A PILL GRINDER

Abstract

The present invention provides a pill grinder including a housing containing a grinding mechanism which is driven by a drive means.

The grinding mechanism comprises first and second relatively rotatable grinding plates, between which a pill is ground. The pill grinder further includes a powder reservoir for receiving ground pill powder; and at least one juddering device which is operative to apply a vibrating force in order to dislodge ground pill powder from surfaces or recesses within the housing.

Claims

1-24. (canceled)

25. A pill grinder includes: a housing containing a grinding mechanism which is driven by an electric motor drive means and a planetary gearbox, the grinding mechanism comprises first and second relatively rotatable grinding plates, between which a pill is ground; a powder reservoir for receiving ground pill powder; a sensor which senses a clog of ground pill powder; at least one juddering device which is operative to apply a vibrating force in order to dislodge ground pill powder from surfaces or recesses within the housing upon receipt of a signal from the sensor when a clog of ground pill powder is sensed; and a reverse switch which alters the direction of movement of the motor in order to enable the motor to run forwards or backwards.

26. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein the juddering device has a user operated actuation means, such as a button.

27. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein a speed varying means is provided to vary the speed of the motor.

28. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein at least a portion of an inner surface of the housing has an anti-static coating.

29. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein at least a portion of the housing is transparent to allow observation of at least part of a grinding process.

30. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein the housing is adapted to receive at least one battery.

31. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein the grinding plates and the powder reservoir are removable from the housing, for removal of ground powder from the reservoir, replacement, repair or cleaning.

32. A pill grinder according to claim 31 wherein a magnet is located on a driveshaft to retain the grinding mechanism in a gearbox, for example whilst the grinder is in a disassembled state for example for cleaning.

33. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein a pill access cover is rotatable to open a recess in the housing to allow access to the loading window.

34. A pill grinder according to claim 33 wherein the pill access cover is rotatable by 360 degrees in both clockwise and anti-clockwise directions.

35. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein a switch is provided to switch the electric motor to pulse mode.

36. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein a light emitting diode (LED) indicates an operational state of the pill grinder (eg green on, blue forwards, red reverse).

37. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein a light emitting diode (LED) indicates charge status of the at least one battery.

38. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein user removable components are dishwasher safe.

39. A pill grinder according to claim 25 including a shock absorbing casing.

40. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein the housing includes a printed circuit board (PCB) on which electronic components are mounted.

41. A pill grinder according to claim 40 wherein the printed circuit board (PCB) has a processor mounted thereon, the processor monitors and/or controls at least one of the following: motor speed, motor direction, pulsing of the motor, the at least one juddering device and the signal from the sensor which senses clogging of ground pill powder.

42. A pill grinder according to claim 41 wherein the processor monitors and controls at least one light emitting diode (LED).

43. A pill grinder according to claim 41 wherein the processor monitors and/or controls at least one buzzer.

44. A pill grinder according to claim 25 wherein a wireless communication device is operable to receive a command signal from a mobile communication device, such as a mobile telephone, the command signal including tablet grinding instructions for controlling motor speed and grinding intensity and duration of grinding.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0051] FIG. 1a is a schematic illustration of a front view of one embodiment of the pill grinder of the present invention;

[0052] FIG. 1b is a schematic illustration of an enlarged view of the control panel of the pill grinder of FIG. 1a;

[0053] FIG. 2a is a schematic illustration of a perspective view of the pill grinder of FIG. 1;

[0054] FIG. 2b is a schematic illustration of an enlarged view of the rotatable pill hatch access cover of FIG. 1; and

[0055] FIGS. 3a and 3b are schematic illustrations of the pill grinder of FIG. 1 when dismantled.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0056] With reference to the Figures, the pill grinder 100 includes: a housing in the form of a main body housing 104 located towards the proximal end thereof, and a grinding mechanism housing 106 located towards the distal end of the housing.

[0057] The main body housing 104 comprises a control panel 103 comprising a number of LED indicators 108, 110, 113 and control buttons 109, 111, 112 as shown in FIG. 1b.

[0058] The control panel 103 comprises five forward LED indicators 108 which are operable to provide an indication to the user that the grinding mechanism of the pill grinder 100 is operating in a forwards direction. Furthermore, the control panel 103 comprises five backward LED indicators 113 which are operable to provide an indication to the user that the grinding mechanism of the pill grinder 100 is operating in a backwards direction. The control panel 103 also includes ten pulse LED indicators 110, provided as two sets of five LED indicators, operable to provide an indication to the user that the grinding mechanism of the pill grinder 100 is operating in a pulsating manner.

[0059] The forward LED indicators 108, the pulse LED indicators 110 and the backward LED indicators 113 may be of any colour or any colour combination. Each set of indicators may include different colour LEDs depending on the requirements.

[0060] Ideally the control of the grinder is by way of a processor which is mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB) together with other electronic components, such as amplifiers and sensing devices.

[0061] The processor is operative to monitor and/or control at least one of the following: motor speed, motor direction, pulsing of the motor, the at least one juddering device and the signal from the sensor which senses clogging of ground pill powder.

[0062] Each LED within each set of LED indicators may be operable, under supervision of the processor, to be illuminated separately, sequentially or at the same time as the other LEDs within the set of LED indicators depending on the requirements for the LED indicators. It is to be understood that although in the illustrated embodiment, the pill grinder 100 has a number of sets of LED indicators, each set comprising five LEDs, the pill grinder 100 may include a single LED indicator rather than a set of LED indicators. Alternatively, each set of LED indicators may include any suitable number of LEDs and is not to be limited to five LEDs.

[0063] The main body housing 104 further comprises a USB charging port 302, a USB charging LED indicator 301, and charging port cover 101 at a proximal end thereof. The charging port cover 101 is composed of shock absorbent material, such as for example, to minimise any potential damage from unintentional knocks, bangs or from being dropped.

[0064] The main body housing 104 further comprises a stability foot 102 for use while charging the pill grinder 100 and configured to prevent rolling of the grinder 100.

[0065] The main body housing 104 further comprises a PCB 303 in communication with a forward grind button 109, a pulse forward and back grind button 111, and a back grind button 112.

[0066] The PCB 303 is in communication with a rechargeable battery 304.

[0067] The pill grinder 100 further comprises a rotatable pill hatch access cover 105 located between the main body housing 104 and the grinding mechanism housing 106. Optionally the cap 107, when fitted to the housing defines a leak proof container to which water or other liquid may be added and allowed to mix with the ground powder in the cap. This enables the contents to be consumed directly from the cap. This further reduces powder loss and enhances the grinders ease of use. A suitable O-ring seal (not shown) may be provided between the cap and the housing to improve the liquid tight properties of the cap.

[0068] The grinding mechanism housing 106 provides an inlet, at a proximal end thereof, for receiving medication or vitamins in the form of tablets or pills therethrough to be received into a grinding chamber. The chamber comprises a motor and planetary gearbox 305, a grinding mechanism moving rotor 306 and a grinding mechanism fixed face 307.

[0069] The rotatable pill hatch access cover 105 comprises an opening which is rotatable, preferably a full 360 degree rotatable, relative to and about the longitudinal axes the grinding mechanism housing 106. During rotation, the opening of the rotatable pill hatch access cover 105 is configured to be aligned with the inlet of the grinding mechanism housing 106 to allow passage of a tablet or pill therethrough into the chamber.

[0070] The pill grinder 100 further comprises a ground powder collection cap 107 located and in communication with the distal end of the grinding mechanism housing 106 to receive ground powder therefrom. It is appreciated that the collection cap may also be used to store tablets or pills prior to being ground.

[0071] Each of the rotatable pill hatch access cover 105, the grinding mechanism housing 106, the collection cap 107, the grinding mechanism moving rotor and fixed face 306, 307 are coated with anti-static coating to prevent the build of powder in the form of clogs.

[0072] In use, the user rotate the rotatable pill hatch access cover 105 until the opening is aligned with the inlet of the grinding mechanism housing 106. The user inserts the tablet(s) or pill(s) through the opening and inlet into the chamber of the grinding mechanism housing 106. The user then continues to rotate the cover 105 to prevent further access to the inlet and chamber of the housing 106.

[0073] The user activates the grinding of the tablet(s)/pill(s) by pressing one of the buttons 109, 111, 112. The grinding mechanism moving rotor 306 rotates relative to the fixed face 307 and grinds the tablet(s)/pill(s) to ground powder.

[0074] The ground powder exits the chamber of the grinding mechanism housing 106 and is collected in the collection cap 107. In the illustrated embodiment, the cap 107 is transparent enabling the user to monitor the grinding process. It is however to be understood that the cap 107 may be composed of any suitable material and does not have to be transparent.

[0075] Once the tablet(s)/pill(s) have been ground to powder, the user can stop the grinding mechanism by pressing a control button 109, 111, 112. To prevent clogging, the user can change the direction and/or pulsation of the grinding by selecting an appropriate button 109, 111, 112.

[0076] It is to be understood that in one embodiment, the rotatable pill hatch access cover 105 is in communication with an inlet of a storage chamber. The storage chamber is configured to receive and store tablets/pills prior to grinding. The storage chamber is in communication with the grinding mechanism and is configured to supply tablets/pills to the grinding mechanism as required. This enables pills and tablets to be carried and ground when required.

[0077] The invention was tested using commercially available methods, devices and materials.

[0078] Commercially available tablets (dose per tablet: 500 mg) were sourced. Each tablet was weighed before being placed into the pill grinder. Upon tablet placement, the sliding door to the grinding area was closed. The pill grinder was then held vertically and operated in a forward direction until the motor stalled, upon which the motor was operated in reverse until the motor stalled. This alternating of direction was continued until the motor could run freely in the forward direction.

[0079] Once this stage had been reached, the pill grinder was permitted to run for a further ten seconds to allow the tablet to be fully ground. After this time had elapsed, the bottom of the pill grinder was removed and placed onto a previously tared balance in order to weigh the ground tablet.

[0080] Any discrepancy between the mass of the original tablet and the recovered ground tablet was deemed to be loss. The results of trials are shown in Table 1 below.

TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Table 1: Recovery and loss rates for ground paracetamol tablets. Tablet/ Recovered/ Recovered/ Loss/ Loss/ Run g g % g % 1 0.578 0.559 96.7 0.019 3.3 2 0.578 0.566 97.9 0.012 2.1 3 0.576 0.563 97.7 0.013 2.3 4 0.579 0.554 95.7 0.025 4.3 5 0.579 0.558 96.4 0.021 3.6 6 0.580 0.570 98.3 0.010 1.7 7 0.577 0.567 98.3 0.010 1.7 8 0.578 0.553 95.7 0.025 4.3 9 0.576 0.551 95.7 0.025 4.3 10 0.577 0.556 96.4 0.021 3.6 Average 0.578 0.560 96.9 0.018 3.1

[0081] The typical weight of a commercial paracetamol tablet was found to be 0.578 g, with a tight range of just 0.004 g.

[0082] Recovery of the ground tablet is high, at an average of 96.9% with a standard deviation of 1.0%. The corresponding loss of drug stands at an average of 0.018 g, or 3.1% of the original tablet.

[0083] Comparison to existing devices was achieved using the publication by Thong et al. The results of which can be seen in Table 1.

[0084] The reported competitors have a range of ground powder recovery rates, from 86.3% to 98.1%. The embodiment of the invention which was tested can therefore seen to be competitive in this field, having a recovery rate of 96.9%.

[0085] It should be noted that all of the tablet grinding devices which outperform the tested device are either direct pestle and mortar systems, or non-rotating pivot-like crushing systems and therefore do not possess the advantageous features of the present invention, such as hygiene, consistency and reliability.

[0086] Additionally, all of these devices are hand operated. Thereby, the device tested is both the highest performing powered device, and the highest performing grinding (as opposed to crushing) device.

[0087] The present invention therefore enables quick and easy grinding of tablets or pills into ground powder to enable a user to administer the medicine more easily with improved absorption.

[0088] In another embodiment a wireless communication device is connected to control circuitry and/or a processor that is housed in the pill grinder. The wireless communication device, which is ideally operating under a Bluetooth? wireless protocol, is operable to receive a command signal from a mobile communication device, such as a mobile telephone. The command signal typically includes tablet grinding instructions for controlling motor speed and grinding intensity and duration of grinding. These factors may be important for grinding a particular food supplement or medicament in accordance with manufacturer's guidelines or a specific health or diet or treatment plan. By supplying a specific set of instructions the user is thereby assured of a correct grinding time and conditions resulting in the correctly ground product.

[0089] Furthermore the present invention reduces the risk of clogging or loss of tablets/pills on surfaces of the pill grinder, by the inclusion of pulsating mechanism and/or anti-static coating therefore increasing the efficiency of the grinder.

[0090] The invention has been described by way of examples only and it will be appreciated that variation may be made to the above-mentioned embodiments without departing from the scope of protection as defined by the claims.