Modular Pill Dispenser with Rotating Catch and Flipper Agitator
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pill dispensers are often difficult to manipulate, store, and are unsightly, making it inconvenient to dispense a variety of pill shapes and sizes, especially in public settings.
Innovation Solution
A modular dispenser system featuring a cartridge with a funnel and dispensing assembly that uses gravity to dispense pills, incorporating a rotating catch mechanism and a flipper to facilitate easy retrieval and agitation, allowing for convenient storage and use on countertops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a child-proof or tamper resistant bottle is used to store pills, then security and safety are improved, but ease of operation and convenience are worsened due to difficult manipulation
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing system is divided into separate functional components: a secure storage container and a dispensing mechanism with a catch that rotates to present pills. This segmentation allows the storage portion to maintain security features while the dispensing portion provides ease of operation through simple rotational motion.
Solution Approach 2:
A catch mechanism acts as an intermediary between the secure storage and the user. The catch receives pills from the storage container and rotates to present them for retrieval, mediating between the secure closed state and the open dispensing state, thereby maintaining security while enabling easy access.
2Quantity of substance
If traditional pill bottles are used, then storage capacity is maintained, but ease of operation is worsened and accessibility in public settings is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catch mechanism dynamically rotates from a retracted position (where it receives pills) to a forward position (where it presents pills for retrieval). This dynamic motion enables easy dispensing operation while maintaining adequate storage capacity in the container.
3Device complexity
If conventional dispensing mechanisms are used, then simplicity is maintained, but productivity and speed of dispensing are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The catch mechanism is positioned to automatically receive and hold pills as they are dispensed from the storage container. This preliminary action of pre-positioning the catch to receive pills eliminates the need for manual retrieval, thereby increasing dispensing speed while maintaining overall system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The catch mechanism automatically presents pills for retrieval through its rotational motion, enabling self-service dispensing without requiring manual manipulation of the storage container. This increases productivity while keeping the device structure simple.
4Reliability
If child-proof bottles are used, then safety is improved, but aesthetic appearance and suitability for public view are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The aesthetic dispensing portion (catch mechanism) is extracted as a separate visible component from the secure storage container. This allows the storage container to maintain its secure, possibly less aesthetically pleasing design, while the external catch mechanism provides an attractive and user-friendly interface for public settings.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The modular dispenser system provides a user-friendly and aesthetically pleasing way to organize and quickly dispense pills of various shapes and sizes, improving convenience and accessibility.
Implementation Method 1
at least one pill is configured to pass under an influence of gravity
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A modular dispenser includes a cartridge and a dispensing base. The dispensing base includes a funnel with a funnel inlet and a funnel outlet. A dispensing assembly is rotatably coupled to the dispensing base and includes an arc surface coupled to and spaced radially apart from a hub about which the dispensing assembly rotates, wherein the arc surface comprises at least one fin extending radially away from the arc surface, wherein the at least one fin includes a long axis and at least one arm extending laterally away from the long axis of the at least fin. The funnel comprises at least one flipper with an opening proximate the funnel inlet. The flipper may include at least one of a chute that extends away from a lower surface of the flipper and the opening and at least one strake that extends away from a lower surface of the flipper.