US3382969A - Dosage dispenser - Google Patents

Description

y 4, 1968 H.1 CERNIAK 3,382,969

DOSAGE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 19, 1966 2 SheetsSheet 1' Fig. 2

I i PRESS K & lid 2 HERE I I LIFTI UP o 509%! V /2 I N VEN TOR.

HENRY L. CER/V/AK BY PEA/OLE T 01V, NEU/lM/V SE/BOLD 8 W/LL/AMS ATTORNEYS y 1968 H. CERNIAK 3,382,969

DOSAGE DISPENSER Filed Dec. 19, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

HENRY 1.. CERAl/AK BY PE/VDLETO/K NEUMA/y,

SE/BOLD a W/LL/AMS A TTOR/VEYS United States Patent 3,382,969 DOSAGE DISPENSER Henry L. Cerniak, 2101 Manchester Avc., Westchcster, Ill. 62663 Filed Dec. 19, 1966, Ser. No. 602,765 3 Claims. (Cl. 20642) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dosage dispenser for use primarily in dispensing medicines, having one compartment for each predetermined dosage, such as one days dosage, and a frangible cover enabling removal of the cover portions of exhausted compartments. The dispenser includes a flat surface for attaching instructions and has a size and shape for convenient carrying.

Chemicals, including pills and capsules taken for medical reasons, are frequently used on a regular predetermined schedule. For example, most people have, at one time or another, used medicine in pill or capsule form in the course of fighting disease and, or, maintaining a state of good health. Usually predetermined quantities of such medication are taken at specified time intervals as before or after the normal three daily meals.

The usual method for dispensing pills and other chemicals often renders proper administration dependent solely on the memory of the user. In the case of medical pills or capsules, for example, which are presently dispensed from a plastic cylinder or paperboard box, the patient must remember the previous days and times of day when the medicine was taken in order to continue proper administration. The memory of a sick person may be exceedingly imperfect resulting in overdoses or insufiicient administration, either of which could be seriously detrimental to health. Also, the directions for administration are oftentimes placed inside a cylindrical container where they cannot be properly read, while providing a source of contamination for the medicine to be taken internally.

It is an object of this invention to eliminate the commonly-encountered objectionable features of the prior art dispensers by providing a compartmented container in Which usage thereof simultaneously indicates the specific amount previously used.

It is another object of this invention to provide a compartmented container in which the directions for medicine application are clearly disposed on the container exterior out of contact with the tablets or capsules to be taken internally.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a compartmented container which renders impossible the omission of a specific medicine application by virtue of a frangible cover therefor as will hereinafter be explained in greater detail.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a compartmented dispenser where the contents of one compartment may be dropped or lost and yet the planned use may be continued simply by knowing the time of day of the mishap.

The above and other objects of this invention will become more apparent upon proceeding with the following discussion when read in the light of the drawing and the appended claims.

In one embodiment of this invention, a plastic dispenser formed of polyethylene or other suitable plastic is provided comprising a flat compartmented container. The container is of such size as to be conveniently carried in a pocket or womans handbag. A plurality of container compartments are in alignment along the axis of the container whereby daily dosages of pills or the like for a 3,382,969 Patented May 14, 1968 specific period of time, as a week, may be taken. To insure the taking of the daily dosage each compartment has a novel frangible cover, designed to be readily broken into fragments each of which is of such size to cover each individual compartment. In one embodiment, the original integral cover is broken into a series of fragments each of which is adapted to be pivotally moved relative to the open top of a compartment as will hereinafter be explained in greater detail. In another embodiment of the provided dispenser the cover is slidably movable over the container compartments having opposed mating flange portions.

For a more complete understanding of this invention reference will now be made to the drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the dispenser made in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged perspective view of two of the compartments employed in the dispenser of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary diagrammatical sectional view of one of the compartments of the dispenser of FIG. 1 illustrating the manner in which the cover is hinged to the main container portion;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating a modified type of binge construction;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the manner whereby the cover of the dispenser of FIG. 1 may be broken into discrete cover sections;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified dispenser construction which is substantially rectangular in configuration;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating on an enlarged scale a cover member which may be employed as a component part of a dispenser of FIG. 6, and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary diagrammatical sectional view of the dispenser and cover of FIGS. 6 and 7.

Referring now more particularly to FIG. 1, a dispenser 10 is illustrated comprising seven substantially semicircular compartments 12. Each of the seven compartments 12 contains one days medication so the medication of the entire container is dispensed in one week. The semicircular shape of each compartment 12 has been found to be particularly desirable, inasmuch as it provides a minimum of corner areas wherein a compressed pill or the like may be fragmented as a result of normal jostling as when the person utilizing the dispenser carries the same in a pocket or purse. The dispenser It] has a main fiat surface 14 opposiely disposed to the semicircular portions of the compartments 12. The flat surface 14 is desirable inasmuch as it provides a large area on which directions such as directions 16 may be adhesively or otherwise secured. Directions 16 may be read without any difficulty whatsoever because of their disposition on the fiat surface 14, and, inasmuch as they are disposed on the exterior of the dispenser 10, they remain out of contact with the pills, capsules or other medicine contained within the dispenser preventing any contamination thereof.

In accordance with this invention an initially integral cover member 18 is provided having a notched longitudinal area or areas of. reduced thickness, such as notch 20 more clearly seen in FIG. 2, disposed between segments of the cover which are adapted to seal the contents of each semispherical compartment 12 from the surrounding atmosphere.

In accordance with this invention, the initially integral cover 18 may be readily broken by hand into discrete cover sections 18a along notched areas 20 disposed between the cover segments. With each days use of the provided medicine in pill or capsule form, a discrete cover section 18a is broken free along notched line 20 whereby the cover section may be removed from the container after the days supply of medicine has been consumed. The removability of the cover sections 18a, therefore, provides a means whereby accurate check may be kept of the medicines taken in the course of a week. With the emptying of each compartment 12, the cover 18a may be removed therefrom forcing the user to proceed to the next aligned semicircular compartment 12. It is obvious that a user of the dispenser will proceed to use the compartments 12 in consecutive order beginning at one distal end of the dispenser.

FIG. 3 illustrates one means whereby individual cover sections 18a may be removed from the semicircular compartment 12 after the contents of such compartment have been exhausted as by a days use. After the days supply of pills or the like has been consumed, illustrated cover section 18a is pivoted upwardly to an angle permitting disengagement between the discrete cover section and curved hinge portion 12a formed integrally with compartment 12. The roll pin portion 22 of the discrete cover portion 18a is received within pinch portion 12a and, in the normal course of dispenser use, is not pivoted to the extreme extent required to effect disengagement. The roll pin portion 22 traverses only a portion of the width of each compartment 12 as is clearly seen in FIG. 1. It will also be noted in FIG. 3 that the peripheral portion of each cover section 18a covering open end 12a of each compartment 12 is slightly compressed in the course of effecting a sealing engagement therewith. This is, of course, possible because of the material of fabrication of the cover section 18a which is of a resilient plastic retaining enough give to effect the desired seal.

An alternative hinged construction for use with the dispenser 10 of FIG. 1 comprises a construction whereby a hinge such an hinge 24 of FIG. 4 is integrally formed with the compartment body such as illustrated compartment 26. The means of integral attachment comprises an arcuate strip which may be of reduced thickness such as strip 28 of FIG. 4. Upon completing the medicine of each compartment 26 the cover section 24 associated therewith is readily torn free from the compartment by means along the hinge-like strip 28.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view illustrating the manner whereby a cover section 18a may be torn free along the notched area 20 from an adjacent cover section. The user lifts the cover being torn free while pressing down on the adjacent cover thereby tearing the section joining the two along the notch 20.

FIG. 6 illustrates a second embodiment of the dispenser of this invention which possesses opposed main fiat surfaces 28. On one of the main flat surfaces directions and other pertinent information, such as directions 16 relating to the contained medicine, may be adhesively secured in a manner similar to the directions 16 on the surface 14 of the dispenser 1i). Dispenser 11, by virtue of its rectangular configuration, utilizes a slidable cover such as cover 30 illustrated on an enlarged scale in FIG. 7.

The dispenser 11 possesses longitudinal flange portions 38 for mating with slotted portions 4% of covers 30. In addition, the dispenser 11 possesses protuberances 42, one for each compartment, alternately arranged on opposite sides of the dispenser 11 which are adapted to properly position the cover 30 relative to the underlying dispenser compartments 32 during the normal course of use. Notches or recesses 44 formed in the cover 30 are adapted to receive the protuberances 42 therein whereby the cover 30 may be desirably located relative to the underlying compartments 32.

In the normal course of use, therefore, an end com partment 32 of the dispenser 11 has the medicine therein exhausted as by a days consumption of the same. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the cover 39 is then longitudinally moved one compartment width so as to leave the exhausted compartment uncovered. The distal end portion 35 of the cover 36, which protrudes from or extends be yond the body of the dispenser 11, is then broken free from the remaining integral portion of the cover 30 along notch 34. Thus, after a single days use of the dispenser 11, a first compartment 32 will remain uncovered and a cover portion 30 adapted to cover siX compartments from which the medicine is yet to be taken remains attached to the dispenser. At the end of the second days use a second cover segment is broken free so that only five compartments of the dispenser remain covered, etc. The dispenser 11 of FIG. 6 is particularly adapted for use with medicines in capsule form or the like wherein the corners of the rectangular part 32 Will not effect the strength of the capsule.

It is seen therefore that a novel dispenser construction has been provided utilizing a cover portion which may be readily broken. and periodically discarded so that the cover portion remaining covers only those compartments of a dispenser which still retain the desired medicine. It is, of course, possible in those instances to provide a sliding cover portion for a dispenser having totally round compartments by forming the distal end of such compartments in rectangular configuration. The cover portion, therefore, will be slidable as cover 30 illustrated in FIG. 7.

lthough the dispenser compartments will have their main body portion desirably of rounded configuration to minimize breakage of the contents thereof, it is not believed necessary to illustrate such an embodiment since it would merely comprise utilizing the cover 38 of FIG. 7 with a dispenser construction employing cylindrical compartments having opposed parallel upper edges on which the cover may slide. Such a construction, of course, necessitates the presence of a transitional dispenser portion between the uppcr main rounded portion of the container compartments and the parallel edges thereof which will engage the slidable cover.

It is believed that the above described dispenser construction provides an accurate manner for maintaining constant check of medicines taken. It is, of course, possible to utilize the same dispenser body portion repeatedly while employing a series of frangible covers therewith. It should also be pointed out briefly that the dispenser is very useful in applications other than the dispensing of medicines. The dispenser may be used to dispense most chemicals in predetermined quantities.

Without further elaboration, the foregoing will so fully explain the character of our invention that others may, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under varying conditions of service, while retaining certain features which may properly be said to constitute the essential items of novelty involved, which items are intended to be defined and secured to me by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a dispenser construction, the combination comprising a compartmented container having at least one substantially flat, planar surface, said container compartments being in substantial axial alignment and having open ends disposed in substantially a single plane; an integral cover for all of said compartments; said cover being readily frangible into discrete cover sections each of which is adapted to cover at least one of said compartments, said cover also having a male hinge portion for each of said container compartments receivable in a slotted female hinge portion formed integrally with a container portion defining a compartment open end; said cover being readily disengageable from said container by pivoting said cover beyond a predetermined angle relative to said container compartments and moving said cover away therefrom; said hinge portions extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of said dispenser.

2. The dispenser construction of claim 1 in which said container compartments are at least circular throughout half of their cross sections.

3. The dispenser construction of claim 1 in which each discrete section of said cover is predeterminantly formed on its underside to resiliently engage the periphery of the upper distal end of each of said container compartments in sealing, air-tight engagement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Diament 206-424 XR Gilfillan et a1. 20656 XR Dunbar 22023.8 X

2/ 1962 Donofrio 22023.8 XR 4/1963 Davis 206-56 7/1966 Kotzek et a1. 206-42 X 11/1966 Hallerbach 20642 FOREIGN PATENTS 5/ 1922 France.

3/1930 France.

Motlfiy 220315 XR 10 MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner.

Images