Child-Resistant Dispensing Cup for No-Touch Tablet Dosing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Patients and children need a safe and easy way to access and administer medicaments without direct skin contact, while ensuring the packaging is child-resistant to prevent accidental access.
Innovation Solution
A dispensing cup that collects tablets or capsules from a container and allows oral administration through an opening without direct patient contact, featuring child-resistant mechanisms to prevent access by children.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If patients handle medication directly from the container, then the dispensing process is simple and quick, but the patient's skin is exposed to cytotoxic substances
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dispensing cup as an intermediary device between the medication container and the patient's hand. The cup receives medication from the container through its open top, allowing patients to hold the cup rather than touching tablets directly. This mediator eliminates skin exposure to cytotoxic substances while maintaining simple operation - patients simply hold the cup and tilt it to dispense medication.
2Ease of operation
If medication packaging is made accessible, then patients can easily access their medication, but children can also access and potentially ingest the medication
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing cup acts as an intermediary barrier that children cannot easily manipulate. The cup's design with a specific opening configuration and stability features prevents children from accessing medication inside, while still allowing patients to easily pour medication into the cup. This mediator provides child resistance without compromising patient accessibility.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If patients wear protective gear and cover surfaces, then skin exposure to medication is prevented, but the treatment process becomes cumbersome and increases resistance to adherence
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing cup serves as a simple intermediary device that eliminates the need for complex protective measures like gloves and surface coverings. By providing a dedicated container for medication transfer, the cup inherently prevents skin contact without requiring additional protective equipment or procedures, thus maintaining simplicity and promoting adherence.
4Ease of operation
If existing blister pack release apparatus is used, then medication can be released from packaging, but the patient still touches the tablets and the apparatus is not child resistant
Solution Approach 1:
The dispensing cup provides a superior intermediary solution compared to blister pack release apparatus. While blister packs only facilitate release, the cup continues to serve as a protective barrier during the entire dispensing process. Patients pour tablets into the cup rather than touching them directly, and the cup's design maintains this barrier throughout medication transfer, unlike blister packs where tablets are exposed during release.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B
Figure 2A~2B
AI summary
Described herein is dispensing cup for use with medicaments, which dispensing cup in use allows for the patient to (self) administer an oral medicament (tablet or capsule) without the need to come into direct (skin) contact with such medicament.