Automatic periodic drug dispensing system

An automatic periodic pharmaceutical preparation dispenser, for alerting patients under medication when specific drugs are to be taken. The device provides orderly storage of a plurality of drugs to be taken in a given time period with a coding associated with each pill. The device further provides a timer having a signal device responsive thereto to indicate when a specific medicament is to be taken and at a predetermined time interval relative to previously administered drugs. In the several embodiments shown, the timer comprises a clock mechanism; a time chip totalizer; and a signal responsive paging device all of which are arranged to indicate when and which pharmaceutical preparation is to be taken.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
The extreme importance of taking timely medication and, when taking certain 
combinations of pharmaceuticals, making sure that they are administered in 
a proper sequence is obvious to those skilled in the medical field. 
However, heretofore, no dependable, simple means of administering various 
pharmaceutical preparations in a timed and sequenced manner was available 
to those under medication. The importance of this cannot be overemphasized 
since those versed in pharmacodynamics understand the serious difficulties 
which may result in excessive dosage or failure to maintain sufficient 
levels of drugs in the body's system to be an effective treatment for a 
particular malady. This may be further aggravated by the side actions of 
certain drugs which can diminish an individual's mental capacity i.e., 
memory or awareness of his actions. Further, as is frequently the case, 
the chronically ill and the eldery patients are often prescribed a 
plurality of drugs, vitamins or curative substances whose frequency and 
sequence may be difficult to keep track of, even with full control of 
one's faculties. Moreover, since the rate of absorption or detoxification 
of various drugs to be admininistered during the course of a day may vary 
widely, it is essential that a record or chart be utilized to be sure the 
proper medicament is taken with a suitable elapsed time between doses. 
Generally, as is the case with most people, these records are not kept up 
and errors can and often do occur; sometimes with fatal consequences. 
The effects of administering repeated doses of some drugs may be cumulative 
if insufficient time has elapsed between doses resulting in a variety of 
serious side actions, especially in regard to the nervous system, 
cardiovascular system or respiration system or even in the 
gastrointestinal track. Further, it is frequently required for some 
patients to be prescribed a buffer medicament to lessen or eliminate the 
adverse effects of particular prescribed pharmaceutical preparations. 
Past methods of drug dispensing typically provided a pill container with a 
cap therefor which carried a time indicator that was set manually to the 
time interval when a next pill was to be taken. However, when a plurality 
of diverse types of pills and/or capsules are required by a patient, it is 
exceedingly difficult to use these cap mounted time indicators as an 
effective means for drug dispensing. 
Contraceptive pill dispensers are also known but these devices rely on 
memory and are generally dispensed only at the rate of approximately one 
per day, there being no signal device to alert the user that a given 
preselected pill is to be taken. 
It would therefore be a decided advance in the art to provide a drug 
dispenser which would automatically advise a patient under medication 
exactly when to take a specific pill selected from a series of pills which 
are to be taken over the course of a day and which series of pills are 
conveniently carried by the drug dispenser. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
My invention is directed to an automatic periodic drug dispensing device 
for administering predetermined dosages of drugs or curative substances to 
a patient which is reliable and simple to use. In its simplest form the 
invention provides a portable multi-compartment container with the 
containter filled with one day's requirements of prescribed drugs and in 
which each compartment is coded to instantaneously identify the drug 
carried therein. Preferably, the compartments are arranged in the order 
with which the drugs are to be administered. The dispensing device also 
includes a timer which comprises a watch or clock to measure the elapsed 
time between doses of the drugs to be taken with a coded signal "dot" 
affixed to the watch face to indicate the time, and the specific drug 
which is to be taken. The coded dot n the watch face, indicating a 
specific hour, would obviously identify the pill to be taken by matching 
the coding on the dot with the coding on the pill compartment. Thus a 
visual signal is provided as to when each of the series of drugs is to be 
taken without the need to rely on memory or charts or cap indicators. As 
many "dots" and pill compartments will be utilized to conform to a 
specific patient's drug needs over the course of a day. 
In another form of my invention I provide a multi-compartment transportable 
drug storage container with an integral timing device which may be set to 
signal (acoustically or visually) each time a pill or capsule is to be 
taken. A coding is also used to identify an individual pill contained in a 
specific compartment. The signal emitted by the timing device is stopped 
by depressing a reset button which also starts the next timed interval for 
administering a subsequent drug dose. A paging system can also be utilized 
to activate the signal which is adapted to receive paging transmissions 
only in accordance with the time sequences required by an individual 
patient's drug needs. 
A further modification provides a rotary step-switch which is arranged to 
dispense an appropriate pill automatically, by rotating the step-switch to 
terminate an emitted signal and reset for the next timed interval. Herein, 
the multi-chamber pill storage container is incorporated with the 
step-switch whereby rotating the step-switch exposes an appropriate pill 
for removal from the storage chamber by bringing the pill chamber into 
alignment with a complementary opening in a non-rotating cover sleeve, 
carried by the timing device and extending around the storage container. 
Another modification of my invention provides a multi-compartment pill 
storage container utilizing a timing device to sequentially activate an 
appropriate signal of a plurality of signaling means and which signaling 
means are sequentially turned off with individual reset buttons which 
require shifting a specific elongated slide member against the reset 
button. Each slide member includes at one end thereof a storage 
compartment which when shifting the slide member to a reset position moves 
the compartment to an exposed position clear of a covering plate for 
retension of the pills when in a stored position. The pill can then be 
removed after which the slide member is released to begin a subsequent 
timed interval for determining when the following pill is to be 
administered. 
Still another form of my invention provides an electrical timed automatic 
signal drug dispensing device which provides for the storage and coding of 
a day's requirements of prescribed drugs and having a reset means 
associated with a timing device which is provided with a special 
connection to a home phone system. In the event a patient is unable to 
take the prescribed medicament and accordingly unable to reset the device, 
after a short time delay an alerting message will be sent to a designated 
party by means of the phone connection warning of the patient's condition. 
It is a principal object of this invention to provide an automatic periodic 
drug dispensing device for administering predetermined doses of drugs to a 
patient which is reliable and simple to use. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic periodic 
dispensing device for administering daily predetermined doses of drugs to 
an individual under medication. 
Still another object of this invention is to provide a compact portable 
drug dispensing device which will automatically indicate to a patient the 
specific time and the particular prescribed drug to be taken. 
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a portable drug 
dispensing device which will alert a patient when a drug is to be taken by 
a signal, emitted by a signaling means which signal is terminated only 
with the administering of an appropriate drug. 
Another object of this invention is to provide a self-contained automatic 
periodic pharmaceutical dispensing device which is adapted to receive 
certain timely paging signals to produce a discernible signal, indicative 
of instances for administering certain prescribed pills, which signal is 
terminated by actuation of a reset means. 
These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily 
apparent from the following description of several embodiments thereof, 
taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings although variations 
and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and 
scope of the novel concepts embodied in the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
In the simplest form of my invention, as shown in FIG. 1, a multi-chamber 
pill storage container stack 20 includes a base section 22, a plurality of 
individual container sections 26 and a cap portion 30 all interconnectable 
to form a unitary container stack which may be carried by an individual 
under medication in a pocket or attached to a belt or clothing by means of 
a ring 24, provided on the base section 22. Each of the container sections 
26 includes a pill or capsule chamber 28 wherein one day's drug 
requirements may be stored with each chamber 28 holding a specific drug to 
be administered at a specific time of day. The cap portion 30 encloses the 
chamber 28 of the topmost container section 26. Preferably, the cap, base 
and container sections are interconnected by means of threads 31 in order 
to easily disconnect the various sections to gain access to the drugs 
contained therein. 
The outer exposed surface of each container section 26 is individual coded, 
as for example with a band of color 27, in order to readily identify each 
of the variety of pills or capsule to be taken during the course of a day. 
A timing device 34, which as shown in FIG. 1, comprises a wrist watch, is 
provided with coded "dots" 36 which are affixed to the watch face crystal 
by means of a suitable pressure sensitive adhesive, to indicate the 
specific hours when medicaments are to be administered. Each dot 36 is 
color coded to match the color coding of the various container sections 
26, whereby the hour hand of the watch indicates the individual pill to be 
taken by identifying one of the colored dots whereupon the container 
section 26 with the matching color is opened to provide the appropriate 
pill. In FIG. 1 for example, at 9:00 the dot 36a is lined for blue and 
signals the hour when capsule 38 in the top chamber 28 of container 26, 
also lined for blue, is to be taken. Further, at 2:00, 4:00, 6:00 and 7:00 
the coded dots 36 affixed to the watch face also signal the hours when 
subsequent pills or capsules are to be taken. In addition, if medication 
is to be taken over a 24 hour period, additional coded dots 39 may be 
utilized, which dots may be displaced radially of the first group of dots 
when being affixed to the watch face to indicate a second 12 hour period. 
It will be understood that the storage container stack 20 will include one 
coded container section 26 to match each colored dot 36 affixed to the 
watch face. Thus, the timing device 34 will signal the time to take a 
prescribed drug and the color coding will identify the specific pill or 
capsule to be taken. Obviously the dots 36 may be coded in other ways in 
addition to the use of color, as for example the use of letters or symbols 
or braille indications. 
The embodiment of FIG. 3 shows a portable, unitary drug dispensing device 
40 having a multi-chamber, pill storage container stack 42 and a timing 
means 44. The container stack 42 includes a plurality of container 
sections 46, which may be identical to the container sections 26 of the 
FIG. 1 embodiment complete with storage chambers 28 and also being 
interconnected through the use of threads 31. The coding means, as shown 
in FIG. 3, however, utilizes hour identifying digits 48 to indicate the 
specific hour when a pill contained within the storage chamber 28 of each 
section 46 is to be taken. The timing means 44 is provided with a 
threading connection (not detailed) at its lower end 50 to provide means 
of connecting the container stack 42 to the timing means 44. 
The timing means 44 includes a suitable electrical circuit as shown in FIG. 
4, having a galvanic cell 52 powering a time chip totalizer 54 through a 
normally closed reset switch contact 56. The totalizer 54 includes the 
usual counter arrangement (not detailed) to produce an output signal to 
energize a relay coil 58 after a preset interval of time. This time 
interval may be adjusted from outside the portable dispensing device 40 
through a series of access openings 59 to set an adjustment control 60 of 
the totalizer 54. Time interval settings may accordingly be easily made 
with the aid of a pointed object such as a pencil or the like. In some 
instances, however, it may be desirable that the time settings are not 
readily accessible to tampering and may only be preset with the 
dismantling of the time chip totalizer from the device by a physician or 
pharmacist. 
In operation, after a predetermined time interval the time chip totalizer 
54 energizes the relay coil 58 which cause its normally open relay 
contacts 62 to close and complete a circuit to the interval signaling 
means 64. While the signaling means 64, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, 
includes a buzzer 66 and a signal light 68, other signaling means may be 
utilized as those skilled in the art will readily appreciate as well as 
various other circuit arrangements to provide the desired mode of 
operation. Further, the timing means 44 may also be used with a single 
drug storage container in place of the container stack 42 when a patient 
is required to take only a single type of drug at spaced time intervals 
over the course of a day. 
In the FIG. 5 embodiment a portable automatic drug dispensing device 70 is 
shown to include a multi-chamber pill storage container means 72, holding 
the prescribed drugs to be administered during one day, and a timing means 
74. The container means 72 comprises an outer sleeve portion 76 having a 
series of aligned access openings 78 therethrough for providing sequenced 
communication with individual pill storage chambers 80 in order of their 
use during the course of a day. The pill storage chambers 80 are formed in 
a spiral fashion about the periphery of a rotary member 82, snugly carried 
within the outer sleeve 76 and terminating in a knob portion 84 extending 
from the lower end of the sleeve 76. 
In using the dispensing device 70, each of the chambers 80 is filled with a 
prescribed pill or capsule to be taken in order of administering. Each 
chamber is color coded to facilitate loading the container means 72 and to 
identify an individual pharmaceutical preparation. The rotary member 82 is 
rotatably secured to the lower end of the timing means 74 with a detent 
means 86 arranged to fix the position of each of the chambers 80 of the 
rotary member 82 in alignment with a complementary one of the access 
openings 78 in sequential, one-way rotary steps. Herein, an appropriate 
drug is made available to a patient in a timely and orderly fashion 
commensurate with the rotation of the member 82, by turning the knob 
portion 84, to provide a circuit reset function as will be described. 
As best seen in FIG. 8 the timing means 74 is powered by a galvanic cell 88 
having an electrical connection to each of a series of crystal detectors 
90. Each of the series of crystals 90 is programmed to respond to a 
different, predetermined transmitted paging signal to energize a relay 
coil 92 and close its normally open contacts 94 to complete a circuit to 
signal means 95. With this arrangement the automatic drug dispensing 
device 70 will preferably be made available to individuals under 
medications by a druggist or doctor who would rent these units and provide 
the required paging transmissions and related services for his patients. 
Herein, the incorporation of certain crystal detectors 90, designated C-1 
to C-5, are chosen to receive certain paging signal transmissions which 
correspond to the patient's need for medication. For example, the crystal 
C-1 of the plurality of crystals 90 would only be receptive of a paging 
signal transmitted at 9:00 A.M. The paging signals (Radio U.H.F. 
frequency) would be automatically broadcast by supplier of the dispensing 
device 70 at regular minimally spaced time intervals of every hour. Now 
should the patient require an additional dose of medicament at 10:00 A.M. 
the second crystal C-2 would be programmed to receive the next broadcast 
hourly signal. If the patient's third dose required an interval of two 
hours to pass after receiving the second dose, the crystal C-3 would be 
arranged to receive the 12:00 paging signal while the signal broadcast at 
11:00 A.M. would go undetected. Further, others utilizing this dispensing 
device could make use of any paging signals transmitted in accordance with 
their own requirements for medication and by having the appropriate 
crystals installed in their individual units. Obviously, the crystals C-4 
and C-5 and others if required will also be programmed to receive only 
appropriate paging signals from those broadcast in accordance with the 
patient's drug requirements. 
When an appropriate transmitted paging signal is picked up by one of the 
crystals 90 causing the relay contacts to close, a holding circuit is 
established for energizing the signal means 95 which will continue to emit 
an alarm signal, which in the FIG. 5 embodiment includes an audio and 
visual alarm with the use of a buzzer 96 and a light 98, until the holding 
circuit is disrupted in connection with the reset function. Herein, the 
holding circuit is broken by the actuation of a rotary step switch 100 
which is carried at the top of the rotary member 82 and includes a series 
of contacts 102 with one contact provided for each of the sequenced detent 
positions as previously described. 
The step switch contacts 102 are effectively rotated with the rotary member 
82 and will momentarily break the holding circuit, causing the contacts 94 
to open and stop the emitted alarm signal from the signal means 95 and 
reset the circuit in readiness for the reception of a subsequent paging 
signal transmission. Thus it will be seen that in resetting the circuit, 
by rotating the step switch 100 along with the rotary member 82, an 
appropriate pill is automatically dispensed from its chamber 80. 
In some instances it may be desirable to provide an individual signal light 
98 which would be responsive to an individual paging signal received by 
the crystals 90 as shown in the fragmentary circuit of FIG. 9. Herein each 
crystal would be provided with a signal light 98 and appropriate holding 
circuit including a relay coil 92 and relay contacts 94 wherein each 
signal light 98 may be color coded to match the color coding relating to 
the chambers 80. 
Another embodiment of my invention is shown in FIG. 10 and comprises a 
portable automatic drug dispensing device 104 including a body member 105, 
a timing means 106 and a plurality of slide members 107, each having a 
pill receiving chamber 108 therein. The body member 105 is provided with a 
transparent cover plate 110 which overlies the slide members 107 and the 
timing means 106 and serves to enclose the pill receiving chambers 108 
when the chambers are in their pill storing position. Thus the pills are 
retained in the chambers 108 while the device is being carried about and 
the pills may be observed in their chambers 108 through the transparent 
cover plate 110. The timing means 106 includes individual reset buttons 
112 for each of the slide members 107 whereby activation of an appropriate 
slide member is effective to discontinue an emitted alarm signal produced 
by a signal means 114 associated with that slide member and also to reset 
the circuit for reception of a subsequent paging signal transmission. 
While the signal means 114, shown in FIG. 13, comprise signal lights 115 
it should be understood that a sound producing signaling device may 
alternately be used. Further, the circuit may be adapted to use both 
visual and audio signal means as well as other suitable means which may 
effectively be used by a particular patient. 
The circuit as shown in FIG. 13 is provided with a plurality of crystals 
90a, preselected to respond to certain predetermined paging signals 
transmitted at given hours in accordance with a patient's requirements for 
medication similar in operation to the circuit shown in FIG. 9 for the 
drug dispensing device 70. The circuit is powered by a suitable power 
source 116 with a relay coil 118 and one of the reset buttons 112 
connected in series with each of the crystals 90a. Herein, with the 
reception of an appropriate paging signal by one of the crystals 90a, a 
related signal light 115 is activated and remains activated by means of a 
relay contact 120 which is closed by energization of its relay coil 118 in 
response to an output signal by the crystal 90a. Thus a holding circuit is 
provided to continue the alarm signal produced by the signal means 114 
until the proper reset button 112 is depressed to deenergize the relay 
coil 118 and accordingly open its relay contact 120 which terminates the 
alarm signal. The specific reset button 112 included in the portion of the 
circuit with an activated signal light 115 is of course depressed by 
pushing the appropriate slide member 107 against the bias of a compression 
spring 122 and into contact with the reset button 112. Now it will be seen 
that by pushing the slide member 107 against the reset button to stop the 
emitted alarm signal, that portion of the slide member having the pill 
receiving chamber 108 therein will automatically be shifted to an exposed 
pill dispensing position as shown in broken lines in FIG. 11. Thus an 
appropriate pill placed in the exposed chamber 108 is made accessible and 
may be administered to the patient. Obviously if the wrong slide member 
107 is inadvertently pushed the signal means 114 will remain activated and 
indicate to the patient that he has errored. Thus the patient knows that a 
prescribed medicament scheduled to be taken at a given time will 
automatically be dispensed with the reset of the alarm signal activated 
portion of the circuit. The slide members 107 may also be conveniently 
coded by color or hour indications to facilitate loading the dispenser 
device 104, and with the same coding used on bottles and boxes in which 
the bulk drugs are kept. Thus a specific chamber 108 may be identified 
with specific drugs. The slide member 107 is returned to its normal 
position by the action of the spring 122. 
The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 14 provides a drug dispensing device 130 
which may be used in the home or where the device may be placed in a 
generally fixed location. The dispensing device 130 includes a case 132 in 
which a timing means 134 is mounted and is provided with a plurality of 
drug receiving chambers 136 which may be conveniently formed in a top 
surface 138 of the case 132. The case 132 may afford sufficient space to 
accommodate a drawer 139 for the storage of drug supplies from which a 
daily supply of prescribed medicaments are selected and placed in the 
various chambers 136 in a predetermined order, and which preferably will 
be coded to facilitate loading and identification as previously described 
in connection with the various other dispensing devices. 
The timing means 134, as shown, comprises a twenty-four hour standard type 
timing device which is pre-set to activate signal means 140, indicating 
the time at which prescribed drugs are to be taken. The timing device is 
pre-set by depressing specific push buttons 142 positioned about the 
timing device dial 144 and which corresponds to the specific instances 
when drugs are to be dispensed. These push buttons 142 may also be coded 
in a manner described in connection with the various embodiments described 
hereinabove. 
The electrical circuit for this dispensing device, as shown in FIG. 15 is 
powered by standard house current with the signal means 140 being 
activated through a normally closed relay contact 146 of a relay 148. The 
relay 148 includes a relay coil 150 and a second relay contact 152 which 
is normally open. A reset button 154 is connected in series with the relay 
coil 150 and is effective to energize the relay coil when the button is 
pressed. Energization of the relay coil 150 opens its contact 146, thereby 
deactivating the signal means 140 including a signal light 158 and a 
buzzer 160; and also closes its relay contact 152 to establish a holding 
circuit to the relay coil 150. Thus the normally closed contact 146 is 
held open and the signal means remains deactivated. 
In turn, and on a preset hour each of the depressed push buttons 142 is 
effective to cause a momentary disruption of power in the circuit which 
deenergizes the coil 150 of the relay 148. With the relay coil 150 
deenergized, relay contact 152 opens and relay contact 146 closes. 
Following the momentary power disruption and when power is again restored, 
a circuit is provided through that portion of the circuit including the 
signal means 140 causing an alarm signal to be emitted therefrom. 
Depressing the push button 154 energizes the relay 148 to again establish 
the holding circuit and deactivate the signal means 140, in resetting the 
circuit for timing a subsequent interval between administering drug doses. 
This procedure is repeated in response to each momentary interruption of 
power in the circuit as caused by the preset buttons 142 of the timer 
means 134. 
Chronically ill patients who are dependent on receiving prescribed drugs in 
timely doses may utilize an alerting device 162, incorporated into the 
dispensing device 130 and which is connected to a telephone system 163 to 
automatically send a preset signal over the phone indicating that help is 
needed if a patient is unable to reset the device and consequently unable 
to take required medication. Herein an alert timer 164 is connected in 
series with the signal means 140 and relay contact 146, which after being 
energized for a predetermined length of time closes contact 166 to connect 
a pulsar device 168 into the phone system 163 whereby an alerting 
communication is transmitted to appropriate parties, indicating that the 
patient is in need of help. 
The circuit for the dispensing device 130 may be modified to provide an 
individual signal light 158a to identify a pill in a specific chamber 136 
which is to be taken as determined by the preset timer means 134. Herein, 
a sequencing arrangement such as a step switch means may be incorporated 
into the circuit (not detailed) which will alternately activate each of 
the signal lights 158a in response to operation of the reset button 154. A 
transparent disc 170 forms the bottom wall of each chamber 136 allowing 
the signal light 158a to be seen from above and which will illuminate the 
appropriate chamber from which a pill is to be administered. 
It should be recognized that various other timing means, signal means, pill 
container means and various other arrangement of the components 
illustrated or suggested in connection with specific embodiments of my 
invention, may be made to accommodate a specific patient's infirmity or 
mode of living and it is to be understood that these variations and 
modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope 
of the novel concepts of this invention.