Abstract:
A pill dispensing system which includes a container constructed to old a plurality of pills and that container includes a lower aperture and an upper portion. A pill lifting assembly located below the pill container includes a pill platform which lifts a pill into the upper portion of the container. A pill ejector is connected to the pill platform and the pill ejector places the pill into motion as the pill platform approaches the upper portion of the container. An exit passage communicates with the upper portion of the pill container and the exit passage is configured to receive a pill placed into motion by the ejector. A sensor is operatively connected to the exit passage such that the sensor is capable of detecting a pill moving through the exit passage. Finally, a micro-controller is operatively connected to the pill lifting assembly and the sensor. This micro-controller accepts an input representing the number of pills to be dispensed and initiates sufficient cycles of the pill lifting assembly to insure the desired number of pills are dispensed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to devices for dispensing medications in pill or tablet form. More particularly, the present invention relates to fully automated medication dispensers which are capable of dispensing a predetermined number of pills or tablets. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,752,620 to Walter Pearson illustrates one type of pill dispenser found in the prior art. This patent discloses a stationary tube which is positioned in a movable pill container. At the top of the container is an exit passage. The pill container is pushed downward leaving a pill on the top of the tube and positioning the top of the tube near the exit passage. Pressurize air is used to propel the pill off the end of the tube and into the exit passage. It would be advantageous to provide a pill dispenser that did not require the movement of such a large component as the pill container. Additionally, the drawings in the Pearson patent illustrate a device which is powered by springs and mechanical tension on draw cords. It also would be advantageous to have a pill dispenser which is motorized, allowing for easier electronic control. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a pill dispensing system. The system includes a container constructed to hold a plurality of pills and that container includes a lower aperture and an upper portion. A pill lifting assembly located below the pill container includes a pill platform which lifts a pill into the upper portion of the container. A pill ejector is connected to the pill platform and the pill ejector places the pill into motion as the pill platform approaches the upper portion of the container. An exit passage communicates with the upper portion of the pill container and the exit passage is configured to receive a pill placed into motion by the ejector. A sensor is operatively connected to the exit passage such that the sensor is capable of detecting a pill moving through the exit passage. Finally, a micro-controller is operatively connected to the pill lifting assembly and the sensor. This micro-controller accepts an input representing the number of pills to be dispensed and initiates sufficient cycles of the pill lifting assembly to insure the desired number of pills are dispensed. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of the automated pill dispenser of the present invention showing a front bottom panel removed. 
     FIG. 2 is a front view of the automated pill dispenser of the present invention showing both the top and bottom front panels removed. 
     FIG. 3 is a side view of the automated pill dispenser of the present invention showing the side panel removed. 
     FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b  are perspective views of one embodiment of the pill lifting assembly of the present invention. 
     FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4, but illustrates the pill lifting assembly rotated approximately 180 degrees from the view of FIG.  4 . 
     FIGS. 6 a  and  6   b  are side views of the pill dispenser cap and a partial cutaway view of one embodiment of the pill ejector of the present invention. 
     FIG. 7 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the pill-lifting rod of the present invention. 
     FIGS. 8 a - 8   d  are detailed views of the pill ejector seen in FIG.  6 . 
     FIG. 9 is a schematic of the control electronics used in the disclosed pill dispenser. 
     FIG. 10 is a flow illustrating the functional steps a control code would implement in the disclosed pill dispenser. 
     FIG. 11 is a front view of the pill dispenser illustrating an alternative pill directing mechanism. 
     FIGS. 12 a - 12   c  are detailed views of the pill directing mechanism in FIG.  11 . 
     FIGS. 13 a - 13   c  illustrates the pill dispenser of FIG. 11 interfacing with part of a conventional sealer. 
     FIGS. 14 a - 14   c  show additional details of a conventional sealer. 
     FIG. 15 illustrates the modifications to the control electronics schematic needed to carry out the alternative embodiment of FIG.  11 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the present invention, pill dispenser  1 . FIG. 1 shows dispenser-housing  2  with a bottom front panel removed and top front panel  3  in place. FIG. 1 indicates how panel  3  will have mounted thereon an LCD display  6  and a keypad  5  which are used for inputting instructions to pill dispenser  1  as is explained in more detail below. FIG. 2 shows panel  3  removed in order to illustrate how planer supports  10  act to hold in place various internal components of pill dispenser  1 . FIG. 2 also shows pill bowl  15 , pill tube  8  and drop chamber  9 , all of which are explained in detail below. 
     The side view of FIG. 3 provides a more detailed view of the internal components of pill dispenser  1 . Pill bowl  15  will be positioned on a planer support  10  and a pill cap  20  will rest on bowl  15 . Pill bowl  15  will include a pill hopper  16  which directs pills or tablets toward the bottom center of hopper  16 . While not clearly seen in FIG. 3, it will be understood that an aperture  17  is formed through support  10  and into hopper  16  and allows pill rod  31  to travel inside of hopper  16 . Pill rod  31  is part of pill lifting assembly  30  which is held in place within housing  2  by lift assembly frame  32 . FIG. 4 a  is a perspective view of pill lifting assembly  30  removed from housing  2  and seen as it would be from the back of housing  2 . It will be understood that pill bowl  15  is not fixed pill rod  31 , but rather bowl  15  simply rests on a support  10  which is not shown in FIG.  4 . Frame  32  has a footing  49  which will securely fix frame  32  within housing  2  by way of any conventional means such as bolts, screws or the like. Pill rod  31  is positioned upon flange  34  which forms part of traveling block  33 . Traveling block  33  is best seen in FIG. 5, which shows pill lifting assembly  30  rotated approximately 180 degrees from FIG.  4 . Traveling block  33  moves up and down frame  32  by way of worm gear  36 . Worm gear  36  is essentially a coarsely threaded member which is positioned between a top mounting platform  37  and a bottom-mounting platform  38 . While not shown, the ends of worm gear  36  will have pins which fit in apertures  48  (see top platform  37 ) of both mounting platforms  37  and  38 . This configuration allows worm gear  36  to rotate freely between mounting platforms  37  and  38 . The pin connecting worm gear  36  to bottom mounting platform  38  will extend through platform  38  and connect to pulley  40  such that rotation of pulley  40  will rotate worm gear  36 . Motor  42  is also positioned on bottom platform  38  and is configured to supply torque to another pulley  39  position below platform  38 . A belt  41  connects pulleys  40  and  39  such that torque is supplied to worm gear  36  by motor  42 . It will be understood that the passage in block  33  through which worm gear  36  extends is a threaded passage. Thus, when motor  42  turns worm gear  36 , traveling block  33  moves upwards (worm gear  36  turning counterclockwise) or downwards (worm gear  36  turning clockwise). A guide rail  35  is attached to frame  32  and engages a guide channel in traveling block  33  to help stabilize block  33 . 
     Returning to FIG. 4 a , it will be understood that since flange  34  forms part of traveling block  33 , flange  34  will move up and down support frame  32  with block  33 . Also attached to traveling with block  33  is fork  43 . Fork  43  will have an upper prong  47   a  and a lower prong  47   b . The purpose of fork  43  is to activate air pump  44 . While not shown, it will be understood that a pump  44  is secured to housing  2  and does not move relative to frame  32 . Pump piston rod  45  extends from pump  44  and has a rod footing  46  fixed on its end. When fork  43  moves upward with traveling block  33 , prong  47   b  will push footing  46  and piston rod  45  upward, forcing compressed air through hose  51  (for reasons explained below). Downward movement of fork  43  allows prong  47   a  to catch footing  46  and pull piston  45  downward, thereby preparing pump  44  to deliver additional air on the next upward cycle of traveling block  33 . 
     Still viewing FIG. 4, one of the primary functions of traveling block  33  is to move pill rod  31  up and down within pill bowl  15 . The top of pill rod  31  will form a pill platform  69  upon which pills in hopper  16  will rest. The bottom limit of travel for block  33  (and thus pill rod  31 ) will place pill platform  69  at the very bottom of hopper  16  as seen in FIG. 4 b . This will submerge pill platform  69  in the quantity of pills placed in hopper  16 . When traveling block  33  moves upward, it will raise pill platform  69  through the quantity of pill (retain one pill on top of platform  69 ) and position pill platform  69  in the upper portion of pill bowl  15 . To explain the subsequent removal of the pill on platform  69  from bowl  15 , reference is made to FIGS. 6-8. 
     FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of pill rod  31  and an ejector assembly  70 , which comprise part of pill platform  69 . Pill rod  31  will have a threaded lower end  80  which will connect to flange  34  (as seen in FIG. 4 a ) by any conventional means such as nut  81 . The upper end of pill rod  31  will have an aperture  82  into which a threaded section  75  of ejector assembly housing  71  may be screwed. Ejector assembly  70  will generally comprise hollow cylindrical housing  71 , plunger  73  and plug  74 . FIG. 8c generally shows how plunger  73  is positioned within housing  71  with plug  74  snuggly fitting within housing  71  and preventing the escape of plunger  73  from housing  71 . Of course, alternatively to the friction fit seen in FIG. 8 c , plug  74  could be glued into place or threaded into housing  71 . As seen in FIG. 8 b , plunger  73  will have a plunger base  77  with a plunger rod  78  extend upward therefrom. An aperture  76  will be formed in plug  74  which is sized to allow plunger rod  78  to extend through aperture  76 . The top of plug  74  may be shaped to retain different sized pills. For example, the plug  74  seen in FIG. 8 b  would be for smaller pills which could partially rest in aperture  76 , while the plug  74  seen in FIG. 8 d  could be somewhat beveled to form a pill cup  79  which would hold larger pills. Fixed to the bottom of plunger base  77  will be a magnet  72 . This magnet will serve as the driving force of ejector assembly  70  as best seen in FIG. 6 a  and  6   b . FIG. 6 a  shows the upper portion of pill bowl  15  with cap  20  positioned thereon. Communicating with bowl  15  through cap  20  is exit passage  21  and exit passage  21  in turn transforms into pill tube  8 . Extending downward from cap  20  are two supports  23  which bracket the path pill platform  69  takes on its course to the upper limit of its movement. A magnet  24  is positioned on each support  23 . The polarity of magnets  24  and  72  are shown in FIG. 6 b . As pill rod  31  is raised and pill ejector  70  approaches magnets  24  (as seen in FIG. 6 a ), there is no net magnetic attraction-urging magnet  72  to move. However, as pill rod  31  reaches the upper limit of its travel (as seen in FIG. 6 b ), the net force directed by magnets  24  on magnet  72  causes magnet  72  to move upward very quickly. This, of course, causes plunger rod  78  to move upward very quickly, pushing pill  85  upward rapidly enough for pill  85  to become airborne and enter exit passage  21 . Viewing FIG. 6 a , it is expected that pill  85  will impact the angled deflecting surface  22  and bounce down exit passage  21  and into pill tube  8 . As pill  85  passes down pill tube  8 , it will pass sensor  84  which generates a signal in response to the passage of pill  85 . In the embodiment shown, sensor  84  is an IR reflective sensor such as made by Digi-Key Corporation, 701 Brooks Ave. South, Thief River Falls, Minn. 56701-0677. 
     Summarizing the above operation of pill dispenser  1  in view of FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b , it can be presumed that the starting position of pill rod  31  will be a point where pill platform  69  is at the bottom of hopper  16  as in FIG. 4 b . Motor  42  will be activated, rotating worm gear  36  (see FIG. 5) and forcing pill rod  31  to move upward with traveling block  33  as seen in FIG. 4 a . As pill platform  69  moves through the quantity of pills in hopper  16 , at least one pill should remain on platform  69 , especially if pill platform  62  includes a pill cup  79  as seen in FIG. 8 d . As traveling block  33  moves upward, it will cause pump piston  45  to move into pump  44 . This will force compressed air through hose  51  and cause the comparatively high-pressure air to exit rigid extension tube  52 . Tube  52  will project outward near the path of pill platform  69 , but will not interfere with the travel of pill platform  69 . However, tube  52  will blow air of sufficient force across pill platform  69  such that pills other than a single pill in pill cup  79  will be blown off of pill platform  69 . In this manner, pump  44  sending air through tube  52  acts as a “pill sweep” to sweep off any excess pills (i.e. more than one pill) balanced on pill platform  69 . This insures that only a single pill is ejected into exit passage  21  per cycle of pill rod  31 . As just described, when magnet  72  in ejector assembly  70  passes magnets  24 , a pill  85  will be lifted into exit passage  21 . The upward movement of pill rod  31  will cease upon flange  34  contacting switch  65 . Upon activation of switch  65 , the direction of motor  42  will be reversed, causing traveling block  33  to begin moving downward. Block  33  will continue its downward movement until flange  34  contacts switch  66  as seen in FIG. 4 b . This switch stops the operation of motor  42 , but also again reverses the direction of the motor  42  so that block  33  will be situated to begin another cycle when motor  42  is restarted. It can be seen in FIG. 4 that before flange  34  activates switch  66  and stops motor  2 , flange  34  will activate a third switch  67 . The purpose of switch  67  is to activate agitator  60  which will agitate the pills in hopper  16  and help insure that a pill is positioned over pill platform  69  when pill rod  31  begins its next cycle. In the embodiment of FIGS. 4 a  and  4   b , agitator  60  comprises solenoid  61  connected to hopper  16  by wave of rod sleeve  63 . Attached to solenoid  61  is an agitator rod  62  which communicates through sleeve  63  into hopper  16 . Normally, agitator rod  62  is retracted into sleeve  63  (see FIG. 4 a ) and does not extend into hopper  16 . However, by the time flange  34  contacts switch  67 , the top of pill platform  69  will be at the bottom of hopper  16  (below sleeve  63 ). At this point, the contacting of switch  67  causes solenoid  61  to activate and agitator rod  62  to protrude out of sleeve  63 , into hopper  16  and thereby agitate pills within hopper  16  as seen in FIG. 4 b . 
     While the foregoing describes the basic mechanical features required to cycle pill rod  31 , the control of the motor  42  (and thus the raising and lowering of pill rod  31 ) will be carried out by certain electronic circuitry. FIG. 9 discloses schematic of the electronic components and how they interrelate to one another. Power supply  90  will receive standard 110-volt ac source and convert this source into a 24-volt dc supply. The 24-volt dc power will be fed into power board  91  which will provide various voltages between 24 and 5 volts to those components requiring such voltages. For example, motor  24  and solenoid  61  will require 24 volts, relay board will require 12 volts, and micro-controller or microprocessor  95  will require 5 volts. In the embodiment shown, microprocessor  95  is a model RPC-30 provided by Remote Processing, Inc., located at 7975 E. Harvard Blvd., Denver, Colo. However, a wide variety of microprocessors could perform the functions described herein. Nor is the micro-controller necessarily limited to a microprocessor, but could include complex “hard wired” logic circuitry. Numerous components seen in FIG. 9 will send and receive signals from microprocessor  95 . For example, keypad  5  sends signals to microprocessor  95  while LCD  6  receives signals reflecting information to be displayed. Through relay board  92 , microprocessor  95  will receive signals from IR sensor  84  and signals indicating the status of switches  65  and  6 . Microprocessor  95  will also signal relay board  92  to provide power to motor  42 . Relay board  92  will provide relay circuits for performing certain functions, like switching the polarity (and thus direction) to motor  42  when switch  65  or  66  is activated. Other components which will be readily recognized by those skilled in the art and need no further explanation are power switch  93 , 1 uF capacitor  96  (to filter spikes in motor supply), LCD back light power supply  94 , and terminal block  99  which acts as a junction point for wires from various components and the pins of microprocessor  95 . It will be understood that the embodiment of pill dispenser  1  seen in the figures carries the circuitry of FIG. 9 “onboard” or within housing  2 . 
     The microprocessor  95  seen in FIG. 9 will be programmed to carry out the functions described in the program flow chart seen in FIG.  10 . Block  110  represents the microprocessor reading instructions at the top of the program. When powered up, block  110  will cause the execution of step  111  which request entry of the number of pills to be dispensed. After the number of pills has been specified on keypad  5  and the ENTER key pressed as in step  112 , the number of pills will be stored in memory and that number displayed on LCD  6  as per step  113 . Step  117  has the LCD prompt the user to press the START key and this will initiate the process as indicated in step  115 . Step  118  shows how the motor will be started and the program advanced to the READ routine of step  119 . Step  119  queries whether the IR sensor has sent a signal indicating a pill has passed the sensor. If no, step  122  starts a MISSED IT routine and displays a miss message while returning to step  118 . If the program is returned to step  118  seven times without the sensor indicating a pill has passed, it is assumed that the pill hopper is out of pills and the program returns to step  114  and then back to the top of the program at block  110 . When step  119  registers that a pill has passed the sensor, a GOT IT routine in step  124  subtracts 1 from the total number of pills and displays a “got it” message. The program then enters a NUMBER LEFT routine (step  126 ) which displays the number of pills left to be dispensed. Step  128  provides the signal to advance the sealer (i.e. the pill packaging device explained below) and then advances to step  129 . This step evaluates whether there are any pills left in the original count which should be dispensed. If there are pills left, step  129  returns the program to beginning step  118  where the above-described process is restarted. If there are no pills left to be dispensed, step  129  returns the program to block  110  to await input of another pill count by the user. 
     While not shown in the drawings and not part of the present invention, it will be understood that pill dispenser  1  will normally work in conjunction with a conventional pill packaging device or “sealer.” The sealer will normally have a moving series of pill packages on some type of conveyer which will advance the pill package to a point that the open end of the pill package is positioned beneath drop chamber  9  (see FIGS.  2  and  3 ). One such sealer is the Small Pack model  13  manufactured by Odessa Packaging located at 202 N. Bassett Street, Clayton, Del. FIG. 3 shows how drop chamber  9  includes at least one pill baffle  11  with  2  baffles being shown in that Figure. Baffles  11  will act to slow the travel speed of pills  85  exiting drop chamber  9 . If pills  85  are not slowed, they have the potential to damage the pill packaging or knock the pill packages within the sealer out of proper alignment. The program illustrated in FIG. 10 envisions a sealer which accepts one pill per package and then advances the sealer in order to move another package under drop chamber  9 . This is the function of step  128  which instructs microprocessor  95  to send a signal advancing the sealer before another pill is sent to drop chamber  9 . The electrical connections for carrying out this function are illustrated in FIG. 9, where packer trigger  97  is shown connected to relay board  92 . 
     While the above description illustrates a pill dispenser  1  which places a single pill in a package, the microprocessor code could readily be modified to place any number of pills in a package. Moreover, pill dispenser  1  could also be modified to accommodate sealers which provide double packages. For example, the company Odessa Packaging identified above also produces a sealer which simultaneously packages two pills. This sealer sold by Odessa Packaging is designated as the Model  14  and its operating principles are described below in conjunction with FIGS. 13 and 14. 
     FIGS. 11,  12  and  15  disclose minor modifications to pill dispenser  1  which allows it to operate in conjunction with sealers such as the Odessa Packaging Model  14 . FIG. 11 shows how pill tube  8  will terminate into a flip-flop drop chamber  100 . FIGS. 12 a  through  12   c  illustrate how flip-flop drop chamber  100  differs from the drop chamber  9  seen in FIG.  3 . Brace  106  will secure a rotating solenoid  107  onto the housing  101  of drop chamber  100 . A block  108  (FIG. 12 c ) slides within housing  101  and contains entrance passage  102 , flipper device  105 , and two exit passages  103   a  and  103   b . Rotating solenoid  107  is connected to the flipper device  105  and will operate by rotating flipper device  105  in one of two positions. The first position of flipper device  105  is seen in FIG. 12 c  and shows how a pill passing down entrance passage  102  will be directed down exit passage  103   b . When in the second position, flipper device  105  will be rotated clockwise such that a pill traveling down entrance passage  102  will be directed to exit passage  13   a . 
     FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate how drop chamber  100  of dispenser  1  will interface with the sealer. FIG. 13 a  shows the sealer&#39;s rotating disk  140  which has a bearing aperture  152  which will be connected to the shaft on the sealer (not shown) in order to selectively rotate disk  140 . Disk  140  will include multiple sets of apertures  141   a  and  141   b  for receiving pills  85 . As seen in FIG. 13 b , disk  140  of the sealer will be positioned just below drop chamber  100 . This allows flipper  105  to direct a pill into aperture  141   b  and then for flipper  105  to rotate (FIG. 13 c ) and direct a second pill into aperture  141   a . FIGS. 14 show more detail regarding a sealer such as the Odessa Packaging model  14 . FIGS. 14 a  illustrates a pill platter  143  with a slot  144  and FIGS. 14 b  and  14   c  show how pill platter  143  will operate in conjunction with disk  140 . FIG. 14 b  is a side view of the pill tape package  150  which will enclose pills  85 . FIG. 14 b  shows disk  140  cut along the line BB seen in FIG. 14 a . FIG. 14 c  shows an end view of the sealer to illustrate the component parts of tape package  150  and heated jaw  148  which will seal the tape package  150 . FIG. 14 c  shows disk  140  cut along line AA seen in FIG. 14 a . FIG. 14 c  also illustrates how tape package  150  comprise to lines of continuous tape, back tape  146  and front tape  147 . A pill will fall between back tape  146  and front tape  147  and then heated jaw  148  will press these sections of tape against a rubber stop  151 . Heated jaw  148  will seal front tape  147  and back tape  146  together to form pill package  150 . It will be understood that cutter tip  149  simultaneously cuts a series of perforations in beneath pill  85  as is well known in the art. The side view of FIG. 14 b  generally shows the shape of heated jaw  148  and how it will separately seal two pills  85 . It will be noticed in FIG. 13 c  that when pills  85  are deposited into apertures  141   a  and  141   b , those apertures are not aligned with slot  144  in platter  143 . It is at a later stage as disk  140  continues to rotate a set of apertures  141  containing pills line up with slot  144  and deposit the pills between back tape  146  and front tape  147 . It will be readily apparent how the foregoing describes an automated process producing a continuous tape of pills in packages  150 . 
     FIG. 15 illustrates how the circuit diagram may be modified to accommodate flip-flop drop chamber  100 . These modifications will include adding flip-flop board  98  which receives activating signals from microprocessor  95 . Flip flop board  98  will in turn transmit power from power board  91  to rotating solenoid  107  when microprocessor  95  provides the signal to do so. It can be seen how solenoid  107  and flipper device  105  act as a pill direction selector, selecting which passage ( 103   a  or  103   b ) the pill will travel down. Flip flop board  98  may also contain logic circuitry which notes the rotation of rotating solenoid  107  and sends the sealer a signal to advance the next pill package and rotate disk  140  (FIG. 14 b ) based on that signal. Naturally, the signal to advance the pill package could also be sent by microprocessor  95 . It will be understood that minor modifications to the flowchart of FIG. 10 may be required when implementing the embodiment of FIGS. 11-13. However, such modifications are well within the ability of those skilled in the art. Additionally, appendix Al attached hereto contains the microprocessor code for the functions seen in FIG.  10  and appendix A 2  contains the modified code for those functions described in reference to FIGS. 11-13. 
     Although certain preferred embodiments have been described above, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains that modifications, changes, and improvements may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention defined by the claims. All such modifications, changes, and improvements are intended to come within the scope of the present invention.