Stackable Pill Box With Articulated Tabs For Varying Medication Sizes

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing pill box solutions are inadequate for accommodating medications with high variability in shape and volume, leading to either oversized boxes or multiple boxes, which increases the risk of errors and inefficiency.

Innovation Solution

A pill box system utilizing thermoformed plastic sheets with articulated tabs and clips, allowing for flexible assembly and connection of blister packs via adhesive films or pressure buttons, enabling the creation of a stackable and expandable structure to accommodate varying medication sizes and volumes.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If pill boxes are designed with large capacity housings to accommodate medications with high variability in shape and volume, then the capacity to store diverse medications is improved, but the pill box becomes unnecessarily bulky and inefficient

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecapacity to accommodate varying medication sizesVSAvoidpill box size
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSVolume of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The pill box is divided into multiple removable compartments or sections, each capable of holding a specific number of doses. This segmentation allows the user to only carry and use the compartments needed for the current week, rather than a single large housing for an entire month's supply, thus reducing the volume of the moving object while maintaining adaptability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The pill box design incorporates dynamic elements such as removable compartments, expandable sections, or adjustable dividers that can be reconfigured based on the specific medication requirements. This allows the structure to adapt its internal volume dynamically to match the actual medication volume, preventing the need for a permanently oversized housing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Adaptability or versatility

If multiple pill boxes are used for the same week to accommodate different medication volumes, then the capacity to store varying doses is improved, but the risk of errors increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecapacity to accommodate varying dosesVSAvoidrisk of error
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

Multiple compartments for different medications are merged into a single integrated pill box structure with a unified lid and base. Each compartment is clearly labeled and positioned within the same housing, allowing all medications to be carried and managed in one place rather than分散 in multiple separate boxes, thereby reducing the risk of confusion and errors.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #5Merging (Combining)

Solution Approach 2:

The pill box is designed as a universal container that can accommodate various types and volumes of medications through standardized compartment designs. The same basic structure can hold different medications with different volume requirements, eliminating the need for multiple specialized boxes and reducing the risk of using the wrong box for a particular medication.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

3Reliability

If articulated tabs and clips are used to connect packaging layers, then the security and organization of medication storage is improved, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesecurity of distributionVSAvoidstructure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

Articulated tabs and clips serve as intermediary connecting elements between packaging layers. These simple mechanical features act as mediators to secure the relationship between blisters and packaging without requiring complex fastening mechanisms,从而实现 reliable medication storage while keeping the overall structure relatively simple.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentEP4043000B1Weekly pill dispensers made up of a box with several compartments for storing medication doses.
Publication Date: 2024.05.15 TOTUM PHARMACIENS
  • EP4043000B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP4043000B1 patent drawingFigure 3~5
  • EP4043000B1 patent drawingFigure 6~8

AI summary

The present invention relates to the field of weekly pill organizers, also called "pill boxes" or "medicine boxes," consisting of a box with several compartments allowing for the easy storage of precise doses of medication. This pill organizer for dispensing medication comprises a first container (100) formed by a juxtaposition of breakable elements, each having a plurality of compartments (1 to 7), closed by a lid, and is characterized in that: • it has means for connecting (17, 18) with a second container (200) formed by a plurality of compartments (21 to 27; 31 to 37) closed by a lid, • said connecting means (17, 18; 28, 29) being configured to allow bottom-to-bottom positioning, or bottom-to-lid positioning, between said first container (100) and said second container (200).