A reservoir/dispensing container for use at a patient's bedside for administering nutrients, medicaments, etc. through enteral, I.V. or like systems wherein the container, which is semi-rigid and has nestable stacking means provided thereon, has discharge port means at one end thereof and a fill opening located in a beveled corner wall surface adjacent the end opposite from the discharge port means whereby the container can be filled either while supported in an upright use position, as at a patient's bedside, or while supported on its side with the fill opening facing generally upwardly, as for instance, at a nursing station or in a hospital pharmacy. An adaptor having a reduced-thickness intermediate section is provided for connecting a feeding tube or the like to the discharge port means of the container in a manner preventing kinking of the feeding tube or the like.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a reservoir container for dispensing 
nutrients, medicaments, etc. to a patient through an enteral, I.V. or like 
system. Many containers currently in use for such purposes are flexible 
plastic bags which are not free-standing and thus are quite difficult to 
not only initially fill but also to refill when necessary without 
interrupting flow to the patient. At least two hands are needed. Such 
flexible plastic bags, when filled, are also very difficult to stack, as 
for storage or during transport. Those bags with plastic tubing pre 
attached to the discharge port means thereof must also be provided, when 
packaged prior to use, with quite elaborate and costly means for 
preventing kinking of the tubing beyond its critical radius. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is a new and novel semi-rigid, generally rectangular 
plastic reservoir container for dispensing nutrients, medicaments, etc. at 
a patient's bedside. This container has a hanger provided on one end for 
hanging it from a hook or other support adjacent a patient's bedside and 
discharge port means at the opposite end to which a feeding tube or the 
like is to be connected. A special adaptor is provided for connecting a 
feeding tube or the like to the discharge port means in a manner which 
prevents kinking of the tubing past its critical point. The container has 
four side walls, two of which may be narrower than the other two, and a 
beveled corner wall which extends between one of the narrower side walls 
and the hanger end of the container at an angle of approximately 
45.degree. . A fill opening having a removable closure is provided in the 
beveled corner wall whereby the fill opening faces upwardly at an 
approximate angle of 45.degree. both when the container is supported in an 
upright use position or when it is supported in one of its "lying on its 
side" positions. Thus, the container may be easily filled or refilled 
either while it is supported from its hanger in an upright dispensing 
position, without interrupting flow to the patient, or when the container 
is free-standingly supported on its narrow side opposite the narrow side 
which is adjacent the beveled corner wall whereby the fill opening faces 
generally upwardly. The container may, therefore, be easily filled, using 
only one hand, while supported on a counter top or other generally level 
surface, as in a hospital pharmacy, or filled or refilled in the same 
manner, as at a nursing station. By providing interfitting raised ribbing 
and mating depressions on the opposing wider sides of the container, a 
plurality of such containers may be stabilizingly stacked or nested for 
either storage or transport. This, of course, may not be done with the 
more commonly used flexible and floppy pre filled dispensing bags. Support 
feet may be molded into the narrow supporting side of the container for 
additional stability thereof. A unique adaptor is provided to prevent 
undesirable kinking of a tubing which is to be connected to a discharge 
port means of the container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring now to the drawings, a preferred form of a reservoir/dispensing 
container 10 embodying the invention is shown in FIG. 1 in its upright 
dispensing position and in FIG. 2 in its "lying on its side" filling 
position. The container 10 , which is semi-rigid and formed of a suitable 
food grade plastic such as polyethylene, is generally rectangular in 
configuration with a pair of opposing sidewalls, front wall 12a and rear 
wall 12b, and a pair of opposing end walls, right end wall 14a and left 
end wall 14b, which are relatively narrower than the sidewalls 12a and 
12b. A bottom wall 16, as viewed when the container 10 is disposed in its 
upright dispensing position (FIGS. 1, 3, 5 and 6), is gently tapered 
downwardly from the side and end walls 12a, 12b, 14aand 14b toward a 
centered well formation 17 thereof which is provided with discharge port 
means in the form of an open spigot 18, as shown in FIG. 8. 
At the opposite end of the container 10 there is provided a relatively 
horizontally disposed top wall 20 and, between the right end of the top 
wall 20 and the upper end of the right end wall 14a, a beveled or inclined 
corner wall 22 is provided which is preferably disposed at an angle of 
approximately 45.degree. to both the top wall 20 and the right end wall 
14a. 
A fill opening 24 defined by an outwardly projecting neck portion 26 is 
provided in the beveled corner wall 22 whereby the fill opening 24 faces 
upwardly at a 45.degree. angle both when the container 10 is supported in 
its upright dispensing position, as at a patient's bedside (FIG. 1) , and 
in a "lying on its side" position on its left end wall 14b, as when 
supported on a level surface as in a hospital pharmacy or at a nursing 
station (FIG. 2) , the latter position being disposed at an angle of 
approximately 90.degree. to the upright dispensing position. The neck 
portion 26 is threaded, as at 28, for receiving a removable threaded 
closure or cap 30. 
The top wall 20 is provided with a hanger 32 for supporting the container 
from a hook, pole, or other suitable supporting means at a patient's 
bedside. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 6, the left end wall 14b 
preferably has a pair of spaced apart, supporting feet formations 34 
molded thereon to better stabilize the container 10 when supported in its 
"lying on its side" filling position. 
The container 10, when supported on its "lying on its side" position, may 
be very easily filled or refilled, using only one hand if necessary, when 
supported on a level surface, as in a hospital pharmacy or at a nursing 
station. Further, the container 10 may also be just as easily refilled 
while in its upright use position at a patient's bedside without having to 
interrupt flow to the patient. 
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two separate measurement indicia 36 and 38 may 
be provided on the see-through plastic container 10 to provide an 
indication of the volume of nutrient, medicament, etc. in the container 
10. Recesses 40a and 40b may be provided in the front and rear sidewalls 
12a and 12b to receive labels bearing patient, medicament, etc. 
information. 
Often, a flexible plastic feeding tube or the like 42 is prefitted to the 
discharge spigot 18 of the container 10 and when the container/tube 
assembly is packaged prior to use, the tube is kinked beyond its critical 
angle which may result in problems during use. To eliminate this problem, 
an adaptor 44 is provided between the discharge spigot 18 and the tube 42. 
The adaptor 44, as best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, is in the form of a 
flexible plastic sleeve 46 having a first bored end section 48 which is 
sealingly fitted over the discharge spigot 18 and a second bored end 
section 50 into which an end of the tube 42 is sealingly inserted. An 
intermediate section 52 between the two end sections 48 and 50 has a 
thinner wall thickness whereby when a lateral force is applied thereto, as 
may happen when the container/tube assembly is packaged, the adaptor's 
intermediate section 52 bends as shown in FIG. 8 without kinking the tube 
42. A known type rigid plastic collar 54 may be provided to stabilize 
mounting of the adaptor 44 on the container discharge spigot 18. As best 
illustrated in FIG. 7, when the two end sections 48 and 50 of the adaptor 
44 are of different diameters, the intermediate section 52 is conical in 
configuration. 
To provide stabilized stacking of empty or pre-filled containers 10, as for 
storage or during transport thereof, a raised ribbing pattern may be 
provided on one side wall with a mating pattern of recesses being provided 
on the opposite side wall. As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, a pair of 
raised ribs 56 are provided on the front side wall 12a above and below the 
label recess 40a and, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 4, a pair of mating 
recesses 58 are provided on the rear side wall 12b, above and below the 
label recess 40b. 
While there has been shown and described a preferred embodiment of the 
invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and 
modifications may be made without departing from the invention, and it is 
intended by the appended claims to cover all such changes and 
modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.