Wallet-Sized Hinged Pill Holder for Emergency Medication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing solutions for storing aspirin and nitroglycerine tablets for heart attack treatment are not compact enough to be conveniently carried on a person throughout the day, making timely access difficult.
Innovation Solution
A compact, hinged pill holder designed to fit within a wallet, capable of holding both aspirin and nitroglycerine tablets, along with medical information and emergency instructions, ensuring easy access and portability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If aspirin and nitroglycerine tablets are stored in bottles or similar receptacles, then the medications can be stored and protected, but the size of the bottles is too large to be conveniently carried close at hand throughout the day
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies nesting by placing the pill holder containing aspirin and nitroglycerine tablets inside a wallet, which serves as an outer container. This nested arrangement reduces the overall carrying burden while maintaining accessibility to the medications during daily activities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from three-dimensional bottle storage to a flattened, two-dimensional profile by designing the pill holder to fit within wallet dimensions. This dimensional change allows the medication container to be carried close at hand without the bulk of traditional bottles, resolving the contradiction between compact size and medication availability.
2Ease of operation
If traditional bottle storage is used for heart attack medications, then the medications are protected, but they are not readily accessible for immediate treatment when needed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies multi-functionality by designing the pill holder to serve multiple purposes: it stores both aspirin and nitroglycerine tablets, provides immediate accessibility for emergency treatment, and fits within the universal context of a wallet that people carry daily. This multi-functional design simultaneously improves accessibility while maintaining compact size.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-positioning the medications in a compact holder that is kept in the wallet close at hand, ready for immediate use. This preliminary preparation ensures that when a heart attack occurs, the medications are already accessible without requiring additional searching or retrieval from larger storage containers.
3Ease of operation
If a compact pill holder is designed to fit in a wallet, then portability is improved, but the holder must be highly compact which may limit storage capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the medication storage into separate compartments within the compact holder - one section for aspirin tablets and another for nitroglycerine tablets. This segmented arrangement maximizes the use of available space within the wallet-sized constraints while maintaining organized storage of multiple medication types and quantities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes thin-film construction for the pill holder walls and dividers, minimizing the space consumed by the container structure itself. This allows maximum volume within the wallet dimensions to be dedicated to medication storage, resolving the contradiction between compact portability and storage capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
A pill holder includes a relatively flat receptacle. The flat receptacle includes a body having a bottom wall having a plurality of depressions, a cover having a top wall overlying the bottom wall, and a hinge disposed to pivotally connect the body to the cover, wherein the cover may be disposed in a closed condition in which the cover overlies and abuts the body, and an open condition wherein the cover is pivoted away from the body. The receptacle includes a first seal forming a short wall fixed to the bottom wall and projecting towards the cover when the cover overlies the bottom wall, and a post fixed to the bottom wall and projecting towards the cover when the cover overlies the bottom wall. The post is located within the fence formed by the first seal.