Patent Application
20240197568
The present invention relates to a medical device for grinding medicine, especially to an electric medicine grinder that is used to process medicines for ease in taking the medicines.
Except traditional Chinese herbal medicine, medicine is normally manufactured as tablets for patients to swallow. However, children or patients with dysphagia have difficulty swallowing some large tablets. Therefore, a medicine grinder is used to grind tablets into powders for easy swallowing.
A conventional medicine grinder includes a grinding base and a grinding head. The grinding base has a recess for storing medicines to be ground and has multiple rough grinding teeth and multiple fine grinding teeth formed on an inner annular surface defined around the recess. The grinding head is detachably assembled to the grinding base and has multiple rough grinding edges and multiple fine grinding edges formed on an outer annular surface of the grinding head. The rough grinding edges of the grinding head correspond in position to the rough grinding teeth of the grinding base. The fine grinding edges of the grinding head correspond in position to the fine grinding teeth of the grinding base. When the grinding head and the grinding base are rotated relatively, the medicines stored in the recess of the grinding base are broken into small particles between the rough grinding edges and the rough grinding teeth and then enter between the fine grinding edges and the fine grinding teeth to be ground into powder.
However, the conventional medicine grinder should be operated manually, which is time consuming and laborious to users. In addition, the broken medicines would be attached to the rough grinding edges, the rough grinding teeth, the fine grinding edges and the fine grinding teeth due to pressure while be ground. Consequently, it is difficult to pour out the ground medicine for taking and is not easy to clean the grinding base and the grinding head. Moreover, a total amount of medicine taken by the patient is reduced and the ground medicine remaining on the grinding base and the grinding head would mix with the subsequent ground medicines to cause adverse effects to the patient.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an electric medicine grinder to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.
The main objective of the present invention is to provide an electric medicine grinder that includes a storing base, a grinding base, a grinding assembly, and an operating module. The storing base has a storing recess formed in a top of the storing base. The grinding base is detachably mounted on the top of the storing base. The grinding assembly is mounted on the grinding base and includes a driving motor and a breaking tool. The driving motor is securely mounted in the grinding base and has a rotating shaft. The breaking tool is assembled to the rotating shaft of the driving motor and is mounted in the storing recess of the storing base. The operating module is mounted in the grinding base, is electrically connected with the driving motor, and is configured to provide electric power for operation of the driving motor.
With the electric medicine grinder, medicines can be ground into powder simply by pressing the starting switch, which is time and labor saving. By grinding the medicine in the storing recess of the storing base with the breaking tool, it is useful to reduce the ground medicine remaining in the storing recess and on the breaking tool. A total amount of medicine taken by the patient is not reduced and no ground medicines would be remained in the electric medicine grinder and mix with the subsequent ground medicines to cause adverse effects to the patient.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
With further reference to
In the preferred embodiment, an inner container 15, which is made of stainless steel, is mounted in the storing base 10 and the storing recess 11 is formed in the inner container 15. By made of stainless steel, the inner container 15 is not abraded while the medicines are being ground.
The grinding base 20 is detachably mounted on the top of the storing base 10 and has a bottom, a mounting recess 21, an inner annular surface and multiple locking protrusions 22. The bottom of the grinding base 20 faces toward the top of the storing base 10. The mounting recess 21 is formed in the bottom of the grinding base 20. The inner annular surface of the grinding base 20 is defined around the mounting recess 21. The locking protrusions 22 are separately formed on the inner annular surface of the grinding base 20 and are movably mounted in the engaging grooves 13 of the storing base 10 respectively.
When assembling the grinding base 20 and the storing base 10, the locking protrusions 22 of the grinding base 20 are moved into the engaging grooves 13 of the storing base 10 from the insertion sections 131 respectively. Then the storing base 10 and the grinding base 20 are rotated relatively to allow each of the locking protrusions 22 to move along the extension section 132 of a corresponding one of the engaging grooves 13. As the locking protrusion 22 is moved across the engaging protrusion 133 and is engaged between the engaging protrusion 133 and an end of the extension section 132 of the corresponding one of the engaging grooves 13, the storing base 10 and the grinding base 20 are securely connected with each other.
With further reference to
In the preferred embodiment, said multiple engaging grooves 13 includes three engaging grooves 13. The three engaging grooves 13 are disposed on the outer annular surface of the storing base 10 at intervals of 120 degrees. Said multiple locking protrusions 22 includes three locking protrusions 22. The three locking protrusions 22 are disposed on the inner annular surface of the grinding base 20 at intervals of 120 degrees.
With further reference to
The breaking tool 32 is detachably assembled to the rotating shaft 311 of the driving motor 31. When the grinding base 20 is mounted on the storing base 10, the breaking tool 32 is mounted in the storing recess 11 of the storing base 10. The breaking tool 32 has a central shaft 321 and multiple blades 322. The central shaft 321 has a connecting end and a positioning end oppositely defined on the central shaft 321. The connecting end of the central shaft 321 is detachably connected to the rotating shaft 311 of the driving motor 31, such that the breaking tool 32 is able to be driven to rotate by the driving motor 31. A positioning recess 323 is formed in the positioning end of the central shaft 321. The blades 322 are mounted on an outer annular surface of the central shaft 321, are arranged around the central shaft 321, and extend radially. When the grinding base 20 and the storing base 10 are assembled together, the positioning protrusion 12 of the storing base 10 protrudes in the positioning recess 323 on the central shaft 321 of the breaking tool 32, such that the breaking tool 32 is stable while rotating.
With further reference to
With further reference to
The power supply unit 42 is electrically connected to the starting switch 41 and the driving motor 31 through a circuit board 43, and includes a battery 421 and a USB (Universal Serial Bus) power supply connector 422. The battery 421 provides the electric power for the operation of the driving motor 31. Preferably, the battery 421 is a rechargeable battery. The USB power supply connector 422 is mounted on the grinding base 20 and is configured to charge the battery 421 or to directly provide the electric power for the operation of the driving motor 31. Preferably, a cover 24 is further mounted on the grinding base 20 and is configured to selectively cover the USB power supply connector 422, so as to protect the USB power supply connector 422 when the USB power supply connector 422 is not in use.
When the electric medicine grinder is in use, the user disassembles the grinding base 20 and the storing base 10 at first, puts the medicines to be ground into the storing recess 11 of storing base 10, and then assembles the grinding base 20 and the storing base 10. Afterwards, the user presses the starting switch 41 to allow the driving motor 31 to drive the breaking tool 32 to rotate, making the breaking tool 32 break the medicines in the storing recess 11 into power.
The electric medicine grinder as described has the following advantages. The medicines can be ground into the powder simply by pressing the starting switch 41, which is time and labor saving. By grinding the medicine in the storing recess 11 of the storing base 10 with the breaking tool 32, it is useful to reduce the ground medicine remaining in the storing recess 11 and on the breaking tool 32. Moreover, since the breaking tool 32 of the grinding assembly 30 is able to be disassembled from the rotating shaft 311 of the driving motor 31, in addition to facilitating the cleaning of the breaking tool 32 and avoiding the residue of the ground medicine, it is also possible to replace the breaking tool 32 according to the shape, size and hardness of the medicines to efficiently grind the medicines. Furthermore, the sealing gasket 50 not only prevents the ground medicines from entering an interior of the grinding base 20 but also prevents the ground medicines from remaining in the grinding base 20.
Since the inner container 15 that is made of stainless steel is not abraded while the medicines are being ground, no chips from the inner container 15 would pollute the ground medicines and no scratches would be formed on the inner container 15. Accordingly, no ground medicines would be remained in the scratches of the inner container 15 and pollute the subsequent medicines to be ground.
With the electric medicine grinder as described, a total amount of medicine taken by the patient is not reduced and no ground medicines would be remained in the electric medicine grinder and mix with the subsequent ground medicines to cause adverse effects to the patient.
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and features of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
