Abstract:
An indicator system for use on a medicine bottle to indicate the times and dates of the last dosage taken and the next dosage to be taken, including means for registering time and date when the bottle is opened and then closed.

Description:
This non-provisional application is a continuation and claims the benefit of non-provisional application Ser. No. 11/725,490 filed Mar. 19, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,554,434. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Present medical drugs have a predetermined therapeutic range in which the effects of taking the drug are beneficial. Under utilization of a drug may endanger the user with the drug&#39;s side effects without reaching levels necessary for a therapeutic action. On the other hand, over utilization may cause side effects or toxicity to a much greater extent than any possible benefit. Thus is critically important that a patient follow prescribed directions on medications, yet, frequently patients forget whether they have taken medication and either omit doses or repeat them. One of the major factors in a patient&#39;s non-compliance with the taking of medication is the problem of not remembering whether the medication was taken at the last scheduled dosage time. 
     This problem is particularly severe for elderly patients who are generally beset with multiple ailments requiring numerous drugs and directions. The fading memory and confusion that come with age further compound the problem. Oftentimes, elderly patients could well lead independent self-sufficient lives but for their inability to follow a therapeutic regimen necessary to their health and well-being. Caps of the “reminder” type will be an important adjunct in drug therapy as the number of elderly people increases and new potent drugs are utilized. 
     A considerable number of pill-timing schemes have been used to solve the problem of reminding a patient to take a dose of medicine or reminding him he has already taken that dose. The most used ones involve some scheme of compartmentalization of the necessary medication, such that the pills are placed in compartments labeled as to day, to dose number or time of day, or serially numbered. These devices are reasonably satisfactory if a responsible person is available and has the time and patience to fill the compartments properly. 
     Therefore, there is a need for a pill storage and dispensing device that will remember a pill taking regimen as well as remind a user that it is time to take medicine. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the general art of dispensing containers, and to the particular field of dispensing containers for medicine. 
     These, and other, objects are achieved by an indicator system for use on a medicine bottle to indicate the time and date of the last dosage. The system includes means for registering time and date when the bottle is opened and then closed. The system can also include an alarm. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a perspective view of a medicine bottle having thereon the indicator system embodying the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a view taken along line A-A of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is a top plan view of the bottle shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. Referring to the accompanying figures, it can be understood that the present invention is embodied in a medicine container  10  which alerts a user as to when it is time to take medicine and then maintains a record of when medicine was last taken. 
     A container  10  comprises a container body  20  that includes a first end  22  which forms a bottom end when the body  20  is in use, a second end  24  which forms a top end when the body  20  is in use, and a longitudinal axis  26  which extends between the first and second ends  22 ,  24 . A sidewall  30  connects the first end  22  to the second end  24 . The sidewall  30  has an inner surface  32  and an outer surface  34 . A screw thread  36  is located on the inner surface  32  near the second end  24  of the body  20 . 
     A container cap  50  mounts onto the second end  24  of the body  20  when in use, and it includes a first surface  52  which is a top surface when the cap  50  is in use. The first surface  52  has an inner surface  56  and an outer surface  58 . A cap sidewall  60  extends from the first surface  52  of the cap  50  and has an inner surface  62 , an outer surface  64  and an end  66  which is spaced apart from top surface  52  of the cap  50 . A mid-wall  70  is mounted on the inner surface  56  and is spaced apart from the top surface  52  of the cap  50 . A chamber  74  is defined by the inner surface  56  of the top wall of the cap  50  and mid-wall  70  and inner surface  62  of the sidewall of the cap  50 . 
     A skirt  80  has a rim  82 , an outer surface  84  and an inner surface  86 . The skirt and the rim of the skirt are located adjacent to inner surface  32  of the sidewall of the body when the cap  50  is in place on the body as can be understood from  FIG. 2 . A hinge  88  connects the skirt to the sidewall of the cap  50 . A screw thread  90  is defined on outer surface  84  of the skirt of the cap  50  and extends from rim  82  of the skirt to adjacent to mid wall  70  of the cap  50  and threadably engages the screw thread on the container body when the cap  50  is in use to securely mount the cap  50  on the body. An opening tab  94  is mounted on the outer surface of the sidewall. The opening tab is located to be co-planar with the mid wall of the cap  50 . A first translucent window  100  is located in the top surface of the cap  50  adjacent to the chamber defined in the cap  50  and a second translucent window  102  located in the sidewall of the body. 
     A first proximity sensor element  110  is positioned in the sidewall of the cap  50  and a second proximity sensor element  112  is located in the sidewall of the body. The first and second proximity sensors are located closely adjacent to each other when the cap  50  is in place on the body and are separated from each other when the cap  50  is removed from the body. An alarm time and date display  120  is located to be visible in the first translucent window and displays preset time and preset date when a user is to take medicine. Control buttons  122  are located on the top surface of the cap  50  and are used to set the alarm display. 
     A record time and date display  130  is located in the second translucent window and is associated with the first and second proximity sensor elements to display the time and date the cap  50  was last removed from the body as an indication of when medicine was last taken. A circuit control unit  140  is located in the chamber in the cap  50  and includes an alarm circuit  142  which connects the alarm display with the alarm time and date display. A record circuit  144  connects the first and second proximity sensor elements with the record time and date display. A third circuit  146  connects the control buttons to the alarm circuit  142 . 
     Whenever the cap  50  is removed from the body and then replaced, the record time and date circuits are activated and the record time and date displays are changed appropriately, whereby a user will know when the medicine was last taken. The alarm circuit  142  will alert the user when it is time to take medicine. The time and date circuits of both the alarm system and the record system can be reset and reactivated as needed. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of the present invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is not to be limited to the specific forms or arrangements of parts described and shown.