This invention relates to a device for crushing pills and the like.

It is often the case that a person has difficulty in swallowing pills due to their size. The present invention seeks to provide a device which is readily usable to crush the pills into a powder, to make them easier to ingest.

According to the present invention, there is provided a device for crushing pills and the like, comprising a housing, a rotatable crusher member disposed in the housing, an anvil which is disposed in the housing and with which the movable crusher member co-operates to crush said - pills or the like, and an opening in the housing through which said pills or the like are fed to the crusher member.

Preferably, the device also includes a receptacle which receives particles of the crushed pills, the receptacle forming part of or being attached to the housing.

Advantageously, the anvil and/or the crusher membery are provided with projections (preferably in the form of ridges or serrations, which may be in herring-bone configuration) to facilitate the crushing process. Such projections can

also be provided on at least one axial side wall of the crusher member and/or a surface on the housing which confronts that side wall.

Desirably, the crusher member is in the general form of a wheel or drum, and the anvil extends along at least part of the periphery thereof.

In one embodiment, the crusher member and the anvil are both generally conical or frusto conical in shape, in which case the opening is preferably provided in a face of the device which is generally perpendicular to the rotation axis of the crusher member. In another embodiment, the crusher member is generally cylindrical, in which case the opening is preferably provided in a face of the housing which lies generally parallel to the rotation axis of the crusher member.

Advantageously, the receptacle is made of transparent or semi-transparent material, and may also be provided with graduations.

The housing can be composed of two components each of which defines part of a bearing for the crusher member, these two parts co-operating with each other to define a full bearing when the two components are assembled together. Conveniently, on one of these components the bearing

undercuts an axle of the crusher member and acts to retain the axle when the two components are separated. The two components are preferably hinged together or are connected by a snap-engagement. In a particular example of the invention, one of these components constitutes the receptacle.

Preferably, the housing also contains a compartment for storing spare pills or the like. The compartment and/or the opening in the housing can be provided with a closure member, which is conveniently hinged to the housing.

The invention will now be further described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional side view of a first embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a section taken along the line II-II in Figure 1; ^•

Figure 3 is a sectional side view of a second embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a sectional side view of a third embodiment of a device according to the present invention;

Figure 5 shows the device of Figure 4 during assembly; and

Figure 6 shows a crusher member which forms part of the devices of Figures 3 to 5.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, the device shown therein comprises a pocket-sized enclosed housing 10 composed of a lower casing 11 and a lid 12 which closes an open mouth at the upper end of the casing 11. On its outer periphery, the lid 12 is provided with a downwardly-extending configurated projection 13 which forms a snap-engagement with a similar projection on the mouth of the lower casing 11. This engagement is such as releasably to retain the lid 12 on the lower casing 11 whilst allowing relative rotation between these two parts.

Depending from the lid 12 in the interior of the housing 10 is a crusher member 14 in the form of- a generally conical drum. The outer surface of this member confronts a generally conical anvil 15 which is fixed to the lower casing 11 and which extends around the outer periphery of the member 14. Although not visible in the drawings, the anvil 15 has one or more lateral projections at its upper end which engage in complementary recesses in the upper edge of the casing 11, thereby holding the anvil 15 against rotation relative to the casing 11. At its lower end, the anvil 15 is provided with an outlet 16 and a bearing 17 in

which rotatably locates a spindle 18 on-the lower end of the crusher member 14. The member 14 is thus able to rotate relative to the anvil 15 about a generally vertical axis .

At one point in its periphery, the crusher member 14 has a cut-away portion which defines a recess 19 between the member 14 and the anvil 15. Aligned with the recess 19 is

1 an opening 19 in the lid 12, through which a pill or the

1 like is inserted for crushing. The opening 19 is thus provided in a face of the device which lies perpendicular to the rotation axis of the member 14. Initially, the pill will lodge in the recess 19, but is crushed when the lid 12

(and thus the member 14) is rotated relative to the anvil

15. To facilitate the crushing process, the confronting surfaces of the member 14 and the anvil 15 are provided with projections, which in the illustrated embodiment are formed by a series of axial ridges or serrations 20.

Powder formed when the pill is thus crushed falls through the outlet 16 into the lower part of the casing 11, which acts as a receptacle. If desired, the casing 11 can be made of transparent or semi-transparent material so that the user can see how much powder has been produced: the casing may also be provided with graduations corresponding to pill dosages. After usage, the lid 12 is detached from the casing 11 and the anvil 15 is removed in order to enable access to be gained to the powder. Alternatively,

the bottom part of the casing 11 can be designed so that it is removable.

In an alternative arrangement (not shown), the crusher member 14 is separate from the lid 12 and has a spindle on its upper end which extends through a bearing in the lid 12. A knob or handle is mounted on the spindle to enable the crusher member 14 to be rotated from outside the housing 10.

Referring now to Figure 3, a second embodiment of the invention comprises a pocket-sized housing 21 which is of generally cuboid configuration and in which a crusher wheel

22 (shown in broken lines) is rotatably mounted. The housing 21 is composed of an upper component 23 and a lower component 24 which have respective part-circular recesses

25,26 in their confronting side faces. These recesses together define a bearing which receives an axle 27 of the crusher wheel 22. The periphery of the recess 25 extends o through an angle greater than 180 , so that the axle 27 is received as a snap-fit therein and is thereby retained in position when the two components 23 and 24 are separated.

The upper component 23 includes a partition 28 which divides the interior into two compartments 29 and 30. The crusher wheel 22 is disposed in the left-hand compartment 29 (as viewed in Figure 3) and its outer periphery is

disposed in close proximity to facing side walls 31 of the compartment. The walls 31 form anvils and are provided with projections at least in the regions which confront the wheel periphery: similar projections are also provided on the wheel periphery itself. At its upper end, the compartment 29 is provided with an opening 32 (which lies in a face of the device parallel to the rotation axis of the wheel 22) which can be closed by means of a lid 33. The right-hand -compartment 30 is used for storing spare pills or the like, and similarly has an opening 34 at its upper end which can be closed by a lid 35. The lids 33 and 35 are advantageously integrally hinged to the partition 28 as illustrated, although they may alternatively form part of a combined cover which extends across the top of the housing 21. Such a cover may be hinged to the housing, for example to open in a sideways direction, or can be arranged to be a sliding fit on the housing, or can be formed as an entirely separate component.

The lower housing component 24 forms a receptacle to receive the crushed pills, and is attached to the housing component 23 on one side by a projection 36 which locates in a recess 37 in the component 23 and on the other side by a further projection 38 which is a snap-engagement with a recess 39 in the component 23. The component 24 is engaged with the component 23 by first angling the component 24 so that the projection 36 can be engaged with the recess 37,

and by then pivoting the component 24 about the projection 36 until the projection 38 comes into engagement with the recess 39. Other forms of connection can however be used, and for example the projection 36 and the recess 37 could be replaced by a hinge. The component 24 can be made of transparent or semi-transparent material, and/or can be provided with a graduated scale to indicate the amount of powdered pills therein.

In order to use the device _r a pill or pills (e.g. as removed from the storage compartment 30) is/are inserted through the opening 32 into the compartment 29 so that it/they come to rest against the wheel 22. A handle 40 on the wheel is then rotated to force the pill or pills into the gap between the wheel periphery and the confronting walls 31, thereby creating a crushing action which is facilitated by the aforementioned projections on these parts. Powder from the crushed pill or pills falls into the receptacle 24, which can then be disengaged from the component 23 for extraction and subsequent use of the powder.

Figures 4 and 5 depict a third embodiment of the invention, wherein the housing 21 is similarly composed of two components 41 and 42, but in this case the components engage one another along a line 43 which runs down the length of the housing. In the illustrated embodiment,

these components are hinged together, but they may instead be formed as separate items which are snapped or otherwise joined together. As in the previous embodiment, confronting side faces of the components 41,42 are provided with respective part-circular recesses 44,45 which together define a bearing for the crusher wheel axle

27, and the periphery of the recess 44 extends through an o angle greater than 180 so that the axle can be retained as a snap-fit therein.

Otherwise, the embodiment of Figures 4 and 5 is generally similar to that of Figure 3, and similar parts are therefore accorded the same reference numerals. However, the receptacle for receiving the crushed pills is now formed by a tray 46 which engages the lower part of the housing 21. As illustrated, the tray 46 engages partly around the periphery of the housing 21 and partly in a recess 47 which extends through the bottom of the component 42. However, the recess 47 can be omitted and the tray 46 can be enlarged so that it extends completely around the lower periphery of the housing 21. Also, in the illustrated arrangement the tray 46 is a snap-fit with the housing 21. However, other forms of engagement can be employed instead.

Figure 4 shows the device in a condition ready for use, while Figure 5 shows the device during assembly, with the

component 41 hinged relative to the component 42 for insertion of the crusher wheel 22.

In a modification of the device (not shown), the component 41 has a projection extending from its lower end to form a snap-engagement with the component 42, thereby retaining the components against separation in use.

In a further embodiment (not illustrated), the components 41,42 are formed as separate items, the component 41 has elongate slots in its side walls extending from the join line 43, the crusher wheel axle 27 is received in these slots, and the component 42 has elongate projections which extend from the join line 43 and which locate respectively in the elongate slots to retain the axle 27 in position.

In the embodiments of Figures 3 to 5, the components 41,42 are detachable from one another. However, in an alternative arrangement (not shown) the components are permanently secured together at the manufacturing stage, so that the crusher wheel 22 is fixed in position and cannot be moved.

In Figure 6 there is shown a crusher wheel 22 of the type which can be employed in the embodiments of Figures 3 to 5. The wheel includes a flange 48 at one end of the axle 27 which locates externally of the housing 21 and which serves

to restrain movement of the wheel in an axial direction. Also, the projections on the wheel periphery can be seen at 49: these are shown as having a herring-bone formation, but other forms of projection can equally well be used, such as projections in criss-cross formation, diamonds, axial ridges, bumps, serrations or knurling.

In the embodiment of Figures 3 to 5, the wheel 22 is preferably a close axial fit within the housing 21 to prevent pill particles from falling down the sides of the wall. However, the device can be arranged instead so that projections are provided on the axial side walls of the wheel and/or on the confronting surfaces of the housing, so that any particles are readily crushed which do fall down the sides of the wheel.

In a further embodiment (not illustrated), the pill storage compartment 30 is omitted altogether, so that the crusher wheel spans substantially the whole of the breadth of the housing interior. However, it is preferred that the compartment 30 is provided, since then the device can form a self-contained unit which can be carried throughout the day by the user.

In the embodiments of Figures 3 to 5, the internal side walls of the housing 21 fall away substantially vertically from the wheel 22, so that passage of the crushed pill into

the receptacle is not impeded. However, these walls can instead be arranged to undercut the wheel (e.g. as indicated at broken lines at 50 in Figure 4) so that the crushing action can be continued further around the wheel periphery.

In a further embodiment of the invention (not shown), a brush or other cleaning member is provided to clean the crusher wheel as the latter is rotated. This brush is conveniently mounted in the lower part of the housing, so that particles of crushed pill cleaned from the wheel drop into the receptacle.

It is preferred that the various components of the device are made of plastics materials. However, other materials can be used instead, if desired.