Medication dispenser

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a medication dispenser and more particularly to a medication dispenser which includes means to prevent the inadvertent removal of the covers positioned over the open topped medication compartments.

2. Background of the Invention

Applicants' father received U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,372,445; 4,735,318; 4,741,441; 5,011,018; and 5,735,406 relating to medication dispensers. Applicants have received U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,097,037 and 7,267,228 which also relate to medication dispensers. In all of the above identified patents, a container or cassette is disclosed which has a plurality of open topped medication compartments forms therein which have compartment covers selectively closing the upper ends thereof.

The individual compartment covers are normally connected together by fracturable links. The outer ends of the individual covers have a semi-circular extension or tab extending outwardly therefrom beyond the upper ends of the side walls of the container to enable a person to raise the outer end of the cover so as to fracture the link at the inner end of the cover to open the compartment to enable the medication therein to be removed.

Although the medication dispensers of the patents noted above have met with considerable success, it has been discovered that the protruding extensions or tabs may sometimes be contacted or struck which causes the inner end of one or more of the covers to be inadvertently broken or fractured thereby causing the medication to be spilled from the compartment or compartments.

The medication dispenser of the present invention includes a unitary container having several unit-dose compartments formed therein. The container includes a bottom, first and second upstanding sidewalls and first and second upstanding end walls. The compartments may be formed in the container or may be provided by way of one or more liners inserted into the container with the liners having the medication compartments formed therein. A plurality of compartment covers are adapted to overlie and enclose the medication compartments. Each of the covers has inner and outer ends with each of the covers including a separate fractional tab depending therefrom from the inner end thereof. Each of the covers has a horizontally dispose cover lifting tap or extension extending outwardly from the outer end of the cover beyond the upper end of the associated sidewall of the container. Each of the first and second sides of the container have spaced-apart protrusions or extensions extending outwardly from the exterior surface of the associated sidewall adjacent to the upper end thereof. The protrusions or extensions have outer ends which are positioned outwardly of and below the outer ends of the cover lifting tabs or extensions. The extensions which extend outwardly from the sidewalls of the container shield the cover lifting tabs from being inadvertently struck or contacted to prevent the inadvertent opening of the compartment covers.

A principal object of the invention is to provide an improved medication dispenser.

A further object of the invention is to provide a medication dispenser wherein the opposite side walls of the container of the dispenser have spaced-apart protrusions or extensions extending therefrom beyond the cover lifting tabs of the individual covers which close the upper open ends of the medication compartments.

Another object of the invention is to provide a medication dispenser which includes means thereon to prevent the inadvertent opening of the compartment covers thereof.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical medication container having the means of this invention associated therewith to prevent the inadvertent opening of the covers which overlie the medication compartments:

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of one form of the medication dispenser which includes liners for insertion into the container or cassette to provide the medication compartments:

FIG. 3 is a top view of the medication dispenser of FIG. 1 ; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the medication dispenser of FIG. 1 which illustrates the protrusions or extensions on the sidewalls of the container which extend outwardly beyond the cover lifting tabs thereof.

The numeral 10 refers generally to the medication dispenser of this invention which includes a container 12 , a pair of removable multi-compartment liners 14 and a pair of compartment cover assemblies 16 . Container 12 includes a bottom wall 18 , opposite upstanding sidewalls 20 and 22 , opposite upstanding end walls 24 and 26 and a divider wall assembly 28 . The liners 14 define a plurality of individual medication compartments 30 . However, in some cases, the liners 14 will not be utilized but the container 12 will have partitions provided therein which form the medication compartments 30 . Each of the cover assemblies 16 include a plurality of covers 32 having an inner 34 and an outer end 36 . A protrusion or extension 38 extends outwardly from the outer end 36 of the cover 32 and serves as a cover lifting tab. The covers 32 are normally joined together and include fractable tabs 40 at the inner ends thereof which are received by the elongated openings 42 formed in divider wall assembly 28 . The cover assemblies 16 overlie the liners 14 or the compartment formed in the container 12 if that be the case. Medication is placed in the compartments 30 with the divider wall 28 indicating the particular days which the medication will be used.

When it is desired to remove the medication from one of the compartments 30 , upward force on the extension 38 of the cover 32 causes the tab 40 to fracture so that access to the associated compartment 30 is achieved. The structure described heretofore is conventional and the teachings of the above-identified patents is incorporated herein by reference to complete the disclosure.

As stated in the background of the invention, since the tabs or extensions 38 extend outwardly beyond the exterior surfaces of the side walls 20 and 22 of the container 12 as illustrated in FIG. 3 , the exposed portions of those tabs 38 sometimes result in them being struck by a cabinet, door, drawer, etc. which causes several of the covers 32 to be moved upwardly with respect to the container 12 which causes a fracture of the tabs 40 so that the covers 32 separate from the dispenser 12 . It is for that reason that the instant invention to be described hereinafter is provided.

A plurality of extensions or protrusions 44 are preferably integrally formed with the container 12 and extend outwardly from the upper end of sidewall 22 in a spaced-apart relationship and extend beyond the outer ends of the tabs or extensions 38 as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 to shield the tabs or extensions 38 from being struck or bumped by some object which could possibly cause the covers 32 to be opened inadvertently. As seen in FIG. 3 , the protrusions or extensions 44 are positioned between adjacent pairs of tabs 28 so that the tabs 28 may still be grasped by a person's finger to open the cover 32 to gain access to medication within the particular compartment 30 . Similarly, protrusions 44 ′ extend outwardly from the upper end of sidewall 20 beyond the outer ends of the tabs or extensions 38 as illustrated in FIG. 3 .

The fact that the outer ends of the tabs 38 are shielded by the protrusions 44 and 44 ′ prevents the tabs or extensions 38 from being struck or bumped by some outside agency or object to ensure that the covers 32 will not be inadvertently opened and/or separated from the medication dispenser.

Therefore, it can be seen that the invention accomplishes at least all of its stated objectives.