Patent Publication Number: US-2022234801-A1

Title: Pill bottle with removable bill container cap

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present general inventive concept is directed to a method, apparatus, and computer readable storage medium directed to a pill bottle with a removable cap which is itself a pill cap case. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     When a person has a pill bottle full of prescription pills, compliance with the directions can sometimes be a challenge. Carrying around an entire bottle (or bottles) of pills can be inconvenient, and counting up ones daily prescribed pills can be cumbersome. 
     What is needed is an improved pill bottle which can improve a patient&#39;s compliance and also make it easier for the patient to comply. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an improved pill bottle. 
     These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1  is perspective drawing of a pill bottle, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective drawing of the pill bottle with the flip-top lid open, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective drawing of the pill bottle with the removable pill cap case removed, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective drawing of the pill bottle with the removable pill cap case removed and the bottle cap removed, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is a cross section from the view shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is a cross section from the view shown in  FIG. 2 , according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a further drawing of the pill bottle with the removable pill cap case and the bottle cap removed, according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 8  is a drawing of a pill bottle in a prescription bottle form with a cooperating removable pill cap case and cooperating bottle cap, according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
     The general inventive concept relates to a pill bottle with a removable pill cap case which fits on top of a bottle cap. The bottle cap is threaded and screws onto threads located on a neck of the bottle. The bottle cap has a circular opening which receives the removable pill cap case which fits inside the opening via a friction fit (also known as interference fit). The removable pill cap case can easily be removed from the bottle cap (while the bottle cap is attached to the bottle or when the bottle cap is removed from the bottle) and easily inserted into the bottle cap (while the bottle cap is attached to the bottle or when the bottle cap is removed from the bottle). The removable pill cap case has a flip-top lid which can easily open and close. When the flip-top lid is opened, it allows access to a reservoir which can store pills. 
     This structure can encourage compliance to a prescription medicine regimen. The bottle itself can store a large quantity (or any quantity) of pills, while the user can also store a selected number of pills inside the reservoir. The user can then remove the removable pill cap case from the bottle and thus have a small form factor to carry around instead of the larger pill bottle. This user can keep the removable pill cap case in his/her pocket and thus can access the pill(s) stored therein as needed. 
     As one example of how the system and methods described herein can be applied, assume a user is required to take a particular prescription pill three times a day (one pill per meal). The “old” method would be to take a pill from the bottle with breakfast at home, and then take the bottle to work and take a pill from the bottle during lunch, and assuming the user also has dinner before returning home from work, takes another pill from the bottle at dinner before returning home. It can be inconvenient to carry the entire bottle around to one&#39;s employment. In addition, the pill bottle could be lost, and the user may have privacy concerns about carrying his medication bottle around with him. 
     The improved method utilizing the methods and apparatuses described herein would have the user take his morning pill at breakfast from the pill bottle. The user would then put two pills inside the reservoir in the removable pill case (also referred to as pill cap case), remove the pill cap case and put it in his pocket. Now, the user can conveniently take a pill out of the reservoir to take during lunch and another during dinner. When the user returns home, he can snap the removable pill cap case back onto the pill cap, and repeat this process daily. As such, the user does not have to carry his entire pill bottle around with during his daily routine. In addition, the user also does not have to utilize a separate pill cap case that can easily get lost. Because the removable pill cap case fits and secures right back onto the pill bottle (technically onto the pill cap which can be attached to the pill bottle), the potential for losing the removable pill cap case is reduced. There are many other use cases for this apparatus described herein, and this is merely one example. 
     The pill bottle can be sold with the pills inside and the removable pill cap case already attached, thereby obviating the need for the user to purchase a separate pill cap case which can easily get lost. 
       FIG. 1  is perspective drawing of a pill bottle, according to an embodiment. 
     A pill dispensing system  10  contains a removable pill cap case  12  attached to a pill bottle  30 . The pill dispensing system comprises the removable pill cap case  12 , the pill bottle  30 , and a bottle cap (not shown in  FIG. 1 ). 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective drawing of the pill bottle with the flip-top lid open, according to an embodiment. 
     A flip-top lid  16  is connected to the removable pill cap case and can flip open and closed. A ring  18  on the flip-top lid  16  would friction fit securely inside a round perimeter  14  inside the flip top lid thereby causing the flip-top lid  16  to be securely closed (and typically would not open unless manually opened by the user). The flip-top lid  16  would be opened by the user by the user pressing his/her nail into a recess  29  on the removable pill cap case  12  and pulling (or pressing) the flip-top lid  16  open. The removable pill cap case  12  has a floor  28 . The empty inside of the removable pill cap case  12  inside the round perimeter  14  is called a reservoir (which is where the pill(s) are stored) and is entirely closed off from the outside air (in one embodiment the reservoir is hermetically sealed from the outside although it is not required to be). 
     A hinge  25  is attaches the flip-top lid  16  to the rest of the removable pill cap case  12 . The flip-top lid  16  is shaped to snap onto a top of the removable pill cap case  12  and make a tight friction fit (which would typically not open unless manually opened by the user). The flip-top lid  16  cannot be removed from the removable pill cap case  12 . 
       FIG. 3  is a perspective drawing of the pill bottle with the removable pill cap case removed, according to an embodiment. 
     The flip-top lid  16  is closed on the removable pill cap case  12 . The removable pill cap case  12  is removed from the bottle cap  20 . The bottle cap  20  has a bottle cap opening  22  (circular) which is structured to receive the removable pill cap case  12 . The removable pill cap case  12  would have a friction fit with the bottle cap opening  22  so that the removable pill cap case  12  (when inserted inside the bottle cap opening  22 ) would not come out of the bottle cap  20  unless the removable pill cap case  12  was manually pulled out of the bottle cap  20  by the user. The user would manually insert the removable pill cap case  12  inside the bottle cap  20  when he/she wants to mere the removable pill cap case  12  with the bottle cap  20  and would manually remove the removable pill cap case  12  from the bottle cap  20  when he/she wants to separate the removable pill cap case  12 . 
     The removable pill cap case floor  28  is surrounded by the round perimeter  14 . An outer circumference  35  of the removable pill cap case  12  is also shown. A hollow area  33  between the outer circumference  35  and the round perimeter  14  friction fits over the bottle cap  20 . A bottle cap floor  39  of the bottle cap  20  is where the removable pill cap case floor  28  contacts when the removable pill cap case  12  is fully inserted into the bottle cap  20  (the bottle cap floor  39  and the round perimeter  14  fits inside the bottle cap opening  22 ). 
     Note that removable pill cap case  12  can easily be removed (as shown in  FIG. 3 ) from the bottle cap  20  by simple sliding the removable pill cap case  12  out of the bottle cap  20 . The removable pill cap case  12  can easily be inserted inside the bottle cap  20  (as in  FIG. 1 ) by pushing the removable pill cap case  12  into the bottle cap  20 . The removable pill cap case  12  is considered removably separable from the bottle cap  20  because it can be easily attached to the bottle cap  20  and easily removed from the bottle cap  20 , and can be repeatedly inserted into the bottle cap  20  and removed from the bottle cap  20  as many times as needed (no limit). 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective drawing of the pill bottle with the removable pill cap case removed and the bottle cap removed, according to an embodiment. 
     The removable pill cap case  12  is removed from the bottle cap  20  which is removed from the pill bottle  30 . Note there are threads  41  on a neck of the pill bottle  30  which cooperate with threads  42  on an inside of the bottle cap  20  so that the bottle cap  20  would screw onto the pill bottle  30 . Thus, in order to put the bottle cap  20  onto the pill bottle  30  the bottle cap  20  should be screwed onto the pill bottle  30 , and to remove the bottle cap  20  from the pill bottle  30  the bottle cap  20  should be unscrewed from the pill bottle  30 . Unlike the attachment mechanism between the removable pill cap case  12  and the bottle cap  20  (which does not use threads and can simply slide in and out), the attachment mechanism between the bottle cap  20  and the pill bottle  30  requires screwing (utilizing the cooperating threads). The bottle cap  20  can be considered a standard bottle cap but with a circular hole (bottle cap opening)  22  embedded inside it (but not through the entire bottle cap  20  so that the bottle cap floor  39  remains in a bottom of the bottle cap  20 ). 
       FIG. 5  is a cross section from the view shown in  FIG. 1 , according to an embodiment. 
     The flip-top lid  16  is closed on the removable pill cap case  12  (the flip-top lid  16  could open and close over the removable pill cap case  12  but would not be removable from the removable pill cap case  12  because the flip-top lid  16  is an integral part of the removable pill cap case  12 ). The round perimeter  14  of the removable pill cap case  12  friction fits into the bottle cap opening  22  thereby causing a snug fit between the removable pill cap case  12  and the bottle cap  20 . The ring  18  on the flip-top lid  16  is snugly fit against the round perimeter  14 . 
       FIG. 6  is a cross section from the view shown in  FIG. 2 , according to an embodiment. 
       FIG. 6  is similar to  FIG. 5  but with the flip-top lid  16  open. The flip-top lid  16  easily snaps open and closed. Once closed, the flip-top lid  16  would typically not open until manually opened by a user. 
       FIG. 7  is a further drawing of the pill bottle with the removable pill cap case and the bottle cap removed, according to an embodiment. 
     The current system only requires three separable parts, the removable pill cap case  12 , the bottle cap  20 , and the pill bottle  30 . A pill is shown inside the removable pill cap case  12 . While only one pill is shown, it can be appreciated that the removable pill cap case  12  can store multiple pills (e.g., 1 to 10 or more). 
       FIG. 8  is a drawing of a pill bottle in a prescription bottle form with a cooperating removable pill cap case and cooperating bottle cap, according to an embodiment. 
     The embodiment illustrated in  FIG. 8  operates the same as the embodiment shown in  FIG. 7  (and as described herein), but the shape of the bottle is different (this is a standard prescription bottle). In an embodiment, a pharmacy can dispense prescription pills inside pill bottle  50  and also include the removable pill cap case  12  and the bottle cap  20  so that the recipient of the prescription can utilize the system described herein. The bottles  50 ,  30  can be standard bottles (e.g., a standard prescription bottle  50  and a standard vitamin bottle, or any other type of standard bottle), and the system described herein can be utilized with such a standard bottle. For example, the bottle cap  20  can be configured to fit on a standard bottle so that anyone with a standard bottle can utilize the current system (by adding the removable pill cap case  12  and the bottle cap  20 ). In other words, the bottle cap that comes with a standard bottle can be discarded and replaced with the bottle cap  20  (and the removable pill cap case  12  can be inserted into the bottle cap  20 ). 
     Note that the bottle cap  20  as it screws onto the bottle  30 ,  50  can optionally be a safety bottle cap. A safety bottle cap (as known as a child proof cap or child resistant cap) is a cap which is not easy to open, thereby preventing (or discouraging) children from opening the bottle. The safety bottle cap mechanism can be located on the bottle cap  20  and/or a neck of the bottle  30 ,  50  (typically the safety bottle cap mechanism is located on both the bottle cap and the neck of the bottle and are configured to cooperate with each other). Some example of safety mechanisms (also referred to as safety bottle cap mechanisms, child proof safety mechanism, safety bottle cap, etc.): in order to remove the cap, the bottle cap has to be pushed downward and then turned; in order to remove the cap, an arrow on the bottle cap has to be aligned with an arrow on the bottle neck; in order to remove the cap, two sides of the bottle cap have to be depressed while the bottle cap is turned. There are a number of other such safety mechanisms, and all of them can be incorporated into the present invention. For example patents on safety bottle cap mechanisms, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,679,085 and 6,032,811, which are both incorporated by reference in their entireties. In other words, a safety mechanism is a mechanical mechanism located on the bottle cap and/or the bottle (typically both) which cooperate with each other and make removing the bottle cap from the bottle (after the bottle cap has been screwed/sealed onto the bottle) difficult by requiring strength and/or manual dexterity so that a child would not typically have the ability to remove the bottle cap which is screwed/sealed on the bottle, although an adult typically would be easily able to remove the bottle cap which is screwed/sealed on the bottle because an adult would typically have the strength and/or manual dexterity. 
     Another advantage of the present inventive concept is that when the pill cap case  12  is removed from the bottle cap  20  on the bottle  30 ,  50 , the bottle cap  20  remains securely on the bottle  30 ,  50 . Thus, the bottle cap  20  does not have to be opened in order to remove the pill cap case  12 . If a safety bottle cap is utilized, then the pill cap case  12  can be easily removed without having to open the safety mechanism incorporated into the bottle  30 ,  50  and/or the bottle cap  20  (while the pill cap case  12  is removed the bottle cap  20  remains on the bottle  30 ,  50 ). This can be advantageous since an adult can remove the pill cap case  12  with pill(s) inside from the bottle  30 ,  50  while leaving the bottle  30 ,  50  at home and since the bottle and/or bottle cap has a safety mechanism it would be child-proof. Thus, as an example, a parent can place a pill(s) inside the pill cap case and place that over the bottle cap  20  (which is sealed onto the bottle  30 ,  50  with a safety mechanism). Thus, the child can remove the pill cap case  12  and take the pill(s) inside by himself/herself but would not typically be able to remove the bottle cap  20  from the bottle  30 ,  50  because the safety mechanism is being utilized. Thus, a parent can leave the bottle  30 ,  50  with the bottle cap  20  sealed onto it (child-proof safety mechanism) and the pill cap case  12  inserted into the bottle cap  20 , which can ensure their child is limited to a single dose (e.g., one pill) of medicine (inside the pill cap case  12 ) because the child may be able to remove the pill cap case  12  and open the flip-top lid  16  but the child would not be able remove the bottle cap  20  from the bottle  30 ,  50  because a safety mechanism is used therein. 
     The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention. Documents incorporated by reference should not be used to construe ambiguous claim terms in this application.