Medicinial Vial Protector and Identifier System
A medicinal vial protector and identifier system has a holding vessel, an interior cavity designed to hold a medicinal vial, an exterior sidewall that can be easily identified by a person, a plurality of retaining ribs designed to retain the vial within the holding vessel and facilitate insertion and removal of the vial, and at least one contents porthole to allow an easy determination of the amount of materials contained in the vial while the vial remains safely ensconced within the holding vessel. Additionally, a bottom port can be incorporated which facilitates the easy removal of the vial from the holding vessel. In order to facilitate identification of the medicine within a vial stored inside the holding vessel, the exterior sidewall of the holding vessel can be distinctly shaped and colored. The system can include a plurality of vessels to distinguish multiple medicinal vials from one another.
This application is a continuation-in-part and claims the benefit of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 11/699,824 entitled INSUCOZI and filed on Jan. 30, 2007, which is specifically incorporated herein by reference for all that it discloses and teaches.
TECHNICAL FIELDThis invention relates generally to the health care field and, in particular, to a medicinal vial protector and identifier system.
BACKGROUNDThe number of medicines and treatments for conditions and diseases has grown dramatically in recent years. Consequently, there are a growing number of people (and animals) who require periodic treatments with medicines that are stored and transported in standard medicinal vials. For example, the treatment of diabetes often requires the administration of insulin which is delivered to patients in medicinal vials. As this disease continues to proliferate, more and more people are handling and using medicinal vials for their insulin treatments. Because many medicinal vials have been standardized into a generic size and shape, it can often be difficult for people to distinguish one vial from another. Furthermore, because the vials are often made of glass or other relatively fragile materials, they must be handled with care to avoid breakage. Additionally, the glass vials are small, difficult to hold onto, and quickly warm when removed from refrigeration (as some medicines require). What is needed is a medicinal vial protector and identifier system that addresses the above limitations and problems.
SUMMARYEmbodiments of the present invention described and claimed herein address the foregoing limitations and problems by providing a medicinal vial protector and identifier system. The present invention comprises at least a holding vessel made of an impact resistant/absorbent material having an interior cavity designed to hold a medicinal vial, an exterior sidewall that can be easily identified by a person, a plurality of retaining ribs designed to retain the vial within the holding vessel and facilitate insertion and removal of the vial by a person, a contents porthole to allow the simple determination of the amount of materials contained in the vial at a given time without removing the vial from the holding vessel, and a bottom port to further facilitate the easy removal of the vial from the holding vessel by a person. In order to facilitate identification of the medicine within a vial stored inside the holding vessel, the exterior sidewall of the holding vessel should be distinctly shaped and colored.
The plurality of retaining ribs provide a myriad of important functions. First, they serve to retain the vial within the holding vessel. The ribs are shaped to conform to the surface of the vial and extend over the neck of the vial, thereby holding the vial securely within the vessel. However, because the ribs do no contact the entire surface of the vial, they do not grasp the vial too firmly. Beverage can insulation devices in the prior art are well known, and similarly well known is the problem they have of grasping the can too firmly, making insertion and removal difficult. Additionally, because only the retaining ribs contact the medicinal vial, there is an extra amount of impact resistance added to the system as the holding vessel sidewall can bend and deform in the gap between the sidewall and the vial without transferring that energy directly to the medicinal vial. Finally, because only the relatively small amount of material that makes up the retaining ribs (versus the entire interior surface area of the sidewall) contacts the vial, insertion and removal of the vial is much easier.
One embodiment has a three holding vessel system in which a first vessel has a rounded, cylindrical sidewall colored red, a second vessel has a quadrilateral sidewall colored blue, and a third vessel has a hexagonal sidewall colored yellow. The shapes of the aforementioned sidewalls describe cross-sections taken perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and detail the exterior perimeter shapes. In other embodiments, the shapes can be other shapes such as triangular, octagonal, pentagonal, diamond, irregular polygons, curves, etc. Similarly, the colors can be other colors such as green, orange, purple, brown, white, black, etc. One goal of the system is to provide a plurality of holding vessels that can be identified by touch alone, another is to identify them by sight alone, and yet another is to use both senses to facilitate identification. In yet another embodiment, a small device is attached to the holding vessel which produces a sound upon activation by a person which can be used to identify the vessel—such aural identification means can be used in place of or in addition to the aforesaid touch and/or sight identification means. Other identification means are contemplated, such as a strong smell being integrated with a given holding vessel or the integration of flavors into holding vessels that can be tasted by licking a vessel.
The present invention provides many benefits over the prior art. A medicinal vial protector and identifier system allows patients to easily distinguish between two or more vials to ensure that they administer the right medication. Similarly, patients who are either lacking or deficient in one or more of their five senses can instead rely on one or more of their other senses to identify their medicinal vials. For example, a diabetic person who is blind can grasp one of the holding vessels in the medicinal vial protector and identifier system and quickly and easily determine that it is hexagonal in shape (for example), which means it holds a particular type of insulin. Further, if the person were to drop or knock vials into each other or other things, the impact resistant/absorbing material(s) that make up the holding vessels (as well as the gap between interior sidewall and the vial) help to protect the medicinal vial stored within and lessen the chances of breaking the vial and destroying its contents. Since the vial protector and identifier system can utilize materials that are shock-absorbent and provide an improved gripping surface the chances of dropping and breaking the vials are reduced. Finally, because the holding vessels surround the vials, they help to insulate them as well.
In another embodiment, the vial protector and identifier system is called InsuCozi and a user can put different types of insulin medicinal vials in the different holding vessels. The InsuCozis cover the insulin vials used by a diabetic patient and allow him or her to identify and protect their insulin vials. The insulin vials used by diabetics are generally small glass bottles of approximately ten milliliters of capacity that must be kept cool and used in proportion to the patient's medical needs. The InsuCozis allow the patient to identify each of the insulins he or she may be using, and the silicone rubber texture (or other materials having similar properties) allows the patient to hold onto the vial easier while preparing the injection. Furthermore, the holding vessels further function to insulate the covered vials in order to keep them cool longer.
The invention is motivated by the medical industry's need for diabetic patients to make sure they are using the correct insulin, as well as ensure their insulin vials are protected from air temperature and breakage due to dropping or otherwise impacting the vials. The standard insulin vial is small and difficult to handle, and is nondescript making it difficult to identify the contents. A blind diabetic has no way of knowing if they are receiving the correct amount of the prescribed insulin. However, once one or more vials are used with the medicinal vial protector and identifier system, the vials are covered by holding vessels that have unique properties that facilitate identification of the vial contained within each holding vessel, protect the vials, insulate them, and allow patients to grip them more securely.
In one embodiment, a holding vessel's elasticity allows it to expand and contract enough for ease of receiving a medicinal vial, yet form-fitting so the vial will not escape until intended by a patient. In another embodiment, internal retention ribs are used to conform to the shape of a medicinal vial to retain it within the holding vessel. In such an embodiment either the retention ribs themselves or the body of the holding vessel (or both) can deform slightly in order to allow the insertion of the medicinal vial into the holding vessel and then one (or both) return to shape once the vial is properly placed within the vessel in order to retain and secure the vial in place. Additionally, the bottom of the holding vessel can incorporate an open end or bottom port to allow for inserting or removing the vial. In yet another embodiment, the bottom port is not large enough to allow passage of the vial therethrough but instead functions as an access port to allow the bottom of the vial to be pushed on during the removal process.
The aforementioned and other features and objects of the present invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptions of a preferred embodiment and other embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A medicinal vial protector and identifier system can comprise a single holding vessel or it can comprise two or more holding vessels, wherein the shapes of the outside perimeters of the sidewalls are different between the vessels. For example, a two-vessel system could have a first vessel that has a rounded, cylindrically shaped sidewall and a second vessel that has a four-sided, square shaped sidewall. The first vessel could then contain a first type of medicine and the second could contain a second type of medicine. A patient can then very easily tell the difference between the two medicines simply by looking at or feeling the external shapes of the two sidewalls: the rounded vessel contains medicine 1 and the squared vessel contains medicine 2. Identification in this manner is much simpler than trying to read the small print on the labels of the medicine vials. This is especially true if, for example, the patient is blind.
The holding vessel 110 has a sidewall 111 that extends longitudinally from the bottom end 112 to the top end 113. The sidewall is very generally cylindrical in shape, although an outside perimeter of a horizontal cross-section taken perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (i.e., the axis extending from the center of the bottom end 112 to the center of the top end 113) can have any regular or irregular shape. In the embodiment shown in
The top end 113 of the vessel 110 highlights the six-sided shape of the sidewall illustrated in
As can be seen in
Also illustrated in
The tops of a plurality of retaining ribs 130 are illustrated in
The plurality of retaining ribs 230 are illustrated in
The plurality of retaining ribs 230 are illustrated in
The plurality of retaining ribs 230 are illustrated in
While particular embodiments of the invention have been described and disclosed in the present application, it should be understood that any number of permutations, modifications, or embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention. Accordingly, it is not the intention of this application to limit this invention in any way except as by the appended claims.
Particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementing the invention.
The above detailed description of the embodiments of the invention is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise embodiment or form disclosed herein or to the particular field of usage mentioned in this disclosure. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, various equivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. Also, the teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to other systems, not necessarily the system described above. The elements and acts of the various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments.
In light of the above “Detailed Description,” the Inventor may make changes to the invention. While the detailed description outlines possible embodiments of the invention and discloses the best mode contemplated, no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention may be practiced in a myriad of ways. Thus, implementation details may vary considerably while still being encompassed by the spirit of the invention as disclosed by the inventor. As discussed herein, specific terminology used when describing certain features or aspects of the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to be restricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of the invention with which that terminology is associated.
While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certain claim forms, the inventor contemplates the various aspects of the invention in any number of claim forms. Accordingly, the inventor reserves the right to add additional claims after filing the application to pursue such additional claim forms for other aspects of the invention.
The above specification, examples and data provide a description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments of the described articles of manufacture and methods. Many embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
Claims
1. A medicinal vial protector and identifier system, comprising:
- a holding vessel having a top end, a bottom end and a sidewall extending generally longitudinally from the bottom end to the top end;
- the sidewall having an exterior surface and an interior surface;
- an inside cavity shaped so as to encompass a main body of a medicinal vial, the inside cavity located within the holding vessel and being completely surrounded by the top end, the bottom end, and the sidewall;
- the top end having a top opening which allows access to the inside cavity;
- the bottom end having a bottom port which allows access to the inside cavity;
- a first contents porthole extending longitudinally within the sidewall and positioned to allow a person to view the inside cavity through the sidewall;
- a plurality of retaining ribs extending longitudinally up the interior surface of the sidewall, the plurality of retaining ribs each having a top portion, the top portion having a protrusion which extends inwards into the inside cavity and fits securely over a neck of a medicinal vial placed within the inside cavity;
- the plurality of retaining ribs each further comprising a proximal body portion and a distal body portion, the proximal body portion located in proximity to the top end and the distal body portion located in proximity to the bottom end; and
- wherein the sidewall has an external perimeter.
2. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 1 wherein the external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon.
3. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 1 wherein the external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon.
4. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 1 wherein the external perimeter has the general shape of a circle.
5. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 1 wherein the external perimeter has the general shape of a three-sided polygon.
6. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 1 wherein the external perimeter has the general shape of a five-sided polygon.
7. A medicinal vial protector and identifier system, comprising:
- a first holding vessel having a first top end, a first bottom end and a first sidewall extending generally longitudinally from the first bottom end to the first top end;
- the first sidewall having a first exterior surface and a first interior surface;
- a first inside cavity shaped so as to encompass a main body of a medicinal vial, the first inside cavity located within the first holding vessel and being completely surrounded by the first top end, the first bottom end, and the first sidewall;
- the first top end having a first top opening which allows access to the first inside cavity;
- the first bottom end having a first bottom port which allows access to the inside cavity;
- a first contents porthole extending longitudinally within the first sidewall and positioned to allow a person to view the first inside cavity through the first sidewall;
- a first plurality of retaining ribs extending longitudinally up the first interior surface of the first sidewall, the first plurality of retaining ribs each having a first top portion, the first top portion having a first protrusion which extends inwards into the first inside cavity and fits securely over a neck of a medicinal vial placed within the first inside cavity;
- the first plurality of retaining ribs each further comprising a first proximal body portion and a first distal body portion, the first proximal body portion located in proximity to the first top end and the first distal body portion located in proximity to the first bottom end;
- wherein the first sidewall has a first external perimeter;
- a second holding vessel having a second top end, a second bottom end and a second sidewall extending generally longitudinally from the second bottom end to the second top end;
- the second sidewall having a second exterior surface and a second interior surface;
- a second inside cavity shaped so as to encompass a main body of a medicinal vial, the second inside cavity located within the second holding vessel and being completely surrounded by the second top end, the second bottom end, and the second sidewall;
- the second top end having a second top opening which allows access to the second inside cavity;
- the second bottom end having a second bottom port which allows access to the inside cavity;
- a second contents porthole extending longitudinally within the second sidewall and positioned to allow a person to view the second inside cavity through the second sidewall;
- a second plurality of retaining ribs extending longitudinally up the second interior surface of the second sidewall, the second plurality of retaining ribs each having a second top portion, the second top portion having a second protrusion which extends inwards into the second inside cavity and fits securely over a neck of a medicinal vial placed within the second inside cavity;
- the second plurality of retaining ribs each further comprising a second proximal body portion and a second distal body portion, the second proximal body portion located in proximity to the second top end and the second distal body portion located in proximity to the second bottom end;
- wherein the second sidewall has a second external perimeter; and
- wherein the first external perimeter is shaped differently from the second external perimeter.
8. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a circle and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon.
9. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a circle and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon.
10. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a circle and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a three-sided polygon.
11. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon.
12. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a five-sided polygon.
13. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a three-sided polygon.
14. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a five-sided polygon.
15. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 7 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon and the second external perimeter has the general shape of a three-sided polygon.
16. A medicinal vial protector and identifier system, comprising:
- a first holding vessel having a first top end, a first bottom end and a first sidewall extending generally longitudinally from the first bottom end to the first top end;
- the first sidewall having a first exterior surface and a first interior surface;
- a first inside cavity shaped so as to encompass a main body of a medicinal vial, the first inside cavity located within the first holding vessel and being completely surrounded by the first top end, the first bottom end, and the first sidewall;
- the first top end having a first top opening which allows access to the first inside cavity;
- the first bottom end having a first bottom port which allows access to the inside cavity;
- a first contents porthole extending longitudinally within the first sidewall and positioned to allow a person to view the first inside cavity through the first sidewall;
- a first plurality of retaining ribs extending longitudinally up the first interior surface of the first sidewall, the first plurality of retaining ribs each having a first top portion, the first top portion having a first protrusion which extends inwards into the first inside cavity and fits securely over a neck of a medicinal vial placed within the first inside cavity;
- the first plurality of retaining ribs each further comprising a first proximal body portion and a first distal body portion, the first proximal body portion located in proximity to the first top end and the first distal body portion located in proximity to the first bottom end;
- wherein the first sidewall has a first external perimeter;
- a second holding vessel having a second top end, a second bottom end and a second sidewall extending generally longitudinally from the second bottom end to the second top end;
- the second sidewall having a second exterior surface and a second interior surface;
- a second inside cavity shaped so as to encompass a main body of a medicinal vial, the second inside cavity located within the second holding vessel and being completely surrounded by the second top end, the second bottom end, and the second sidewall;
- the second top end having a second top opening which allows access to the second inside cavity;
- the second bottom end having a second bottom port which allows access to the inside cavity;
- a second contents porthole extending longitudinally within the second sidewall and positioned to allow a person to view the second inside cavity through the second sidewall;
- a second plurality of retaining ribs extending longitudinally up the second interior surface of the second sidewall, the second plurality of retaining ribs each having a second top portion, the second top portion having a second protrusion which extends inwards into the second inside cavity and fits securely over a neck of a medicinal vial placed within the second inside cavity;
- the second plurality of retaining ribs each further comprising a second proximal body portion and a second distal body portion, the second proximal body portion located in proximity to the second top end and the second distal body portion located in proximity to the second bottom end;
- wherein the second sidewall has a second external perimeter;
- a third holding vessel having a third top end, a third bottom end and a third sidewall extending generally longitudinally from the third bottom end to the third top end;
- the third sidewall having a third exterior surface and a third interior surface;
- a third inside cavity shaped so as to encompass a main body of a medicinal vial, the third inside cavity located within the third holding vessel and being completely surrounded by the third top end, the third bottom end, and the third sidewall;
- the third top end having a third top opening which allows access to the third inside cavity;
- the third bottom end having a third bottom port which allows access to the inside cavity;
- a third contents porthole extending longitudinally within the third sidewall and positioned to allow a person to view the third inside cavity through the third sidewall;
- a third plurality of retaining ribs extending longitudinally up the third interior surface of the third sidewall, the third plurality of retaining ribs each having a third top portion, the third top portion having a third protrusion which extends inwards into the third inside cavity and fits securely over a neck of a medicinal vial placed within the third inside cavity;
- the third plurality of retaining ribs each further comprising a third proximal body portion and a third distal body portion, the third proximal body portion located in proximity to the third top end and the third distal body portion located in proximity to the third bottom end;
- wherein the third sidewall has a third external perimeter; and
- wherein the first external perimeter, the second external perimeter, and the third external perimeter are all shaped differently from one another.
17. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 16 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a circle, the second external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon, and the third external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon.
18. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 16 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a circle, the second external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon, and the third external perimeter has the general shape of a three-sided polygon.
19. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 16 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a circle, the second external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon, and the third external perimeter has the general shape of a five-sided polygon.
20. The medicinal vial protector and identifier system of claim 16 wherein the first external perimeter has the general shape of a three-sided polygon, the second external perimeter has the general shape of a four-sided polygon, and the third external perimeter has the general shape of a six-sided polygon.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 27, 2012
Publication Date: Aug 23, 2012
Inventor: Daniel Victor LaFaver (Golden, CO)
Application Number: 13/459,068
International Classification: B65D 8/04 (20060101);