EP3622940A1 - Housing for storing and delivering doses of drugs to be dispensed - Google Patents

Abstract

Housing for the storage and delivery of doses of medicaments to be administered, comprising a body (2) comprising a compartment (6) for the storage of a plurality of pill organizers (7) each comprising cells (8) in which are placed doses of medication and each corresponding to a time interval, in particular a day, for taking medication, each pill box (7) corresponding to a time for taking medication in said time intervals, and means for closing (9) the compartment (6) .In addition, the closure means (9) comprise a set of closure elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g) movable independently of one another, at least one part of the closing elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g) being movable between closing and opening positions of an area of the compartment (6) corresponding to a medication taking interval, and the body (2) comprising two branches (3, 4) joined by their so mmet (5) and whose free ends constitute feet for the housing (1).

Description

The present invention relates generally to the administration of doses of drugs and more particularly relates to the storage and delivery of doses of drugs to be administered.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a housing for storing and delivering doses of drugs to be administered.

People with multiple illnesses or with certain chronic diseases are sometimes forced to take regular medication. It is generally accepted that only one in two of these suffering people correctly observes the prescribed treatment (s), which can have serious consequences such as a reduction in therapeutic effectiveness or even undesirable effects.

Preparing the doses to be administered or PDA improves this situation. PDA consists in preparing the doses of drugs to be administered, in a personalized manner, according to the doctor's prescription, and therefore in anticipation of the sequencing and times of taking, for a determined period which is, most of the time, a week. .

This task can be carried out by the patient himself or, more generally, by a pharmacist or a nurse. Storage is usually done in one or more pill organizers incorporating cells suitable for receiving doses of medication and each corresponding to a time interval, in particular a day, for taking medication.

Devices are known which simplify the preparation of pill organizers and the delivery of doses to be administered, such as that disclosed in the document. WO 2017/191405 . This document describes a packaging device for storing medicaments in a manner separate to avoid interactions. It has a storage bowl which delimits a storage volume for medicines. The bowl has a rim capable of receiving a removable partition and a cover. The partitioning comprises transverse partitions delimiting compartments. A column comprising seven bowls is suitable for taking daily medication for one week.

There are also ambulatory pill organizers which include a housing incorporating a housing accessible from the outside and in which is placed a stack of pill organizers where each pill organizer corresponds to a day of the week.

When these ambulatory pill organizers are empty, they are transported to the pharmacy, although they are bulky, so that their recharging in doses of drugs is carried out by the pharmacist.

In another case, the suffering person following the treatment performs the recharging, filling himself laboriously the different cells associated with the different time intervals. This recharging, which is not controlled by a healthcare professional, is therefore not secure and can prove to be dangerous in the event of an error.

In addition, for the same time interval, in particular a day, it is frequent that the administration of doses of medication is carried out at different times of the day (for example morning, noon, evening, bedtime), which makes it difficult visual monitoring of the delivery of doses as time goes by on the device disclosed in the document WO 2017/191405 and the ambulatory pill organizers described above.

Consequently, the present invention relates to a housing for the storage of doses of medicaments making it possible to increase the observance of a treatment by facilitating the monitoring of the doses to be administered according to the time interval to which they are associated, and allowing to simplify and secure the delivery of doses, the reloading of the housing and the handling of the entire housing.

It is therefore proposed a housing for the storage and delivery of doses of drugs to be administered, comprising a body comprising a compartment for the storage of a plurality of pill boxes each comprising cells in which are placed doses of drug and each corresponding to a time interval, in particular a day, for taking medication, each pill box corresponding to a moment for taking medication in said time intervals, and means for closing the compartment.

In addition, the closure means comprise a set of closure elements which can be moved independently of one another, at least part of the closure elements being movable between the closed and open positions of a zone of the compartment. corresponding to an interval of taking drugs, and the body comprising two branches joined by their top and whose free ends constitute feet for the housing.

According to one characteristic, the closure elements can be slidably mounted on the body.

Advantageously, the housing comprises seven closing elements each corresponding to a day of taking medication.

Preferably, the housing comprises an additional closing element for the complete closing of the compartment.

According to one characteristic, the body comprises a first branch comprising a front face provided with an opening for access to said compartment, the other branch comprising a rear face opposite to the front face of the first branch and comprising an opening for access to housing.

According to another characteristic, the closure elements can be displaceable in slides extending between the free ends of the two branches.

Advantageously, the slides extend between the access opening to the compartment and the access opening to said housing.

According to one embodiment, the body can form a one-piece structure.

According to an alternative, the body can be formed by a plurality of assembled parts.

• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'un boîtier pour le stockage et la délivrance de doses de médicaments à administrer selon un mode de réalisation conforme à l'invention, comprenant un compartiment pour le stockage de piluliers et sept éléments de fermeture en position de fermeture de la zone du compartiment auquel ils sont associés ;
• La figure 2 est une vue en perspective du boîtier illustré à la figure 1, représentant les éléments de fermeture en position d'ouverture de la zone du compartiment auquel ils sont associés ;
• La figure 3 est une vue en perspective du boîtier illustré à la figure 1, représentant trois seulement des éléments de fermeture en position de fermeture de la zone du compartiment auquel ils sont associés et les quatre éléments de fermeture restant en position d'ouverture ;
• La figure 4 représente le boîtier illustré à la figure 1, comprenant un logement sur sa face postérieure ;
• La figure 5 est une vue en perspective du boîtier illustré à la figure 1, comprenant un élément de fermeture additionnel pour la fermeture complète du compartiment de stockage de la pluralité de piluliers ;
• La figure 6 est une vue en perspective d'un boîtier conforme à l'invention, comportant des piluliers pourvus d'alvéoles compartimentées ;
• La figure 7 illustre un boîtier conforme à l'invention, dont le corps est formé par plusieurs pièces assemblées ; et
• Les figures 8a, 8b et 8c illustrent trois étapes d'assemblage des pièces du boîtier représenté à la figure 7.

Preferably, the body includes a removable stop member forming a stop for the closure members and configured to hold the closure members on the body. Other objects, advantages and characteristics will emerge from the description which follows, given by way of purely illustrative example and made with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• The figure 1 is a perspective view of a housing for the storage and delivery of doses of medicaments to be administered according to an embodiment according to the invention, comprising a compartment for the storage of pill organizers and seven closing elements in the closed position of the zone of the compartment with which they are associated;
• The figure 2 is a perspective view of the housing illustrated in figure 1 , representing the closing elements in the open position of the zone of the compartment with which they are associated;
• The figure 3 is a perspective view of the housing illustrated in figure 1 , representing only three of the closing elements in the closed position of the zone of the compartment with which they are associated and the four closing elements remaining in the open position;
• The figure 4 represents the case illustrated in the figure 1 , comprising a housing on its rear face;
• The figure 5 is a perspective view of the housing illustrated in figure 1 , comprising an additional closure element for the complete closure of the storage compartment of the plurality of pill organizers;
• The figure 6 is a perspective view of a housing according to the invention, comprising pill boxes provided with compartmentalized cells;
• The figure 7 illustrates a housing according to the invention, the body of which is formed by several assembled parts; and
• The Figures 8a, 8b and 8c illustrate three steps for assembling the parts of the housing shown in figure 7 .

The figures 1 to 4 illustrate a first embodiment of a box 1 for storing and delivering doses of drugs to be administered according to the invention.

The housing 1 comprises a body 2 comprising two branches 3 and 4 joined by their top 5 and the free ends of which constitute feet for the housing 1 improving the grip of the housing 1 on the surface on which the housing 1 is stored.

The body 2 comprises a compartment 6 for the storage of a plurality of pill organizers 7. The pill organizers 7 which are, for example, prepared by a pharmacist can be easily stored in compartment 6 and then easily removed for recharging the case 1.

The pill organizers 7 advantageously include cells 8 (visible on the figure 2 ) in which are placed doses of medication, not shown.

Within a single pill box 7, each cell 8 corresponds to a time interval for taking medication, in particular a day, and more particularly a time of the day (morning, noon, evening, bedtime ...). Preferably, each pill box 7 comprises at least one cell 8 for each day of the week, that is to say at least seven cells 8. In order to prevent the doses of medicaments, for example tablets, from colliding, the cells 8 can be compartmentalized as shown in the figure 6 .

On the figures 2 , 3 and 6 , we can see that the cells 8 are advantageously provided with a protective film, for example aluminum or other, to be removed to release and be able to access the doses of drugs.

Each pill box of the plurality of pill boxes 7 corresponding to a moment of taking medication in said time intervals.

As illustrated, the compartment 6 will preferably include four pill boxes 7 each corresponding to a time of the day such as morning, noon, evening, bedtime, for taking doses of medication.

Advantageously, the pill organizers 7 are arranged one behind the other so as to form a stack, and arranged in the order of taking the doses of medicament. The pill box 7 corresponding to the taking of doses of morning medication being thus placed facing the outside of the compartment and the pill box 7 corresponding to the taking of doses of medicine at bedtime being placed facing the inside of the compartment 6, making it easier to take doses at different times of the day. The openings of the cells 8 are advantageously directed towards the outside of the compartment.

In addition, the housing 1 comprises means 9 for closing the compartment 6.

The closure means 9 comprise a set of closure elements 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g which can be moved independently of one another. Each closure element 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g is movable between closed and open positions of an area of the compartment 6 corresponding to a medication taking interval.

Each closure element 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g is thus associated with a zone of compartment 6 and therefore associated with an interval of taking medication. The independent movement of the closing elements makes it possible to switch easily and visually from one time interval to another.

The displacement of a closure element 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g makes the same cells 8 of all the pill organizers 7 accessible, which, thanks to better visibility, improves the delivery of the doses, the monitoring of each time interval and adherence to treatment, while reducing the number of errors in the catches.

Advantageously, the box 1 comprises seven closing elements each corresponding to a day of taking medication. For example, the elements 9 a to 9g correspond, respectively, to the day of taking from Monday to Sunday.

In addition, the closure elements 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g can be slidably mounted on the body 2. Their displacement by sliding facilitates the passage from one time interval to another.

In the illustrated embodiment, the closure elements 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g are movable in slides 10a and 10b which can be arranged on either side of the compartment 6 and extending between the free ends of the two branches 3 and 4.

In addition, the body 2 comprises a first branch 3 comprising a front face 11 provided with an access opening to the compartment 6, the other branch 4 comprising a rear face 12 opposite to the front face 11 of the first branch 3 and comprising an access opening to a housing 13.

In the example illustrated, the slides 10a and 10b extend between the access opening to the compartment 6 and the access opening to the housing 13.

Preferably, the housing 13 is arranged in the body 2 so as to remain accessible when the housing 1 is in the open position, that is to say in the example illustrated, when the closure means 9 are arranged on the face posterior of branch 4 comprising housing 13.

The housing 13 can be configured to receive a prescription, other drugs such as tablets or capsules, drugs in various forms such as sachets, eye drops, etc., or even a kit for transporting the pill dispensers 4 which are withdrawn in pharmacies and prepared by the pharmacist.

To the figures 1 and 2 , the closing elements 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g are shown, respectively, in the open position and in the closed position of the area of the compartment 6 with which they are associated. In this example, the closing elements in the open position are arranged facing the front face 11 of the first branch 3 and facing the rear face 12 of the second branch 4 when they are in the closed position.

To the figure 3 , the four closing elements 9a, 9b, 9c and 9d are in the open position of the area of the compartment 6 with which they are associated and the three closing elements 9e, 9f and 9g are in the closed position.

Each day, the user can slide the closing element associated with said day to easily access the area of compartment 6 with which it is associated and therefore the doses of medication for different time intervals (morning, noon, evening, bedtime ) that he must ingest said day.

When all the doses of medicaments have been administered and the pill boxes 7 are therefore empty, all the closure elements 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g are in an open position. Access to compartment 6 is free, making removal and reloading of pill dispensers easy.

To the figure 1 , it can be seen that the access opening to compartment 6 is configured so that when each closing element 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g closes the zone of compartment 6 corresponding to a hold interval of drugs with which it is associated, all of the closure elements do not completely close the access opening to compartment 6 and access to compartment 6 remains. This in particular allows the user to keep visibility of the contents of compartment 6.

According to a second embodiment shown in the figure 5 , provision may be made for the housing 1 to include an additional closure element 9h for the complete closure of the compartment 6. The additional closure element 9h shown is also capable of sliding along the slides 10a and 10b.

On the Figures 1 to 6 , the body 2 of the housing 1 is shown as being a one-piece structure.

According to an embodiment illustrated in figure 7 representing a housing 1, the body 2 can also be made of several removable parts which are assembled.

First and second lower parts 14 and 15 together with an upper part 16, respectively, the first and the second branches 3 and 4. The first and second lower parts 14 and 15 advantageously form, respectively, the compartment 6 and the housing 13.

In addition, two side pieces 17 and 18 are disposed on either side of the housing 1 and support the entire structure. The lateral parts 17 and 18 each comprise a groove forming with the upper part the slides 10a and 10b.

The figure 8a represents the second lower part 15. For the assembly of the body 2 of the housing 1, the lateral parts 17 and 18 are removably fixed on the first and second lower parts 14 and 15, as can be seen on the figure 8b . The figure 8c illustrates the next assembly step in which the upper part 16 is fitted onto the rest of the structure.

In the example illustrated in figure 7 , the housing 1 comprises a removable stop element 19. In this example, the stop element 10 is inserted at one of the ends of the slides 10a and 10b, at the free end of the second branch 4. The stop element 19 forms a stop for the closures and in particular, in this example, the closure element 9a, and keeps them on the housing 1.

In this example, the stop element 19 comprises a straight portion, however, provision may be made for it to be curved, for example in the form of a portion of a circle.

After removal of the stop element 19 from the housing, the closure elements 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f and 9g can be removed in order, for example, to modify their order and / or their number.

Provision may be made for the housing 1 produced in a one-piece structure to include a stop element 19.

Preferably, the housing 1, in particular the body 2, can be made of plastic.

In an alternative embodiment, provision may also be made for the housing 1 to be made from natural materials such as wood or bamboo.

Provision may also be made for each closure element to have a marking indicating the day to which it is associated. For example, the closing element 9a could include a marking "Monday", the closing element 9b a marking Tuesday, etc. The additional closing element 9h may also include a marking, for example a brand name or any other indication.

Claims (10)

Housing for the storage and delivery of doses of medicaments to be administered, comprising a body (2) comprising a compartment (6) for the storage of a plurality of pill organizers (7) each comprising cells (8) in which are placed doses of medication and each corresponding to a time interval, in particular a day, for taking medication, each pill box (7) corresponding to a time for taking medication in said time intervals, and means for closing (9) the compartment (6), characterized in that the closure means (9) comprise a set of closure elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g) movable independently of one another, at least a part of the closing elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g) being movable between closed and open positions of a zone of the compartment (6) corresponding to a medication taking interval, and the body (2) comprising two branches (3, 4) joined ies by their top (5) and whose free ends constitute feet for the housing (1). Housing according to claim 1, wherein the closure elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g) are slidably mounted on the body (2). Box according to one of claims 1 and 2, comprising seven closing elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g) each corresponding to a day of taking medication. Housing according to claim 3, comprising an additional closing element (9h) for the complete closing of the compartment (6). Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the body (2) comprises a first branch (3) having a front face (11) provided with an access opening to said compartment (6), the other branch ( 4) comprising a rear face (12) opposite the front face (11) of the first branch (3) and comprising an access opening to a housing (13). Housing according to any one of claims 2 to 5, in which the closure elements (9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, 9e, 9f, 9g, 9h) are movable in slides (10a, 10b) extending between the free ends of the two branches (3, 4). Housing according to claims 5 and 6, wherein the slides (10a, 10b) extend between the access opening to the compartment (6) and the access opening to said housing (13). Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the body (2) forms a one-piece structure. Housing according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the body (2) is formed by a plurality of assembled parts (14, 15, 16, 17, 18). Housing according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the body (2) comprises a removable stop element (19) forming a stop for the closure elements and configured to hold the closure elements on the body (2).

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