Patent Grant
9414993
This application claims priority to Provisional application No. 61/625,310, filed Apr. 17, 2012 and is a continuation of non-provisional application Ser. No. 13/864,989.
The present invention relates to containers for storing and organizing pills.
With today's aging population and increased usage of prescription drugs, there is a need for a simple means of storing and organizing prescription pills in a secure and convenient manner. With the prevalence of prescription drug usage, it is common for many individuals to take many pills on a daily basis. For example, if an individual is taking ten different pills a day, they then face a burden in opening and closing ten bottles every day. Some individuals often forget to take some of their daily pills, or forget whether they have taken the day's pills altogether. Also, it is desirable to store prescription pills in a manner that is secure from unwanted access by children, minors, or other individuals (e.g. hotel maids or house guests). This is particularly important because ingestion of prescription medicines by children or minors can result in illness or death. Storage of prescription pills in their native bottles does not deter unwanted access and usage because pills can be removed without detection. Given the large and varying quantity of pills within a prescription bottle, an owner cannot practically keep track of how many pills remain in a particular bottle, and will not notice if one or even several pills are removed. Thus there is a need for a device that stores and organizes prescription pills in a secure manner that deters tampering.
A device is provided for storing, organizing, and dispensing prescription pills. The device comprises a clamshell container that houses a sealable pill tray and a sliding card. The pill tray includes an array of pill chambers that may be collectively sealed by the application of an adhesive foil or paper sheet to the top surface of the tray. The clamshell container comprises a top portion and a bottom portion that are connected via a hinged joint, the top portion having an array of pill holes that correspond with the chambers of the pill tray. The top of the sliding card has markings corresponding to the pill chambers beneath it and slides over the pill tray and beneath the top portion of the claim shell. Pills are placed within the pill holes on top of the sliding card. When the sliding card is removed, the pills fall through the pill holes and into the pill chambers of the pill tray. The foil or paper seal can then be adhered to the pill tray to secure the contents of the chambers and prevent the pills from falling, as well as preventing unwanted contaminants or fluids from entering the pill chambers. The pill tray seal also acts to deter tampering and unwanted access to the pills. The adhesive foil or paper contains marks corresponding to the pill chambers (e.g. schedules, numeric counts, days, times, etc.).
In the following discussion, numerous specific details are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be practiced without such specific details. In other instances, well-known elements, processes or techniques have been briefly mentioned and not elaborated on in order not to obscure the present invention in unnecessary detail and description. Moreover, specific details and the like may have been omitted inasmuch as such details are not deemed necessary to obtain a complete understanding of the invention, and are considered to be within the understanding of persons having ordinary skill in the relevant art.
Referring to
The material employed for the pill tray 120 can affect the manner of its use. For example, if the pill tray 120 is composed of a rigid (i.e. non-disposable) material such as a rigid polymer then it can be reused by applying and removing successive pill tray seals 150 to the pill tray. Naturally, the advantage of a non-disposable pill tray is that it can be reused by reapplying pill tray seals 150, thus eliminating the need for replacement pill trays. Alternatively, if pill tray 120 is composed of a low-cost, thin, and pliable material (e.g. plastic/polymer) then it can be disposable and thus discarded and replaced after use. When the pill tray is composed of disposable material it is deformable and the pills can be ejected from the pill chamber by pressing on the pill chambers to cause the pills inside to rupture the seal and emerge from the pill chamber. This provides for an ease of use. Further, when the pill tray is disposable, it becomes more mobile and can be used separate from the clamshell container 110. Moreover, two pill trays could be utilized by combining these two embodiments, i.e. a rigid pill tray and a disposable pill tray, wherein the disposable pill tray sits in, and is received by, the rigid pill tray. This configuration would be advantageous where the disposable pill tray is made to be very thin and lacking in structural support or rigidity, which would be provided by the rigid pill tray, whereby the disposable pill tray would rest in the rigid pill tray for support and could be removed after sealing the pills therein. Thus, the type of material used for pill tray 120 can provide versatility of use.
The top of the sliding card 140 has card markings 145 that outline and correspond to the pill chambers beneath it. Secondary card markings 138 designate the pill chambers (e.g. sequential numbering from 1 through 31). The clamshell container is preferably made of a durable polymeric material while the pill tray, pill tray seal, and sliding card are more suitably made of disposable materials. The sliding card 140 slides over the pill tray, and the linear protrusions 112, and beneath the top portion of the clam shell. Pills are placed within the pill holes on top of the sliding card 140 to allocate them to the corresponding pill chambers. Once allocation is complete, the sliding card 140 is removed, and the pills fall through the pill holes 115 and into the pill chambers 125 of the pill tray 120. This process can be repeated to add additional pills to the pill chambers. The pill chambers 125 are preferably made of thin, deformable material such as plastic (or other polymeric material) so that the pills can be more easily removed from the pill chambers by pushing the pill chamber upward to push the pills upward and out of the pill chamber—piercing the foil or paper seal above the pill chamber. The pierced area of the seal would lie within the circled portion 151 corresponding to that particular pill chamber 125. Alternatively, the pill tray and pill chambers can be made of a durable, rigid material (e.g. durable polymeric material). While an exemplary number of pill chambers are shown, other quantities and array configuration can be utilized in accordance with the present invention.
If a child or other individual wanted to take a pill from a chamber, they would need to break the foil seal, which would be readily evident, making tampering unlikely. One doing so would seek to minimize detection by taking all the contents of the chamber instead of leaving unwanted pills behind in the pill chambers in order to give the impression that the owner had consumed the contents. However, detection is still evident because the chambers are numerically marked (e.g. sequentially or calendar-based). Thus, detection of tampering is readily evident, which serves as a deterrent. This embodiment allows for user customization wherein the user can create their own array of sealed, pill-containing chambers. Although a foil seal has been described, other suitable materials such as paper could be utilized that allow for a user to conveniently push through the material to access the contents of the pill chamber.
Thus, as set forth above, the present invention provides a simple and effective means for storing, organizing, and dispensing prescription pills. Moreover, the invention provides an effective way for a prescription pill holder to keep track of pills and deter unwanted access. While there have been described herein what are considered to be preferred and exemplary embodiments of the present invention, other modifications of the invention shall be apparent to those skilled in the art from the teachings herein. It is noted that the embodiments disclosed are illustrative rather than limiting in nature and that a wide range of variations, modifications, changes, substitutions are contemplated in the foregoing disclosure and, in some instances, some features of the present invention may be employed without a corresponding use of other features. Many such variations and modifications may be considered desirable by those skilled in the art based upon a review of the foregoing description of preferred embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the invention.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20160158106 A1 | Jun 2016 | US |
