GB2229636A

GB2229636A - Automatic medicine dispensing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2229636A
Application number: GB8907071A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Chin-Fu Chang
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1989-03-29
Filing date: 1989-03-29
Publication date: 1990-10-03
Also published as: GB8907071D0

Abstract

An automatic medicine dispensing apparatus has a container (6) within which is located a collapsible bottle (5), the bottle having a neck which is located within a neck portion (63) of the container (6). Located over a base (62) of the bottle is a pressure disc (4) which abuts a compression spring (3), the spring (3) acting against a cap (2) which is releasably secured to the container (6). The cap (6) has a convex hanger (22). The cap is secured to the container by a pair of diametrically opposed lugs (23) locating within respective J-slots and the container preferably has a plurality of circumferentially disposed apertures through which infusion within the bottle may be viewed <IMAGE>

Description

AUTOMATIC MEDICINE DISPENSING APPARATUS The present invention relates to an automatic medicine dispensing apparatus.

Conventional dispensing bottles have a glass bottle for containing infusion therein, an outer plastic net for suspension of the bottle from a stand, an infusion tube for transmission of the infusion, a flow control device attached to said infusion tube to control the flow of the infusion, and a hypodermic needle for hypodermic injection. When a dispensing bottle is suspended from a stand, the infusion follows the blood circulation of a patient.

Instillation into a patient's body is performed by suspending the dispensing bottle from a high level position to provide a gravity feed such that the infusion follows the blood circulation of the patient.

During instillation, the pressure force, following the reduction of the infusion, will gradually reduce and the instillation speed will consequently slow down. Therefore, a nurse will have to frequently check the instillation speed and make proper adjustment. Because the nurse is normally responsible for taking care of numerous patients at a time, to frequently check and adjust the instillation speed of dispensing bottles is a large burden on the nurse.

Because conventional dispensing bottles are of a disposable type, the glass bottle and the plastic wrapping net are thrown away after each use. Therefore, a large amount of garbage is produced every day in every hospital. More particularly, the handling of the waste glass from dispensing bottles requires much space for collection, and the handling charge to the hospital is increased.

The present invention seeks to at least partially mitigate the foregoing difficulties.

According to this invention there is provided an automatic medicine dispensing apparatus including support means for supporting an inverted collapsible dispensing bottle, and spring bias means arranged to apply pressure to a base of said dispensing bottle whereby a substantially constant pressure is applied to said bottle to assist flow of infusion within said bottle in conformity with blood circulation of a patient.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective exploded view of an automatic medicine dispensing apparatus constructed according to the present invention; Figure 1-A is a perspective fragmentary view of a stepped type outwardly convex hanger and the top cover of the preferred embodiment of Figure 1; Figure 1-B is a schematic sectional view, illustrating the connection of the stepped type outwardly convex hanger with the top cover; Figure 2 is a sectional structural view of the Figure 1 embodiment; Figure 3 illustrates the revolving connection of the top cover with the cylinder; Figure M is a longitudinal sectional view of the Figure 1 embodiment, illustrating an operational procedure; and Figure 5 is another longitudinal sectional view of the apparatus of Figure 1, illustrating another operational procedure.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, an automatic medicine dispensing apparatus constructed according to the present invention includes a top cover 2, a compression spring 3 having a relatively weak resilient property, a pressure disc 4, a compressible, concertina-like corrugated dispensing bottle 5 mounted in a cylinder 6. The top cover 2 includes an upper surface 21 having stepped type outwardly convex hanger 22 for suspension of the present device from a dispensing bottle stand, and two diametrically spaced retainer lugs 23 at the lower circumference for respective connection with a pair of J-shaped slots 62 on the top portion 61 of the cylinder 6 (shown in Figure 3).The cylinder 6 has a conical bottom end 63 having a plurality of inspection windows 64 made therearound for checking fluid level, and a centrally disposed piercing hole 65 for insertion therethrough of the neck portion 51 of the corrugated expansible dispensing bottle 5 to firmly position the dispensing bottle 5. There is provided an inner space above the dispensing bottle 5 for setting therein the spring 3 and the pressure disc 4 to push downwardly on the dispensing bottle 5.

Referring to Figure 4, the infusion containing dispensing bottle 5 is inverted in the cylinder 6 through the top portion 61 so that the neck portion 51 protrudes beyond the piercing hole 65 of the conical bottom end 65 of the cylinder 6. After the pressure disc 4 is placed on the bottom 52 of the dispensing bottle 5 and the spring 3 is located above the pressure disc 4, the two diametrically spaced curved portions 24 of the hanger 22 are gripped by a user with both hands and the cylinder 6 is rotated so that the lugs 23 are retained in a respective J-shaped slot 62 so as to complete the assembly.

Referring to Figure 5, the infusion drips from the dispensing bottle through infusion tube H into the body of a patient. Because one end of the spring 3 is stopped by the top cover 2, the other end of the spring 3 offers a constant and moderate spring force P upon the pressure disc 4 such that the pressure disc 4 axially and stably transmits spring force P onto the compressible dispensing bottle 5 so the height of the dispensing bottle 5 is gradually reduced to force the infusion at a stable rate into the patient through the infusion tube H.

Referring to Figure 1-A, the stepped type outwardly convex hanger 22 and the top cover 2 may be separately produced. Two diametrically spaced blind bores within lugs 25 are formed on the upper surface 21 of the top cover 2 for respectively setting therein a respective end 26 of the hanger 22. In assembly, the bilateral curved portions 24 are pressed inward to shorten the distance between the ends 26 so as to let the ends 26 to be respectively inserted into the two radially disposed bores of lugs 25 (as shown in Figure 1-B), such that the top cover 2 is pivotally located on the hanger 22.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An automatic medicine dispensing apparatus including support means for supporting an inverted collapsible dispensing bottle, and spring bias means arranged to apply pressure to a base of said dispensing bottle whereby a substantially constant pressure is applied to said bottle to assist flow of infusion within said bottle in conformity with blood circulation of a patient.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein the support means includes a cylinder having a conical lower portion with an aperture therein through which a neck of said bottle may be positioned, and a cap for the cylinder located opposite said neck, said cap having means for suspending the support means.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the spring bias means comprises a pressure disc located on a base of said bottle opposite said neck, and a compression spring interposed between the pressure disc and the cap.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 3 wherein the cap is predeterminedly releasably secured to the bottle by a pair of diametrically opposed lugs on the cap being engagable with a respective J-slot in the bottle.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the suspending means comprises a pivotally mounted convex hanger having two opposed ends each of which is located in a blind bore of a respective lug, said lug being mounted on the outer surface of said cap.

6. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 wherein the cylinder has a plurality of circumferentially disposed apertures therein for viewing infusion within said bottle.

7. An automatic medicine dispensing apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.