Patent Description:
With the evolution of medicine and related sciences, human life expectancy is increasing, and the quality of life has also improved substantially. However, this increase in life expectancy, as well as its quality, is generally achieved by the periodic consumption of medicine, usually in the form of pills. As this is a situation that occurs with greater frequency in an elderly population, it is not uncommon that, due to the quantity and diversity of medicine that must be taken, and with the cognitive difficulties that some people develop, mistakes occur, with errors ranging from forgetting to take medicine, taking an inappropriate dosage, or taking at the wrong time. Serious situations can result from these occurrences, especially in cases where medicine is taken in the wrong dosage or if users self-medicate or take the wrong pills.

Additionally, difficulties remain in remote access to information by formal and/or informal caregivers. These caregivers must go to the home of the users to help them take their medicine. In case of unexpected situations, these caregivers are sometimes unaware of the history of previous occurrences that may have occurred.

Over the years, devices capable of storing and dispensing pills have been developed. With an alarm system, these devices alert users when it is time to take their medicine. However, these devices do not safeguard the preservation of medicine, the communication with the system, the modularity in storage, as well as an efficient and intelligent management.

The document <CIT> presents an automatic pill dispenser, which has a microprocessor and some interesting features. However, this model does not allow connection to external servers. The model does not allow updating the medicine remotely. The storage of the pills is done in such a way that it does not allow changing the doses, and there is no flexibility for changes during normal operation, if needed. The pills are stored outside the blister packs, which can be a factor in pills contamination and reduced efficacy. There is also no efficient use of storage space for pills. It does not have protocols for emergency scenarios nor the possibility of communication with a smart wristband or other local devices.

The documents <CIT> and <CIT> show automatic pill dispensers with a mechanical arm that integrates an aspirator that takes the pill to be dispensed from the storage section and delivers it to the dispensing box.

The document <CIT> introduces a smart pill dispenser.

The document <CIT> discloses a modular pill dispenser system. This system does not allow communication with other devices, i.e., it does not provide bidirectional functionality, relevant for user authorization with the dispenser and for extending the alarm range of the dispenser. Medicine is sensitive and can be dangerous or harmful if unauthorized users have access to it. The model does not provide a way to verify the identity of the user. The dispenser alarm may not be noticed by the user.

The document <CIT> discloses an apparatus for dispensing medication. The apparatus includes a housing carrying first and second carousels, each of which is adapted to hold medication. However, the apparatus does not comprises the delivery cup presence sensors checks the removal of the delivery cup from the medicine dispenser; and a counting sensor; and a weight sensor and does not comprises a vibration motor which is activated which releases medicine units that may be stuck.

The invention is defined by the appended claims and consists of a modular, automatic, and intelligent device, with low production cost for entry into the international market. The medicine dispenser may contain a mechanical component, an electronic component and a computer component. The medicine dispenser is configured to store, organize and dispense prescribed medicine to the user or users of the equipment. The dispenser also allows coupling to other dispensers, which allows increasing the number of users that can benefit from the equipment, with the increase of the storage area.

These and other characteristics can be easily understood by means of the attached drawings, which are to be considered as mere examples and in no way restrictive of the scope of the invention. In the drawings, and for illustrative purposes, the measurements of some of the elements may be exaggerated and not drawn to scale. The absolute and relative dimensions do not correspond to the real ratios for the embodiments of the invention.

In the figures are marked the elements and components of the equipment of the present invention, as well as the elements essential for the functioning of the invention:.

By "substantially cylindrical" and "substantially trapezoidal" shapes is meant the preferred shapes for embodiments of the invention, although the invention is able to work with other shapes.

By "substantially vertical", "at the back" and "at the bottom" positions is meant the preferred positions for implementing the invention, although the invention is able to work with other positions.

By "medicine units" is meant that the quantity is at least one medicine unit.

According to the figures, the present invention relates to a modular and automatic dispenser for medicine, intended for the automatic and timely dispensing of medicine, particularly in the form of pills, capsules or similar for delivery to at least one user, comprising a storage system, a delivery system and a management and communication system.

The medicine dispenser (<NUM>) integrates a chassis (<NUM>) comprising:.

In the interior of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) are located the storage system and the delivery system, which comprise the mechanical components for storing and delivering medicine, as well as the electronic components, namely the circuit board, which allow the instructions received from the management system, and which control the mechanical components, to be executed. The medicine dispenser (<NUM>) also has a mechanism for coupling to other medicine dispensers (<NUM>).

The housing (<NUM>), in a preferred embodiment, has substantially an "L" shape and incorporates means that allow the at least one dispenser module (<NUM>) to be attached. The lower wall of the housing (<NUM>) is placed in a substantially horizontal position and the side wall of the housing (<NUM>) is placed in a substantially vertical position. The lower wall of the housing (<NUM>) additionally comprises a connector (<NUM>). In a preferred embodiment, the means enabling the attachment of the dispenser module (<NUM>) are rails which are coupled to the bottom wall and the side wall of the housing (<NUM>). In another embodiment, the housing (<NUM>) has any shape suitable to fit the at least one dispenser module (<NUM>).

The dispenser module (<NUM>), in a preferred embodiment, has a substantially cylindrical shape, is placed in a substantially vertical position within the chassis (<NUM>) and integrates a wrapper (<NUM>) having a substantially circular shape, encircling a storage divider (<NUM>) and which comprises an opening (<NUM>) in its lower part through which the medicine are dispensed. The storage divider (<NUM>) integrates at least one partition (<NUM>) separating the at least one locker (<NUM>) used for storing medicine. Each locker (<NUM>) is substantially trapezoidal in shape, with a width that narrows from the outside to the inside, the inside being the wall in the centre of the storage divider (<NUM>). As the medicine, and consequently the casings protecting them, can be of different sizes and shapes, the size of the lockers (<NUM>) can be changed by adjusting the distance between partitions (<NUM>) by moving the partitions (<NUM>) on the centre wall of the storage divider (<NUM>), so that the lockers (<NUM>) can suit the size of the medicine or the casing of the medicine to be stored. As the wrapper (<NUM>) surrounds the storage divider (<NUM>), inappropriate outflow of medicine from the lockers (<NUM>) is prevented. The dispenser module (<NUM>) additionally comprises means enabling the at least one dispenser module (<NUM>) to be fixed to the housing (<NUM>). In a preferred embodiment, the means for attaching the dispenser module (<NUM>) to the housing (<NUM>) is a guide (<NUM>) which is shaped to fit into the existing rails of the housing (<NUM>). In one embodiment, the guide (<NUM>) and the housing (<NUM>) have mutually complementary shapes. In a preferred embodiment, the guide (<NUM>) has substantially an "L" shape, whereby both walls of the guide (<NUM>), i.e. the side wall and the bottom wall, have a length substantially equal to the radius of the wrapper (<NUM>), whereby the bottom wall of the guide (<NUM>) engages in rails of the bottom wall of the housing (<NUM>) and the side wall of the guide (<NUM>) engages in rails of the side wall of the housing (<NUM>).

The dispenser module (<NUM>) also incorporates a connector (<NUM>) for connection between the management and communication system and the rotation system (<NUM>) of the dispenser module (<NUM>). Located at the rear of the dispenser module (<NUM>), the rotation system (<NUM>) integrates the rotation components of the storage divider (<NUM>).

The rails of the housing (<NUM>) are configured to receive the guides (<NUM>) of the dispenser module and comprise guide fixing mechanisms (<NUM>) that allow the dispenser module (<NUM>) to be coupled and uncoupled. The rails of the housing (<NUM>) also comprise mechanisms for joining the electronics to the connector (<NUM>) of the dispenser module (<NUM>). Due to the shape and position of the guide (<NUM>), the dispenser module (<NUM>) is fixed to the housing (<NUM>) in a substantially vertical position.

The dispenser module (<NUM>) can be easily removed and inserted in the interior of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>), facilitating the refilling of the dispenser module (<NUM>) whenever necessary. After gaining access to the housing (<NUM>), through the opening of the cover (<NUM>), the guides (<NUM>) allow for easy insertion and removal of the dispenser modules (<NUM>) from the interior of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>).

The medicine delivery system allows for the collection of medicine and its routing to the outlet.

The delivery system comprises a medicine router (<NUM>), positioned under the dispenser module (<NUM>), comprising:.

The router (<NUM>) presents any shape suitable for routing the medicine that falls into it, transferring said medicine, by gravity, to the delivery cup (<NUM>) positioned under the router (<NUM>). In a preferred embodiment, the router (<NUM>) has a semifunnel shape.

The counting sensor checks if the medicine units have left the dispensing module (<NUM>). The weight sensor ascertains if the medicine units have been delivered to the delivery cup (<NUM>) and the presence sensor of the delivery cup (<NUM>) confirms if the delivery cup (<NUM>) has already been removed or is still in the medicine dispenser (<NUM>). After the medicine unit is released from the dispenser module (<NUM>), the counting sensor confirms that the amount of medicine units that fell into the router (<NUM>) corresponds to the number of medicine units that had to fall by sensing the passage of the medicine units to the router (<NUM>). If the counting sensor does not detect the passage of the medicine units, the vibration motor is activated which releases medicine units that may be stuck. The weight sensor checks if the medicine units have been deposited in the delivery cup (<NUM>), by making a comparison between the weight of the medicine units inside the delivery cup (<NUM>) and the weight of the medicine units that should be inside the delivery cup (<NUM>). The presence sensor of the delivery cup (<NUM>) checks whether the delivery cup (<NUM>) has already been removed from the medicine dispenser (<NUM>).

Additionally, the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) comprises a management and communication system.

The management and communication system has the function of managing the medicine dispenser (<NUM>), as well as the communication between the circuit board of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>), the servers and the databases comprising the information necessary for the operation of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>). These servers and databases namely comprise the data regarding the user, the prescription, the medicine, where it is stored in the dispenser modules (<NUM>) and the respective dispensing schedules.

The communication of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) with the server, the databases and the application, that can run on a fixed or mobile electronic device, namely, but not exclusively, tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop, can be performed through various channels that can be activated and deactivated according to needs. The communication channels are selected from, namely, but not exclusively, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Near Field Communication (NFC), Global System for Mobile Communication (GMS), Zigbee, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, Microwave, and Long Range (LoRa). This redundancy of channels allows adaptation to various scenarios and the choice of channel according to the situation.

The communication carried out between the server and the application allows, in particular:.

The communication system also allows communication with remote devices, including, but not limited to, smart bracelets, smartwatches, RFID/NFC tags, or smartphones. These devices allow, namely, the authentication of the user at the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) and the update of information regarding the schedule for taking medicine. The communication channels for authentication are selected from but not exclusively, Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy, NFC and RFID.

Additionally, the management and communication system comprises an alarm that is triggered when it is time to take the medicine, to inform of the dispensing of medicine. This alarm can be triggered on the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) through a visual/sound component that integrates the medicine dispenser (<NUM>), as well as on the remote devices.

Since the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) is an equipment that can be used by several users, when used for the first time by a user, it is necessary to insert information about the user and the respective prescription. This information can be loaded locally through the operation panel (<NUM>), through the application installed in fixed or mobile devices, or by connecting to external servers that have the information previously loaded.

Regarding the prescription, it is necessary to load the information regarding the medicine and its location within the medicine dispenser (<NUM>), i.e., which dispenser module (<NUM>) the medicine will stored in, and the respective dispensing schedules. All medicine are placed in the respective lockers (<NUM>) through the opening of the lid (<NUM>) that allows access to the inside of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>).

For a first stage, the parameterization stage, it is necessary to proceed with the activation of the intended functionalities, as well as the specification of the operating characteristics. One of the functionalities to be activated is the need for user authentication. Another of the existing functionalities, whose operating characteristics need to be defined, are the alarm parameters. For example, what type of alarm is activated, whether it is visual, acoustic or both visual and acoustic, whether it is activated locally and/or through remote devices and for how long it is active. It is also necessary to inform the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) of what action to take if the alarm is not deactivated within the time set. If there is more than one user, each user defines their own parameters. The parameters will be saved and used in the interaction with the respective user.

During the parameterization of a user, it is also possible to register remote devices associated with the user, namely, but not exclusively, smart wristbands, smartwatches, RFID/NFC tags, or smartphones. Each user can have more than one remote device associated, however, a given remote device can only be associated with one user.

For a second step, the delivery step, when the time comes to dispense a medicine according to the prescription time, the alarm of the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) is activated.

The user or users, or someone duly authorized to do so, namely a formal and/or informal caregiver, comes or goes to the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) at the time set in the timetable to collect the medicine to be taken.

If authentication is active, the alarm is deactivated, and the medicine is dispensed by user authentication with the medicine dispenser (<NUM>). This authentication is executed by entering a code on the operation panel (<NUM>), through a remote device or through an application installed on a mobile device. An alarm is always related to a medicine prescription for one user. The device uses the parameters previously entered to alert the user to take the dose. Authentication is only authorized if the code is correctly entered in the operation panel (<NUM>), by the remote device or by the application installed on a mobile device associated to the user who must take the dose.

If the user authentication option is not active, pressing the multifunction button (<NUM>) deactivates the alarm and the medicine is dispensed.

If the alarm is not deactivated within the time set for this, the action configured in the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) is triggered. Before dispensing, the device informs the user to whom the medicine to be dispensed belongs to via the operating panel (<NUM>) or an acoustic signal.

Once the medicine dispenser (<NUM>) has confirmed that the user is near the equipment, the process of delivering and collecting the medicine begins.

After the alarm is deactivated, the management and communication system send information about the location of the medicine to be dispensed and the quantity to be dispensed to the circuit board that controls the storage system and the delivery system. Upon receiving this information, the circuit board activates the rotation system (<NUM>) of the dispensing module (<NUM>) in which the medicine to be dispensed is located, sets the storage divider (<NUM>) in rotation, until the locker (<NUM>) containing the medicine units to be dispensed is substantially aligned with the opening (<NUM>) of the wrapper (<NUM>). Since the opening (<NUM>) is located at the bottom of the wrapper (<NUM>) of the dispensing module (<NUM>), when the locker (<NUM>) becomes substantially aligned with the opening (<NUM>), through the force of gravity the amount of medicine units to be dispensed falls into the router (<NUM>). The counting sensor detects the passage of the medicine units into the router (<NUM>), which lets the management and communication system know that the medicine units have left the locker (<NUM>).

Given its inclination of the router (<NUM>), the drug units are routed into the delivery cup (<NUM>) by the router (<NUM>). The weight sensor located underneath the delivery cup (<NUM>) checks whether the units of medicine deposited in the delivery cup (<NUM>) match the number of units of medicine that should be delivered, by making a comparison between the weight of the units of medicine deposited in the delivery cup (<NUM>) and the weight of the units of medicine that should be inside the delivery cup (<NUM>). With the medicine dispensed, the user collects the delivery cup (<NUM>) with the units of medicine. Finally, the delivery cup presence sensor checks whether the delivery cup (<NUM>) has been removed from the medicine dispenser (<NUM>).

Claim 1:
Modular and automatic dispenser for medicine comprising:
- a chassis (<NUM>);
- a storage system comprising:
- at least one removable dispenser module (<NUM>) comprising a wrapper (<NUM>) encircling a storage divider (<NUM>) and comprising an opening (<NUM>) at the bottom; and
- a housing (<NUM>);
- a delivery system which comprises a medicine router (<NUM>) positioned under the dispensing module (<NUM>) and a delivery cup (<NUM>) placed under the router (<NUM>);
- the dispenser module (<NUM>) comprises a guide (<NUM>) located at the bottom of the dispenser module (<NUM>);
- the housing (<NUM>):
- has a format substantially complementary to the format of the guides (<NUM>);
- comprises rails configured to receive the guides (<NUM>); and
- comprises guide (<NUM>) fixing mechanisms that allow coupling and uncoupling of the dispenser module (<NUM>);
- the dispenser module (<NUM>) is fixed in the housing (<NUM>) in a substantially vertical position;
characterised in that:
- the dispenser module (<NUM>) comprises:
- a counting sensor which checks if the medicine units have left the dispensing module (<NUM>);
- a weight sensor which ascertains if the medicine units have been delivered to a delivery cup (<NUM>);
- a delivery cup presence sensor which confirms if the delivery cup (<NUM>) has already been removed or is still in the medicine dispenser (<NUM>); and a vibration motor which is activated if the counting sensor does not detect the passage of the medicine units.