US 2020/0390656 A1Published application

Apparatus for dispensing pills

AssigneePatch Technologies, Inc.

InventorsAndrew Aertker, Gavin Buchanan

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Abstract

A system and method for dispensing a pill. A pill bottle may be coupled with a pill dispensing bottle cap. The pill dispensing bottle cap may comprise a closure system for the pill dispensing bottle cap to the pill bottle. The pill dispensing bottle cap may comprise an interior funnel, an interior pathway, an exterior pathway, an exterior opening, a delivery system, an activation system, and a sensor. The interior funnel may navigate one or more pills towards the interior pathway. The activation system may determine if activation of the delivery system is appropriate. The delivery system may cause a pill to move from the interior pathway to the exterior pathway. The pill may move from the exterior pathway through the exterior opening and exit the pill bottle. The sensor may detect the pill exiting the pill bottle and cause pill information associated with the pill bottle to be updated.

A cap apparatus for dispensing pills from a pill container, the apparatus comprising:

a closure system for attaching the cap apparatus to the pill container, the pill container having a longitudinal centerline;
an interior funnel disposed on a lower portion of the cap apparatus, wherein the interior funnel facilitates movement of at least one pill within the pill container towards a central portion of the cap apparatus when the pill container and the cap apparatus are inverted and attached together via the closure system;
an interior pathway extending from the interior funnel to the central portion of the cap apparatus, the interior pathway permitting a pill having a pill length and a pill width and aligned along the pill length substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the pill container, the interior pathway sized to hold the pill in its aligned position within the pathway as the pill travel from the interior funnel towards the central portion of the cap apparatus;
an exterior opening disposed on an upper portion of the cap apparatus, wherein the exterior opening is aligned substantially parallel to the longitudinal centerline of the pill container and permits a pill to travel out of the pill container;
an exterior pathway extending from the exterior opening to the central portion of the cap apparatus;
a delivery system for delivering a pill from the interior pathway to the exterior pathway;
an activation system for activating the delivery system thereby causing the delivery system to deliver the pill from the interior pathway to the exterior pathway, the activation system being activated when a user performs an action, wherein the interior pathway and the exterior pathway are not connected unless the delivery system is activated, wherein activation of the delivery system causes at least one of the interior pathway and the exterior pathway to move laterally relative to a plane while the pill remains aligned substantially parallel along the longitudinal centerline of the pill container in order to connect the interior pathway to the exterior pathway, and wherein the plane is parallel to an upper surface of the cap apparatus;
and
a sensor system for determining when the pill has been delivered from the interior pathway to the exterior pathway.

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Facts

Application

16/442,452Filed 15 Jun 2019

Published

17 Dec 2020

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Classification12 codes

A61J 7/0076
Devices for administering medicines orally, e.g. spoons ; Pill counting devices; Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine:…
A61J 7/0418
With timers: with electronic history memory
A61J 1/03
Containers specially adapted for medical or pharmaceutical purposes: for pills or tablets
A61J 7/0445
With direct interaction with a dispensing or delivery system: for preventing drug dispensing during a predetermined time period

Abstract

Claims20