Dispenser Apparatus

Abstract

A dispensing apparatus includes a hollow canister having a canister interior, a dispenser mechanism, and a plurality of stacked containers. The dispenser mechanism is shaped to be placed within the canister and has a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions, a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit, and a selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved. The containers are each shaped to be stacked together within the hollow interior of the base unit and to be removably held therein by the bias device for individual dispensing of the stacked containers from the base unit.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention lies in the field of dispensers. The present disclosure relates to a dispensing apparatus.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present medication dispensing systems utilize the “tackle box” approach. This approach, while useful, still has limitations. When a user has a medication regimen that requires more than the number of compartments in the tackle box, multiple tackle boxes must be used. A user may not be able to mentally stay on schedule for all of the medications that have been prescribed. This situation can lead to confusion and mistakes for a user of the tackle box system.

Thus, a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art systems, designs, and processes as discussed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a dispenser that overcomes the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and that provide such features with a device that minimizes the amount of mental activity required to stay on a complicated regimen of medicines.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is provided, in accordance with the invention, dispensing apparatus. The dispensing apparatus includes a dispenser mechanism having a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions, a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit, and a selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved.

With the objects of the invention in view, there is provided a dispensing apparatus. The dispensing apparatus, includes a hollow canister having a canister interior and a dispenser mechanism shaped to be placed within the canister and having a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions, a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit, and a selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved.

With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided a dispensing apparatus. The dispensing apparatus, includes a hollow canister having a canister interior, a dispenser mechanism shaped to be placed within the canister, and a plurality of stacked containers. The dispenser mechanism has a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions, a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit, and a selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved. The stacked containers are each shaped to be stacked together within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device for individual dispensing of the stacked containers from the base unit.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the bias device is a plurality of spring claws, the base unit has a number of openings corresponding to the plurality of spring claws, and each spring claw projects into the hollow interior of the base unit.

In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the spring claws are attached to the base unit using an interlock.

In accordance with an added feature of the invention, the interlock comprises a tongue and groove interlock.

In accordance with an additional feature of the invention, the base unit has an interlock connecting each of the spring claws thereto and the selection device abuts the interlock when the spring claws are in the closed position.

In accordance with yet another feature of the invention, each of the spring claws has a disengaging device operably connected to the selection device for selectively placing the spring claws in the open and closed positions, and, when the selection device is placed under the disengaging device of the spring claws, the spring claws are in the open position.

In accordance with yet a further feature of the invention, the disengaging device on each spring claw is an indentation projecting towards the selection device.

In accordance with yet an added feature of the invention, there is provided at least one container shaped to be placed within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device.

In accordance with yet an additional feature of the invention, at least one of the containers is shaped to be placed within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the grasping portion of each spring claw.

In accordance with again another feature of the invention, the at least one container is a plurality of stacked containers each shaped to be stacked together within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device for individual dispensing of the stacked containers from the base unit.

In accordance with again a further feature of the invention, the dispenser mechanism is one of removably placed within the canister, fastened within the canister, and integral with the canister.

In accordance with again an added feature of the invention, the set-off mechanism comprises a plurality of protrusions.

In accordance with again an additional feature of the invention, the containers are marked with a corresponding indicator.

In accordance with still another feature of the invention, the corresponding indicator comprises a day of the week.

In accordance with still a concomitant feature of the invention, the corresponding indicator comprises a period of a medication schedule in addition to the day of the week.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a dispenser apparatus, it is, nevertheless, not intended to be limited to the details shown because various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

Additional advantages and other features characteristic of the present invention will be set forth in the detailed description that follows and may be apparent from the detailed description or may be learned by practice of exemplary embodiments of the invention. Still other advantages of the invention may be realized by any of the instrumentalities, methods, or combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

Other features that are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims. As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one of ordinary skill in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, which are not true to scale, and which, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, serve to illustrate further various embodiments and to explain various principles and advantages all in accordance with the present invention. Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a photograph of a perspective view of a plurality of containers according to an exemplary embodiment separated from one another;

FIG. 2 is a photograph of a perspective view of the plurality of containers of FIG. 1 in a stacked configuration;

FIG. 3 is a photograph of a top, perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of one of the containers of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a photograph of a perspective view from the side of an exemplary embodiment of a dispenser mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a photograph of a perspective view from below the opposite side of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a photograph of a fragmentary, perspective from the side of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 4 turned approximately ninety degrees;

FIG. 7 is a photograph of a perspective view of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 5 holding at least one container according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a photograph of a perspective view of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 7 holding at least one container and showing a second dispensed container according to an embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a photograph of an exploded perspective view from the side of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 8 holding at least one container and showing a second dispensed container and from the top of a canister according to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a photograph of an exploded view from the side of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 8 holding at least one container and showing a second dispensed container and from the bottom of the canister of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a top, perspective view of the dispenser mechanism of FIG. 8 inserted within the canister of FIGS. 9 and 10; and

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a dispenser mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are not intended to be limiting; but rather, to provide an understandable description of the invention. While the specification concludes with claims defining the features of the invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that the invention will be better understood from a consideration of the following description in conjunction with the drawing figures, in which like reference numerals are carried forward.

Alternate embodiments may be devised without departing from the spirit or the scope of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. The terms “a” or “an”, as used herein, are defined as one or more than one. The term “plurality,” as used herein, is defined as two or more than two. The term “another,” as used herein, is defined as at least a second or more. The terms “including” and/or “having,” as used herein, are defined as comprising (i.e., open language). The term “coupled,” as used herein, is defined as connected, although not necessarily directly, and not necessarily mechanically.

Relational terms such as first and second, top and bottom, and the like may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from another entity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actual such relationship or order between such entities or actions. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not include only those elements but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An element proceeded by “comprises . . . a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element.

As used herein, the term “about” or “approximately” applies to all numeric values, whether or not explicitly indicated. These terms generally refer to a range of numbers that one of skill in the art would consider equivalent to the recited values (i.e., having the same function or result). In many instances these terms may include numbers that are rounded to the nearest significant figure.

Herein various embodiments of the present invention are described. In many of the different embodiments, features are similar. Therefore, to avoid redundancy, repetitive description of these similar features may not be made in some circumstances. It shall be understood, however, that description of a first-appearing feature applies to the later described similar feature and each respective description, therefore, is to be incorporated therein without such repetition.

Described now are exemplary embodiments of the present invention. Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1, there is shown a first exemplary embodiment of a plurality of containers 105, 110, 115. The plurality of containers are shaped in a manner that allows the containers to be stacked. This stacking feature is shown in FIG. 2, in which at least container 110 is stacked within container 115 and container 105 is stacked within container 110. Although only three stacking containers are shown, more than three stacking containers may be used. For example, in one non-limiting example, when the stacking containers are used to dispense medicine, seven containers may be used, i.e., one container for every day of the week. In another non-limiting example, the number of containers may correspond to a twice-a-day or three-times-a-day medication schedule, where the set of containers number fourteen and twenty-one, respectively.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of an internal structure of the containers 105, 110, 115. Each container 105, 110, 115 has a set-off mechanism for creating space between an interior bottom of a first container and an exterior bottom of a second container stacked within the first container. In one exemplary embodiment, the set-off mechanism is a plurality of protrusions 305A-305D extending upwards from the bottom to a distance sufficient to create a gap for housing the regimen of medicine for that container's period of time (e.g., 1/day, BID, TID).

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a dispenser mechanism 400 for dispensing containers, e.g., containers 105, 110, 115. Dispenser mechanism 400 is comprised of a base unit 401 having a proximal end 402 and a distal end 404. The distal end 404 of the base unit 401 is shaped to include a plurality of bias devices 410 (e.g., spring claws) for holding the at least one container in place within the central hollow of the base unit 401. Each bias device 410 has at least one optional connection point 407, an disengaging device 420 (e.g., an indentation), and a bias/grasping portion 425. Grasping portion 425 fits within a corresponding opening in the proximal portion 402 of the base unit 401. The bias device 410 has, in the exemplary embodiment shown, a bend 426 at a proximal portion thereof. Due to the bend 426, grasping portion 425 points inward toward and through the corresponding opening of base unit 401. The bias device 410 is fastened to the base unit 401 near the distal end 404. In one exemplary embodiment, the bias device 410 is fastened to base unit 401 using a tongue and groove type interlock 405 by, for example, a press-fit, an adhesive, or both.

Dispenser mechanism 400 also includes a selection device 415, which, in this exemplary embodiment, is a selectively sliding sleeve trapped around the base unit 401 by the bias devices 410. The selection device 415 slides over base unit 401 and, in one position (e.g., the steady-state dispensing position), abuts a proximal portion 412 of the interlock 405. The selection device 415 has a selection handle 430 that is used to move the bias devices 410 between their respective open and closed positions. When the bias devices 410 are in this steady-state dispensing position, the selection device 415 rests between the proximal portion 412 of the interlock 405 and the disengaging device 420.

FIG. 5 is another view of dispenser mechanism 400. In addition to base unit 401, interlock 405, bias device(s) 410, selection device 415, and handle 430, a corresponding opening 505 is shown. Each opening 505 is an opening of base unit 401 that corresponds to the grasping portion 425 of each bias device.

FIG. 6 illustrates an open position of the bias devices 410 of the dispenser mechanism 400. In order to attain the open position of the bias devices 410, the handle 430 is pulled down, for example, in a proximal direction, to thereby move the selection device 415 towards the proximal end 402 of base unit 401. The bias devices 410 achieve an open position when disengaging device 420 is made to rest on the selection device 415.

FIG. 7 illustrates a dispenser mechanism 400 with at least one container. The containers 105, 110, 115 may be stacked together and placed in the dispenser mechanism 400. The grasping portions 425 hold containers 105, 110, 115 in place within the dispenser mechanism 400 when the bias device 410 is in a closed position. The containers 105, 110, 115 can be dispensed by pulling one container 105, 110, 115 at a time when the bias device 410 is in the closed position.

FIG. 8 illustrates the dispenser mechanism 400 with a plurality of the containers 105, 110, 115. The containers 105, 110, 115 may be stacked together and placed in the dispenser mechanism 400. The grasping portions 425 hold the containers 105, 110, 115 in place within the dispenser mechanism 400 when the bias device 410 is in a closed position. The containers 105, 110, 115 are dispensed by pulling each container, e.g., container 115 in FIG. 8, in a downward direction. In this exemplary embodiment, once the container 115 is pulled down and dispensed, the container 110 remains held in place by the grasping portions 425 at a time when the bias device 410 is in the closed position.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the dispenser mechanism 400 and the containers 105, 110, 115. In addition, FIG. 9 illustrates a distal or top view of an exemplary embodiment of a canister 900. The canister 900 includes a canister base 905 and an optional top 910 coupled to canister base 905. When a top is used, the top 910 may be coupled to base 905 using various measures for fastening. In one exemplary embodiment, the top 910 is coupled to the base 905 using a hinge mechanism 915.

FIG. 10 illustrates the above-described dispenser mechanism 400 and the containers 105, 110, 115. In addition, FIG. 10 illustrates a proximal or bottom view of the canister 900. Also shown is the hinge mechanism 915. The interior of canister 900 optionally includes a plurality of protrusions 1005A-1005D placed or shaped at least in a bottom portion of the interior of the canister 900. These protrusions 1005A-1005D hold the dispenser mechanism 400 in place within the canister 900. Here, four protrusions 1005A-1005D are shown but less or more are also possible. A height, h, of the protrusions 1005A-1005D is shaped to increase in size in a proximal direction. The increase in height of the protrusions in the proximal direction allows the canister 900 to frictionally hold dispenser mechanism 400 in place. Likewise, the decrease in size in the distal direction allows the canister 900 to be removed from the canister 900—the friction holding the dispenser mechanism 400 decreases as the dispenser mechanism 400 is moved distally out of the canister 900. In another exemplary embodiment, the base unit 401 is integral with the canister 900.

FIG. 11 illustrates a proximal or bottom view of the combined dispensing apparatus 1100. The dispensing apparatus 1100 is comprised of the canister 900 and the dispenser mechanism 400. In this exemplary embodiment, the dispenser mechanism 400 is installed within the canister 900. The canister 900 may be used together with dispenser mechanism 400 and containers 105, 110, 115 in order to dispense medicine. Medicine may be dispensed over a combination of days and times.

In one exemplary embodiment, medication is to be taken by a user once per day. In this embodiment, the appropriate daily medication is placed in each container 105, 110, 115. The containers 105, 110, 115 are then stacked and placed into the dispenser mechanism 400 (which may be separate from the canister 900 but, in normal use, the dispenser mechanism 400 will be fixed in the canister 900. Each day, the user pulls one container 115 out of the dispensing apparatus 1100 and takes the medication previously placed in the container 115. The containers 105, 110, 115 may be marked for the convenience of the user. For example, seven containers may have a respective marking corresponding to the day of the week. In this example, a container corresponding to a Tuesday may be marked “Tuesday” or, simply “T.” This marking allows a user who can become easily disoriented with respect to medication schedules to confirm whether medication still needs to be or actually has been taken.

Likewise, if medication must be taken by a user multiple times per day, the containers 105, 110, 115 may be marked accordingly. In this example, if medication is to be taken three times per day, the containers 105, 110, 115 would be marked by day, e.g. Monday, Tuesday, etc., and by the period of the medication schedule, e.g., 1, 2, 3. In this example, there could be twenty one containers 105, 110, 115 in a stack, three of the containers for each day of one week.

In one exemplary embodiment, the stack of containers 105, 110, 115 may include one or more extra containers that provide messages or indications to the user. In one exemplary embodiment, the upper-most container 105, 110, 115 in the stack may be marked “Empty” in order to signify that there is no more medication to be dispensed and that the user needs to refill all of the containers 105, 110, 115. In another exemplary embodiment, a container may be marked with an indication that one or more prescriptions for respective medications need to be refilled imminently. For example, in this embodiment, a container 105, 110, 115 may be marked with an indicator that alerts the user to renew “Prescription X.” In yet another embodiment, the container may be marked with an indication that reads “Two days to refill stack.”

Although a canister 900 may be made of any material, it is desirable for the canister 900 to be opaque. Using an opaque canister reduces any possible confusion for a user of this apparatus because, in this case, only one container (the current container) can be shown to the user at any time.

The bias devices 410 may be made of any material capable of being shaped in the manner disclosed and providing the dispensing function disclosed by the dispenser mechanism 400. The bias devices 410 grasp the containers 105, 110, 115 to allow friction holding. Pulling on the handle 430 moves claws outward to allow the entire stack of containers to fall out from the bottom or to be loaded into the dispensing apparatus 1100 from the bottom. It is desirable to load from the bottom (as compared to DIXIE® cup dispensers, which load from the top) because there is a risk of the medication falling out of the containers 105, 110, 115 if the containers 105, 110, 115 are tilted too far.

In one exemplar embodiment, once medication is added to the containers 105, 110, 115, the containers 105, 110, 115 are stacked away from the dispensing apparatus 1100. The dispensing apparatus 1100 is, then, placed over the stacked containers 105, 110, 115 with the bias device 410 in an open position and is moved downwards over the stack of containers 105, 110, 115 in a proximal direction. In this manner, the containers 105, 110, 115 can be placed within the dispensing apparatus at one time, i.e., all at once. The stack of containers 105, 110, 115 is held in place when the handle 430 is moved (e.g., distally) to place the bias device 410 into the closed, dispensing position.

The handle 430 can be moved distally either manually by a hand of the user or automatically by moving the dispensing apparatus 1100 proximally over the stack of containers until handle 430 hits a surface upon which the stack of containers 105, 110, 115 is placed. The user continues to move the dispensing apparatus 1100 in the proximal direction until the handle 430 is moved sufficiently far to place the bias devices 410 into the closed position.

In one exemplary embodiment, a user can drop emptied containers (medication has just been taken) into the distal portion or top of the canister 900. This allows for convenient storage of the containers 105, 110, 115 during use.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of dispensing apparatus 1200. Dispensing apparatus 1200 includes canister 900 and dispenser mechanism 400. In this exemplary embodiment, thirty cups 1205 are shown. Attachment mechanism(s) 1210 can be used to attach canister 900 to a surface, e.g., a wall, a door, etc. Although attachment mechanism 1210 is shown in this embodiment to be two suction cups, attachment mechanism 1210 may be magnetic, one or more grooves, adhesive, or any other system or method of attaching canister 900 to a surface.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings illustrate the principles, exemplary embodiments, and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above. Additional variations of the embodiments discussed above will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and the above-described embodiments should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive. Accordingly, it should be appreciated that variations to those embodiments can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims

1. A dispensing apparatus, comprising: a dispenser mechanism having: a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions;a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit; anda selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved.

2. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the bias device is a plurality of spring claws;the base unit has a number of openings corresponding to the plurality of spring claws; andeach spring claw projects into the hollow interior of the base unit.

3. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the spring claws are attached to the base unit using an interlock.

4. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the interlock comprises a tongue and groove interlock.

5. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: the base unit has an interlock connecting each of the spring claws thereto; andthe selection device abuts the interlock when the spring claws are in the closed position.

6. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: each of the spring claws has a disengaging device operably connected to the selection device for selectively placing the spring claws in the open and closed positions; andwhen the selection device is placed under the disengaging device of the spring claws, the spring claws are in the open position.

7. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the disengaging device on each spring claw is an indentation projecting towards the selection device.

8. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, which further comprises at least one container shaped to be placed within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device.

9. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 2, which further comprises at least one container shaped to be placed within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the grasping portion of each spring claw.

10. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the at least one container comprises a plurality of stacked containers each shaped to be stacked together within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device for individual dispensing of the stacked containers from the base unit.

11. A dispensing apparatus, comprising: a hollow canister having a canister interior; anda dispenser mechanism shaped to be placed within the canister and having: a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions;a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit; anda selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved.

12. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein: the bias device is a plurality of spring claws;the base unit has a number of openings corresponding to the plurality of spring claws; andeach spring claw projects into the hollow interior of the base unit.

13. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the dispenser mechanism is one of removably placed within the canister, fastened within the canister, and integral with the canister.

14. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 11, which further comprises a plurality of stacked containers each shaped to be stacked together within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device for individual dispensing of the stacked containers from the base unit.

15. A dispensing apparatus, comprising: a hollow canister having a canister interior;a dispenser mechanism shaped to be placed within the canister and having: a bias device with a grasping portion and having open and closed positions;a base unit having a hollow interior and defining at least one opening shaped to receive the grasping portion therethrough to project from outside the base unit into the interior of the base unit; anda selection device moveably disposed with respect to the base unit and operable to selectively place the bias device between the open and closed positions when moved; anda plurality of stacked containers each shaped to be stacked together within the hollow interior of the base unit and removably held therein by the bias device for individual dispensing of the stacked containers from the base unit.

16. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein at least some of the containers: have a set-off mechanism that prevents one of the containers from stacking entirely into another of the containers; andare shaped to contain medication therein free from being crushed when the containers are stacked.

17. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the set-off mechanism comprises a plurality of protrusions.

18. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the containers are marked with a corresponding indicator.

19. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the corresponding indicator comprises a day of the week.

20. The dispensing apparatus according to claim 19, wherein the corresponding indicator comprises a period of a medication schedule in addition to the day of the week.