CH703502A2 - Container comprising a closure and an electronic circuit. - Google Patents

Abstract

The container comprises a closure (3) and an electronic circuit and a line (11) which is connected to the circuit. The conduit (11) is arranged so that it is interrupted when the shutter (3) is opened.

Description

Technical area

The invention relates to a container which is suitable for storing, for example, medicines, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, spirits or chemicals.

Pharmaceutical products, such as tablets or liquid drugs, are offered in various containers, such as screw cap or snap cap cans, bottles, blister packs or vials. These containers are in turn packed in a box. The electronic identification of the product is possible through the identification of the box. The container itself often carries no identification mark, so that the product based on the container is not clearly identifiable. In the case of expensive pharmaceuticals, there is also the risk that the containers are replenished with copied or other products without this being readily apparent to the end user or the staff.

State of the art

In Fig. 1, an opened box 1 is shown with a bottle 2 in a three-dimensional view.

The box 1 has at the bottom of a barcode 1.1, which contains information about the contents of the bottle 2. With a corresponding barcode reader, this information can be read out. In addition, the name of the product, that is, for example, the drug is printed in plain text on the box 1 in the upper area. However, neither the product name 1.2 indicated on the box 1 nor the bar code 1.1 ensure that the specified product is actually in the bottle 2. For example, the bottle 2 may be in the wrong box. In addition, a product which is not identical to that indicated on the box 1 can be filled in the bottle 2 as well. Now, if the staff of the wrong product or drug emanates, this may have fatal consequences for the patient.

Presentation of the invention

An object of the invention is to provide a container in which it can be determined with sufficient certainty what the contents of the container, or whether the container has already been opened once.

The object is achieved by a container having the features specified in claim 1.

The inventive container comprises a closure and an electronic circuit and a line which is connected to the circuit. The conduit is arranged such that it is interrupted when the closure is opened.

Advantageous developments of the invention will become apparent from the features indicated in the dependent claims.

The inventive container may be for example a bottle, a vial or a blister pack.

In one embodiment of the container according to the invention, the closure is designed such that it is not resealable.

In a further embodiment of the container according to the invention, the closure has electrical contacts.

In another embodiment of the inventive container, the closure has a battery.

In a further development of the container according to the invention, the circuit comprises a data memory.

In addition, it can be provided that in the inventive container, the data is stored in encrypted memory.

In the container according to the invention, the circuit may also include a microchip.

In a further development of the container according to the invention a container for receiving one or more products is provided. One part of the line is attached to the container and the other part of the line is attached to the closure.

The inventive container can be used for medicines, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, spirits or chemicals.

Brief description of the drawings

[0018] <Tb> FIG. 1 <sep> shows an opened box with a bottle in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 2 shows a first embodiment of the container according to the invention in the form of a bottle with the lid open in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 3 <sep> shows a possible arrangement of electrical leads for the lid and bottle in a bottom view. <Tb> FIG. 4 <sep> shows the arrangement of the electric wires together with an electronic circuit in an exploded view. <Tb> FIG. 5 <sep> shows a part of the electric wires together with the electronic circuit in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the container according to the invention in the form of a vial. in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 7 <sep> shows a possible arrangement of the electrical leads for the lid of the vial in a view from below. <Tb> FIG. 8 <sep> shows a section of the vial together with a read / write head in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 9 <sep> shows an opened box with a blister pack in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the container according to the invention in the form of a blister pack in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 11 <sep> shows the blister pack with a conductor loop before the cover sheet is welded in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 12 <sep> shows the blister pack before the conductor loop and before the cover sheet is applied in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 13 <sep> shows a section of the blister pack with the conductor loop, the electronic circuit and the contact surfaces in a three-dimensional view. <Tb> FIG. 14 <sep> shows the cutout of the blister pack with the conductor loop and the electronic circuit without the contact surfaces in a three-dimensional view.

Ways to carry out the invention

For better understanding, the container according to the invention will be described below by way of example for tablets, but this does not mean that the container is therefore limited to the storage of tablets. For example, the container is also suitable for storing medicines in forms other than tablets, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foods, spirits or chemicals.

First embodiment of the inventive container

In Fig. 2, a first embodiment of the inventive container in the form of a bottle 2 with the lid open 3 is shown in a three-dimensional view. The bottle may for example be filled with tablets 4. As a closure is a lid 3. This can be provided with a screw thread or be designed as a snap closure. The lid 3 comprises, as shown in Fig. 3, electrically conductive annular conduits 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. The upper edge of the bottle 2 also has an electrically conductive, annular conduit 11. The lines 5 to 11 may be formed as fine wires or as a flat conductor tracks. The cover 3 further comprises an electronic circuit 12, which is also referred to below as an integrated circuit or microchip. Via two connecting lines 10.1 and 10.2, the ends of the line 11 are connected to two terminals of the circuit 12.

As long as the lid 3 is located on the bottle 2, the circuit 12 is connected to the lines 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11. Via the line 5, the circuit 12 can be supplied with voltage VCC. Via the line 6, the circuit 12 can be reset. For this purpose, a reset signal RST is applied to the line 6. The line 7 serves as a ground terminal GND. Via the line 8, the circuit 12 is clocked with a clock signal CLK. Finally, the line 9 serves as a data line for the transmission of data signals DTA from and to the circuit 12.

When the lid 3 is removed from the bottle 2, one or both connecting lines 10.1 and 10.2 is severed, or the line 11 breaks apart at another point. Thereby, the two terminals of the circuit 12, which were previously connected to each other via the line 11, separated from each other. If one of these two terminals, for example, firmly connected to the ground potential, the tearing apart of the line 10.1, 10.2 or 11 causes the other terminal is no longer connected to the ground potential. This causes the product information stored in the circuit 12 can no longer be read. Even if the cover 3 is screwed back onto the bottle 2, one or both connecting lines 10.1 and 10.2 or the line 11 are severed, so that the two terminals of the circuit 12 are no longer connected to each other. Because the information is no longer readable, the staff knows in this way that the lid 3 has already been removed once.

Fig. 4 shows the arrangement of the electrical lines 5 to 11 together with the electronic circuit 12 in an exploded view. The annular electrical lines 5 to 9 are arranged concentrically on a conductor carrier film 13. On the conductor track carrier film 13, a supply line 5.1 is additionally provided, via which a connection (pin) of the electronic circuit 12 is electrically connected to the annular line 5. Further supply lines 6.1, 7.1, 8.1 and 9.1 are provided to connect further terminals of the circuit 12 with the annular lines 6, 7, 8 and 9 respectively. The circuit 12 may be arranged on a further film 14. The annular conduit 11 is located below the film 14.

Fig. 5 shows the leads 5.1 to 9.1 for the lines 5 to 9 and the leads 10.1 and 10.2 for the line 11 together with the electronic circuit 12 in a three-dimensional view.

Instead of that when removing the cover 3 of the bottle 2, the connecting lines 10.1 and 10.2 are severed, can also be provided that the connection between the two terminals of the circuit 12 is only interrupted as in a switch. The connecting lines 10.1 and 10.2 can be designed as sliding contacts, which rest on the conductor loop 11 resiliently when the lid 3 closes the bottle 2. The conductor loop 11 is thus not destroyed, but it is ensured that the sliding contacts of the connecting lines 10.1 and 10.2 are no longer connected to the conductor loop 11 and thus the two terminals of the circuit 12 are no longer connected. If the lid 3 is replaced, the two terminals of the circuit 12 are connected to each other again. The circuit 12 is formed in this embodiment to count how many times the lid 3 has been removed from the bottle 2. If the cover 3 is removed more than x times, the circuit 12 ensures that the stored product information can no longer be read out. The factory setting of the value of the parameter x can be specified, that is factory-set, how often the cover 3 may be removed before the circuit 12 prevents the reading of the stored information. This embodiment may be helpful if in the bottle 2 several tablets 4 are stored, not all of which must be removed simultaneously. For this purpose, it is advantageous if the cover 3 includes a battery for powering the circuit 12.

Second embodiment of the container according to the invention

Fig. 6 shows an injection container 20, which is also referred to as injection vial, vial or phial. The Vial 20 is a cylindrical, bottle-like shaped container made of glass or plastic and is often used to store liquid or powdered medicines. Its nominal volumes are usually relatively small, e.g. 1 ml or 10 ml. The vial 20 shown in Fig. 6 comprises a vitreous body 21 and a closure 22. The bottom of the vitreous body 21 is generally flat. The opening of the vial 20 is closed with the closure 22. As a closure 22 may serve, for example, a screw cap, a crimp cap or a staple. The closure 22 is often made of aluminum sheet. Below the closure 22 may be a rubber stopper with a septum (puncture rubber).

The illustrated in Fig. 6 embodiment of the closure 22 comprises a crimp cap 23 with a mounted on the top of the crimp 23 flip-off lid 24 made of plastic. To open the vial 21, only the flip-off lid 24 is torn off, peeled off or snipped off with a finger. Thereafter, the flip-off lid 24 can not be re-attached to the crimp cap 23 so that the vial 21 once opened can not be resealed.

As long as the flip-off lid 24 is located on the crimp cap 23, the circuit 12 (Figure 7) is connected to the leads 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 31. Via the line 25, the circuit 12 can be supplied with voltage VCC. Via the line 26, the circuit 12 can be reset with a reset signal RST. The line 27 serves as a ground terminal GND. Via the line 28, the circuit 12 is clocked with a clock signal CLK. The line 29 finally serves as a data line for the transmission of data signals DTA from and to the circuit 12th

Fig. 7 shows a possible arrangement of the electrical leads 25 to 31 for the flip-off cover 24 without the crimp cap 23 of the vial 21 in a view from below.

The line 31, which may be annular, for example, is firmly connected to the crimp 23. One end of the line 31 is connected via a connecting line 31.1 to a terminal of the circuit 12, which in turn is connected to ground, for example. The other end of the line 31 is connected via a further connecting line 31.2 with another terminal of the circuit 12. As long as there is an electrical connection between the grounded terminal via the connecting line 31.1, the line 31 and the connecting line 31.2 and the other terminal, the other terminal is also connected to ground.

When the flip-off lid 23 is removed from the vial 21, the two connecting lines 31.1 and 31.2 are severed. As a result, the connection between the two terminals of the circuit 12 is interrupted, so that one of the two terminals is no longer grounded. This causes the product information stored in the circuit 12 can no longer be read.

Fig. 8 shows a section of the vial 21 together with a read / write head 19 in a three-dimensional view. The electrical connection between the reader / writer 19 and the microchip 12 via electrical contacts, through the lines 25-29 and the corresponding pins 19.1 - 19.5 of the reader / writer 19. To make an electrical contact, the reading / Writing head 19, as shown in Fig. 7, positioned on the flip-off lid 24. Characterized in that the lines 25 to 29 are arranged annularly on the outer side of the flip-off lid 24, the read / write head 19 can be positioned in any radial orientation on the flip-off cover 24.

Third embodiment of the inventive container

Fig. 9 shows an opened box 40 with a blister pack 41 in a three-dimensional view. The box 40 has on one side a barcode 4.0.1 containing information about the contents of the blister pack 41. With a corresponding barcode reader, this information can be read out. In addition, the name of the product or of the medicament is also printed on box 40 in plain text.

With the help of the invention can be reliably determined whether the content of the blister pack 41 contains the original product. This is particularly helpful when the blister pack 41, for example, is no longer safe to assign the box 40 or the box 40 is missing or you are not sure whether the box 40 really contains the original product or the original blister pack 41.

Fig. 10 shows the third embodiment of the inventive container in the form of a blister pack 41 in a three-dimensional view.

At the left edge of the blister pack 41 are the circuit 12 and the contact surfaces 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46, which are connected via corresponding electrical lines (see FIG. 14) to the circuit 12. Via the contact surface 42 and the line 42.1, the circuit 12 can be supplied with voltage VCC. Via the contact surface 43 and line 43.1, the circuit 12 can be reset with a reset signal RST. The contact surface 44 and line 44.1 serves as a ground terminal GND. Via the contact surface 45 and line 45.1, the circuit 12 is clocked with a clock signal CLK. The contact surface 46 and line 46.1 finally serve as a data line for the transmission of data signals DTA from and to the circuit 12th

Fig. 11 shows the blister pack 41 with a conductor 48 before the cover film (closure film or short closure) 49 is welded in a three-dimensional view. The carrier foil 50 comprises a depression or tablet receptacle 51 for each tablet 47. As can be seen from FIG. 9, the conductor 48 runs in a loop above the carrier foil 50 and covers each of the tablet receptacles 51. To remove a tablet 47 from the blister pack 41, the tablet 47 is pushed through the closure film 49. This causes tearing apart both the sealing foil 49 and the conductor 48. This causes the electrical connection between the two terminals of the electronic circuit 12 is interrupted and the information stored in the circuit 12 is no longer readable.

Fig. 12 shows the carrier film 50 of the blister pack 41 before the conductor loop 48 and before the cover sheet 49 are applied in a three-dimensional view.

Fig. 13 shows a section of the blister pack 41 with the conductor loop 48, the electronic circuit 12 and the contact surfaces 42 to 46 in a three-dimensional view. The electronic circuit 12 is arranged below the contact surface 46 in this embodiment. The one end of the conductor loop 48 is connected via a first line 48.1 to a pin of the circuit 12 and the other end of the conductor loop 48 via a second line 48.2 with another pin of the circuit 12.

In Fig. 14, the same section of the blister pack 41 with the conductor loop 48 and the electronic circuit 12 is shown without the contact surfaces 42 to 46 in a three-dimensional view. Via the line 42.1, a pin of the circuit 12 is connected to the contact surface 42. Via the lines 43.1, 44.145.1 and 46.1 further pins of the circuit 12 are connected to the contact surfaces 43, 44, 45 and 46, respectively.

The electronic circuit 12 may be arranged instead of below the contact surface 46 at another location on the carrier film 50 of the blister pack 41.

The various embodiments of the inventive solution have a number of advantages. Thus, the manufacturer of pharmaceutical products no longer has to describe the box with a serialization code, but can store the data required for serialization and counterfeit protection directly in the closure of the container. Each closure becomes unique in this way, which significantly increases its security against counterfeiting. If necessary, the serialization can also be stored in encrypted form. The filling of the container with a plagiarism is thus considerably more difficult because the plagiarism manufacturer normally does not know the key assigned by the original producer and stored in the microchip 12.

In addition, the manufacturer of the original product can adapt the data to be stored to the regulations applicable in each case for a specific country in order to comply with the country-specific regulations. This data can be, for example, information about the batch, the lot number, the production date, the expiry date or information about the manufacturer. This again increases the safety for the consumer (patient) that he can really trust that he has an original product.

The electrical connection between the reader / writer 19 and the microchip 12 via electrical contacts, through the lines 5-9 or 25-29 or 42-46 and the pins 19.1-19.5 of the read / write device 19th This enables a fast and secure writing and reading of the data. In addition, neither electric nor magnetic fields are generated. This leaves even a particularly sensitive product in the container unchanged and protected. The read / write process does not affect the composition of the product. In addition, regardless of the type of product (solid or liquid), communication between the reader / writer 19 and the microchip 12 is assured at all times.

The foregoing description of the embodiments according to the present invention is for illustrative purposes only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention. Various changes and modifications are possible within the scope of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention and its equivalents. Thus, for example, the various components shown in FIGS. 1 to 14 can also be combined with one another in a different way than shown in the figures.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0046] <Tb> 1 <sep> Boxes <Tb> 1.1 <sep> Barcode <Tb> 1.2 <sep> Designation <Tb> 2 <sep> bottle <Tb> 3 <sep> Lid <Tb> 4 <sep> tablets <Tb> 5 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 5.1 <sep> Line <Tb> 6 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 6.1 <sep> Line <Tb> 7 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 7.1 <sep> Line <Tb> 8 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 8.1 <sep> Line <Tb> 9 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 9.1 <sep> Line <Tb> 10.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 10.2 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 11 <sep> contact ring <tb> 12 <sep> electronic circuit <Tb> 13 <sep> conductor carrier foil <Tb> 14 <sep> film <Tb> 19 <sep> read / write head <Tb> 19.1 <sep> pin <Tb> 19.2 <sep> pin <Tb> 19.3 <sep> pin <Tb> 19.4 <sep> pin <Tb> 19.5 <sep> pin <Tb> 20 <sep> Vial <Tb> 21 <sep> vitreous <Tb> 22 <sep> closure <Tb> 23 <sep> crimp <Tb> 24 <sep> flip-off cap <Tb> 25 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 26 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 27 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 28 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 29 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 31 <sep> contact ring <Tb> 31.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 31.2 <sep> connection line <Tb> 40 <sep> Boxes <Tb> 40.1 <sep> Barcode <Tb> 40.2 <sep> Designation <Tb> 41 <sep> blister <Tb> 42 <sep> contact surface <Tb> 42.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 43 <sep> contact surface <Tb> 43.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 44 <sep> contact surface <Tb> 44.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 45 <sep> contact surface <Tb> 45.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 46 <sep> contact surface <Tb> 46.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 47 <sep> tablet <Tb> 48 <sep> contact loop <Tb> 48.1 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 48.2 <sep> Connection line <Tb> 49 <sep> sealing film <Tb> 50 <sep> carrier film <Tb> 51 <sep> drug absorption

Claims (11)

1st container, in which a closure (3; 22; 49) is provided, in which an electronic circuit (12) is provided, - In which a line '(10; 31; 48) is provided, which is connected to the circuit (12), and - The line (10; 31; 48) is arranged such that it is interrupted when the closure (3; 22; 49) is opened. 2. Container according to claim 1, which is a bottle (2), a vial (20) or a blister pack (41). 3. Container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the closure (3; 22; 49) is designed such that it is not resealable. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the closure (3; 22; 49) has electrical contacts (5-9; 25-29; 42-46). A container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the closure (3; 22; 49) comprises a battery. 6. Container according to one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the closure (22) has a flip-off cover (24). 7. Container according to one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the circuit (12) comprises a data memory. 8. Container according to claim 7, wherein the data are stored encrypted in the data memory. 9. A container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the circuit (12) comprises a microchip. 10. Container according to one of the claims 1 to 9, - In which a container (2, 21, 51) for receiving a product (4, 47) is provided, and - In which a part of the conduit (11, 31) on the container (2, 21, 51) and the other part of the conduit (10.1, 10.2, 31.1, 31.2) on the closure (3, 22) is fixed. 11. Use of the container according to one of the claims 1 to 10, for medicines, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food, spirits or chemicals.