Dispensing Cap For Pill Bottles

Abstract

A dispensing cap for pill bottles having a hollow pill chamber with first and second passages communicating respectively with the interior of said bottle and with the exterior atmosphere, means normally maintaining said first passage open and said second passage closed, at which time any desired number of pills may be shaken from said bottle into said cap chamber, and operating means for simultaneously closing said first passage and opening said second passage, whereupon the pills in said chamber may be shaken into the palm of the hand.

Description

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in caps for pill bottles, and has as its object the provision of a pill bottle cap which will, on each operation thereof, dispense any predetermined number of pills required for dosage, but no greater number. This eliminates the annoyance, and possible contamination of pills, which occurs when a number of pills in excess of that required is accidentally poured from a pill bottle, so that the surplus pills must be returned to the bottle. Generally, this object is accomplished by the provision of a bottle cap including a hollow, transparent pill chamber, said cap including a first passage connecting said chamber with the interior of the bottle, through which pills may enter said chamber, and a second passage communicating with said chamber and opening through an exterior wall of said cap, through which pills may be dispensed from said chamber. Means are provided whereby said passages can be opened or closed, but cannot be opened simultaneously.

Another object is the provision of a dispensing cap of the character described having a novel construction including essentially only three structural elements.

A further object is the provision of a dispensing cap of the character described the pill dispensing features of which may be incorporated either in a detachable cap suitable for use on many preexisting pill bottles or other containers in substitution for the usual nondispensing cap, or in integral combination in the cap portion of a specially formed pill bottle or container.

A still further object is the provision of safety means whereby it is rendered unlikely that the cap will be opened accidentally or carelessly, either by adults or by children.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction, and efficiency and dependability of operation.

With these objects in view, as well as other objects which will appear in the course of the specification, reference will be had to the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a pill bottle having a dispensing cap embodying the present invention applied operatively thereto,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the cap taken on line II-II of FIG. 1, with the cap in its closed position,

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, but with the cap shown in its open position,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line IV-IV of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 2, illustrating the mode of assembly of the cap,

FIG. 6 is a foreshortened view similar to FIG. 4, showing a slightly modified construction, and

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1, showing another modification of structure.

Like reference numerals apply to similar parts throughout the several views, and the numeral 2 applies generally to a pill bottle, which may be formed of any suitable material and which may be of any generally standard configuration, having an externally threaded neck 4. A cap for said bottle, constructed in accordance with the present invention, is indicated generally by the numeral 6, being formed of any suitable material such as plastic, and including a base portion 8 and a crown portion 10. Base portion 8 includes a planar top wall 12 of circular shape, and a depending cylindrical skirt 14, said skirt being internally threaded for engagement with bottle neck 4. If desired, a gasket 16 may be interposed between neck 4 and cap base wall 12, as shown in FIG. 4. Rising from top wall 12, concentrically with skirt 14, but of slightly smaller diameter, is a cylindrical wall 18 open at the top. A portion of said wall is omitted to form a passage 20 opening radially outwardly. A groove 22 of semicircular cross-sectional contour is formed peripherally in the outer surface of wall 18, intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof. Said groove terminates at one end in a radial shoulder 24 adjacent one side of passage 20, and its opposite end may open into passage 20, as shown. A hole 26 large enough to pass pills therethrough is formed through wall 12, within the confines of wall 18 but eccentrically offset from the center of curvature of wall 18. Wall 12, skirt 14 and wall 18 form an integral unit, which may conveniently be formed by molding methods.

Cap crown portion 10 may also be formed of plastic, and is of inverted cup form, having a planar circular top wall 28 and a cylindrical skirt 30 fitting closely about wall 18 of the cap base in rotating engagement therewith. A portion of said skirt is omitted to form a passage 32 opening radially therethrough. A groove 34 of semicircular cross-sectional contour is formed peripherally in the inner surface of skirt 30, one end of said groove terminating in a radial shoulder 36 adjacent one side of passage 32, the relatively opposite side thereof as compared to the relationship of shoulder 24 to passage 20 of wall 18, while the opposite end of groove 34 may open into passage 32. Groove 34 cooperates with groove 22 so that conjointly they form a torus-shaped cavity in which is mounted a helical compression spring 38, the opposite ends of said spring bearing respectively against shoulders 24 and 36, whereby to urge crown member 10 rotatively relative to cap base 8, in a counterclockwise direction as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 5.

The space between cap walls 12 and 28, and within cylindrical wall 18, constitutes a chamber 40 for receiving pills 42 from bottle 2 through hole 26 of wall 12. Since as will appear it is necessary that the user be able to see clearly into chamber 40, either the entire cap or crown portion 10 thereof may be formed of transparent material, or, as shown, the top wall 28 of crown 10 may constitute a transparent insert 28A. A plug 44 is formed integrally with crown top wall 28, and depends vertically therefrom into pill chamber 40, terminating just short of top wall 12 of base 8. Said plug is disposed at the same distance from the axis of the cap as is hole 26.

Spring 38 biases crown 10 in a counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 3, to the position shown in FIG. 2, in which skirt 30 of the crown covers passage 20 of base wall 18, preventing egress of pills 42 from chamber 40. At this position, one edge of skirt 30 defining passage 32 thereof abuts a vertical pin 46 set in a hole 48 formed therefor in base top wall 12, and projecting upwardly into passage 32. At this time also plug 44 of the crown is out of registry with hole 26 of the base. Crown 10 may be manually turned in a clockwise direction, against the pressure of spring 38, until the opposite edge of crown passage 32 abuts pin 46. At this position, passages 20 and 32 of the cap base and crown are in registered alignment with each other, but crown plug 44 is then positioned directly above base hole 26, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, obstructing said hole to prevent the passage of pills through said hole.

In operation, with the cap base and crown in their normal relation as shown in FIG. 2, the user simply tips or shakes the bottle until the number of pills 42 required for dosage have passed through hole 26 into cap chamber 40. This is a simple matter since the user can view the interior of chamber 40 through transparent insert 28A, and any pills in excess of the number desired can be returned to bottle 2 through hole 26 by further agitation of the bottle. No pills can pass outwardly from chamber 40 through passage 20 at this time, since it is closed by skirt 30 of the cap crown. Thus any excess pills need not be handled to return them to the bottle, and possible contamination thereof is avoided. The user then twists cap crown 10 to the FIG. 3 position in which the passages 20 and 32 are aligned, and tips the bottle to pour the pills trapped in chamber 40 through said passages to the palm of his hand, or to a cup or other container, for convenient administration. At this time plug 44 blocks hole 26, so that no additional pills can pass therethrough.

FIG. 5 illustrates the mode of insertion of spring 38. Crown 10 is first assembled over base 8, but before pin 46 is inserted, the crown is turned relative to the base, until passage 32 of the crown skirt partially uncovers spring groove 22 of the base wall 18, adjacent shoulder 24 thereof. Spring 38 is then inserted in composite spring groove 22-34, as shown in FIG. 5, until its ends abut shoulders 36 and 24 respectively. Crown 10 is then turned on the base to any position intermediate the positions of FIGS. 2 and 3, and pin 46 inserted tightly into hole 48. Spring 38 thus not only provides the rotative bias for the crown, but also serves as the sole means securing the cap base and crown in assembly.

FIG. 6 illustrates a modified structure in which the pill dispensing features, rather than being incorporated in a separable bottle cap, are incorporated as integral components of a specially constructed pill container. In this modification, walls 12' and 18', corresponding to walls 12 and 18 of the cap base 8 shown in FIGS. 1-5, are formed integrally with a pill bottle 2'. All other elements of the modified structure also bear primed numerals corresponding to those shown in FIGS. 1-5, and its operation is identical. Since it would not be convenient to fill container 2' through passages 32', 20' and 26', this container is preferably provided with a bottom cap 50 adapted to be snapped into place and secured by a tongue-and-groove connection 52, after the container is filled.

FIG. 7 shows a modification of structure wherein the vertical edge of passage 32 of crown skirt 30 which is urged against pin 46 by spring 38 has a notch 54 cut therefrom to engage over the upper end of said pin. The upper edge of said notch first slopes downwardly away from passage 32 to form a cam section 56, then extends vertically upwardly to form a shoulder 58, then horizontally to form a recess 60. Spring 38 normally holds cam 56 against the upper end of pin 46. Then if crown 10 is turned forcibly in the same direction, the action of the pin against cam 56 forces crown 10 upwardly until said pin passes shoulder 58 and enters recess 60. The upward movement of the crown is permitted by the play of spring 38 in its composite passage 22-34 and by the transverse yieldability of the spring itself. Thereafter, reverse or opening rotative movement of the crown is resisted by the abutment of shoulder 58 against pin 46. This prevents accidental or careless opening of the bottle and hence tends to prevent the accidental taking of pills. This is an especially important safety provision in connection with small children, who may otherwise take any number of pills in simple imitation of their elders. Nevertheless, the cap may still be opened in the usual manner by first lifting crown 10 relative to base 8 with sufficient force to elevate shoulder 58 above the upper end of pin 46. This added step can be made to require more force than could readily be applied by a child, and in any event would not be likely to occur to a child.

While I have shown and described specific embodiments of my invention, it will be readily apparent that many minor changes of structure and operation could be made without departing from the spirit of the invention .

Claims

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A dispensing cap for a pill bottle comprising:

a. a base member having an end wall adapted to be rigidly associated with said bottle, to cover the neck of said bottle, and a cylindrical wall extending outwardly from said end wall, said end wall having a hole formed therethrough eccentrically to, but within the confines of, said cylindrical wall, whereby to communicate with the interior of said bottle, said cylindrical wall being interrupted to form a radial passage from the interior thereof,

b. a crown member of cup shape including an end wall and a cylindrical skirt engaged rotatably about the cylindrical wall of said base member, the space between said base and crown end walls, and within said cylindrical walls, constituting a pill chamber, said crown skirt being interrupted to form a passage capable by rotation of said crown member to be moved into or out of registry with the passage of the base cylindrical wall, said crown end wall having a plug member affixed thereto and depending eccentrically therefrom within said pill chamber, and operable by rotation of said crown member to be moved into or out of obstructing relationship with the hole of said base end wall, and

c. means securing said base and crown members in assembly.

2. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 1, with the addition of means limiting the rotation of said crown member relative to said base member to movement between a first position in which said cylindrical wall passage is obstructed by said crown skirt and said base end wall hole is not obstructed by said crown plug and a second position in which the passages of said cylindrical base wall and said crown skirt are angularly registered, and said base end wall hole is obstructed by said crown plug.

3. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 2, with the addition of resilient means yieldably biasing said crown member toward said first position.

4. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 3, wherein said means holding said base and crown members in assembly, and biasing said crown member toward said first position, comprises a helical compression spring contained in a torus-shaped chamber formed conjointly in the confronting cylindrical faces of said cylindrical base wall and said crown skirt, the opposite ends of said spring bearing against angularly spaced apart shoulders formed respectively in said base and crown members.

5. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 1, for use in connection with a pill bottle having a threaded neck, and wherein said cap base member includes a threaded portion adapted to be engaged on said bottle neck.

6. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 1, wherein said cap base member is formed integrally with said pill bottle said bottle being provided with an auxiliary filling cap at a point distal from said dispensing cap.

7. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 1, with the addition of latch means resisting movement of said crown member away from the position thereof at which said second passage of said base member is obstructed.

8. A dispensing cap as recited in claim 4, wherein said means limiting rotation of said crown member constitutes a pin fixed in said base member and extending parallel to the cap axis into the passage of said crown member skirt, the edge of said crown skirt normally held against said pin by said spring having a notch formed therein adapted to receive the free end of said pin as said crown is turned from said first position in a direction opposite its movement toward said second position, said notch having a recess into which the end of said pin can enter only by axial movement of said crown member relative to said base member, said axial movement of said crown member being yieldably resisted by said spring.