Patient dosage regimen compliance bottle cap

• US 5,011,032 A
• Filed: 02/28/1990
• Issued: 04/30/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Bruce L. Rollman
• Original Assignee: Bruce L. Rollman
• Inventors: Rollman, Bruce L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Marcus, Stephen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Schwarz, Paul A.
• Application Number:
  US07/486,298
• Time in Patent Office: 426 Days
• Field of Search: 215/230, 215/224, 220/339, 206/534, 206/540, 221/4, 221/5, 116/308, 116/321, 116/323, 116/324, 116/205, 116/DIG. 17, 40/311
• US Class Current: 215/230
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 2205/20 Colour codes
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/04 Arrangements for time indication or reminder for taking medicine, e.g. programmed dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2583/0413 Tactile indication, e.g. Braille
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2583/0422 of variable doses of the same articles

Abstract

A solid dosage unit dispenser closure cap suitable for use by sight-impaired persons and/or persons with physical incapability to unscrew caps of prescription bottles or containers having a lid integrally attached an annular skirt by a living hinge, wherein the lid has a tab to enable the patient to open the cap easily without twisting. In addition the container for the medicine has a ring attached thereto and to the inner surface of the skirt at the inside near the opening thereof. The ring has an opening sufficiently large to allow only one or perhaps two dosage units to be spilled out by the patient at one time, in addition the ring has a slide attached thereto which can be moved by the patient circumferentially on the ring to stop at indicia on the top of the ring which reminds the patient which dose was last taken or which dose is yet to be taken. A window on the top leg of the slide permits viewing or feeling the indicia. The cap can also have dosage regimen indicia on the top outer surface of its lid and/or on and annular skirt displaying the number of medication units to take at each administration, e.g., braille, removable tabs, numbers and the like, and being adapted to be attached to the medicine container. Finally, the cap can be color coded to identify the dosage frequency.

Claims

1. A closure cap adapted for attachment to the neck of a standard prescription medicine container to aid patient compliance of a dosage regimen of solid dosage units of medicine such as pills, capsules and tablets comprising a lid with a skirt integrally connected thereto by a living hinge wherein:

(a) said skirt is adapted to attach to a prescription medicine container open neck, said skirt having a ring attached on the inside surface thereof, said ring having a center hole of a diameter which permits one dosage unit to pass therethrough at a time and being attached on said skirt so that when said skirt is attached to said container neck, the ring opening is concentric with said open neck of said container, said ring having indicia on the top surface thereof which displays the number of times medicine is taken or is to be taken in a time frame, said ring also having on the top and bottom surfaces thereof a circumferential groove intermediate the center hole and the inside edge of the neck of the container and having movably attached thereto a U-shaped slide with a non-rigid upper leg and a lower leg wherein the upper leg has means to fit in the upper groove and the lower leg has means to fit in the lower groove, said upper leg having an opening therein enabling the user to see or feel the indicia on the top surface of said ring providing the number of the last dosage taken or remaining dosage to be taken in the reference time frame and said skirt having on its outer surface indicia displaying the number of medication units to be taken during each time period the medicine must be taken;

(b) said lid of said cap having a tab on the outside periphery thereof for the patient to pull said lid upward to the open position unsealing the opening of said container, the top surface of said lid having indicia thereon displaying the dosage regimen per unit time and the outer surface of said annular skirt having indicia displaying the number of medication units to take during each time period the medicine must be taken.

2. The cap of claim 1 wherein the indicia on the top surface of said ring comprises lowered notches.

3. The cap of claim 1 wherein the indicia on the annular skirt comprises braille.

4. The cap of claim 1 wherein the indicia on the annular skirt comprises a number.

5. The cap of claim 1 wherein the indicia on the annular skirt comprises removable tabs.

6. The cap of claim 1 wherein the indicia on top of the lid is raised dots, braille, raised numerals, raised letters or any combination thereof.

7. The cap of claim 6 which is color-coded to correspond to the meaning of the indicia on the top surface of the lid and the top surface of said ring.