GB2122578A

GB2122578A - Device for dispensing pills and the like

Info

Publication number: GB2122578A
Application number: GB08312485A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Dennis Bransky
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1982-05-28
Filing date: 1983-05-06
Publication date: 1984-01-18
Also published as: GB2122578B; GB8312485D0

Abstract

A home pill dispenser comprises a housing 1 containing small boxes 2 labelled in sequence for the days of the week and each loaded with the doses of tablets or the like for that day. The boxes can be removed one at a time from the housing through an exit opening 3 and when the dosage contained in the removed box for a particular day has been taken, that box, refilled if necessary, is replaced in the housing at the other end of the stack of boxes. Each box may be compartmented to identify doses corresponding to different times of day. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for dispensing pills and the like Many people have to take pills, tablets, capsules and the like according to a specified regime over an extended period of time, and even if the dosage regime is simple, it is easy to lose track of what has been taken and what remains to be taken. This is particularly the case with elderly people, who often have to take differing numbers of tablets or capsules of different drugs at specified times, possibly with different doses on different days and in varying combinations.

The object of the present invention is to make it easy for a user to set up a dosage regime in advance and to see whether the correct doses have been taken, and what remains to be taken.

The invention is applicable not only to drugs but to vitamins and diet supplements.

According to the present invention I provide a device for controllably dispensing pills, capsules or the like over an extended period of time, comprising a plurality of small containers each capable of holding at least one pill, capsule or the like, all of similar shape and dimensions, and associated with identifying means for indicating a predetermined sequence of use, and a housing adapted to contain the said containers arranged in a series corresponding to the said sequence of use, the housing having an exit opening capable of passing only a single container at a time, the series of containers being arranged in the housing under a biasing force urging them along the housing towards the said exit opening, whereby in use the containers, previously loaded with pills, capsules or the like according to a required dosage regime corresponding to the said sequence of use, can be removed from the housing sequentially according to the said identifying means thereby providing a user with required dosage regime.

Also according to the invention I provide a method of controlling dosage of pills, capsules or the like to provide a required dosage regime, in which a plurality of individually identifiable similar containers of small size are respectively loaded with at least one capsule, pill, or the like and are disposed in a common housing in a series such that the contents of the containers in the series correspond to the required dosage regime, the loaded containers are extracted from the housing through an exit opening singly one after another according to the indentification associated with the containers thereby providing the pills, capsules or the like in a predetermined sequence corresponding to the required dosage regime, the containers moving along the housing each time a container is extracted whereby a container is always present at the exit opening, and the extracted containers are reloaded and re-inserted in the housing to maintain the required dosage regime.

Preferably, the device comprises seven small containers, one for each day of the week. Each container preferably has one or more internal dividers to define compartments corresponding to different times of day.

Using such a dispenser, the user will have at his or her disposal a set of tablets or the like for each day of the week, and will be able to establish, simply by counting the contents of the relevant container, whether or not and at what time of the day a tablet or the like is to be taken. When the container for that day is empty, it is removed from the housing through the exit opening and, depending on the requirements of the regime, can be refilled and replaced in the housing to maintain the day sequence of containers in the housing.

In a preferred arrangement, each small container is a small box, conveniently of a size to fit in a pocket or handbag and optionally provided with a lid, so that the user can carry one day's dosage with him or her. Each box is labelled or otherwise marked with the name or number of a respective day of the week, this identification being arranged to be visible at the exit opening. If internal dividers are provided to divide the boxes into compartments, means are preferably provided for labelling each compartment according to the time of day corresponding to the dose contained in that compart- ment.For example, the dividers may be made of a material which can be written on and erased, or adhesive labels for the dividers may be provided or if the box has a lid, this may be marked or labelled to indicate the time of day corresponding to each compartment in the box.

The housing may be designed for use in a vertical position with an entry opening at the top and an exit opening at the bottom, so that the small containers will move through the housing under their own weight, as empty containers are removed. Alternatively, the housing may have the exit at the top and entry at the bottom, and a spring or the like urging the stacked containers in the housing upwards, or upwards feeding may be effected simply by the reinsertion of a refilled container to lift the stack of containers already in the housing bringing the uppermost container to the exit opening. In a further possible arrangement, the housing and containers are designed to lie horizontally, with the containers moving horizontally along the housing as containers are removed and reinserted.

The accompanying drawings show, by way of example only, dispensing devices embodying the present invention In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspetive view of the housing of a first dispensing device, Figure 2 shows a single box for use in such a housing, and Figure 3 shows an alternative design of the device, schematically in section.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a home pill dispenser made up of eight basic units namely an upright rectangular housing 1 and seven pocket-sized boxes 2 which in use are stacked one on another in the housing. Each box is large enough to hold, say ten to one hundred pills or tablets or capsules. The housing has at its base a lateral opening 3 just large enough to allow the passage of a single box from the bottom of the stack, and has an opening 10 at the top. In the illustrated case the top end of the housing is open. Alternatively, the housing may have a closed top and a lateral entry opening large enough to admit a single box.

At the sides of the base exit opening 3, the walls of the housing are cut back so that parts of the sides of the lowest box are exposed and can be gripped to enable the box to be pulled partly or completely out of the housing. The housing wall above this opening may be fixed, but is preferably in the form of a sliding gate 4 so that the opening 3 can be closed, the gate being lifted only when a box is to be removed. The opening at the top of the housing, whether in a side wall or the top end of the housing, may also have a removable cover or closure.

As shown in Fig. 2, each box is marked with the name (and/or number) of a respective day of the week, on the box and wall 5 so that when the box is at the bottom of the stack in the housing, the name or number of the day of the week can be seen through the exit opening 3. The box has slots 6 to locate one or more detachable dividers 7 by means of which the box can be divided into, for example, two to four compartments, which can be marked to indicate particular times of day, for example by means of adhesive or other detachable labels 8. Alternatively, fixed dividers may be provided in the box, with means for labelling the compartments according to times of day. The box has a lid 9 which may be hinged or detachable.

In use, each box is loaded with the pills, tablets, capsules, or the like required to be taken on the day with which that box is identified. Depending on the complexity of the dosage regime for that day, the daily dosage may be sub-divided among compartments of the box according to the times of day at which individual tablets or the like are to be taken. In the case of a simple regime, for example "one tablet three times a day", compartmentation is not really necessary as the user can establish, simply by counting the number of tablets in the box for the day, whether or not and at what time the next tablet is to be taken.

Each day, the bottom box is pulled out through the exit opening 3. It may be removed completely so that it can be carried around by the user or left in a convenient place for taking the day's doses. Alternatively, the box and housing may be so designed that the bottom box can be pulled partly out through the opening 3 and can then be opened while still remaining partly inside the housing, so that doses can be taken without removing the box completely from the housing.

When the day's box has been emptied, it is replaced in the housing through the opening at the top of the latter, after having been refilled if necessary with the dosage required for the same day of the next week.

When the bottom box is removed from the housing, the six boxes remaining stacked in the housing will drop so that the next box in the sequence of days is presented at the exit opening 3, containing the dosage for the next day.

In the described dispenser, the boxes are fed through the housing day by day by gravity. Fig. 3 shows an alternative home pill dispenser through which the boxes travel upwards (or sideways). At the top (or one end) of the housing is a lateral exit opening 11 just large enough to pass a single box. Near the bottom or opposite end of the housing is a lateral entry opening 12, again just large enough to pass a single box into the housing.

Adjacent to the opening 1 2 is a pressure plate 1 3 with an oblique lead-in portion 1 5 adjacent to the opening, and loaded by a spring 14 towards the exit end of the housing. The spring ensures that the box at the opposite end of the stack is held in line with the exit opening 11, while the design of the plate 1 3 enables the box removed from the housing to be pushed back into the housing through the opening 1 2 so as to take its place at the end of the stack. The opening 1 2 is shown as being at the back of the housing but may be at the front or one side.

The housing and boxes have been shown as rectangular, but may have any convenient shape, for example square or circular. They can be made of any convenient material e.g.

metal or plastics.

Claims

1. A device for controllably dispensing pills, capsules or the like over an extended period of time, comprising a plurality of small containers each capable of holding at least one pill, capsule or the like, all of similar shape and dimensions, and associated with identifying means for indicating a predetermined sequence of use, and a housing adapted to contain the said containers arranged in a series corresponding to the said sequence of use, the housing having an exit opening capable of passing only a single container at a time, the series of containers being arranged in the housing under a biasing force urging them along the housing towards the said exit opening, whereby in use the containers, previously loaded with pills, capsules or the like according to a required dosage regime corresponding to the said sequence of use, can be remved from the housing sequentially according to the said identifying means thereby providing a user with the required dosage regime.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the housing has an entry opening for insertion of the container sequentially after use and/or after loading to maintain a predetermined sequence of loaded containers in the housing.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the exit opening is at a lower end of the housing and the bias is provided by the weight of the container in the housing.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the housing is essentially tubular with the exit opening at one end in a side of the housing, and each container is a flat box with a lid, having a profile corresponding to the internal cross section of the housing.

5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which each container is compartmented.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which identifying means are provided for individual compartments whereby an individual container can provide a predetermined sub-regime within the dosage regime provided by the series of containers.

7. A device for controllably dispensing pills, capsules or the like, substantially as herein described with reference to the drawings.

8. A method of controlling dosage of pills, capsules or the like to provide a required dosage regime, in which a plurality of individually identifiable similar containers of small size are respectively loaded with at least one capsule, pill, or the like and are disposed in a common housing in a series such that the contents of the containers in the series correspond to the required dosage regime, the loaded containers are extracted from the hous ing through an exit opening singly one after another according to the identification associ ated with the containers thereby providing the pills, capsules or the like in a predetermined sequence corresponding to the required dosage regime, the containers moving along the housing each time a container is extracted whereby a container is always present at the exit opening, and the extracted containers are re-loaded and re-inserted in the housing to maintain the required dosage regime.