Patent Publication Number: US-2021177698-A1

Title: Pill container

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a pill container, and more particularly to a lockable pill container. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A pill container is applied to hold pills, such as medicines or vitamins for a user to take pills regularly. A conventional pill container, such as U.S. Pat. No. 10,420,703, substantially comprises a body, multiple lids, and multiple resilient pushing bars. The body has multiple compartments formed in the body for holding pills inside. The lids are pivotally connected with the body to close the compartments. The resilient pushing bars are mounted on a rear wall of the body and respectively abut against inner surfaces of the lids to automatically push the lids to open. 
     However, because the resilient pushing bars of the pill container of the &#39;703 Patent are mounted on the rear walls of the body, the compartments of the body can only be arranged in a single row and cannot be arranged in two parallel rows. Therefore, the structure of the body of the pill container of the &#39;703 Patent is limited and is not versatile in use. 
     To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention tends to provide a pill container to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The main objective of the invention is to provide a pill container to allow compartments of the pill container to be arranged in multiple rows. 
     The pill container has at least one pair of compartment units. Each pair of the at least one pair of compartment units has two compartment units and a connection portion being hollow and mounted between the compartment units to connect the two compartment units with each other. Each compartment unit has a compartment, a locking button, a lid, and a resilient pushing bar. The compartment is hollow and has a front wall and a rear wall connected with the connection portion. The locking button is formed on the front wall of the compartment. The lid is pivotally connected with the rear wall of the compartment to selectively close the compartment, is engaged detachably with the locking button, and has an inner surface facing the compartment. The resilient pushing bar is mounted in the connection portion, extends over the rear wall of the compartment, and abuts against the inner surface of the lid. 
     Other objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a pill container in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the pill container in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a cross sectional side view of the pill container in  FIG. 1 ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a pill container in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1 to 3 , a pill container in accordance with the present invention comprises at least one pair of compartment units  10 . Each pair of compartment units comprises two compartment units  10  and a connection portion  20  mounted between the compartment units to connect the two compartment units with each other. In the first embodiment, one pair of compartment units is implemented. The connection portion  20  is hollow and has an open bottom end. Each compartment unit comprises a compartment  12 , a locking button  14 , a lid  16 , and a resilient pushing bar  18 . 
     The compartment  12  is hollow and has a front wall  122  and a rear wall  124 . The compartments  12  are defined in the compartment unit  10  to hold pills inside. The locking button  14  is formed on the front wall  122  of the compartment  12  and has a connecting segment  144  formed on a bottom end of the locking button  14  and connected integrally with the front wall  122  of the compartment  12  to define a gap between the front wall  122  and the locking button  14 . In addition, each locking button  14  has a locking block  142  formed on and protruding from the locking button  14 . The locking block  142  extends into the gap between the front wall  122  and the locking button  14 . 
     The lid  16  is connected pivotally to the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12  to selectively close the compartment  12  and is engaged detachably with the locking button  14 . The lid  16  has an inner surface  162  and a locking loop  164 . The inner surface  162  faces the compartment  12 . The locking loop  164  is formed on and protrudes from the inner surface  162  of the lid  16  at an end of the lid  16  opposite the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12  to selectively engage with the locking block  142  on the locking button  14 . 
     To pivotally connect each lid  16  to the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12 , the compartment  12  further has a pair of pivotal tabs  13  formed on the rear wall  14  of the compartment  12 . The pair of pivotal tabs  13  includes two pivotal tabs  13  being parallel with each other. Each pivotal tab  13  has a pivotal axle  132  formed on and protruding from the pivotal tab  13  and aligned with the pivotal axle  132  on the other pivotal tab  13 . The lid  16  has two pivotal holes  166  defined in the lid  16  and located around the pivotal axles  132  on the pivotal tabs  13  on the compartment  12 . Accordingly, the lid  16  can be pivoted relative to and detached from the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12 . 
     The resilient pushing bar  18  is mounted in the connection portion  20 , extends over the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12  and abuts against the inner surface  162  of the lid  16 . Preferably, the pushing bar  18  is made of silicone. In addition, the connection portion  20  has two ends and two inserting holes. The ends of the connection portion  20  are connected respectively with the two compartment units  10 . The inserting holes  22  are defined respectively in the two ends of the connection portion  20 . Each inserting hole  22  has a top opening  222  and a bottom opening  224 . The top opening  222  is formed at a top end of the inserting hole  22 , and the bottom opening  224  is formed at a bottom end of the inserting hole  22 . The resilient pushing bar  18  has a top end and a bottom end. The top end of the resilient pushing bar  18  is inserted into the connection portion  20  via the open bottom end of the connection portion  20 , is inserted into one of the inserting holes  22  in the connection portion  20  via the bottom opening  224 , extends out of the inserting hole  22  from the top opening  222  of the inserting hole  22 , and extends into the compartment  12 . The bottom end of the resilient pushing bar  18  is provided with a hook  182  engaged with an edge of the bottom opening  224  of the inserting hole  22 . With the engagement between the hook  182  and the edge of the bottom opening  224 , the resilient pushing bar  18  can be held securely in place in the inserting hole  22 . 
     With such a pill container, pills, such as medicines or vitamins, can be stored in the compartments  12  to allow a user to take the pills in an organized manner. With the engagement between the locking blocks  142  on the locking buttons  14  with the locking loops  164  on the lids  16 , the lids  20  can be held at a closed position. At the closed position, the locking loop  24  on each lid  20  extends into the gap between the front wall  122  of the compartment  12  and the locking button  14 , and the resilient pushing bar  18  is pushed against by the inner surface  162  of the lid  16  and is bent. 
     To open any one of the lids  16 , a corresponding locking button  14  is pushed. When the locking button  14  is pushed, the locking block  142  on the locking button  14  is disengaged from the locking loop  164  on the lid  16 , and the lid  16  will be automatically pivoted relative to the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12  by the resilient force provided by the bent pushing bar  18 . Accordingly, the resilient pushing bar  18  can provide the lid  16  with a sufficient force to completely open the lid  16  relative to the rear wall  124  of the compartment  12 . Thus, a user can take the pills contained in the compartment  12  easily and conveniently. Additionally, the lid  16  can be kept from being deformed or bent at the closed position, such that the lid  16  is not prone to damage after a long time of use. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , in the second embodiment, the pill container in accordance with the present invention comprises multiple pairs of compartment units  10  arranged in a row. The compartments  12  of each pair of compartment units  10  are connected with the compartments  12  of an adjacent pair of compartment units  10 . With such an arrangement, multiple compartments  12  can be arranged in two parallel rows, such that the pill container in accordance with the present invention is convenient and versatile in use. 
     Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.