Claims for Patent: 5,061,494

Summary for Patent: 5,061,494

Title:	Tri-scored drug tablet
Abstract:	A tri-scored drug tablet having an elongated tablet body with a length greater than its width. The body has a bottom facing surface with a pair of concavities therein. Each concavity is equal in size and has parallel major and minor axes, each concavity further having a smooth and uninterrupted arcuate surface extending between the opposite longitudinal ends of said body and a longitudinally central part of said tablet. The opposite longitudinal ends of the body and the longitudinally central part are of a thicker dimension than the thickness of the body measured at an apex of each of the concavities. Aligned breaking grooves are formed in the top and bottom surfaces at both of the concavities and between the concavities at said longitudinally central part, each of breaking groove extending laterally across the width of said tablet at said apex of each of said concavities and at said longitudinally central part to divide the tablet into four quarter sections of equal size.
Inventor(s):	Ni; Phillip F. (Mattawan, MI), Odar; Larry F. (Galesburg, MI)
Assignee:	The Upjohn Comany (Kalamazoo, MI)
Application Number:	07/655,266
Patent Claims:	1. A tri-scored drug tablet, comprising: an elongated tablet body having a length greater than its width, said body having top and bottom surfaces; a pair of concavities in said bottom surface, said top surface being flat, each concavity being equal in size and having parallel major and minor axes, each concavity further having a smooth and uninterrupted arcuate surface extending between the opposite longitudinal ends of said body and a longitudinally central part of said tablet, said opposite longitudinal ends of said body and said longitudinally central part being of a thicker dimension than the thickness of said body measured at an apex of each of said concavities; and aligned breaking grooves formed in said top and bottom surfaces at both of said concavities and between said concavities at said longitudinally central part, each said breaking groove extending laterally across the width of said tablet at said apex of each of said concavities and at said longitudinally central part, so that upon a user grasping both ends of said tablet between a forefinger and a thumb on each hand, a force is applied to effect a fracture of said tablet along said groove at said longitudinally central part to divide said tablet into two half sections, said user thereafter placing said two half sections in a stacked arrangement so that said two concavities face one another and said thicker dimensioned portions at the longitudinal ends of said half sections are in engagement, said user thereafter applying a compressive force to the midpoint of said stacked half sections to effect a simultaneous fracture of each of said halves along said breaking grooves at said apexes of said concavities to divide each of said half sections into two quarter sections, each section containing within .+-.15% by weight of a prescribed limit of pharmacological agent. 2. The tri-scored drug tablet according to claim 1, wherein said tablet body includes an elongated central body part of a finite and uniform thickness and having an outwardly facing, smooth and uninterrupted perimetrical surface extending parallel to a theoretical line perpendicular to said top surface and extending through a geometric center of said tablet, wherein each said thicker dimensioned portions at each end of said bottom surface of each half section of said central body part including a region defined by a surface part, between which surface parts is provided said concavity, the depth of each of said concavities being less than the highest height dimension of said surface parts; wherein said breaking grooves in said concavities and at said longitudinally central part of said bottom surface have a depth that extends from said apex of each of said concavities to a bottom surface of said central body part; and wherein each of said breaking grooves in said top surface has a depth that extends approximately one fourth to one half the distance between said top surface and a top surface of said central body part. 3. The tri-scored drug tablet according to claim 2, wherein said breaking grooves in said top surface extend one third the distance between said top surface and said top surface of said central body part. 4. The tri-scored drug tablet according to claim 1, wherein said major axis of each of said concavities extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of said elongated tablet body.