Time apparatus for alerting at times for taking medicines

Horology: time measuring systems or devices – Combined with disparate device

Reexamination Certificate

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Details

C368S107000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06201768

ABSTRACT:

The invention relates to a timer apparatus according to the preamble of claim
1
.
A timer apparatus of this type is disclosed by G.B.-A-2131983. The prior art apparatus is designed as a contraceptive warning device. The timer of the apparatus is based on a normal clock with a 12 or 24 hour cycle. In use a woman programs the timer with the day she is starting her course of contraceptive pills, the starting time she prefers to take the pill and the current time of day. At a fixed time, e.g. 1 hour before the preferred time programmed by her to take a pill, a “clear” indicator will be replaced by a “warning” indicator. If the woman takes the pill she presses a manual reset button to therewith change the indicator to “clear”. If the timer has not been set to “clear” before a second fixed time, e.g. 11 hours after said preferred time to take a pill, then an audible warning will sound at intervals during a further 1 hour. If the indicator has not been reset (the pill presumably not having been taken) by those 12 hours after the preferred time to take a pill, the indicator will remain in the “warning” state then and will show that the pill may be ineffective for the remainder of the course. The “warning” indicator can only be changed now by resetting the timer, otherwise it will continue to indicate the “warning” until the 22nd day of the course. On the 22nd day, whether the “warning” state exists or not, the timer will indicate “clear” until the 28th day during which time the pill is not taken and menstruation normally takes place.
According to the above a warning enable window with a fixed duration, e.g. 13 hours, will occur with fixed intervals of 24 hours between preferred times inside the windows to take respective pills.
With the prior art apparatus a woman using the timer must program it at the start of her course with several data about when she prefers to take contraceptive pills for each day of a course. This requires to provide the apparatus with several appropriate command keys for entering these data. This makes the apparatus complex and expensive. Besides, it makes the timer apparatus difficult to operate, and mistakes can easily be made, for example when the user wishes to change said data, whether or not during a course for taking pills. The prior art device will therefore not be suitable for some people, for example for people with an irregular waking/sleeping pattern, or for example for people who travel or work shifts.
The object of the invention is to eliminate the abovementioned disadvantages and to provide a timer apparatus which is integral with or separate from a medicine dispensing device, and by means of which the earliest time at which a medicine may be taken can be brought forward or delayed with the minimum of actions.
This object is achieved by means of the timer apparatus according to claim
1
.
The timer apparatus requires only a single command element. Said command element serves to stop the delivery of an alert signal and at the same time to restart the timer. The very first starting time is in particular the time at which the apparatus is first used. The device for setting the first starting time therefore does not require an additional command element. This means that the timer apparatus can be of a very simple design, and the apparatus is very simple to use, while mistakes when alert times are being changed are avoided.
Nevertheless, the timer apparatus according to the invention can still be designed with additional command elements, for example a numeric keyboard, for entering an hours/minutes combination as the first starting time. The timer can then also be designed with an ordinary clock function, in which a new nominal alert time is calculated by adding the alert interval to the current time of day.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4526474 (1985-07-01), Simon
patent: 4588303 (1986-05-01), Wirtschafter et al.
patent: 4660991 (1987-04-01), Simon
patent: 4858207 (1989-08-01), Buchner
patent: 5246136 (1993-09-01), Loidl
patent: 2131983 (1984-06-01), None
patent: 0159306 (1985-10-01), None
patent: 0289678 (1988-11-01), None
patent: 0301672 (1989-02-01), None
patent: 0407178 (1991-01-01), None
patent: 0496790 (1992-08-01), None
patent: 2703906 (1994-10-01), None
patent: WO 80/00755 (1980-04-01), None

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