Article dispensing – Supply container movably mounted for dispensing – Pivotally mounted supply container
Reexamination Certificate
2002-04-18
2004-08-03
Walsh, Donald P. (Department: 3653)
Article dispensing
Supply container movably mounted for dispensing
Pivotally mounted supply container
C221S288000, C221S186000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06769570
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to medication dosage control and pertains more particularly to a medication dosage container having facility for dosage control.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
From applicant's perspective, which is widely that of the pharmacological community, while the primary drug problem facing society is illicit drug usage, a quite serious secondary drug problem lies in medication usage errors. This problem is heightened when one considers that the vast majority of medication users are elderly and may have vision and memory difficulties and that many thereof are required to take different medicines with different dosages over different time periods.
The discipline associated with dispensing of medication to a patient in a hospital (“in-patient” medication dispensing) lessens the secondary drug problem. A dispensing dolly is loaded, per patient and per time of distribution with the involved medications and patient identification. A nurse moves the dolly from patient to patient and dispenses the required medication. The dolly is then replenished with medication for the next time of distribution and the dispensing recurs at such next time.
The prior art evidences various approaches seen to address the secondary drug problem for patients who are not beneficiaries of “in-patient” medication dispensing.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,460,106, a pill receptacle is provided containing a plurality of pills of the same type of medication and a dispensing device is attached to the open top of the receptacle, closing the same. The dispensing device includes plural compartments and transfer apparatus for advancing a single pill from the pill receptacle through the compartments for delivery to a medicant. A similar approach is taken in U.S. Pat. No. 3,730,387.
The referenced patents are seen as providing a single, portable structure adapted to contain medicine for plural given dosages and to selectively and repetitively dispense a given dosage, thus partly emulating the “in-patient” regimen. However, the structures provided are seen as relatively complex, expensive to manufacture and not adapted for use with commercial medicinal dosage containers.
In his assessing of present commercially sold medication dosage devices, applicant has confronted a still further approach, depicted in
FIGS. 29 and 30
hereof in its component parts relevant to the subject invention. Here, an upstanding cylindrical outer container
300
defines an interior hollow having a lower portion
302
and an upper portion
304
. A ledge
306
is formed between the upper and lower portions. An insert/separator
308
for the container has a floor
310
dimensioned to be supported by ledge
306
and a cylindrical sidewall
312
integral with floor
310
and extending to open mouth
314
. Cap
316
serves as a closure member for the depicted commercially-available dosage device.
When inserted in container
300
, insert
308
divides the container into an upper compartment defined by the interior of the insert, i.e., the volume bounded by floor
310
and sidewall
312
, and a lower compartment defined by the container volume below the insert and ledge
306
. The upper compartment may be filled with a given medication dosage, e.g., a one-day supply, and the lower compartment may be filled with a multiple-day supply, e.g., a week's supply. Use of the device is understood to involve a medical care provider, or the drug user himself/herself, to remove the insert, to remove a one-day dosage supply from the lower compartment, to place the one-day dosage supply into the insert and to place the insert in the container and then to apply the closure member to the container.
Advantage attends this commercial device in that simple inspection of the contents of the insert will enable the medical care provider, or the drug user, to ascertain whether the one-day supply has been ingested. The device is also simpler than the above-discussed patented devices. There remains the disadvantage, however, that the structure is not adapted for use with commercial medicinal dosage containers. Thus, commercial medicinal dosage containers are molded about a pin which defines a continuous interior sidewall, typically tapered to facilitate removal of the formed container from the forming pin. No structure akin to ledge
306
, requisite for supporting insert
308
, is present in the commercial dosage containers.
U.S Pat. No. 4,420,083 also discloses a medicine container which has compartments for daily and total supply of pills. In this container, an elongate, flat insert is wedged against the interior cylindrical sidewall of the container and extends from the floor of the container to its open mouth. The container is thus provided with vertically extending first and second compartments. The total dosage is placed in the first compartment and a daily dosage is placed in the second compartment and a closure member (cap) is applied to the container.
In patient or caretaker use of the container, the cap is removed from the container. Since the daily dosage is on the floor of the container second compartment, the container need be inverted to obtain the daily dosage. In order to prevent escape of pills from the first compartment, it is necessary to deflect the upper portion of the insert to close the first compartment. Further, to preclude a patient or caretaker from mistakenly deflecting the insert to close the second compartment and take pills from the first compartment, radially, inwardly-directed stops are provided at the top of the container second compartment, precluding such mistake. When the daily dosage is fully taken, the patient or caretaker removes a further daily dosage from the first compartment and places the same in the second compartment.
Need for the stops precludes use of commercial medicinal dosage containers.
U.S Pat. No. 4,475,654 also discloses a medicine container which has compartments for daily and total supply of pills. In this device, a container which is of commercial medicinal dosage type is used in combination with a closure member which is formed with an accessible compartment for storage of a daily dosage. The total pill supply is placed in the container. A daily dosage is placed in the closure member compartment and then the closure member is applied to the container. Disadvantage is seen in the need for the specialized closure member structure in place of the closure members used with containers of commercial medicinal dosage type.
In contrast to the foregoing plural compartment devices, wherein the smaller (daily dosage) compartment is refillable, the smaller medicine dosage container compartment shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,705 B1 is for single use. In this arrangement, a separator is removably secured in a container, the separator having a bottom disc member which has a sliding or light compressive fit with the interior wall of the container, providing a compartment thereabove and delineating a container compartment therebelow. A thin stem extends upwardly from the disc periphery. The separator and disc bear indications of patient, type of medication and issuing pharmacy and its mailing address.
In use of this device, a supply of medication is placed in the container, the separator disc is inserted atop the supply of medication and a further supply of medication is placed atop the separator disc. When the supply of medication atop the separator disc is depleted, the stem is pulled out of the container, removing the separator disc, which is then mailed to the pharmacy to reorder the medication. The purpose of the device is to insure continuance of medication, i.e., use of the medication remaining in the container after separator disc removal, during the reorder period and receipt period.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has as its primary object to provide a medication dosage container and dispenser of quite simple and economical nature.
It is a more particular object of the present invention to adapt commercial dosage containers with facility for separately containing me
Daley James J.
Joerger Kaitlin
Medcount Systems, L.L.C.
Walsh Donald P.
LandOfFree
Medication dosage container does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Medication dosage container, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Medication dosage container will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3343704