Patent ID: 6021623
Filing Date: 2000-02-08
Classification: A61J,Y10S,Y10T

Abstract:
A pill-sorting device for use with a kit for the manufacture of a set of individual pill containers, said kit comprising:a) a container-defining sheet made of a plastic material, said container-defining sheet having a top surface comprising a given number of evenly spaced apart cavities embossed therein, each of said cavities being upwardly opened and thus defining a container, each of said containers being surrounded by a flange of a given width provided with a central dotted line punched therein, said dotted lines provided in all of said flanges making it possible to detach each of the containers from the container-defining sheet and from the adjacent containers;b) a recessed support having a top surface provided with a number of recesses at least equal to the number of cavities embossed in the container-defining sheet, said recesses being positioned, shaped and sized to receive the containers defined by said cavities embossed in the container-defining sheet; andc) a container-sealing sheet being shaped and sized to cover at least all the containers and surrounding flanges of the container-defining sheet;said pill-sorting device comprising:a first panel and a second panel stackable onto the top surface of the container-defining sheet after said container-defining sheet is fitted onto the recessed support,said first panel having a top surface comprising a set of half-bottomed recesses which are positioned, sized and shaped exactly like the containers of the container-defining sheet, each of the half-bottomed recesses of said first panel having a bottom wall that extends above one of the containers of the container defining sheet when said first panel is stacked onto the top surface of said container-defining sheet, said bottom wall being provided with a flat surface area and with at least one opening sized to allow at least one pill to fall into the container extending under said bottom wall;said second panel having a top surface comprising a set of hollow bottomed recesses each having a hollow bottom, said hollow bottomed recesses being smaller in size than the half-bottomed recesses of the first panel and being positioned so as to fit into said half-bottomed recesses when the second panel is stacked onto the top surface of the first panel, said hollow bottomed recesses being respectively positioned so as to be slide in unison within the half-bottomed recesses of the first panel between a first position where said hollow bottomed recesses extend over the flat surface areas of the half-bottomed recesses, and a second position where said hollow bottomed recesses extend over the openings made in the half-bottomed recesses;whereby, in use, one may place pills into the hollow bottomed recesses of the second panel while said second panel is in the first position, and then slide said second panel so as to cause said pills to fall down into the containers extending under the half-bottomed recesses of the first panel without seeing other pills that may already have been placed into said containers.