Pharmaceutical Tablets Having a Separation Mark Positioned on the Side of Said Tablets
A pharmaceutical tablet having two segments, one of which is a top segment and the other of which is a bottom segment, said tablet having at least one side wherein said tablet is provided with a separation mark or marks.
1 . A pharmaceutical tablet comprising two segments, one of which is a top segment and the other of which is a bottom segment, said tablet having at least one side wherein said tablet is provided with a separation mark or marks selected from the group consisting of one or more of the following:
(a) a score in a side wherein said score is not oriented vertically;
(b) indicia on at least one side that locates a desired breaking region of said tablet;
(c) a band which is located on one segment which is located on one segment or at an interface of the two segments; or
(d) a core of said tablet in which a first lower and a second upper segment have the same color and contain either the same drug in a pharmacologically effective quantity or both lack a pharmacologically effective quantity of any drug, and a third inner, interposed segment that has a different color from said first segment and has either the same drug as said first segment when said first segment has a pharmacologically effective quantity of a drug or has no pharmacologically effective quantity of a drug when said first segment lacks a pharmacologically effective quantity of any drug.
2 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 where the separation mark is located either entirely within one segment or at an interface of two segments.
3 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 where the separation mark is in a pharmaceutical tablet comprising three segments where the separation mark is placed on or in a single segment which is not a top or bottom segment.
4 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 3 where at least one additional separation mark is placed in one or more segments which is a top or bottom segment.
5 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 wherein the separation mark comprises a score.
6 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 5 in which said separation mark that comprises a score is substantially horizontally oriented on said tablet.
7 . A pharmaceutical tablet in claim 5 in which said separation mark that comprises a score is substantially confined within one segment.
8 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 5 in which said separation mark that comprises a score is substantially confined within an interface between segments.
9 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 wherein the separation mark comprises indicia.
10 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 wherein the separation mark comprises printed indicia.
11 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 wherein the separation mark comprises printed indicia that comprise a printed line or lines, a printed logo or logos, a printed arrow or arrows, a numerical or other type of dose indication or indications or a code number or numbers.
12 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 wherein the separation mark comprises a plurality of scores.
13 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 where the separation mark is in a pharmaceutical tablet having three vertically disposed segments where the separation mark is placed solely in the inner segment which is interposed between the top and bottom segments, said separation mark being placed horizontally on the tablet, wherein the horizontal axis corresponds to the horizontal axis of a tablet die in which said tablet is compressed.
14 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 3 where the separation mark is in a pharmaceutical tablet having three vertically disposed contiguous segments where the separation mark is placed in a single segment which is not a top or bottom segment, said top segment and said bottom segment containing the same or different drugs.
15 . A method of breaking a pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 which comprises breaking said tablet at or by said separation mark.
16 . A method of breaking a pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 by breaking through a segment of said tablet that has a different color from an adjacent segment.
17 . A method of breaking a pharmaceutical table as defined in claim 1 by breaking through said tablet between two or more separation marks that may include printed lines, printed arrows, or surface.
18 . A method of administering a partial dose of a drug contained in a pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 , said method comprising breaking said pharmaceutical tablet at or as guided by said separation mark to form two or more tablettes and administering at least one of said tablettes to a human patient or other living person or animal.
19 . A pharmaceutical tablet as defined in claim 1 in which said drug or drugs is or are pharmacologically effective in the treatment of cardiovascular conditions, psychiatric conditions, diabetes, thyroid disorders, pain or thrombotic disorders.