Patent · US Expired

Pestle and mortar for crushing pills in pill cups

US4967971A · kind A · utility

47Cited by
6References
17Claims
0Family size

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateApr 14, 1989
Grant dateNov 6, 1990
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 14, 2009

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
  • CPC primaryY10S241/27
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The present pestle and mortar for crushing pills in pill cups is tailored to conform to the shape of a pill cup. A conventional frustum-shaped pill cup lines a frustum-shaped receptacle in the mortar to receive a frustum-shaped pill crushing portion of the pestle which is nestable in the pill cup. The frustum-shaped crushing portions of the pestle and mortar distribute pressure over much of the exterior and interior surface areas of a pill cup so that pills may be crushed in even fragile paper pill cups without tearing or otherwise damaging the paper pill cups. Moreover, the pill cup and mortar operate as one piece and the frustum-shaped crushing portion of the pestle substantially seals the interior of the pill cup to prevent pill granules from flying out of the pill cup during a pill crushing operation.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.