Pill dispenser

Claim 2

A pill dispenser for carrying a week''s supply of pills to be dispensed at the rate of one or more pills several times a day, the dispenser comprising: a cylindrical container including a circular bottom plate with a central upright mounting post and a circumferential wall rising from the periphery of the base plate and having an upper, horizontally extending flange, 29 spaced, stationary, upright divider walls disposed radially between the mounting post and circumferential wall and dividing the container into 28 pillreceiving compartments and a compartment-size blank segment, the compartments having internal volumes of at least 0.15 cubic inches, the horizontal flange bearing the names of sequential days of the week opposite each sequential group of four compartments and viewable from above, the dispenser having a circular cover including means permitting the names of the sequential days to be viewed from above, the cover being rotatably connected at its center to the mounting post and having a periphery extending readially beyond the periphery of the horizontal flange, the cover having a slot positioned to sequentially overlie and permit sequential access to the compartments from above as the cover is rotated.

Claim 3

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein said horizontal flange extends inwardly of the periphery of the circumferential wall.

Claim 4

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the horizontal flange extends outwardly of the periphery of the circumferential wall.

Claim 5

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the upright mounting post is provided with an axial, pin-receiving hole open upwardly, and wherein the ciruclar cover has a centrally positioned hole alignable with the hole of the upright mounting post, the dispenser including a pin passing through the hole in the cover and into the hole in the mounting post for rotatably mounting the cover to the mounting post.

Claim 6

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the horizontal flange has an upper surface with space opposite each of the four compartments in each group for writing a time of the day.

Claim 7

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the horizontal flange opposite each of the four compartments in each group bears written indicia of a different time of day.

Claim 8

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the base plate, mounting post and divider walls comprise a single molded unit.

Claim 9

The pill dispenser of claim 1 wherein the base plate, divider walls, mounting post, circumferential wall and horizontal flange comprise a single molded unit.

Claim 10

The pill dispenser of claim 1 in which the circular cover is transparent to permit written indicia on the upper surface of the flange to be read through the cover.

Claim 11

The pill dispenser of claim 4 in which the compartments have internal volumes of at least 0.22 cubic inches.

Claim 12

A pill dispenser for carrying a week''s supply of pills to be dispensed at the rate of one or more pills several times a day, the dispenser comprising: a cylindrical container including a circular base plate with a central, upright mounting post with an axial, threaded hole open upwardly and a circumferential wall rising from the periphery of the base plate, the circumferential wall terminating upwardly in a horizontal flange of slightly greater height than the mounting post, 29 stationary, upright divider walls disposed radially between the mounting post and circumferential wall and dividing the container into 28 identical pill-receiving compartments each having an internal volume of at least 0.15 cubic inches and a compartment-size blank segment, the horizontal flange bearing the names of sequential days of the week opposite each sequential group of four compartments, a transparent circular cover having a central hole aligned with the threaded hole in the mounting post, and a mounting screw passing through the hole in the cover and threaded into the axial hole in the mounting post and having an expanded head bearing downwardly against the upper surface of the cover adjacent the periphery of its central hole, said screw urging the cover to bear downwardly against and slidably engage the upper surface of the horizontal flange, the cover being transparent and having a diameter greater than that of the horizontal flange and a serrated periphery and also having a slot positioned to overlie and permit retrieval of pills from one compartment at a time as the cover is rotated.

Claim 13

A pill dispenser for carrying a week''s supply of pills to be dispensed at the rate of one or more pills several times a day, the dispenser comprising: a cylindrical container including a circular base plate with a central, upright mounting post with an axial, threaded hole open upwardly and a circumferential wall rising from the periphery of the base plate, the circumferential wall terminating upwardly in a horizontal flange of slightly greater height than the mounting post, 29 stationary, upright divider walls disposed radially between the mounting post and circumferential wall and dividing the container into 28 identical pill-receiving compartments each having an internal volume of at least 0.15 cubic inches and a compartment-size blank segment, the horizontal flange bearing the names of sequential days of the week opposite each sequential group of four compartments, a transparent circular cover having a central hole aligned with the threaded hole in the mounting post, and a mounting screw passing through the hole in the cover and threaded into the axial hole in the mounting post and having an expanded head bearing downwardly against the upper surface of the cover adjacent the periphery of its central hole, said screw urging the cover to bear downwardly against and slidably engage the upper surface of the horizontal flange, the cover being transparent and having a diameter greater than that of the horizontal flange and a serrated periphery and also having a slot positioned to overlie and permit retrieval of pills from one compartment at a time as the cover is rotated.

Claim 14

A pill dispenser for carrying a week''s supply of pills to be dispensed at the rate of one or more pills several times a day, the dispenser comprising: a cylindrical container including a circular bottom plate with a central, upright mounting post and a circumferential wall rising from the periphery of the base plate and having an upper, horizontally extending flange at a slightly greater height than the mounting post, 29 spaced, stationary, upright divider walls disposed radially between the mounting post and circumferential wall and dividing the container into 28 identical pill-receiving compartments and a compartment-size blank segment, the compartments having internal volumes of at least 0.15 cubic inches, the horizontal flange bearing the names of sequential days of the week opposite each sequential group of four compartments and viewable from above, the dispenser having a circular cover through which the names of days may be viewed and rotatably connected at its center to the mounting post to urge the cover downwardly into sliding engagement with the horizontal flange, the cover having a periphery extending radially beyond the periphery of the horizontal flange and having a slot positioned to sequentially overlie and permit sequential access to the compartments from above as the cover is rotated.

Claim 15

A pill dispenser for carrying a week''s supply of pills to be dispensed at the rate of one or more pills several times a day, the dispenser comprising: a cylindrical container including a circular bottom plate with a central, upright mounting post and a circumferential wall rising from the periphery of the base plate and having an upper, horizontally extending flange at a slightly greater height than the mounting post, 29 spaced, stationary, upright divider walls disposed radially between the mounting post and circumferential wall and dividing the container into 28 identical pill-receiving compartments and a compartment-size blank segment, the compartments having internal volumes of at least 0.15 cubic inches, the horizontal flange bearing the names of sequential days of the week opposite each sequential group of four compartments and viewable from above, the dispenser having a circular cover through which the names of days may be viewed and rotatably connected at its center to the mounting post to urge the cover downwardly into sliding engagement with the horizontal flange, the cover having a periphery extending radially beyond the periphery of the horizontal flange and having a slot positioned to sequentially overlie and permit sequential access to the compartments from above as the cover is rotated.

Claim 16

The pill dispenser of claim 12 wherein the base plate, divider walls, mounting post, circumferential wall and horizontal flange comprise a single molded unit.