar circuit as shown in FIG.
5
. For example, when an individual says “dispense” or claps after the programmed time, the belt
116
will index one space and dispense a serving.
After a serving is dispensed into the cup
108
, the display
104
indicates that the serving has been dispensed with a “taken” indicator
120
(See FIG.
4
). The “taken” indicator
120
will come on even if the pills are dispensed in advance of the prescribed time. For example, if an individual decides to dispense a serving into the cup
108
prior to a programmed serving time, the display
104
will flash “taken” at the programmed serving. To remind the individual that the serving was dispensed prior to the programmed serving time, the display
104
will flash “taken” until the appropriate prescribed time arrives, at which point the “taken” indicator
120
in the display
104
will remain steady. Conversely, if a serving is not dispensed within one hour of the prescribed time, the display
104
will flash a “missed” indicator
122
.
Even if several serving times have been missed an individual can dispense the next serving. For example, if three programmed serving times have been missed, the display
104
will have three “missed” indicators
122
displayed. If an individual then attempts to dispense a serving after missing three servings, pressing the dispense control button
106
will dispense a serving and clear the first missed indicator
122
. If there is also an older second, previously missed indicator
122
flashing, the next press of the dispense control button
106
will dispense another serving and clear the second “missed” indicator
122
. Similarly, if a third serving is dispensed, the last “missed” indicator
122
will clear.
If an individual wishes to start the programmed serving schedule over, simply press the clear-all button
130
and all old “missed” indicators
122
and “taken” reminders
120
will be erased. The pill dispenser
100
will then assume that the individual is up to date and has taken all the servings at the programmed times. The pill dispenser
100
will then resume tracking the time from the current period, forgetting the past “missed” indicators
122
or “taken” indicators
120
.
FIG. 3
depicts the pill dispenser
100
with the front cover
102
removed. With the cover
102
removed, the compartments
124
can be seen. As previously described above, each compartment
124
is defined by the boundaries of the rotating belt
116
and the dividers
117
. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the belt
116
may rotate clockwise or counterclockwise upon pressing button
106
.
When button
106
is pressed, the next successive compartment
124
will index forward to a position directly above the cup
108
. The pill serving within the compartment
124
will drop into the cup
108
. The cup
108
can be removed from the base
122
and the individual can then easily ingest the serving. After ingesting the serving, the cup
108
should be placed back into the base
122
, directly below the compartment
124
that was just emptied. Otherwise, the next serving dispensed will drop into the base
122
and spill onto the surface that the pill dispenser
100
is set upon.
As previously mentioned above, an individual may refill all of the compartments
124
after the last compartment
124
has been emptied. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the empty compartments
124
maybe filled at any time. For example, even though only one-half of the compartments
124
are empty, an individual may set the pill dispenser
100
down horizontally, remove the front cover
102
and place a serving into each empty individual compartment
124
. After refilling the empty compartments
124
, simply replace the front cover
102
and set the pill dispenser
100
back on its base
122
or hang the pill dispenser
100
back on the wall.
FIG. 5
depicts a schematic block diagram or the control system
200
for the pill dispenser
100
. A micro-controller unit
202
coordinates the various functions of the pill dispenser
100
. As previously mentioned, an individual can program the specific times to take a dose or can simply input a “first dose” time and allow the pill dispenser
100
to calculate subsequent times. The times stored in and/or calculated by the pill dispenser
100
are stored in the micro-controller unit
202
. The key matrix
204
functions as a register whereby the micro-controller unit
202
can check if the LED
105
or the buzzer
107
should be activated in addition to the indicator on the display
104
.
For example, an individual can turn the buzzer
107
on or off via the alarm on/off switch
130
. Similarly, the LED
105
can be turned on or off via the LED on/off switch
132
. When the time arrives to take the next dosage, the micro-controller unit
202
send a signal to the key matrix
204
along the key scan output line
203
. The registers in the key matrix
204
will indicate whether the LED
105
or the buzzer
107
should be activated by sending a signal back to the micro-controller unit
202
along the key scan input line
205
. The micro-controller
202
will then generate a driving signal to either the voltage step-up circuit
212
or the buzzer driver
210
. As shown in
FIG. 5
, the buzzer driver
210
will activate the buzzer
107
, while the voltage step-up circuit
212
will activate the blue LED
105
. The micro-controller
202
will not generate a motor driving signal to activate the motor driver
206
until the control button
106
is depressed. Upon pressing the control button
106
, the micro-controller
202
will send a motor driving signal to the motor driver
206
. The motor driver
206
will then activate the motor
208
and rotate the belt
116
forward one space, emptying the contents of compartment
124
into the cup
108
. In another embodiment of the present invention, the micro-controller unit
202
will automatically send a signal to the motor driver
206
simultaneously as a signal is sent to the voltage step-up circuit
212
and/or the buzzer driver
210
. Thus, a the selected time the belt
116
will rotate automatically to dispense a dosage into the cup
108
.
The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the following claims and their equivalence.
Claims
- 1. A device for storing articles comprising:an elongated upstanding housing extending upwardly from a base, the housing having a cover; a flexible belt within the elongated housing having dividers extending from the belt to define individual compartments adapted to store one or more articles wherein the flexible belt is formed into an elongated loop and defines a space within the elongated loop; a dispensing compartment at the base of the housing located below the elongated loon wherein the articles stored in the compartments are selectively gravity fed into the dispensing compartment; a dispensing control located in the space within the elongated loon that causes the flexible belt to advance in a direction to allow at least one article to be gravity fed from the individual compartment into the dispensing compartment; and wherein the flexible belt remains in the housing and the cover is removable to enable the articles to be plated placed in one or more of the individual compartments.
- 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the rotating belt has 29 individual compartments.
- 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein a removable container sits within the dispensing area to contains the one or more articles that enters the dispensing area.
- 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is adapted so that the device may hang vertically on a wall.
- 5. The device according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing control is a button that must be depressed to index the rotating belt one space.
- 6. The device according to claim 1, wherein the dispensing control is sound activated, so that if a sound is detected above a minimum threshold the rotatable belt will index forward one space.
- 7. The device according to claim 1, wherein the housing is adapted so that the device may lie on a surface in a substantially vertical position.
- 8. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a programmable timer wherein the programmable timer automatically calculates serving times by a user moving a switch to a “first serving time” position, by a user setting the first serving time of the day by pressing an hour and minute button, and by a user selecting the number of servings per day.
- 9. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a display indicating a timing schedule wherein the display will further indicate that a serving has been missed by displaying a “missed” indicator.
- 10. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a display indicating a timing schedule wherein the display will further indicate that a serving has been taken by displaying a “taken” indicator.
- 11. A device for storing articles comprising:an elongated upstanding housing extending upwardly from a base, the housing having a cover; a flexible belt within the elongated housing having dividers extending from the belt to define individual compartments adapted to store one or more articles wherein the flexible belt is formed into an elongated loon and defines a space within the elongated loop; a dispensing compartment at the base of the housing located below the elongated loop wherein the articles stored in the compartments are selectively gravity fed into the dispensing compartment; a dispensing control located in the space within the elongated loop that causes the flexible belt to advance in a direction to allow at least one article to be gravity fed from the individual compartment into the dispensing compartment; and wherein the flexible belt remains in the housing and the cover is removable to enable the articles to be placed in one or more of the individual compartments without rotating the belt to a loading location.
- 12. The device according to claim 11, wherein the device has twenty-nine compartments, each compartment capable of storing the one or more articles.
- 13. The device according to claim 11, wherein a removable container sits within the dispensing area to contain the one or more articles that enters the dispensing area.
- 14. The device according to claim 11, further comprising a programmable timer wherein the programming means automatically calculates serving times by a user moving a switch to a “first serving time” position, by a user setting the first serving time of the day by pressing an hour and minute button, and by a user selecting the number of servings per day.
- 15. The device according to claim 11, further comprising a display indicating a timing schedule wherein the display will further indicate that a serving has been missed by displaying a “missed” indicator.
- 16. The device according to claim 11, further comprising a display indicating a timing schedule wherein the display will further indicate that a serving has been taken by displaying a “taken” indicator.
- 17. The device according to claim 11, wherein the housing is adapted so that the device may hang vertically on a wall.
- 18. The device according to claim 11, wherein the dispensing control is a button that must be depressed to index the rotating belt one space.
- 19. The device according to claim 11, wherein the dispensing control is sound activated, so that if a sound is detected above a minimum threshold the rotatable belt will index forward one space.
- 20. The device according to claim 11, wherein the housing is adapted so that the device may lie on a surface in a substantially vertical position.
- 21. A device for storing articles comprising:an elongated upstanding housing extending upwardly from a base, the housing having a removable front cover; a flexible belt within the elongated housing having dividers extending from the belt to define individual compartments adapted to store one or more articles, wherein the flexible belt is formed into an elongated loop and defines a space within the elongated loop; a dispensing compartment at the base of the housing located below the elongated loop wherein the articles stored in the compartments are selectively gravity fed into the dispensing compartment; a dispensing control that causes the flexible belt to advance in a direction to allow at least one article to be gravity fed from the individual compartment into the dispensing compartment; and wherein the flexible belt remains in the housing and the cover is removable to enable the articles to be placed in one or more of the individual compartments without rotating the belt to a loading location.
- 22. The device according to claim 21, wherein the housing is adapted so that the device may hang vertically on a wall.
- 23. The device according to claim 21, wherein a container is located within the dispensing area to hold the one or more articles after the one or more articles leaves the individual compartment.
- 24. The device according to claim 21, wherein the housing is adapted so that the device may stand on a surface in a substantially vertical position.
- 25. The device according to claim 21, wherein the dispensing control is a button that must be depressed to index the rotating belt one space.
- 26. The device according to claim 21, wherein the dispensing control is sound activated, so that if a sound is detected above a minimum threshold the rotatable belt will index forward one space.
- 27. The device according to claim 21, further comprising a programmable timer wherein the programmable timer automatically calculates serving times by a user moving a switch to a “first serving time” position, by a user setting the first serving time of the day by pressing an hour and minute button, and by a user selecting the number of servings per day.
- 28. The device according to claim 21, further comprising a display indicating a timing schedule wherein the display will further indicate that a serving has been missed by displaying a “missed” indicator.
- 29. The device according to claim 21, further comprising a display indicating a timing schedule wherein the display will further indicate that a serving has been taken by displaying a “taken” indicator.
US Referenced Citations (3)