US Patent 9489491 Portable and modular prescription drug dispensing device

A dispensing device for dispensing doses of non-individually packaged pills at a plurality of pre-specified dosing times includes a housing that holds a removable magazine, a dispensing unit and an electronic circuit. The removable magazine is configured to hold a stack of the non-individually packaged pills. The dispensing unit is configured to operate on the removable magazine to dispense a pre-specified dose of the pills upon receipt of a signal. The electronic circuit includes a timer that provides the signal at the pre-specified dosing times to activate the dispensing unit to dispense the pre-specified dose.