WO 2006/129904 PCT/KR2005/003572 Description MEDICINE CONTAINER Technical Field [1] The present invention relates to a disposable medicine container for containing a medicine, particularly a viscous artificial tear. [2] Background Art [3] Patients suffering from xerophthalmia or eye disease due to the wearing of contact lenses use artificial tears. [4] In general, a patient uses an artificial tear drop by drop five or six times a day. Ac cordingly, the patient possess the artificial tear, and uses the artificial tear at need. [5] When the artificial tear is exposed to the outside for a long time, the artificial tear is easily deteriorated. Accordingly, in order to prevent the deterioration of the artificial tear, artificial tear products containing a preservative are commonly used. [6] In case that an artificial tear containing the preservative is used, the artificial tear is harmful to eyes. Accordingly, a disposable artificial tear product, which does not contain any preservative, has been widely used [7] FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional disposable medicine container for containing the above disposable artificial tear product. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the medicine container comprises a main body 1 for containing an artificial tear, and a lid 3 for sealing an opening 2 of the main body 1. In order to use the artificial tear, the lid 3 is separated from the main body 1, and the artificial tear is supplied to a user's eye through the opening 2. [8] After the above disposable medicine container is opened once, the disposable medicine container cannot be used again. That is, the disposable medicine container containing the remainder of the artificial tear must be thrown away. Accordingly, the conventional disposable medicine container is not economical. [9] Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [10] Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable medicine container with a lid, which can repeatedly open and close an opening of a main body so that the remainder of an artificial tear contained in the medicine container can be reused after the artificial tear is used once. [11] WO 2006/129904 PCT/KR2005/003572 Technical Solution [12] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a disposable medicine container comprising a main body, and a lid connected to the main body for sealing the main body, wherein a space portion is formed in a bottom portion of the lid so that the lid can repeatedly open and close an opening of the main body even after the lid is separated from the main body. [13] Advantageous Effects [14] The disposable medicine container of the present invention contains a medicine, which is used several times over a short period of time, and allows the medicine to be repeatedly reused, thus being economical. Brief Description of the Drawings [15] The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: [16] FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional disposable medicine container; [17] FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the conventional disposable medicine container of FIG. 1, in a state in which a lid is separated from a main body; [18] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a medicine container in accordance with the present invention; [19] FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the medicine container of FIG. 3; [20] FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the medicine container of FIG. 4, in a state in which a lid is separated from a main body; [21] FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the medicine container, in a state in which the lid is connected again to the main body; [22] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portable case containing the medicine container; [23] FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the portable case; [24] FIG. 9 is a transversal sectional view of the portable case illustrating guide walls; and [25] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the portable case in an assembled state. [26] Mode for the Invention [27] Now, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the annexed drawings. [28] FIGS. 3 and 4 are perspective and longitudinal sectional views of a medicine WO 2006/129904 PCT/KR2005/003572 container in accordance with the present invention, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the medicine container of the present invention comprises a lid 4 and a main body 5. A space portion 6 is formed in the bottom portion of the lid 4, and an artificial tear storing portion 7 is formed in the main body 5. The lid 4 is connected to an opening 8 of the main body 5, which discharges an artificial tear contained in the main body 5 to the outside of the medicine container, under the condition that the upper end of the opening 8 is sealed with a bonding portion 9. [29] When the artificial tear is first used, a user applies force to the bonding portion 9. Thus, as shown in FIG. 5, the lid 4 is separated from the main body 5. Thereafter, the user presses the storing portion 7, thus dropping the artificial tear on a user's eye. [30] After the first dropping of the artificial tear is completed, the opening 8 is closed by the lid 4, as shown in FIG. 6. Since the space portion 6, which is formed in the bottom portion of the lid 4, can contain the opening 8, the opening 8 is closed again by the lid 4. [31] Thereafter, whenever the user wants to drop the artificial tear on the user's eye, the user opens the lid 4 from the opening 8 so as to use the remainder of the artificial tear in the medicine container. [32] As described above, the artificial tear is generally used drop by drop five or six times a day. Accordingly, in consideration of the above fact, the artificial tear storing portion 7 of the container stores an adequate amount of the artificial tear so that the artificial tear stored in the storing portion 7 is used up in a day. [33] The sealed state of the lid 4 is released, and the lid 4 is repeatedly opened and closed, thereby causing the artificial tear to be exposed to the outside. However, since the medicine container of the present invention is used for a day, the artificial tear in the medicine container is not exposed to the outside for a long period of time. Ac cordingly, the artificial tear in the medicine container of the present invention is not deteriorated by the exposure for the above time, thus being not bad for the user's eye health. [34] Here, reference numeral, which is not described, represents a mount guide portion used to put the medicine container into a portable case. [35] FIGS. 7 to 10 illustrate a portable case containing the medicine container of the present invention. [36] The medicine container of the present invention is used several times a day by repeatedly opening and closing the lid 4. Accordingly, a user needs to carry the medicine container, when the user goes out. When the user carries the medicine container, the lid 4 may be opened due to the user's careless mistake. In case that the lid 4 is opened, the artificial tear easily flows out or is contaminated by foreign substances.
WO 2006/129904 PCT/KR2005/003572 [37] [38] *The portable case serves to safely protect the medicine container, thus preventing the artificial tear from flowing out or being contaminated by foreign substances due to the user's careless mistake. [39] The portable case comprises an upper body 11 and a lower body 12, which are separated from each other. The medicine container is contained in an internal space of the portable case, which is formed by the upper and lower bodies 11 and 12. [40] The upper end of the upper body 11 and the lower end of the lower body 12 are closed. [41] As shown in FIG. 9, guide walls 13 are formed on the inner surface of the lower body 12. The mount guide portion 10 formed on the lower portion of the medicine container is mounted on the guide walls 13, thus preventing the medicine container from moving. [42] Protrusions 14 are respectively formed on both sides of the inner surface of the lower end of the upper body 11, and grooves 15 are respectively formed through both sides of the upper end of the lower body 12. Accordingly, each of the protrusions 14 is engaged with the corresponding one of the grooves 15 in an interference fit manner, thereby firmly connecting the upper body 11 and the lower body 12 and sealing the inside of the case. [43] Although the present invention is applied to a disposable container for containing an artificial tear, the present invention may be applied to a disposable container for containing other medicines or products. [44] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.