WARNING:  The current design doesn't really work reliably - if you use the right spring it can work for the specific pill size, but is very likely to jam.  You may still enjoy the print and the mechanism is quite satisfying, but just want to manage expectations 

A spring loaded mechanical pill dispenser

My partner was always forgetting to take her daily vitamins and allergy tablets, so I set out to design a pill dispenser that she could keep with her, refill whenever, fit in her bag and use quickly to avoid faffing around with bottle caps etc.

Came up with this idea for a spring loaded, pill dispenser. Using a rack and pinion to convert the lateral button press into a rotational motion of the dispenser to dispense a pill. 
It comes in 5 parts:

• The outer case is the body of the device and holds the pills inside
• The button slots through the top of the outer case and holds a spring (any normal clicky pen spring should work) between it and the outer case
• The “dispenser mechanism” ball slots into the bottom of the case and the gears on its side mesh with the gear rack at the end of the button legs to make it rotate when the button is pressed. This part has a custom slot cut into it sized for the specific pill to dispense (currently a 10mm circular vitamin pill) - a n ew dispenser ball would need to be made for different sized pills
• The inner case - is a thin funnel that slots inside the outer case - it prevents pills from jamming in the mechanism and funnels then into the dispenser slot - this part also has a custom cut out specific to the pill size so a new one would need to be made for a different pill size
• Refill hole cover - a sheath that slots on over the outside of the case that you can rotate to close/open the refill slot for loading more pills
   

This is my first attempt at designing and 3d printing a “mechanism” - I'm pretty happy with where the design has got to, but mechanisms are hard! Dispensing pills is also really hard! Real challenge to avoid dispensing more than one pill at a time, but avoiuding jamming.
Design still needs some refinement but I've run out of time for the pill case contest so uploading now - will try and further refine later.

Model has been printed and tested and it does work but is unreliable. Further refinement work still to do.
-Create more inner case and dispenser mechanisms for different pill sizes
-Add “backstops” to mechanism to ensure it only rotates within the required range to avoid it losing connection with the gear rack 
- If possible to shrink the design down so it can eventually fit on a keychain! 

Print and assembly instructions:
-Print as per the print profile - be careful changing the orientation of the print as parts need to be dimensionally correct to slot together
- 1st Step - squeeze the inner case funnel into the outer case - there are two small bumps just below the refill hole that lock the funnel in place via the two holes in its edge. Orientation - with the refill hole facing you, the “slots” in the inner case should be furthest away from you. Apologies it is quite fiddly to get lined up so advise using needle pliers to help
- 2nd step slot the button into the top of the outer case - the side of the button with no “leg” should be facing you/on the side of the case with the hole. Insert a pen spring into the retaining hole and line up with the slot in the button lid. Then push the button down -You may need to use a plier through the refill hole to push the button legs through the inner case slots
-3rd step - push the dispenser ball in the button of the case it should firmly “click” into place with the two retaining pins on either side of the case. Hold the ball in place (flat side facing down) and push the button down till the gears mesh together
-4th step - slide the refill hole cover up the outer case till it slots into the groove


Hope you like it - any feedback or suggestions welcome! If you'd like specific pill sizes designed for please let me know. Let me know if you think it is worth further refinement work - and if so watch this space!