Abstract
A device for minimizing consumer frustration with the usage of moisture adjusting sachets in pill bottles, while minimizing cost for manufacturers, and enabling usage across all pill bottle designs. The design is that of an attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet, such that upon removal of the pill bottle safety seal, the sachet can be extracted from inside the pill bottle, and attached by the consumer, to the bottom of the pill bottle cap. This removes the frustration that can be caused by the sachet clogging the pill bottle mouth when consumers are attempting to extract pills. Further, it encourages consumers to avoid discarding the sachets, which can reduce the lifespan and/or effectiveness of the pills contained within the pill bottle.
Claims
1. A moisture adjusting sachet comprising: a sachet body configured to retain a desiccant; an adhesive patch presented on the sachet body and configured with a removable cover disposed on the adhesive patch; and wherein the moisture adjusting sachet is configured for loose packaging with pills in a pill bottle and for subsequent attachment to the underside of a pill bottle cap by a user.
2. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet of claim 1, wherein the adhesive patch comprises a bio-safe adhesive to be utilized by a pill bottle user to attach the sachet to the underside of the pill bottle cap, according to instructions printed on said sachet; all after the initial removal of said pill bottle cap, any safety seals from the pill bottle, and the initial removal of said sachet from said pill bottle.
3. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet of claim 1, comprising at least one of silica gel, hydrogel, and moisture adjusting material disposed within a sheet of moisture permeable paper folded to envelope the at least one of silica gel, hydrogel, and moisture adjusting material inside and to provide a planar surface to present the adhesive patch to be attached to the underside of a pill bottle cap.
4. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet of claim 1, configured for use with conventional pill bottle configurations having a pill bottle and pill bottle cap.
5. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet of claim 1, comprising a moisture permeable material that envelopes and contains one of a moisture removing agent or a moisture supplying agent.
6. A moisture adjusting sachet comprising: a sachet body configured to retain a desiccant; at least one of a magnet, suction cup, and Velcro brand touch fastener, configured to affix the moisture adjusting sachet body to the underside of a pill bottle cap; and wherein the sachet is configured for loose packaging with pills in a pill bottle and for subsequent attachment to the underside of a pill bottle cap by a user.
7. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet of claim 6, comprising at least one of silica gel, hydrogel, and moisture adjusting material disposed within a sheet of moisture permeable paper folded to envelope the at least one of silica gel, hydrogel, and moisture adjusting material inside and to provide a planar surface to present the adhesive patch to be attached to the underside of a pill bottle cap.
8. A method of using an attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet comprising the steps of: a. placing pills in an open pill bottle; b. placing an attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet with the pills in the pill bottle, c. adjusting the moisture level inside said pill bottle with the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet; c. affixing a foil/plastic/paper safety seal to the top of said pill bottle, d. attaching a pill bottle cap; and e. providing user instructions for affixing the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet to the underside of the pill bottle cap, prior to replacing the pill bottle cap on to the pill bottle.
9. The method of claim 8, further comprising: a. opening the pill bottle by removing any external seals, the pill bottle cap, and any safety seals applied under the pill bottle cap but on top of the pill bottle; b. extracting from the pill bottle the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet from the pill bottle; c. removing a non-stick tab, exposing a bio-safe adhesive patch/strip presented on the sachet, d. affixing the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet to the center of the underside of said pill bottle cap using the bio-safe adhesive patch/strip; e. reattaching the pill bottle cap to the pill bottle with the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet occupying an open space between the underside of the pill bottle cap, and pills remaining in the pill bottle.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0039] A more complete understanding of the present invention may be derived by referring to the detailed description and claims when considered in connection with the Figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to similar elements throughout the Figures. FIGS. 1-9 describe the structure of the Attachable Adhesive Moisture Adjusting Sachet device itself from various vantage points, while FIGS. 10-16 illustrate the process by which the device is used.
[0040] FIG. 1 illustrates a front external view of one embodiment of an Attachable Adhesive Moisture Adjusting Sachet.
[0041] FIG. 2 illustrates a front-view of the Sachet device of FIG. 1 with an internal view of moisture adjusting material.
[0042] FIG. 3 illustrates a rear, external view of fully assembled Sachet device of FIGS. 1-2.
[0043] FIG. 4 illustrates a side view of fully assembled Sachet device FIGS. 1-3, with internal view of moisture adjusting material and bio-safe adhesive patch.
[0044] FIG. 5 illustrates a partially exploded side-view of the Sachet device, with three sections of Triangular Structure half-way folded, after all edge seams are sealed, prior to permanent attachment of Section Four of Triangular Structure.
[0045] FIG. 6 illustrates a partially exploded side-view of the Sachet device with three Sections of Triangular Structure almost completely folded.
[0046] FIG. 7 illustrates a partially exploded front-view of the Sachet device with all Sections of the Triangular Structure completely unfolded (except for fold 501), showing the internal facing sides of Sections One through Four (502, 504, 506, 508).
[0047] FIG. 8 illustrates a partially exploded front-view of the Sachet device with Section One (502) obscured (because Fold Two (503) is folded up at zero degrees for the purposes of this depiction) but showing the external facing sides of the remaining three Sections (504, 506, 508), of the Triangular Structure (402).
[0048] FIG. 9 illustrates a fully exploded front-view of Sachet device completely unfolded, with moisture adjusting material visible, and folds marked, but with no folds folded or seams sealed.
[0049] FIG. 10 illustrates a front-view of a pill bottle and bottle cap.
[0050] FIG. 11 illustrates a pill bottle cap removed with safety seal intact,
[0051] FIG. 12 illustrates a pill bottle, with safety seal half-way removed.
[0052] FIG. 13 illustrates a Sachet device being extracted from pill bottle.
[0053] FIG. 14 illustrates a Sachet device with red non-stick tab (208) being removed, exposing bio-safe adhesive patch/strip (202).
[0054] FIG. 15 illustrates a Sachet device being attached to the underside of bottle cap.
[0055] FIG. 16 illustrates a bottle cap (1001), with Sachet device attached, being placed back onto pill bottle (1002).
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0056] The following description is of exemplary embodiments of the invention only, and is not intended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of the invention. Rather, the following description is intended to provide a convenient illustration for implementing various embodiments of the invention. As will become apparent, various changes may be made in the function and arrangement of the elements described in these embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth herein. It should be appreciated that the description herein may be adapted to be employed with alternatively configured devices having different shapes, materials, components, sizes, attachment mechanisms, and the like and still fall within the scope of the present invention. Thus, the detailed description herein is presented for purposes of illustration only and not of limitation.
[0057] Reference in the specification to one embodiment or an embodiment is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least an embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase in one embodiment or an embodiment in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.
[0058] In the following description, certain terminology is used to describe certain features of one or more embodiments of the invention. For example, the term Sachet device or just device as described herein may include, but is not necessarily limited to, a sachet with an adhesive patch/strip. The Attachable Adhesive Moisture Adjusting Sachet device may be constructed from a wide variety of materials including, but not necessarily limited to, a moisture permeable paper material, moisture adjusting materials, bio-safe adhesives, and plastics.
[0059] In accordance with various aspects of the present invention includes an Attachable Adhesive Moisture Adjusting Sachet (100). Sachet 100 is shown with an outer shell is made primarily of folded moisture permeable paper material. The present invention may be used to absorb moisture from any confined space. That being said, the present invention is described herein in the exemplary context of a how a consumer would use it to keep pills in a pill bottle within the specified humidity range such that the pills themselves retain their expected effectiveness and longevity. Similarly, sachet as used herein, generally may be construed to mean any container which holds a moisture adjusting material such that said material can adsorb/supply moisture from/to the surrounding atmosphere in a confined space.
[0060] The term main body, as used herein, includes any shape for containing moisture adjusting material. Suitable main bodies may be of any shape, material, or size and in general, include rectangles and squares of different proportions, blocks, cylinders, or other more complex three-dimensional shapes.
[0061] It is understood that any process now known or later developed for forming three-dimensional shapes for containing a moisture adjusting material, with at least one side having an adhesive face that can be used by the consumer to attach the device to the underside of a pill cap may be used in accordance with the present invention.
[0062] FIGS. 1-9 illustrate different views of an Attachable Adhesive Moisture Adjusting Sachet device. With reference now to FIG. 1, according to one embodiment of the present invention, a view of the fully assembled device is shown (100) from the front, including an instructional label on how to use the device (101)
[0063] With reference now to FIG. 2, a second front-view is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention in which an internal view of the moisture adjusting material (207) (such as a silica gel for moisture removal or a hydrogel for supplying moisture) is displayed, contained in the Main Body of the device (203), which is a rectangle made up of four sides. For orientation purposes, the first of the four sidesthe top of the rectangle (201) is formed by the bio-safe adhesive strip (202) users will employ to attach the device to the underside of a pill bottle, after the red non-stick tab (208) is removed from the adhesive strip. The left-side of the rectangle is formed by the left-side seam (204), the bottom of the rectangle is formed by the bottom edge seam (205), and the right-side of the rectangle is formed by the right-side edge fold (206) of the main body (203).
[0064] With reference now to FIG. 3, a rear-view of the fully assembled device is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays the Main Body's (203) top edge seam (301), which is obscured by the adhesive strip (202), and red non-stick tab (208) in FIG. 2. Additionally, a Do Not Eat safety label (302) is also displayed.
[0065] With reference now to FIG. 4, a side-view of the fully assembled device is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays an internal view of the moisture adjusting material (207), the permanent bio-safe adhesive (401), and the three-sided Triangular structure (402), formed by four Sections (502, 504, 506, 508) of the porous paper. The orientation is shown by (201) which indicates the top of the device. Also shown is the red non-stick tab (208) covering the bio-safe adhesive strip (202).
[0066] With reference now to FIG. 5, a partially exploded side-view of the device is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays one section of the Triangular Structure (402) fully folded (501), and three sections of the Triangular Structure (402) half-way folded (503, 505, 507), after all edge seams are sealed, but prior to permanent attachment of Section Four of Triangular Structure (402). Working counterclockwise, a fully folded Fold One (501) is shown which delineates the beginning of Section One (502) and the folding action and direction is indicated by a dotted semi-circular arrow, followed by half-way-folded Fold Two (503), delineating the end of Section One (502), and beginning of Section Two (504). Half-way-folded Fold Three (505) follows, delineating the end of Section Two (504), and beginning of Section Three (506). Finally half-way-folded Fold Four (507) delineates the end of Section Three (506) and the beginning of Section Four (508). Taken together, these show the ordering of the folds, and how the four sides are folded. [0067] 501Fold One of Triangular Structure, delineating the beginning of Section One. [0068] 502Section One (5 mm wide, as pictured) of Triangular Structure (402). [0069] 503Fold Two of Triangular Structure, delineating the end of Section One (502), and the beginning of Section Two (504). [0070] 504Section Two (8 mm wide, as pictured) of Triangular Structure (402). [0071] 505Fold Three of Triangular Structure, delineating the end of Section Two (504), and the beginning of Section Three (506). [0072] 506Section Three (8 mm wide, as pictured) of Triangular Structure (402). [0073] 507Fold Four of Triangular Structure, delineating the end of Section Three (506), and the beginning of Section Four (508). [0074] 508Section Four (5 mm wide, as pictured) of Triangular Structure (402).
[0075] With reference now to FIG. 6, a partially exploded side-view of the device is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays one section of the Triangular Structure (402) fully folded (501), and three sections (504, 506, 508) of the Triangular Structure (402) almost fully folded (503, 505, 507), and focuses on the process of attaching the external facing side of Section Four (508) to the internal facing side of Section One (502), via permanent bio-safe adhesive (401). This attachment motion is indicated by a dotted curved arrow (601) and occurs during the production of the device.
[0076] With reference now to FIG. 7, a partially exploded front-view of the device is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays all Sections of the Triangular Structure completely unfolded, except for fold 501 which has been completed here and sealed with the top edge seam (301). FIG. 7 focuses on displaying the internal facing sides of Sections One through Four (502, 504, 506, 508).
[0077] With reference now to FIG. 8, a partially exploded front-view of device is shown according to the embodiment of the present invention, which displays the external facing sides of three Sections (504, 506, 508), of the Triangular Structure (402). Section 502 is fully obscured in this view because Fold Two (503) is folded up at zero degrees as pictured. Note that in the fully assembled device, Fold Two (503) is folded at 45 degrees in the fully assembled device as pictured in FIG. 4.
[0078] With reference now to FIG. 9, a fully exploded view of the device is shown consisting primarily of the 36 mm36 mm sheet of porous paper (as pictured), as well as the moisture adjusting material (207) which would be contained by the Main Body of the device (203).
[0079] With reference to FIG. 9 and the proceeding figures, the production process of the device will now be described, starting with the fully unfolded piece of porous paper measuring 36 mm36 mm (as pictured):
[0080] Step One: the moisture adjusting material would be placed in the lower left-hand quadrant as shown (207). Step Two: The Right-Side Edge Fold (206) of the Main Body (203) of the device would be folded. Step Three: The Bottom-Edge Seam (205) would be sealed. Step Four: The Left-Side Seam (204) of the Main Body (203) would be completed, overlapping the Bottom-Edge Seam (205), (as seen in FIG. 8), and running to just below Fold One (501) (as seen in FIG. 7). Step Five: The Top-Edge Seam (301) of the Main Body (203), is sealed, overlapping 204, and running just under Fold One (501) as seen in FIG. 7. Step Six: Fold One (501) is completed, folding top-to-bottom. Step Seven: Fold Two (503) is completed, folding bottom-to-top. Step Eight: Fold Three (505) is completed, folding bottom-to-top. Step Nine: Fold Four (507) is completed, folding bottom-to-top. Step Ten: The external facing side of Section Four (508) is glued to the internal facing side of Section One (502), via permanent bio-safe adhesive (401). This attachment motion is indicated by a dotted curved arrow (601) on FIG. 6, and it occurs during the production of the device. Step Eleven: The bottom of the Bio-safe adhesive strip (with the Removable Red Tab (208) already attached) is permanently attached to the top of the Triangular Structure (402), which is the external face of Side Three (506).
[0081] This completes the fully assembled device as shown in FIG. 1 (100).
[0082] With reference now to FIG. 10, a pill bottle with cap (1000) of the general type which will be used with the device is shown. For clarity in how the device will function, the pill bottle cap (1001) and pill bottle (1002) are assigned different part numbers.
[0083] With reference now to FIG. 11, a pill bottle (1002) is shown with the cap (1001) removed but with the safety seal (1101) intact, which would prevent any moisture adjusting material permanently attached to the underside of the cap (1001), (as seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,686,161A, 5,667,863A), from having any effect on the pills in the pill bottle.
[0084] During the operation of the device, with reference to FIG. 10 through FIG. 16, the way in which the device will be used in coordination with a pill bottle (1000) will now be described:
[0085] Step A: A user would start with a new, unopened bottle of pills (1000) as shown in FIG. 10. Step B: The user would remove the pill bottle cap (1001) for the first time and expose the intact safety seal (1101) as shown in FIG. 11. Step C: The user would remove the safety seal (1101) as shown in FIG. 12. Step D: The user would extract the device (100) from the pill bottle (1002) as shown in FIG. 13. Step E: The user would remove the red tab (208) from the device (100), exposing the bio-safe adhesive strip (202), as shown in FIG. 14. Step F: The user would use the bio-safe adhesive strip (202) to attach the device (100) to the underside of the pill bottle cap (1001) as shown in FIG. 15. Step G: The user would replace the pill bottle cap (1001) with the device (100) attached, on to the pill bottle (1002) and screw the cap (1001) on tightly allowing the device (100) to continue to adjust the moisture levels in said pill bottle 1000. Step H: The next time a pill is needed from the pill bottle, the user would detach the pill bottle cap (1001) with the device (100) attached, remove the required number of pills, and then loop back to Step G. The use of the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet device preferably does not require any changes to the conventional structure of the pill bottle and pill bottle cap. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet device preferably does not require any changes to existing automated or manual production processes (during which pills are placed into pill bottles), which currently utilize existing moisture adjusting sachets; said device can be supplemented for said existing moisture adjusting sachets with little to no change in said production process.
[0086] The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet is preferably compatible with all existing pill bottle configurations, consisting of a pill bottle and pill bottle cap, which are intended to contain pills. The attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet preferably requires little to no changes to existing automated or manual production processes during which pills are placed into pill bottles, which currently utilize existing moisture adjusting sachets; said device can be supplemented for said existing moisture adjusting sachets with little to no change in said production process. In the case that the pill bottle user ignores the instructions printed on the attachable adhesive moisture adjusting sachet, it would continue to function in the same way as any moisture adjusting sachet of similar size and shape would.
[0087] Finally, while the present invention has been described above with reference to various exemplary embodiments, many changes, combinations and modifications may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the various components may be implemented in alternative ways. These alternatives can be suitably selected depending upon the particular application or in consideration of any number of factors associated with the operation of the device. In addition, the techniques described herein may be extended or modified for use with other types of devices. These and other changes or modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention.
