Medicine container for indicating patient information

A medicine container providing audible dosage instructions in a voice recognizable to the user, so that a user, even with a sight or like disability, can rely on voice recognition as providing verification of the accuracy and particular appropriateness of the dosage instructions to the user of the medicine container.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates generally to storage containers and more 
particularly to medicine storage containers which provide drug dosage, 
scheduling and other instructional information concerning a particular 
medication to a patient. 
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
Presently, many different types of medications are accessible to the public 
for use in treating a variety of medical illnesses. Today many medicines 
in pill or liquid form are legally obtainable only by prescription of a 
doctor from a pharmacist following the doctor's dosage instructions. 
Usually a physician, when treating a patient, provides instruction orally 
to the patient preparatory to providing a written prescription to be 
filled by a pharmacist. The prescription typically includes information 
such as dosage, interval between dosages and other instructions in 
relation to the ingesting of the particular medicine. This, as well as 
other information, such as possible adverse side effects, precautions, 
etc. is provided by the pharmacist on a label which is attached to the 
container for the patient's use in using the particular medicine. However, 
a problem arises with such procedures when the patient or purchaser is 
visually impaired, or otherwise incapable of comprehending medication 
labels, for example, due to language barriers, reading disorders such as 
dyslexia or illiteracy, a loss of memory or psychological disorder such as 
early stage alzheimers, or like disabilities. 
The problem, moreover, in many instances is life-threatening since many 
medicines are toxic if taken in excess and thus not as specifically 
prescribed by the doctor. Even more important than imparting to such 
patients the dosage instructions in a form comprehensible to them, is the 
need to verify that the dosage instructions are accurate and are those 
intended for the user and, for example, are not intended for a similar 
appearing medicine container for another medicine of another household 
family member of the user, being mistakenly used by the user, or a 
medicine container intermingled with other similar medicine containers and 
mistakenly returned to the user from a hospital pharmacy or other 
repository where prescriptions are filled and actually belonging to 
another patient, and other such circumstances in which the medicine 
container being used is not that of the user and this mistake goes 
undetected for the lack of visual inspection or any of the above noted 
reasons. 
Some devices have been developed in order to assist the patient/user in the 
administration of a particular drug. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 
4,749,093, 4,753,189 and 5,090,338 disclose medicine bottles which display 
a sequential numbering of dosage and certain other information visible 
through the cap of the bottle. However, these prior art devices do not 
provide any such benefit to the visually impaired or to many individuals 
who are incapable of comprehending medication labels. 
Other types of devices provide an audio alarm or other signal to the 
patient/user in relation to a particular drug. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 
4,526,474 and 4,617,557 disclose medicine blister packages which 
incorporate a clock and signal emitter so as to indicate to the patient 
when a dosage of medication should be taken. In addition, in U.S. Pat. No. 
4,847,597 a medicine bottle is disclosed which elicits an audible alarm 
when the cap of the bottle is removed. However, such prior art devices do 
not provide any detailed dosage, warning and other instructional 
information, such as that which is usually provided via a medication 
label. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a medicine 
container that is patient-friendly to an extent overcoming the foregoing 
and other shortcomings of the prior art irrespective of the possible noted 
disabilities of the user. 
More particularly, it is an object to provide a medicine container with 
audible dosage instructions comprehensible even to a user with a sight or 
like disability and which, even more importantly provides verification of 
the accuracy and particular appropriateness of the dosage instructions to 
the user of the medicine container, all as will be better understood as 
the description proceeds.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
The present invention is concerned with a medicine container, generally 
designated 10, constructed and having an operating mode of use which 
significantly obviates adverse consequences of taking or orally ingesting 
the medicine other than as specifically prescribed, both as to amounts and 
time intervals, of a doctor having a doctor/patient relationship with the 
user of the medicine container 10. Thus, while some medicines are taken as 
needed in the discretion of the user, the medicine herein involved will be 
understood to be of the type that might be harmful to the health of the 
user if not taken precisely as prescribed. 
In accordance with the present invention and to the end of achieving the 
objective noted, medicine container 10 preferably is of plastic 
construction material having a body formed of a cylindrical wall 12 closed 
at its bottom, as at 14, and having an upper edge 16 bounding an opening 
18 into a storage compartment 20 for medicine denoted generally at 22, 
typically in pill or capsule form, to be orally ingested by the user 
according to prescription, i.e. in prescribed amounts at prescribed times. 
Serving as a closure for the compartment 20 is a hollow cap 24 having a 
cylindrical wall 26 sized to seat on the container edge 16 and bounds a 
compartment 28 and further has a depending peripheral projection 30 
providing a friction fit within the container opening 18. 
Before closing compartment 28 with an adhesively secured bottom disc 32 or 
by other appropriate method of affixation, there is adhesively or 
otherwise appropriately secured in position within compartment 28 a known 
sound-recording and sound-producing device 34, as exemplified by such 
device described and illustrated FIGS. 4 and 5 in U.S. Pat. No. 5,291,191 
issued to Don L. Moore on Mar. 1, 1994 for "Medicine Dispenser", which by 
this reference is incorporated herein in its entirety. Cooperating with 
the device 34 is a known button switch 36 operatively effective via an 
electrical connection 38 to cause the operation of the recording and the 
play back functions of the device 34. 
In preparation for use of the medicine container 10, either speaking 
through the cap wall 26 or through the bottom disc 32 of the removed cap 
24, either procedure being understood to be effective for recording in 
conjunction with operating the button 36, the message being spoken for 
recording the device 34, it is contemplated will be in his/her own voice 
of the user of the medicine container 10 and that the content of the 
recorded message will be prescribed dosage instructions. If needed, the 
possibly sight-impaired user at the time of the recording can use enhanced 
lighting or magnifying means while reading in the prescription dosage. 
Alternatively, the recording can be made by an individual selected on the 
basis of the recorded voice being recognizable to the user, such as a 
family member, the doctor providing the dosage instructions with whom the 
user has had oral communications sufficient for voice-recognition, or 
other such individual with a voice recognizable to the user. 
In the recording preparation of device 34 for use in accordance with the 
present invention, what is eschewed is a recording made in a synthesized 
voice, or using digitized technology, or in a voice unfamiliar to the user 
such as that of an individual who is a stranger to the user as would be an 
employee of the manufacturer of the medicine, or that of an employee of a 
pharmacy filling the prescription and returning the medicine container 10 
to the user, or other such circumstance in which there would be lacking 
voice recognition in the audible broadcast of the dosage instructions. 
Incident to use, the user will actuate the button 36 causing the medicine 
container 10 with the stored medicine 22 in place within the storage 
compartment 20 and readily available for ingesting use, to produce audible 
dosage instructions that were prerecorded as a result of the playback 
operation of the device 34, and such dosage instructions will not only be 
comprehensible to the user who will then be able to follow these dosage 
instructions, but also said played back recording being in a voice 
recognizable to the user, as distinguished, for example, from a 
synthesized voice, will serve as assurance to the user of the accuracy and 
particular appropriateness of the dosage instructions to the user of the 
medicine container 10. 
It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular 
embodiment disclosed, but that the disclosure is intended to cover all 
modifications which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as 
defined by the appended claims.