Pill centering and cutting apparatus

A pill cutting apparatus comprising:

• a pill cutter housing having a pill support trough formed therein by a trough wall having a blade clearing slot formed therethrough;
• first and second blade support members slidably supported on the housing in opposed linear relation, each blade support member having a respective pill cutter blade secured to an inner end and having a respective outer end extending externally from the housing;
• the blade support members being resiliently urged away from respective converged, pill cutting positions and being retained by the housing in released positions thereof;
• a pill positioning mechanism supported within the housing, the pill positioning mechanism being engaged with the blade support members and having a pair of opposed pill positioning members extending into the pill support trough whereby movement of the blade support members toward the converged positions causes coordinated converging movement of the pill positioning members toward the blade clearing slot to thereby position a pill for engagement by the blades in the converged position thereof;
• and
• the blade support members being positioned to extend the respective blades through the blade clearing slot to the converged positions thereof to thereby cut a pill positioned in the pill support trough.

A pill cutting device comprising:

• a housing having a pill receiving area;
• a first blade support member supporting a first inwardly directed blade and a second blade support member supporting a second inwardly directed blade, the first blade support member being slidably supported in an opposed linear relation in the housing relative to the second blade support member and a user actuation system enabling the first blade support member being compelled toward the second blade support member;
• the first and second blade support members being urged away from the pill receiving area and resisting an actuation force applied by a user by one or more counter-biasing members;
• a pill positioning mechanism supported within the housing;
• the pill positioning mechanism being engaged with the blade support members and having a first opposed pill positioning member and a second pill positioning member;
• the first and second pill positioning members extending into the pill receiving area whereby inward movement of the first and second blade support members causes resilient converging movement of the pill positioning members toward the pill receiving area to position a pill for a cut by the first and second inwardly directed blades.