Accessed Controlled Pill Dispenser San Jose State University Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering ME 106 Fundamentals of Mechatronics James Abrams Vahe Barsoumian Date of Submission; May 16th, 2006Summary: Our project team selected a project that applies to the pharmaceutical and medical field of engineering that incorporates the use of mechanical and mechatronic systems. It was decided that since many hospitals have experienced the effects caused by low nurse to patient ratios, an automatic pill dispenser would prove to be a very useful tool in reducing the amount of extra preparation time. An automatic pill dispenser with the ability to distribute multiple pills for a certain patient or private individual can allow more attention to be given to patients and elderly to remember when and what dosage of their medication to take. There has also been a great demand for a device that can reduce the amount of time that an average family spends getting their supplements ready in the morning, in which a simple key could dispense the persons own pills. The automatic pill dispenser was constructed successfully with the use of four transistors, a motor, three solenoids, a microcontroller, and a proximity sensor and key. The combination of these materials allowed us to construct a device that with an access controlled input (a proximity sensor) an output would dispense the pills based upon the individual’s key. Since many patients are required to take multiple pills, it was decided that the pill dispenser would need to have multiple separate levels for every different pill. Perhaps the heart of the pill dispenser is the manipulation and use of a solenoid to “pop” a pill from the pill reservoir to the pill delivery chute. Because of the space constraints of the cylindrical pill dispenser an armature was designed with a brass rod to properly extend the pill slider, which delivers the pill to the pill delivery chute. As described above, our device utilized four transistors to properly control the motor and solenoids off and on state from the microcontroller. Since devices such as motors and solenoids are rated at much higher voltages and currents than the microcontroller can provide directly, an external power source is “allowed” to power the device by powering a transistor. The use of the motor with attached propellers allowed the pills to be placed in a correct position in the pill slider that delivers the pill. It also serves as a way to keep surrounding pills from falling into the pill slider and thus “jamming” the pill dispenser. Last, the proximity sensor and key, which were provided by Keri Systems, allowed our entire system to be initiated and begin dispensing pills. A simple program allowed us to run the solenoids and motor for a given time interval. The greatest learning experience from this project was that many times, an intended design does not always work as planned. More specifically, the largest problems that occurred in the construction and design of the pill dispenser was with the delivery system of the pills. It was very difficult, even with the use of motor and propellers to align the pills, to properly place the pills in the pill slider without another pill falling into place. The result is that occasionally either the pill slider would “jam” or the pill slider would deliver two pills. Another experience worth mentioning is that group communication is one of the most important things about working on a project. It was very easy for our group to relate to one another what was required of each individual to complete the project. Without proper communication between group members we believe that it would be difficult if not impossible to design and produce a successful project.Introduction: There has been a need ever since medication was in a pill form for a device that could accurately replace a human being for the need of delivering pills. Humans can determine who to give the pill’s to, when and how many and there has not been a pill dispenser to date that has had the capability to replace these three very important aspects. There are many other problems that plague the home pill user, such as someone stealing pills, forgetting to take them or having the pills available to take too many. We started with these basic needs of a home user and came up with a solution using a simple microcontroller to manage the pill’s dispersal and a proximity sensor to read and allow access of only a valid key to have the pill’s dispensed. With this there are endless possibilities to where, how and when this pill dispenser could come to help and aid many different kind of people in their lives. With the addition of a buzzer this pill dispenser can also remind you when to take your pills, and also notify others when your pill’s have not been taken. Below is just the beginning of some of the basic functions an accessed controlled pill dispenser could achieve. • Hospitals - the automatic pill dispenser can simplify pill dispensing for hospitals with small to large capacities. With the presence of a pill dispenser, nurses and doctors can significantly reduce the amount of time for prep work and doing ‘rounds,’ this way more attention can be given to patients that are in greater need of medical attention. Medical professionals can also be notified by means of a simple database on whom and when dispensed pill’s for the day, and also be notified if a patient has not taken their pills. By hooking up a dispenser to a simple network, access can be changed in a second with patients constantly changing rooms and coming in and out of the hospital. • Home - the increased use of daily vitamins and dietary supplements that need to be taken before or after meals can also become a great area of interest for the use of an automatic pill dispenser. An individual keychain key can initiate the pill dispensing for the user’s personal diet regime and a buzzer can remind them when the supplements need to be taken. This pill dispenser can also control the access to pills that can be sensitive for young children and teenagers, they are locked and only can be retrieved by the person who has the key on their keychain, and only when the right time of day is. • Elderly - the automatic pill dispenser is an excellent way for the elderly to be reminded when to take their pills and the current access key can be worn around the neck or on a bracelet.
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