1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to a bottle cap for use with bottles used to dispense prescription and non-prescription medications. In particular, the present application relates to a bottle cap that can be easily changed from a child resistant mode to a non-child resistant, or senior friendly, mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
Medication, whether over-the-counter or prescription, is often dispensed from medicine bottles with caps that include a child resistant feature that reduces the risk of an unsupervised child accidentally overdosing or otherwise ingesting the medication. While the child resistant cap is difficult for children to open, it is often difficult for many adults to open as well. For example, senior citizens may lack the strength or dexterity required to open the child resistant cap. In addition, many adults may have arthritis or some other physical condition that makes it difficult for them to open a child resistant cap. As a result, these adults who often have a need for medication tend to skip dosages or stop taking medication altogether due to the difficulty they have in opening the medicine bottle.
One solution for this problem has been to use two different types of caps with a standard medicine bottle. One type of cap is child resistant while the other is not. This solution, however, has several problems. First, pharmacies are forced to purchase and maintain an inventory of both types of caps. Thus, there may be a rather substantial increase in cost to the pharmacy to offer this option. Second, in order to receive medication without the child-resistant cap, the patient must request a non-child resistant cap, which is inconvenient and may be embarrassing. Further, even when the non-child resistant cap is requested for the medicine bottle, there is an increased risk to children in the household, or those merely visiting the household.
Thus, it would be advantageous to provide a bottle cap for use with medicine bottles that can be easily converted from a child resistant mode to a non-child resistant or senior friendly mode.
A bottle cap for a medicine bottle in accordance with the present invention includes an outer cap including a first top and a first sidewall extending downward from the first top, an inner cap including a second top and a second sidewall extending downward from the second top, wherein the inner cap is mounted in the outer cap and an engagement device positioned in the outer cap such that the engagement device is movable from a first position wherein the outer cap is engaged with the inner cap in a senior friendly mode, and a second position wherein the outer cap is freely rotatable in a desired direction with respect to the inner cap in a child safety mode.
A bottle cap in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes an outer cap including a first top with an opening formed therein and a first sidewall extending downward from the first top, an inner cap including a second top with a resilient protrusion extending upward therefrom and a second sidewall extending downward from the second top, wherein the inner cap is mounted in the outer cap, a seal mounted in the inner cap and pushing the resilient protrusion upward into the opening of the outer cap such that the outer cap engages the inner cap in a senior friendly mode and a key removably mounted on a top surface of the first top, wherein the key pushes the resilient protrusion down out of the opening such that the outer cap does not engage the inner cap when the key is attached to the outer cap in a child safety mode.
A bottle cap in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention includes an outer cap including a first top and a first sidewall extending downward from the first top, an inner cap including a second top and a second sidewall extending downward from the second top, wherein the inner cap is mounted in the outer cap and a lock device having a substantially U-shape and operable to engage the inner cap and outer cap such that the outer cap rotates with the inner cap in a senior friendly mode.
c illustrate an alternative embodiment of a bottle cap in accordance with the present invention.
a-8b illustrate another embodiment of a bottle cap in accordance with the present invention.
The present invention, in an example embodiment, provides a bottle cap 10 for use with a medicine bottle that includes an inner cap 12 which is positioned inside an outer cap 14 as illustrated in the cross section of
The outer cap 14 is illustrated in further detail with reference to
A hinge 28 is preferably positioned on one end of the flap 24 to rotatably secure the flap 24 to the top surface 22 of the outer cap 14. The end of the flap 24 opposite the hinge 28 is preferably detached from the top surface 22 of the outer cap 14 to allow the flap 24 to rotate vertically about the hinge 28 from a first non-child resistant, or senior friendly, position as is illustrated in
The child resistant position of the flap 24 is illustrated in
The inner cap 12 is described in further detail with reference to
In operation, when the flap 24 is in the non-child resistant position, as illustrated in
When the flap 24 is in the child resistant position, as illustrated in
To open the bottle, the user must push down on the outer cap 14 and rotate it in the appropriate direction in order to engage the inner cap 12, like a conventional child resistant bottle. A bottom surface of the outer cap 14 preferably includes a plurality of flanges 50 that extend downward a predetermined distance from the bottom surface of the outer cap 14, as illustrated in
Since the flanges 50 are sized only to engage the top end 42a11 of the sloped top surface 42a of the teeth 42, when the outer cap 14 is rotated in the other direction, counterclockwise, the flanges 50 merely ride up the sloped top surface 42a of the teeth 42. However, as noted above, the inner cap 12 is positioned in the outer cap 14 such that when a user pushes down on the outer cap 14 the outer cap moves downward a short distance. Thus, when the user pushes downward on the outer cap 14 and rotates the outer cap in the appropriate direction, the flanges 50 are pushed downward to a position in which they may contact an edge of the lower end 42a1 of the sloped top surface 42a of the teeth 42. Thus, when the outer cap 14 is pushed down and then rotated, the flanges 50 engage the teeth 42 and the inner cap 12 rotates with the outer cap to release the bottle cap 10 from the medicine bottle.
The inner cap 62 is similar to the inner cap outer cap 12 discussed above and preferably includes a top 62a and a sidewall 62b extending downward from the top. A resilient protrusion 62c may extend upward from the top 62a (see
In operation, when the inner cap 62 is mounted in the outer cap with the seal 64, the seal 64 pushes upward on a pin 62d (see
The outer cap 61 also preferably includes flanges (not shown) on a bottom surface of the top 61a similar to the flanges 50 described above. The inner cap 62 preferably includes teeth 61e on a top surface of the top 62a which interact with the flanges of the outer cap 61 in a manner similar to the teeth 42 discussed above to provide for child safety features. Thus, use of the key 66 in the cap 10′ places the cap in child safe mode. The inner cap 62 also includes threads (not shown) formed on the internal surface of the sidewall 62b suitable for engagement with standard threads on a medication bottle to allow for the cap 101 to be attached and removed from the bottle.
a-8b illustrate another embodiment of a bottle cap 10″ in accordance with the present invention. The outer cap 80 is similar to the outer caps 14, 61, described above in that it includes a top 80a and a sidewall 80b extending downward from the top. The outer cap 80 also includes an opening 80c that is formed in the top 80a as an elongated slot. The inner cap 82 is similar the to the inner caps 12, 62 mentioned above in that it includes a top 82a and a sidewall 82b (See
A bottle cap 10, 101 or 1011 in accordance with the present invention therefor provides a simple means for switching between a child resistant mode and a non-child resistant, senior friendly mode embodied in a single bottle cap. Thus, for those who have difficulty opening child resistant caps, the non-child resistant mode can be set to allow for easy opening resulting in increased patient compliance with medication schedules. However, in the event that a child is visiting the patient or there are children in the home, the child resistant mode can be set after medication has been taken to help protect the child. Further, since the child resistant mode utilizes substantially the same child resistant features found in conventional child resistant caps, the bottle cap of the present application is usable with virtually any conventional medicine bottle.
The bottle cap 10, 101 or 1011 of the present application preferably meets all requirements of the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission. In addition, the bottle cap 10, 10′ or 10″ of the present application is preferably compatible for use with anti-tamper technology and utilizes industry standard 400 series GPI and PBI thread finishes. As noted above, the bottle cap 10, 101 or 1011 is preferably also compatible with standard medicine bottles.
Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.
The present application claims benefit of and priority to U.S Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/771,375 filed Feb. 8, 2006 entitled CHILD RESISTANT CAP, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60771375 | Feb 2006 | US |