Patent ID: 6304797
Filing Date: 2001-10-16
Classification: A61B,A61J,G16H

Abstract:
A medication dispensing unit comprising:a removable carousel defining a plurality of compartments, each of the compartments adapted to store a dose of medication;a housing including a surface adapted to receive the carousel, the housing defining a receptacle and an access aperture communicating between the receptacle and the surface adapted to receive the carousel, a first one of the compartments positioned to communicate with the receptacle through the access aperture;dosing drawer being positionable within the receptacle and in communication with the access aperture to receive the dose of medication from the first compartment through the access aperture, the dosing drawer including a normally-closed trapdoor that when opened, allows the dose of medication in the drawer to drop out of the dosing drawer;a recovery drawer being positionable within the receptacle and in communication with the dosing drawer through the trapdoor to receive the dose of medication from the dosing drawer when the trapdoor is opened;means for rotating the carousel to position a second one of the compartments to communicate with the receptacle through the access aperture;a microcontroller coupled to control the opening of the trapdoor and the operation of the rotation means, the microcontroller being programmed to:define a dosing period during which the patient may access the medication in the dosing drawer;determine that the patient has not accessed the dosing drawer within the dosing period and to open the trapdoor at the end of the dosing period to drop the dose of medication from the dosing drawer into the recovery drawer; andlock the recovery drawer.