Abstract:
A bottle system includes a bottle comprising first tabs disposed on exterior sidewalls thereof and a cap assembly. The cap assembly includes a securing member including second tabs for cooperating with the first tabs to selectively secure the cap assembly to the bottle and an indicator member disposed between the securing member and the bottle having a sidewall visible through the securing member.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/478,458, filed on Jun. 28, 2006, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     The present invention relates to a container, and more particularly to a bottle indicating a date or time period.  
         [0004]     2. Discussion of Related Art  
         [0005]     Containers for planning or tracking a persons&#39; use of medication or vitamins include elongated containers having separate compartments for each day of the week. These containers can be cumbersome to fill and require that different pills be allocated to different compartments correctly. These steps are a factor in non-compliance with doctor&#39;s orders or manufacture&#39;s suggested daily requirements.  
         [0006]     Therefore, a need exists for a bottle indicating a date or time period.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a bottle system includes a bottle comprising first tabs disposed on exterior sidewalls thereof and a cap assembly. The cap assembly includes a securing member including second tabs for cooperating with the first tabs to selectively secure the cap assembly to the bottle, and an indicator member disposed between the securing member and the bottle having a sidewall visible through the securing member. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0008]     Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in more detail, with reference to the accompanying drawings:  
         [0009]     FIGS.  1 A-C are top views of a bottle, cap, and ring, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0010]     FIGS.  2 A-D are side views of a bottle, cap, and ring, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0011]      FIG. 3  is a bottom view of a cap according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0012]     FIGS.  4 A-C are perspective views of a bottle, cap, and ring, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0013]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an assembled bottle, cap, and ring, respectively, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0014]     FIGS.  6 A-D illustrate opening and closing a bottle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0015]      FIG. 7  is a diagram of a cap and bottle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;  
         [0016]     FIGS.  8 A-D are diagrams of a bottle assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; and  
         [0017]     FIGS.  9 A-G. illustrate opening and closing a bottle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0018]     Referring to FIGS.  1 A-C,  2 A-C and  3 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a bottle  101  cooperates with a lid  102  and ring  103 . The lid  102  includes a listing of times and/or days for administering medication, vitamins, and the like. The ring  103  includes a notch  104 , which cooperates with an indicator  105  disposed on the bottle  101 .  
         [0019]     Referring to  FIGS. 1A, 2A , and  3 , the bottle  101  and the cap  102  comprise a locking mechanism for securing the cap to the bottle. The locking mechanism comprises cooperating tabs  106 / 107 . Referring to  FIG. 2D , the lock mechanism further comprises a diaphragm  201  disposed inside the cap for applying a force against an upper part of the bottle in a closed position. The diaphragm  201  pushes the bottle  101  away from the cap  102  and thus engages the cooperating tabs  106 / 107  when the cap  102  is appropriately arranged.  
         [0020]     The number of tabs  106 / 107  and the position of the tabs  106 / 107  are arranged such that the listing, e.g., a day-of-the-week indication, is aligned with the indicator  105  when the cap is in a locked position (see for example,  FIGS. 6A-1D ).  
         [0021]     Referring to  FIG. 3 , an exemplary embodiment of the locking mechanism includes substantially square tabs  107  disposed on one of the bottle or the cap. The locking mechanism further includes a shaped tab  106  (see  FIG. 2A ), adapted to receive and secure the square tabs  107 . An opposing force is maintained between the cap  102  and bottle  101 , for example, by a diaphragm disposed in the cap, wherein the bottle deflects the diaphragm such that the diaphragm generates the opposing force. One of ordinary skill in the art would appreciate that other locking mechanisms may be used.  
         [0022]     Optionally, a ring  103  is disposed under the cap  102 . The ring  103  rotates on to the cap  102  and engages into the indicator  105  when aligned with the notch  104  and depressed. Referring to  FIG. 2D , the ring  103  includes a rib  202  cooperating with a grove  203  (see  FIG. 2B ) in the cap  102  to secure the ring  103  to the cap  102 . The ring  103  is disposed having a friction fit, wherein rotation of the ring  103  is substantially prevented from freely rotating. When the cap  102  is rotated, the notch  104  and the indicator  105  stay engaged. This substantially prevents a user from putting the cap  102  back in the wrong position.  
         [0023]     FIGS.  6 A-D show a sequence of opening a bottle  101 . Note that if the ring  103  is turned out of alignment with the indictor  105  on the bottle  101 , the indicator  105  cannot engage in the notch  104 , and the cap  102  cannot be depressed to disengage the tabs  106 / 107  and open the bottle  101 . Accordingly, the ring  103  may be implemented as a further locking mechanism, substantially preventing opening of the bottle  101 , by disposing the notch  104  in a misaligned position with respect to the indicator  105 .  
         [0024]     In the exemplary embodiment shown in  FIGS. 1A and 3 , seven tabs  106 / 107  are disposed on each of the bottle  101  and cap  102 . This is an example of a bottle used where a dose is needed once per day.  
         [0025]     The indicator  105  and listing (e.g., see  FIG. 6C, 601 ) may be disposed on the cap  102  or on the bottle  101 . Where the listing  601  is disposed on the bottle, the listing  601  may rotated on the bottle  101  each time a cap  102  is depressed and turned in a direction to open the bottle  101 . The listing  601  rotates one increment each time the bottle  101  is opened.  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 7 , according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a system may include a bottle  101 , a cap  102 , and an indicator  105 , without implementing a ring. The indicator  105  may be disposed on the bottle  101  or cap  102 , and be disposed opposed a listing, for example, of dates and/or times. Further the indicator  105  may be provided in relief or as a graphic.  
         [0027]     Referring to FIGS.  8 A-D, the bottle  101  is implemented in conjunction with a cap assembly  801 . The cap assembly  801  includes a securing member  802 , an indicator member  803 , and a ring member  804 . The securing member  802  includes tabs  107  as illustrated in  FIG. 3  for the cap  102 . The indicator member  803  may function as a diaphragm  201  to force the securing member  802  away from the bottle  101 , and to securely attach the cap assembly  801  to the bottle  101  via the tabs  106 . Alternately, a pad, e.g., made of foam, may be disposed between the securing member  802  and the indicator member  803  to force the securing member  802  away from the bottle  101 .  
         [0028]     The ring member  804  includes a grove  809  that cooperates with a rim  810  of the securing member  802  to rotatably couple the ring member  804  and the securing member  802 . The ring member  804  may include further information, for example, color coding for different p a temporal indication, e.g., hours. A user may rotate the ring member  804  to align a certain temporal indication, e.g., 3PM, with a given portion of the securing member  802  to indicate the last time a dose was taken/administered. For example, the ring may include 24 notches, e.g.,  811 , on an inside surface that cooperate with a bump  812  on a rim of the securing member  802 , to be selecting rotatable to a particular alignment, e.g., 3PM as indicated on the ring member  804 .  
         [0029]     Referring to  FIGS. 8C and 8D , the tabs may have various shapes.  FIGS. 8C and 8D  show two exemplary embodiments  805 - 806 . The tab  805  includes a sloped release portion  807 . The tab  806  includes a substantially vertical release portion  808 . The release portions  807 - 808  function to impede rotation of the securing member  802 .  
         [0030]     FIGS.  9 A-G. illustrate opening and closing a bottle. The securing member  802  includes an opening  901  for revealing a portion of the indicator member  803 , and more particularly, to reveal a temporal indication  902 . The securing member  802  may be formed of a semi-transparent or opaque material, wherein the opening  901  is formed as a transparent portion. Similarly, the securing member  802  and opening  901  may both be transparent but may have different tints, shades, frosting, etc., to distinguish the opening  901 . A portion of the indicator member  803  may also be visible through a top surface of the securing member  802 —that is a second opening may be formed on the top surface.  FIG. 9A  illustrates a bottle and cap assembly showing an “M” indication.  FIG. 9B  illustrates that the cap assembly is depressed such that tabs of the securing member may clear tabs of the bottle.  FIG. 9C  illustrates a rotated state of the securing member, wherein the indicator member does not rotate, and is maintained at a rotation relative to the bottle via friction there-between.  FIG. 9D  illustrates release of the cap assembly from the bottle; that is release of the tabs of the cap assembly from the tabs of the bottle.  FIG. 9E  illustrates the placing of the cap assembly on the bottle, wherein the tabs of the cap assembly and the bottle are mis-aligned and the cap assembly is depressed on the bottle such that tabs of the securing member may clear tabs of the bottle.  FIG. 9F  illustrates a rotated state of the securing member, wherein the indicator member does not rotate, and is maintained at a rotation relative to the bottle via friction there-between. Note that the revealed temporal indication  902  has been incremented via the unidirectional rotation of the securing member relative to the indicator member.  FIG. 9G  illustrates a bottle and cap assembly showing an “Tu” indication.  
         [0031]     Having described embodiments for a bottle indicating a date or time period, it is noted that modifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the art in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that changes may be made in the particular embodiments of the invention disclosed which are within the scope and spirit of the invention as defined by the disclosure.