This invention relates to a dispensing device and more particularly to a dispensing device for dispensing a discrete object in a fixed or selected 5 _# order or in cyclic order.

This invention will generally be described in relation to the dispensing of tablets or pills, perhaps made up for a particular dosage in pill bottles, but it will be realised that in general 10. concept it is not limited to tablets or pills but may be used for any type of dispensing where a regular or ordered dispensing is required.

There is the problem when dispensing pills that a particular person may be required to take

- ^■ - • various pills at various times of day and it is somewhat confusing to know whether pills have been taken at a particular time and for many people even as quickly as several minutes after pills have been taken, it is difficult to remember if

20* sufficient pills have been taken for that time of day and in many cases whether any pills have been taken at all.

The problem therefore is to provide some means of for instance arranging pills so that 25. they may be obtainable at the time that they are required to be taken and once taken it can be realised that they have been taken.

It is found advantageous in cases for instance where a person may require a series of pills to 30. be taken at a particular time to set up a series

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of pill bottles, each pill bottle containing the pills to be taken at a certain time of day and it is hence an object of this invention to provide a means of dispensing a required pill bottle at 5. a specified time of day and perhaps to do this on a cyclic basis.

There is the problem too, that a person may need to be reminded that at a certain time of day a pill or pills has to be taken and it iO. is therefore a further object of this invention to provide a reminder means to ensure that pills are taken at the right time.

A person may in some circumstances also need to be reminded that a pill or pills has been 15. taken at a particular time to prevent the taking of a further dosage of pills which could result in serious injury or death of a patient. It is therefore a further object of this invention to provide some form of warning that pills have been 20. taken or at least removed from the dispensing device.

The present invention therefore endeavours to achieve as many objects as possible as solutions to the problems numerated above.

^25• In one form therefore the invention is said to reside in a discrete object dispensing device, including at least one storage area for the discrete objects, a release mechanism associated with the or each storage area and adapted to allow for

30. access to a discrete object from the or each storage

area upon receipt of a release signal and clock means to supply the release signal at cyclic pre¬ determined desired times.

In one preferred embodiment there may be 5. further included alarm means adapted to provide an alarm signal upon the release of a discrete object. Such an alarm signal may be a light, flashing light or a steady light or a bell, buzzer or other audible signal.

10. There may be further included means to terminate the alarm signal upon removal of the released discrete object.

To make the invention useful for situations where pills may have to be taken several times

15. a day, there may be provided a plurality of storage areas and associated release mechanisms. For instance a set of four storage areas and release mechanisms may be provided to provide a pill to be taken in the morning, to be taken at lunch ₀ time, dinner time and in the evening before bed.

To facilitate loading of the storage areas, each storage area may include a cassette which can be pre-loaded with discrete objects to be dispensed before loading the cassette as a whole into 5 the dispensing device.

Such a cassette may be a linear device where the individual pill bottles are stacked one on top of each other or it may be a rotary cassette

rotating around a fixed shaft with the release mechanism providing a gate from the rotary cassette from which the pill bottle may be ejected or removed by the user.

In a further preferred form the dispensing device may be modular and include a release and supply module, a cassette receiving module and a clock module, such that a dispensing device may be set up to dispense any number of sets of

10 discrete objects where it may be desired to have a pill supply even every hour for every twenty four hours of a day or such like.

In one preferred embodiment the discrete objects may be pill containers.

15. In one preferred embodiment the means to terminate the alarm signal may comprise a micro-switch which is depressed when the discrete object is received into a storage area after it is released or it may comprise a photo detector and light

20. supply arrangement which is displaced about a released discrete object and the light circuit is made when the discrete object is removed.

In a further preferred embodiment there may be further included indicia means which are 25. activated after a discrete object has been removed, which will provide, for a fixed period after the discrete object has been removed, an indication

that the supply of a discrete object has been effected.

In a further form the invention is said to reside in a dispenser for discrete objects 5. comprising a storage area, a timer, means responsive to the timer to effect on a cyclic basis operation of a release member whereby to enable access to a stored article within the stored area and warning means effective to warn of such operation of the 10. release member and means to detect removal of the stored article.

There may be further provided, means to cancel the warning means upon detection of the removal of the stored article. Alternatively 15. the warning means may be set to provide warning for a fixed period of time.

There may be further included a plurality of storage areas, each having its own release member such that in a single timer cycle, a set 20. of dispensations may be made.

It will be found preferable in either of the above embodiments that such sufficient storage area is provided to carry at least a weeks supply of pills or the like so that once a week a nurse 25. or nurses aid or other responsible person may visit a patient having such a dispensing devise according to this invention and reload the dispensing device with a weeks supply of tablets and then

perhaps seal the dispensing device to prevent tampering and then the device may be set to dispense the full weeks tablets without any further maintenance.

To more clearly assist with the understanding 5. of the invention however reference will be made to the accompanying illustrations which show one embodiment of the dispenser according to this invention.

In the drawings:

10. FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of a dispensing device according to this invention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the dispensing device of FIG. 1 and

FIG. 3 shows alternative embodiment of the 15. dispensing device.

Now looking more closely at Figures 1 and 2, the dispensing device comprises a casing 1 having a pill bottle storage area generally 2 and an area generally 3 for the removal of dispensed pill bottles. In use 20. pill bottles are loaded into the cassettes 3 so that the pills to be taken in the morning are placed in area 4 and lunch time area 5 and so on.

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The time for pills to be dispensed are set on the clock arrangement 6 with the present time being displayed on display 7.

As shown in Fig. 1, the time is 12 a.m. 5. and a pill bottle 8 has just been dispensed from cassette 5 and at the same time buzzer 9 and light 18 have lit up to warn the person to take the pills that they are ready to be taken. These warnings may continue with perhaps intermittent

10. operation to conserve battery power until the pill bottle 8 has been actually removed from the supply area generally 13 at which time a photo detector 10 or micro-switch 11 records that the pill bottle has been taken from the supply area

15. and the buzzer 9 and the light 18 are deactivated.

It will be seen that in this embodiment there are four dispensing areas so that for instance pills can be taken four times in a day.

As a safety precaution in the event that 20. a breakdown in the timing arrangement occurs., buttons 12 are provided so that the clock may be overidden.

As discussed earlier in the specification 25. there may be means provided activated perhaps by the photo-detector 10 or the micro-switch 11 to light a further indicator light showing that pills have in fact been taken for perhaps an hour

after the time when they were due to be taken.

As can be seen particularly in Fig. 2, the pill bottles 15 may be stacked up to seven high in the cassette 3 and be prevented from dispensing 5 _^ by means of solenoid 16 which retracts at the required time for a short period to allow one bottle 17 to be dispensed and to travel to the storage area 3. Upon reaching the storage area the pill bottle 3 depresses the micro-switch 11 or breaks the 10. li ht circuit to the photo-detector 10 and so lights the light 18 and/or the buzzer 9 until the bottle 8 is lifted and the switch 11 or photo- detector 10 is deactivated.

An electrical black box shown generally 5 _m as 19 provides the control function and is powered by a battery 20 which may have a life of up to six months or more operation.

As shown in Fig. 3, an alternative embodiment of the dispensing device according to this invention

2o. has only two dispensing stations 21 and 22 for perhaps tablets morning and night. Once again in this embodiment the pill bottles 23 are stacked up one above the other to be dispensed at the required time as set on the timer module 24.

25. Label 25 is provided so that details of the pills to be taken and the Patient's name and address or ward or room number, medication and time to be taken, Doctor and the like can be recorded.

As discussed earlier it will be realised of course that this invention may have applications other than in the dispensing of pills and for instance may be used for dispensing animal foods 5. at required times with the animal perhaps trained to listen for the buzzer to know when its food is available for eating. In such a case the discrete object may be a container of food which will open upon ejection to a supply area and in such cases 10. where different types of food may wish to be dispensed in the morning and afternoon for instance and in such a case the two different dispensing storage areas may direct the dispensed product into a single supply area.

15. In the case of dispensing of pill bottles it may be convenient to provide a storage region within the device so that pill bottles can be returned for storage until the responsible person comes to replace the cassettes.

0 The storage region may be in the cassettes themselves or in the back region of the dispenser device.

Overall it will be seen that there is provided by this invention an effective dispensing device 5 _^ which in the case of pills will prevent much illness and suffering by ensuring that when used correctly the taking of pills will not be a hit and miss operation as occurs in many instances at present.

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