Pharmacy bottle, system, and method

• US 9,085,396 B2
• Filed: 10/27/2014
• Issued: 07/21/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CVS Pharmacy Incorporated (CVS Health Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Target Brands Inc. (Target Corporation)
• Inventors: McCoy, Ryan P., Abel, Stacy, Hoppus, Adam D., Sawyer, Duane, Beecroft, Gordon, Vassallo, John, Makhlouf, Michael, Franks, Matthew P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gerrity, Stephen F
• Assistant Examiner(s): JALLOW, EYAMINDAE CHOSSAN
• Application Number:
  US14/524,910
• Publication Number:
  US 20150041425A1
• Time in Patent Office: 267 Days
• Field of Search: 215/216, 215/220, 215/40, 206/540, 206/807, 403/10, 403/11, 220/319, 220/648, 220/649
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/03 for pills or tablets containers for pills or tablets with special dispensing means therefor B65D83/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/05 for collecting, storing or administering blood, plasma or medical fluids multiple bags systems for separating or storing blood components A61M1/0209; Infusion or perfusion containers
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 1/18 Arrangements for indicating condition of container contents, e.g. sterile condition
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 7/2835 applying and rotating preformed threaded caps for bottles or jars B67B3/20
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 1/02 Bottles or similar containers with necks or like restricted apertures, designed for pouring contents thermally-insulated containers B65D81/38, A47J41/00; feeding-bottles A61J9/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/205 Means for the attachment of labels, cards, coupons or the like; cards or coupons for the other types of rigid or semi-rigid containers B65D25/36 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/56 with means for indicating level of contents
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2501/0081 Bottles of non-circular cross-section
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 50/04 requiring the combination of simultaneous actions, e.g. depressing and turning, lifting and turning, maintaining a part and turning another one B65D55/02 takes precedence; caps or covers secured by rotation with bayonet cams B65D41/06, B65D41/36
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 50/048 and such deformation causes the engagement of means, e.g. threads, to allow removal of the closure by simultaneous rotation
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 206/807 Tamper proof

Abstract

A container includes a bottle, a closure, and a ring. The bottle includes a body, a neck extending away from the body and defining an opening, and a pair of opposed ledges. Threads extend around the neck. The ledges extend radially outwardly from the neck spaced from the body and the threads. Each ledge defines a surface facing away from the body and includes an extension extending from the surface. The closure is secured over around the neck. The closure is positioned on an opposite side of the surface of each ledge as compared to the body and includes internal ramps interfacing with the extensions to maintain the closure in place. The ring is positioned between the body and the ledges. The ring is entirely maintained below the surfaces of the ledges, and each ledge interacts with the ring to maintain the ring in place relative to the bottle.

Claims

1. A container comprising:

a bottle including;

a body defining a storage chamber therein,

a neck extending away from the body and defining an opening opposite and providing access to the body, wherein the neck includes threads extending around an outside surface of the neck, and

a pair of opposed ledges each extending radially outwardly from the neck and being spaced from each of and positioned between the body and the threads, wherein each of the pair of opposed ledges defines a surface facing away from the body toward the opening and includes a ramped extension extending from the surface further away from the body;

a closure secured over the opening and around the neck, wherein the closure is positioned on an opposite side of the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges as compared to the body, and the closure includes internal ramps each interfacing with one of the ramped extensions to selectively maintain the closure in place over the opening; and

a ring formed separately from the bottle and positioned between the body and the pair of opposed ledges, wherein the ring is entirely maintained below the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges, and each of the pair of opposed ledges interacts with the ring to maintain the ring in place relative to the bottle.

2. The container of claim 1, wherein the closure defines a bottommost edge positioned entirely on the opposite side of the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges as compared to the body.

3. The container of claim 1, wherein:

each ramped extension defines a ramped surface spaced from, facing, and tapered away from the neck, and

the internal ramps of the closure each travel along a different one of the ramped surfaces as the closure is secured to the bottle.

4. The container of claim 1, wherein:

the closure includes an inner skirt for threadably interfacing with the neck, an outer skirt spaced from the inner skirt, and grip sections on each of opposing sides of the outer skirt,

the grip sections are configured to flex under external forces as compared to a remainder of the outer skirt moving the internal ramps to a position allowing removal of the closure from around the neck.

5. The container of claim 1, wherein:

the bottle includes a rim circumferentially extending around and radially protruding from the neck, and

the pair of opposed ledges extends from the rim.

6. The container of claim 5, wherein:

the bottle includes a stop extending from the rim toward the opening, and

the stop is configured to interact with a closure received by the bottle and is positioned substantially mid-way between each of the pair of opposed ledges.

7. The container of claim 6, wherein the stop abuts the neck.

8. The container of claim 1, wherein each ramped extension is positioned on a leading half the corresponding one of the pair of opposed ledges and linearly angles inwardly toward the neck as the ramped extension extends toward a trailing edge of the corresponding one of the pair of opposed ledges.

9. The container of claim 1, wherein:

each of the pair of opposed ledges defines a free leading edge and a free trailing edge opposite the free leading edge, and

each of the pair of opposed ledges tapers in thickness as it extends outwardly to each of the corresponding free leading edge and free trailing edge.

10. The container of claim 1, in combination with medicine maintained in the storage chamber.

11. The container of claim 1, wherein the ring includes an interior wall positioned adjacent the neck of the bottle and an exterior wall radially spaced from the interior wall such that a void is defined between the interior wall and the exterior wall of the ring.

12. The container of claim 1, in combination with a plurality of bottles of different storage volumes including the bottle, all of the plurality of bottles having a substantially identically sized neck and a substantially identically sized pair of opposed ledges, wherein the ring is one of a plurality of identically sized rings each configured to be secured to any one of the plurality of bottles.

13. The container of claim 1, in combination with medicine maintained in the storage chamber, wherein the ring has at least one of a color and an ornamentation previously assigned to a patient who was prescribed the medicine.

14. A container comprising:

a bottle including;

a body defining a storage chamber therein,

a neck extending away from the body and defining an opening opposite and providing access to the body, wherein the neck includes threads extending around an outside surface of the neck, and

a pair of opposed ledges each extending radially outwardly from the neck and being spaced from each of and positioned between the body and the threads, wherein each of the pair of opposed ledges defines a surface facing away from the body and includes a ramped extension extending from the surface further away from the body;

a closure secured over the opening and around the neck, wherein the closure is positioned on an opposite side of the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges as compared to the body, and the closure includes internal ramps each interfacing with one of the ramped extensions to selectively maintain the closure in place over the opening; and

a ring formed separately from the bottle and positioned between the body and the pair of opposed ledges, wherein the ring is entirely maintained below the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges, and each of the pair of opposed ledges interacts with the ring to maintain the ring in place relative to the bottle;

wherein;

each of the pair of opposed ledges extends radially outwardly from the neck to a outermost surface, and

the distance between the outermost surface of one of the pair of opposed ledges and the outermost surface of the other one of the pair of opposed ledges is equal to at least about 130% of an outer diameter of the neck.

15. A container comprising:

a bottle including;

a body defining a storage chamber therein,

a neck extending away from the body and defining an opening opposite and providing access to the body, wherein the neck includes threads extending around an outside surface of the neck, and

a pair of opposed ledges each extending radially outwardly from the neck and being spaced from each of and positioned between the body and the threads, wherein each of the pair of opposed ledges defines a surface facing away from the body and includes a ramped extension extending from the surface further away from the body;

a closure secured over the opening and around the neck, wherein the closure is positioned on an opposite side of the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges as compared to the body, and the closure includes internal ramps each interfacing with one of the ramped extensions to selectively maintain the closure in place over the opening; and

a ring formed separately from the bottle and positioned between the body and the pair of opposed ledges, wherein the ring is entirely maintained below the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges, and each of the pair of opposed ledges interacts with the ring to maintain the ring in place relative to the bottle;

wherein;

the ring defines an interior wall, an exterior wall, and a pair of opposed indentations radially extending through the interior wall and toward the exterior wall, and

the ring is positioned around the neck of the bottle with the pair of opposed indentations selectively engaging the pair of opposed ledges such that interaction between the pair of opposed indentations and the pair of opposed ledges maintains the ring in position relative to the bottle.

16. The container of claim 15, wherein:

the bottle includes a substantially planar shoulder surface adjacent the neck,

the ring includes a first panel and a bottom edge of the ring opposite the first panel,

the pair of opposed indentations includes a flange extending radially inwardly and vertically inset from each of the first panel and the bottom edge of the ring,

the flanges of each of the pair of opposed indentations are configured to slide over a respective one of the pair of opposed ledges only when the ring is flexed, and

the flanges of each of the pair of opposed indentations maintain the ring between the pair of opposed ledges and the substantially planar shoulder surface when the ring is not flexed.

17. The container of claim 16, wherein each of the pair of opposed indentations includes a plurality of tabs vertically extending on either side of the flange.

18. A method of preparing a prescription comprising:

providing a bottle including;

a body defining a storage chamber therein,

a neck extending away from the body and defining an opening opposite and providing access to the body, wherein the neck includes threads extending around an outside surface of the neck, and

a pair of opposed ledges each extending radially outwardly from the neck and being spaced from each of and positioned between the body and the threads, wherein each of the pair of opposed ledges defines a surface facing away from the body toward to opening, each of the pair of opposed ledges includes a ramped extension extending from the surface further away from the body;

securing a ring around the neck between the body and the pair of opposed ledges, wherein the ring is formed separately from the bottle, the ring is entirely maintained below the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges, and once the ring is secured, each of the pair of opposed ledges interacts with the ring to maintain the ring in place relative to the bottle; and

securing a closure around the neck of the bottle to cover the opening, wherein the closure is positioned on an opposite side of the surface of each of the pair of opposed ledges as compared to the body, and the closure includes internal ramps each interfacing with one of the ramped extensions to selectively maintain the closure in place over the opening.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising dispensing medicine into the storage chamber.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the closure defines a bottommost edge, and securing the closure around the neck results in the bottommost edge of the closure being positioned entirely on the opposite side of the surfaces of the pair of opposed ledges as compared to the body.