U.S. patent application number 13/655433 was filed with the patent office on 2014-04-24 for spiral pill dispenser for medicine bottles and containers.
The applicant listed for this patent is Sun Y. Kim. Invention is credited to Sun Y. Kim.
Application Number | 20140110424 13/655433 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50484423 |
Filed Date | 2014-04-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140110424 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kim; Sun Y. |
April 24, 2014 |
SPIRAL PILL DISPENSER FOR MEDICINE BOTTLES AND CONTAINERS
Abstract
A pill dispenser that aids in the dispensing of pills from a
medicine bottle or container having a top opening and an inside
wall in which a raised spiral coil is included on the inside wall
of the container where the coil terminates next to the top opening,
the raised spiral coil forming a substantially spiral ridge and a
substantially spiral trough into which pills are guided when
tipping the bottle or container to discharge one or more pills.
Inventors: |
Kim; Sun Y.; (Hayward,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kim; Sun Y. |
Hayward |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
50484423 |
Appl. No.: |
13/655433 |
Filed: |
October 18, 2012 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
221/288 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 83/0427
20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
221/288 |
International
Class: |
B65D 83/04 20060101
B65D083/04 |
Claims
1. A pill dispenser for discharging pills comprising: a pill
container having an open top that is adapted to be covered by a
cap, the container having a substantially cylindrical inside
portion below the open top, and a raised spiral coil within the
pill container on the cylindrical inside portion that terminates
near the open top, wherein the raised spiral coil forms a
substantially spiral ridge with a substantially spiral trough
between turns of the spiral ridge, the ridge and trough being sized
to urge pills contained in the pill container into the trough when
tipping the container for controlled dispensing of individual pills
wherein the spacing between turns of the spiral ridge approximates
the width of pills contained in the pill container.
2. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the pill container has an
inside wall and the raised spiral coil is formed in the inside wall
along the cylindrical inside portion of the pill container.
3. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the raised spiral coil is
formed in a substantially cylindrical sleeve insertable into the
open top of the pill container at least along the cylindrical
inside portion of the pill container.
4. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the pill container is an
irregularly shaped bottle with a cylindrical neck.
5. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the pill container is a
cylindrical pharmaceutical-type canister.
6. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the raised spiral coil has
at least three turns of the coil.
7. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the ridge of the raised
spiral coil is rounded.
8. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the pill container has an
inside wall and the raised spiral coil has an adhesive adapted to
attach the raised spiral coil to the inside wall of the container
at the cylindrical inside portion of the pill container.
9. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the pill container is a
bottle with a cylindrical neck and the raised spiral coil is
located within the bottle at the neck.
10. The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the width of the trough
between turns of the spiral ridge is sized to be slightly greater
than the width of a pill contained in the container.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to a pill dispenser that aids in the
dispensing of pills from a medicine bottle or container typically
used for over the counter or prescription medicines in pill form.
The task of shaking one or two pills from an irregularly shaped
bottle or cylindrical container can often be challenging.
Frequently, more pills than are desired spill into the hand and the
excess have to be returned to the bottle. In addition to the
potential for contamination of the replaced pills, the task is
annoying and may be frustrating to seniors with impaired
functionality of their hands. The spiral pill dispenser of this
invention is an inexpensive solution that controls the movement of
pills in a pill bottle that is either irregularly shaped or is
cylindrical in form as is frequently used for prescription
medications in pill form.
[0002] The spiral pill dispenser of this invention is designed for
use with an existing pill bottle or for incorporation into the
inner surface of a pill bottle during the manufacturing process.
These and other features of the spiral pill dispenser are described
in relation to the preferred embodiments set forth in the detailed
description of the preferred embodiments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0003] The invented spiral pill dispenser is designed and
constructed to aid in the discharge of pills from a pill bottle.
The term, "pill" includes both conventional compressed powder
formulations and capsules, including liquid-filled capsules.
Similarly, the term "bottle" includes both irregularly shaped
bottles such as plastic or glass aspirin bottles, and cylindrically
shaped bottles such as the plastic canisters that are typically
used for pharmaceutical drugs in pill or capsule form. The spiral
pill dispenser is in the form of a raised coil on the inside wall
of the bottle. The raised coil is provided on at least the portion
of the inside of the container next to the opening. The raised coil
spirals from a start point within the bottle to a termination next
to the bottle opening.
[0004] One are more pills are retrieved by a simple sequence. After
removing the bottle cap on a bottle containing pills and tipping
the bottle in a customary fashion, the bottle is then gently
rotated to guide contained pills along the spiral to the opening
for discharge. A gentle shake can accompany the rotation to control
the sequential discharge, so that only one or two pills are
dispensed under the user's control. This simple mechanical addition
to the ordinary pill bottle, along with the intuitive rotation of
the bottle, facilitates the expedient discharge of pills, one by
one.
[0005] The dimensions of the raised coil or ridge on the inside
wall of the pill bottle naturally depend on the size and
configuration of the pills. Smaller pills will require a reduced
size in the height of the coils and the spacing of one coil from
another in the spiral. It is to be understood that while the
preferred embodiment would incorporate the raised coils directly
into the wall of the container during manufacturing, other
embodiments allow addition of the spiral coil to existing bottles.
For example, a preformed coil having an adhesive contact surface
can be installed on the inner wall of the bottle. Alternately, for
cylindrical canister-type bottles, a tubular sleeve with a raised
helical coil on its inner wall can be inserted into the entire
length of the bottle, or for both cylindrical and irregular-type
bottles, into just the neck of the bottle. These and other features
are disclosed in the detailed description that follows a brief
description of the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional side view of an irregularly
shaped bottle with removed cap showing the integral internal spiral
coil.
[0007] FIG. 2 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the
preferred configuration of the internal spiral coil of FIG. 1.
[0008] FIG. 3 is an exploded view of a raised spiral coil sleeve
for insertion into a conventional cylindrical prescription
bottle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0009] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the pill dispenser, designated
in general by the reference numeral 10, is shown in two different
embodiments. In FIG. 1 the pill dispenser 10 is integral with a
pill bottle 12. In FIG. 3 the pill dispenser 10 is an added
accessory element to a pill bottle 11 of the type typically used
for pharmaceutical drugs.
[0010] In the unitary embodiment of FIG. 1, the irregularly shaped
bottle is typical of the type found in retail stores for over the
counter medicines. In this embodiment, the pill dispenser 10 is in
the form of a raised spiral coil 14 that is located at the neck 16
of the pill bottle 12 and comprises approximately three turns of
the spiral coil 14 formed during the manufacturing process of the
bottle. In molding plastic pill bottles, the incorporation of a
pill dispenser 10 that is integral with the bottle adds a
convenience for the user that is a small additional expense.
[0011] The pill bottle 12 of FIG. 1 is shown in cross-section to
illustrate the raised spiral coil 14 that spirals to the bottle
opening where it terminates. The raised spiral coil 14 is shown
enlarged in the partial cross-sectional segment of FIG. 2. In FIG.
2, the configuration of the coil 14 is parabolic to provide rounded
internal edges to minimize any chaffing to the pills 18 during
dispensing and to guide pills into the trough 20 between the raised
coils 14. Preferably, there should be at least three turns of the
spiral coil and the size of the raised coils 14 and width of the
trough 20 should correspond generally to the size of the pills 18
contained by the bottle 12. The width of the trough 20 should be
slightly greater than the width of a pill 18 and preferably
slightly less than its length to insure a sequential disposition
during dispensing.
[0012] It is to be understood that the term "pills" includes
capsules. Capsules are frequently elongated and therefore require a
greater width to the trough 20 than a circular or elliptical pill
in order to round the helical path in the neck 16 of the bottle 12
during dispensing. The preferred number of turns can be reduced to
accommodate pills of larger size.
[0013] The pill bottle 12 of FIG. 1 has a top 22 with a lip 24 that
engages a press-on cap 26 in a conventional manner. It is also to
be understood that an irregularly shaped bottle 12 is
differentiated from the cylindrical pharmaceutical pill bottle 28
of FIG. 3 only for purposes of showing how the invented spiral coil
pill dispenser can be adapted to a variety of conventional pill
bottles. The shape of the bottle 12 shown in FIG. 1 is merely an
example of one irregularly shaped bottle. If the dispenser 10 is
integral and fabricated during the manufacture of the bottle, the
bottle may have a longer neck than the typical bottle to add
additional turns of the coil. Alternately, the bottle with the
integral spiral coil dispenser 10 may be cylindrical in shape and
of the type shown in FIG. 3.
[0014] Referring now to FIG. 3, the pill dispenser 10 is in the
form of a cylindrical (or slightly truncated conical) sleeve 40.
The sleeve 40 has a shell 42 with a top 44 having a thin rim 46
which seats on the top 48 of the cylindrical bottle 28. For
convenience the sleeve 40 and the bottle 28 are transparent to
illustrate the internal raised spiral coil 49 in dotted line on the
inside wall 50 of the sleeve. The exploded view of FIG. 4
illustrates the manner the sleeve 40 is inserted into the
conventional pharmaceutical pill bottle 28. The pill bottle 28 has
a cap 52 that seats over the thin rim 46 of the sleeve 40 and
engages a flange 54 at the top 48 of the cylindrical bottle.
[0015] It is to be understood that just as the integral or unitary
raised spiral coil can be incorporated into the wall of a
cylindrical bottle during manufacture, a sleeve with an internal
raised spiral coil can be adapted for insertion into the neck of an
irregularly shaped bottle. Additionally, other modifications can be
made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
For example, the dispenser can be in the form of a coil that is
adhesively attached to the wall of the bottle in a short
spiral.
[0016] During use, the method of dispensing pills from a pill
bottle having a raised spiral coil in the neck of the bottle
located next to the top opening is intuitive. The pill bottle is
gently tipped to urge contained pills seated in the trough between
raised turns of the coil toward the opening. The pill bottle may
optionally be gently shaken to advance the pills to the neck and
opening of the bottle. The pill bottle in the tilted position is
gently rotated with a clockwise motion to dispense individual
pills. Although the procedure is designed for the ease of a
right-handed person, a left-handed person can easily adapt with a
counter-clockwise rotation. Alternately, a raised spiral coil can
be constructed with an opposite rotation for a left-handed person,
particularly for the inexpensive insert embodiment.
[0017] These and other features have been described with respect to
multiple preferred embodiments to illustrate the scope of the
invention which is set forth in the claims that follow.
* * * * *