Patent Publication Number: US-9834367-B1

Title: Medicine bottle cap

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/317,526, filed Apr. 2, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     The embodiments of the present invention relate to a smart cap for dispensing medicine from a medicine bottle. The inventor, Mr. Doug Veltri, is passionate about bringing smart technology to medicine bottles and in particular, medicine bottle caps, to provide a better, safer, and more effective means of dispensing medicine. It is well known in the art that medicine bottles include instructions on a label on the surface of the bottle. The instructions commonly include difficult to read texts that are too small, too brief, and generally not helpful. Senior citizens and others with impaired vision have a difficult time reading and understanding these instructions. This raises a public safety concern as it is critically important for individuals especially senior citizens to take their medicine at a certain time, day, and prescribed dosage. In addition, it is well known in the art that once a medicine cap has been removed from the medicine bottle, it is difficult to control the number of pills being dispensed. For example, some caps are so difficult to open that once they are opened, the medicine spills out that a volcanic event causing the pills to spew over the counter and floor. There is a need for smarter medicine bottle caps in the marketplace. 
     Mr. Veltri was the sole inventor on U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,694 (“the &#39;694 patent”), which issued on Jun. 18, 1995, and is related to a dispensing cap for medicine bottles. However, the subject patent application includes improvements to the technology in the &#39;694 patent and technical features materially different to the technical details described in the &#39;694 patent. 
     There continues to be a need for smart technology in the medicine bottle cap field that will help a person take medicine at a certain time and prescribed dosage. In addition, there is a need to control the amount of medicine being dispensed from a medicine bottle. 
     SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap includes a flip-top assembly having a flip top inner cap having a top surface and side walls, where the top surface of the flip top inner cap includes a first plurality of openings. The flip top inner cap also includes a sound circuit board that includes at least two batteries and a plurality of switches, a speaker wired to the sound circuit board, a flip top outer cap having a top surface and side walls, where the top surface of the flip top outer cap includes a second plurality of openings. 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes an outer cap pivotably attached to the flip top assembly and having a top surface and side walls, where the top surface of the outer cap includes a medicine exit port disposed in a center of the top surface of the outer cap, where an interior wall of the side wall of the outer cap includes a first plurality of gear teeth. 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes a pill delivery gear having a second plurality of gear teeth for engaging the first plurality of gear teeth in the outer cap, further having a chamber having an opening for medicine to pass there through. The embodiment further includes a circular post protruding from a center portion of a lower surface of the pill delivery gear, and a tab protruding from the lower surface of the pill delivery gear. 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes an inner cap having a top surface and a lower surface, the top surface of the inner cap having an opening designed to receive the post from the pill delivery gear. The embodiment also includes a slot for receiving the tab from the pill delivery gear and an opening designed to allow medicine in a medicine bottle to pass there through. 
     Another embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes a medicine bottle cap where the outer cap is pivotably attached to the flip top assembly via a hinge. 
     Another embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes a medicine bottle cap connected to a medicine bottle. 
     Yet another embodiment of the medicine bottle cap includes a flip top inner cap having a circular shape. 
     Yet another embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes a flip top inner cap that includes at least one notch included in a section of the side wall. 
     For an embodiment of the medicine bottle cap, when the flip top cap is in the closed position, an actuator depresses a switch on the sound circuit board, and where, when the flip top cap is moved to the open position, a recorded message plays. 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes features directed to a top surface of the outer cap also which includes a sound board switch actuator and a snap-fit member to connect the outer cap to the flip top outer cap. 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes side walls of the outer cap having a knurled design. 
     Another embodiment of the medicine bottle cap where the first plurality of gear teeth are disposed on a 180 degree to 360 degree inner circumference of the interior wall of the side wall of the outer cap. 
     An embodiment of the medicine bottle cap further includes a chamber that includes different designs including circular, rectangular and oval to allow for the dispensing of different sizes and different shapes of medicine. 
     Another embodiment of the medicine bottle cap includes a slot having a crescent shape. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  shows a side view of an embodiment of the cap disposed on a medicine bottle, with the cap shown in a closed position on top of the bottle. 
         FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the plurality of features in an embodiment of the cap, disposed above the top of a medicine bottle to show the disposition of the various features and assembly position. 
         FIG. 3  shows an exploded view of the features included in the flip top cap. 
         FIG. 4A-4C  show different views of the outer cap, with  FIG. 4A  showing a top, side view;  4 B showing an underside view of the outer cap; and  FIG. 4C  showing a bottom view. 
         FIGS. 5A-5D  show different views of the pill delivery gear, with  FIG. 5A  showing a top, side view;  FIG. 5B  showing a bottom, side view;  FIG. 5C  showing a bottom view; and  FIG. 5D  showing a top view. 
         FIGS. 6A-6E  show different views of the inner cap, with  FIG. 6A  showing a view from the bottom and side;  FIG. 6B  from the side and top;  FIG. 6C  from the side and bottom; 
         FIG. 6D  from the bottom; and  FIG. 6E  from the side. 
         FIGS. 7A-7D  show different views of a medicine bottle, with  FIG. 7A  showing a top, side view,  FIG. 7B  showing a top view; and  FIGS. 7C and 7D  showing different side views. 
         FIG. 8  shows a view from under the outer cap showing the gears of the pill delivery gear in mesh with the inner circumferential gears of the outer cap. 
         FIG. 9  shows a bottom view of the pill delivery gear. 
         FIG. 10  shows a side, top view of the inner cap. 
         FIG. 11  shows a cut-out view of an embodiment of the cap attached to the bottle, upside down, showing the cap and features therein in a pill loading position. 
         FIG. 12  shows a cut-out view of an embodiment of the cap attached to the bottle, upside down, showing the cap and features therein in a pill delivery position. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows a side view of an embodiment of the cap disposed on a medicine bottle, with the cap shown in the closed position on top of the bottle. The features shown include the flip top assembly  1 , the outer cap  30 , and the medicine bottle  60 . All these features will be described in more detail below. 
       FIG. 2  shows an exploded view of the plurality of features in an embodiment of the cap, disposed above the top of a medicine bottle to show the disposition of the various features and assembly position. The features shown include the flip top assembly  1  shown in the open position; the outer cap  30  pivotably attached to the flip top assembly  1  via hinge  2 ; the pill delivery gear  40 ; inner cap  50 ; and the medicine bottle  60 . These features are shown in a vertical orientation to show their assembly position and how the various features will interact when assembled. All these features will be described in more detail below. 
       FIG. 3  shows an exploded view of the flip top cap  1  showing the flip top inner cap  4  at the top of the page. More specifically, the flip top inner cap  4  includes a preferred circular shape having a top surface  5 , side walls  6  and at least one notch  7  included in a section of the side wall  6 . The top surface  5  includes a plurality of openings  3 ,  9  as shown in  FIG. 3 . The openings  3 ,  9  are circular in shape and preferably include only two openings  3 ,  9  as shown in  FIG. 3 . However, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the openings  3 ,  9  can include a number of different shapes and more than two openings. 
       FIG. 3  also shows a sound circuit board  8  that includes at least two batteries  10  and switches  11  and  12 , with each switch having an actuator post and a horizontal portion including stored data. When the flip top cap  1  is in the closed position on the medicine bottle as shown in  FIG. 1 , the switch&#39;s actuator depresses a switch on the sound board. When the flip top cap is in the open position as shown in  FIG. 2 , the switch opens, and a recorded message plays. The switch  12  can be depressed by a user to record a custom message. The switch  11  in this embodiment is preferably used as an actuator switch, to activate the message when flip top cap  1  is opened.  FIG. 3  also shows a speaker  14  wired to the sound circuit board  8 . 
       FIG. 3  further shows a flip top outer cap  15  at the bottom of the page. More specifically, the flip top outer cap  15  includes a preferred circular shape having a top surface  16  (see  FIG. 1  for a better view), side walls  17  and at least one notch  18  included in a section of the side wall  17 . The top surface  16  includes a plurality of openings  19  as best shown in  FIG. 1  to allow a user to more readily hear the recorded message when the flip top cap  1  is opened. The openings  19  are circular in shape and preferably are included in a circular design as shown in  FIG. 1 . However, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the openings  19  can include a number of different shapes and varying number of openings with different overall designs on its top surface  16 . The flip top outer cap  15  also includes a known in the art hinge  2  to allow the “flip” top operation to occur and connects the flip top cap  1  to the outer cap  30 ; other hinge assemblies known in the art are included in the scope of this patent application and include not only the dual post hinge assembly shown in  FIG. 3 , but also single post assemblies and others known by a person of ordinary skill in the art. The flip top outer cap  15  also includes a notch  18  that matches or corresponds to the notch  7  on the flip top inner cap  4 . An inside portion of the side wall  17  of the notch  18  includes a protrusion  20  that snaps to the flip top inner cap  4  when the flip top cap  1  is closed and ready for use. A person of ordinary skill in the art also understands that there are other means other than the hinge described above that can be used to connect the flip top assembly to the outer cap including ball in a socket assemblies, snap on, screw on, and related connection means. 
       FIG. 4A-4C  show different views of the outer cap  30 , with  FIG. 4A  showing a top, side view;  4 B showing an underside view of the outer cap  30 ; and  FIG. 4C  showing a bottom view. As shown in  FIG. 4A , the outer cap  30  includes a preferred circular shape having a top surface  31  and side walls  36 . The top surface  31  includes a medicine or pill exit port  32  that includes a preferred circular shape and is of sufficient size to allow medicine inside the medicine bottle  50  to exit. The top surface  31  of the outer cap  30  also includes a sound board switch actuator  33  that includes a male protrusion that goes in and out of opening  3  to actuate the recorded message when the flip top cap  1  is opened. A snap-fit member  34  is also included on a top surface  31  to connect the outer cap  30  to the flip top cap  1 . The outer cap  30  also includes a hinge assembly  35  that corresponds with the hinge assembly  2  on the flip top cap  1  to allow the “flip” top operation to occur. In addition, the side walls  36  have a knurled design  36   a  to allow a user to grip the outer cap  30  during the medicine loading and medicine delivery operations as described in more detail below with respect to  FIGS. 11 and 12 . 
     As best shown in  FIGS. 4B and 4C , an inner circumference of an interior wall  37  of the side wall  36  includes gear teeth  38  designed to engage the gear teeth on the pill delivery gear described below. The gear teeth  38  include the preferred design shown in  FIGS. 4B and 4C , the design of which includes gear teeth  38  covering the entire inner circumference of the interior wall as shown in  FIG. 4C  and having a gear tooth length of approximately half the width of the side wall  32  as shown in  FIG. 4B . A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the gear teeth length may vary and include a ¼, ½, ¾, or full length of the side wall  36 . In addition, the gear teeth  38  do not need to span the entire inner circumference of the inside surface  37  shown in  FIG. 4B ; the embodiments of the invention includes any designs from one-half (e.g., 180 degrees) to the entire inner circumference or 360 degree inner design. The inside surface  37  of the side wall  36  includes snaps  39  to allow the outer cap  30  to be snapped/connected to the inner cap  30 . 
       FIGS. 5A-5D  show different views of the pill delivery gear  40 , with  FIG. 5A  showing a top, side view;  FIG. 5B  showing a bottom, side view;  FIG. 5C  showing a bottom view; and  FIG. 5D  showing a top view. As shown in the figures, the pill delivery gear  40  includes gear teeth  41  designed to engage the gear teeth  38  on the inside surface  37  of the outer cap  30 . As best shown in  FIG. 5A , a medicine chamber  42  is included on an upper surface  43  of the pill delivery gear  40 . A preferred design of the chamber  42  is shown in  FIG. 5A  and includes a rectangular design with horizontal  42   a  and vertical  42   b  walls (shown in  FIG. 5D ) protruding upwardly away from the surface  43  for a predetermined distance, with an opening  42   c  (shown in  FIG. 5C ) in the chamber  42  to allow medicine in the bottle to be dispensed. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the chamber&#39;s preferred design allows for the dispensing of preferably rectangular-shaped pills; however, the embodiments of the present invention also include a chamber having different designs including circular/cylindrical and oval shapes to allow for the dispensing of corresponding circular or oval-shaped pills. In addition, the size of the chamber can be modified to dispense pills of different sizes. 
     As best shown in  FIG. 5B , a lower surface  44  of the pill delivery gear  40  includes a circular post  45  protruding preferably from a center portion of the lower surface  44  of the pill delivery gear  40 . The post  45  is designed to be inserted into the cylindrical pocket of the inner cap  20  as described in more detail below. The lower surface  44  also includes a tab  46  protruding from the lower surface  44 . The preferred design of the tab  46  shown in  FIGS. 5B and 5C  includes a substantial rectangular shape for fitting in a slot  52  in the inner cap  50  as described in more detail below. A person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the tab  46  can include many different sizes and shapes including a circular design as long as the tab fits in a slot  52  in the inner cap  50 . 
       FIGS. 6A-6E  show different views of the inner cap  50 , with  FIG. 6A  showing a view from the bottom and side;  FIG. 6B  from the side and top;  FIG. 6C  from the side and bottom;  FIG. 6D  from the bottom; and  FIG. 6E  from the side. As best shown in  FIG. 6B , a top surface  51  of the inner cap  50  shows a cylindrical opening  53  designed to receive the post  45  from the pill delivery gear  40 . A slot  52  having a preferred crescent shape design is also shown in  FIG. 6B . More specifically, the slot  52  includes a semi-circular, crescent shape, with the ends  52   a ,  52   b  of the slot  52  sharing a plane D with a center portion of cylindrical opening  53 .  FIG. 6B  shows different openings  54  on the exterior ring of the inner cap  50  to receive tabs on a top surface of the bottle  60  to prevent rotation of the inner cap  50 .  FIG. 6B  also shows an opening  55  designed to allow a pill in the medicine bottle  60  to pass there through and to the chamber  42  in the pill delivery gear  40 . A shape of the opening  55  includes a similar design to the shape of the opening  42   c  in the chamber  42  of the pill delivery gear  40 . However, as noted above, a person of ordinary skill in the art will readily understand that the shape of the opening can include many different shapes known in the art including circular and oval, and the opening  55  may vary in size from one embodiment to the other.  FIGS. 6A and 6C  show the post  45  from the pill delivery gear  40  disposed in the opening  53 . In addition,  FIGS. 6C and 6E  show a cylindrical housing  56  that extends downward past a lower surface of the inner cap  50 . Moreover,  FIG. 6C  show a series of ramps  57  or passageways that receive a pill from the medicine bottle  60  and allow the pill to proceed to the opening  55  in the inner cap  50 . 
       FIGS. 7A-7D  show different views of a medicine bottle, with  FIG. 7A  showing a top side view,  FIG. 7B  showing a top view; and  FIGS. 7C and 7D  showing different side views. A person of ordinary skill in the art should note that for some embodiments of the present invention, the bottle and upper circular ring  61  of the bottle for connection to the inner cap  50  is not a critical aspect of the design as the Smart Cap may be sold independent from a medicine bottle. However, in other embodiments, the Smart Cap will be included will the medicine bottle  60  and therefore specific designs at the top of the bottle may include a circular ring  61  with tabs  62  for engaging openings  54  in the inner cap  50  to prevent the inner cap  50  from rotating. 
       FIG. 8-10  show additional views of the aspects of the invention, with  FIG. 8  showing a view from under the outer cap  30  showing the gears  41  of the pill delivery gear  40  in mesh with the inner circumferential gears  38  of the outer cap  30 . As the user rotates the outer cap  30 , the pill delivery gear  40  rotates accordingly. Moreover, in  FIG. 8 , the opening  42   c  of the chamber  42  is in line with the opening  32  of the outer cap  30 .  FIG. 9  shows a bottom view of the pill delivery gear  40  and  FIG. 10  shows a side, top view of the inner cap  50 .  FIGS. 9 and 10  views are shown on the same page to note that the tab  46  rotates in the crescent-shaped slot  52  in the inner cap  50 . The inner cap  50  is fixed to the bottle  60  and cannot rotate. When the pill delivery gear  40  rotates (i.e., driven by rotation of the outer cap  30  by the user), the tab  46  travels or rides in slot  52  which limits the rotation of the pill delivery gear  40  to about 180 degrees. 
       FIG. 11  shows a cut-out view of an embodiment of the cap attached to the bottle, upside side down, showing the cap and features therein in a pill loading position. The flip top cap  1  is hidden for clarity with respect to this description but is described above. When the outer cap  30  is rotated by a user, the pill delivery gear  40  rotates due to the engagement of the gear teeth  41 ,  38 . As mentioned above, the range of motion of the pill delivery gear  40  is limited to about 180 degrees.  FIG. 11  shows the pill loading position. In this position, a pill will fall from the bottle into the inner cap  50  and down to the bottom of the ramp/passageways  57  (see  FIGS. 6A and 6D ) in the inner cap  50  and then fall into the chamber  42  of the pill delivery gear  40 . 
       FIG. 12  shows a cut-out view of an embodiment of the cap attached to the bottle, upside side down, showing the cap and features therein in a pill delivery position. In this position, the pill delivery gear  40  has been rotated about 180 degrees, driven by a rotation of the outer cap  30  by a user. As shown in  FIG. 12 , both the outer cap  30  and the pill delivery gear  40  have gear teeth  38 ,  41  which are meshed. In this position, the pill will now fall from the chamber  42  in the pill delivery gear  40  and through the opening  32  in the center of the outer cap  30 .