Patent ID: 7163129

Claim:
A tablet dispensing mechanism for use with a beverage container comprising: a) a liquid beverage container having a top end, a bottom end, a sidewall, a top rim surrounding the top end, a longitudinal axis extending between the top end and the bottom end, an outer surface on the top end of said beverage container, and an inner surface on the top end of said beverage container with the inner surface being located between the outer surface of the top end of said container and the bottom end of said container, and b) a tablet storage unit rotatably mounted on the top end of said beverage container and including (1) a one-piece body having a top surface and a bottom surface, an outer circumference, a plurality of arms which are spaced apart from each other along the direction of the outer circumference, a plurality of cutouts, each cutout being positioned between adjacent arms, and a center with the center of the body of said tablet storage unit being located on the longitudinal axis of said beverage container, (2) a plurality of tablet storage packets mounted on the body of said tablet storage unit, with the tablet storage packets being spaced apart from each other along the direction of the outer circumference of the body of said tablet storage unit, each tablet storage packet including (A) a flexible top surface located adjacent to the top surface of the body of said tablet storage unit, (B) a frangible bottom surface located adjacent to the bottom surface of the body of said tablet storage unit, and (C) a favored tablet stored in each tablet storage packet, (3) a mounting unit rotatably mounting the body of said tablet storage unit on said beverage container adjacent to the top of said beverage container and including a plurality of rolled edges on the outer circumference of the body of said tablet storage unit, with one rolled edge being located on each arm of the body of said tablet storage unit, the rolled edges being spaced apart from each other along a direction of the circumference and having a cutout interposed between adjacent rolled edges, each rolled edge including a cylindrically shaped body having an open mouth and slidably accommodating the top rim of said beverage container in the cylindrically shaped body when said tablet storage unit is mounted on said beverage container, (4) an opening defined in the body of said tablet storage unit and extending from the outer circumference of the body of said tablet storage unit toward the center of the body of said tablet storage unit, (5) the body of said tablet storage unit being mounted on the top of said beverage container to rotate around the longitudinal axis of said beverage container, and (6) the body of said tablet storage unit being oriented on the top of said beverage container to have the bottom surface of the body of said tablet storage unit positioned adjacent to the outer surface of the top end of said beverage container.