Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
1999-07-28
2001-08-28
Mullen, Thomas (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C221S002000, C340S309160
Reexamination Certificate
active
06281798
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a multi-compartment, electronic pocket pillbox and more particularly, to a pillbox having a memory loaded with prescription data from an external source.
BACKGROUND ART
A multi-compartment, electronic pillbox is already known from the French patent 2,650,426, wherein a substantially large case comprises several drawers and electronic circuitry with a timing program for controlling the taking of medications by triggering an alarm to signal a patient to press a button to open the drawers. This kind of device provides the information that the patient pushed the button for his medications. However, it has the drawback of bulk and does not signal which medications were taken. Furthermore, the electronic circuitry can be programmed only at the pillbox site. Such programming allows data input only in a consecutive manner, first entering the time, then the name of the medication (which is displayed on a screen) and the dosages.
European patent 0,298,627 discloses a pillbox having a given number of compartments, a programming clock and flagging by an indicator of the compartment from which the patient must take his medication. An enabling switch indicates that the medication was taken. Pushing the enabling switch causes storing of the time, date, and identity of medication taken. Programming is manual and requires a large number of steps by a pharmacist. While a bar-code reader can be present at the side of the device to enter certain data by read in, other data still must be entered manually. Also, this device sometimes implies that the patient pushed a button associated with a compartment holding medication to be taken, but it does not offer the assurance that a tablet or capsule was actually taken from the compartment.
French patent 2,599,252 discloses a portable indicator showing, on a screen, the number of medications, the dosages and the times when the patient is to take the medications. This device is portable and programmed by a personal computer connected to the portable device. However, the device of the '252 patent is not a pillbox and can not dispense pills or capsules at desired times, or detect if the pills or capsules have been dispensed.
French patent 2,692,689 discloses a medical-help procedure including a detachable data medium for loading an operational program into a medical device, such as dialysis equipment, sphygmomanometers, glucometers and weighing scales. The operational program checks the operation of the medical device.
European patent 0,554,137 discloses a pocket-type medication dispenser comprising a loader and an optical system for detecting movement of dispensed medication. However, this pocket dispenser is restricted to dispensing a single medication per loader and cannot be used to dispense several medications. Moreover, detection by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photocells mounted on the opposite sides relative to a path of the tablets and capsules requires two electric wires for each pill dispensing path to power the LED and the photocell. In this design, a pocket pillbox having six compartments that dispense different medications would require merely to detect medication transit, hooking up a dozen wires to six compartments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first object of the invention is to provide a new and improved multi-compartment pillbox for which the data relating to the medications and dosages and to the times of ingestion are entered in a manner other than by (1) keypad, (2) manual input means or (3) a programming terminal.
This object is attained with a multi-compartment pocket electronic pillbox having a microprocessor electronic circuit controlling a memory storing a prescription, a control circuit for a display, indicators for the compartment to use, circuitry for loading into the memory data contained in a detachable data medium and including the coded prescription, a pill dispensing unit adaptable to various pharmaceutical forms and sizes, a detector at each compartment for automatically detecting the movement of a pill and a detector for automatically ascertaining from which compartment the pill was withdrawn.
Another objective is to provide a new and improved pillbox for checking that a pill indeed was dispensed.
This objective is attained with a compartmented electronic pocket pillbox having a detector for pills as they are withdrawn from a compartment and a counter for counting the number of pills remaining in the compartment.
In another feature of the invention, the pillbox circuitry senses pill emergency withdrawal and stores indications thereof in a memory file.
In yet another feature of the invention, integrated electronic circuitry in the pillbox includes a microprocessor and a liquid crystal display.
In still another feature of the invention, the compartments are removable and include connectors connected to the integrated circuit for controlling pillbox operation and a pillbox integrity checking arrangement.
Another feature of the invention concerns ascertaining the number of compartments.
In another feature, a detector detects the presence and absence of the detachable data medium in the pillbox.
In another feature, the detachable data medium is a card having a size and shape enabling it to be inserted into and removed from the pillbox and includes a microprocessor chip and a programmable non-volatile memory.
In another feature, a sensor for the movement of the pill from each removable compartment includes a switch actuated by the moving pill.
In another feature, the presence of the compartments in the pillbox is determined by a circuit including a resistor associated with each compartment. The resistors are series-connected to an analog-digital converter and by a button-controlled switch driving the dispenser of each compartment. Each switch has a first terminal connected between a tap of a resistive voltage divider and a second terminal connected to a DC power supply terminal.
In another feature, the microprocessor detects and records the patient's execution of the prescription, the emergency medication withdrawals and pillbox operational disturbances.
In another feature, the microprocessor program manages data exchanges with the detachable data medium so the prescription memory is loaded while implementing pillbox integrity and data indicative of execution of treatment and emergency medication withdrawals are loaded into the detachable data medium.
In another feature, storage of treatment execution and emergency medication withdrawals is carried out when the prescription is detected as being completed.
In another feature, the storage of treatment execution and emergency medication withdrawals is carried out each time a dispensing switch is activated.
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved electronic pillbox having a restricted number of electrical connections.
This objective is attained by electrically connecting an integrated circuit to each compartment fitted with a medication dispensing mechanism, wherein the compartments comprise a detector for actuation of the pill dispensers. The actuation detectors include switches driven by a button actuating the dispenser of each compartment. The switch of each compartment is connected between a resistor associated with the particular compartment and the electric circuit power supply. Each compartment resistor is in series with that of the following compartment and connected by an additional resistor to the input of an analog-digital converter having an output indicative of compartment identity as a function of the amplitude of the analog signal supplied to the converter.
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patent: 4695954 (1987-09-01), Rose et al.
patent: 4785969 (1988-11-01), McLaughlin
patent: 4837719 (1989-06-01), McIntosh et al.
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patent: 5181189 (1993-01-01), Hafner
patent: 5200891 (1993-04-01), Kehr et al.
patent: 5377864 (1995-01-01), Blechl e
Laurent Herve
Oriol Valerie
Biostat S.A.
Lowe Hauptman & Gilman & Berner LLP
Mullen Thomas
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