U.S. patent application number 14/214737 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-18 for networked management of dispensables.
This patent application is currently assigned to Makefield LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is Makefield LLC. Invention is credited to Kutadgu Akdogan, Kalyan C. Vepuri, Christian Von Heifner.
Application Number | 20140278508 14/214737 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51521495 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140278508 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Akdogan; Kutadgu ; et
al. |
September 18, 2014 |
NETWORKED MANAGEMENT OF DISPENSABLES
Abstract
A system enables dispensing, tracking, storage, processing,
analysis, management, fulfillment and/or commerce relating to
dispensables, such as consumables. The system may include packages
that hold consumables and function either independently or in
concert with numerous smart configuration devices, such as table
top machines or mobile machines, as well as remote servers,
databases, and other cloud-based resources. A distributed software
layer ties all devices and packages together and adds advanced
interactivity, communication, analysis, and self-regulation
functionality.
Inventors: |
Akdogan; Kutadgu; (New York,
NY) ; Vepuri; Kalyan C.; (Newtown, PA) ; Von
Heifner; Christian; (Brooklyn, NY) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Makefield LLC |
Newtown |
PA |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
Makefield LLC
Newtown
PA
|
Family ID: |
51521495 |
Appl. No.: |
14/214737 |
Filed: |
March 15, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
61800973 |
Mar 15, 2013 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/2 ;
700/241 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61J 7/02 20130101; B01D
53/0454 20130101; A61J 7/0076 20130101; G07F 11/00 20130101; G07F
9/026 20130101; G07F 17/0092 20130101; H04N 7/188 20130101; G07F
11/44 20130101; B01D 53/261 20130101; B65D 83/0409 20130101; G16H
40/67 20180101; G07C 9/32 20200101; B65D 81/268 20130101; G16H
20/13 20180101; A61J 1/03 20130101; A61J 7/0481 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/2 ;
700/241 |
International
Class: |
G06F 19/00 20060101
G06F019/00; A61J 7/04 20060101 A61J007/04 |
Claims
1. A system for managing consumables for a user comprising: one or
more containers each containing a plurality of consumable units; a
base including a processor and one or more slots to removably and
replaceably receive each of the one or more containers, wherein the
base is configured to operate each of the one or more containers to
dispense one or more consumable units from the one or more
containers to a user according to a schedule stored on a memory of
the base for a user associated with the base; and a network
interface configured to couple the base in a communicating
relationship with a remote resource, wherein the processor of the
base is configured to receive changes to the schedule from a first
remote device through the network interface and wherein the base is
configured to transmit information about the one or more containers
to a second remote device through the data network.
2. The system of claim 1 wherein the schedule is a user-created
dosing schedule.
3. The system of claim 1 wherein the first remote device
automatically generates a change to the schedule based on a
detected event.
4. The system of claim 1 wherein the base is configured to provide
a notification to a user of an item on the schedule and to manually
dispense one of the consumable units responsive to the item from
one of the containers in response to a user input.
5. The system of claim 1 wherein the base is configured to
automatically dispense one of the consumable units from one of the
containers in response to the schedule.
6. The system of claim 1 wherein the system includes a monitoring
system to detect a retrieval of the one of the consumable units
from the base.
7. The system of claim 1 further comprising an order fulfillment
system that compares a numeric count of the plurality of consumable
units in the one or more containers to the schedule to determine
when replacement consumables should be ordered for the user.
8-9. (canceled)
10. The system of claim 7 wherein the order fulfillment system is
configured to automatically place an order for a replacement
container or an order for replacement consumables in bulk for to
refill one of the containers.
11. (canceled)
12. The system of claim 7 wherein the order fulfillment system is
configured to notify the user to order a replacement container or
replacement consumables in bulk form.
13. The system of claim 1 further comprising a management interface
including a graphical user interface for managing the schedule.
14-22. (canceled)
23. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote resource includes a
remote management system.
24. The system of claim 23 wherein the remote management system
identifies a predetermined level in one of the one or more
containers.
25. The system of claim 24 wherein the remote management system
determines whether a prescription for the user includes additional
dosages for a type of medication in the one of the one or more
containers, thereby providing a prescription verification based
upon which the remote management system initiates one or more of a
managed care billing request for a replacement container, payment
from the user for the replacement container, and placement of an
order for the replacement container with a vendor.
26. The system of claim 23 wherein the remote management system
monitors compliance for the user according to one or more
prescriptions from one or more health care providers.
27. The system of claim 23 wherein the remote management system
compares one or more prescriptions from one or more health care
providers to ensure compatibility of the one or more prescriptions
for a particular user.
28. The system of claim 24 wherein the remote management system
compares one or more consumable units in the schedule for drug
interactions based on data from one or more of warning databases,
government sources, drug label information, pharmaceutical
companies, healthcare groups, health care providers, and patient
groups.
29. The system of claim 24 wherein the remote management system
monitors consumable units dispensed from all of the containers
registered with the base to the user to determine an actual
medication regime for the user, the remote management system
further configured to check counter-indications within the actual
medication regime.
30. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote resource includes a
financial processing system configured to initiate at least one of
a payment authorization from the user for a replacement container,
a payment authorization from a health insurance provider for the
replacement container, and a payment authorization from a third
party payor for the replacement container.
31. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote resource includes one
or more of a health care provider system, a health insurance
provider system, a retailer, and a pharmacy.
32. (canceled)
33. The system of claim 1 wherein the remote resource is configured
to remotely lock the base to prevent dispensation of consumable
units from at least one of the one or more containers.
34-66. (canceled)
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e) of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/800,973 filed
on Mar. 15, 2013, the entire content of which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The disclosure relates to managing dispensables such as
health and wellness consumables, and more particularly to tracking,
control, and management of dispensables.
SUMMARY
[0003] A system enables dispensing, tracking, storage, processing,
analysis, management, fulfillment and/or commerce relating to
dispensables, such as consumables. The system may include packages
that hold consumables and function either independently or in
concert with numerous smart configuration devices, such as table
top machines or mobile machines, as well as remote servers,
databases, and other cloud-based resources. A distributed software
layer ties all devices and packages together and adds advanced
interactivity, communication, analysis, and self-regulation
functionality.
[0004] A consumer system uses various configuration devices to
enhance the functionality of discrete cartridges that contain
single-dose or single-unit dispensables such as health and wellness
consumables. Consumables may range illustratively from sinus-relief
tablets to weight control candies to cough syrup to energy shots to
multi-vitamin capsules to sachets of powders to band ages to cotton
swabs to toothpaste to sugar.
[0005] Configuration devices may include a smart base, a dispensing
base, a lightweight clip, and/or a holder. These may help store,
dispense, mix, transform, package and/or track/guide/display usage
of consumables within the cartridges. Cartridges may attach to
these configuration devices, but may also be used entirely
independently; illustratively, as a solo pill bottle or solo
liquid-medicine bottle.
[0006] A cloud layer may enable storage, tracking and analysis of
consumable usage data uploaded from
bases/dispensers/clips/cartridges. This layer may also control
user/account management, authentication/validation, and
communication with myriad 3.sup.rd parties, such as medical
professionals and systems. The cloud may also have an API that
allows an entire app ecosystem to be built by 3.sup.rd parties.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of
the devices, systems, and methods described herein will be apparent
from the following description of particular embodiments thereof,
as illustrated in the accompanying figures, where like references
numbers refer to like structures. The figures are not necessarily
to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating the
principles of the devices, systems, and methods described
herein.
[0008] FIGS. 1-5 show a cartridge with a dispensing trigger.
[0009] FIGS. 6-10 show a cartridge with dispensing trigger.
[0010] FIG. 11 shows a palm-press dispensing mechanism.
[0011] FIG. 12 shows a spring-slider dispensing mechanism.
[0012] FIG. 13 shows a spring-slider dispensing mechanism.
[0013] FIG. 14 shows a rotational dispensing mechanism.
[0014] FIG. 15 shows a rotational dispensing mechanism.
[0015] FIG. 16 shows a holder.
[0016] FIG. 17 shows a holder.
[0017] FIG. 18 shows a base.
[0018] FIG. 19 shows a base.
[0019] FIG. 20 shows a base.
[0020] FIG. 21 shows a base.
[0021] FIG. 22 illustrates functions of a user interface for
managing dispensables.
[0022] FIG. 23 shows a base for dispensing items.
[0023] FIG. 24 shows a base for dispensing items.
[0024] FIG. 25 shows a base for dispensing items.
[0025] FIG. 26 shows a base for dispensing items.
[0026] FIG. 27 shows a clip for dispensing items.
[0027] FIG. 28 shows a clip for dispensing items.
[0028] FIG. 29 shows a clip for dispensing items.
[0029] FIG. 30 shows a clip for dispensing items.
[0030] FIG. 31 shows a clip for dispensing items.
[0031] FIG. 32 illustrates cloud based functions of a system for
managing dispensables.
[0032] FIG. 33 illustrates functions of a user dashboard.
[0033] FIG. 34 shows illustrates functions of an administrator
dashboard.
[0034] FIG. 35 illustrates functions of a healthcare professional
dashboard.
[0035] FIG. 36 illustrates a system for managing consumables for a
user.
[0036] FIG. 37 illustrates different views of a cartridge and
clip.
[0037] FIG. 38 shows a system for managing consumables.
[0038] FIG. 39 shows a method for synchronizing scheduling data and
dispensables data among various devices.
[0039] FIG. 40 shows a method for managing user associations with
system components.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0040] All documents mentioned herein are hereby incorporated by
reference in their entirety. References to items in the singular
should be understood to include items in the plural, and vice
versa, unless explicitly stated otherwise or clear from the text.
Grammatical conjunctions are intended to express any and all
disjunctive and conjunctive combinations of conjoined clauses,
sentences, words, and the like, unless otherwise stated or clear
from the context. Thus, the term "or" should generally be
understood to mean "and/or" and so forth.
[0041] Recitation of ranges of values herein are not intended to be
limiting, referring instead individually to any and all values
falling within the range, unless otherwise indicated herein, and
each separate value within such a range is incorporated into the
specification as if it were individually recited herein. The words
"about," "approximately," or the like, when accompanying a
numerical value, are to be construed as indicating a deviation as
would be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art to operate
satisfactorily for an intended purpose. Ranges of values and/or
numeric values are provided herein as examples only, and do not
constitute a limitation on the scope of the described embodiments.
The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language ("e.g.,"
"such as," or the like) provided herein, is intended merely to
better illuminate the embodiments and does not pose a limitation on
the scope of the embodiments. No language in the specification
should be construed as indicating any unclaimed element as
essential to the practice of the embodiments.
[0042] In the following description, it is understood that terms
such as "first," "second," "above," "below," and the like, are
words of convenience and are not to be construed as limiting
terms.
[0043] The drawings are provided as an aid to understanding the
following disclosure. The drawing are not necessarily to scale, and
are not representative of preferred embodiments of the subject
matter described herein unless otherwise stated to the contrary or
clear from the context.
[0044] While the following description provides detailed
embodiments of methods, systems, and devices for managing
consumable items, it will be understood that the specific
embodiments described herein are provided by way of example and not
limitation, and that various aspects of this disclosure may have
additional applications independent from those that are described.
For example, the systems and methods described herein may be
adapted to any environment where liquids, solids, powders,
suspensions, and the like are controllably dispensed on any
predetermined or ad hoc schedule such as a chemical, pharmaceutical
or life sciences laboratory or a packaging facility for custom
deliverables. All such variations are intended to fall within the
scope of this disclosure.
DEFINITIONS
[0045] The term "dispensable" and related terms such as
"dispensable unit" are intended to refer broadly to an item,
combination of items, composition, component, material, compound or
the like that can be dispensed in unit or continuous form.
[0046] While a "dispensable" may be any item that can be dispensed,
the term "consumable" or "consumable unit" is intended to refer to
dispensables that are intended to be consumed by a user.
Consumables are intended to include a wide array of ingestible
consumable items and form factors for same. For example, consumable
units may include one or more of pills, capsules, tablets,
chewables, lozenges, dissolvables, sprinkles, dissolve-in-mouth
micro-capsules, orally disintegrating tablets, chewable tablets
(including jelly beans, gummies, and the like), gums, and so forth,
as well as continuous form consumables such as liquids or powders,
solutions, pastes, and suspensions, and combinations thereof. The
consumables may also or instead include items provided as free
powders, powder sachets, liquids, liquid sachets, vials, cups,
cases, other storage forms, and so forth. More generally, the
consumable units may be any composition for consumption in bulk,
individual, individual pre-packaged, group pre-packaged and/or
mixed item package form. For bulk form compositions, the
"consumable unit" may be a predetermined portion for dispensing
such as a teaspoon of liquid, a number of pills, a milligram of
powder or the like, or a similar predetermined portion for
dispensing or mixing into a compound locally created for dispensing
prior to or after dispensing.
[0047] Similarly, the content of each consumable unit may vary
significantly and may include but are not limited to prescription
medication, non-prescription or over-the-counter medication,
nutritional supplements, vitamin supplements, mineral supplements,
veterinary medications, veterinary nutritional supplements, and so
forth. Consumable units may also or instead include food and other
items such as sugar, seeds, candies, snacks, pet treats, or other
foods and the like, as well as any other pharmaceuticals,
neutraceuticals, or other consumable items not identified above.
These consumables that are intended to be ingestible are also
referred to herein as "ingestibles" or "ingestible units."
[0048] While consumables may include items for consumption in the
convention sense of ingestion as described above, consumables may
also or instead include disposable items or the like that are
intended for one time use. Thus, as used herein a "disposable" may
be any consumable intended for a use other than ingestion. This
may, for example, include disposable medical items such as
dressings, band ages, Band-Aids, gauze, syringes, thermometers,
individually packaged units of antibacterials and the like, as well
as other items such as hearing aids, contact lenses and so forth
that can be dispensed in individual units for one time use. This
may also or instead include continuous form items not intended for
ingestion including personal care items such as toothpaste,
toothpicks, soap, sanitizer, moisturizer, cotton swabs and the
like, as well as other household items such as glue, batteries,
latex gloves, and so forth. All such disposables may be a form of
consumable as those terms are used herein, and consumables may
similarly be a form of dispensable.
[0049] It will be understood that while the foregoing terms
(dispensable, consumable, ingestible, disposable) may be variously
used in this disclosure to describe embodiments of the invention,
the inventive concept generally applies to any and all such
dispensables, and any description of one type of dispensable will
be understood to refer to all such dispensables except where
specifically noted to the contrary. Thus for example, a container
for consumable items will be understood to similarly teach a
container for dispensable items, a container for ingestible items,
and a container for disposable items. As another example, a
schedule for delivery of a medical prescription will be understood
to similarly teach a schedule for delivery of any dispensable,
ingestible, consumable, and disposable, with suitable modifications
being readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.
[0050] An other term used frequently in the following description
is "schedule." As used herein, this is intended to refer to any
time-based or event-based regime for using dispensables. This may,
for example, include a single/one-off/ad-hoc trigger or time/date,
or this may include any number of one time, periodic, and/or
recurring events. Thus, for example, a schedule may specify an
event once per day for one week, or three times a day for two
weeks, or twice a day indefinitely. It will also be appreciated
that a schedule may include events defined with respect to specific
days or times of day, or events that are dependent on some other
event. Thus for example, a schedule may indicate an event that is
to occur once a day before breakfast, or three times a day after
meals. While dosing regimens for medicines, nutritional supplements
and the like are contemplated as schedules, it will be understood
that a schedule may be provided for any dispensable contemplated
herein. In general, a schedule may be a data structure stored in a
memory in any suitable form for use in managing dispensables as
contemplated herein, and it will be appreciated that a user may
maintain any number of independent or interrelated schedules, and
that a schedule may conversely specify events for any number of
users, all without departing from the scope of this disclosure.
[0051] It will also be observed that a variety of terms are used to
describe the hierarchical and modular structural components of a
dispensable management system such as containers, cartridges,
dispensers, clips, and bases. It should be understood that these
are terms of convenience only and are not intended to be limiting.
Instead, a wide range of system architectures are contemplated,
including various distributions of processing circuitry and
hardware that performs various tasks such as scheduling,
notification, communications, dispensing, and so forth. Thus, for
example, mechanical systems for dispensing dispensable may be
integrated into a base, a dispenser, a clip, and/or a container.
Similarly, processing for maintaining schedules, monitoring
container contents and the like may be integrated into a base, a
dispenser, a clip, and/or a container. More generally, a reference
to any component of a dispensing system as contemplated herein
should not be understood to require any particular hardware,
processing circuitry, or functionality, and similarly should not be
understood to exclude any particular hardware, processing
circuitry, or functionality except where specifically stated
otherwise.
[0052] Thus as used herein, the term base may refer to a unit that
provides a simple mechanical holder for a number of dispensers or
the like. In another aspect, the base may be a dispensing base that
includes dispensing infra structure shared by any number of
containers, dispensers, and the like, such as a common chute and
dispensing hardware for multiple dispensables. In another aspect,
the base may use dispensing hardware from each dispenser or the
like attached thereto, while providing enhanced functionality such
as scheduling and notification based on an associated user and
attached dispensers. In another aspect, a base may be configured
for use with a single dispensable, while providing integrated
scheduling, notification and the like as contemplated herein. All
such variations are intended to fall within the meaning of a "base"
as that term is used herein.
[0053] In a similar fashion, a dispenser, cartridge, or clip may
provide any level of integration with respect to containing
dispensables, dispensing dispensable, managing schedules, providing
notifications and so forth. At the same time, any particular
function related to the managed system may be performed by a
dispenser, cartridge, clip, or base, or be distributed in any
useful manner among these modular components of the system. Thus
the use of any one of these terms in the following description
should be understood to contemplate all such devices, except where
a specific form of cooperation between two such components is
explicitly described.
[0054] Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, it is
broadly contemplated that a container may hold dispensables in bulk
or unit form. A cartridge or dispenser may house a container and
provide or support dispensing functions. A base may provide a
desktop unit or the like to removably and replaceably hold any
number of containers, cartridges, or dispensers, and may also
provide various degrees of augmentation to management of
dispensables. A clip may also optionally be employed as an
electromechanical interface between a base on one hand, and any
container, cartridge, or dispenser on the other.
[0055] Cartridge of Consumables
[0056] A cartridge may be a single-dose, single-unit, multi-dose,
multi-unit or continuous/burst dispensing container, which may be
fully disposable, partially disposable, or fully reusable.
[0057] The cartridge as described may provide a machine input to
interact with one or more configuration devices, such as a holder,
a base, a dispenser and/or a clip. A holder may store cartridges or
other attached devices. A base may manage, dispense and/or store
consumables from attached cartridges or other devices. A base may
manage, dispense and/or repackage consumables from attached
cartridges or other devices. A clip may be a lightweight, mobile
attachment to one or more cartridges.
[0058] The cartridge may have an aesthetic design which may have
either a polygon or a round base, where one or more reservoirs 100
may hold the consumable units. The cartridge may have multiple
reservoirs, where reservoirs may accept the same or different
media/media properties.
[0059] There may be a single exterior cartridge form for all
consumable media within, regardless of size and properties of media
(e.g. small pills vs. large capsules vs. liquid sachets vs. free
powders vs. liquids).
[0060] Single dose dispensing may be achieved in one embodiment by
depressing a button horizontally on one of the side faces; in
another embodiment by pressing the entire top section of the
cartridge down into the user's palm (FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4
and FIG. 5); in another embodiment by depressing a button near the
top 101 (FIG. 6, FIG. 7, FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and FIG. 10).
[0061] The cartridge may offer similar protection characteristics
to existing pill bottles (e.g. against moisture), as all or some of
the following may apply: (1) Use of same or similar plastic
materials (2) Tamperproof aluminum foil seal on reservoir (3)
Cotton wool inside reservoir to prevent transportation damage to
media (4) Desiccant for moisture management, which may be in a
small bag in the reservoir or in a separate desiccant chamber.
[0062] The desiccant may be part of a functional desiccant
component that may perform functions beyond desiccation, including
but not limited to communication with the clip, base, dispenser or
other devices (via RFID, NFC or other short or long range
communication technologies embedded within functional desiccant)
and consumable volume detection (via capacitance fields).
[0063] The reservoir may have a door on one of its faces, which
could allow for users to add or remove any number of consumable
units, and which may have a visual indication upon it that warns
users not to insert incompatible media. In one embodiment, this
door may be a simple face that swings open on a hinge once a latch
is release. In another embodiment, this door may be a face cap-like
piece that snaps into place and may or may not be removable.
[0064] The label may be on any of the faces of the cartridge, to
ensure visibility when in the clip, base and dispenser.
[0065] The cartridge may have a specific lock-and-key
connection/attachment (on any of its faces/sides) to the clip,
holder, base or dispenser. In one embodiment, this lock-and-key
connection may be 3 differently-sized prongs distributed
horizontally and asymmetrically about the vertical axis of the
cartridge. In another embodiment, this connection may be a set of
electromagnets that may be activated by the clip, dispenser, base
or holder upon the cartridge touching. In yet another embodiment,
this connection may be a combination of prongs and
electromagnets.
[0066] The cartridge may have electrical contacts/touchpoints
(which connect to an EPROM/EEPROM embedded within), NFC or RFID
sticker, or QR code on label/exterior for communication with the
clip, base or dispenser.
[0067] Moving parts of dispensing mechanisms may have unique color
system/aesthetic/branding.
[0068] The reservoir may be transparent or translucent or have a
window (a hole or a transparent material) on one of its faces to
allow users to view rough proportion of consumables remaining in
the cartridge, or may have a physical display of a counter showing
exact number of consumable units remaining.
[0069] The reservoir may have copper foil or plate on some faces,
either implanted within the reservoir form or within a sticker that
is attached to the reservoir, in order to enable dose counting via
capacitance field measurement.
[0070] The reservoir may hold any number of consumable units
depending on size, or one continuous form of consumable media
(where consumables may include, but are not limited to, pills,
capsules, free powders, powder sachets, liquids, liquid sachets,
sprinkles and dissolve-in-mouth micro-capsules). The reservoir may
hold any category of unit-form or continuous-form consumables,
including but not limited to over-the-counter medication (e.g.
Cold/Cough/Allergy, Pain/Analgesic, Gastro-Intestinal, Sleep, Eye
Care, Weight Control, Feminine Hygiene),
Vitamins/Minerals/Supplements (e.g. multi-vitamins, energy
supplements, one-a-days, Calcium, fish oils, men's/women's health
pills, combination energy/nutrition/health products), prescription
medications (e.g. Lipitor, other brands, generics), veterinary
medications/nutritional supplements.
[0071] While a single reservoir is depicted, it will be understood
that a cartridge may have any number of reservoirs, and may be
configured for independent dispensing from each reservoir, or
dispensing in combination from multiple reservoirs. The reservoirs
may be configured for either or both of similar or different media
types.
[0072] The cartridge may have one of several single-unit dispensing
mechanisms, of which 5 are listed here: (1) Palm-press: User
presses cartridge into palm with their other hand, and a unit is
dispensed into the palm, based on durable agitator and asymmetrical
chute to prevent jamming and mis-dosing (2) Spring-slider: User
pulls trigger, one unit falls out, based on durable cavity &
agitating wedge technique to prevent jamming and mis-dosing (3)
Rotational: User twists exterior cylinder, units align within,
every 120 degrees one unit falls out; unit alignment prevents
jamming and mis-dosing (4) Blister-doser: User actuation pushes
blister strip forward and severs material to dispense single
blister unit (5) Thumb-press: User depresses top of cartridge with
thumb, and one unit is presented at the bottom of the cartridge. 3
of these mechanisms are explained in more detail below.
[0073] For the palm-press mechanism design there may be four parts.
The container 150 may connect to the chute 151 using a snap
retaining feature. The agitator 152 may be attached to the cap 153
via a similar snap retaining feature. The agitator 152 and cap 153
may move in relation to the container 150 and chute 151. When the
user presses the cartridge against their palm, the agitator 152 and
cap 153 may move up into the chute 151. The resulting agitation of
contained units facilitate units dropping down and moving through a
hole within agitator 152 and cap 153 to exit at the base the
through the cap. The chute 151 is asymmetrical such that its bottom
hole is not in the center, and this, combined with the off-center
asymmetric shape of the agitator 152, may prevent jamming due to
concentration of units at the cartridge center (from uniform
gravitational pull). The cap 153 may contain a rocker mechanism
that can fit only one unit.
[0074] For the spring-slider mechanism design, there may be two
pieces--the body 160 and the arm 161--which may be connected (e.g.
by glue or by molding entire Cap as one piece) at the hinge. The
user may manually push the arm 161 horizontally in towards the
center of the body 160. This sliding action aligns the arm's hole
with the body's chute, allowing for unit release. Units in the body
160 may be aligned with their longest side vertical, due to the
tight fit of the chute 162. Pushing the arm 161 may also translate
the agitator box 163 into the chute 162, which may separate the
unit to be dispensed from other units. The agitator ramp 164 on top
of the agitator box 163 may push these other units back up towards
the reservoir (not shown, but vertically above the mechanism shown
in FIG. 13 Error! Reference source not found.) with each push of
the arm 161. Childproofing may be enabled by a latch on the body
160 or tabs that must be squeezed by the user for the arm 161 to
freely move, or another method. The body 160 may be attached to the
reservoir by a snapping mechanism. In some embodiments the
mechanism as a whole may be operated using one finger on one hand
only.
[0075] For the rotational mechanism design, there may be three
pieces that move relative to each other. These pieces may be set
one inside the other: the inner layer 170, the middle layer 171 and
the outer layer 172, of which the inner layer may be connected via
screw thread to the reservoir (not shown, but vertically above the
mechanism shown in FIG. 15). The user may rotate the outer layer
172. This action may be childproofed; the outer layer 172 may have
gear teeth 173 that (when the outer layer is squeezed hard enough)
make contact with the gear teeth on the middle layer 173, allowing
the twisting of the outer layer to rotate the middle layer 171--but
if the user does not squeeze, the gears do not engage. The
base/dispenser may bypass this squeezing by engaging the middle
layer gear teeth 173 directly using an actuation arm. The rotation
of the middle layer 171 may align the middle layer hole with the
inner layer holes 175 1, 2 or 3 times per full revolution
(depending on the number of inner layer holes). Alignment of holes
174 and 175 may allow units to exit the cartridge. Single unit
dispensing may occur at each alignment due to inner layer pins
adjacent to each inner layer hole which prevent other units
following the first as it exits. A parabolic center protrusion 176
may be connected to the middle layer 171 and may tend to align
units around the circumference of the bottom of the inner layer
170. There may be an agitator arm 177, which may be connected to
the center protrusion 176 and may sit above the middle layer hole
174, and whose purpose may be to push one unit towards the exit
hole while forcing others away, in other words agitating them.
There are protruding rings 178 on the middle layer and outer layer
which may allow the middle layer 171 to snap irreversibly onto the
outer layer 172 during manufacture.
[0076] All above single-dose dispensing mechanisms may work
universally with all unit sizes, in one of several ways such as the
2 following: (1) For each grouping of unit size/shape, there may be
slightly different mechanism dimensions (achieved by slight
variations on the mold tooling and manufacturing line), though the
exterior form does not change at all (2) There may be one universal
mechanism with a small collar within that is adjusted on the
packaging line for different groupings of unit size/shape.
[0077] All above single-dose dispensing mechanisms may allow for a
combination of gravity fed and powered dispensing of
consumables.
[0078] The same mechanism may be used when the cartridge is used
independently or in concert with an attached clip, base or
dispenser.
[0079] Actuation may be childproof, for example in the following
way: before trigger can be pulled, side or top tab(s) must be
depressed.
[0080] Besides the single dose dispensing mechanism, user may
access consumable media by opening the door in reservoir and
dispensing in bulk.
[0081] Each single dose dispense actuation may trigger a dose
counter mechanism to increment. The dose counter may be a rotating
horizontal or vertical dial. The cartridge may have a window or
opening through which the dose counter's current count is visible.
The dose counter's count may represent one of the following: (1)
Total number of units taken out since opening (2) Total number of
units remaining Reliable counting may be enabled in the following
manner: (1) Dose exit cavity may have a rocker mechanism that does
not engage if a dose is not inside it, in other words, if the user
actuates the dispenser but no dose comes out, the dose counter may
not increment (2) Rocker mechanism at exit may not engage until the
dose has left it, in other words, if the user does not extract the
dispensed dose (assuming the dose has not left the rocker
mechanism), the dose counter may not increment.
[0082] Digital information may be stored on QR code, in NFC
sticker, in EPROM/EEPROM chip embedded in cartridge form or on
machine-readable imprint on the dose counter. Stored information
may include, but is not limited to (1) SKU # (2) Expiration date
(3) SKU name (4) Milligrams per dose of SKU (5) Weight of empty SKU
cartridge (6) Weight of single unit of SKU consumable (7) SKU
warnings (8) SKU directions and guidance (9) Unique cartridge ID.
There may be a specific format/encoding for digital storage of
above information.
[0083] The cartridge may have powered electronics onboard.
[0084] The cartridge may have following display methods, which may
be multi-colored or monochromatic: non-touch screen, touch screen,
LED screen, LCD screen, e-ink/e-paper screen, smartphone, desktop
computer and tablet.
[0085] The cartridge may have LEDs/speakers/vibrational motors that
provide audiovisual (both human-audible and not) and vibrational
feedback based on input from bases, dispensers and clips.
[0086] The cartridge may have several ports for input/output
communication, including but not limited to wireless/cellular
internet (e.g. Wi-Fi, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, RFID, NFC), wired
internet (e.g. Ethernet), USB, media card (e.g. SD, CF, xD) and
displays (e.g. HDMI, VGA, DVI, DisplayPort). The cartridge may
automatically communicate or connect with cloud (see later section
on cloud layer) via its communication ports.
[0087] Based on data from wireless access routers/towers/etc., or
onboard GPS, or user input, the cartridge may automatically
broadcast its location to cloud, or any base, dispenser, clip,
cartridge or compatible smart device.
[0088] The supply chain may involve manufacture of cartridge using
standard molding and assembly lines/practices, with different molds
for any cartridge parts that SKU-specific or SKU-family-specific.
Cartridge data may be printed onto cartridge via proprietary format
QR code or programmed EPROM may be implanted into cartridge
plastic. Standard high speed packaging/bottling lines may pack
pills, capsules, powders, powder sachets, liquids and liquid
sachets of any weight and size into a cartridge. The supply chain
may handle repacking of mail order pharmaceuticals into cartridges,
and may interface with mail order pharmacies to acquire Rx
product.
[0089] In one aspect a container such as any of the containers
above may be provided without surrounding electromechanics for
dispensing dispensables. This may, for example, be a simple
container for dispensables that can be inserted into and removed
from a dispenser such as any of the dispensers described above, or
inserted into and removed from a base or the like that provides
dispensing functionality for the container.
[0090] Simple Holder of Attachables
[0091] A holder may store attached cartridges and loaded/empty
clips (which among other devices may be referred to as
attachables).
[0092] The holder may have a welcoming and professional aesthetic
design.
[0093] The holder may be powered or unpowered.
[0094] The holder may have modular design that enables add-on
capability to be attached, as well as certain modules to be simply
removed for easy maintenance/repair.
[0095] The holder may have internal shock mounts to prevent
consumable disturbance and damage. Holder may have secrecy door or
electrochromatic door for privacy of stored consumables.
[0096] The holder may store one or multiple attachables in separate
sockets 200 (number of sockets depends on model of holder) or via
one long platform/shelf that can accommodate all attachables. The
holder may connect to attachables via a lock-and-key or magnetic
attachment (as described earlier), which may be universal across
all cartridges and clips.
[0097] Smart Base for Attachable Management
[0098] Abase may manage, dispense and/or store consumables from
attached cartridges and loaded/empty clips (which among other
devices may be referred to as attachables), and communicate with
cloud.
[0099] The base may have a welcoming and professional aesthetic
design.
[0100] The base may be powered by line power or by a
rechargeable/disposable internal battery. In an embodiment with
line power, a battery may enable the base to run on backup power in
the event of a power out age, which allows the continued use and/or
extraction of consumables within. This may be useful, for example,
in scenarios where the consumable is a patient-necessitated
prescription medicine.
[0101] The base may have a modular design that enables add-on
capability to be attached, as well as certain modules to be simply
removed for easy maintenance/repair.
[0102] The base may have internal shock mounts to prevent
consumable disturbance and damage. The base may furthermore have an
accelerometer, which can detect large forces and accelerations on
the device. Upon such detection, the base may perform additional
safety and protection functions to ensure that consumables are not
disturbed or damaged, including but not limited to physical
lockdown, activation of internal dampeners, alarm sounding, LED
flashing, wireless notification, and emergency service
alerting.
[0103] The base may have one or more secrecy doors or
electrochromatic doors for privacy of stored consumables.
[0104] A fingerprint scanner (CMOS sensor) 300, face recognition
camera, or other biometric identification system(s) may be
present.
[0105] The base may have LEDs, screens, speakers and vibrational
motors 301 for multi-colored audiovisual (both human-audible and
not) and vibrational notifications and feedback (including but not
limited to consumption alerts, scheduled alerts and connection of
an empty clip).
[0106] The base may have following input methods: touch of
touchscreen 302, pressing of button, sliding finger over non-press
button, voice commands, touching of fingerprint reader 300, use of
NFC or RFID for proximity detection. Base may have following
display methods, which may be multi-colored or monochromatic:
non-touch screen, touch screen, LED screen 302, LCD screen 302,
e-ink/e-paper screen 302, and mirroring to any external screen
including that of a smartphone, desktop computer, and tablet. The
base's e-ink/e-paper screen 302 may be sub-divided so that updates
of one division's screen are triggered by events relating to only
one attached cartridge.
[0107] The base's user interface functions (some represented in
FIG. 22) may be as follows. The base's display may show/denote a
wide variety of information, including but not limited to
consumable SKU name, SKU warnings, SKU dose concentration,
expiration date, notifications (e.g. need for replacement/reorder,
non-adherence, software updates), advertising/marketing, user name,
user consumption history (numerical or visual/chart-based), user
recommendations, consumables consumed and consumable quantity
remaining in cartridges. The base may allow users to set up an
account (via cloud), and/or set up user profiles for each
individual user. The base may allow users to schedule doses and set
alerts, alarms and notifications via the interface (may also be
done via cloud). The base may enable authentication in one or more
ways, including but not limited to the following: (1) Passcode
entry (2) Fingerprint recognition, via fingerprint scanner (3) Face
recognition (via mounted camera) (4) Voice recognition.
Authentication, authorization and usage permissions for each
specific attachable may be enabled, disabled or overridden by
account owners for specific users (may also be done via cloud).
Users may set up e-commerce functions (e.g. automatic reordering)
for specific cartridges on the base (may also be done via cloud).
The base may use a "drag-and-drop" interface experience, where an
account owner may drag images (representing consumable units or
usage permissions, for example) onto images of users, where these
images may be a default stock image or a user-uploaded image (via
cloud). Example applications of this "drag-and-drop" interface on
the base include the following: (1) Dragging consumable units to
users, when base detects that a cartridge previously removed has
been replaced on the base but with fewer consumable units than
before (see description below of enumerator mechanism below) (2)
Dragging and bestowing usage permission for specific
SKUs/cartridges to users (3) Copying a dosage/alert schedule from
one user to another (4) Dragging images of SKUs onto users to
purchase or reorder or setup automatic reordering. Upon user input
or after defined timeout, the base may enter sleep mode to minimize
power consumption.
[0108] The base may include a reader mechanism 303 which may read
digital information from attachables. The base's reader mechanism
may function in several ways, including but not limited to QR code
reader (CMOS sensor), NFC or RFID sensor/reader, and touching of
the base's electrical contacts to electrical contacts on
attachable. The base's reader mechanism may be able to read from
all attachables (i.e. 1 reader mechanism for all or individual
mechanisms for each attachable). The base's reader mechanism may be
able to distinguish one attached attachable from another, as well
as from unattached attachables.
[0109] Communication with attachables may be two-way, in which an
attachable may also receive and store information from the base.
The base may communicate with a specific attachable to instruct it
to glow, make a sound or vibrate, potentially based on the
following stimuli: (1) Cartridge consumables are depleted (2)
Cartridge consumables have expired (3) The scheduled time to
consume cartridge consumables has arrived (scheduling is set via
cloud). The base may have several further ports for input/output
communication, including but not limited to wireless/cellular
internet (e.g. Wi-Fi, WiMAX, 3G, 4G, 4G LTE, RFID, NFC), wired
internet (e.g. Ethernet), USB, media card (e.g. SD, CF, xD) and
displays (e.g. HDMI, VGA, DVI, DisplayPort).
[0110] The base may include an enumerator mechanism 304 which may
determine the number of consumable doses (e.g. number of pills,
doses of liquid) remaining in the attachable. The enumerator may be
one of the following mechanisms: (1) A setup of load cells on a
support platform cantilever that may weigh the cartridge and, using
the known values of empty cartridge weight and single dose weight,
calculate the number of single doses remaining in the cartridge;
this load cell setup may perform relative measurements and
automatically calibrate and correct for drift (2) a capacitance
field sensing setup that may detect capacitance field across copper
plates/foils embedded in opposite sides of cartridge. If attachable
has its own enumerator mechanism, then the attachable's enumerator
may determine the number of consumable doses instead of the base's
enumerator.
[0111] The base may store one or multiple attachables in separate
sockets 305 (number of sockets depends on model of base) or via one
long platform/shelf that can accommodate all attachables. The base
may connect to attachables via a lock-and-key or magnetic
attachment (as described earlier), which may be universal across
all cartridges and clips. attachable connection to base may include
5 phases (not necessarily in this order): (1) Attachable
attached/placed onto base platform/socket (2) Base's enumerator
mechanism determines number of doses remaining in cartridge (3)
Base's reader mechanism reads and interprets digital information
stored on attachable (4) Base begins to recharge battery of onboard
attachable (inductively or not), if applicable (5)
Audiovisual/vibrational feedback of connection process
completion/attachable charging.
[0112] The base may have an integrated microcomputer, which may be
an embedded Linux or other system, and may perform these functions:
(1) Processing of user interface functions listed above, including
but not limited to input from buttons and touchscreen(s), output to
displays, user authentication, audiovisual/vibrational feedback and
notifications, and entering sleep mode (2) Processing of base's
reader mechanism and enumerator mechanism functions listed above,
and processing of the cartridge-connection process, including but
not limited to recognition/processing of attachable upon connection
and performing enumerator mechanism calculations (3) Firmware
update by online/USB drive/USB-to-computer (4) Download of internal
memory (including but not limited to user consumption and container
inventory data) to USB/wired connection devices (5) Automatically
communicate/connect with cloud (via above mentioned ports) (6)
Tracking and processing dispensing by user, and caching user
consumption metrics/settings in internal memory and sending
frequent updates to cloud (7) Performing analytics on user
dispensing/consumption data (8) Resolving conflicts with redundant
data on cloud (9) Sending or receipt of notifications to any device
via any communication network (via ports) (10) Storage of rich user
health data (including but not limited to age, gender, medical
conditions) and transfer to and from cloud (11) Check for SKU
recall (through cloud) (12) Communication and working in concert
with any other attachables, bases and dispensers.
[0113] Dispensing Base for Advanced Attachable Management
[0114] A dispensing base may manage, dispense and/or repackage
consumables from attached cartridges and loaded/empty clips (which
along with other devices may be referred to as attachables), and
communicate with cloud layer.
[0115] The dispensing base may have a cuboidal design or any other
suitable shape, and may incorporate all or some subset of the
features described herein including without limitation any
combination of exterior form features, interface functions,
components, systems, subsystems, processing circuitry, sensors, and
so forth described herein of the base described above.
[0116] The dispensing base may include one or more attachments that
may be detached and used as independent mobile devices, including
but not limited to a holder, dispenser, and a manager of
consumables, for example, while the user is at work or is on
travel. The dispensing base may also or instead include any number
of containers integrated into the base for receiving bulk
dispensables in unit or continuous form so that a user can refill
containers of the dispensing base as needed. The dispensing base
may include an integrated dispensable delivery system such as a
shared dispensing mechanism and delivery chute, which can be used
by various containers and attachables, or the dispensing base may
be configured operate dispensing mechanisms of various attachables
for independent delivery of dispensables from each attachment, or
some combination of these.
[0117] The dispensing base may include a reader mechanism
configured to read digital information from attachables, as
described above for the base.
[0118] The dispensing base may include an enumerator mechanism
which may be configured to determine the number of consumable doses
remaining in each attachable, as described above for the base.
[0119] The dispensing base may store one or multiple attachables in
separate sockets 400 (number of sockets depends on model of
dispensing base). The dispensing base may connect to attachables
via a lock-and-key or magnetic attachment (as described earlier),
which may be universal across all cartridges and clips. Attachable
connection to the dispensing base may include these 5 phases (not
necessarily in this order): (1) Attachable inserted and manually
locked into an arrangement of support platforms (2) dispensing
base's enumerator mechanism determines number of doses remaining in
cartridge (3) dispensing base's reader mechanism reads and
interprets digital information stored on attachable (4) dispensing
base begins to recharge battery of onboard attachable (inductively
or not), if applicable (5) Dispensing actuation motors are
electronically activated to bring actuation arm in contact with
attachable, ready for future dispensing.
[0120] The dispensing base may dispense single units or specified
doses of any consumable medium, upon instruction from the user or
as directed by a specific regime. Dispensing may occur through
releasing single units or multiple units continuously in single
unit bursts.
[0121] Dispensing via the base may bypass childproofing on
attachable, so much less mechanical force may be required to
dispense, potentially in the following ways: (1) Secondary
attachment mechanism may connect to attachable and actuate
dispensing mechanism without having to actuate the childproof
mechanism (2) dispensing base socket may actuate through the action
of a user loading the attachable, and may hold down the
attachable's childproofing mechanism, so no further force may be
required to bypass childproofing.
[0122] Dispensing output may allow for unassisted transfer of
consumables from all cartridges to one common dispensing point 401
or to multiple dispensing points (e.g. one for each user, one for
each consumable type, one for pills vs. liquids vs. powders); if
one common dispensing point, the dispensing base may converge
several chutes/tubes into one output chute/tube.
[0123] The dispensing base may be able to, upon user input, package
single doses into to-go mini-packs, or chains/strips of mini-packs.
Dispensing base may be able to print, in a thermographic or other
manner, on each to-go mini-pack, potentially using an onboard
printer.
[0124] The dispensing base may be able to heat liquids (including
but not limited to water) and mix certain consumable media
(including but not limited to powder-form consumables) with these
liquids prior to dispensing, potentially in a liquid chamber.
[0125] The dispensing base may be able to internally manufacture
consumable media (e.g. pills, liquid mixtures) from raw consumable
ingredients (e.g. powders, liquids) using a variety of methods,
including but not limited to pill pressing and liquid mixing.
[0126] The dispensing base may provide a simple mechanism for
cleaning liquid- or powder-containing
chambers/passages/nozzles.
[0127] The dispensing base may have an integrated microcomputer
like the base's, which may perform all or some subset of the
functions that the base's microcomputer does, as well as the
following additional one: Processing and control of dispensing,
packaging and compression functions listed above, including but not
limited to electronic control of attachable dispensing actuation
(via attachable-specific motor in socket) to release single
consumable unit from specified cartridge upon user input, control
of which cartridge may dispense so multiple cartridges do not
dispense simultaneously, and processing of number of consumable
units to dispense based on dosage, user input and recommended
consumable intake.
[0128] More generally, a base as contemplated herein may be a
holder, a smart base, or a dispensing base as described above, or
any other device for use with dispensables as contemplated herein,
and may provide any degree of integration, modularity, and
functionality.
[0129] Clip for Cartridges
[0130] A clip may be a lightweight, mobile attachment to one or
more cartridges, and may be fully disposable, partially disposable
or fully reusable. A clip with cartridge(s) attached is referred to
as a loaded clip, without cartridge attached is referred to as an
empty clip.
[0131] The clip may have a welcoming and clean aesthetic
design.
[0132] The clip may be powered by line power, by rechargeable
internal battery (which may be recharged by base or dispenser), by
AAA battery (or other size), by watch battery or by travel charger,
including but not limited to an induction battery charger.
[0133] The clip may incorporate all or some subset of the
audiovisual/vibrational, input, display and fingerprint/facial
recognition features of the base.
[0134] The clip may incorporate all or some subset of the interface
functions of the base described above (e.g. several types of
digital display 500).
[0135] The clip may include a reader mechanism which may read
digital information from attachables, as described above for the
base. This mechanism may also or instead be a mechanical counter
that increments upon successful dispensation.
[0136] Based on data from wireless access routers/towers/etc., or
onboard GPS, or user input, the clip may automatically broadcast
its location to the cloud layer or any base, dispenser, clip,
cartridge or compatible smart device.
[0137] The clip may include an enumerator mechanism which may
determine the number of consumable doses remaining in the
attachable, as described above for the base.
[0138] The clip may provide an opening 501 to orient the clip to a
cartridge such as any of the cartridges described above. The clip
may connect to cartridge(s) via a specific lock-and-key or magnetic
attachment (as described earlier). The cartridge connection to the
clip may include these 4 phases (not necessarily in this order):
(1) Clip attached to cartridge (2) Clip's enumerator mechanism
determines number of doses remaining in cartridge (3) Clip's reader
mechanism reads and interprets digital information stored on
cartridge (4) Clip locking mechanism is electronically activated,
ready for future authenticated dispensing.
[0139] Cartridge dispensing may include these 5 phases: (1) Before
user picks up loaded clip, clip is powered down and the dispensing
lock is in place (2) User picks up clip, powering device and
activating fingerprint sensor (3) If authentication is enabled for
this SKU/cartridge, clip processor verifies identification of user
holding the device (4) Dispensing lock motor disengages (5) User
can now single-dose dispense using the regular dispensing-actuation
mechanism on cartridge. This process may subjectively be almost
unnoticeable to the user: from picking up device to dispensing lock
disengaging may take less than 1 second.
[0140] The clip may have an integrated microcomputer like the
base's, which may perform all or some subset of the functions that
the base's microcomputer does.
[0141] In general, the clip 500 may provide an activation and
management interface for a cartridge or container of dispensables.
That is, the clip 500 may house a processor, display, buttons, and
so forth for autonomous operation and dispensation, thus providing
enhanced functionality to a container, cartridge, or the like. The
clip 500 (or a mobile base such as any of the bases described
herein) may attach to a consumable container or containers and
provides powered, interactive, and networked functionality such as
a count of contents, an amount remaining in a container, an alert
concerning a schedule for an associated user, and so forth.
[0142] Cloud Layer
[0143] The cloud may be a remote management system and may provide
device-agnostic functionality for the disclosed system's
management, usage analytics, inventory management/e-commerce and
interfacing with other medical/consumer systems. Some potential
features of the cloud are documented in FIG. 32.
[0144] Many features may incorporate dynamic user data which may
include but is not limited to a user's preferences, personal goals,
inventory, history, location, family/household and demographic
data, language, financial/billing information and healthcare
information (e.g. from Electronic Medical Record or insurer).
[0145] The device-agnostic user interface may be a user dashboard
that encompasses the several user functions (data portal functions,
dosing functions, e-commerce functions and settings management
functions), which are all integrated into the user experience but
may appear and operate separately and independently on the user
dashboard. User dashboard is customized according to device it is
displayed on. Some potential features of the user dashboard are
documented in FIG. 33.
[0146] Data portal functions for the user dashboard may include the
following: (1) Viewing, editing, downloading and sharing of user
consumption history, in any format, including but not limited to
CSV, PDF, XLS, XML, HTML subjectively aesthetically pleasing charts
and graphs, sharing or posting onto social media portals such as
Facebook and Twitter, and interface experience (also present on
base and dispenser) that allows user to "drag-and-drop" images of
consumable units onto images of users in account, where these
images may be a default stock image or a user-uploaded image (2)
Setting and viewing personal tasks (including but not limited to
consumption goals and adherence goals), via means of a modifiable
virtual persona or assistant, that may be monitored by cloud
analytics or healthcare professionals and systems (3) Viewing and
downloading analytics output, including but not limited to various
healthiness metrics, personal goal progress and consumable
recommendations based on user data (4) Browsing for pertinent
medical information, including but not limited to drug facts,
disease symptoms and treatments, physician locations and
availabilities, healthcare news on medications and diseases, and
site-specific content, in a manner tailored for user given user
data (5) Receiving device-agnostic deliveries of this pertinent
medical information, triggered by news events (e.g. drug recall,
manufacturer warning letters) or user-specific events (e.g. user's
family member commenced use of specific drug regimen), and tailored
by user data (6) Viewing, downloading and sharing the above
pertinent medical information.
[0147] Dosing functions for the user dashboard may include the
following: (1) Scheduling and viewing of necessary consumption
schedule for one or more users on the account, through simple
drag-and-drop calendar interface (see above), tailored by user data
(2) As part of scheduling, setting up manually or automatically
(based on user data) a queue of doses or medicine consumption,
which may be selectively shared or hidden from other users and 3rd
parties (3) Sorting, filtering and viewing queues of doses by user
according to consumable categorization (including but not limited
to consumable indication and length of consumable's medical
effects) (4) Copying, via the simple drag-and-drop interface (see
above), dose queues from one user to another.
[0148] E-commerce functions for the user dashboard may include the
following: (1) Browsing SKUs available online, whose displaying may
be streamlined by user data (2) Placing orders for SKUs via any
device, and setting automatic SKU ordering based on several trigger
events, including but not limited to user inventory depletion and
regular scheduled reordering (3) Receiving location-specific
coupons to SKUs via user's mobile smart devices (4) Receiving
personalized SKU recommendations based on user data (5) Scanning
prescriptions and other paper-based medical documentation (6)
Automatic uploading and order processing as soon as prescriptions
are issued or scanned into system (7) Grabbing profiles of other
users, in other words purchasing some or all of a specific user's
historical purchase basket, if that user has shared their purchase
history for grabbing purposes (8) Decision-tree based commerce.
[0149] Settings management functions for the user dashboard may
include the following: (1) Management of one or multiple bases,
dispensers and clips, including but not limited to remote
dispensing, remote authorization of dispensing, activation of sleep
mode, multi-base/dispenser/clip/cartridge management and dispensing
(2) Drag-and-drop interface (see above) to copy or move settings
and regimes from one base, dispenser, clip, or cartridge to another
(3) Account settings management, including account setup and
individual user setup (4) Disabling or enabling cloud features, to
enable offline vs. cloud tracking and processing options.
[0150] Administrators may include caretakers, site administrators,
site developers and customer service agents. The administrator
dashboard may be an interface that encompass the above user
dashboard functions upon direct authorization by the user, and may
additionally include the following functions: (1) Remote
base/dispenser/clip access for customer service and maintenance,
upon user authorization (2) Underlying system access to implement
new features (3) User data and device data access, for customer
service and troubleshooting, upon user authorization. Some
potential features of the administrator dashboard are documented in
FIG. 34.
[0151] Healthcare professionals may include caretakers, physicians,
healthcare technicians, nutritionists and other qualified
healthcare employees. The healthcare professional dashboard may be
an interface that encompasses the following functions: (1) Editing
a user's EMR or any other healthcare data structure, including but
not limited to modifying and adding data in existing fields, and
adding additional data fields (2) Inserting doses into user's dose
queue or dose queues, without being able to see other doses in the
dose queues, unless user provides authorization (3) Remote
base/dispenser/clip access for dispensing and consumption
monitoring (4) Remote authorization of pill production in base (by
regulators and regulatory officials). Some potential features of
the healthcare professional dashboard are documented in FIG.
35.
[0152] The cloud may perform or support two way communications with
user's bases, dispensers, clips and cartridges. Further, cloud may
perform two way communications with any other smart devices that a
user may have (e.g. smartphone, iPad), through which the user may
access the cloud interfaces. Even further, cloud may perform two
way communication with medical professionals and systems (e.g. EMR
systems, disease management systems, genomic/genetic platforms
physicians/healthcare professionals, patient vitals tracking
devices/systems and quantified-self devices/systems). Communicated
data may include but is not limited to patient consumable
consumption data, consumption scheduling (input by professionals or
by users), medical diagnoses, directions/guidelines and
prescriptions (thus user may not be required to physically visit
medical authority/professional.
[0153] The cloud may download data to bases, dispensers, clips and
cartridges at regular intervals or upon receiving the SKU number
from those devices, e.g. SKU-specific data, firmware updates,
general drug/health information and user data. The cloud may use
prioritized buffering and transmission to make sure key
non-redundant data is transmitted first during any communication,
to ensure reliability when user devices have limited Internet
access.
[0154] The cloud may deliver alert communications upon triggers
including but not limited to scheduled dosing (including any dosing
requirements, such as need to take drug with food), mis use (e.g.
missed medication, overdose) and unsafe drug interactions (e.g.
Drug A and Drug B cause stomach bleeding if consumed within 24 hrs
of each other), where alerts may be in any form (e.g. emails, text
messages, notifications on abase/dispenser/clip) and may travel to
any device, including locally networked devices or devices within a
firewall.
[0155] A particular user may have a notification state in the cloud
which may escalate based on trigger events (e.g. mis-dosing); the
following embodiments of notification states may exist: (Level 1:)
Normal state, user may receive notifications through system devices
and app notifications (Level 2:) Upon missing a dose, user may
receive text messages, emails, etc. (Level 3:) Emergency state, for
example upon overdosing or repeated missing of scheduled doses,
user may receive phone call from human customer service agent and
emergency contacts may be alerted.
[0156] All communications may be fully compliant with US and
international requirements, including but not limited to HIPAA, and
may be encrypted with industry standard or industry leading
cryptographic technologies, such as 256-bit Rijndael encryption.
All communications may pass through cloud's system servers to
ensure complete reliability and security.
[0157] The cloud may connect to social media portals (e.g.
Facebook) to supplement user data with additional fields, e.g.
favorite foods. System may communicate with GPS towers, cells
towers, Wi-Fi nodes and other wireless access points to determine
or triangulate a user's location.
[0158] The cloud may connect with healthcare professionals,
prescription vendors and insurers automatically upon prescription
issuance or entry, potentially for order processing, drug shipment
and regulatory data filing, among other functions.
[0159] The cloud may pull from multiple online databases and news
sources to find and push SKU-specific up-to-date news and alerts,
including but not limited to drug recalls, updated drug
interactions, updated drug warnings, and manufacturer warning
letters.
[0160] The cloud may require authorization from users to unlock
access to cloud features as well as identify users. Methods for
authorization may include but are not limited to the following:
type, touch, speech, facial/visual recognition, fingerprint
recognition, or combinations of these. Users may authorize certain
human or automated agents to view all or a specified part of their
user data. Agents may include but are not limited to doctors,
hospital systems. Users may authorize agents on an individual basis
or by certain agent characteristics, including but not limited to
doctor specialty, doctor experience with consumable indication, and
hospital group. Users may authorize site administrators and
customer service representatives to access their accounts for
troubleshooting and development purposes. Users that are account
owners may authorize other users (whether part of their account or
not) to consume certain SKUs or use certain bases, dispensers and
clips.
[0161] Security of EMRs and other healthcare data structures may be
enabled via data licensing and incremental digital signatures.
[0162] The cloud may provide consumable usage trend identification
via an analytics engine, for (1) input to medical professionals and
systems (2) warnings/recommendations based on recognized patterns
and medical input (3) on demand data/visuals for users (4)
modification of pricing and supply chain (e.g. contract and
internal manufacturing) of consumable products.
[0163] E-commerce backend may exist for auto-replenishing of
cartridges via automatically triggered orders (when
Dispenser/Cases/base detect cartridges are near empty), order
queuing, dose queuing and replacement of prescription filling
process by connecting user with healthcare professional with
prescription vendor.
[0164] The cloud may provide storage, in a distributed database, of
a user's user data, base/dispenser/clip data, medical
professional/system data listed above, and other data as
appropriate, as well as hosting for additional content (including
but not limited to blogs, user forums, site-specific media and
content). User data in cloud layer may be redundant with user data
on bases, dispensers and clips, and cloud performs conflict
resolution as necessary. Cloudmay cache frequently accessed user
data for quick transmission to users and bases, dispensers and
clips.
[0165] Cloud access may be provided to 3rd parties via documented
API. API may allow access to evolving subset of full cloud
functionality. Similarly, 3rd party APIs may be used by the system
to bring 3rd party devices, networks, and ecosystems into the
connected network and functionality of the dispensables system.
[0166] Customers may purchase a preset (for example "Family with
children" preset) cartridge, clip, base or dispenser. For preset
products, the cloud may automatically configure the vanilla product
to a particular preset based on the unique product ID and the
associated product purchase information from the user.
[0167] Still more generally, a variety of fixed and distributed
infra structures may be usefully employed with bases and other
system components to provide value added services and augment
operation of the system for an individual user. Thus portions of
the systems and methods described above may be implemented in the
cloud, while other portions use local processing resources for a
base, such as a computer, printer, camera, and the like coupled to
a local area network shared with the base or with one of the
cartridges. In another aspect, other network resources may be
usefully combined with cloud-based services and local processing
resources to provide various layers of functionality, knowledge
sharing, redundancy, and speed. For example, while a cloud-based or
other remote-hosted system may manage personal inventory by
automatically ordering replacement cartridges at appropriate times,
this may also be performed with a suitably programmed local
computer that can read compliance data, cartridge status, and
scheduling information from a local base and determine when
replacement cartridges might be needed. A local reminder may then
be presented to the user of the base, or the computer may
autonomously connect to the network and authorize or make
corresponding purchases. Still more generally, a single user may
wish to autonomously manage all dispensing activity, and the system
may be configured as a closed system with no external network
connectivity, or with limited network activity, e.g., to issue
e-mail or text message alerts from the local computer. At the same
time, each function described above may occur at any number of
locations. For example, monitoring consumable units may be
performed by a cartridge, by a clip, by a base, by a local
computing device, by a dedicated remote server, or by a general
purpose, cloud-based management system. Similarly various
notification systems, monitoring functions, data storage functions,
management and administration functions and the like may be
distributed or centralized in various manners across available
resources according to user preferences, security requirements,
oversight required by health care professionals, data integrity
requirements and so forth. All such variations are intended to fall
within the scope of this disclosure, and not particular function,
service, system component, sub-component, or communications
interface or endpoint should be presumed to reside with any
specific system element unless explicitly stated to the contrary or
otherwise clear from the context.
[0168] FIG. 36 illustrates a system for managing consumables for a
user. In general, the system 3600 may include one or more
cartridges 3602 each containing a plurality of consumable units;
and a base 3604 including a processor 3603 and one or more slots
3606 to removably and replaceably receive each of the one or more
cartridges, wherein the base 3604 is configured to operate each of
the one or more cartridges 3602 to dispense one or more consumable
units from the one or more cartridges 3602 to a user. While various
components in the following description may be illustrated in
specific locations, it will be understood that such components may
be physically integrated into the base or one of the cartridges
3602, or externally provided as an accessory or remote resource for
the foregoing, unless a different meaning is explicitly provided or
otherwise clear from the context. Additionally, any components
shown generally as located in the same or similar location may be
located in different locations in an implementation.
[0169] Similarly, the base 3604 may be an integrated device with
one or more containers for dispensables in bulk form, along with a
mechanism (such as any of the mechanisms described above) to
dispense individual doses of consumable units from the
container(s). Where a cartridge 3602 is used that is removable from
and replaceable to a base 3604, a user input such as a button or
any of the other mechanisms described above, may be provided to
manually activate the dispensing mechanism, and a machine input
separate from the user input that is actuatable by a machine may be
provided for, e.g., the base 3604 to activate the dispensing
mechanism.
[0170] The base 3604 may be further configured with hardware and/or
software to perform a variety of functions. For example, the base
may be configured to dispense consumable units from the one or more
cartridges according to a predetermined schedule stored, e.g., in a
memory in the base associated with the processor.
[0171] A cartridge 3602 may contain and dispense bulk items in
consumable units as described herein.
[0172] In one aspect, the base may include a compounding device
3608 to create custom dispensable from consumable units in the one
or more cartridges. For example, the base 3604 may include a
compounding device 3608 to create single dose of medication from
the one or more consumable units. As noted above, the consumable
units in each cartridge may include unit form consumables such as
pills or capsules or continuous form consumable units amenable to
bulk packaging such as liquids, powders, and so forth. The
compounding device 3608 may include any number of active compounds
to prepare dispensable from the consumable units such as a heater,
a mixer, a pill press or other pill maker, an encapsulator, a spray
coater, a dipping bath, and so forth. So configured, the base 3604
permits custom, on demand dispensables that meter and mix
compositions from a range of different consumable units available
in the one or more cartridges. In another aspect, the compounding
device may be in a single cartridge 3602 that includes multiple
independent dispensing reservoirs commonly controlled by the base
3604 to provide a mixed consumable in response to a single dispense
instruction from the base 3604. In this aspect, the cartridge 3602
may include a mixing system to combine the two types of consumable
units into a single composite consumable unit. Thus, the
compounding device 3608 is broadly applicable to any of the
dispensers in the system (e.g., cartridge or base).
[0173] A packaging mechanism may be incorporated into the
compounding device 3608, or provided instead of or in addition to
the compounding device 3608, to wrap one or more dispensed
consumables in a disposable packaging such as a paper wrap, blister
pack, or the like. In this manner, consumables can be dispensed in
packaging for convenient transportation.
[0174] The base may include a printer 3610 such as a thermal
printer, laser printer, inkjet printer, contact printer, or the
like for labeling and other functions. In one aspect, the processor
of the base may be configured to print dosing instructions for
consumable units in one of the cartridges with the printer. The
printer may print dosing instructions on an adhesive strip shaped
and sized to attach to one of the cartridges so that a cartridge
can be removed from the base and carried with readily available
dosing instructions similar to a conventional pill bottle or the
like. In another aspect, the processor may be configured to
dispense a plurality of consumable units for a predetermined time
interval according to a predetermined schedule, and wherein the
processor is further configured to print dosing instructions for
the plurality of consumable units within the predetermined time
interval. In this manner, a user may print a time-specific
itinerary or dosing schedule and dispense corresponding consumable
units so that, for example, consumable units and corresponding
dosing information can be carried by a user without any need to
rely on the base or cartridges for the predetermined time interval
(e.g., several days for travel, or the like). The packaging system
may be concurrently used to provide temporary, disposable packaging
for the consumable units in this temporary, portable schedule. In
another aspect, the consumable units may include one or more pills
and one or more sachets in bulk form, and the base may be
configured to package one of the one or more pills in one of the
one or more sachets, thereby providing a packaged item, and to
dispense the packaged item from the base. In this context, the
printer may be configured to print individual dosing instructions
the packaged item before it is dispensed by the base. The
predetermined schedule may be a prescription schedule administered
by a health care professional.
[0175] In general, the consumable units may include but are not
limited to medications. For non-prescription medications or the
like, the predetermined schedule may be a user-created dosing
schedule or regimen. The plurality of consumable units may also or
instead include a nutritional supplement. The plurality of
consumable units may also or instead include one or more of an
over-the-counter medication, a vitamin supplement, a mineral
supplement, a prescription medication, a veterinary medication, and
a veterinary nutritional supplement.
[0176] The system may include a social networking platform 3612
which may interact with the base and/or a user in a variety of
ways. The platform may be configured to share the user-created
dosing schedule with one or more other users. The platform may be
configured to facilitate a modification to another dosing schedule
for another user, including but not limited to consumers,
administrators, caretakers, and healthcare professionals. The
platform may be configured to forward a recommendation for a dosing
schedule to another user. The platform may be configured to receive
a second dosing schedule from another user. The platform may be
configured to facilitate a modification to the dosing schedule
according to a second dosing schedule of another user. The platform
may be configured to receive a recommendation for a modification to
the dosing schedule from another user.
[0177] The predetermined schedule or regimen may serve a variety of
functions and take a variety of forms generally related to timing
of delivery of consumable items in the one or more cartridges. This
may generally include personally configured schedules,
professionally configured schedules, or combinations of these. For
example, the predetermined schedule includes a first schedule
provided by a health care professional for one or more medications
and a second schedule provided by the user for one or more
nutritional supplements. The predetermined schedule may include two
or more schedules from two or more entities. The predetermined
schedule may include dosing of the consumable units from two or
more of the cartridges substantially concurrently. The
predetermined schedule may include specific times for the user to
take the consumable units. The base may store dosing information
with the predetermined schedule, such as information about a medium
to be combined with one of the consumable units prior to
consumption (e.g., mix with one cup of water) or a medium to be
ingested with one of the consumable units (e.g., take two with each
meal). The predetermined schedule may include relative times for
the user to take the consumable units. The relative times may
include a time relative to one or more of a sleep event, a wake up
event, an activity, a travel event, an indication-specific event,
and a meal event. Thus for example, the schedule may indicate a
dose-related event (e.g., take before physical activity) without
requiring a dose at any predetermined time. This may be coupled
with an input device for the base with which a user can indicate an
occurrence or imminent occurrence of the dose-related event in
order to receive corresponding, scheduled consumable units. Thus,
the base may include an input device 3614 to receive a user
indication that an event associated with the relative time has
occurred (or for any other user input). The input device may
include a button, a touch screen, or any other suitable input
device. The predetermined scheduled may include dosing for two or
more users. The base may be configured to manually dispense one of
the consumable units from one of the cartridges in response to a
user input, and to update the predetermined schedule according to a
corresponding dosage.
[0178] One of the cartridges may include a clip 3616 that is
separable from the cartridge. The clip may be shaped and sized to
hold the cartridge and to fit in to one of the slots of the base.
Thus it will be understood that the "cartridge" as contemplated
herein may in certain circumstances include the clip, such as where
the clip is required to fit the cartridge into one of the slots, or
the cartridge may be a separate device from the clip, such as where
describing various allocations of functionality and features
between the clip and the cartridge, many combinations of which are
possible. It will be thus understood that the clip is not
necessarily separate from or included in the cartridge, and the
appropriate meaning will in general be expressly stated or clear
from the context. In one aspect, the clip may electrically couple
the base to the one of the cartridges in a communicating
relationship. In another aspect, the clip may mechanically couple
the base to the one of the cartridges in order to mechanically,
electrically, or otherwise dispense one of the consumable units
from the one of the cartridges. The clip may include a processor
configured to control operation of the cartridge. The system may
also include a plurality of clips and a plurality of cartridges,
each one of the plurality of clips removably and replaceably
attachable to each one of the plurality of cartridges.
[0179] The base may include a user interface device 3618 or system
for a variety of functions related to user interactions. For
example, the base may include a keypad configured for passcode
authentication of the user. The base may include a voice
recognition user interface for user interaction with the base. The
base may include a gesture recognition system for user interaction
with the base. The base may include a voice recognition system for
authenticating the user. The base may also or instead include voice
recognition or speech recognition to support an interactive voice
response interface for spoken interactions with a user. The base
may include a facial recognition system for authenticating the
user. The base may include a biometric system for authenticating
the user. The biometric system may include a fingerprint
identification system or any other biometrically based
identification system using, e.g., eye recognition or any other
suitable recognition technique. The base may be configured to
authenticate the user before dispensing the one or more consumable
units.
[0180] The base may include one or more chutes 3620 positioned to
receive the consumable units from one or more cartridges and guide
the consumable units to a user-accessible location. The
user-accessible location may include a sensor to detect when the
one or more consumable units have been removed by the user. In one
embodiment, multiple bases could function as modules and attach to
each other, in a manner that, for example, connects their chutes
3620 together into one or more integrated chutes.
[0181] The system may include an output device 3622 to transmit
notifications from the base, or to transmit notifications about a
predetermined schedule from some other location such as a
management server, local computer, or the like. In this manner, the
base may be configured to notify the user with the output device
when one or more consumable units have been dispensed. The output
device may include one or more of a buzzer, a speaker, a display,
and a light-emitting diode. The output device may include a network
communications device configured to transmit at least one of a text
message, an electronic mail, and a telephone message. The output
device may notify a health care system when the one or more
consumable units are dispensed, such as for compliance monitoring
or the like. The output device may transmit a user-configured
notification to a user-selected entity when the one or more
consumable units are dispensed. The output device may include a
push notification system for pushing notifications to one or more
of a mobile device and a remote application.
[0182] More generally, the system may include a notification system
3624, which may be present on the base station, a remote server, a
local computer, a portable computing device of the user, or any
other location or combination of locations, to alert the user of a
dosage in the predetermined schedule, or to more generally provide
notifications to the user or third parties upon any predetermined
conditions. The notification system transmit may be configured to
provide a series of escalating alerts for increasingly urgent
reminders about doses in the predetermined schedule. For example, a
first alert may be transmitted to the user when the dosage is due.
The notification system may conditionally transmit a second alert
to the user when the dosage is be missed by the user. The
notification system may conditionally transmit a third alert to the
user when the user does not respond to the second alert for a
predetermined time, wherein the third alert may include a
notification to a call center to contact the user. The third alert
may be transmitted to one or more health care professionals. More
generally, the notification system may be a user-configurable
notification system. The notification system may be configurable to
provide a sequence of escalating notifications using a number of
communication mediums according to deviations from the
predetermined schedule. The notification system may be configurable
by a third party to provide one or more notifications according to
deviations from the predetermined schedule. Thus for example, a
health care professional, concerned relative, or other authorized
user may remotely manage medication or the like administered by the
base through automated notifications generated by the notification
system. The third alert may be transmitted to one or more
predetermined contacts for the user.
[0183] One or more of the cartridges may include a communications
interface 3626 to the base station and circuitry configured to
communicate a numeric count of the plurality of consumable units in
the cartridge to the base station through the communications
interface. The communications interface may include a wireless
interface. The wireless interface may include a radio-frequency
identifier (RFID) tag interface. The wireless interface may include
a near field communications interface. The wireless interface may
include one or more of a Bluetooth interface, a Wi-Fi interface, a
ZigBee interface, a Z-Wave interface, an Insteon interface, an
EnOcean interface, a DECT interface, and an infrared interface.
This interface may allow connection to or formation of a network,
including but not limited to a local area network, an ad-hoc
network, an open mesh, and a peer-to-peer network.
[0184] One of the cartridges may include a memory configured to
store the numeric count of the number of consumable units in the
cartridge. The cartridge may include circuitry configured to detect
the numeric count of the number of consumable units. The system may
include an order fulfillment system 3628. The base may be
configured to dispense consumable units from the one or more
cartridges according to a predetermined schedule, and the order
fulfillment system may compare the numeric count of the plurality
of consumable units to the predetermined schedule to determine when
a replacement cartridge should be ordered for the user. The order
fulfillment system may include computer code executing on the
processor of the base. The order fulfillment system may also or
instead include computer code executing on a remote server coupled
in a communicating relationship through a data network to the base.
The order fulfillment system may be configured to order the
replacement cartridge. The order fulfillment system may be
configured to notify the user to order the replacement
cartridge.
[0185] The system may include a management interface 3630 to
provide a variety of management functions associated with
dispensing consumable units from the base and related user health
and wellness issues. The management interface may include a
graphical user interface for managing the predetermined schedule.
The management interface may be hosted on a remote server coupled
in a communicating relationship with the base. The management
interface may include a web interface configured for remote access.
The management interface may be hosted on the base. The management
interface may include a web interface configured for remote access.
The management interface may be provided by an application
executing on a computing device such as a laptop, desktop, tablet,
smartphone or other device. In general, the computing device may be
wirelessly coupled to the base through a local area network. The
computing device may be coupled to the base through a wired
connection. The wired connection may include one or more of a wired
Ethernet connection, a USB connection, a FireWire connection, a
Lightning port, a Thunderbolt interface, an eSATA interface, an
HDMI interface, a CAN bus interface, an ExpressCard interface, a
Fieldbus interface, a Futurebus interface, a DisplayPort interface,
a UPB interface, an X10 interface, and a PCI Express interface.
[0186] The management interface may be configured for the user to
modify the predetermined schedule. The management interface may be
configured to limit modifications to the predetermined schedule to
one or more authenticated individuals. The management interface may
be configured to limit modifications to the predetermined schedule
to one or more qualified health care professionals. The management
interface may be configured to display compliance information. The
management interface provides a drag-and-drop interface to transfer
the predetermined schedule from one base to another base. The
management interface may provide a drag-and-drop interface to
transfer the predetermined schedule for a particular type of
consumable unit from one cartridge to another cartridge. The
management interface may provide a drag-and-drop interface for
removing an association of one of one or more cartridges with the
base. The management interface may provide a drag-and-drop
interface to allocate a consumption of the consumable units in one
of the cartridges to the user. The management interface may provide
a drag-and-drop interface to allocate a type of consumable unit to
the user.
[0187] In another aspect, the system may include a remote
management system 3632 coupled in a communicating relationship with
the base. The remote management system may identify a low level in
one of the one or more cartridges. The remote management system may
determine whether a prescription for the user may include
additional dosages for a type of medication in the one of the one
or more cartridges, thereby providing a prescription verification.
The remote management system may initiate a managed care billing
request for a replacement cartridge based upon the prescription
verification. The remote management system may initiate a payment
from the user based upon the prescription verification. The remote
management system may initiate an order for the replacement
cartridge with a vendor. The remote management system may provide
an auction platform configured to receive a pre-authorization from
the user to purchase a replacement cartridge for the one of the one
or more cartridges, and to process bids from one or more vendors to
fulfill an order for the one of the one or more cartridges. The
remote management system may provide a reseller market for sale of
used cartridges. The remote management system may provide a virtual
market for one or more of the one or more cartridges. The remote
management system may determine a purchasing history for the user
and initiates a purchase of one or more replacement cartridges for
the user based upon the purchasing history. The remote management
system may monitor compliance for the user according to one or more
prescriptions from one or more health care providers. The remote
management system may provide a compliance report to one or more
third parties. The one or more third parties may include at least
one health care provider. The remote management system may compare
one or more prescriptions from one or more health care providers to
ensure compatibility of the one or more prescriptions.
[0188] Where the base is configured to dispense consumable units
from the one or more cartridges according to a predetermined
schedule, the remote management system may compare one or more
consumable units in the predetermined schedule for drug
interactions based on data from one or more of warning databases,
government sources, drug label information, pharmaceutical
companies, healthcare groups, health care providers, and patient
groups. The remote management system may monitor consumable units
dispensed from all of the cartridges registered with the base to
the user to determine an actual medication regime for the user, and
the remote management system may check for counter-indications
within the actual medication regime. The remote management system
may be further configured to generate an alert to one or more
health care providers for a counter-indication identified within
the actual medication regime. The remote management system may be
further configured to generate an alert to one or more
predetermined contacts for a counter-indication identified within
the actual medication regime. The base may be configured to
dispense consumable units from the one or more cartridges according
to a predetermined schedule, and the remote management system may
detect one or more consumable units manually dispensed from the
base and update the predetermined schedule on the base.
[0189] The system may include a financial processing system 3634
for processing various financial transactions associated with use
of the base and/or cartridges. The financial processing system may
be coupled in a communicating relationship with the base through a
data network such as the Internet. The financial processing system
may be configured to initiate a payment authorization from the user
for a replacement cartridge. The replacement cartridge may be
identified from a recurring schedule of replacements. The financial
processing system may be configured to initiate a payment
authorization from a health insurance provider for the replacement
cartridge. The financial processing system may be configured to
initiate a payment authorization from a third party payor for the
replacement cartridge. The financial processing system may be
configured to initiate a payment authorization from a health
insurance provider for a recurring charge to use the base. The
financial processing system may be configured to initiate a payment
to a provider of a replacement cartridge.
[0190] The base may include other hardware 3636 such as a variety
of input devices, output devices, sensors, communications devices,
and so forth. For example, the base may include a radio-frequency
identification tag reader configured to retrieve data from one of
the one or more cartridges. The base may include a local area
network interface. The local area network interface may be a short
range wireless interface configured to couple the base station in a
communicating relationship with a computing device of the user. The
short range wireless interface may include a Wi-Fi network
interface. The base may include a network interface to couple the
base in a communicating relationship with a remote resource using a
data network such as the Internet. The base may be configured to
communicate through the network interface with one or more of the
remote management system, the financial processing system, and the
order fulfillment system described above. The base may be
configured to communicate through the network interface with one or
more of a health care provider system, a health insurance provider
system, a retailer, and a pharmacy. The base may include a cellular
network interface. The base may be configured to couple in a
communicating relationship with a remote resource through the
cellular network interface. The cellular network interface may
include one or more of a 3G interface, a 4G interface, and an LTE
interface.
[0191] The system may include an interface 3638, such as any of a
number of mechanical, electrical, and/or electromechanical
interfaces between the base and one of the cartridges. For example,
each of the one or more slots may include a locking mechanism to
mechanically secure one of the cartridges in the one of the slots.
The locking mechanism for one of the slots may be configured to
automatically lock upon insertion of one of the cartridges into the
one of the slots. The base may include a user-activated release to
unlock one of the locking mechanisms for removal of a corresponding
one of the cartridges. The user-activated release may be a
mechanical release. The user-activated release may be an
electro-mechanical release. Each of the one or more slots may
include one or more mechanical registration features to receive one
of the cartridges in a predetermined orientation. Each of the one
or more slots may include an electronic interface to electrically
couple the base to one of the cartridges. The electronic interface
may include a power coupling, the base further configured to
provide power to the one of the cartridges through the power
coupling. The electronic interface may include a data interface,
the base further configured to exchange data with the one of the
cartridges through the data interface. The base may include a
wireless power delivery system configured to wirelessly provide
power to at least one of the cartridges. The system may include a
childproofing mechanism on at least one of the one or more
cartridges such as a keycode for authorized access or a mechanical
lever, button, or the like that increases the difficulty for a
child to access the consumable units in the cartridge. The system
may include a bypass mechanism on the base to bypass the
childproofing mechanism. The bypass mechanism may include a user
authentication system in the base. The clip may include a bypass
mechanism to bypass the childproofing mechanism.
[0192] Each of the one or more cartridges may include a unique
identifier 3640. The unique identifier may be optically encoded on
each of the one or more cartridges. The base may include an optical
scanner for reading the unique identifier. The base may include one
optical scanner 3642 for each one of the slots, wherein the unique
identifier may be positioned in a predetermined location on each
one of the one or more cartridges and wherein each optical scanner
may be positioned to capture an image of one of the unique
identifiers when one of the cartridges may be placed in a
corresponding one of the slots.
[0193] The system may include a weight sensor 3644 configured to
detect a weight of contents of one of the one or more cartridges.
The system may include processing circuitry configured to calculate
a consumable unit count for the one of the one or more cartridges
based upon the weight. The system may include calibration circuitry
configured to adjust the consumable units count according to one or
more of temperature, humidity, time and desiccant activity. The
weight sensor may be in the base, or the weight sensor may be in
one of the cartridges, or the weight sensor may be distributed
between these components.
[0194] The system may include a central repository 3646 such as a
data store, remotely accessible database, or the like accessible
through the data network for checking one of the cartridges against
external data sources including one or more of user data,
healthcare databases, official news sources, unofficial news
sources, government news sources, and alert services. In this
manner, the contents of a cartridge may be checked at a SKU level
for recalls, warnings, counter-indications, and so forth based on
the specific contents of the cartridge and the most recent
information available. The central repository may provide data for
checking the plurality of consumable units in the one of the
cartridges against external data sources.
[0195] The system may include a goal setting platform 3648 to
assist a user in achieving a goal in cooperation with contents of
the cartridges and a schedule for consumable units. The goal
setting platform may be configured to receive a goal of a user and
provide reminders to the user related to the plurality of
consumable units in the one or more cartridges. The goal setting
platform may also or instead be configured to provide reminders
related to the goal and unrelated to the plurality of
consumables.
[0196] The system may include cartridge data for one of the
cartridges stored in a cartridge memory, along with a remote data
store that redundantly stores the cartridge data. The cartridge
memory may reside in the base, or in one of the cartridges. A
reconciliation service may be provided to reconcile data between
the remote data store and the cartridge memory.
[0197] The system may include a network interface for coupling one
of the cartridges to the data network, with the network interface
configured to transmit data between the cartridge and a remote
resource according to a priority. In this manner, data may be
prioritized, such as in limited connectivity contexts, to ensure
that the most important or highest priority data is exchanged
first. The priority may be based on a degree of redundancy so the
least redundant data is exchanged first. The prioritization may
occur at any point in the corresponding data connection, and may
for example be implemented in one or more of the cartridge, the
base, and the remote resource. In one aspect, the network interface
may include a wireless communication interface in the one of the
cartridges, which may couple in a communicating relationship to,
e.g., the base station with a short range wireless protocol or a
wide area data network using a cellular or other wireless data
network infra structure.
[0198] One of the cartridges may include two types of consumable
units in two independently dispensing reservoirs. More generally,
one of the cartridges or any number of the cartridges may include
three or more types of consumable in three or more independently
dispensing reservoirs. The independently dispensing reservoirs may
be independently controllable by the base in order to permit
customized consumable units based on mixtures of the two or more
types of consumables. The two independently dispensing reservoirs
may also or instead be commonly controlled by the base to provide a
mixed consumable having a predetermined composition in response to
a single dispense instruction from the base. The cartridge may also
include a mixing system such as a stirring system, blending system,
agitation system, pill press, and the like to combine the two types
of consumable units into a single, composite consumable unit, which
may be a pill, a capsule, a suspension, and a solution. In this
manner, a cartridge may serve as a personal compounding system for
home-made medications, supplements, and so forth.
[0199] FIG. 37 illustrates different views, a rear perspective view
and a front perspective view, of a cartridge and clip. In one
aspect there is disclosed herein a device 3700 (optionally with or
without the clip) that includes a container 3702 configured to hold
a plurality of consumable units; a mechanism 3704 to dispense
individual doses of the plurality of consumable units from the
container; a user input 3706 to manually activate the mechanism and
dispense one of the plurality of consumable units; a machine input
3708 to activate the mechanism and dispense one of the plurality of
consumable units, e.g., in response to a signal from a base (when
the device 3700 is coupled to a base); and a mechanical interface
3710 including one or more mechanical registration features to
removably and replaceably insert the device into a base. In
general, the one or more registration features align the device to
the base in a predetermined alignment.
[0200] The device may include a locking mechanism 3712 to securely
retain the device in the predetermined alignment in the base, which
may be disposed on the device, on the base, or between the two. The
device may include a battery 3714 or other power source to provide
power to the device for electronic operation. The device may
include a processor 3716. The device may include a memory 3718
configured to store a predetermined schedule for delivery of the
plurality of consumable units to a user. The device may include an
output device 3720 to notify the user of a time to take one of the
plurality of consumable units according to the predetermined
schedule.
[0201] The device may include an electronic interface 3722 adapted
to electrically couple the device to the base when the device may
be in the predetermined alignment. The electronic interface may be
a power interface. The electronic interface may be a data
interface.
[0202] The device may include a radio-frequency identification tag
3726.
[0203] The device may include communications circuitry 3728 for one
of more of near field communications, Bluetooth communications,
ZigBee communications, Z-Wave communications, Insteon
communications, EnOcean communications, and DECT communications.
The device may include communications circuitry for one or more of
CDMA communications, 3 G communications, 4 G communications, LTE
communications, and WiMAX communications. The communications
circuitry 3728 may also or instead include a network communications
device (such as a wired or wireless Ethernet or other 802.xx
device) configured to notify a user to take one of the consumables
in the container 3702 according to the schedule. The communications
device may transmit a notification using at least one of a text
message, and electronic mail, a VoIP message, a push notification
to a mobile device application, a telephone message, and the like,
and/or a signal to a remote notification platform to similarly
transmit a notification using any of the foregoing.
[0204] The user input may manually activate the machine input. The
memory may be configured to store a numeric amount of the plurality
of consumable units in the container. The device may include one or
more sensors 3730 to detect the numeric amount. The device may
include processing circuitry to update the numeric amount when one
of the plurality of consumable units may be dispensed from the
container. The device may include a mechanical counter 3732 to
indicate a numeric amount of the plurality of consumable units in
the container.
[0205] The mechanism may include an agitator and a chute, the
agitator responsive to the user input or the machine input to
agitate the number of consumable units in the container, thereby
dispensing one of the plurality of consumable units through the
chute. The chute may be an asymmetrical chute. The agitator may be
an asymmetrical vertical agitator or asymmetrical horizontal
agitator.
[0206] The device may include a machine-readable identifier 3734.
The machine-readable identifier may uniquely identify the device.
The machine-readable identifier may encode information about the
device. The machine-readable identifier may encode information
about contents of the container of the device. The machine-readable
identifier may encode an expiration date for a consumable unit
associated with the contents of the container. The machine-readable
identifier may encode a Stock-Keeping Unit (SKU) for the contents
of the container. The machine-readable identifier may encode one or
more of a name for the SKU, a milligrams-per-dose of SKU
consumables, a weight of empty cartridge for the SKU, a weight of a
single unit of SKU consumables, a warning for the SKU, and
directions and guidance for the SKU. The machine-readable
identifier may include a radio-frequency identification tag. The
machine-readable identifier may include a Quick Response code. The
machine-readable identifier may include a bar code.
[0207] The device may include a clip 3736, which may be removably
and replaceably coupled to the device. The clip may provide the
mechanical interface for coupling to the base. The clip may connect
to the mechanical interface of the device. The clip may include a
user-operable button 3738 configured to activate the machine
interface of the device. Thus in one aspect, the clip 3736 may
include a first mechanical interface 3760 configured to removably
and replaceably couple to a container 3702, which as shown may be
housed in a cartridge 3770 providing various other components for
various features and functions. The clip 3736 may also include a
second mechanical interface 3780 configured to removably and
replaceably couple to a base such as any of the bases described
herein. In general, this clip 3736 may serve as an intermediate
component supporting communication interfaces between the cartridge
3770 and the base (not shown) and permitting an exchange of
information there between. The clip 3736 may also store information
such as a schedule (from the base) and a quantity of consumables
(from the cartridge 3770) to facilitate removal of the
clip/cartridge combination from the base for temporary independent
use.
[0208] The clip may include a memory 3740 storing a numeric amount
of the plurality of consumable units in the container. The clip may
be configured to obtain the numeric amount from the device. The
clip may be configured to obtain the numeric amount from the base.
The clip may update the numeric amount when one of the consumable
units is dispensed from the device. The memory may also or instead
store a predetermined schedule for delivery of the plurality of
consumable units to a user. The clip may include an output device
3744 to notify the user of a time to take one of the plurality of
consumable units according to the predetermined schedule.
[0209] The clip may include a power source 3742. The power source
may be configured to provide power from the power source to the
device. The clip may be configured to communicate data between the
device and the base. The clip may include a display 3744 to display
a numeric amount of the plurality of consumable units in the
container of the device.
[0210] The clip may be configured to hold a plurality of devices.
The clip may be configured independently control each one of the
plurality of devices.
[0211] In one aspect, the device may include a memory configured to
store a predetermined schedule for delivery of the plurality of
consumable units to a user and a processor 3745 may be configured
to couple the device in a communicating relationship with the base
when the device may be inserted into the base. The processor may be
configured to retrieve an update to the predetermined schedule from
the base and/or the processor may be configured to transmit
consumable unit delivery data for the container to the base.
[0212] As noted above, the device may include a clip coupled to the
device that provides the mechanical interface for insertion into
the base, the clip may include a processor, a first communication
interface to communicate with the base, and a second communication
interface to communicate with the device. In this configuration,
the processor may be configured to couple the device in a
communicating relationship with the base. The clip may be
configured to provide an updated predetermined schedule from the
base to the device when the clip and the device are inserted into
the base in the predetermined alignment. The clip may be configured
to provide consumable unit delivery data for the container to the
base when the clip and the device are inserted into the base in the
predetermined alignment.
[0213] FIG. 38 shows a system for managing consumables. In general,
the system 3800 may include one or more containers 3802, a base
3804, and a network interface 3806 to couple the base 3804 in a
communicating relationship with a remote resource 3808 through a
data network 3810. The base 3804 may include a processor 3812 and
one or more slots 3814 to removably and replaceably receive the
containers 3802.
[0214] Each of the containers 3802 may contain a plurality of
consumable units as generally contemplated herein. While the
following description focuses on consumable units, it will be
understood that the containers 3802 may contain any of the
dispensables described herein. It should also be understood that,
without loss of generality, the systems described herein may also
be implemented with "containers" that are formed by bins or the
like integrated directly into the base 3804, so that removable and
replaceable containers are not required and consumables are
provided by a user directly to the bins in bulk form.
[0215] In one aspect, one of the containers 3802 may include a
communications interface to communicate with the base and circuitry
configured to communicate a numeric count of consumable units in
the container 3802 through the communications interface. The
container 3802 may also or instead communicate any useful property
of the consumable units in the container such as weight, expiration
date, and so forth.
[0216] The base 3804 may include a processor 3812 configured to
operate each of the containers 3802 (when positioned in the slots
3814) to dispense consumable units. As described above, this may
include operating each container 3802 to individually dispense
consumable units, such as into a common chute provided by the base
3804 or from a chute specific to the corresponding container 3802,
or this may include operating the base 3804 to retrieve consumable
units from each container 3802, or some combination of these. The
base 3804 may include a memory 3816 storing a schedule 3818, which
may be any of the schedules described herein. The memory 3816
storing the schedule 3818 may also or instead be in one or more
containers 3802, or in the remote resource 3806, or distributed
among these components. In general, the processor 3812 may be
configured to receive changes to the schedule from a first remote
device 3820 through the data network 3810, and to transmit
information about the containers 3822 to a second remote device
3822, which may be the same device as the first remote device 3820
or a different device.
[0217] In one aspect, the base 3804 (e.g., with the processor 3812)
may be configured to provide a notification to a user of an item on
the schedule 3818. The base 3804 may also automatically dispense a
corresponding consumable (which may occur with or without
notification to the user), or receive a manual input from the user
to dispense the appropriate consumable. The base 3804 may also
include a monitoring system 3824 configured to track distribution
of consumables units from the one or more containers, such as by
tracking when a consumable unit is dispensed or detecting a
retrieval of one of the consumable units that has been dispensed by
the base 3804 or one of the containers 3802. This may include any
suitable device or systems including a camera, touch sensors,
beam-breaking detection, a pressure or weight sensor, and so
forth.
[0218] The base 3804 may generate a notification under a variety of
conditions and transmit the notification through a variety of
channels. For example, the base 3804 may provide a notification
that a consumable unit has been dispensed from the base 3804, which
may be sent to a remote healthcare system or any other suitable
recipient. The notification may also or instead include a
notification (e.g., to a healthcare system) when a consumable unit
is retrieved after dispensing. A notification may also or instead
be generated to alert the user of a dosage in the schedule 3818. In
another aspect, the notification may include a compliance report
concerning the schedule 3818, which may be communicated to one or
more third parties such as a healthcare provider or any other
user-designated contact.
[0219] The notification may be based on a tiered notification
scheme. For example, a first notification may be an alert to the
user when a dosage is due. A second notification may be an alert to
the user when the dosage is missed within or after a predetermined
time interval of a scheduled time for the dosage. A third
notification may be an alert to the user when the user does not
respond to the prior alert within a predetermined time. The third
notification may also include a notification to any suitable
notification processing system, which may reside for example in the
remote resource 3808, to contact the user. The notification
processing system may include a call center, an automated triage
system, an automated message routing system, an instant messaging
center, a customer service center, or any other system for
automated or human response. In another aspect, the third
notification may be transmitted to a health care professional or to
a predetermined contact for the user. More generally, the systems
described herein may be configured to use notification states that
escalate based on trigger events, such as by providing a sequence
of escalating notifications using a number of different
communication mediums according to deviations from the schedule
3818.
[0220] The base 3804 may provide a notification through any
suitable notification hardware 3850 for local notification such as
a buzzer, a speaker, a display, a projector, or a light-emitting
diode. The projector may be a video projector or laser system that
can project a written or graphic notification on nearby surfaces.
In another aspect, the notification may include a text message, an
electronic mail, a telephone message, or any other form of message
or communication, which may be generated directly by the base 3804
or generated indirectly through the remote resource 3808 in
response to the schedule 3818 or a signal from the base 3804.
[0221] In a general sense, the base 3804 may transmit any
user-configured notification to any user-selected entity at any
time, such as when a consumable unit is dispensed or retrieved. In
one aspect, the base 3804 may include a notification system that is
remotely configurable by a third party to provide one or more
notifications according to deviations from the schedule 3818.
[0222] While a single base 3804 is depicted in the figure, it will
be understood that the system 3800 may include any number of bases,
each storing a schedule. These bases and schedules may be for a
single user, or for a number of different users, with the
association between particular users and bases being flexibly
configurable as described herein. As described herein, a server for
managing bases may be provided as a remote resource, or hosted on
one of the bases, or some combination of these.
[0223] The network interface 3806 may be any suitable interface for
coupling the base 3804 in a communicating relationship with the
data network 3810 and various devices coupled thereto. In one
aspect, communications between the base 3804 and the remote
resource 3808 may use 256 bit encryption or any other strength or
type of security mandated by regulation or health care best
practices.
[0224] The remote resource 3808 may be any remote computing
facility or combination of facilities including cloud computing
resources, databases, remote applications, and so forth. The remote
resource 3808 may for example, be a resource provided by a
participant in a healthcare system such as a health care provider
system, a health insurance provider system, a retailer, a pharmacy,
a patient group, a consumer group, or any other group or
organization. The base 3804 may provide the schedule 3818, or
information about the schedule, to the remote resource 3808, which
may be configured to provide a notification based on the schedule
3818. This may, for example, be a notification that a scheduled
item has been missed, that a scheduled item is upcoming, that a
scheduled item has been completed, and so forth.
[0225] In one aspect, the remote resource 3808 may include a server
with a memory storing a number of schedules for dispensing
consumables or other dispensables to a number of users. The server
may provide an interface such as a web-based user interface for
updating one of the schedules, such as any of the management
interfaces described herein.
[0226] In one aspect, the remote resource 3808 may host an order
fulfillment system that compares a numeric count of the consumable
units in the containers 3802 to the schedule 3818 to determine when
replacement consumables should be ordered for a user. For example,
the base 3804 may periodically inventory contents of the containers
3802 and provide relevant information concerning current counts,
remaining time with current inventory, and the like to the remote
resource 3808. It will be appreciated that the order fulfillment
system may also or instead be hosted on the processor 3812 of the
base 3804, or distributed or shared in any other suitable manner.
The order fulfillment system may be configured to automatically
place an order for a replacement container, or an order for
replacement consumables in bulk form that can be used to refill one
of the containers. Similarly, the order fulfillment system may be
configured to notify the user to order a replacement container or
replacement consumables in bulk form.
[0227] In another aspect, the remote resource 3808 may include a
remote management system. The remote management system may
generally be operable to manage consumables at the base 3804 in a
manner consistent with expected uses according to the schedule
3818. Thus for example, the remote management system may identify a
predetermined level in one of the containers 3803, which may be any
level suitable for action. The predetermined level may be specified
as a state such as full, low, empty and so forth, or as a
percentage full, a number of doses remaining, or in any other
suitable manner. When the predetermined level has been determined,
the remote management system may take appropriate next steps such
as determining whether a prescription for the user includes
additional dosages for a type of medication in the one of the one
or more containers, e.g., by retrieving prescription information
for the user from another remote resource or from the memory 3816
of the base 3804. With this information, the remote management
system may provide a prescription verification based upon which the
remote management system can initiate a variety of additional
steps. For example, the remote management system may initiate a
managed care billing request for a replacement container, a payment
from the user for the replacement container, or placement of an
order for the replacement container with a vendor. The remote
management system may similarly initiate a billing request,
payment, or order for a bulk consumable to refill one of the
containers 3802.
[0228] In another aspect, the remote management system may provide
a variety of other prescription-related or compliance-related
functions. For example, the remote management system may monitor
compliance for the user according to one or more prescriptions from
one or more health care providers, which may be included from the
schedule 3818 or retrieved from the health care providers. As
another example, the remote management system may compare various
prescriptions from health care providers to ensure compatibility of
the one or more prescriptions for a particular user. The remote
management system may also or instead compare consumable units in
the schedule for drug interactions based on data from one or more
of warning databases, government sources, drug label information,
pharmaceutical companies, healthcare groups, health care providers,
and patient groups. In another aspect, the remote management system
may monitor consumable units dispensed from all of the containers
registered with the base to the user to determine an actual
medication regime for the user, and to check counter-indications
within the actual medication regime. The remote management system
may be configured to generate an alert to a healthcare provider or
some other predetermined contact for a counter-indication
identified within the schedule 3818. This approach to
counter-indications advantageously ensures that all medications are
accounted for by centralizing tracking at a single location.
[0229] The remote management system, aspects of which may also be
realized as a management system on the base, may be configured to
manage the schedule 3818. The management system may also control
the security lock 3840 to prevent dispensation of a consumable unit
prior to a corresponding dosage in the schedule 3818. In another
aspect, the management system may track an expiration date for the
consumable units in the containers 3802, and control the security
lock to prevent dispensation of consumables after they have
expired. Where the consumable units include medicine such as a
prescription medicine or an over-the-counter medicine, the
management system may control the security lock 3840 specifically
to prevent overdosing with such medicine.
[0230] Similarly, the remote resource 3808 may provide a server for
various other functions within the system 3800. For example, the
base 3804 may be configured to receive an update to the schedule
3818 from the server, thus permitting cloud-based management of the
schedule 3818 to provide a location-independent scheduling
resource. In another aspect, the remote resource 3808 may provide a
server configured to controllably associate the base 3804 (or a
number of bases) with a user to provide an associated base. More
generally, the base 3804 may be associated with any number of users
and any number of bases may be associated with a particular user.
These mappings may be stored by and managed through the server,
e.g., using the various interfaces described herein.
[0231] When the base 3804 becomes an "associated base" that is
associated with a user, the base 3804 may respond to the
association in numerous ways consistent with operating the
associated base for the user. For example, the associated base may
retrieve a schedule for the user, or evaluate contents of
dispensers physically associated with the base for availability of
consumables indicated in a schedule for the user. The associated
base may then more generally operate as contemplated herein, such
as by generating a notification to a user when a consumable in an
associated dispenser is at a predetermined level (such as low or
empty), automatically dispensing a consumable in response to the
schedule 3818, or monitoring compliance of the user with the
schedule 3818. The base 3804 may also notify the server or relevant
events such as a change in configuration of dispensers or
containers physically associated with the base 3804 (e.g.,
insertion or removal of a dispenser) and the server may perform
management functions such as requesting a change in configuration
of the dispensers, e.g., according to the schedule 3818.
[0232] In another aspect, the remote resource 3808 may include a
financial processing system to support payment processing for
various actions related to the schedule 3818 or the user. For
example, the financial processing system may be configured to
initiate a payment authorization from the user for a replacement
container, a payment authorization from a health insurance provider
for the replacement container, or a payment authorization from a
third party payor other than a health insurer for the replacement
container.
[0233] In another aspect, the remote resource 3808 may include a
goal setting platform configured to receive a goal of a user and
provide reminders to the user related to the consumable units in
the containers 3802. The notification may include a reminder
related to the goal and unrelated to the consumables, or a reminder
related to the goal and related to the consumables, or any other
suitable reminder. The goal setting platform may also usefully be
hosted on the processor 3812 of the base station 3804 for local
execution.
[0234] The data network 3810 may include any network(s) or
internetwork(s) suitable for communicating data and control
information among participants in the system 3800. This may include
public networks such as the Internet, private networks,
telecommunications networks such as the Public Switched Telephone
Network or cellular networks using third generation (e.g., 3G or
IMT-2000), fourth generation (e.g., LTE (E-UTRA) or WiMax-Advanced
(IEEE 802.16m), as well as any of a variety of corporate area or
local area networks and other switches, routers, hubs, gateways,
and the like that might be used to carry data among participants in
the system 3800. Components linked through the data network 3810
may be linked through a public network such as the Internet, or
through a local area network or other local communication link.
[0235] The slots 3814 may include any electromechanical interface
for removably and replaceably receiving containers 3802. The slots
3814 may include active components that communicate with a security
lock 3840 to control removal and replacement of containers 3802, or
to control dispensation of consumable units from the containers
3802. Where the containers 3802 include sensors, memory,
processing, and the like, the slots 3814 may also include an
electrical interface for coupling the containers 3802 in a
communicating relationship with the base 3804. In this manner, when
the containers 3802 are placed into the slots 3814, the containers
3802 may provide status information to, or receive programming and
data such as scheduling information from, the base 3804. While the
base 3804 is generally described as a multi-container device, it
will be understood that the various features and functions of the
base 3804 as described herein may usefully be incorporated into a
single dispenser of consumables. As such, the base 3804 may be a
dispenser housing a single container and including a user input to
dispense the consumable units from the single container in unit
form. This may be any of the cartridges or other dispenser
described above, or any other suitable unit dispenser of
consumables or other dispensables. Similarly, the container 3802
described herein may include a dispenser configured to dispense
individual ones of the plurality of consumable units independently
from the base 3804, that is without being couple to or controlled
by the base 3804.
[0236] The schedule 3818 may be any schedule useful for operating
the base 3804 or the containers 3802, or for coordinating operation
of the foregoing with requirements of a user or a third party such
as a health care professional. For example, the schedule 3818 may
be a user-created dosing schedule. The first remote device 3820 may
automatically generate a change to the schedule 3818 using any
appropriate rules, algorithms, or other constraints. For example,
the first remote device 3820 may provide counter-indication
screening. In response to an update to counter-indication data
provided by a pharmaceutical company, health care provider,
government agency or the like, the first remote device 3820 may
automatically screen for counter-indications in the schedule 3818
and mitigate conflicts as appropriate. As another example, the
first remote device 3820 may receiving data from the base 3804
concerning actual dosing distributed from the containers 3802 and
update the schedule 3818 accordingly. More generally, a variety of
automated updates may be supported using any events that can be
detected by the first remote device 3820 including event identified
by a health care provider, events detected at a locale of the base
3804, events detected by other online resources, and so forth.
[0237] The second remote device 3822 may in general be any remote
device coupled to and participating in a dispensable management
system such as the system 3800 described herein. In one aspect, the
second remote device 3822 may be a mobile device such as a smart
phone or wearable computing device associated with the user and
configured to receive the notification. In another aspect, the
second remote device 3822 may be a wearable accessory such as a
bracelet, pendant, or earpiece associated with the user and
configured to receive the notification. In either case, the device
3822 may receive a notification remotely through the data network
3810 or locally, such as through a local area network or direct
short range communication with the base 3804. A wearable accessory
may be associated with the user or with the base 3804, and may
usefully provide a two-way communication system for the user to
provide information to the base 3804, and for the user to receive
notifications from the base 3804, e.g., about the schedule 3818,
contents of the containers 3802, and so forth.
[0238] While described as being stored in a memory of the base
3804, it will be understood that the schedule 3818 may also or
instead be hosted at another location such as the remote resource
3808, which may in this case be another computer owned by the user,
a schedule management system, a data repository, another base
associated with the user, a healthcare provider system, and so
forth.
[0239] In one aspect, the first remote device 3820 and the second
remote device 3822 may be accessories for use by users in managing
and using the schedule 3818. For example, the first accessory may
be couple in a communicating relationship with a server (e.g., a
server hosted on the base 3804 or on the remote resource 3808) and
configured to provide a notification to a user based on a schedule
associated with the user, such as the schedule 3818. This accessory
may be a wearable accessory such as a bracelet, pendant, watch, or
the like, and may be configured to receive an input from a wearer
to dispense a consumable from one of the containers 3802. The first
accessory may include a sensor 3821 such as a biometric sensor
configured to capture biometric data of a wearer. This may include
information used for biometric identification or authorization, or
this may include health and fitness information such as a heart
rate, blood pressure, or any other useful information that might be
obtained from a wearer using sensors on the accessory. In another
aspect, the sensor 3821 may include a location sensor (e.g., GPS,
proximity sensor, WiFi positional sensor, or the like) configured
to determine a location of the wearer. Information obtained from
the sensor 3821 may be transmitted from the accessory to any
suitable location, such as the base 3804, the remote resource 3808,
or any other server or other data repository or the like. The first
accessory may be associated with numerous users, and may include
detection circuitry to determine which one of a number of users is
wearing or operating the accessory.
[0240] The second remote device 3822 may be a second accessory
similarly coupled to the system 3800 and configured to communicate
a notification from the second accessory to the first accessory. In
this manner, a third party such as a friend, family member, or
health care provider may signal a user through the interconnected
accessories to consume one of the consumables in one of the
containers 3802 at any desired interval, either as a reminder from
a preexisting schedule or as an ad hoc dosage indication. In
another aspect, the second accessory may be associated with the
user. It will be understood that both accessories may be intended
for use by the user, or one of the accessories may be associated
with the user and intended for use by a third party. In this
manner, the third party may use the second accessory for any
suitable notifications to the user. Similarly, the second accessory
may associated with a number of different users to facilitate,
e.g., group notification or management of group schedules.
[0241] In one aspect, the base 3804, the remote resource 3808, or
some combination of these may be configured as a messaging system
to support communications and synchronization among various bases,
containers, dispensers, accessories and other devices associated
with a user.
[0242] The system may include a management interface 3830 including
a graphical interface for managing the schedule 3818 and related
elements of the system 3800. The management interface 3830 may be
hosted on the remote resource 3808, the base 3804, or some other
location, or combinations of these. The management interface 3830
may be deployed as a web interface or the like served by a web
server hosted on the base 3830, or on the remote resource 3808, and
remotely accessible through the data network 3810. In one aspect,
the base 3804 may include a display 3832 for local access to the
management interface 3830 directly from the base 3804. The
management interface 3830 may be configured for various
administrative functions. For example, the management interface
3830 may be configured for a user to modify the schedule 3818. The
management interface 3830 may also or instead be configured to
limit modifications to the schedule to authenticated individuals,
qualified healthcare professionals (which may be authenticated), or
an electronic healthcare information technology system, or any
combination of these or other users or systems. In another aspect,
the management interface 3830 may be configured to display
compliance information, e.g., to any of the foregoing users.
[0243] In another aspect, the management interface may provide an
interface for modifying an association of a user with the base
3804. In general, a base 3804 may have any number of users
associated with it, with the schedule of each user maintained in
the memory 3816 of the base 3804 or any other suitable location,
such as the remote resource 3808. This association may be
controlled to add or remove users for the base 3804, or to add or
remove associations of a particular user with a number of bases. In
either case, these associations may be used to update schedules so
that a particular base has suitable scheduling information for any
and all associated users, and similarly so that a particular user
has appropriate scheduling information on any and all associated
bases.
[0244] The system 3800 may include a security lock 3840. In
general, this may be a physical locking mechanism such as any of
the locking mechanisms described herein to physically retain
containers 3802 in the slots 3814 or to providing authenticated
access to containers 3802 or contents thereof. This may also or
instead include a virtual locking mechanism configured to secure
data on the base 3804 or access to the data in the containers 3802.
For example, the remote resource 3808 may be configured to remotely
lock the base 3804 to prevent dispensation of consumable units from
one or more of the containers 3802 using the security lock
3840.
[0245] While depicted on the base 3804, it will be understood that
the security lock 3840 may also or instead be on an individual
container 3802, or on the remote resource 3808, or distributed in
any suitable manner among these system components. In one aspect,
the security lock 3840 may require authentication of a user as a
condition for dispensation of one of the consumable units from one
of the containers 3802. The security lock 3840 may include any of a
variety of inputs. For example, the security lock 3840 may include
a user input on the base 3804 operable to unlock one of the
containers 3802 in response to a user input when the container 3802
is coupled to the base 3804. In another aspect, the security lock
3840 may include a user input on the container 3802 (which may be a
simple container or a cartridge as described above) to unlock the
container 3802 in response to a user input.
[0246] Regardless of location, the security lock 3840 may include a
variety of interfaces. For example, the security lock 3840 may
include a keypad configured for passcode authentication of the
user. The security lock 3840 may also or instead include a
biometric system for authenticating the user such as a voice
recognition user interface for voice authentication, a facial
recognition system, a fingerprint identification system, an iris
scanner, or the like.
[0247] The security lock 3840 may authenticate the user with
reference to the remote resource 3808, which may provide
information about the user or operate as a trusted certificate
authority or the like. In one aspect, the remote resource 3808 may
include a data repository for electronic medical records that can
be used in authenticating the user. The security lock 3840 may be
controlled remotely, e.g., through the data network 3810, to
provide a remote controlled security lock for remotely controlling
access to the consumable units in the containers 3802. Where the
monitoring system 3824 includes a camera, the security lock 3840
may be configured to respond to an access attempt by capturing an
image with the camera. The camera may be a digital still camera or
a video camera directed toward a location of an operator of an
interface of the security lock, such as an area in front of a
keypad, where an image may be captured to document access attempts.
The image or images captured from this camera may be processed
using facial recognition software and a local or remote database
for face recognition. This may be useful in detecting tampering or
other improper uses, particularly in identifying an operator where
an authentication fails. Further actuations and processing may be
triggered by successful or unsuccessful authentication and security
unlocking, including but not limited to audio alarms, visual
alarms, physical device movements, physical lockdowns, and
electrical jolts or shocks.
[0248] The security lock 3840 may provide additional locking,
security, or authentication related functions. For example, where
the container 3802 is a dispenser with a user input for manual
activation of a dispensing mechanism, the security lock 3840 may
control activation of the user input. Where the container 3802 is a
dispenser with a machine input for remote machine activation of a
dispensing mechanism (e.g., from a base to which the container 3802
is coupled), then the security lock 3840 may control activation of
the machine input. The security lock 3840 may also or instead
require authentication of a user as a condition for removing one of
the containers 3802 from the base.
[0249] A container, dispenser, and/or base may perform
self-diagnostics, including but not limited to checking cleanliness
and residue, checking digital memory faults, checking onboard data
against redundant data sources both local and remote, power supply
tests, and battery tests. The device may perform such diagnostics
either as an individual, or by utilizing other local and remote
devices and resources that are connected to it. The device may also
perform such diagnostics upon user, environmental, or self-created
triggers. Thus the device and any other system devices previously
described in previous paragraphs may form a self-regulating,
self-testing, and self-reliant dispensables system that may require
no manual or user input to drive its diagnostic functionality.
[0250] Furthermore, such self-reliance of this dispensables system
may translate beyond diagnostic functionality to the full set of
functionality described in this document. An illustrative example
is a dispensing device described herein, which provides doses of
consumables to a user automatically based on an environmental
trigger, such as development of an illness, instead of
manually.
[0251] FIG. 39 shows a method for synchronizing scheduling data and
dispensables data among various devices. In general, the method
3900 may be used to synchronize data during periodic removals and
replacements of cartridges, containers and the like into bases.
[0252] As shown in step 3902, the method 3900 may begin with
detecting an insertion of a cartridge containing consumables into a
base. This may, for example, be any of the cartridges, consumables,
and bases described herein. The cartridge, for example, may include
an integrated dispensing cartridge, or a container for consumables
with a removable and replaceable housing for the container that
provides an electro-mechanical interface configured to removably
and replaceably couple to the base, such as any of the
clip/cartridge combinations described above. In another aspect,
this cartridge referred to herein may be a simple container of
consumables or other dispensables that can be inserted into the
base. The insertion may be detected, e.g., through electrical
contact with two or more exposed conductive surfaces, activation of
a mechanical switch, plunger, or the like, or through other means
such as optical detection using a camera or an optical beam and
sensor. However detected, the detection may cause a processor on
the base or other processing circuitry to initiate a number of
steps to incorporate the inserted cartridge into the resources of
the base.
[0253] As shown in step 3904, the method 3900 may include reading
the contents of the detected cartridge. This may for example,
include reading a numeric amount of the consumables from the
cartridge and communicating the numeric amount to the base. This
may for example including reading data from a memory in the
cartridge or directly from a memory in a clip that holds the
cartridge, or using sensors or the like to detect a current numeric
amount in a reservoir of the cartridge. While numeric count is one
useful property of cartridge contents, this may also or instead
include reading any other information about the cartridge such as a
type of contents, a percentage fullness, a cartridge identifier, an
expiration date of contents, and so forth. In general, such
information may be directly encoded in a memory of the cartridge
for access by the base, or amenable to detection through sensors or
the like on the cartridge, an associated clip, or the base
itself.
[0254] However determined, this information may then be
communicated to the base using any suitable communications
interface. While the insertion of the cartridge into the base makes
wired contacts and corresponding wired communications convenient,
it will be understood that this communication may also or instead
including wireless communication using WiFi, near field
communications, radio frequency identification tag technology, or
any other non-contact communication techniques.
[0255] As shown in step 3906, the method 3900 may include reading
information from the base for communication to the cartridge. For
example, this may include reading a schedule for medication or
other dispensables from the base (e.g., from a memory of the base)
and communicating a portion of the schedule relating to the
consumables in the cartridge to the cartridge. It will be
understood that the entire schedule may also be sent to the
cartridge, such as for porting the schedule to another location.
However, the portion relating to the consumables permits the
cartridge to operate independently as a dispenser for the
consumables according to the schedule, and the base, which contains
or has access to broader, more integrated information about a
dispensables plan for a user may usefully update the schedule on
the cartridge as the overall schedule changes. This information may
be communicated to the cartridge using any suitable communications
interface.
[0256] After this exchange of information--numeric count to base
and schedule to cartridge--a variety of other functions may
usefully be performed.
[0257] As shown in step 3908, the method 3900 may include storing
the schedule and the numeric amount of consumables, along with any
other information, in a memory independent from the base for
independent operation of the cartridge when uncoupled from the
base. In one aspect, this may include a memory of the cartridge. In
another aspect, this may include a remotely accessible memory store
that the cartridge can access, e.g., through a wireless or cellular
network, or when connected to other bases not associated with the
user.
[0258] As shown in step 3910, the method 3900 may include
presenting cartridge information such as a numeric count to a user.
This may, for example, include providing an audio output including
the numeric count in spoken form or displaying the numeric amount
on a display of the cartridge or the base. Thus, when a cartridge
is connected, the cartridge may display the numeric account, and
the base may issue an audible notification in spoken form, such as
"this cartridge contains five units." Where the dispensable type is
also available, either directly from the cartridge or based on an
identifier for the cartridge, this may be a more complete statement
of the status of the cartridge such as "this cartridge contains
five units of aspirin which will expire on Jan. 3, 2015."
[0259] As shown in step 3912, the method 3900 may include issuing a
notification from the cartridge based upon the predetermined
schedule. This may include any useful notification including local
notifications such as a display, a sound, or a vibration from the
cartridge itself, or a notification to the user through some other
communication medium such as instant messaging, electronic mail, or
the like.
[0260] FIG. 40 shows a method for managing user associations with
system components. In general, the method 4000 may include a
variety of synchronization and coordination steps managed, e.g., by
a server hosted on a base or a remote resource.
[0261] As shown in step 4002, the method 4000 may begin with
receiving a schedule for dispensing consumables to a user. In one
aspect, a user may provide the file as a schedule file, or create
the schedule in a user interface. In another aspect, the schedule
may be received from a base or other device. For example, this may
include a communication manually initiated by a user, or an
automatic communication that is periodically transmitted to update
the schedule, or initiated in response to an event such as when a
base joins the system, becomes associated with a user, receives a
schedule change, or the like. In general, this may also include
receiving a user-generated update to the schedule to create an
updated schedule that can be transmitted to the base for execution
as generally described below.
[0262] As shown in step 4004, the method 4000 may include receiving
an association of a base with the user, such as through an input to
a management interface or the like as described herein.
[0263] As shown in step 4006, the method 4000 may include
transmitting the schedule to the base. Thus, when an association is
detected, the associated base can be configured to execute a
schedule for the associated user. As generally described herein,
the base may be operable to execute the schedule by providing
notifications to the user and by dispensing unit form dispensables
such as consumables from containers that are removable from and
replaceable to the base. As used in this context, it will be
understood that the containers may be simple containers,
cartridges, and/or cartridge/clip combinations as described
herein.
[0264] As shown in step 4008, the method 400 may include receiving
data from the base characterizing a type and quantity of
consumables in each of the containers, along with any other
information that might be usefully provided from the containers
and/or base.
[0265] As shown in step 4010, the method 4000 may include executing
the schedule from the base. As described herein, this may include
providing local notifications, communicating notifications to other
devices, automatically or manually dispensing items, monitoring
compliance, and so forth.
[0266] As shown in step 4012, the method 4000 may include
communicating with accessories such as a mobile device (e.g., smart
phone, tablet) or a wearable accessory associated with the user. In
one aspect, this may include transmitting a notification from the
schedule to any device such as a mobile device or wearable
accessory associated with the user. Similarly, this may include
receiving an instruction from the mobile device or wearable
accessory, such as an instruction to dispense a consumable from one
of the containers coupled to the base.
[0267] As shown in step 4014, the method 4000 may include
monitoring the base, along with the contents of containers
associated with the base. For example, this may include determining
when one of the containers needs to be replaced or refilled base on
the schedule, along with data received from the base characterizing
the type and quantity of consumables in the containers, and then
generating a notification to the user to replace the corresponding
container(s). Similarly, this may include automatically ordering a
replacement for one of the containers, or for bulk consumables to
refill the container. Automatic ordering may include any suitable,
computer-coordinated interactions with appropriate approval,
fulfillment, and payment platforms such as those described herein.
This may also include determining when the base needs to be
reconfigured, e.g., with the addition, removal, replacement, or
refilling of containers. Fulfillment may include but is not limited
to human-driven and drone delivery methods.
[0268] According to the foregoing, a method disclosed herein
includes detecting an insertion of a cartridge containing
consumable units into a base; reading a numeric amount of the
consumable units from the cartridge and communicating the numeric
amount to the base; and reading a predetermined schedule for
medication from the base and communicating a portion of the
predetermined schedule relating to the consumable units in the
cartridge to the cartridge.
[0269] It will be appreciated that the methods and systems
described above may serve as a platform for a wide array of
enhancements and related features, any of which may be usefully
combined with the above. A number of examples are provided below by
way of non-limiting example. In one aspect, there is disclosed
herein a connection mechanism between a consumable container and a
socket on a base station, that (a) has a lock-and-key to securely
attach container to the socket and (b) stores digital information
about container properties on container in an encrypted/unencrypted
data format, that is read by the socket uniquely to prevent
misdosing and miscommunication of container properties.
[0270] In another aspect, any of the foregoing may include
pharmaceutical packaging or filling line that can (a) set
cartridge's collar to accommodate pill's specific size (b) attach
cartridge data storage device (e.g. NFC sticker). In another
aspect, a base may support user-specific authorization or
authentication with respect to SKUs and devices within various
containers or cartridges of a base, with access established by an
account owner or an administrator. The management system may
provide a drag-and-drop interface to allocate doses, permissions,
regimens, schedules and settings from one user, account or device
to another. The interface may be deployed on a base, from a web
server, from a user computer, from a mobile device, or from any
other suitable hosting site.
[0271] In another aspect, the devices herein may use weight-based
determination of consumable volume or count in consumable
container. In another aspect, the devices herein may include a pill
maker for compression of pills to manufacture pills from raw
materials, as well as any other suitable mixing, compounding,
encapsulating, or other similar functions.
[0272] In another aspect, a system described herein supports
scheduling consumable use via queuing doses to be consumed on a
per-user level, and allowing (a) access/modification to queues for
specified 3rd parties, (b) categorization, sorting and filtering by
consumable properties including indication, and (c) analytics. In
another aspect, a system described herein may be configured for
purchasing based on some or all of another user's historical
purchase basket ("grabbing"), if that user has shared their
purchase history for "grabbing" purposes. In another aspect, the
system described herein may be configured to support remote access
to dispensing and authorization functions of an electronic
consumable dispenser. In another aspect, the systems described
herein may be configured to support remote authorization of
consumable dispenser usage, particularly in pill compression, by
3rd parties, including but not limited to healthcare providers,
officials and regulators.
[0273] In another aspect, the systems described herein may be used
to provide a variety of notifications such as triggering consumable
use alerts based on (a) dose queuing (b) dosing requirements, such
as need to take drug with food (c) consumable mis use such as
missed dose or overdose (d) unsafe drug interactions (e.g. Drug A
and Drug B cause stomach bleeding if consumed within 24 hrs of each
other). In another aspect, the systems described herein may be
configured to support automatic reordering of consumable SKUs
triggered by received data on SKU unit depletion or near-depletion
triggered by system data. In another aspect, systems disclosed
herein may be configured to support prioritized communications in
which online servers and in-home devices use prioritized buffering
and transmission to make sure key non-redundant data is transmitted
first during any communication.
[0274] In another aspect, a central repository may be provided for
checking of pharmaceutical products against user data and
healthcare information. In another aspect, the system may provide a
universal consumable tracking system that (a) resolves between
multiple consumable use devices (b) directly interfaces consumption
of consumables to personal health records and any other 3rd party
health record systems. In another aspect, the system may provide a
use processing engine and front end that enables (a) game-ification
of consumable usage (b) automatic and manual consumable goal
setting and recognition.
[0275] The methods or processes described above, and steps thereof,
may be realized in hardware, software, or any combination of these
suitable for a particular application. The hardware may include a
general-purpose computer and/or dedicated computing device. The
processes may be realized in one or more microprocessors,
microcontrollers, embedded microcontrollers, programmable digital
signal processors, or other programmable device, along with
internal and/or external memory. The processes may also, or
instead, be embodied in an application specific integrated circuit,
a programmable gate array, programmable array logic, or any other
device or combination of devices that may be configured to process
electronic signals. It will further be appreciated that one or more
of the processes may be realized as computer executable code
created using a structured programming language such as C, an
object oriented programming language such as C++, or any other
high-level or low-level programming language (including assembly
languages, hardware description languages, and database programming
languages and technologies) that may be stored, compiled or
interpreted to run on one of the above devices, as well as
heterogeneous combinations of processors, processor architectures,
or combinations of different hardware and software.
[0276] Thus, in one aspect, each method or step described above and
combinations thereof may be realized as a computer program product
comprising computer executable code embodied in a computer readable
medium (such as a non-transitory computer readable medium) that,
when executing on one or more computing devices, performs the steps
thereof. In another aspect, the methods may be embodied in systems
that perform the steps thereof, and may be distributed across
devices in a number of ways, or all of the functionality may be
integrated into a dedicated, stand alone device or other hardware.
In another aspect, means for performing the steps associated with
the processes described above may include any of the hardware
and/or software described above. All such permutations and
combinations are intended to fall within the scope of the present
disclosure.
[0277] It should further be appreciated that the methods above are
provided by way of example. Absent an explicit indication to the
contrary, the disclosed steps may be modified, supplemented,
omitted, and/or re-ordered without departing from the scope of this
disclosure.
[0278] The method steps of the disclosures(s) described herein are
intended to include any suitable method of causing such method
steps to be performed, consistent with the patentability of the
following claims, unless a different meaning is expressly provided
or otherwise clear from the context. So for example performing the
step of X includes any suitable method for causing another party
such as a remote user or a remote processing resource (e.g., a
server or cloud computer) to perform the step of X. Similarly,
performing steps X, Y and Z may include any method of directing or
controlling any combination of such other individuals or resources
to perform steps X, Y and Z to obtain the benefit of such
steps.
[0279] While particular embodiments of the present disclosure have
been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in
the art that various changes and modifications in form and details
may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of
this disclosure and are intended to form a part of the inventive
concepts described herein.
* * * * *