Granted Patent B2

US 12,642,749 · App. 18/628,676 · Granted Jun 2, 2026

Inventors: Sean Pierce (Tustin, CA); Hoyt Yang (Irvine, CA); Steven Hsing-Chang Kuo (Northbrook, IL); Hsu Chih-Ming (Taoyuan City, TW)

Assignee: PHARMASAFE LLC

A61J7/0076A61J1/03A61J1/1437A61J7/0481

Abstract

Claims (123)

1 . A pill dispensing system comprising:

a top module comprising,

a top cover,

a rotation axis,

a motor disposed in a motor housing, wherein the motor is parallel to the rotation axis, and

a top module locking mechanism,

wherein the motor is coupled to the top module locking mechanism and configured to position the top locking mechanism in a locked position or an open position;

an outer case comprising a gate opening;

a removable first inner container module comprising,

a pill storage compartment configured to contain a plurality of pills,

a top opening and a first inner container outlet, and

a motor housing channel,

wherein the motor housing of the top module is disposed in the motor housing channel;

a second inner container module comprising,

a top opening and a second inner container outlet;

a bottom module comprising,

a bottom cover,

a gate, and

a pill dispensing mechanism;

a power source disposed in the outer case;

a microcontroller; and

a wireless communication device;

wherein the removable first inner container module is disposed in the second inner container module;

wherein the second inner container module is disposed in the outer case and positioned above the bottom module;

wherein the gate of the bottom module is positioned in the gate opening of the outer case; and

wherein the pill dispensing mechanism is configured to dispense a pill through the gate at a scheduled time configured by the microcontroller.

2 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the top module locking mechanism comprises:

a plurality of top lock plates; and

a plurality of top push arms;

wherein the motor is coupled to the plurality of top push arms and configured to position the plurality of top lock plates from a locked position to an open position or from an open position to a locked position.

3 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the second inner container module further comprises:

a plurality of motor retainers; and

a plurality of vibration motors disposed in the plurality of motor retainers.

4 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the power source is a battery positioned parallel to the rotation axis.

5 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the bottom module further comprises:

a plurality of support pins comprising a plurality of support pin springs; and

a plurality of slide pins comprising a plurality of slide pin springs;

wherein the plurality of slide pins are coupled to the gate.

6 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the removable first inner container module comprises a channel adjacent to the motor housing channel.

7 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the top cover, bottom cover, removable first inner container module, and second inner container module comprise of a tamper-resistant material.

8 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the outer case comprises a tamper resistant material.

9 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , wherein the top module further comprises:

a liquid-crystal display (LCD);

a LCD board;

a light ring; and

a biometrics scanner.

10 . The pill dispensing system of claim 1 , further comprising a system length that is less than twice a system diameter.

11 . A method of operating a pill dispensing system for a patient comprising the steps of:

a) loading the plurality of pills into the pill storage compartment of the pill dispensing system of claim 1 ;

b) engaging the locking mechanism;

c) programming a scheduled time to dispense a pill from the pill dispensing mechanism; and

d) communicating the scheduled time to dispense a pill from the pill dispensing system;

wherein steps a)-d) are performed by a human other than the patient.

12 . The method of claim 11 wherein the step of engaging the locking mechanism comprises rotating the motor coupled to a plurality of push arms to position a plurality of lock plates to a locked position.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the method further comprises a step a1) of registering the patient to the pill dispensing system before step a).

14 . A pill dispensing system comprising:

a top module comprising,

a top cover,

a rotation axis,

a motor disposed in a motor housing, wherein the motor is parallel to the rotation axis, and

a top module locking mechanism,

wherein the motor is coupled to the top module locking mechanism and configured to position the top locking mechanism in a locked position or an open position;

an outer case comprising a gate opening;

a first inner container module comprising,

a pill storage compartment configured to contain a plurality of pills,

a top opening and a first inner container outlet, and

a motor housing channel,

wherein the motor housing of the top module is disposed in the motor housing channel;

a bottom module comprising,

a bottom cover,

a gate, and

a pill dispensing mechanism;

a power source disposed in the outer case;

a system length defined by the length of the bottom module, outer case, and top module; and

a system diameter defined by the diameter of the outer case;

wherein the first inner container module is disposed in the outer case and positioned above the bottom module;

wherein the gate of the bottom module is positioned in the gate opening of the outer case;

wherein the pill dispensing mechanism is configured to dispense a pill through the gate; and

wherein the system length is less than twice the system diameter.

15 . The pill dispensing system of claim 14 , wherein the top module locking mechanism comprises:

a plurality of top lock plates; and

a plurality of top push arms;

wherein the motor is coupled to the plurality of top push arms and configured to position the plurality of top lock plates from a locked position to an open position or from an open position to a locked position.

16 . The pill dispensing system of claim 14 , wherein the bottom module further comprises:

a plurality of support pins comprising a plurality of support pin springs; and

a plurality of slide pins comprising a plurality of slide pin springs;

wherein the plurality of slide pins are coupled to the gate.

17 . The pill dispensing system of claim 14 , wherein the power source is a battery positioned parallel to the rotation axis.

18 . The pill dispensing system of claim 14 , wherein the system length is approximately 3.5 inches.

19 . The pill dispensing system of claim 14 , wherein the system diameter is approximately 2.5 inches.

20 . A pill dispensing system comprising:

a top module comprising,

a top cover,

a vertical rotation axis,

a motor disposed in a motor housing, wherein the motor is parallel to the vertical rotation axis, and

a top module locking mechanism,

wherein the motor is coupled to the top module locking mechanism and configured to position the top locking mechanism in a locked position or an open position;

an outer case comprising a gate opening;

a first inner container module comprising,

a pill storage compartment configured to contain a plurality of pills,

a top opening and a first inner container bottom surface, and

a motor housing channel extending from the first inner container bottom surface to the top opening,

wherein the first inner container bottom surface comprises a first inner container outlet, and

wherein the motor housing of the top module is disposed in the motor housing channel;

a second inner container module comprising,

a top opening and a second inner container bottom surface,

wherein the second inner container bottom surface comprises a second inner container outlet;

a bottom module comprising,

a bottom cover,

a gate, and

a pill dispensing mechanism;

a power source disposed in the outer case;

wherein the first inner container module is disposed in the second inner container module;

wherein the second inner container module is disposed in the outer case and positioned above the bottom module;

wherein the power source is positioned parallel to the vertical rotation axis and adjacent to the second inner container module;

wherein the gate of the bottom module is positioned in the gate opening of the outer case; and

wherein the pill dispensing mechanism is configured to dispense a pill through the gate at a scheduled time configured by a microcontroller.

21 . The pill dispensing system of claim 20 , wherein the top module locking mechanism comprises:

a plurality of top lock plates; and

a plurality of top push arms;

wherein the motor is coupled to the plurality of top push arms and configured to position the plurality of top lock plates from a locked position and an open position.

22 . The pill dispensing system of claim 20 , wherein the power source is a battery.

23 . The pill dispensing system of claim 20 , further comprising a system length that is less than twice a system diameter.

Assignments (3)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (41)