Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
TITLE OF THE INVENTION: COVER SHEET MEMBER FOR PILL RECEPTACLES
AND METHOD OF SEALING A PILL RECEPTACLE WITH A COVER SHEET MEMBER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to pill receptacles having recessed pill
compartments,
and more particularly to a method of sealing selected pill compartments with a
fraction of a cover
sheet member, to the cover sheet member itself, to a kit comprising a pill
receptacle and a cover
sheet member and to a method of producing a cover sheet member.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Pill containers having recessed pill compartments are well known. These pill
containers are used to store and sort pills for patients that are required to
take one or more medicated
pill types per day. The patients may handle the pill containers themselves or,
if they stay in
establishments such as medically-supported retirement homes, the medical staff
will handle the pill
containers to distribute the medication to the patients. A typical pill
container will contain a patient's
pill doses for an entire week.
Pill containers conventionally comprise a pill receptacle which is made from a
moulded semi-rigid plastic sheet in which recessed pill compartments are
formed. The pill
compartments define top mouth openings that are circumscribed by coplanar
edges. A single sealing
sheet may be applied on the coplanar pill receptacle edges to cover and
individually seal the pill
compartments. Pills are inserted in the different pill compartments according
to doses which are
required to be taken at a given time of day before the pill compartments are
sealed. Respective pill
compartments may correspond to the morning, lunch, supper and bedtime doses,
for each day. Since
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each pill compartment is individually sealed and properly identified, it is
clear and easy for the
patient or the medical staff to know which pill compartment needs to be
accessed for administering
medication to a particular patient on a given day and at a given time of day.
The pill container will
often be designed to further allow each individually sealed pill compartment
to be detached from the
remaining portion of the pill container. When medical staff needs to
distribute only a specific dose
of medication at a given time of day, it is possible to simply detach the
appropriate pill compartment
and give it to the patient who can access the pills by himself.
Cover sheet members are provided that comprise a sealing sheet for use as
discussed
above and a protective sheet that overlays the sealing sheet. More
particularly, the sealing sheet has
io opposite identification and adhesive surfaces. The former is used to write
down medical
information, medication information, user identification, date, time of the
day at which the pills
should be taken, name of the user's pharmacist, name of the prescribing doctor
and the like
information; while the latter is provided with an adhesive allowing the
sealing sheet to adhere to the
pill receptacle. The protective sheet overlays the sealing sheet on its
adhesive surface to prevent the
sealing sheet from accidentally sticking to miscellaneous objects before it is
installed. Different
types of adhesives may be used on the sealing sheet, including so-called
temporary adhesives that
allow the sealing sheet to be removed from and re-installed on the pill
receptacle if access to the pill
compartments is required; and so-called permanent adhesives that have strong
enough adhering
properties that will prevent the sealing sheet from being removed from the
pill receptacle without
tearing the sealing sheet apart, once it is installed on the pill receptacle.
The latter so-called
permanent adhesives are of particular interest for us in this Background of
the Invention section and
it will be considered from hereon that a permanent adhesive is used unless
noted otherwise.
To apply the sealing sheet on the pill receptacle, the protective sheet is
first peeled
away from the sealing sheet and the sealing sheet may then be applied on the
pill receptacle. This is
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accomplished by aligning the cover sheet member with respect to the pill
receptacle with the help of
a tray on which the pill receptacle rests. The tray, the pill receptacle and
the cover sheet member
indeed comprise complementary alignment members that allow the pill receptacle
and the cover
sheet member to be properly aligned with respect to each other before the
protective sheet is
removed when they are installed on the tray. These alignment members are found
for example in the
form of lugs that extend from the tray, these lugs cooperating with holes made
in the pill receptacle
and the cover sheet member to align the cover sheet member with respect to the
pill receptacle. Once
this alignment is achieved, the protective sheet is removed and the sealing
sheet is applied on the pill
receptacle.
Pills are inserted in the pill compartments before the sealing sheet is
applied on the
pill receptacle.
Some pill receptacles include weakness zones along the edges that circumscribe
the
pill compartments, to allow the individually sealed pill compartments from
being detached from the
rest of the pill receptacle. This allows individual medication doses to be
distributed to patients
instead of providing them with an entire pill container. The weakness zones on
the pill receptacle are
designed to allow the pill compartments from being easily manually detached by
being sheared off
from the adjacent pill receptacle portions. The sealing sheet is usually
provided with weakness zones
also in the form of cutaway lines that correspond to the position of the pill
receptacle weakness
zones, to allow the sealing sheet to tear cleanly when a pill compartment is
detached.
Whether the pill compartments are detachable from the rest of the pill
receptacle or
not, to retrieve the pills from the sealed pill compartments, the sealing
sheet must be pierced above
desired pill compartments whereby access to the pills becomes possible. One
interest in having the
sealing sheet being pierced is that it is easy to visually assess whether the
pill receptacle has been
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accessed or not. This helps prevent patients from voluntarily or involuntarily
taking more or less
medication than they should.
The sealing sheet may be provided with weakness zones thereon to facilitate a
person's
finger piercing the sealing sheet above pill compartments. It is known for
example to provide a
s weakness zone in the form of a single central line of perforations in the
cover sheet member above
each pill compartment. Consequently, it is easier for patients or the medical
staff to gain access to the
pill compartments. This is especially desirable for patients that have less
strength in their fingers or
other physically or neurologically related motor disorders that complicate
physical motor actions such
as forcing their finger through a sealing sheet over a pill compartment. When
such a weakness zone is
l0 provided, a central hole will be more readily formed through the sealing
sheet since the sheet yields at
the weakness zone when pressure is applied thereon. The sealing sheet is
likely to form inwardly
folded flanges once it is thus pierced as the finger pushes the sheet into the
pill compartment.
One problem with conventional pill containers such as the one detailed above,
relates to
replacing sealing sheets. Indeed, pill prescriptions will often change
depending on the ever-evolving
is medical condition of a patient. However, pill containers such as the one
discussed above are usually
used to prepare pills for an entire week; and moreover it is possible for
pharmacists to prepare more
than one pill container at a time for a given user, i.e. medication may be
prepared several weeks in
advance and consequently several pill containers may be prepared in advance.
When a permanent adhesive is used, changing the medication in a pill container
means
20 that the sealing sheet above selected pill compartments needs to be pierced
to access the pills. If all the
pill compartments need to be accessed, then the entire pill container may be
changed, a new pill
receptacle and a new cover sheet member will be used. However, if only
selected ones of the pill
compartments have been accessed and some others remain sealed, after the.pills
have been changed,
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the accessed pill compartments need to be sealed once again. This will occur
rather frequently as
one type of medication among the several found in a pill container, will be
changed for the entire
week at a given time of day: for example, the "morning" medication will be
changed for the entire
week. However, for re-sealing the accessed pill compartments, simply adding
another sealing sheet
5 above the previous sealing sheet is then not an option since the original
sealing sheet remains over
the other pill compartments where the medication was not changed, e.g. above
the "lunch", "supper"
and "bedtime" compartments. This means that the addition of an entire sealing
sheet over the
original sheet results in some pill compartments being sealed with two stacked
sealing sheets. Many
patients, especially those with physiologically or neurologically related
motor disorders, will be
io incapable of piercing the two stacked sealing sheets to access the pill
compartments.
A few solutions have been proposed when the medical condition of the patient
requires part of the pills to be changed in the pill container, none of which
have been satisfactory.
One known way to go about changing the pills is first to pierce the sealing
sheet over
the pill compartments where pills need to be changed as described above,
change the pills that need
to be changed, and to then install a single adhesive sealing repair tab over
the specific pill
compartments that have been opened. These tabs usually include a recognizable
inscription such as a
red line to confirm that the pill compartment has been officially re-sealed
after it has been tampered
with. It is indeed important for the patients and medical staff to be able to
confirm that the pill
compartments have been accessed by authorized personnel only.
This method of changing pills is problematic for a few reasons. Firstly,
patients may
become suspicious when a pill compartments have obviously been opened, even if
the official repair
tab is recognizable. Secondly, it is tedious to install individual repair tabs
on each pill compartment
where pills have been changed. This is especially true since medication is
usually changed for the
entire week at a given time of day, as indicated hereinabove, requiring that
repair tabs be installed
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on seven pill compartments or more. It is recalled that each repair tab must
be positioned precisely
to avoid partly covering adjacent pill compartments to prevent the repair tab
from reinforcing a
sealed pill compartment by stacking on top of the sealing sheet: consequently,
placing the repair tabs
is a meticulous and time-consuming operation. Thirdly, once a repair tab is
installed, there can
remain underlying flanges of the original sealing sheet that extend partly
into the pill compartment
and, more importantly, under the new sealing sheet, if the sealing sheet was
pierced without
substantially conforming to the contour of the pill compartment. These
inopportune flanges can
support the peripheral edges of the repair tab. This makes it more difficult
for a person to break
through the repair tab when the medication underneath it needs to be accessed
since the repair tab is
supported and reinforced by the underlying portions of the sealing sheet
flanges about the hole that
was made to first access and change the medication in the pill compartment.
Patients with
physiologically or neurologically related motor disorders are sometimes
incapable of piercing such
an undesirably reinforced repair tab.
An alternate known method for changing the pills in a sealed pill container
includes
cutting open with a knife the bottom wall, opposite the top mouth opening, of
each pill compartment
where pills need to be changed. This forms bottom openings in the pill
compartments while the top
openings remain sealed with the sealing sheet. It is then possible to change
the pills in the pill
compartments through the bottom wall openings and seal the bottom wall
openings with an
officially recognizable repair tab. The problems noted above are also true for
this alternate method
of changing the pills, except that the repair tab needs not be pierced to
access to the pills in the pill
compartments. Indeed, ulterior access by the patient or medical staff to the
pills will conventionally
be through the sealing sheet that covers the top mouth openings of the pill
compartments. It will not
be more difficult to gain access to the pills since the user needs not force
through a repair tab
reinforced by underlying sealing sheet flanges. However, while this latter
problem is solved, the
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other above-noted problems remain and another is created: it is yet more
complex and time
consuming to change the pills, requiring dedicated equipment to do so: knife
and a cutting frame are
provided for this purpose, the cutting frame having a slot that can be engaged
by the knife to cut the
bottom wall off the required pill compartments without cutting the entire pill
compartment off.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of sealing selected pill
compartments of a
pill receptacle having a number of recessed pill compartments formed therein,
said method
comprising the steps of:
providing a cover sheet member comprising a sealing sheet with a top
identification surface
on which information can be printed and a bottom adhesive surface provided
with an adhesive, said
cover sheet member further comprising a protective sheet that removably
overlays said sealing sheet
on its adhesive surface;
providing first weakness zones on said cover sheet member that extend
transversely through
said sealing sheet and said protective sheet in a registering fashion to
define first cutaway lines on
said cover sheet member;
separating a fraction of said cover sheet member from the rest of said cover
sheet member
along at least some of said first cutaway lines, including concurrently
separating corresponding
fractions of said sealing sheet and said protective sheet in registering
fashion;
peeling said protective sheet fraction away from said sealing sheet fraction
on said cover
sheet member fraction; and
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covering and individually sealing said selected pill compartments by applying
said adhesive
surface of said sealing sheet fraction on said pill receptacle whereby said
adhesive surface of said
sealing sheet fraction adheres to said pill receptacle about said pill
compartments.
In one embodiment, the step of providing first weakness zones on said cover
sheet
member comprises providing registering perforations respectively located on
said sealing sheet and
on said protective sheet to define said first cutaway lines on said cover
sheet member.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing second
weakness zones on said cover sheet member that extend transversely through
said sealing sheet but
not through said protective sheet to define second cutaway lines on said
sealing sheet only.
In one embodiment, the step of separating a fraction of said cover sheet
member from
the rest of said cover sheet member is also accomplished along at least some
of said second cutaway
lines.
In one embodiment, said pill compartments are disposed in perpendicular rows
and
columns in said pill receptacle, said first cutaway lines are parallel to one
another, said second
cutaways lines are parallel to one another and perpendicular to said first
cutaway lines and the step
of covering and individually sealing said selected pill compartments by
applying said adhesive
surface of said sealing sheet fraction on said pill receptacle includes
positioning said sealing sheet
fraction relative to said pill receptacle so that said first cutaway lines
will extend between at least
some of said columns and said second cutaway lines will extend between at
least some of said rows.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing third
weakness zones on said cover sheet member, wherein the step of covering and
individually sealing
said selected pill compartments by applying said adhesive surface of said
sealing sheet fraction on
said pill receptacle includes positioning said sealing sheet fraction relative
to said pill receptacle so
that said third weakness zones will overlie said selected pill compartments,
said third weakness
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zones facilitating access to said selected pill compartments by facilitating
bursting through said
sealing sheet fraction.
In one embodiment, said third weakness zones define third cutaway lines
forming
closed loops that will each substantially register with a peripheral edge
portion of a corresponding
said pill compartment when said third weakness zones overlie said selected
pill compartments.
In one embodiment, said third weakness zones further defining a pair of fourth
cutaway lines located within said closed loops.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the step of providing fifth
cutaway
lines that define protective tabs made in said protective sheet, wherein
during the step of peeling
said protective sheet fraction away from said sealing sheet fraction, said
protective tabs remain on
said sealing sheet adhesive surface and during the step of covering and
individually sealing said
selected pill compartments by applying said adhesive surface of said sealing
sheet fraction on said
pill receptacle, said protective tabs become aligned with said selected number
of pill compartments
so as to prevent said sealing sheet adhesive surface from being exposed in
said selected pill
compartments.
In one embodiment, before the step of covering and individually sealing said
selected
pill compartments by applying said adhesive surface of said sealing sheet
fraction on said pill
receptacle, said method comprising the step of aligning said cover sheet
member with respect to said
pill receptacle with a tray comprising alignment members that are
complementary to alignment
members provided on said pill receptacle and said cover sheet member.
In one embodiment, the step of aligning said cover sheet member with respect
to said
pill receptacle includes engaging lugs that project from said tray in holes
formed in said pill
receptacle and in said cover sheet member.
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In one embodiment, the step of providing a cover sheet member includes
printing
information on said top identification surface of said sealing sheet, said
information including at
least one of medical information, medication information, user identification,
date, time of the day at
which the pills should be taken, name of the user's pharmacist and name of the
prescribing doctor.
5 In one embodiment, said cover sheet member comprises a header portion
separated
from said first cutaway lines by one of said second cutaway lines.
The present invention also relates to a method of changing pills in and re-
sealing a
pill container, said pill container comprising a pill receptacle having a
number of recessed pill
compartments formed therein with at least some of said pill compartments
holding pills and being
10 partly sealed with a first sealing sheet which is affixed to said pill
receptacle so as to form originally
sealed pill compartments, said method comprising the steps of:
changing pills in selected pill compartments which are not covered by said
first sealing sheet;
providing a cover sheet member comprising a second sealing sheet with a top
identification
surface on which information can be printed and a bottom adhesive surface
provided with an
adhesive, said cover sheet member further comprising a protective sheet which
overlays said second
sealing sheet on its adhesive surface;
providing first weakness zones on said cover sheet member that extend
transversely through
said second sealing sheet and said protective sheet in a registering fashion
to define first cutaway
lines on said cover sheet member;
- separating a fraction of said cover sheet member from the rest of said cover
sheet member
along at least some of said first cutaway lines, including concurrently
separating corresponding
fractions of said second sealing sheet and said protective sheet in
registering fashion;
peeling said protective sheet fraction away from said second sealing sheet
fraction on said
cover sheet member fraction; and
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covering and individually sealing said selected pill compartments by applying
said adhesive
surface of said sealing sheet fraction on said pill receptacle whereby said
adhesive surface of said
sealing sheet fraction adheres to said pill receptacle about said pill
compartments.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises, before the step of changing
pills in
selected pill compartments, the step of piercing said first sealing sheet over
a number of originally
sealed pill compartments so as to allow access therein, thereby forming at
least some of said selected
pill compartments.
The present invention further relates to a cover sheet member for use with a
pill
receptacle having a number of recessed pill compartments, said cover sheet
member defining
peripheral edges and comprising:
a sealing sheet with a top identification surface on which information can be
printed and a
bottom adhesive surface provided with an adhesive;
a protective sheet which overlays said sealing sheet on its adhesive surface;
first weakness zones that extend transversely through said sealing sheet and
said protective
sheet in a registering fashion to define first cutaway lines that are parallel
to one another;
second weakness zones that extend transversely through said sealing sheet but
not through
said protective sheet to define second cutaway lines that are parallel to one
another;
wherein said first and second cutaway lines are disposed perpendicularly to
form rows between
consecutive said second cutaway lines and between some of said second cutaway
lines and some of
said cover sheet member peripheral edges; and columns between consecutive said
first cutaway lines
and between some of said first cutaway lines and some of said cover sheet
member peripheral edges;
wherein said protective sheet may be peeled away from said sealing sheet for
applying said sealing
sheet on said pill receptacle to cover and individually seal said number of
pill compartments; and
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wherein alternately a fraction of said cover sheet member can be separated
from the rest of said
cover sheet member along at least some of said first cutaway lines, including
concurrently
separating corresponding fractions of said sealing sheet and said protective
sheet in registering
fashion, whereby said protective sheet fraction may be peeled away from said
sealing sheet fraction
on said cover sheet member fraction for applying said sealing sheet fraction
on said pill receptacle
for covering and individually sealing selected ones of said number of pill
compartments.
In one embodiment, said cover sheet member further comprises a header portion
separated from said first cutaway lines by one of said second cutaway lines
and being circumscribed
by said one of said second cutaway lines and by at least some of said cover
sheet member peripheral
edges.
The present invention also relates to a kit for sorting and containing pills,
comprising
a pill receptacle having a number of recessed pill compartments formed therein
and a cover sheet
member defining peripheral edges and comprising:
a sealing sheet with a top identification surface on which information can be
printed and a
bottom adhesive surface provided with an adhesive;
a protective sheet which overlays said sealing sheet on its adhesive surface;
first weakness zones that extend transversely through said sealing sheet and
said protective
sheet in a registering fashion to define first cutaway lines that are parallel
to one another;
second weakness zones that extend transversely through said sealing sheet but
not through
said protective sheet to define second cutaway lines that are parallel to one
another;
wherein said first and second cutaway lines are disposed perpendicularly to
form rows between
consecutive said second cutaway lines and between some of said second cutaway
lines and some of
said cover sheet member peripheral edges; and columns between consecutive said
first cutaway lines
and between some of said first cutaway lines and some of said cover sheet
member peripheral edges;
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wherein said protective sheet may be peeled away from said sealing sheet to
apply said sealing sheet
on said pill receptacle to cover and individually seal said number of pill
compartments; and
wherein alternately a fraction of said cover sheet member can be separated
from the rest of said
cover sheet member along at least some of said first cutaway lines, including
concurrently
separating corresponding fractions of said sealing sheet and said protective
sheet in registering
fashion, whereby said protective sheet fraction may be peeled away from said
sealing sheet fraction
on said cover sheet member fraction to apply said sealing sheet fraction on
said pill receptacle to
cover and individually seal selected ones of said number of pill compartments.
In one embodiment, the kit further comprises an additional cover sheet member
similar to the first-named said cover sheet member.
The present invention further relates to a method of producing a cover sheet
member
defining peripheral edges and comprising the following steps:
providing a sealing sheet with a top identification surface on which
information can be
printed and a bottom adhesive surface provided with an adhesive;
- providing a protective sheet;
- overlaying said protective sheet on said sealing sheet adhesive surface;
- forming first weakness zones that extend transversely through said sealing
sheet and said
protective sheet in a registering fashion to define first cutaway lines that
are parallel to one another;
forming second weakness zones that extend transversely through said sealing
sheet but not
through said protective sheet to define second cutaway lines that are parallel
to one another;
wherein said first and second cutaway lines are disposed perpendicularly to
form rows between
consecutive said second cutaway lines and between some of said second cutaway
lines and some of
said cover sheet member peripheral edges; and columns between consecutive said
first cutaway lines
and between some of said first cutaway lines and some of said cover sheet
member peripheral edges.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the annexed drawings:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tray which is part of a kit for sorting
and
containing pills according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the tray of figure 1 on which a transparent
pill
receptacle is being installed, the pill receptacle being shown in a tilted
position before it finally
comes to rest atop the tray;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the tray and pill receptacle of figure 2,
with the pill
receptacle resting atop the tray in an operative position, and further showing
pills in the pill
to compartments of the pill receptacle;
Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a cover sheet member which is part
of the
kit for sorting and containing pills according to the present invention;
Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view, at a smaller scale, of the kit for
sorting and
containing pills according to the present invention, including the tray and
pill receptacle of figure 2
together with the cover sheet member of figure 4;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of a sealed pill receptacle containing pills,
with the
leftmost column of pill compartments being identified with a peripheral dotted
line; and
Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the sealed pill receptacle of
figure 6
which is installed on the tray of figure 1 with the sealing sheet above the
leftmost column of pill
compartments having been pierced to allow access to the pills therein, figure
7 further showing a
new cover sheet member which is fragmented into a new cover sheet member
fraction which is to be
applied to re-seal the pill compartments above which the sealing sheet has
been pierced and a new
cover sheet member disposable portion which will be disposed of.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
Figures 1-7 show in whole or in part a kit 20 for sorting and containing
pills, that
comprises a tray 22 shown alone in figure 1. Tray 22 has a head portion 22a, a
recessed portion 22b,
opposite top and bottom surfaces 24, 26 and a peripheral side surface 28. Tray
22 comprises a
5 number of recesses 30 in its recessed portion 22b with top mouth openings
that are oriented towards
the top surface 24 of tray 22. Alignment members in the form of a groove 32
and lugs 34a, 34b, 34c
(collectively referred to as lugs 34) are integrally formed in and project
from the top surface 24 of
tray 22 in its head portion 22a. Tray 22 may be made from any suitable
material, for example rigid
plastic.
10 Figures 1-6, and in particular figure 2, show that kit 20 further comprises
a pill
receptacle 36 that can be made of any suitable material such as a preformed
semi-rigid transparent
plastic sheet. Pill receptacle 36 has a main recessed portion 36b bordered by
an upper marginal edge
portion 36a and top and bottom surfaces 38, 40. Pill receptacle comprises a
number of recessed pill
compartments 42 formed in its recessed portion 36b. Pill compartments 42 have
top mouth openings
15 that are oriented towards the top surface 38 of pill receptacle 36. The top
mouth openings of pill
receptacle 36 are circumscribed by edges 39 coplanar to each other.
Pill compartments 42 are of a shape, size and configuration that allow them to
fit into
corresponding recesses 30 in tray 22 when pill receptacle 36 is installed with
its bottom surface 40
resting on the top surface 24 of tray 22. In the embodiment shown in the
drawings, the number of
recesses 30 in tray 22 corresponds to the number of pill compartments 42 in
pill receptacle 36. Also,
pill compartments 42 are arranged in perpendicular rows and columns, as are
recesses 30 in tray 22.
The engagement of pill compartments 42 in recesses 30 is facilitated by
providing
complementary alignment members on tray 22 and on pill receptacle 36. More
particularly, an
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alignment member in the form of a rib 44 on pill receptacle marginal edge
portion 36a can fit into
and engage a complementary alignment member in the form of groove 32 in tray
22 when pill
receptacle 36 is installed atop tray 22. Additional alignment members in the
form of a pair of holes
46a, 46b (collectively referred to as holes 46) can be engaged by
complementary alignment
members in the form of lugs 34a, 34b of tray 22 (figures 2 and 3).
It is consequently possible to install pill receptacle 36 on tray 22 in a very
stable
manner, by using the complementary alignment members 32, 34, 44, 46 to
properly align pill
receptacle 36 with respect to tray 22, thus allowing the pill compartments 42
to fit into
corresponding recesses 30 in tray 22 when pill receptacle 36 rests atop tray
22.
Pills P, which may include pills of varying nature and even medication in
other forms
as will be obvious for someone skilled in the art, may then be inserted into
the different pill
compartments 42. In the example shown in the drawings, pill receptacle 36
includes seven rows that
are each destined to represent one day of the week, for example from Sunday to
Saturday; and four
columns that are each destined to represent one time of the day at which
medication is to be taken,
i5 for example morning, lunch, supper and bedtime. Thus, a pharmacist who
inserts pills P in pill
receptacle 36 will distribute pills P in each pill compartment according to
the time of day at which
the medication is to be taken. Also, it is likely that pill compartments 42 of
a same column will
contain the same pills since it is usual for patients to take pills of a given
type every day at a given
time of day. For example, if a patient takes a particular pill every morning,
then one such pill will be
inserted into each pill compartment 42 of the leftmost column of pill
receptacle 36. The pills are
thus distributed in all predetermined pill compartments 42. Note that some
pill compartments may
remain empty, for example if a patient takes not pills at bedtime, then the
rightmost column of pill
compartments 42 will remain empty.
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According to the present invention, kit 20 further comprises a cover sheet
member 48
shown in figure 4-6 and shown alone in figure 4. Cover sheet member 48 has
peripheral edges that
include an upper edge 48a, a lower edge 48b and side edges 48c, 48d (figure
5). Cover sheet
member 48 comprises a sealing sheet 50 with a top identification surface 52 on
which information
can be printed and a bottom adhesive surface 54 provided with a permanent
adhesive. Cover sheet
member 48 further comprises a protective sheet 56 which overlays sealing sheet
50 on its adhesive
surface 54. The material used for protective sheet 56 will be a material that
allows it to be peeled
away from sealing sheet 50 even though it overlays and is applied against the
adhesive-covered
adhesive surface 54 of sealing sheet 50, as known in the art. This is true
even if the adhesive is a
permanent adhesive. Also, protective sheet 56 is of a dimension which is
slightly larger than that of
sealing sheet 50 to form edgewise projection to facilitate protective sheet 56
being individually
grasped to peel it off.
Cover sheet member 48 comprises first weakness zones that extend transversely
through sealing sheet 50 and protective sheet 56 in a registering fashion to
define vertical first
cutaway lines 60', 60" (collectively referred to as vertical first cutaway
lines 60) that are parallel to
one another. Reference to horizontal and vertical orientations are made herein
in reference to the
conventional orientation associated to the rectangular shape of the cover
sheet member 48 where the
vertical orientation is defined as parallel to the longer side edges 48c, 48d
of the rectangular cover
sheet member 48 while the horizontal orientation is defined as parallel to the
shorter upper and
lower edges 48a, 48b of the rectangular sheet member 48. Cutaway lines 60' are
located on sealing
sheet 50 while cutaway lines 60" are located on protective sheet 56 and each
register with a
corresponding cutaway line 60'.
Cover sheet member 48 further comprises second weakness zones that extend
transversely through sealing sheet 50 but not through protective sheet 56 to
define horizontal second
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
18
cutaway lines 62 that are parallel to one another and perpendicular to the
vertical first cutaway lines
60.
Columns are defined between each two consecutive vertical first cutaway lines
60
and between side edges 48c, 48d and the adjacent first cutaway lines 60; and
rows are defined
between each two consecutive horizontal second cutaway lines 62 and between
lower edge 48b and
the adjacent horizontal second cutaway line 62. Cover sheet member cells 63',
63" (collectively
referred to as cells 63) are defined at each column and row intersection, with
cells 63' being located
on sealing sheet 50 while cells 63" are located on protective sheet 56 and
each register with a
corresponding cell 63'. It is noted that even though second cutaway lines 62
are located exclusively
io on sealing sheet 50, cells 63" are defined on protective sheet 56 according
to the registering position
of second cutaway lines 62 on protective sheet 56 when sealing sheet 50 and
protective sheet 56 are
assembled.
Cover sheet member 48 also comprises third weakness zones that extend
transversely
through sealing sheet 50 and protective sheet 56 in a registering fashion to
define third cutaway lines
64', 64" (collectively referred to as third cutaway lines 64) forming closed
loops. Each third cutaway
line 64 is located within a cell 63. The third weakness zones further define
fourth cutaway lines 66',
66" (collectively referred to as fourth cutaway lines 66) located within the
closed loops formed by
third cutaway lines 64. Fourth cutaway lines 66 are in the form of two short
spaced-apart vertical
lines that each extends short of the periphery of the third cutaway lines 64
that circumscribes them.
Third cutaway lines 64' and fourth cutaway lines 66' are located on sealing
sheet 50 while third
cutaway lines 64" and fourth cutaway lines 66" are located on protective sheet
56. Each third
cutaway line 64' registers with a corresponding third cutaway line 64" and
each fourth cutaway line
66' registers with a corresponding fourth cutaway line 66".
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
19
In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the first and third weakness zones
are
perforations that extend through both sealing sheet 50 and protective sheet
56. The second weakness
zones are perforations that extend through sealing sheet 50 but not through
said protective sheet 56.
The perforations shown are elongated and regularly spaced-apart (and thus
should not be confused
with dotted lines in the annexed drawings), but any other suitable shape or
configuration could also
be envisioned such as small, round punch-through holes or the like.
Cover sheet member 48 further comprises fourth weakness zones that extend
transversely through protective sheet 56 only and not through sealing sheet 50
to define horizontal
fifth and sixth cutaway lines 67, 68 that are parallel to the above-mentioned
horizontal second
cutaway lines 62 albeit not on the same sheet. The position of fifth cutaway
line 67 preferably does
not register with that of the uppermost second cutaway line 62 when sealing 50
and protective sheet
56 are assembled. A removable protective strip 65 is defined between
horizontal fifth and sixth
cutaway lines 67, 68 on protective sheet 56.
Cover sheet member 48 also comprises fifth weakness zones that extend
transversely
through protective sheet 56 only but not through sealing sheet 50 to define
seventh cutaway lines 69
that form closed loops each located within a cover sheet member cell and
around one of the afore-
mentioned third cut-away lines 64" that also form closed loops albeit of
smaller size.
Both the fifth, sixth and seventh cutaway lines 67, 68, 69 are continuous
instead of
being formed of spaced apart perforations as per the first, second, third and
fourth cutaway lines.
These continuous cuts will facilitate the portions of the protective sheet 56
on either side of such a
cut from being separated; and more specifically when one portion on one side
of a continuous
cutaway line 67, 68, 69 is peeled away, the other portion on the opposite side
of the cut will remain
attached to the sealing sheet adhesive surface 54, as described hereinafter.
For example, protective
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
strip 65 may be peeled off without the remaining portions of protective sheet
56 being carried with
it.
Cover sheet member 48 further comprises alignment members in the form of holes
70a', 70a", 70b', 70b" and 70c', 70c" (collectively referred to as holes 70)
that are punched through
5 sealing sheet 50 in the case of holes 70a', 70b' and 70c' and through
protective sheet 56 in the case of
holes 70a", 70b" and 70c". Hole 70a' registers with hole 70a" (and are
collectively referred to as
holes 70a), hole 70b' registers with hole 70b" (and are collectively referred
to as holes 70b) and hole
70c' registers with hole 70c" (and are collectively referred to as holes 70c).
Cover sheet member 48 defines a header portion 72 on one side of the uppermost
io horizontal second cutaway line 62 where holes 70 are located; and a cell
portion 74 which is defined
on the other side of the uppermost horizontal second cutaway line 62 where the
cover sheet member
cells 63 are located.
Information may be printed on the identification surface of sealing sheet 50.
This
information may include medical information, medication information, user
identification, date,
15 time of the day at which the pills should be taken, name of the user's
pharmacist and name of the
prescribing doctor; together with any other desired information. Some of this
information will be
summarized in each cover sheet member cell 63 (see figures 5-8) while some
information may be
provided in more detail in the header portion 72 of sealing sheet 50. It is
practical for pharmacists to
use convention laser or ink jet office printers to print information on cover
sheet member 48.
20 Cover sheet member 48 is used to cover and individually seal each pill
compartment
42 of pill receptacle 36 after the pills are inserted in pill receptacle 36.
The adhesive surface 54 of
sealing sheet 50 is partly exposed during the process to adhere to the pill
receptacle 36 to serve this
purpose, as described hereinafter. Before sealing sheet 50 is applied to pill
receptacle 36, protective
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
21
sheet 56 overlays the sealing sheet adhesive surface 54 to avoid accidental
adherence thereof to
miscellaneous objects.
After pills P are inserted into pill receptacle 36, protective strip 65 is
peeled away
from sealing sheet 56. Since strip 65 is bordered by the two continuous fifth
and sixth cutaway lines
67, 68, removal of strip 65 meets little resistance. The exposed portion of
the adhesive surface 54 of
sealing sheet 50, namely the portion that has been uncovered by removing strip
65, is then applied
against the marginal edge portion 36a of pill receptacle 36 and adheres
thereto. This latter operation
is facilitated by cover sheet member 48 being properly aligned with pill
receptacle 36, by means of
the complementary alignment members provided on tray 22, pill receptacle 36
and cover sheet
io member 48. More particularly, as shown in figure 5, the holes 46a, 46b of
pill receptacle 36 engage
the two lugs 34a, 34b of tray 22; and the holes 70a, 70b, 70c of cover sheet
member 48 engage the
three lugs 34a, 34b, 34c of tray 22. This is done with pill receptacle 36
being first installed on tray
22 as shown in figure 3 and as described hereinabove; and cover sheet member
48 then being
installed over pill receptacle 36 with its protective sheet 56 facing towards
pill receptacle 36 and
with the identification surface 52 of its sealing sheet 50 being upwardly
oriented to apply the
exposed portion of adhesive surface 54 against pill receptacle marginal edge
portion 36a.
From then on, with cover sheet member 48 being attached to pill receptacle 36
along
its marginal edge portion 36a, cover sheet member 48 will remain aligned with
respect to pill
receptacle 36, while access to pill compartments 42 remains possible by
lifting the cover sheet
member cell portion 74. Verification of the content of pill compartments 42
may be accomplished
by the pharmacist before pill compartments 42 are definitively sealed.
The cell portion 74 of protective sheet 56 is then peeled away from sealing
sheet 50
for applying sealing sheet 50 on the coplanar edges 39 of the top mouth
openings of pill
compartments 42. This will allow sealing sheet 50 to cover and individually
seal each pill
CA 02631095 2010-09-03
22
compartment 42 after pills P have been inserted in pill receptacle 36. This is
made possible while
cover sheet member 48 remains linked to pill receptacle 36 by means of its
adherence to the pill
receptacle marginal edge portion 36a. More particularly, the cell portion 74
may be lifted to allow
manual access to protective sheet 56. Then, the cell portion 74 of protective
sheet 56 may be peeled
away to expose the underlying adhesive surface 54 of sealing sheet 50. With
sealing strip 65 which
has already been removed, when the ccll portion 74 of protective sheet 56 is
peeled away, the
protective sheet header portion 72 will remain attached to sealing sheet 50
above sixth cutaway line
68. The header portion 72 of protective sheet 50 will consequently not
accidentally stick to the tray
head portion 22a.
Furthermore, as the cell portion 74 of protective sheet 56 is peeled away, the
continuous seventh cutaway lines 69 will allow protective tabs 76 to separate
from the rest of the
cell portion 74 of protective sheet 56 to remain attached to sealing sheet 50.
Protective tabs 76 are
formed by the portions of protective sheet 56 located within seventh cutaway
lines 69 that form
closed loops.
Sealing sheet 50 will then have part of the cell portion 74 of its adhesive
surface 54
exposed, namely the entire cell portion 74 thereof except for that which is
covered by protective
tabs 76. Sealing sheet may thus be applied against pill receptacle 36, and
more particularly the
exposed parts of its adhesive surface 54 will adhere to the edges 39 that
circumscribe the top mouth
openings of pill compartments 42 to cover and individually seal each pill
compartment 42. The
protective tabs 76 will cover the sealing sheet adhesive surface 54 over every
pill compartment 42
for preventing the adhesive surface 54 from being exposed in pill compartments
42.
Fill receptacle 36 and cover sheet member 48, now attached to each other, may
then
be removed from tray 22. The header portion 72 of cover sheet member 48 above
sixth cutaway
line 68 may be removed from the remaining portion of the cover sheet member 48
by tearing cover
sheet
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
23
member 48 along the pill receptacle marginal edge portion 36a. A sealed pill
receptacle 78 is
obtained as shown in figure 6. It is noted that although sealing sheet 50 does
not have a cutaway line
at the pill receptacle marginal edge portion 36a position, the tearing of
sheet 48 is facilitated by
using the upper edge of pill receptacle marginal edge portion 36a to tear off
the header portion 72 of
cover sheet member 48 beyond pill receptacle marginal edge portion 36a.
A person may manually access pills P in the sealed pill receptacle 78 by
piercing the
sealing sheet above selected pill compartments 42 by forcing his finger
through the sealing sheet and
the underlying protective tabs 76. The latter offer marginal resistance at
best since they do not
adhere to pill receptacle 36. In any event, the fourth cutaway lines 66 help
the user burst through
io sealing sheet 50 and protective tab 76 by locally weakening sealing sheet
50 and protective tab 76.
Moreover, it is possible to remove the entire cover sheet member portion above
a given pill
compartment 42 with the help of the third cutaway lines 64 that allow an
elongated sheet portion to
be removed, the shape of which generally corresponds to the contour of the
underlying pill
receptacle 42. The shape of the third cutaway lines 64 can be slightly
different than the contour of
the underlying pill receptacle 42, for example as shown in the drawings where
rectangular pill
compartments 42 underlie ovoid third cutaway lines 64. However, having
approximately the same
shape allows approximately the entire pill receptacle 42 top mouth opening
from being cleared when
the sealing sheet 50 above a given pill receptacle 42 is pierced.
Sealing sheet 50 will be pierced by patients, with or without the help of
medical staff,
to access pills P in determined pill compartments 42. The pill compartment 42
to be access is easily
determined due to the data printed on the sealing sheet identification surface
52
One reason to pierce sealing sheet 50 above selected pill compartments 42 is
to
change pills P therein. In the present specification, changing pills P means
either inserting one or
more pills into an empty pill compartment 42, removing one or more pills from
a pill compartment
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
24
42 without adding new pills, or both removing one or more pills and adding one
or more pills into a
pill compartment 42. The medical staff, and more particularly a pharmacist, is
usually responsible
for changing pills in a pill receptacle 36. As noted in the Background of the
Invention section,
changing pills can be done for example as a result of a patient's evolving
medical condition which
requires the medication to also evolve accordingly.
Changing pills is often accomplished by changing all pills taken at a given
time of
day, for example all pills taken in the morning. Pills compartments 42 for
morning pills are
represented by the leftmost column of pill compartments 42 in the annexed
drawings, as suggested
in dotted lines in figure 6. Figure 7 shows that the sealing sheet 50 has been
pierced over all the
"morning" pill compartments 42 in sealed pill receptacle 78 to allow access to
and change the pills P
therein. It is noted that the substantially the entire to mouth opening of the
pill compartments 42
where pills need to be changed have been cleared, i.e. the entire cover sheet
member portions within
third cutaway lines 64 have been removed. Thus, no undesirable flanges that
might support and
eventual overlying sealing sheet remain.
After having changed pills P in selected pill compartments 42, these pill
receptacles
42 are to be sealed once again. This may be accomplished as shown in figure 7
by using a new cover
sheet member 148 which is similar to the other cover sheet member 48 used to
originally seal pill
receptacle 36. The same reference numbers will be used in the present
specification and drawings to
identify the same structures on new cover sheet member 148 than on the
original cover sheet
member 48, except for the sheet itself (148). New cover sheet member 148 is
printed with the
appropriate updated data according to the modified medication doses.
As noted above, new cover sheet member 148 may be used to seal selected pill
compartments 42 only, namely those pill compartments 42 over which the
original cover sheet
member 48 has been pierced. To install new cover sheet member 148, strip 65 is
removed from the
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
new cover sheet member 148 as suggested in figure 7 to have the thusly exposed
surface of the
sealing sheet adhesive surface 54 be applied and adhere to the marginal edge
portion 36a of pill
receptacle 36 which is covered by the original sealing sheet 50. This
operation is facilitated by the
alignment of new cover sheet member 148 with respect to sealed pill receptacle
78 which is obtained
5 by installing sealed pill receptacle 78 on tray 22 with lugs 34 engaging
holes 46; and then engaging
the tray lugs 34 into the holes 70 of new cover sheet member 148.
According to the present invention, a fraction of new cover sheet member 148
is then
separated from the rest the cover sheet member 148 along at least some of the
first cutaway lines 60.
In this particular example, the cover sheet member 148 is separated along the
leftmost vertical first
10 cutaway line 60; and along the topmost horizontal second cutaway line 62
from the leftmost vertical
first cutaway line 60 to the right edge of the cover sheet member 148. This
operation includes
separating concurrently sealing sheet 50 and protective sheet 56 in
registering fashion as far as the
separation along first cutaway lines 60 is concerned, to form a cover sheet
member fraction 80
which comprises a single column of cells that remains attached to the cover
sheet member header
15 portion 72. This column of cells corresponds to the "morning" doses. A
disposable portion 82 of
new cover sheet member 148 is defined by the columns of cells which are not
desired and which
may be disposed of as desired.
Having first cutaway lines 60 that extend through both sealing sheet 50 and
protective
sheet 56 allow a clean cut to be made when the cover sheet member fraction 80
is formed. This is
20 important since an irregular tear may result in cover sheet member fraction
80 being undesirably
torn within some cells 63, compromising the sealing capacity of cover sheet
member fraction 80
over some pill compartments 42. Furthermore, an irregular tear may also result
in sealing sheet 50
and protective sheet 56 tearing in non registering fashion, allowing some
portions of sealing sheet
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
26
adhesive surface 54 to become undesirably exposed and accidentally sticking to
miscellaneous
objects.
It is noted that cover sheet member fraction 80 may be formed by removing
disposable portion 82 either after new cover sheet member 148 is attached to
pill receptacle
marginal edge portion 36a, or before it is attached thereto. In other words,
it would also be possible
to first detach and remove disposable portion 82, then remove protective strip
65 and apply the
thusly exposed portion of adhesive surface 54 of cover sheet member fraction
80 to the pill
receptacle marginal edge portion 36a.
The cover sheet member 148 separation along the topmost cutaway line 62 will
not
io yield an irregular tear on protective sheet 56 since the fifth cutaway line
67, although not registering
with topmost second cutaway line 62, is close enough that the separation will
be possible.
Furthermore, if protective strip 65 has been removed before the separation
occurs, then sealing sheet
50 will constitute the only layer along topmost second cutaway line 62.
The fraction of protective sheet 56 on cover sheet member fraction 80 may be
peeled
away from the fraction of sealing sheet 50 to form a sealing sheet fraction
that can be applied on the
sealed pill receptacle 78 to cover and individually seal selected pill
compartments 42, namely the
"morning" column of pill compartments 42 in the present example. As with
original cover sheet
member 48, peeling the fraction of protective sheet 56 away from the fraction
of sealing sheet 50
will expose the adhesive surface 54 of the fraction of sealing sheet 50 around
protective tabs 76 that
are formed concurrently within seventh cutaway lines 69. Access to protective
sheet 56 on cover
sheet member fraction 80 is made possible by lifting the column of cells while
the cover sheet
member fraction 80 remains attached to the pill receptacle marginal edge
portion 36a over the cover
original sheet 48. Once the serviceable sealing sheet fraction has been
applied to the originally
sealed pill receptacle 78, the latter may be removed from tray 22 and the
sheet header portion 72 of
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
27
the cover sheet member fraction 80 may be removed in which case the pill
receptacle 36 will once
again have all of its pill compartments 42 sealed with a single-layered cover
sheet member 48, 80.
With the above-described method of sealing selected pill compartments 42, only
the
pill compartments 42 above which the sealing sheet 50 and protective tabs 76
were pierced will be
covered by a new cover sheet member fraction 80. This is important since the
other pill
compartments 42 also maintain a single cover sheet member 48 covering them;
and as a
consequence all pill compartments 42 of the sealed pill receptacle 78 will be
covered by a single one
among cover sheet members 48, 80. This allows easy access to pill compartments
42 for the users
who do not have to pierce two layers of cover sheets.
Also, by providing third cutaway lines 64 that allow the cover sheet members
48, 80
to be pierced along the contour of an underlying pill receptacle 42, the
pharmacist changing pills P
in a pill receptacle 42 can remove most if not all of the portions of original
cover sheet member 48
that covers a particular pill compartment 42. This is advantageous in that the
cover sheet member
fraction 80 that will be installed over the selected pill compartments 42
where pills were changed,
will not be significantly supported or reinforced by underlying flanges of the
cover sheet member
48. This contributes to facilitating access to the pill compartments 42 where
pills were changed.
Furthermore, the addition of a new column of cells 63 that are part of the
cover sheet
member fraction 80 to the sealed pill receptacle 78 will constitute an almost
invisible re-sealing of
pill receptacle 78. Indeed, by having previously reprinted the required
information on the new cover
sheet member 148, the latter will be essentially identical to the original
cover sheet member 48. By
applying a column of cells that are part of the cover sheet member fraction 80
over the originally
sealed pill receptacle 78, only close and meticulous inspection will reveal
that the pill compartments
were pierced and re-sealed. Consequently, the user's and the medical staffs
confidence in the
product will be increased significantly with this method.
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
28
One particularly advantageous feature of the present invention resides in the
disposition and configuration of the cutaway lines on the cover sheet member.
More particularly, in
the field of the present invention, it was considered contrary to the accepted
practice to provide
cutaway lines that extend through both the sealing sheet and the protective
sheet, except for the very
short cutaway lines that are provided centrally over each pill compartment to
facilitate piercing
through the sheet when access to the pill compartments is desired. Otherwise,
cutaway lines will be
made solely on the sealing sheet or the protective sheet, but no cutaway line
will be made to register
on both. Indeed, if cutaway lines of substantial length are made through both
the sealing sheet and
the protective sheet, then it is considered that the structural integrity of
the cover sheet member will
be compromised. The cover sheet member may accidentally tear along one or more
cutaway lines
when it is manipulated, especially when the cover sheet member is sent through
an office printer for
printing information on the sealing sheet identification surface 52.
The cover sheet member 48, 148 of the present invention includes first cutaway
lines
60 that extend through both sealing sheet 50 and protective sheet 56. However,
it has been noted that
the structural integrity of the latter is not compromised even if these
cutaway lines do exist. It may
help that first cutaway lines 60 only extend from the bottom edge of cover
sheet member 48, 148 to
the uppermost second cutaway line 62, short of the upper edge of the cover
sheet member 48, 148.
In any event, first cutaway lines 60 allow for a cover sheet member fraction
80 to be separated from
the rest of the cover sheet member without compromising its structural
integrity when it is in its
whole, non-fragmented state.
Cover sheet member 48, 148 and the method of sealing selected pill
compartments 42
with cover sheet member 48, 148 is thus an important improvement over prior
art methods of re-
sealing pill compartments 42 as described in the Background of the Invention
section. All the
drawbacks of the prior art methods are circumvented as detailed hereinabove.
CA 02631095 2008-07-10
29
It is noted that pill receptacle 36 may be provided with weakness zones in the
form of
receptacle cutaway lines 84 (figure 2) that extend horizontally and vertically
along the coplanar
edges 39 of the top mouth openings of pill compartments 84. Receptacle cutaway
lines 84 allow
individual pill compartments 42 to be separated from the rest of pill
receptacle by shearing off one
or more (usually a single) pill compartment 42 from the rest of pill
receptacle 36. The first and
second cutaway lines 60, 62 of cover sheet member 48, 148 of the present
invention are arranged to
coincide with the position of the receptacle cutaway lines 84 so that sealing
sheet 56 will tear
cleanly when a pill compartment 42 is removed from the rest of pill receptacle
36. Since the
protective sheet 56 has been peeled away in all positions that register with
the receptacle cutaway
lines 84 when pill receptacle 36 is sealed, protective sheet 56 will not be a
factor in this operation.
In an alternate embodiment of the invention, it could be envisioned to use a
sheet that
has not header portion 72, although it is helpful for identification,
alignment and structural integrity
purposes as detailed hereinabove.
The cover sheet member 48, 148 described hereinabove is also advantageous in
that it
can be used both whole 48 to cover the entire pill receptacle, or it can be
fragmented to remove a
disposable portion 82 thereof so that only a cover sheet member fraction 80 is
used to cover selected
pill compartments 42. It is further noted that it is not mandatory to apply
cover sheet member
fraction 80 to a pre-sealed pill receptacle where some pill compartments 42
have been accessed;
cover sheet member fraction 80 could be used to initially seal selected pill
compartments 42 only of
a pill receptacle where not all pill compartments are to be sealed.
Any further modification which is considered obvious to someone skilled in the
art is
considered to be included within the scope of protection of the present
invention, as further defined
in the appended claims.
