Cartridge for dispensing pill- or capsule-form medications in desired doses

摘要

A system for dispensing pill- or capsule-form medications (61) in desired doses (60). The system comprises a dispensing device (35), which includes a cartridge (20, 40) rotatable relative to a housing or frame (10) and provided with discrete dosage compartments (27, 47) for desired doses of medication. The cartridge (20, 40) is manipulated by elements (18, 18a, 18b; 14a, 14b, 15, 18, 19), whereby each separate dosage compartment (27, 47) is rotatable relative to the housing or frame (10) to a dispensing point (4, 12) for the dose of medication (60). A signalling device (75, 76) producing a sound and/or light signal activates at pre-programmed times. An electronics unit (19, 55) containing a dispensing program is reprogrammable by means of an external programming device (36, 66, 101, 102). The cartridge (20, 40) is adapted to be disengaged from the dispensing device (35) and to be transferred to a loading device (80), which fills the dosage compartments (27, 47) of the cartridge with desired doses of medication and furnishes the filled cartridge with identification data (ID), on the basis of which the filled cartridge (20, 40) can be certifiably returned to the proper dispensing device (35), which is arranged to upkeep a dispensing event log at a distant control file (64a).