Patent ID: 9542534
Date: 2017-01-10
CPC Classifications: A61J,G07F,G16H

Claim:
1. A medication dispensing device for dispensing a dosage of a medication to a patient, the dosage being dispensed to the patient upon receipt of a valid request, the valid request including an authorized patient identification input and a dosage availability determined in accordance with a medical professional's prescription, the medication dispensing device comprising: a case defining a medication holding area and a dosage holding area, the dosage holding area including an entry end and a dispensing end; a first gate located at the entry end between the medication holding area and the dosage holding area, the first gate operable to selectively open to allow the dosage to pass from the medication holding area to the dosage holding area; a second gate located at the dispensing end, the second gate operable to selectively open to allow the dosage to pass from the dosage holding area to a retrieval area accessible to the patient; a central processing unit (CPU) disposed within the case and including a memory, wherein the dosage availability is stored in memory; a patient authentication device in communication with the CPU, the patient authentication device configured to receive the authorized patient identification input; and a tray for holding the medication, wherein the tray is configured to be positioned within the medication holding area, and wherein the tray includes a dispensing slot configured to coincide with the first gate, wherein, upon receipt of the valid request, the CPU operates to: i) open the first gate to pass the dosage to the dosage holding area; ii) close the first gate after the dosage has passed to the dosage holding area; iii) open the second gate after the first gate has closed to dispense the dosage to the retrieval area; and iv) close the second gate after the dosage has been dispensed to the retrieval area.