Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
- 2-194134
-- 1
MEDICINE DISPENSING DEVICE
The present lnvention relates to a medicine
dispensing device and, more particularly, to an improved
dosage dispensing pill container that is personalized.
There are different personalized dosage dis-
pensing systems presently in use. One such system is
described in Canadian Patent 1,310,936, Webster, 1992
(EP-263,695). This patent describes a multi-pocket tray,
forming cells into which dosages of pills are placed, to
be distributed according to a time schedule indicated on
the cover for the tray. The cover is hinged to the tray.
Other examples of such personal dispensing sys-
tems are U. S. Patent 4,416,375, Braverman et al, 1983,
and U. S. 4,860,899, McKee, 1989. Braverman et al pro-
poses a base or tray having a plurality of open bowls or
pockets for receiving the drug dosage. The tray is cov-
ered by a cover made of paper or other suitable sheet of
material that accepts printing. The cover is glued with
an adhesive to the base and particularly the flanges
surrounding the pockets. The cover includes indicia cor-
responding to the dosage in each pocket. The indicia is
printed on the cover carried by a continuous web or car-
rier passing through a suitable computer printer.
McKee suggests a series of closed pouches in
which the doses are supplied, and each pouch has a label
on which the time and dosage description have been
printed. The label is supplied as a continuous strip.
A dispensing system according to the Braverman
et al patent is preferred. In accordance with Braverman
et al, the dosage is supplied in individual, labeled
packets that can be opened by the patient. However, the
cover in Braverman et al is retained on the tray pocket
or bowl by means of an adhesive. Adhesives are necessar-
2194134
_ - 2
ily liquid and generate vapors. Since the dosage, in the
form of pills for instance, is placed in the bowls before
the cover is fixed to the base, the adhesive will by
necessity be fresh and in a liquid state when the cover
is applied to the base. Thus, the adhesive vapors will be
emitted adjacent the pills. This presents a potential
health hazard since the medication could absorb the pos-
sibly toxic vapors.
It is an aim of the present invention to pro-
vide an improved medication dispensing system that is an
improvement over U. S. Patent 4,416,375 by having a cover
that is fixed to the base in a manner that is adhesive
free.
It is a further aim of the present invention to
provide an improved dispenser for the purpose of deliver-
ing a medication dosage directly from the pharmacist to
the patient without third party intervention, while util-
izing a device that is simpler than the prior art
devices.
It is a further aim of the present invention to
provide an improved method of preparing and dispensing
medication to individual patients on a dosage basis.
A construction in accordance with the present
invention comprises at least a medicine distribution
package comprising an open top container for containing a
single dosage of medicine. The container is made of a
relatively stiff thermoplastic material compatible with
the packaging of pharmaceutical materials. The container
defines a flange surrounding the open top thereof and the
flange lies in a common plane. The package includes a
cover in the form of a flexible sheet having at least a
ply of thermoplastic material that is compatible with
pharmaceutical materials and that is bondable with the
flange of the container upon the application of heat to
the thermoplastic ply of the cover and the flange, and
2194134
_ - 3
the cover includes a surface that accepts indicia identi-
fying the recipient and the dosage as well as the pre-
scribed time for the consumption of the dosage.
In a more specific embodiment of the present
invention, the container forms part of a tray made up of
a plurality of identical containers joined in a single
plane at the flanges and individually separable by weak-
ened lines, while the cover is formed from a larger sheet
having serrated lines coincident with the weakened lines
of the tray such that a cover portion corresponding to a
particular container will be part of the single dosage
package when the container is separated from the tray.
In a still more specific embodiment of the pre-
sent invention, the cover includes a ply of paper to
which the ply of thermoplastic material has been lami-
nated, and the larger cover sheet is preprinted with the
individual dosage indicia located on the cover portion
corresponding to each container.
A method in accordance with the present inven-
tion comprises the steps of forming rectangular trays ofstiff thermoplastic material compatible with pharmaceuti-
cal products, with each tray defining a sheet in a common
plane forming a plurality of pockets defining individual
containers having open tops in each sheet, defining a
grid of intersecting linear weakened lines in the sheet
between each pocket to form flanges surrounding each open
top of each container, forming a cover sheet by laminat-
ing a ply of thermoplastic material compatible with phar-
maceutical products to a web of printable sheet material
where the ply of thermoplastic material is bondable to
the material of the tray, printing identifying indicia
for individual dosages on portions of the web of sheet
material corresponding to containers in the tray, forming
a grid of linear perforations on the cover corresponding
to the grid of weakened lines on the tray, filling single
21 94 1 34
-- 4
dosages in each container so formed, applying the cover
sheet to a corresponding tray, applying heat to the cover
sheet and the tray so as to cause the bonding of the
thermoplastic ply of the cover to the flanges of the so-
formed container in order to seal the container, and
dispensing the single dosage by separating the prescribed
container from the tray and distributing the container to
the patient.
An apparatus in accordance with the present
invention comprises a heat conductive substrate having a
shape conforming to the bottom of a tray of thermoplastic
material, the tray including a sheet in a common plane
and formed with a plurality of pockets extending down-
wardly from the sheet, the sheet having a grid of weak-
ened lines between the pockets, a heated plate for seal-
ing a cover to the tray wherein the cover includes a
paper sheet and a ply of thermoplastic material bondable
with the material of the tray, the cover including a grid
of linear perforations corresponding to the grid of weak-
ened lines on the sheet of the tray, and the heated platehaving a grid of linear grooves corresponding to the grid
of linear perforations on the cover, such that, when the
plate is used to apply heat to the cover to bond it to
the sheet of the tray in the substrate, the grooves in
the plate will bridge the linear perforations, thereby
avoiding heat application in the area of the perfora-
tions.
Having thus generally described the nature of
the invention, reference will now be made to the accompa-
nying drawings, showing by way of illustration, a pre-
ferred embodiment thereof, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a
medicine dispensing device in accordance with the present
invention;
2194134
Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view taken
from the other side thereof of the device shown in
Fig. l;
Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of a
dispensing package taken from the dispensing device of
Figs. 1 and 2;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the
dispensing device shown in Fig. 2;
Fig. 5 is a fragmentary end elevation of the
dispensing device and showing the elements of Fig. 4;
Fig. 6 is an enlarged cross-section of the
area shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5; and
Fig. 7 is a fragmentary vertical cross-section
of an apparatus for completing the assembly of the dis-
pensing device of Figs. 1 and 2.
Referring now to the drawings, the dispensing
device 10 includes a tray 12 and a cover 14.
The tray 12 is made from a sheet of PVC and
includes planar sheet 16 in which hooks 18 are cut out.
Reinforcement indentations are also provided in the top
part of the sheet 16. A grid of slit lines, including
lateral lines 22 and longitudinal lines 24, divides the
sheet 16 into individual containers 20. The slit lines
are, in the present embodiment, spaced-apart, short, slit
perforations formed by die cutting the sheet 16.
Each pack or container 20 defined by slit lines
22 and 24 includes a pocket 26 having a bottom wall 30
and side walls 32 with a flange 28 surrounding the pocket
26.
The tray 12 is generally transparent. One exam-
ple of a suitable film is a rigid PVC film known as
"PureTherm 1001C" ~a trade-mark of PurePlast Inc.). This
PVC film is said to have excellent resistance to a chemi-
cal attack and is designed for packaging a pharmaceuti-
cal. Any such film must meet H.P.B. and F.D.A. require-
2194~34
_ - 6
ments (DMF-8668). In the present embodiment, the heat
seal range is from 150~C. to 190~C. Its thermoforming
range is 120~C. to 175~C.
The tray 12 is meant to hold individual dosages
of medication, in each pocket 26, for a designated
patient. A dispensing device 10, which includes the tray
12 with a plurality of individual containers 20, might be
suitable for a one-week supply of dosages for a patient.
Once the dosages have been provided in each of the
pockets 26 of individual containers 20, a cover 14 is
applied to the tray 12.
The cover 14 will be preprinted with the
patient's name and specifications as will be described
further. The cover 14 is preferably made of a paper sheet
34 to which a PVC coating 36 has been applied. The PVC
coating 36, although more flexible than the PVC film
utilized for the tray 12, must have similar characteris-
tics in terms of its suitability for use in packaging of
pharmaceuticals and its heat seal range since it is to be
bonded with the flanges 28 of the sheet 16. The cover 14
could be cut from a continuous web which is passed
through a printer connected to a computer. The patient
indicia, including information such as the patient's
name, the dosage, the location of the patient, and the
time of consumption of the dosage, can be printed in
sectors on the web corresponding to the containers 20 of
the tray 16. A grid of perforated lines 38 and 42 is also
cut in the cover 14, and this grid corresponds to the
grid of lines 22 and 24 on the tray. Thus, when
individual cover sheets 14 are applied to a specific tray
12, the grid of lines 38 and 42 on cover 14 will overlay
exactly the grid of lines 22 and 24 of the tray 12.
As shown in Fig. 7, the pharmacist would
normally be supplied with a heat seal device which
includes a base 44 and a top heat seal plate 46 which
- 21 941 34
_ - 7
might be hinged to the base 44. The base 44 would be
provided with a shape corresponding to the bottom shape
of the tray 12. The plate 46 is characterized by grooves
48 which correspond to the grid of perforated lines 38
and 42 on the cover 14. As the cover 14 is placed on the
tray 12 within the base 44, the heating plate 46 is
brought into contact with the cover 14. The heating plate
will be sufficient to bond the PVC coating 36 to the
flange 28. Thus, the heating plate 46 and optionally the
base 44 will increase the temperature of the PVC material
to the heat seal range of between 150~C. and 190~C. for a
very short period of time. The grooves 48 correspond to
the perforated lines 38 and 42. Thus, the heat of the
plate 46 will not be communicated to the immediate area
of the perforated lines 38, for instance, to avoid the
melting of the coating 36 at the perforated line 38 which
would thus cover the perforations.
Once the cover 14 has been bonded to the tray
12, the dispensing device 10 can be sent out to a hospi-
tal or residence. The attendants can then deliver theindividual containers 20 separated from the dispensing
device 10, and hand them out individually to the patient
with the cover portion intact on the package but with the
indicia 40 clearly identifying the dosage and the time.
