Patent Application
20180086132
The following is a tabulation of some prior art that presently appears relevant:
The need for storing and organizing small items or substances presents itself in many spheres of activity, including pharmaceutical, culinary, office management, agricultural, cosmetics, carpentry, arts and crafts as well as mechanical, biological, chemical and electrical engineering fields. The present art relates to a storage organizer suited to efficiently store, organize and characterize substances and small items, such as medicine, jewelry, herbs, seeds, or paints used by an artist. The present art may also be used an educational tool by allowing users to characterize stored items through indicium according to a matrix and submatrix arrangement.
With respect to the storage of medicines, many people often use several prescription medicines and over-the-counter supplements daily in the treatment and prevention of disease. When several medicines and supplements are used together, the likelihood of a person using them incorrectly or discontinuing them without prescriber supervision increases, often in proportion to a sense of being overwhelmed or confused. Additionally, people often forget to take their medicine, or when taking them regularly, confuse whether they've actually taken them with a dose administered at the same time on a previous day.
Medicine organizers and systems of organization have been developed to help users avoid missing or duplicating doses, partly through providing a cue of whether or not the medicine in question has been taken. Similarly, when storing and organizing medicine for administration, attempts have been made to improve patient compliance by allowing the user or caregiver to visually organize and store medicine according to time of day and day of the week. Specialized labels, charts and blister dose packages have also been developed to further facilitate patient compliance and improve the quality of healthcare.
U.S. Pat. App. 0037428 relates to a zippered portfolio wherein bottles of medicine may be stored along with a calendar, a medication list, office questions, a flash drive and a weekly pill box containing two administration times: “AM” and “PM.” Each time is accorded one row, while seven columns allow for organization according to day of the week, encompassing a matrix.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,390 has a similar arrangement but comprises three possible administration times: morning, noon and evening. U.S. Pat. No. 7,228,970; U.S. Pat. No. 9,211,233; U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,618; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,085 are similar but include one additional administration time: bedtime.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,371 demonstrates a total of six administration times, two for morning and evening and one for lunch and bedtime, while U.S. Pat. App. 0184024 presents a foldable organizer with a potentially unlimited number of administration times.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,573,580 and 8,253,561 also relate to matrix-oriented organizers, with the latter being electronic and expandable, thereby offering a potentially unlimited number of administration times, while U.S. Pat. No. 8,670,865 presents an electronic, interactive medicine organizer wherein compartments are arranged circularly.
The present art allows each medicine to be organized in columns according to specific times of administration, while the paper or pull-out component situated beneath stored items allows columns of administration times to be further stratified according to medicine name. This enables each medicine to receive a separate compartment rather than lumping them together in the same compartment according to administration time.
Being able to organize medicines according to a specific administration time assists a user in avoiding an interaction related to taking medicine with special precautions, such as without food, two hours before or four hours after food or another medicine. Being able to label organized medicines according to their name helps a user establish greater familiarity with their medicine, which helps to reduce the risk of a medicine error. Additionally, the paper or pull-out component can further assist a user in readily identifying other important characteristics of their medicine, such as strength, which provider prescribed it and when, its appearance, what its used for, the intended result, any special considerations or monitoring parameters as well as any possible side effects. Such details, when readily accessible and understood, can help to increase compliance as well as the safe and effective use of medicines.
Because the present's combination of labeling space directly above columns for administration times along with labeling space on the paper or pull-out component for the name of individual medicines allows customization not only according to a specific time of administration but according to an “as needed” frequency. Organizing medicines according to an “as needed” frequency allows a user to easily keep track of how much medicine has been used within a 24-hour period. For example, hospice patients often receive intensive, low-cost, palliative therapies, sometimes as often as every two or three hours. Within a 24-hour period, it is easy for such a patient or caregiver to be overwhelmed or forget to record the amount of medicine they've used. However, such usage histories are helpful for prescribers in properly prescribing a stronger or longer acting medicine in order to reduce periods of pain or discomfort. This feature can also be helpful in situations where a patient has several caregivers who are not communicating well with each other or regularly charting usage histories. None of the prior art examples address this problem.
Furthermore, because the present art encompasses placement within a binder, organizers can be stacked upon one another and stored within the same notebook. This functionality, with some embodiments, allows for the organization of up to 56 individually stored medicines, or medicine taking events, within a 4″ notebook. While the organization and storage of this many medicines, or medicine taking events, may never be necessary, there are many patients who regularly use over 14 medicines daily. Conversely, if a user has fewer than 15 medicines, or medicine taking events per day, they could conveniently organize and store four weeks' worth of medicine in the same 4″ notebook.
With respect to art forms presenting alternative systems of medicine organization, whereby specific details of an individual medicine may be observed by the user in order to increase familiarity with the medicine and the medicine regimen as a whole, U.S. Pat. No. 5,838,224 accommodates up to eight administration times, or medicine taking events, in an organizer designed to hang on a wall with a “note/instruction pad.” However, the art form is limited in that if a user has several medicines they receive at the same time, they would likely combine all of those medicines into the same medicine drawer, engendering the limitations seen with prior art previously discussed while also limiting the amount of space available for specific details about individual medicines on the note/instruction pad. Conversely, to store each kind of medicine individually, they'd need to devote another drawer to each medicine, thereby duplicating the electronic alarm features of the art, reducing efficiency and adding unnecessary costs. Also, because the system involves combining the same type of medicine together in one drawer, generally one for each day of the week, a user would rely on the electronic components to indicate whether a dose has been administered, count the medicines remaining in the drawer, or routinely make some kind of mark on the note/instruction pad to record whether a medicine has actually been taken. In contrast, the present art allows a user to easily ascertain whether or not a medicine has been administered on a given day at a specific time by simply looking to see if the compartment or container corresponding to the correct time, name and day of the week, contains the medicine or not.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,793 relates to a weekly charting system, wherein columns on the chart are organized according to medicine characteristics, such as administration time, indication, prescription number and refill date, while rows are organized according to the name of the medicine and its appearance. A user may then establish a correspondence with medicines labeled on the chart by applying pre-numbered stickers to the appropriate medicine bottle caps.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,926,850 presents a system that includes the use of a binder, wherein supplicate copies of prescription labels may be stored. A user may apply symbols in the form of stickers to said labels and to labels on the containers of individual bottles of medicine, whereby a correspondence may exist to facilitate an understanding of a medication regimen.
While both of the previous art forms address a method of organizing informational characteristics of a variety of medicines and their appropriate administration, they do so in a manner that is not directly connected with the physical arrangement of the medicines or supplements. Moreover, the present art allows a visible correlation to exist between their arrangement and their informational characteristics, efficiently and conveniently assisting the user in becoming familiar with their medicines and specific details concerning their safe and effective use.
Additionally, with respect to patent '850, because the present art allows for the visible storage of several unit doses of the same medicine in the same compartment or container according to a specific time of administration, as well as any other times of administration throughout the day, the need for the use of symbols as stickers to relate such information is unnecessary.
With respect to patent '793, some medicines have characteristics that are too detailed to be contained within a reasonably sized one-piece chart, a situation that also limits the aforementioned note/instruction pad of patent '224. Because of the present art's functionality, with respect to fitting within a loose-leaf ring binder, when such supplemental information does not fit on a standard sized piece of paper or the pull out component, it may be readily indexed by page number or tabbed category on the paper or the pull out component and then accessed through being stored and organized alongside stored medicines in the same binder. Such information might include mechanisms of action and studies evaluating safety, efficacy, risks and benefits. Other pertinent information could comprise facts about a user's health condition(s) and advances that are being made in treatment options, past treatment success, monitoring logs, such as blood sugar or blood pressure, and short and long-term therapy goals.
Int. Patent No. 2016028747 relates to a medication packaging and dose regimen system. As with similar art forms discussed, this art enables a potentially unlimited number of administration times. Furthermore, the art enables specific details of an individual medicine to be observed by the user, whether through indicia or an information insert, making the art comparable to the three prior examples wherein a user is assisted in becoming more familiar with their medicines. This is also the case for Int. Patent No. 2016118605.
However, neither art form contains the means, nor addresses a method, whereby the uniform arrangement of individual types of medicines as columns correspond with rows on the medication insert or on another “unit dose page,” whereby the name of the medicine is observed through a locational correspondence, and where additional pertinent information concerning a given medicine can be further ascertained by fields of information arranged as columns. Similarly, the art does not address an informational template whereby particular characteristics of a medicine are arranged into fields as columns, with the name of each medicine according to one row, whereby said row corresponds with a column of medicine arranged directly above and capable of running parallel to one another.
Additionally, although the art describes a stackable “medicament dispensing system,” it does not do so in a manner that occurs within a loose-leaf binder or notebook wherein the means for establishing the aforementioned correspondence exists as a feature of the organizing unit itself, whether as a “unit dose page” or “medicament dispensing system.” Accordingly, if a user had a “unit dose page” or “medicament dispensing system” within a binder, which are held in place through the rings of the binder, and a second “unit dose page” with indicia or an “informational insert,” situated beneath the first “unit dose page”, there is no method nor means whereby a sliding durational correspondence may occur between the information presented on the second “unit dose page,” or information insert, and a row or column of containers or blister packs of medicine on the first “unit dose page.” Similarly, as shown in
Furthermore, the aforementioned art forms do not address a means for exposing compartments individually through the use of a sliding lid, whereby the removal of a container or the contents of a compartment can be facilitated through turning the organizer on its side or upside down. Accordingly, users who have difficulty removing a medicine or combination of medicines from a blister pack or receptacle due to a lack of finger strength or dexterity would find the present art easier to use. However, U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,113 does address the use of a sliding lid whereby a user's individual medicines may be exposed one compartment at a time. Nonetheless, in addition to other features not present in comparison to the present art, patent '113 does not address a means for providing resistance to the sliding lid in accordance with access to a given compartment, whereby said lid may stay in place over a given compartment as the organizer is turned on its side or upside down. In contrast, a user would have to manually hold a lid in place as they turn the organizer, which may be too difficult for users lacking dexterity or hand and finger strength. Additionally, patent '113 does not establish a means whereby each lid may be locked into place individually when fully closed. Conversely, the present art entails the availability of two securing features, one wherein each lid is locked individually and another wherein a child-proofing lock and strap, commonly used on cupboards and cabinets, can be affixed to the outside covers of the binder so that it may remain locked shut when the binder is closed.
Lastly, the present art encompasses an embodiment wherein informational characteristics of medicines may be displayed through a tablet computer that fits within the opening also used for paper or the pull-out component. Thus, a user can readily store past therapies and access information related to their medicines in a manner that is potentially more efficient, depending on a user's familiarity with operating a tablet computer, than addressed by the aforementioned art examples.
With respect to other storage organizers designed to fit within a notebook, U.S. Pat. No. 5,058,736 presents such an organizer for use by businessmen and/or students in organizing pencils, pens, postage stamps, business cards and the like. However, said art doesn't allow customization through the use of removable sidewalls and containers, nor does it address an arrangement of compartments or removable containers into a plurality of columns and rows so that items may be arranged according to distinct categories for efficient organization. This is also the case for U.S. Pat. No. 6,004,060, an organizer developed by the same inventor that encompasses a modular system whereby users may configure electronic devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,564 relates to a partitioned binder assembly comprising separate storage arrangements or pockets for organizing items, such a book, writing utensils and a calculator. Patent App. No. 20030059248 demonstrates a substrate capable of incorporation within a binder, such as a three-hole punched notebook divider insert, comprising a series of compartments for organizing and storing small cards, such as flashcard and business cards, while US20090206085 relates to an item holder capable of being incorporated into a binder and used to organize various supplies, such as scissors, a pen and a calculator. US Pat. App. 20110052310 presents a medical information and directives device comprising a medication display and information board housed within a binder, whereby descriptions and samples of medications may be stored and reviewed. Nonetheless, none of these art forms that relate to organizing items within a binder provide a method for storing items according to a plurality of columns and rows, whereby said items may be efficiently organized in a matrix format according to informational characteristics via labeling space adjacent to columns and rows, with additional informational characteristics efficiently visible through a sub-matrix, as accomplished through the paper or pull-out feature of the present art.
In relation to art forms used in storing and organizing jewelry, U.S. Pat. No. 8,522,964 presents an enclosable case with the means for storing several earrings or rings within separate labeled compartments. U.S. Pat. No. 8,141,721 relates to an enclosable case with the means for organizing, storing and transporting jewelry, wherein a planar base with a plurality of openings and rods allows bracelets, necklaces, rings and earrings to be stored. U.S. Pat. No. 7,673,744 demonstrates an enclosable case with the means for storing earrings or rings within said case. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,344 relates to an organizer for jewelry comprising a plurality of pockets, wherein the organizer may hang in a closet from a clothes hanger. U.S. Pat. No. 8,727,110 exemplifies an elongated rectangular sheet comprising a plurality of tab closures, ring bars and at least one jewelry pocket for retaining jewelry.
The present art allows for organization of earrings and rings according to a matrix format, wherein categorization may occur according characteristics readily identifiably through the use of labeling space adjacent to columns and rows, with further stratification and characterization readily accessible through the paper or pull-out component. Furthermore, the present art allows for efficient organization and characterization of unfinished items of jewelry, such as individual gems, pearls or beads. Similarly, a user may wish to organize multiple items according to type of material, features, cost, or shape, aspects that may be further stratified by using the paper or pull-out component. For example, a user may have different types of gems they wish to organize. Each column on the base sheet could be labeled according to type of gem with rows labeled according to shape or type of cut. Then, rows on the paper or pull-out component could stratify columns on the base sheet according to a range for carat weight, while columns allow for further characterization, such as refractive index, colors(s), specific gravity, hardness, dispersion, chemical composition, look-alikes and location of origin.
Additionally, none of the aforementioned art forms provide a means to efficiently store and organize related documentation alongside the jewelry as could be accomplished through the present art through the organizer's incorporation within a binder. Such information might include details concerning method and location of refinement, location of origin, chain of ownership, cost or sale price, as well as details related to refining, collecting or creating jewelry.
With respect to using the organizer to sort and store seeds for agricultural use, many gardeners and farmers often work with different types of seed. They may collect seeds from their own crops after experimenting with different growing mediums or fertilizers, or after exposing them to certain plants capable of cross-pollinating. Several embodiments of the present allow efficient organization of seed types. For example, an arrangement of seeds may occur by type according to rows on the base sheet, with further differentiation according to when the seed was cultivated according to columns. Additional characteristics may be exemplified according to rows on the paper or pull-out component, such as features of the plant particular to the seed source, whether color of flower or nearby plant intended for cross-pollination. Furthermore, containers could be used to store potting soil or germination substrate, whereby seeds may be germinated while stored and sorted upon the base sheet, helping gardeners and farmers to grow a variety of plants easily and insightfully.
With respect to using the organizer to store paints, artists often experiment with mixing paint colors to produce new color variations. Several embodiments of the present art allow for the efficient organization of paints with varying colors. For example, an artist may organize and label columns on the base sheet according to a specific color, each row according to an incremental amount of another color, such as white, with columns on the organizer further stratified by addition of another color of a specified amount according to rows on the paper or pull-out component.
With respect to art forms utilizing one or more matrices as educational tools, US Pat. App. 20160071434 relates to a visual education aid for teaching stages of a medical condition while US Pat. App. 20100304348 relates to an educational and training tool using matching techniques within a game matrix.
Devices that include a matrix and at least one sub-matrix combination include Int. RU Pat. 02111547, a device for evaluation of student knowledge. Said device comprises cells on an answer sheet and testing palette, wherein said palette is mounted in such a way to allow for cell movement and correspondence with cells on the answer sheet. CN Pt. No. 2770014 relates to multifunctional teaching board comprising a flat plate with holes arranged into a square matrix whereby digits may be discerned through said holes, according to patterns, for mathematical studies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,754 presents an amusement device which may be used as an educational spelling tool, comprising a base structure having an upper playing board formed with a plurality of windows, potentially arranged in a matrix pattern of rows and columns, with one or more rotary discs mounted below the playing board or base, whereby content on the disk may be viewable through openings in the board.
None of these examples of prior art demonstrate the use of a compartment or container system arranged into a matrix with labeling space for columns and rows and a sub-matrix for further identification and characterization of physically stored items. Thus, the present art enables usage as an educational tool that assists in forming associations between abstract informational characteristics and sensory information, whether tactile, visual, taste, scent and/or auditory. For example, a series of pine needles from different varieties of pine trees could be arranged in a top row with each column corresponding to the name of the tree from where the needles came. Some of these columns could be further stratified through the use of rows on the paper or pull-out component according to a sub-type of the principle tree, such as a cross-pollinated offspring. Because each compartment of needles may have unique sensory characteristics, whether size, color, smell or shape, assimilation of that knowledge is aided. Additional rows beneath the top row could contain other unique components of the tree, such as pieces of wood, bark, seeds and pine cone pieces. Meanwhile, abstract characteristics pertaining to each tree, such as location, density and growing characteristics could be stored and organized on the paper or pull-out component, arranged into columns, whether presented or displayed directly through indicium or indexed by page number or tabbed category according to documents stored within the same binder.
This invention relates to a storage organizer comprising a planar base sheet with the means for the attachment and removal of sidewalls and containers, or permanently attached sidewalls in combination with the means for the attachment and removal of additional sidewalls, whereby a series of compartments may be formed as a plurality of rows and columns. The organizer contains the means for a paper or pull-out component allowing a submatrix whereby further identification and characterization of stored items may occur. The organizer may be confined within a variety of loose-leaf ring binders, facilitating the storage and retrieval of documentation related to stored items, which themselves may be indexed through the use of the paper or pull-out component.
Several embodiments of the organizer enable 14 compartments, or removable containers, to be organized and labeled according to the contents of each column, with seven rows per column, for a total of 98 compartments per organizer. Additional items may be efficiently stored through stacking multiple organizers in the same notebook —up to 392 compartments in a 4″ notebook in one embodiment.
All embodiments of the organizer encompass an opening for the use of a paper or pull-out feature situated beneath stored items. This opening allows for stratification of columns of stored contents on the base sheet, wherein a stored item accords with a specified row on the paper or pull-out component, while additional informational characteristics of that item may be readily accessed according to fields of information organized as columns on the paper or pull-out component. Thus, at least four sets of informational characteristics may be used in the organization, storage and review of characteristics of items or substances stored. Some embodiments comprise an opening capable of receiving a tablet computer, whereby fields of information pertaining to stored content may more readily be stored and retrieved.
When the organizer is used to store medicines, medicines may be arranged in the organizer according to administration time or frequency as columns with days of the week as rows, while the name of the medicine may be readily stored and accessed through use of rows on the paper or pull-out component, with columns on said paper or pull-out component used for other informational characteristics of the medicine, such as prescription number, date prescribed, initials of prescriber, appearance, indication, intended result, special considerations, monitoring parameters and side possible effects. Additionally, the availability of labeling space on several embodiments of the organizer allows indicium or labeling for the arrangement of medicines according to “as needed” frequencies. Thus, within a 24-hour period, users may efficiently ascertain how much of a given medicine was used, thereby enabling a prescriber to more effectively prescribe higher doses or long-acting medicines when appropriate.
100 the first embodiment for a base sheet; 101 openings for rings of a binder; 102 T-shaped channels for longitudinal sidewalls; 103 space for labeling rows of stored items; 104 space for labeling columns of stored items; 106 longitudinal sidewalls with T-shaped protrusions; 108 T-shaped protrusions on longitudinal sidewalls; 110 pegs on the base sheet; 112 a ring securing component; 114 pegs on the ring securing component; 116 peg receptacles on a latitudinal sidewall; 118 an exterior latitudinal sidewall; 122 peg receptacles on the base sheet; 124 the first embodiment for a sliding lid; 126 protrusions that form a channel for sliding lids; 127 channels on longitudinal sidewalls for sliding lids; 128 protrusions on longitudinal sidewalls for removable interior latitudinal sidewalls; 129 channels on longitudinal sidewalls for removable interior latitudinal sidewalls; 131 peg-receptacles on one edge of a lid; 132 pegs on one edge of a lid; 133 a handle for a lid used with a base sheet; 135 removable interior latitudinal sidewalls; 136 openings on latitudinal sidewalls for securing lids; 137 an opening on a lid for a T-shaped peg; 138 two protrusions on the bottom face of a lid; 139 a T-shaped peg for securing lids; 142 the first embodiment for a pull-out component; 144 an opening for receiving a pull-out component; 146 second embodiment for a pull-out component; 148 hook-like protrusions on the pull-out component; 150 a blockage for the hook-like protrusions of the pull-out component; 152 a stop-protrusion on the pull-out component; 154 a wedge on the bottom face of the pull-out component; 201 the top section of a second embodiment for a base sheet; 204 permanently attached outer and inner longitudinal sidewalls; 208 permanently attached outer latitudinal sidewalls; 251 the top section of a third embodiment for a base sheet; 252 a second embodiment for a sliding lid; 301 the top section of a fourth embodiment for a base sheet; 302 the first embodiment for a bottom section of a base sheet; 314 a lid retaining component; 316 pegs on the lid retaining component; 318 a hole on the lid retaining component; 320 peg-receptacles on longitudinal sidewalls for securing the lid retaining component; 323 a permanently attached latitudinal sidewall; 322 a hole on longitudinal sidewalls for securing the lid retaining component; 324 primary protrusions on the channels for sliding lids; 326 a third embodiment for a sliding lid; 328 flexible arms on a sliding lid; 330 secondary protrusions on flexible arms of a sliding lid; 334 an indention for securing a sliding lid; 336 removable interior latitudinal sidewalls that span all rows; 340 a lid closure component; 342 the top section of the lid retaining component; 344 the bottom section of the lid retaining component; 346 a clasp on the lid retaining component for securing lids; 348 the female component of a hinge pivotally connecting the top and bottom sections of the lid securing component; 349 the male component of a hinge pivotally connecting the top and bottom sections of the lid securing component; 350 an indention for receiving the lid securing component; 352 a hole for securing the lid securing component with a screw; 354 an embodiment for an opening for a binder ring; 358 an incline for creating friction against the paper or pull-out component; 360 holes for securing the top and bottom sections of the base sheet together with a screw; 362 protrusions for guiding sheets of paper or the pull-out component into the opening; 364 an indention to ease grasping the paper or pull-out component for removal; 366 curved protrusions for facilitating paper or the pull-out component into the opening; 368 the first embodiment for a pivotally opening lid; 370 a second embodiment for a pivotally opening lid; 372 a third embodiment for a pivotally opening lid; 401 a fifth embodiment for the top section of a base sheet; 403 peg-like protrusions for securing containers; 602 the first embodiment for a container body; 604 the first embodiment for a container lid; 606 the first embodiment for a container bottom; 607 the first embodiment for a container comprising a bottom, body and lid; 608 peg-like receptacles for securing containers to a base sheet; 609 channels formed between protrusions for a sliding container lid; 610 the upper protrusion forming a channel for a sliding container lid; 611 the bottom protrusion forming a channel for a sliding container lid 612 a handle on a container lid; 622 the second embodiment for a container body; 624 the second embodiment for a container lid; 626 the second embodiment for a container bottom; 628 peg-like protrusions on a container lid for securement to a container body; 630 peg-like receptacles on a container body for securement to a container lid; 641 the third embodiment for a container lid; 642 the third embodiment for a container body; 644 a flexible peg-like protrusion on the bottom face of a container lid for securement to a container body; 646 the gap between the bottom face of the container lid and the flexible peg-like protrusion; 648 a hand-like protrusion on the terminal end of the flexible peg-like protrusion; 650 an opening in a container body for receiving the hand-like protrusion 652 an indention on a container lid to ease opening; 654 openings on a container lid to ease removal from a base sheet; 656 an embodiment for specialized tweezers; 658 hand-like protrusions on the terminal ends of specialized tweezers; 681 the sixth embodiment for a top section of a base sheet; 682 peg-like receptacles on a base sheet for receiving a container bottom; 701 the seventh embodiment for the top section of a base sheet; 704 a letter-sized piece of paper demonstrating indicia relevant to organizing and characterizing medicines; 706 peg-like protrusions on latitudinal sidewalls for securing vertically removable lids; 708 the second embodiment for a bottom section of a base sheet;
The first embodiment 100 for a base sheet is shown in
A ring securing component 112 designed for left side insertion to a base sheet contains pegs 114 that are long enough to slide through a peg receptacle 116 located on a latitudinal sidewall 118 and into a peg receptacle 122 on the base sheet 100. Openings 101 capable of receiving rings of a binder are shown on the ring securing component 112.
Space for longitudinal labeling 104 is located at the top of the base sheet, above stored contents, whether stored in formed compartments or in removable containers, in accordance with formed columns. Space for latitudinal labeling 103, according to row organization, is provided on the left side of the organizer, atop the ring securing component 112.
Pegs 110 on both the right and left edges of the base sheet allow latitudinal sidewalls 118 with peg receptacles 116 to fit snugly over said pegs, thus firmly securing said sidewall to said base sheet. Additional base sheets 100 may be attached to each other through said pegs 110 and adjacent peg receptacles 116, as also shown in
Top and bottom sections contain holes 360, whereby a screw may attach said pieces together. Said bottom section also contains protrusions 362 whereby said paper or pull-out component slides along a predetermined path for alignment with columns of stored contents above. Although not shown graphically a similar protrusion exists on the bottom face of the top section to prevent a piece of paper or pull-out component from sliding any further into the opening, whereby a portion of the paper or the pull-out component is exposed outside the opening so that a user may easily grasp the paper or pull-out component for removal.
In this embodiment that the size of the opening 144 for the paper or pull-out component is large enough for a letter-sized piece of paper, 8.5″×11″.
A third embodiment for a pivotally opening lid 372, comprising a “living hinge” or seam, is shown in
A fifth embodiment for the top section of a base sheet 401 is presented in
Once a user has stored all the items they wish to store, they may then place a lid 326 over each row by placing it into channels 127 formed along the topside edge of longitudinal sidewalls. Said embodiment comprises the use of a lid retaining component 314 that may be fastened above said channels, thereby preventing the lids from falling if the organizer is turned upside down. Additionally, primary protrusions 324 on said grooves encounter secondary protrusions 330 on flexible arms 328 of the lid as it slides over compartments or removable container on the base sheet. This feature enables the user to adjust the location of a lid in order to expose the contents of a given compartment without the lid moving from that position unless further urged by the user. If the user turns the lid 180 degrees, so that the secondary protrusions are furthest away from the organizer, the resistance is disabled as the secondary protrusions never make contact with the primary protrusions.
A user may also attach a lid closure component 340 to the base sheet, whereby spring operated tension enables the lid to be secured in a closed position as a clasping lip 346 on the component rests in an indention 334 on the top face of the lid 326 when the lid is in a fully closed position. In order to remove the lid from the closed position, a user would press down on the top section of the closure component, as though pressing a button, while simultaneously sliding the lid out from underneath the clasping lip.
A user may also store items in individual containers that fit within compartments, thereby facilitating removal and transport of stored items. These containers comprise a lid and a body that fit within sidewalls. With the third embodiment for a container, shown in
Stored contents may be identified through labeling space, with space for columns 116 above said columns and space for rows 103 to the right of said rows. An opening between the top 301 and bottom 302 sections of the base sheet allows a standard 8.5″×11″ piece of paper or a pull-out component to slide directly beneath stored items. Said paper or pull-out component may contain indicium or labeling to further stratify column contents and provide additional details of stored items. An incline 358 within the opening between the top and bottom section creates friction so as to prevent the paper or pull out component from falling out of the organizer due to gravity. Although not shown graphically, an additional layer of material may be deposited on said incline, such as rubber or silicon, in order to increase friction and resistance to further movement.
Although the organizer may be most helpful in storing and organizing medicines, it may also be helpful in storing and organizing jewelry, seeds for gardening or farming, or paints used by an artist for painting. When storing medicine, the labeling space located to the right of each of the seven rows allows a user to organize their medicine according to each day of the week. Labeling space above columns allow a user to sort medicine according to a specific time of daily administration. They may then use a piece of paper or the pull-out component to further stratify each medicine by name, according to rows, wherein each row on the paper or pull-out component corresponds to a column of medicine stored above. Each row may then be further stratified into columns of information concerning the stored medicine, such as the initials of the prescriber and the date prescribed, the appearance of the medicine, the indication of the medicine or why it was prescribed, the intended result the medicine produces, such as lowering blood pressure, any special considerations or monitoring parameters, and possible side effects.
The size of the smallest compartment in the aforementioned base sheet embodiment is large enough to accommodate the largest tablet or capsule currently available on the market, such as a calcium carbonate tablet or fish oil capsule. If a user were advised to take two of these large tablets or capsules at a particular time of day, they would not need to subdivide a compartment using a removable latitudinal sidewall.
Because the organizer fits within a standard sized notebook, medical information relating to the stored medicines can be readily stored alongside the medicines and sorted through the use of tabs, thereby facilitating retrieval of potentially vital information.
At some point in the future, it's not improbable that instead of a patient picking up a number of different prescription medicines housed in several different prescription bottles from their local pharmacy, and possibly on different days in a given month, they'll be able to pick up all their medicines readily sorted and stored in this organizer, neatly arranged for the proper administration time and containing all the information pertinent to their proper use and even their disease state(s). Furthermore, because several organizers can be stacked upon one another in the same notebook, a patient would be able to pick up one months' worth of medicine at a time.
Alternative embodiments for a base sheet allow for variation with respect to compartment size and number, expandability, type of lid and lid mechanism, extent and location of labeling space, whether related to columns and rows formed on the organizer or on the paper or the pull-out component. Alternative embodiments for containers allow for variation with respect to closing mechanisms, size and method of securement upon a base sheet.
Although not shown graphically, the junction between a base sheet and a lid, or a container body and container lid, may contain a seal or gasket, such as a silicon seal, whereby the contents of a compartment or container may be more thoroughly protected from moisture, air and air-born contaminants.
The embodiments described above may be made of durable materials, such as metal, wood or plastic, with plastic being most likely due to workability, durability, low weight and low cost. Additionally, plastic materials may be transparent, allowing the correlation between stored items and information on the paper or pull-out component to be observed without necessitating their removal from the opening. Formation of the embodiments may occur through injection molding, selective laser sintering, stereolithography, lathing/machining, and/or fused deposition modeling, with injection molding most likely due to its capacity for high volume, low-cost production.
While the present invention has been described with several embodiments, it should be noted that various other embodiments and modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention. Thus, embodiments presented herein are merely illustrative of the features of the invention and should not be construed as the only variants thereof or limited thereto.
This application claims the benefit of PPA Ser. No. 62/282,225.
