FIELD

The present disclosure relates to generally to containers to store contents therein with a fill gauge to indicate the contents, and more specifically, to prescription containers with a fill gauge to show cumulative drug units in the prescription container.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,615 describes a medicine container of opaque or translucent material provided with an aperture to allow one to clearly view the contents of the container. In one embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,615, the container is characterized by a transparent window in the cylindrical side wall thereof, while two other embodiments provide for a transparent bottom to the container.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2010/0133139 describes a prescription medication bottle that has a viewing window. This “viewer window’ will display one or more pills, thereby enabling the pills to be visible within the bottle to the patient and pharmacy staff. The bottle comprises an internal shelf structure which creates a viewing chamber. One or more pills will become “caught” by the shelf structure and be displayed in the viewing chamber when the pharmacist places all the pills into the vial. The viewing chamber is visible through the viewing window. The viewing window may have the capability to magnify the area in which the pill rests and thereby provide a magnified view of the pill.

WO 2018/017530 describes a medicament packaging system that includes a container that provides a window to facilitate visualization, monitoring, identification, inspection and/or confirmation of quantity, amount, volume, shape, color, size, type and/or tampering of medication within the container.

U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0024742 describes a container for housing a composition comprising at least one active pharmaceutical agent. The container includes an interior for housing the composition and a viewing window allowing the user to view the interior region from the outside of the container.

SUMMARY

This section provides a general summary of the present disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features, aspects and objectives.

In accordance with one aspect of the disclosure, a prescription container comprises a bottom, a wall extending upwardly from the bottom, the wall being substantially transparent and forming an open top, the wall and the bottom forming an open interior configured to receive a supply of dry contents, the open top being configured to receive a closure thereon. The prescription container includes a label affixed to the wall and being substantially opaque such that the interior is not visible through the label, the label including a vertical, transparent viewing window. Indicia are positioned on the label adjacent the viewing window to indicate a time remaining for the supply of contents.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the indicia are calculated based on a volume of the interior and day supply characteristics of the contents.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the characteristics of the contents includes volume of each content unit.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the characteristics of the pills includes a statistical computation of how the supply of contents lie in the interior.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the indicia are adjusted vertically along the viewing window to indicate time remaining of the supply of pills.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the indicia show a maximum supply (e.g., a 90-day supply), a second most supply (e.g., a 60-day supply), and a least supply (e.g., a 30-day supply) of the supply of pills in the interior vertically downwardly along the viewing window. The indicia may Operate to indicate a content supply level in the container based on time or based on quantity.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the characteristics of the contents includes a range of a volume of the supply of the contents. The range of the content volume can include the actual volume of the quantity of contents plus a range of voids that are statistically created in the container for a specific quantity of contents, e.g., pills or other dry constructions that do not flow.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the characteristics of the contents includes a sum of volumes of all the content units in a prescription order to be placed in the interior.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the viewing window extend from a bottom of the label to a top of the label.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the label includes vertically narrow webs extending essentially horizontally connecting a first edge of the label to a second edge of the label at a top and a bottom of the viewing window.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the indicia include a supply indicia adjacent the window showing a remaining supply of the contents.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the container further comprising an indicator adjacent the window showing a level of a remaining supply of the contents.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, a method of creating a fill gauge on a container is described. The method includes receiving a content type for loading into a container, receiving a content quantity for loading into the container, receiving a container type, receiving a label type to be applied to the container, and generating a fill gauge to be applied to the label to indicate levels of contents in the container using the content type, the content quantity, and the container type.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, generating the fill gauge includes printing an indicator and an indicia on the label.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, generating the fill gauge includes forming a window in the label.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, printing an indicator and an indicia on the label includes printing the indicator adjacent the window and the indicia adjacent the indicator.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, forming a window in the label includes cutting the window in the label leaving a web at a top of the label and a bottom of the label.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, forming a window in the label includes wrapping the label on the container with the two vertical edges of the label forming the window.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, generating the fill gauge includes using a statistical calculation of settled contents in the container to determine the vertical location of indicators and indicia on the label.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, generating the fill gauge includes determining a position of the indicators using volume of the container, a settled volume of the contents, a unit of measure of the indicators, a dosage instruction, or combinations thereof.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, the contents are prescription drugs.

In accordance with an aspect of the disclosure, generating the fill gauge includes selecting the indicia based on the prescription drug and order history for a patient receiving the prescription drug.

The above aspects of the disclosure describe a labeled container, however, the present disclosure is applicable to other devices and structures that may include fill gauges that allow visual inspection into the interior of the container with the fill gauge being individualized to the order and the container.

