Drip chamber dropper bottle

A chamber dropper bottle is disclosed that is sized to contain medicine. The dropper bottle includes a central recess in a bottom wall of the bottle. The recess is sized to accommodate a single dose of medicine. A central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber extends into the recess, while an annular medicine chamber is positioned about the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber. The central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber includes one or more apertures sized to allow fluid to flow between the annular medicine chamber, the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber and the recess.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a dropper bottle for dispensing doses of liquid medicine.

2. Related Art

Dropper bottles are known in the art for dispensing medicine. Dropper bottles generally include a bottle for holding a substance such as a liquid medicine, and a dropper apparatus that is used in connection with the bottle. The dropper apparatus typically includes a squeezable bulb attached to a cap that threadably engages with the bottle, and a tapered cylinder that extends into the bottle. In operation, the squeezable bulb is squeezed to force air out of the tapered cylinder. The squeezable bulb is then released, sucking liquid medicine into the tapered cylinder. The dropper apparatus is then withdrawn from the bottle, placed at a location where liquid medicine is to be discharged, and the squeezable bulb is again squeezed, this time forcing the liquid medicine from the tapered cylinder.

The tapered cylinder has an aperture at the distal end, which is placed proximate to the bottom of the dropper bottle when the cap is fully engaged with the bottle. However, there is typically a gap between the distal end of the tapered cylinder and the bottom of the dropper bottle. This results in the inability to withdraw the last amount of medicine from the dropper bottle, i.e., the medicine remaining in the bottle but below the distal end of the dropper apparatus. This leads to the waste of the last dosage or dosages of medicine. Another problem associated with dropper bottles of the prior art is the inability to effectively judge whether a full dose, or a portion of a dose remains in the bottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a chamber dropper bottle comprising a bottle portion including a central recess in a bottom wall of the bottle, a central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber extending from an upper end of the bottle to the central recess, and an annular medicine chamber about the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber. One or more apertures at a lower edge of the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber provide fluid communication between the annular medicine chamber, the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber and the central recess.

In one embodiment, the dropper bottle comprises the bottom wall with a recess that is sized to correspond to a dose of medicine. The recess is substantially centrally disposed in the bottom wall. A dropper having a dropper cylinder with an apertured lower edge extends into the recess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a drip chamber dropper bottle10including a bottle portion having a central recess24in a bottom wall22of the bottle10, and a central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30extending from an upper end of the bottle10to the central recess24.

Referring toFIG. 1, the drip chamber dropper bottle10of the present invention is shown cross-section. The bottle10can be sized and shaped in any desired configuration, and can be made of any desired material. As shown inFIG. 1, the bottle10includes an outer wall12defining the shape and size of the bottle10. At an upper area of the bottle10, the outer wall12is necked to throat area14which bears external threads16for engaging a dropper40as will be hereinafter discussed.

The lower portion of the bottle10comprises a base20which joins with the outer wall12along the circumference of the base20. The base20has an exterior surface and an interior surface defined by the inner wall22, and a thickness between the inner and outer surfaces. The recess24is formed in the base20and extends from the inner wall22into the thickness of the base20. The recess24is defined by a cylindrical recess wall26terminating in a recess bottom wall28.

Also provided within bottle10is a central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30extending from the throat area14where it is engaged by an upper shoulder32, down to the recess24. The upper shoulder32has a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the lower end of the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30so as to provide the central tapered dropper chamber30with its tapered configuration. An annular medicine chamber52extends about the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30. The bottom wall22defines the bottom of the annular medicine chamber52. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the recess24is formed at a level below the annular medicine chamber52. One or more apertures34are provided in the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30to provide fluid communication between the dropper chamber30and the annular medicine chamber52.

As can be seen inFIG. 2, the dropper40is inserted into and engaged with the dropper bottle10. A dropper cap42is circumferentially disposed about the throat area14of the bottle10and includes internal threads44that engage threads16on the dropper bottle10. The dropper40includes a squeezable bulb46and a dropper cylinder48having an apertured lower edge49. The dropper cylinder48is tapered and has a shape that approximates the shape of the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30. The dropper cylinder48fits within the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30, and extends into the recess24. To deliver a dose of medicine50, the dropper40is inserted into the bottle10, the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30guiding and positioning the dropper cylinder48to position the apertured lower edge49into the recess24. Then, the squeezable bulb46is squeezed to expel air in the dropper cylinder48and released to suck medicine50into the dropper cylinder48. Then, the dropper40can be removed from the bottle10and medicine50can be delivered to a desired location by positioning the dropper40at the desired location and squeezing the squeezable bulb46to expel the medicine50. Thereafter, the dropper40can be repositioned within, and if desired, engaged with the bottle10.

The recess24can be sized and shaped to contain a single dose of medicine50. As the medicine50is removed from the recess24by the dropper40, the remaining medicine50just fills up the recess24. Accordingly, one can ascertain by visual inspection whether a sufficient amount of medicine50remains to constitute a full dose. As can be seen inFIG. 2, where the medicine50falls below the upper edge of the recess24, i.e. where the medicine50falls below the internal bottom wall22, one can visually ascertain that a full dose of medicine50does not remain. In addition to providing a visual indication of whether a full dose of medicine50remains in the bottle10, the recess24provides for the collection of the medicine50and facilitates collection of the medicine50for withdrawal by the dropper40. In this manner, the recess24facilitates the withdrawal of all of the medicine50from the bottle10by the dropper40, including the last few drops of the medicine50, thereby avoiding any waste.

Having thus described the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the foregoing description is merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art may make many variations and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the medicine50can be a liquid, a gel, etc. Any mechanism can be used to provide fluid communication between the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30and the annular medicine chamber52. It should be understood that the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30is an optional feature. Any mechanism, other than the central tapered cylindrical dropper chamber30, can be used for guiding the dropper cylinder48of the dropper40to position the apertured lower edge49into the recess24. What is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.