EP0707469B1 - A medication reminder device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention refers to a medication reminder device comprising two concentric discs which are mutually rotatable on a common axis and one of which, the lower disc on its lower surface is provided with attachment means for being mounted on a support surface and on its upper surface is divided into a plurality of sector-shaped sign-areas indicating prescribed dosage occasions or the like for a certain medicine, while the upper disc is formed with a handle member and dimensioned such that it covers entirely the lower disc except for one single sector-like opening so as to expose one of the sign areas on the lower disc at a time when being rotated relative the lower disc, between the discs furthermore being arranged a bearing mechanism.

Of course, prescribed medicines have no effect when not being taken. It is known, however, that not all medicines purchased are being taken. There are many reasons therefor but usually it depends on the fact that one forgets to take the medicine according to the doctors prescription. Therefore, it is essential to be able to remind the patient by simple means to take his medicine at the right time and in the correct quantity so that the probability will be the best for the patient to be cured and the resources of the community will be used in the best possible manner.

It has already been suggested various devices for helping patients to better follow the prescriptions of the doctors. Most common are so-called dosettes, i.e. boxes in which e.g. one week's consumption of tablets is portioned into small compartments, but there also exist other boxes which by an audible signal remind the patient of the fact that it now is time for taking the medicine. Irrespective of all the advantages of said devices they are not always suitable to all patients.

From NO 121 738 is furthermore known a container having a circular arrangement of such compartments for accomodating tablets. The lid of said round box is provided with a ratchet mechanism which makes that the lid only can be rotated in one direction relative the box. The lid can be rotated forwardly only one compartment width at a time and is then stopped in its rotary movement by the next tablet to be taken. Certainly, said container is relatively simple in its design but it can therefore only be used for medicines in tablet form. A more sophisticated design of a medication reminder device has been described in WO 9116876. In said device a watch-like casing is used, which accomodates an electronic circuit card and which has a display in which are shown signs in the shape of letters or digits for various medicines and times. Furthermore, the packages of the various medicines are to be provided with corresponding signs. Even if this device might be used also to other medicines than only in the form of tablets such as liquid medicines which are to be taken as droplets or spoon-fulls etc., the entire device of course is expensive due to its electronic circuit.

For advertising and educational purposes it is also known to provide various printed matters which consist of mutual rotatable discs with various prints thereon and having one or more openings in the upper disc adapted to expose desired areas on the lower disc.

The object of the present invention now is to provide a very simple medication reminder device which is free of electronic devices and hence becomes cheap but still might be used in connection with all kinds of medicines, thus not only such of tablet form. This is achieved according to the invention substantially in that said bearing mechanism comprises a pivot stud which is centrally and rigidly supported from the upper disc and adapted to be inserted into a corresponding central bearing opening in the lower disc, said pivot stud at its free end having radial protrusions for securing engagement behind a shoulder at the mouth of said bearing opening at the rear or lower side of the lower disc, and in that from the upper disc depend a number of circumferentially equally spaced ratchet members which in section in a plane parallel to the lower disc are slightly wedge-shaped with the peak at the direction of rotation and which are adapted to engage stepwise positioning with their trailing and radially outermost corner, as seen in the last-mentioned direction, in corresponding recesses in the outer wall of a concentric groove in the lower disc in a mutual rotary movement between the discs in one direction but to engage lockingly therein for a rotary movement in the opposite direction.

By the invention it is know obtained a device which might be mounted onto the actual medicine package and which after a stepwise rotary motion easily and effectively reminds the patient of the last time when he took said medicine. When the package later has become emptied the device can easily be transferred to a new package. Furthermore the device also might be utilized in connection with liquid preparations and such in the form of vials or spray bottles since it might easily be attached directly onto the outer package when needed.

By way of example the invention will be further described below while referring to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 illustrates a vertical section through an upper disc of an inventive device, Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the same disc, while Fig. 3 is a corresponding vertical section through a lower disc of the same device and Fig. 4 is a plan view from above of the lower disc according to Fig. 3, while Figs. 5a-d illustrate examples of the various signs which might occur on the upper side of the lower disc and which thus are successively exposed during the forward stepwise rotary motion of the upper disc.

As is evident from Figs. 1-4 of the drawings the inventive device comprises two concentric discs 1, 2 which are mutually rotatable. One of the discs, namely the lower disc 1, is provided at its lower surface with attachment means 3 for mounting thereof on a support surface such as a medicine bottle or package etc. Said attachment means 3 might suitably consist of a pressure-sensitive tape, a Velcro band or the like. At its upper side the disc 1 is provided with a suitable number of areas 5, preferably eight areas, bearing suitable signs or marks (Fig. 5) for indication of prescribed dosage occasions or the like for the respective medicine. Preferably, the upper disc 2 is provided with handle surfaces 6 in the form of a knob or some suitable protrusion in order to provide for a rotary movement of said disc relative the lower disc 1. The disc 2 is dimensioned such that it substantially entirely covers the upper side of the lower disc 1 but has a sector-shaped opening 7 for exposure of a substantially corresponding sector-shaped area on the lower disc 1.

For allowing a mutual rotational movement between the discs 1 and 2 in one direction only, usually clockwise of the upper disc 2 relative the lower disc 1, a bearing mechanism is arranged between said discs. According to the invention said mechanism comprises a pivot stud 8 centrally and rigidly supported from the upper disc 2. Said stud is adapted to be introduced into a corresponding central bearing opening 9 in the lower disc 1 and is formed at its free end with an external peripheral ridge or a plurality of circumferentially spaced protrusions 10, in the present case four in number (since the stud 8 is longitudinally slotted). After introduction of the pivot stud 8 through the central bearing opening 9 in the lower disc 1 said protrusions 10 are adapted to come into locking engagement behind a shoulder 11 at the mouth of the opening 9 to the rear or at the lower surface of the lower disc 1. It is also suitable that the upper disc 2 is shaped slightly convex and the length of the stud 8 selected such that the disc 2 will become permanently biased against the lower disc 1 and possible clearance and rattle between the discs avoided.

The bearing mechanism also comprises a ratchet mechanism which secures that the rotary movement only might occur in one single direction and said mechanism comprises a plurality of ratchet members 12 depending from the lower surface of the upper disc 2 and being circumferentially equally spaced. As seen in a section in a plane parallel to the lower disc 1 said ratchet members have a slight wedge-like shape with the peak in the direction of rotation. Preferably the number of ratchet members 12 amounts to half the number of sign areas on the lower disc 1, thus four in number. When the discs 1 and 2 are mounted together the ratchet members 12 are adapted to be accomodated with their free ends in a concentric groove 13 in the lower disc 1 and with the trailing and radially outermost corner snap stepwise positioning into corresponding radial recesses 14 in the outer wall 13a of said groove in the lower disc 1 for a rotation in the desired direction but to act lockingly for rotary movement in the opposite direction.

In the description above the device has been described as provided with eight sector sign areas 5 on the lower disc and four ratchet members 12 and eight recesses 14 but within the scope of the present invention other numbers of ratchet members, recesses and sign areas might be selected. From Fig. 5 it is evident, however, that the reminder requirements will be filled with the aforementioned numbers in most cases that will occur. Thus according to Fig. 5a a reminder might be obtained for taking the medicine in the morning and in the evening while in Fig. 5b is illustrated a reminder three times a day, thus in the morning, at the lunch and in the evening, while the remaining two sectors are indicated with an arrow which means that said areas are to be passed over. In Fig. 5c is illustrated a reminder four times a day while Fig. 5d a dosage once a day is illustrated, the eighth area also being provided with a pass-over-arrow.

Preferably, the two discs 1 and 2 are made of some suitable plastic material. In the drawings the two discs 1, 2 have been shown to have a circular peripheral contour; obviously it is also possible, however, to give the discs any other suitable peripheral contour such as polygonal, preferably octagonal.

Claims (3)

1. A medication reminder device comprising two concentric discs (1, 2) which are mutually rotatable on a common axis and one of which, the lower disc (1) on its lower surface is provided with attachment means (3) for being mounted on a support surface and on its upper surface is divided into a plurality of sector-shaped sign-areas (5) indicating prescribed dosage occasions or the like for a certain medicine, while the upper disc (2) is formed with a handle member (6) and dimensioned such that it covers entirely the lower disc (1) except for one single sector-like opening (7) so as to expose one of the sign areas (5) on the lower disc (1) at a time when being rotated relative the lower disc (1), between the discs (1, 2) furthermore being arranged a bearing mechanism, characterized in that said bearing mechanism comprises a pivot stud (8) which is centrally and rigidly supported from the upper disc (2) and adapted to be inserted into a corresponding central bearing opening (9) in the lower disc (1), said pivot stud (8) at its free end having radial protrusions (10) for securing engagement behind a shoulder (11) at the mouth of said bearing opening (9) at the rear or lower side of the lower disc (1), and in that from the upper disc (2) depend a number of circumferentially equally spaced ratchet members (12) which in section in a plane parallel to the lower disc (1) are slightly wedge-shaped with the peak at the direction of rotation and which are adapted to engage stepwise positioning with their trailing and radially outermost corner, as seen in the last-mentioned direction, in corresponding recesses (14) in the outer wall (13a) of a concentric groove (13) in the lower disc (1) in a mutual rotary movement between the discs (1, 2) in one direction but to engage lockingly therein for a rotary movement in the opposite direction.
2. A device according to claim 1, characterized in that the upper disc (2) is shaped slightly convex so as to be biased against the lower disc (1) when mounted together therewith.
3. A device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the number of ratchet members (12) is four and the number of recesses twice as much, i.e. eight or as many as the number of sign areas on the upper side of the lower disc (1).

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