BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other important objects and features of the invention will be apparent from the following Detailed Description of the Invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the dropper bottle of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the dropper bottle shown in FIG. 1 with the dropper fully engaged with the bottle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a drip chamber dropper bottle 10 including a bottle portion having a central recess 24 in a bottom wall 22 of the bottle 10, and a central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 extending from an upper end of the bottle 10 to the central recess 24.
Referring to FIG. 1, the drip chamber dropper bottle 10 of the present invention is shown cross-section. The bottle 10 can be sized and shaped in any desired configuration, and can be made of any desired material. As shown in FIG. 1, the bottle 10 includes an outer wall 12 defining the shape and size of the bottle 10. At an upper area of the bottle 10, the outer wall 12 is necked to throat area 14 which bears external threads 16 for engaging a dropper 40 as will be hereinafter discussed.
The lower portion of the bottle 10 comprises a base 20 which joins with the outer wall 12 along the circumference of the base 20. The base 20 has an exterior surface and an interior surface defined by the inner wall 22, and a thickness between the inner and outer surfaces. The recess 24 is formed in the base 20 and extends from the inner wall 22 into the thickness of the base 20. The recess 24 is defined by a cylindrical recess wall 26 terminating in a recess bottom wall 28.
Also provided within bottle 10 is a central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 extending from the throat area 14 where it is engaged by an upper shoulder 32, down to the recess 24. The upper shoulder 32 has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the lower end of the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 so as to provide the central tapered dropper chamber 30 with its tapered configuration. An annular medicine chamber 52 extends about the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30. The bottom wall 22 defines the bottom of the annular medicine chamber 52. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the recess 24 is formed at a level below the annular medicine chamber 52. One or more apertures 34 are provided in the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 to provide fluid communication between the dropper chamber 30 and the annular medicine chamber 52.
As can be seen in FIG. 2, the dropper 40 is inserted into and engaged with the dropper bottle 10. A dropper cap 42 is circumferentially disposed about the throat area 14 of the bottle 10 and includes internal threads 44 that engage threads 16 on the dropper bottle 10. The dropper 40 includes a squeezable bulb 46 and a dropper cylinder 48 having an apertured lower edge 49. The dropper cylinder 48 is tapered and has a shape that approximates the shape of the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30. The dropper cylinder 48 fits within the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30, and extends into the recess 24. To deliver a dose of medicine 50, the dropper 40 is inserted into the bottle 10, the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 guiding and positioning the dropper cylinder 48 to position the apertured lower edge 49 into the recess 24. Then, the squeezable bulb 46 is squeezed to expel air in the dropper cylinder 48 and released to suck medicine 50 into the dropper cylinder 48. Then, the dropper 40 can be removed from the bottle 10 and medicine 50 can be delivered to a desired location by positioning the dropper 40 at the desired location and squeezing the squeezable bulb 46 to expel the medicine 50. Thereafter, the dropper 40 can be repositioned within, and if desired, engaged with the bottle 10.
The recess 24 can be sized and shaped to contain a single dose of medicine 50. As the medicine 50 is removed from the recess 24 by the dropper 40, the remaining medicine 50 just fills up the recess 24. Accordingly, one can ascertain by visual inspection whether a sufficient amount of medicine 50 remains to constitute a full dose. As can be seen in FIG. 2, where the medicine 50 falls below the upper edge of the recess 24, i.e. where the medicine 50 falls below the internal bottom wall 22, one can visually ascertain that a full dose of medicine 50 does not remain. In addition to providing a visual indication of whether a full dose of medicine 50 remains in the bottle 10, the recess 24 provides for the collection of the medicine 50 and facilitates collection of the medicine 50 for withdrawal by the dropper 40. In this manner, the recess 24 facilitates the withdrawal of all of the medicine 50 from the bottle 10 by the dropper 40, including the last few drops of the medicine 50, thereby avoiding any waste.
Having thus described the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the medicine 50 can be a liquid, a gel, etc. Any mechanism can be used to provide fluid communication between the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 and the annular medicine chamber 52. It should be understood that the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30 is an optional feature. Any mechanism, other than the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber 30, can be used for guiding the dropper cylinder 48 of the dropper 40 to position the apertured lower edge 49 into the recess 24. What is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.
Patent Application
20080029180
