Abstract:
A bottle for dispensing oral medication has a concavity in its side wall for partially receiving the cylindrical cross section of an oral medication syringe, and also has a syringe holder integrally formed with the bottle for retaining the syringe in the concavity, thereby to keep the syringe assembled to the bottle and readily available for dispensing the medication in the bottle. The concavity and the syringe holder may take different forms, including clip arms and holder sleeves integral with the bottle. The bottle and syringe make a compact assembly for convenient packaging, storage and handling.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    This invention relates to containers for liquids provided with detachable syringes for dispensing the liquid contents, and more particularly is concerned with medication bottles provided with detachable oral syringes for administering doses of oral medications. 
         [0003]    2. State of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    Many medications are administered orally in liquid form and are dispensed to patients in bottles, typically glass or plastic bottles with a screw-on cap. Such medications are often prescribed to young children and infants. Conventionally the liquid oral medication was then administered to the young patient by pouring out a dose onto a spoon and feeding the dose to the patient. In practice it has been found that the dose actually administered can vary substantially as different size spoons are used and are filled to varying levels. In some cases overdoses can be administered when relatively large spoons are used to medicate infants. This difficulty has led to common use of oral syringes for the administration of oral medications instead of spoons. The oral syringe has a syringe barrel with graduated markings which allow accurate and consistent dosing of the medication. Usually the syringe barrel has a pair of finger flanges which extend in diametrically opposed directions from the top end of the syringe barrel. Oral syringes are generally similar to conventional injection syringes except that the nozzle of the oral syringe is sized and shaped in a way which prevents attachment of a hypodermic needle to the syringe, and the nozzle is blunt ended to prevent injury when the end of the syringe is placed in the mouth of a patient, particularly the mouth of a small child. By pushing on the plunger of the syringe the liquid medication is squirted from the syringe barrel through the syringe nozzle into the patient&#39;s mount. 
         [0005]    Presently oral medication bottles and the oral syringe for dispensing the medication are sold as separate items and can easily become lost from each other by the end user. There is no convenient means for keeping the syringe together with the medication bottle to ensure that the syringe is available when needed, and users often revert to using a spoon because the syringe is not at hand. 
         [0006]    This issue has been previously addressed in patents Nos. Des. 363,211 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,054 where medication bottles have been provided with metal clips for the purpose of attaching a dispensing syringe to the bottle. These past efforts fall short of an optimal solution to the problem, however. For one thing, a separate clip must be fabricated and provided with the bottle. Also, the clip method of attachement results in a relatively bulky side-by-side assembly of bottle and syringe which is not conducive to efficient packaging, handling and use. 
         [0007]    What is needed is a more efficient, compact and economical approach to retaining an oral syringe to a bottle of liquid oral medication. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    This invention addresses these and other shortcomings of the prior art and provides a bottle adapted for compact and reliable assembly with an oral syringe of the type having a barrel with a plunger slidable in one end of the barrel for displacing fluid through an orificed syringe nozzle on an opposite end of the barrel. 
         [0009]    The bottle according to this invention has a bottle wall, a bottle shoulder, a bottle neck defining a bottle mouth and a bottle bottom. The bottle has a syringe holder which includes a holder recess and a syringe retainer. The syringe holder keeps the syringe in assembled relationship to the bottle. The syringe is removable from the syringe holder, in one embodiment by pulling the syringe radially away from the bottle, in another embodiment by lifting the syringe from the holder. 
         [0010]    A holder recess is formed in the bottle wall between the shoulder and the bottom of the bottle, shaped for at least partially receiving the transverse cross section of the syringe. The bottle also has a syringe retainer which is integral with the bottle wall, as by being molded in one piece with the bottle, for releasably retaining the syringe in the aforementioned recess. 
         [0011]    In one form of the invention the holder recess is defined by a pair of flat surfaces intersecting along a corner line in the recess, such that the recess has a pie-slice shaped cross section. The flat surfaces and the corner line may extend from the shoulder to the bottom of the bottle. In another form of the invention the recess has a cylindrically curved interior surface and may also extend from the shoulder to the bottom of the bottle. 
         [0012]    The syringe retainer can take the form of opposing retainer arms formed integrally with the bottle wall for capturing therebetween and releaseably retaining the syringe, for example, when the syringe barrel is pressed between the retainer arms. In an alternate form of the invention the syringe retainer is in the form of an arcuate retainer sleeve integrally formed with the bottle wall and spanning the recess for encompassing the barrel of the syringe, such that the cross section of the syringe barrel is contained partly in the recess and partly encompassed by the retainer sleeve when the syringe is inserted into an open end of the syringe holder defined in part by the holder recess and in part by the syringe retainer. 
         [0013]    A syringe support may be provided for supporting the syringe nozzle above and away from contact with the surface under the bottle. In one embodiment the syringe support is a rest plate integral with the bottle wall at or near the lower end of the holder recess for supporting the nozzle of the syringe. Alternatively, the syringe support is a top edge of the retainer sleeve located for supporting the finger flanges at the plunger end of the syringe barrel, thereby supporting the syringe at a given height relative to the bottle and away from contact with an underlying surface. 
         [0014]    The just described alternate forms of the holder recess, the syringe retainer and the syringe support may be provided in different combinations in particular bottles. 
         [0015]    These and other improvements, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reference to the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an oral medication bottle according to this invention shown with a typical oral syringe; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the oral syringe assembled to the medication bottle of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the assembled bottle and syringe of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  4 - 4  in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the oral medication bottle provided with a syringe rest in the form of a base plate near the bottom of the holder recess; 
           [0021]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the oral medication bottle provided with a retainer sleeve spanning the holder recess for encompassing the syringe and also having a syringe rest base plate near the bottom of the holder recess; 
           [0022]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the oral medication bottle wherein the holder recess has a cylindrically curved inner surface, and the holder sleeve has a top edge located near the shoulder of the bottle for supporting the syringe in lieu of a base plate at the bottom of the holder recess; 
           [0023]      FIG. 8  illustrates a fifth embodiment of the oral medication bottle wherein the cylindrically curved inner surface of the holder recess encompasses more than  180  degrees of the syringe barrel circumference thereby retaining the syringe against radial separation from the bottle without the holder arms or sleeve of the previous embodiments, and wherein the bottle shoulder supports the syringe against dropping into or through the holder recess to the bottom of the bottle; and 
           [0024]      FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  9 - 9  in  FIG. 8 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0025]    With reference to the accompanying drawings in which like elements are designated by like numerals,  FIG. 1  shows an oral medicine bottle generally designated by numeral  10  and an oral syringe  20 . 
         [0026]    The syringe  20  may be a conventional oral type syringe having a cylindrical syringe barrel  32  with an orificed nozzle  34  at one end and a plunger  36  at a second opposite end. A pair of finger phalanges  38  extend outwardly or radially from the barrel  32  at the plunger end of barrel  32 . The plunger  36  carries a piston inside the barrel  32  such that movement of the plunger  36  pushes or pulls the piston in the barrel  32  for displacing liquid through the orificed nozzle  34 , in a well known manner. 
         [0027]    The bottle  10  has a bottle wall  12 , a bottle bottom  14 , a bottle shoulder  16 , and a bottle neck which defines a bottle mouth closed by a bottle cap  24 . The bottle wall  12  is cylindrical between the bottle shoulder  16  and bottle bottom  14  but is circumferentially interrupted by a syringe holder recess or concavity  26  which is sized and shaped for receiving at least part of the transverse cross-section of syringe  20 , as best understood by reference to the cross-sectional view of  FIG. 4 . The recess  26  is defined by two planar interior surfaces  26   a  intersecting along a corner line  26   b,  and in cross section has a pie-slice shape. Recess  26  extends vertically between top and bottom ends on shoulder  16  and bottom  14 , respectively, of bottle  10 , and the recess  26  is open at both these ends. 
         [0028]    The bottle  10  also has a syringe retainer which in the embodiment of  FIGS. 1 and 2  takes the form of two opposing pairs of retainer arms  28   a,b  which are formed, as by molding, integrally with the bottle wall  12  of bottle  10  on either side of the holder recess  26 . The retainer arms  28   a,b  are rectangular plates concavely shaped on their mutually facing surfaces so as to generally conform to the curved outer surface of the syringe barrel  32 . The spacing of the opposing retainer arms is such that each arm pair is forced apart slightly when the syringe barrel  32  is pressed between the arms and into recess  26 . The bottle  10  including retainer arms  28  are made of a relatively stiff but resiliently yielding material such as an elastomer chosen to allow the retainer arms  28  to flex a relatively small distance while maintaining an elastic return force against the syringe barrel, so as to hold the syringe  20  in recess  26  against bottle  10 , as illustrated in the assembly of  FIG. 2 . The syringe  20  is releasable from bottle  10  by manual pulling force away from the bottle sufficient to overcome the gripping force of the retainer arms  28 . The tension of arms  28  against syringe barrel  32  also holds the syringe at a particular elevation relative to bottle  10 , that is, prevents the syringe from sliding downwardly along the bottle towards the bottom  14  and keeps the nozzle  34  from touching the underlying surface S which supports the bottle bottom, as seen in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0029]      FIG. 4  shows how part of the syringe barrel cross-section is admitted into the holder recess  26  of bottle  10  to reduce the overall profile of the bottle-syringe assembly of  FIG. 3 . Specifically, nearly one-half of the outside diameter of the syringe barrel  32  is admitted within the circular perimeter of the bottle wall  12  suggested by the dotted line  12   a  across the recess  26  in the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-4 . The result is a relatively compact assembly for convenient packaging and storage. Also, the syringe  20  is relatively protected against accidental dislodgement at an end user location by virtue of being partially included within the perimeter of the bottle wall, thereby further ensuring that the syringe remains available and close at hand during a course of medication which may extend over a period of weeks until the prescribed course of medication or the contents of the bottle are exhausted, whichever comes first. 
         [0030]      FIG. 5  shows a second embodiment of the oral medical bottle  10 ′ according to this invention which differs from the embodiment of  FIG. 1  in that only a single pair of opposing retainer arms  28  is provided for holding syringe  20  in holder recess  26  of bottle  10 ′. Bottle  10 ′ is provided with a bottom rest in the form of a base plate  40  formed integrally with bottle  10 ′ and located at or near the lower end of recess  26 , for example, just above the bottom  14  of the bottle. The base plate  40  serves as a support or rest for the end of syringe nozzle  34  when syringe  20  is assembled to bottle  10 ′ in recess  26  between the opposing arms pair  28 . The base plate  40  supplements the tension of retainer arms  28  for supporting the syringe, so that in the second embodiment of  FIG. 5  only one pair of retainer arms  28  is provided. A dimple or hole  42  may be provided on base plate  40  for the purpose of receiving the end of syringe nozzle  34  to keep the lower end of the syringe from sliding sideways on the base plate  40 . 
         [0031]    Turning now to  FIG. 6 , a third embodiment of the medication bottle  10 ″ is similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 5  but the single pair of opposing retainer arms  28  has been replaced by an arcuate, approximately semi-cylindrical retainer sleeve  44  axially aligned with the vertical dimension of the bottle. Holder recess  26  and retainer sleeve  44  together define a tubular syringe holder open at opposite top and bottom ends. Retainer sleeve  44  spans the recess  26  so as to completely encompass the barrel  32  of syringe  20  when the syringe is inserted through the open upper end of this syringe holder and is set with nozzle  34  onto base plate  40 . The syringe barrel  32  cross section is partially received in recess  26  as earlier described in connection with  FIGS. 1-4  and the remainder of the syringe barrel cross section outside of recess  26  is encompassed by sleeve  44  to securely hold the syringe in recess  26  in assembled relationship to bottle  10 ″. The syringe is readily lifted from the just described syringe holder when needed for dispensing oral medication from bottle  10 ″. 
         [0032]      FIG. 7  shows a fourth embodiment of the oral medication bottle according to this invention wherein bottle  10 ′″ differs from previously described embodiments in that holder recess  26 ′ has an internal partially cylindrical surface  26 ′ a  shaped to conform against the outside cylindrical surface of the syringe barrel  32 , and also in that sleeve  44 ′ is axially extended with an upper end near the bottle shoulder  16  and a lower end near bottle bottom  14 . The top edge  46  of sleeve  44 ′ serves as rest for finger flanges  38  of syringe  20  thereby to support the syringe relative to the bottle with the syringe nozzle  34  above and away from contact with an underlying surface supporting the bottle  10 ′″. For this reason, in the embodiment of  FIG. 7  the base plate  40  may be eliminated from bottle  10 ′″. 
         [0033]      FIGS. 8 and 9  illustrate a fifth embodiment of the invention wherein bottle  10   iv  has a holder recess  26 ″ with an inner cylindrically curved surface  26 ″ a  parallel to the bottle axis and contained within the circular perimeter of the bottle suggested by the dotted line  12   a.  Holder recess  26 ″ thus defines a nearly cylindrical tube which extends vertically through the bottle with a top opening on the bottom shoulder  16  and bottom opening on the bottle bottom  14  and is fully included within the circular perimeter of the bottle wall  12 . That is, the imaginary complete circumference of the interior surface of recess  26 ″ is fully contained within and tangential to the imaginary completed circumference  12   a  of the cylindrical bottle wall  12 . As seen in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , the syringe  20  is fully contained within the outside circular perimeter of the cylindrical bottle wall and results in a very compact and easy-to-handle bottle-syringe assembly. The finger flanges  28  rest upon the bottle shoulder  16  to support the syringe  20  within holder recess  26 ″ with syringe nozzle  34  above bottle bottom  14 , again to avoid potentially unsanitary contact with a surface S underlying the bottle  10   iv . 
         [0034]    It is seen in  FIG. 9  that the interior surface of recess  26 ″ encompasses more than 180 degrees and approximately 270 degrees of the syringe barrel circumference, leaving a vertical opening or gap  48  of about 90 degrees of arc and extending the height of the bottle wall  12  but which is too small to pass the diameter of the syringe barrel. In effect, this fifth embodiment may be viewed as integrating the holder recess and the syringe retainer into a form where the portions of the bottle wall  12  adjacent the gap  48  function as retainer arms to contain syringe  20  in recess  26 ″. 
         [0035]    The invention is not restricted to cylindrical bottles and bottles of other shapes, such as rectangular bottles, may be provided with integrally formed syringe holder, recesses and retainers according to this invention. 
         [0036]    While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated for purposes of clarity and example, it must be understood that many changes, modifications and substitutions will be apparent to those possessed of ordinary skill in the art without thereby departing from the scope of the following claims.