Pill dispenser
OwnerHassan Issainventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A pill dispenser to dispense a pill received from a pill container engaged therebelow. The pill dispenser comprises a cavity, said cavity having an exposed end and shaped to form a conical surface therein. The conical shape of the dispenser cavity, advantageously, allows pills to be engaged therein and dispensed therefrom, one at time, regardless of the shape and size of the pills. Optionally, the pill dispenser is disposed within a cap or closure member, mountable to common containers available at most retail outlets. Further optionally, the pill dispenser is disposed within the container itself.
Claims35
A one-at-a-time pill dispenser, comprising:
- a receptacle having an open end for receiving pills therethrough, an other end for preventing pills from passing therethrough, and a cavity defined by at least an internal surface of the receptacle extending from the open end and converging towards at least one apex proximate the other end along a path of convergence, the path of convergence selected for receiving at least a pill in a first static normally open receiving mode of operation wherein the internal surface converges toward the at least one apex, frictionally engaging a single pill from the at least a pill within the cavity in the first static normally open receiving mode of operation wherein the internal surface converges toward the at least one apex and for retaining the single pill therein in the first static normally open receiving mode of operation wherein the internal surface converges toward the at least one apex, the path of convergence also selected for allowing the release of the single pill through the open end in response to an external stimulus applied to the dispenser in a dispensing mode of operation, and the path of convergence also selected such that the cavity is capable of frictionally engaging and retaining therein one-at-a-time a plurality of pills having different maximum widths.
A pill dispenser as defined in 10, comprising a second moveable barrier for preventing communication between the first and third other regions in the receiving mode of operation, and for allowing communication between the first and third other regions in the dispensing mode of operation.
A one-at-a-time pill dispenser, comprising:
- a receptacle having an open end for receiving pills therethrough, an other end for preventing pills from passing therethrough, and a cavity defined by at least an internal surface of the receptacle extending from the open end and converging towards at least one apex proximate the other end along a path of convergence, the path of convergence selected for receiving at least a pill in a first static normally open receiving mode of operation wherein the internal surface converges toward the at least one apex, frictionally engaging a single pill from the at least a pill within the cavity in the first static normally open receiving mode of operation wherein the internal surface converges toward the at least one apex and for retaining the single pill therein in the first static normally open receiving mode of operation wherein the internal surface converges toward the at least one apex, and means for affecting the friction between the internal surface and the single pill for releasing the single pill therefrom in a dispensing mode of operations, said cavity capable of frictionally engaging and retaining therein one-at-a-time plurality of other single pills having different maximum widths.
A one-at-a-time pill dispenser for dispensing individual pills from a container containing a number of randomly arranged pills, said pill dispenser comprising:
- a receptacle for forming an approximately static boundary for pill movement, said boundary defining a conical space in which a single pill having a predetermined size is free to move, said boundary also defining a region for frictionally engaging and trapping the single pill therein, and said boundary also defining a converging region for limiting the number of frictionally engaged and trapped pills to the single pill;
- and a cover for supporting the receptacle and for engaging a peripheral region of the container containing the randomly arranged pills.
A method of dispensing pills one-at-a-time using a one-at-a-time pill dispenser, said method comprising the steps of:
- inverting the dispensers so that the pills fall into a receptacle of the dispenser, the receptacle for forming a boundary for pill movement, the boundary defining an approximately conical space in which a pill having a size within a predetermined range of pills sizes is free to move, the boundary also defining a region of frictionally engaging and trapping a single pill therein, and the boundary also defining a converging region for limiting the number of frictionally engaged and trapped pills to said single pill;
- reverting the dispenser to an upright position so that all the pills except the single pill exit the receptacle;
- exposing the single pill to an external environment;
- and,
- applying an external force to the dispenser so that the single pill is ejected therefrom into the external environment.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.