Abstract: A medication dispensing system (10) includes a portable securable container (42), and a mechanism (12, 13, 14, 16, 19) for dispensing a dosage of solid medication. The system further comprises a processor (11) interfacing with the mechanism and further programmed to await (402) an authorization code from an authorized user among a plurality of authorized users, dispense (404) a dosage of medication while maintaining remaining dosages of medication secure in the portable secure dispenser upon receipt of at least the authorization code and optionally a patient's name, and store (406) a code representative of the authorized user, a code representative of the patient's name, and a date and time of dispensation of the dosage of medication in a memory.

Abstract: A medication dispensing system (10) includes a portable securable container (42), and a mechanism (12, 13, 14, 16, 19) for dispensing a dosage of solid medication. The system further comprises a processor (11) interfacing with the mechanism and further programmed to await (402) an authorization code from an authorized user among a plurality of authorized users, dispense (404) a dosage of medication while maintaining remaining dosages of medication secure in the portable secure dispenser upon receipt of at least the authorization code and optionally a patient's name, and store (406) a code representative of the authorized user, a code representative of the patient's name, and a date and time of dispensation of the dosage of medication in a memory.

Abstract: A pulse accumulator (24) operates in a pulse measurement mode. In the pulse measurement mode, accumulator (24) measured pulse lengths of consecutive high and low input signal pulses in reference to a clock signal. A leading-edge capture circuit (50) asserts a leading-edge pulse to indicate a rising edge of the input signal and a trailing-edge capture circuit (52) asserts a trailing-edge pulse to indicate a falling edge of the input signal. The leading-edge and trailing-edge pulses are logically combined (70) to provide a load signal to enable counter (76) to provide an accumulate value to a buffer register (78). After a predetermined delay (62, 64), each of the leading-edge and trailing-edge pulses are logically combined (66) to provide a clear signal which indicates the input signal has transitioned and counter (76) should be cleared to begin measuring a length of a next pulse.