Patent Publication Number: US-7907477-B2

Title: Bottle cap medication timer

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/892,622 filed Mar. 2, 2007 and entitled Bottle Cap Medication Timer. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to timers for reminding a user of medication to take the same at predetermined time intervals. 
     Medication timers per se are known in the art, as follows: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,056 to McIntosh et al. entitled Medication Clock—Shows a clock with medication-containing compartments. The clock records the time each compartment is opened and provides audio and visual alerts when medication needs to be taken. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,331,953 to Anderson et al. entitled Device in Connection With an Inhaler—Shows an electronic timer in the inhaler which records the time each dosage is taken. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,925,021 to Castellano et al. entitled Medication Delivery Device With a Microprocessor and Characteristic Monitor—Shows an arrangement wherein an inhaler is coupled to an electronic timer to record the time of each dosage taken. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,324,123 to Durso entitled Medication Timer—Shows a bottle cap type timer for providing an alarm when medication is to be taken. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,545,592 to Welner entitled Medication Reminder Device—Shows a pill container cap type timer which generates an alarm when it is time to take a pill. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,650 to Sagar entitled Bottle-Cap Medication Reminder and Overdose Safeguard—Shows a “bottle presence sensor” which detects whether medication has been taken, times the interval after that when medication is to be taken again, and generates audio and visual alert signals to inform the user to take the medication again. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,054,231 to Valerio entitled C-Shaped Medication Reminder Device—Shows a C-shaped holder for pill containers, including a switch actuated by a container inserted into the holder, so that the switch starts an integral timer which generates an alarm the next time a pill in the container needs to be taken. The timer is reset by the switch each time the container is removed from the holder and replaced. 
     An object of the invention is to provide a disposable medication timer which is particularly useful in the dispensing of medication contained in bottles. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the invention a disposable electronic timer having a liquid crystal or similar display has a cylindrical shape with a diameter the same as or smaller than that of a medication bottle cap to which the timer is to be affixed. A lower major surface of the timer has an adhesive layer with a cover that can be peeled off to expose the adhesive so that the timer can be secured to the bottle cap. The upper major surface of the timer comprises the display and a control button that in one mode starts the timer so that an alarm within the timer sounds after a preset time interval; and in another mode sets or resets the timer to a different preset time interval. Operating power is supplied by a battery within the timer. 
    
    
     
       IN THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a photograph of a bottle cap medication timer according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, adjacent the cap of a medication bottle to which it is to be affixed. 
         FIG. 2  is a photograph of the timer affixed to the bottle cap shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3A  is a top plan view of the timer according to an alternate embodiment of the invention, drawn to an enlarged scale. 
         FIG. 3B  is a right side elevation view of the timer shown in  FIG. 3A . 
         FIG. 4A  is a top plan view of the timer shown in  FIG. 3A , drawn full scale. 
         FIG. 4B  is a right side elevation view of the timer shown in  FIG. 3B , drawn full scale. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The disc-shaped timer  10  has an upper major surface  11  and a lower adhesive-coated major surface  12  covered by a layer of paper or plastic which can be peeled off to expose the adhesive. The timer is then pressed against the top of the cap  15  of the medication bottle  16 . 
     Disposed in the upper surface  11  are a display  13  and a control button  14 . The display shows time intervals in hours and minutes. A beeper (not shown) within the timer sounds an alarm 20 times when a preset time interval expires. 
     The timer starts counting when the control button  14  is pressed and not held down, or held down for less than 4 seconds. 
     The preset time interval can be set or changed by holding the control button  14  down for at least 5 seconds. When the button is first depressed in this manner the preset hourly interval number will display and will begin to increment up one hour at a time. When the desired number displays, releasing the control button sets than number as the new hourly interval. 
     In the alternate embodiment shown in  FIGS. 3A-4B  similar parts to those of  FIGS. 1 and 2  are given the same identifying numerals followed by the letter “a”. 
     The alternate embodiment has two additional control buttons, namely a start-stop button and a reset button  18 . The button  14   a  operates in the same manner as the button  14  operates. 
     The start-stop and reset buttons  17  and  18  are used to (independently of the button  14 ) operate the timer in a stopwatch mode, with the time elapsed from the last time the start-stop button was used to start the timer being continuously displayed.