WO2012008648A1 - Medicine box - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a medicine box. More specifically, the invention relates to a medicine box wherein the positions of a plurality of compartments which hold medicines are determined, and a specific compartment is opened.

Description

Medicine box

The present invention relates to a medicine box. More specifically, the present invention relates to a medicine box for determining a location of a plurality of compartments in which a medicine is accommodated so that a specific compartment is opened.

As the society develops and the interest in personal health gradually increases, it is easy to use for the correct medication for the general public, infants and the elderly, and effective medication guidance and medication management is ensured. The need for medicine boxes is growing.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is as follows.

One object of the present invention is to provide a medicine box for effectively taking a medicine.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine box for improving medication compliance.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine box for medication management.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine box for comprehensive medication management in conjunction with a health care server.

Another object of the present invention, to provide a medicine box to take a predetermined medicine at a prescribed time of medication according to the medication schedule.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a medicine box that grasps the absolute position of a compartment in a cartridge housed in the medicine box.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a medicine box that grasps the direction of the cartridge by itself even if the cartridge is inserted in the medicine box in any direction.

Technical problems to be achieved by the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned above will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Could be.

The present invention solves the above problems by providing the following medicine box.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a medicine box includes a case having an opening, a case accommodated in a case, rotated, and having a plurality of compartments for receiving medicine, and having an identification pattern reflecting the position of at least one of the compartments in the plurality of compartments. It includes a cartridge formed in the sensor, a sensor unit for detecting the arrangement of the identification pattern, and a control unit for determining the position of the opening of the at least one section moving according to the rotation based on the detection result.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a medicine box includes a case having an opening, a plurality of compartments accommodated and rotated in the case, and having an identification pattern reflecting the position of at least one of the compartments in the plurality of compartments. Based on a cartridge formed in the cartridge, a drive unit for rotating the cartridge, a sensor unit for detecting an arrangement state of the identification pattern, and a result of the sensor unit, determine the position of the opening of the at least one section moving according to the rotation, and determine And a control unit for controlling the driving unit to communicate the specific compartment with the opening based on the control unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a medicine box includes a case having an opening, a plurality of compartments accommodated in the case and rotating, and an identification pattern reflecting the position of at least one of the compartments in the plurality of compartments. A cartridge formed on one surface, a drive unit for rotating the cartridge, a sensor unit for detecting an arrangement state of an identification pattern, a storage unit for storing a medication schedule, and at least one compartment moving according to rotation based on a result of the sensor unit And a control unit for determining the position of the opening, controlling the driving unit to communicate the specific compartment with the opening based on the determination, and determining the specific compartment based on the medication schedule.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a medicine box includes a case, a cartridge accommodated in the case, rotated, and move in accordance with the rotation, each cartridge formed with a plurality of identification patterns reflecting the direction of the partition relative to the rotation axis, a plurality of And a sensor unit for detecting one of the identification patterns, and a controller for determining the direction of the section based on the identification pattern detected by the sensor unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a medicine box includes a case in which an opening is formed, and includes a plurality of compartments accommodated in the case, rotated, move in accordance with rotation, and receive medicine, each reflecting a direction of a specific compartment with respect to the axis of rotation. It includes a cartridge having a plurality of identification patterns, a sensor unit for detecting one of the plurality of identification patterns, and a control unit for determining the direction of the specific compartment based on the identification pattern detected by the sensor unit.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the medicine box includes a case, a cartridge accommodated in the case to rotate, at least one first structure formed along a first rotation radius of one side of the cartridge, and at least one formed along a second rotation radius of one side of the cartridge. And a control unit for obtaining a rotation value of the cartridge according to a combination of the second structure, a first sensor detecting the first structure, a second sensor detecting the second structure, and a result detected by the first sensor and the second sensor. do.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a medicine box includes a case including an opening, a plurality of compartments accommodated in the case and rotated, one of which is in communication with the opening, and a plurality of compartments corresponding to each of the plurality of compartments. It comprises a cartridge including an identification pattern, a sensor unit for detecting an identification pattern corresponding to the compartment communicating with the opening, and a control unit for recognizing the compartment communicating with the opening based on the detected identification pattern.

The present invention has the following effects.

According to the present invention, by taking the medication according to the medication management, there is an effect that the medication compliance of the medication is improved.

According to the present invention, the medicine box can grasp the absolute position of the compartment in the cartridge, there is an effect that the drug is discharged from the compartment determined according to the medication schedule.

According to the present invention, when the cartridge is inserted into the medicine box, the compartment is automatically opened in the order according to the medication schedule even when inserted in any direction.

According to the present invention, there is an effect of preventing the user from misusing drugs by taking the medication confirmation.

According to the present invention, since the medicine box is linked with the health care server, more systematic and comprehensive medication management can be achieved.

According to the present invention, since the effect of taking medicine is improved through proper medication management, the user can lead a healthier life and can reduce socially unnecessary waste of medical expenses.

1 is a block diagram of a medication tracker system according to the present invention.

2 is a block diagram of the medicine box according to the present invention.

3 is a perspective view of a medicine box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an exploded view of a medicine box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is an exploded view of a medicine box according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view of a cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a perspective view of a cartridge according to another embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a perspective view of a compartment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a perspective view of a compartment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a cross-sectional view of a compartment in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

11 is a perspective view of a medicine box according to another embodiment of the present invention.

12 is an exploded perspective view of a medicine box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

13 is a plan view of a cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a perspective view illustrating an identification pattern according to an embodiment of the present invention.

15 is a diagram illustrating a method in which an identification pattern reflects information according to an embodiment of the present invention.

16 illustrates an identification pattern according to another embodiment of the present invention.

17 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

18 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement of a plurality of sensors according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement of a plurality of sensors according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

20 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

21 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

22 is a flow chart of a medication guide method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

23 is a perspective view showing an operation in which the medicine box communicates.

The terms used in the present specification are used to easily explain the present invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the terms used herein.

The present invention can be modified or modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. At this time, modifications or variations that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention includes modifications or variations without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

For the same components, the same reference numerals are used in the drawings, and redundant descriptions may be omitted.

This invention is not limited by the Example described below.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention will be described.

A medicine is a substance administered to a living organism to treat, alleviate, or prevent a disease, injury, or other physical condition. In general, even healthy people take the medicine several times a year, and people with certain diseases may need to take medicine periodically throughout their lives. Since these drugs are made of different chemical components, different drugs have different processes of absorption and decomposition in the human body, and most medication time is predetermined. Therefore, for the correct dosage effect, it is important to take a fixed drug at a predetermined time interval at regular intervals depending on the composition and purpose of the drug and the duration of the drug.

In general, a doctor or pharmacist who writes a prescription for a medicine provides information on medications, medication time, and methods in accordance with the life patterns of ordinary people, such as after waking up, before meals, after meals, and before bed. However, such medication guidance is explained according to oral medicine and pharmacists, and since it depends solely on the memory and attention of the patient during the medication process, it is difficult to expect effective medication according to the medication schedule unless the individual takes care of the medication. Particularly in the case of a modern man struggling for minutes and minutes, it is not easy to take medicine correctly at a given time by always carrying medicine when going out due to busy daily life. In addition, children and the elderly may be less alert than the general public, so if there is no separate medication management, it is difficult to take the medicine regularly according to the medication schedule at the exact time, and it is impossible to remember whether or not to take the medicine. Abuse may occur.

In order to solve this problem, a separate record sheet to assist medication management may be used. A separate record sheet is a note or memo to record the medication facts one by one after taking the medication and time to take the medication accordingly. However, medication management using such a recording sheet is written by a person by hand, so it may be difficult to efficiently manage the medication. It is very likely that the person taking the medication record on the record sheet every time they take the medication, there is a great risk of omission or coming, and even if the nurse in the nursing home or child care facility to record the medication, it may be difficult to record all the medication.

Medicine boxes, etc., which classify and store medicines to be taken at predetermined times are used. These medicine boxes are advantageous in terms of compliance with medication records compared to recording medication records, but they are difficult to carry in size and weight, and are required to classify drugs by medication time. Can occur. In addition, in order to inform the taking time to take a separate alarm clock, such as to use a systematic dosing management is still insufficient in many points.

Therefore, as the society develops and the interest in personal health gradually increases, effective medication guidance and medication management is easy to use for the correct medication and high medication compliance for the general public as well as infants and the elderly. There is a growing need for medicine boxes.

Hereinafter will be described with reference to Figure 1 for the medication management system according to the present invention. 1 is a block diagram of a medication tracker system according to the present invention.

Medication management system is a system for managing medications so that the prescribed medicine can be taken correctly. Such medication management may include medication guidance for effective medication and medication identification to confirm whether or not medication was taken at the time of medication. Here, the medication map may include medication instruction to take medication according to the medication schedule and prevention of misuse and abuse to prevent misuse or abuse of medicine.

Such a medication management system may include a health care server 10, a medicine box 100, and a mobile communication terminal 20 as shown in FIG. 1. The health care server 10 may be a server that collects, manages, and provides information for managing the health of a health manager such as a patient or a doser. The mobile communication terminal 20 may transmit or receive information for managing health to or from the health care server 10 or the medicine box 100. The medicine box 100 may store the medicine and may use the information for health care to guide the medication or confirm the medication.

The health care server 10, the medicine box 100 and the mobile communication terminal 20 may exchange information with each other. The exchange of such information may be achieved through communication through a wired or wireless communication network. At this time, the health care server 10, the medicine box 100 and the mobile communication terminal 20 through such information exchange and wired and wireless communication, to connect the health manager of the doser and the doser closer to each other and share information with each other. By doing so, more comprehensive and systematic medication management can be achieved.

In this case, the health manager may mean a person or a device that performs guidance and management regarding the health of a patient or a patient. For example, a health care worker may be a doctor, a pharmacist, a nurse, a caregiver, or the like, or may be a device capable of performing some or all of these people's roles.

Hereinafter, the health care server 10, the mobile communication terminal 20 and the medicine box 100 will be described.

First, the contents of the health care server 10 are as follows. The health care server 10 may be a server that collects, manages, and provides information for managing the health of a health manager such as a patient or a doser.

The health care server 10 may be provided in at least one place of a hospital, a pharmacy and a health care center. The health care server 10 may communicate with various terminals or other servers. The apparatus for communicating with the health care server 10 includes, for example, a hospital terminal 11, a hospital server, a pharmacy terminal 12, a pharmacy server, a health care center terminal 13, and a health care center side. There may be a server, a terminal on the user's side, a mobile communication terminal 20, a medicine box 100, and other health care related terminals. Such communication may be performed through a wired or wireless network. For example, the health care server 10 and each device can communicate via the Internet. For example, the doctor may communicate with the health care server 10 through the hospital terminal 11. Alternatively, the taker may obtain information provided by the health care server 10 from the health care server 10 through the mobile communication terminal 20 or the medicine box 100.

The health care server 10 may perform an authentication procedure in providing information about health care. For example, the health care server 10 may provide health care information only to an authorized external device. For example, when the pharmacy terminal 12 requests the information, the health care server 10 receives the pharmacist license number and determines whether the licensed pharmacist license number is a valid pharmacist license. Information can be provided by Since the information on health care is related to the personal identity of the patient or individual taking the health care server 10 has the effect of increasing the security through such authentication procedures.

As described above, the health care server 10 manages information on health, and this information may be, for example, information for medication management. The information on the medication management may include at least one of taking information, prescription information, medication schedule, and medication identification information. A brief description of this information follows.

The taker information may be information about the individual taking the medicine. For example, the taking information may include information about the taking name, sex, age, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, medical history and other taking health of the taking person. The health care server 10 may receive and store taking user information from a health manager or a doser. The health care server 10 may provide stored dose information. The health care manager may manage the health of the intake person by using the ingestion information provided by the health care server 10. For example, the doctor may access the health care server 10 using the hospital terminal 11 to obtain the taking information, and may prescribe a medicine or treat the medicine by referring to the obtained taking information.

Prescription information may be information about the medicine prescribed to the taker. Prescription information may include information about the prescribed individual and information about the prescribed medication. For example, the prescription information may include prescriber information, prescriber information, prescription time, name of the prescription drug, classification of the prescription drug, preparation method, medication method and precautions during medication. For example, the medication method may include information about medication time, medication schedule, dosage of medication, and the like. In addition, for example, precautions when taking a medication may include information on concomitant contraindications and anticipated side effects. The health care server 10 may receive and store such prescription information from the prescriber.

The health care server 10 may provide the prescription information stored as described above. You or your health care provider can use this information to better manage your medication. For example, the health care server 10 may obtain and store prescription information from a prescriber via a doctor's terminal. The health care server 10 may provide stored prescription information to the pharmacist through the terminal of the pharmacist. Thus, the pharmacist can manufacture the medicine by connecting to the health care server 10 without a separate prescription, for example, paper prescription. Through the transmission and reception of prescription information through the health care server 10, the pharmacist or prescriber can manufacture and purchase the medicine more conveniently. As another example, a prescriber such as a doctor may check the past prescription information of the current prescriber by accessing the health care server 10 when prescribing a medicine. In the case of drugs may not be used in combination depending on the chemical composition, the health care server 10 may assist the prescriber to prescribe the drug by providing the prescriber with the past prescription information.

Medication schedules may be schedules in which the dose should be taken by the recipient. This schedule may include information about medication time and information about medications to be taken for each medication time. The medication schedule may be a daily, weekly or monthly schedule. The health care server 10 may receive an input of a medication schedule from a prescriber or a health care manager. Alternatively, the health care server 10 may generate a medication schedule based on stored dose information and prescription information. The health care server 10 may transmit a medication schedule to the medicine box 100 or the mobile communication terminal 20 of the doser through the wired or wireless communication network. The medicine box 100 or the mobile communication terminal 20 may instruct the user to take the medicine at the time of taking medicine according to the medication schedule. As a result, the doser can know the medication time and accordingly medication dose can be improved. Meanwhile, the mobile communication terminal 20 or the medicine box 100 may generate a medication schedule by itself using prescription information.

The health care server 10 may provide medication confirmation information. Here, the medication confirmation information may be information about whether the person taking the medicine and whether the medicine was taken according to the medication schedule. The health care server 10 may obtain medication confirmation information from the doser or the medicine box 100 or the mobile communication terminal 20. The health care server 10 may provide the medication check information to a health manager such as a doctor or a pharmacist. The health care manager can use the identification information of the medication to find out whether the medication is taken and the medication compliance, and based on this, the medication can be more effectively administered to the medication.

Next, a description of the mobile communication terminal 20 is as follows.

The mobile communication terminal 20 may transmit information about the medication management to the health care server 10 or the medicine box 100 or may be transmitted from them. For example, the mobile communication terminal 20 may obtain medication schedule or medication confirmation information through communication with the health care server 10 or the medicine box 100. The mobile communication terminal 20 provides the information obtained as described above to the taker to instruct the medication or to obtain the medication confirmation information from the taker or medicine box 100 and sends it to the health care server 10 to manage the health care server 10 ), You can make your medication information available. For example, if there is a fall detection sensor in the mobile communication terminal 20, if the taker falls, this is the health care server 10 or the taker's family terminal 21, the emergency rescue terminal 22 and The healthcare manager may communicate with the terminal 23.

Finally, the information about the medicine box 100 is as follows.

The medicine box 100 may store medicine. In addition, the medicine box 100 can be instructed to take medication according to the medication schedule, to prevent misuse of the drug, it is possible to check whether or not medication. The medicine box 100 may output the medication confirmation information regarding the confirmed medication. More detailed description of the medicine box 100 will be described later.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the medicine box 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 2 is a configuration diagram of the medicine box 100 according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the medicine box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the medicine box 100 may include a case 110, a cartridge 120, an opening 115, and a lid 116. The case 110 forms the appearance of the medicine box 100 and may accommodate other components therein. The cartridge 120 is accommodated in the case 110 and may include a plurality of compartments 130. Here each compartment 130 may receive medicine. The opening 115 may be in communication with any one of the plurality of compartments 130 such that the compartment 130 is open. The lid 116 opens and closes the opening 115 through the opening and closing operation, thereby controlling the opening of the compartment 130 through the opening 115.

Hereinafter, the case 110, the cartridge 120, the opening 115, and the lid 116 will be described.

Hereinafter, the case 110 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. 4 and 5 are exploded views of the medicine box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

The case 110 may form an appearance of the medicine box 100. Medicine box 100 according to the present invention may be a medicine box 100 or a portable medicine box 100. When the medicine box 100 is portable, the case 110 may be formed to be easy to carry. For example, the case 110 may be provided with a light weight and a small size. Since the case 110 is easy to carry, by taking the medicine box 100 without regard to the place, there is an effect that can take the medicine according to the medication schedule when going out.

The case 110 may accommodate other components of the medicine box 100. For example, the cartridge 120 may be stored in the case 110. Therefore, the case 110 may be a material having strength suitable for protecting the components stored therein. For example, the material of the case 110 may be aluminum or reinforced plastic.

The case 110 may contain medicine. For example, the case 110 may accommodate the medicine in the case 110 by receiving the cartridge 120 containing the medicine. In this case, the case 110 may be provided so that the drug contained therein is not altered. In general, the medicament may react sensitively to light or temperature or humidity and thus deteriorate accordingly. The case 110 may be made of a material that does not transmit light or a material that does not transmit temperature or humidity. Case 110 provided with such a material may have the effect that the internal medicine is not altered. For example, the case 110 may be made of an opaque material. In another example, the case 110 may have a hole at one side, and may be formed to allow ventilation.

As described above, the case 110 may accommodate other components of the medicine box 100, for example, the cartridge 120. Here, these components may be attached to or detached from the case 110. For example, the cartridge 120 may be accommodated therein by being attached to the case 110 and may be discharged to the outside of the case 110 by being detached. The case 110 may be configured such that these components are easy to attach and detach.

4 is an exploded view of the medicine box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the case 110 may include an upper case 110a and a lower case 110b. The upper case 110a and the lower case 110b may be combined or separated. For example, the upper case 110a and the lower case 110b may be coupled by an interference fit and separated by an external force. Here, by providing a latch on at least one of the upper case (110a) and the lower case (110b) it can be stably coupled by the action of the latch. As another example, the upper case 110a and the lower case 110b may be coupled or separated from each other by providing a spiral groove and rotating along the groove.

5 is an exploded view of the medicine box 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the case 110 may have a hole formed on one surface thereof. Through these holes, other components of the medicine box 100 may enter and exit the case 110. For example, the cartridge 120 may be inserted into or discharged from the case 110 through a hole.

4 and 5, the case 110 provided as shown in FIG. 4 has an effect of allowing the components to easily enter and exit. For example, the cartridge 120 can easily enter and exit the case 110. The case 110, which is easy to enter and exit the cartridge 120, may have an effect of easily adding a large amount of drugs to the cartridge 120. The medicine box 100 is provided with an opening 115 to be described later, through which the medicine can enter and exit the medicine box 100, but the opening 115 is intended to be discharged at the time of medication so that a large amount of medicine is used at one time. May not be appropriate. Therefore, in the medicine box 100 which the cartridge 120 according to the present invention can enter and exit from the case 110, the cartridge 120 is discharged from the case 110 so that a large amount of medicine can be injected into the cartridge 120. It works. For example, such a medicine box 100 may be advantageous in case of administering a medicine prepared by a pharmacist to the medicine box 100, or in the case of a user taking a prescribed medicine directly into the medicine box 100.

Hereinafter, the cartridge 120 and the compartment 130 included in the cartridge 120 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. 6 and 7 are perspective views of a cartridge 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective views of a compartment 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively. Sectional view of a compartment 130 according to one embodiment of the invention.

The cartridge 120 may be received in the case 110. Here, the cartridge 120 may be formed in a shape similar to the shape of the case 110. For example, when the case 110 has a cylindrical shape, as shown in FIG. 6, the cartridge 120 may be provided in a cylindrical shape or a circular plate shape. For another example, when the case 110 is a box shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, the cartridge 120 may also be formed to have a rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 7.

The cartridge 120 may be accommodated in the case 110 to move. This movement may be performed by an external force applied by the user of the medicine box 100 or the driving unit 180 of the medicine box 100 to be described later. For example, the circular cartridge 120 shown in FIG. 6 may rotate. As another example, the rectangular parallelepiped cartridge 120 shown in FIG. 7 may perform a linear motion.

The cartridge 120 may contain medicine. Here, the cartridge 120 may be a material suitable for storing medicine. As described above in the description of the case 110, in general, the drug may be sensitive to light, temperature, or humidity, and thus deteriorate accordingly. Accordingly, the cartridge 120 may be formed of a material that blocks light or does not change temperature or humidity so that the medicine does not deteriorate. For example, the cartridge 120 may be formed of an opaque material to block light, and by forming a hole in one side of the cartridge 120, the cartridge 120 may be freely ventilated.

Cartridge 120 may comprise a plurality of compartments 130. In other words, the cartridge 120 may be provided with a plurality of compartments 130. These compartments 130 may be spaces separated from each other in the interior of the cartridge 120. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7, the plurality of compartments 130 may be provided inside the cartridge 120 by installing at least one partition wall in the cartridge 120 to separate the internal space.

Each of the compartments 130 may contain medicines. For example, each compartment 130 may contain one dose of medication. When there are a plurality of compartments 130, there may be an advantage of accommodating a plurality of doses in the medicine box 100. For example, the medicine box 100 having 10 compartments 130 of the cartridge 120 may accommodate 10 matches of medicines to be taken once a day. On the other hand, each compartment 130 may be accommodated in accordance with the medication schedule in order. Thus, the dose can be taken in accordance with the medication order by taking the order in which the compartments 130 are installed.

The compartments 130 may be provided in a predetermined number in the cartridge 120. The larger the number of compartments 130, the more effective it is to accommodate a large amount of medicine. When the number of compartments 130 is large, the amount of medication that can be stored and stored at a time is larger than that of a small case, and thus the inconvenience of frequently injecting medicines can be eliminated. In addition, the amount of medicine that can be stored increases the amount of medication that can not be taken in advance according to the medication schedule. However, the number of compartments 130 cannot be increased indefinitely. The medicine box 100 may be deodorant or portable, in particular, in the case of a portable, because there is a weight or space constraint for portability as described above in the description of the case 110.

Therefore, the number of compartments 130 in the cartridge 120 of the medicine box 100 may vary various factors such as the use of the medicine box 100, portability, spatial constraints, weight limitation, convenience of medication, and ease of medication management. It may be determined in consideration. For example, cartridge 120 may be divided into seven compartments 130. In this case, because the drug is to be injected once a week, the user has an easy effect to remember to put the medicine.

As described above, the compartment 130 may be formed by separating a space by installing a partition wall inside the cartridge 120. For example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the circular cartridge 120 has at least one partition wall extending outwardly from the center thereof, whereby a plurality of spaces are provided, thereby providing a plurality of compartments 130. Can be formed. As another example, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the rectangular parallelepiped cartridge 120 has at least one partition wall parallel to or at an angle with the side surface of the cartridge 120, thereby causing a plurality of As the space is provided, the plurality of partitions 130 may be formed.

Each of these compartments 130 may be opened by an opening 115 to be described later. As described above, the medicine may be accommodated, such drugs may be discharged to the outside of the medicine box 100 according to the medication schedule. In the medicine box 100 according to the present invention, the medicine compartment contained in the compartment 130 may be discharged to the outside by opening the compartment 130 containing the medicine.

As the compartment 130 is opened, the medicine may be discharged, and the discharge of the medicine may not be performed by only opening the compartment 130. For example, the drug may be discharged by applying an external force to the medicine while the compartment 130 is open. More specifically, as one surface of the compartment 130 moves, medicine may be discharged to the outside. Alternatively, as the medicine box 100 is inverted in a state in which the compartment 130 is opened, the medicine may be discharged to the outside according to gravity.

Here, one surface of the partition 130 may be provided at a constant inclination. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, each surface of the partition 130 may be formed with a predetermined slope in the direction in which the opening 115 is located. If there is an inclination on one surface of the compartment 130, the range of the inclination of the medicine box 100 from which the medicine is discharged from the medicine box 100 may be greater. For example, in the case of the medicine box 100 shown in Figure 10 may be discharged in the vertical state as well as the inverted state. Therefore, the medicine box 100 including the compartment 130 provided with the inclination may have an effect that the medicine is easily discharged.

Hereinafter, the opening 115 and the lid 116 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 again. 4 is an exploded view of a medicine box according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The opening 115 may be provided at one side of the medicine box 100. For example, the opening 115 may be provided at one side of the case 110 as shown in FIG. 4. One side of the case 110 may be an upper surface, a lower surface, or a side surface of the case 110.

The opening 115 may be provided to facilitate the passage of medicine. In general, since the pills have a size of several mm to several cm, the opening 115 may have a size of several mm to several cm. For example, the opening 115 may be provided in a circular, semi-circular or polygonal shape having a diameter of several cm. The circular or semi-circular opening 115 may be circular or semi-circular to give the patient a psychological stability. The doser may take a medicament, such as a pill, through the opening 115.

The opening 115 can open the compartment 130. Alternatively, the opening 115 can cause the compartment 130 to open. For example, the opening 115 may be connected to the compartment 130 to open the compartment 130 by causing the opening 115 and the compartment 130 to communicate with each other. The connection between the opening 115 and the compartment 130 may be performed by moving at least one of the opening 115 and the compartment 130 to a point corresponding to each other. For example, as the circular cartridge 120 is rotated by the driving unit 180 to be described later, the compartment 130 may be communicated by moving to a position connected with the opening 115.

When there are a plurality of compartments, the opening 115 may open at least one of the plurality of compartments 130. For example, the opening 115 may be in communication with one particular compartment 130 such that the compartment 130 is open. In this case, the specific compartment 130 may be a compartment 130 in which a medicine to be taken at the current medication time is accommodated according to a medication schedule.

As such, when one compartment 130 of the plurality of compartments 130 is opened, which compartment 130 is to be opened may be determined according to the relative position of the compartment 130 and the opening 115. For example, the open compartment 130 may be a compartment 130 located at a point in communication with the opening 115.

Lid 116 may open or close opening 115. In other words, the opening 115 can be opened and closed by the lid 116. As described above, at least one of the plurality of compartments 130 may be communicated by the opening 115. The lid 116 may open or close the communicating section 130 by opening and closing the opening 115. Thus, when the medication is not in the medication period, it is possible to prevent the medicine from being discharged only by connecting the opening 115 and the cartridge 120. The lid 116 may open and close the opening 115 to allow the medicine to be ejected from the medicine box 100 only when the dose is desired. The lid 116 may be provided at a position adjacent to the opening 115 on the case 110. The lid 116 may be mounted to the opening 115 by tight fitting with the opening 115 or may be mounted to the opening 115 by rotation by providing a spiral groove. Such a lid may be formed to slide.

Hereinafter, another configuration of the medicine box 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 11. 2 is a block diagram of the medicine box 100 according to the present invention, Figure 11 is a perspective view of the medicine box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 11, the medicine box 100 includes a communication unit 190 for communicating with an external device, a storage unit 175 for storing information for medication management, an input unit 101 for receiving input from the outside, It may further include an output unit 102 for outputting to the outside, a power supply unit 103 for supplying power to the medicine box 100 and a control unit 170 for controlling each component.

Hereinafter, the communication unit 190, the storage unit 175, the input unit 101, the output unit 102, the power supply unit 103, and the control unit 170 will be described.

The communicator 190 may communicate with an external device as shown in FIG. 1. Such communication may be wired or wireless communication through a wired or wireless network. Wired communication may be, for example, by RS-232 or USB. Wireless communication may be performed by, for example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or Zigbee. The external device may be, for example, various terminals including the mobile communication terminal 20 or the health care server 10. The communication unit 190 may receive information necessary for medication management from an external device. On the other hand, the communication unit 190 may transmit information necessary for medication management to an external device. Information necessary for medication management may be, for example, taking information, prescription information, medication schedule and medication identification information. Through such communication, the medicine box 100 may perform more efficient medication management by exchanging information with the health care server 10, the mobile communication terminal, and other external devices.

The input unit 101 may receive an input from a user. The input unit 101 may be, for example, a plurality of buttons, a touch pad, a voice recognition device, a mouse, an optical mouse, or a device for recognizing the operation of the medicine box 100. Here, the user may input information necessary for medication management through the input unit 101.

The output unit 102 may perform an output to the outside. For example, the output unit 102 may be a display, a speaker, a vibration device, or the like. Here, the user may be provided with information necessary for medication management through the output unit 102.

The storage unit 175 may store information. Here, the information may be information on medication management. The information on the medication management may be, for example, taking user information, prescription information, medication schedule, and medication identification information. The storage unit 175 may receive and store information from the communication unit 190, the input unit 101, or the control unit 170. In addition, the storage unit 175 may provide information through the communication unit 190, the output unit 102, or the like. The storage unit 175 may be a memory. The memory may be, for example, flash memory, RAM, ROM, hard disk, or the like. The storage unit 175 may be provided in a form embedded in the medicine box 100 or detachable.

The power supply unit 103 may provide power to each component of the medicine box 100. The power supply unit 103 may provide electrical energy. The power supply 103 may be fixed or detached in the medicine box 100. The power supply 103 may be, for example, a battery. Such batteries may be rechargeable batteries. Alternatively, the power supply 103 may be charged by a wireless method. Alternatively, the power supply 103 may produce energy by itself and supply it to the medicine box 100. For example, the power supply 103 may be a solar cell.

The controller 170 may control the medicine box 100 to manage medication. Medication management can be, for example, medication instruction, prevention of abuse or medication confirmation.

Hereinafter, another configuration of the medicine box 100 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 12. 2 is a configuration diagram of the medicine box 100 according to the present invention, Figure 12 is an exploded perspective view of the medicine box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 12, in the medicine box 100, an identification pattern 140 reflecting a position of at least one of the plurality of compartments 130 is formed in the cartridge 120, and the cartridge 120 is moved. The driving unit 180 and the sensor unit 160 for detecting the identification pattern 140 may be further included. Hereinafter, the driving unit 180, the identification pattern 140, and the sensor unit 160 will be described.

The driving unit 180 may move the cartridge 120. For example, the driving unit 180 may cause the cartridge 120 to move by applying an external force to the cartridge 120. Here, the driving unit 180 may allow the cartridge 120 to perform a linear motion or a rotational motion. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, when the cartridge 120 is circular, the driving unit 180 may transmit rotational force to the cartridge 120. Accordingly, the cartridge 120 may rotate in the case 110. The driving unit 180 may be a motor.

Hereinafter, the identification pattern 140 will be described with reference to FIGS. 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a medicine box 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 13 is a plan view of the cartridge 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 14 is according to an embodiment of the present invention 15 is a perspective view illustrating an identification pattern 140, and FIG. 15 is a view illustrating a method in which an identification pattern 140 reflects information according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is an identification pattern according to another embodiment of the present invention. 140 shows a diagram.

The identification pattern 140 may reflect the position, direction, rotation angle, or arrangement state of the cartridge 120. When the plurality of compartments 130 are provided in the cartridge 120, the identification pattern 140 may reflect the position, direction, or arrangement state of at least one of the plurality of compartments 130. The identification pattern 140 is detected by the sensor unit 160, which will be described later. The control unit 170 may determine the position, direction, or arrangement of the cartridge 120 or obtain information about the cartridge 120 according to the detected result. have.

As shown in FIG. 12, the circular cartridge 120 of the cylindrical medicine box 100 may include a plurality of compartments 130 by at least one partition wall installed in a radial direction. In this case, the identification pattern 140 may correspond to at least one compartment 130 of the plurality of compartments 130. Alternatively, the identification pattern 140 may reflect the position, direction, arrangement state, rotation value, communication status, etc. of at least one compartment 130 of the plurality of compartments 130. Here, the position of the compartment 130 may be an absolute position within the cartridge 120 or a position relative to the opening 115. In addition, the direction of the partition 130 may be an absolute direction in which the partitions 130 are positioned or a direction relative to the opening 115 about the rotation axis R of FIG. 12. The direction relative to the opening 115 may be expressed as an angle formed by the opening 115 and the at least one partition 130 with respect to the rotation axis R. As shown in FIG. The arrangement state of the compartments 130 may mean an order in which the compartments 130 are arranged with respect to the opening 115 or an arrangement state in accordance with the order thereof. In addition, the rotation value may mean an angle at which the cartridge 120 rotates or an angle formed by the opening 115 and one of the plurality of sections 130. Communication may mean whether one of the plurality of compartments 130 is in communication or each compartment 130 is in communication.

The identification pattern 140 may be a set of a plurality of lower identification patterns. For example, each of the plurality of sub-identification patterns corresponds to the plurality of sections 130 or each of the plurality of sections 130 includes the position, direction, arrangement state, rotation value, and communication status of at least one section 130. Can reflect.

For example, in the medicine box 100 shown in FIG. 13, one of the compartments 130 is the first compartment 130a, and the second compartment 130b, the third compartment 130c, etc. in the clockwise order. , The first identification pattern 140a corresponds to the first compartment 130a, the second identification pattern 140b is in the second compartment 130b, and the third identification pattern 140c is in the third compartment 130c. May correspond to.

As another example, the first identification pattern 140a may reflect that one specific compartment is in the first position, and the second identification pattern 140b may reflect that one specific compartment is in the second position. Each of these positions may be an absolute position of the compartment 130 or relative to the opening 115 in the cartridge 120.

For another example, the first identification pattern 140a may reflect that the specific section is in the first direction and the second identification pattern 140b may be in the second direction. Again, the direction may be an absolute direction of the compartment 130 or relative to a certain point such as the opening 115 or the center of rotation. For more detailed example, when there are n partitions 130, each direction may be 2π / 7 intervals. In this case, the direction may be an angle formed by the specific section and the specific point on the cartridge 120 with respect to the rotation axis (R), the specific point may be a point where the opening 115 is formed.

As another example, the first identification pattern 140a may have the first angle at which the cartridge 120 or the specific section is rotated, and the second identification pattern 140b may have the angle at which the cartridge 120 or the specific section is rotated. It may reflect the second angle. In more detail, for example, when the total number of the partitions 130 is four, the angles reflected by the plurality of sub-identification patterns may be 90 degrees apart. The first angle may be 0 degrees, the second angle may be 90 degrees, the third angle may be 180 degrees, and the fourth angle may be 270 degrees. Again in more detail, for example, when the total number of compartments 130 is seven, each angle may be a 2π / 7 interval. Substantially 0 degrees, 51.4 degrees, 102.8 degrees, 150d. 3 degrees, 205.7 degrees, 257.1 degrees, 308.5 degrees, respectively.

As another example, the first identification pattern 140a may reflect that the first compartment 130a is in communication, and the second identification pattern 140b may reflect that the second compartment 130b is in communication.

The identification pattern 140 may be provided in the cartridge 120. The identification pattern 140 may be formed on one surface of the cartridge 120. One surface of the cartridge 120 may be a bottom surface or a side surface. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the identification pattern 140 may be provided on one surface of the cartridge 120. The identification pattern 140 may be detected by the sensor unit 160 to be described later. When the identification pattern 140 is provided on the bottom surface of the cartridge 120, it is easy to install the sensor unit 160 for detecting the identification pattern 140. It can work.

Meanwhile, in the identification pattern 140, the plurality of sub-identification patterns may not necessarily need to be located on the lower surface of the one partition 130. The lower identification patterns may be formed by the structure 150 to be described later, but the structures 150 may not necessarily be installed adjacent to each other. The structures 150 included in the identification pattern 140 may be installed to be detected by the sensor unit 160 at the same time. Details thereof will be described later.

The identification pattern 140 may be formed in various ways to reflect the above-mentioned various information. For example, the identification pattern 140 may be formed according to a combination of the plurality of structures 150. Here, the structure 150 may mean that the presence or absence of the structure 150 may be detected or detected by the sensor 165 or the switch described below. For example, the structure 150 may be a protrusion physically protruding from one surface of the cartridge, a perforated slit, a reflector reflecting light, or a material providing an electrical signal.

By the structure 150, a method of reflecting information by the identification pattern 140 may vary. For example, the identification pattern 140 may reflect information according to a combination of the presence or absence of the plurality of structures 150. For example, the identification pattern 140 may reflect information according to the presence or absence of two structures 150. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, when there is the first structure 150a and the second structure 150b, the first information is reflected, and the first structure 150a is present and the second structure 150b is present. If not, the second information is reflected, and if there is no first structure 150a and there is a second structure 150b, the third information is reflected, and the first structure 150a and the second structure 150b If not, the fourth information may be reflected. Here, each information may correspond to at least one compartment 130 or may be a position, a direction, communication status, an arrangement state, an angle, a rotation value, and the like of the specific compartment 130. For example, in the medicine box 100 provided with four compartments 130, the first information indicates that an angle formed by the specific compartment with the opening 115 is 0 degrees, the second information is 90 degrees, and the third information is 180. The fourth information may mean 270 degrees. For another example, the first information indicates that the first compartment 130a communicates, the second information indicates that the second compartment 130b communicates, and the third information indicates that the third compartment 130c communicates with the fourth information. The information may indicate that the fourth compartment 130d is in communication.

As described above, the identification pattern 140 by the combination of the structures 150 may reflect information according to the combination of the structures 150. In this case, the identification pattern 140 by the combination of the n structures 150 may reflect as much as n ^ 2 pieces of information. For example, when there are four compartments 130, an identification pattern 140 is provided by a combination of two structures 150, and when there are eight compartments 130 as shown in FIG. 16, three structures ( The identification pattern 140 may be provided in a combination of 150. On the other hand, even if there are eight or less compartments 130, that is, seven or six compartments 130, the identification pattern 140 may be provided by a combination of three structures 150. As a result, since the identification pattern 140 reflects a lot of information using the small structure 150, the identification pattern 140 can efficiently reflect the information.

Such a structure 150 may be provided at a radius of rotation on one surface of the cartridge 120. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, when the identification pattern 140 reflects information by three structures 150, the at least one first structure 150a is on the first rotation radius R1. At least one second structure 150b may be formed on the second rotation radius R2, and at least one third structure 150c may be formed on the third rotation radius R3. Since the identification pattern 140 in which the structure 150 is formed on the rotation radius is positioned on the same radius even when the cartridge 120 is rotated, the sensor unit 160 easily detects the number of the sensors. 165) detects this effect.

Hereinafter, the sensor unit 160 will be described with reference to FIGS. 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the sensor unit 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 18 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the plurality of sensors 165 according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 19 is a view of the present invention 20 is a plan view illustrating an arrangement of a plurality of sensors 165 according to another embodiment, FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view of a sensor unit 160 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 21 is a sensor according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the part 160.

The sensor unit 160 may detect the identification pattern 140. The sensor unit 160 may detect at least a portion or an arrangement state of the identification pattern 140. When the identification pattern 140 includes a plurality of lower identification patterns, the sensor unit 160 may detect at least one lower identification pattern. The sensor unit 160 may transmit the detected result to the controller 170.

The sensor unit 160 may be provided on one surface of the case 110. The sensor unit 160 may include at least one sensor 165. The at least one sensor 165 may be provided on one surface of the case 110. For example, as shown in FIG. 17, at least one sensor 165 is fixed to one surface of the case 110 facing the identification pattern 140 formed on the cartridge 120 mounted or stored in the case 110. Can be prepared. As a result, the sensor unit 160 including the at least one sensor 165 may detect the identification pattern 140.

The sensor unit 160 may include a sensor 165 that detects the structure 150 forming the identification pattern 140. In this case, the sensor 165 may be at least one. When one subpattern reflects information depending on the presence or absence of n structures 150, there may be n sensors 165. For example, in the case of 16 partitions 130, the identification pattern 140 may be provided by four structures 150. In this case, four sensors 165 may be provided.

The plurality of sensors 165 may be installed at positions corresponding to positions at which the structure 150 forming the identification pattern 140 is provided. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, when the plurality of structures 150 forming the identification pattern 140 are provided in a direction extending outward from the rotation radius, the plurality of sensors 165 may also be disposed in a corresponding arrangement. Can be prepared. For another example, when the plurality of structures 150 forming the identification pattern 140 are distributed to one surface of the cartridge 120 as illustrated in FIG. 19, the plurality of sensors 165 also include the case 110. The phases may be distributed in the same manner. As a result, the plurality of sensors 165 may detect a part or one lower identification pattern of the identification pattern 140.

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 16, the first structure 150a constituting each sub-identification pattern is provided on the first rotation radius (R1) of the cartridge 120, the second structure 150b is a cartridge ( When provided on the second rotation radius R2 of the 120, the first sensor 165a is provided on a point of the first rotation radius R1 of the case 110 to detect the first structure 150a. The second sensor 165b may be provided on a point of the second rotation radius R2 of the case 110 to detect the second structure 150b. Here, even if the arrangement of the identification pattern 140 is rotated to change, the structures 150 forming the identification pattern 140 may always be located on a constant radius of rotation. As a result, the identification pattern 140 may be detected by the minimum sensor 165.

Each of the sensors 165 may detect the structure 150 corresponding thereto. The sensor 165 may detect the presence or absence of the structure 150. For example, as shown in FIG. 20, when the sensor 165 is a switch, the sensor 165 may be connected by a protrusion when there is a protrusion, and may generate a signal when there is no protrusion, and may not generate a signal by shorting the protrusion. As a result, the sensor 165 may detect the structure 150 that is a protrusion. As another example, the sensor 165 may be an optical sensor. In more detail, the optical sensor may include a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, wherein the light emitting unit may be a light emitting diode (LED), and the light receiving unit may be a photodiode. As shown in FIG. 21, when the structure 150 is a slit provided by drilling or penetrating one surface of the cartridge, when there is no slit, the light emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected and received to generate a signal. Since light is not reflected, it may not be received and may not generate a signal. This allows the light sensor to detect the slit. Alternatively, when the structure 150 is a reflector, the presence or absence of the reflector may be detected by receiving light reflected from the light emitter by the reflector.

The sensor unit 160 may operate in a digital manner to sense the structure 150 by sensing the presence or absence thereof. As such, the digitally operated sensor 165 may have an advantage of detecting more accurately.

Hereinafter, a medication guide method according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 22 and 23. 22 is a flow chart of a medication guide method according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 23 is a perspective view showing the operation that the medicine box 100 is in communication.

In the following description of the medication guide method according to the present invention, it will be described using the medicine box 100 according to the present invention. At this time, the medicine box 100 is used to easily explain the medication guidance method according to the present invention. Therefore, the medication guide method according to the present invention is not limited by the medicine box 100 according to the present invention.

The medication guide method according to the present invention may use another device performing the same function as the medicine box 100 according to the present invention.

The medicine box 100 may obtain at least one of prescription information and a medication schedule (S101). As described above in the description of the medication management system, the prescription information may be information about the medicine prescribed to the taker. In addition, the medication schedule may be a schedule of taking medication. Such a medication schedule may include information on medication time, which is the time at which the dose is taken, and medicines taken at each medication time.

The controller 170 of the medicine box 100 may receive at least one of such prescription information and a medication schedule from the external device through the communication unit 190. Here, the external device may include a mobile communication terminal 20, a health care server 10 and various terminals. In addition, the controller 170 may receive at least one of prescription information and a medication schedule through the input unit 101. At least one of the input prescription information and the medication schedule may be stored in the storage unit 175.

Alternatively, the controller 170 of the medicine box 100 may generate a medication schedule based on the stored prescription information. The medication schedule generated in this way may be stored in the storage unit 175.

The cartridge 120 may be discharged from the case 110 (S101). The discharged cartridge 120 may be completely exposed to the outside of the medicine box 100.

Medicine may be accommodated in the plurality of compartments 130 of the cartridge 120 (S102). For example, a user such as a pharmacist or a user may receive a medicine in a plurality of compartments 130 in a cartridge 120 separated from the case 110, or an external device may dispense medicine according to medication schedule and prescription information. And may be accommodated at 130. In this case, the medicines injected into the plurality of compartments 130 may be different drugs according to a medication schedule. For example, the first medicine may be accommodated in the first compartment 130a, the second medicine in the second compartment 130b, and the first medicine in the third compartment 130c.

After the medicine is received in each compartment 130, the cartridge 120 may be accommodated in the case 110 (S103). In this case, as shown in FIG. 11, when the medicine box 100 is cylindrical, the taker may not know the direction in which the cartridge 120 is coupled to the case 110. Accordingly, the medicine box 100 has an opening 115 in which a compartment 130 for receiving a medicine to be taken in the medication schedule is selected among the plurality of compartments 130 according to the medication schedule when the cartridge 120 is inserted into the case 110. There may be a need to communicate with).

The sensor unit 160 may detect the identification pattern 140 of the cartridge 120 accommodated in the case 110 (S104). As described above, the sensor unit 160 may include a plurality of sensors 165, and the sensor 165 may detect the structure 150 forming the identification pattern 140. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 20 and 21, the switch or the optical sensor may detect a structure 150 such as a protrusion, a slit, or a reflector. As a result, the sensor unit 160 may detect at least one portion of the identification pattern 140 of the cartridge 120 or at least one of the plurality of lower identification patterns included in the identification pattern 140. Meanwhile, the sensor unit 160 may detect an arrangement state of the identification pattern 140 by detecting at least a part or at least one lower identification pattern of the identification pattern 140.

The sensor unit 160 may transmit a result of detecting the identification pattern 140 to the controller 170.

The medicine box 100 may determine the position, direction, rotation angle, or arrangement state of the cartridge 120 according to the detected result (S105). Alternatively, the medicine box 100 may determine the position, the direction, the arrangement state, the rotation value, the communication of the at least one compartment 130 among the plurality of compartments 130 according to the detected result. In detail, the controller 170 may receive a result detected by the sensor unit 160. The controller 170 may perform the determination based on the received result. Here, when the identification pattern 140 is formed according to the plurality of structures 150, there may be a plurality of sensors 165 detecting the identification pattern 140. In this case, the controller 170 may or may not acquire a signal from each sensor 165. The controller 170 may perform the determination by combining the obtained signals.

For example, the identification pattern 140 for the cartridge 120 including seven compartments 130 may have at least three structures 150. In this case, three sensors 165 for detecting the structure 150 may be provided. In this case, as illustrated in FIG. 15, the combination of the signals transmitted from the sensors 165 may reflect positions of at least one compartment 130 among the plurality of compartments 130, respectively. The control unit 170 may receive the signal and perform the determination. For example, when all three sensors 165 detect the structure 150, it may mean that the first compartment 130a is in a position communicating with the opening 115. Alternatively, when all three sensors 165 do not sense the structure 150, it may mean that the seventh compartment is in a position communicating with the opening 115.

Since the plurality of compartments 130 are installed in the cartridge 120 to rotate integrally, when the position of one compartment 130 is determined, the positions of the other compartments 130 may be relatively determined. Therefore, in the above embodiment, the positions of all of the first to seventh segments may be determined by communicating the first compartment 130a or communicating the seventh compartment. The control unit 170 according to the detection result as described above, the position, direction, rotation angle, arrangement state of the cartridge 120 or the position, direction, arrangement state, rotation value, the communication section 130 of the plurality of compartments 130 Etc. can be judged.

The medicine box 100 may determine a specific compartment among the plurality of compartments 130. This specific compartment may be a compartment 130 containing the medicine to be taken at the current medication time according to the medication schedule. The controller 170 may obtain a medication schedule as described above, and the storage unit 175 may store the medication schedule. The controller 170 may determine the compartment 130 in which the medicine to be taken at the medication time is accommodated based on the medication schedule (S106).

The medicine box 100 may communicate with the specific compartment connected to the opening 115 (S107). As described above, the specific compartment may be a compartment 130 containing the medicine to be taken at the current medication time according to the medication schedule. The controller 170 may allow a specific section determined according to the determination to communicate with the opening 115. For example, as shown in FIG. 23, the cartridge 120 of the cylindrical medicine box 100 may rotate, and the plurality of compartments 130 formed in the cartridge 120 may move according to the rotation. The controller 170 may control the driving unit 180 to rotate the cartridge 120 to move the specific compartment to the position where the opening 115 is located. This allows the specific compartment to communicate with the opening 115.

In this case, the driving unit 180 may allow the cartridge 120 to rotate continuously. On the other hand, the driving unit 180 may allow the cartridge 120 to rotate discontinuously. For example, the cartridge 120 may rotate such that one of the plurality of compartments 130 is in communication with the opening 115. In this case, when the number of compartments 130 is n, the cartridge 120 may be rotated such that each compartment 130 has n states in communication with the opening 115. When the driving unit 180 rotates the cartridge 120 discontinuously, there may be an effect that the communication between the opening 115 and the compartment 130 becomes more secure. The driving unit 180 may be a motor, for example, and may be, for example, a step motor in more detail. Yaksangja 100 using such a step motor can be increased reliability in medication management.

Meanwhile, the control unit 170 may control the driving unit 180 as described above to communicate one compartment 130 at a medication time according to the medication schedule. When the medication 130 is not in the medication period when the communication with the opening 115 is likely to be discharged unnecessarily, this disadvantage can be prevented by controlling the drive unit 180 during the medication.

In the case where the specific compartment is the compartment 130 corresponding to the current medication time, the doser can take the medicine from it (S108). As a result, medication management by the medicine box 100 is performed. According to the medicine box 100, because the drug is provided to the user to be taken according to the medication schedule, the dose can be taken at the time of medication without misuse or abuse the medicine. This may have the effect of improving the medication compliance of the recipient. Furthermore, through such medication management and medication guidance, the health of social members can be improved.

The present invention described above is capable of various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is not limited by the drawings. In addition, the embodiments described in this document may not be limitedly applied, but may be configured by selectively combining all or part of the embodiments so that various modifications may be made.

According to the present invention, by identifying the position of the plurality of compartments according to the identification pattern, and by allowing the desired compartments to communicate with the opening in accordance with the identified position, it is possible to provide a medicine box that can take the medicine prescribed to take at the medication time of the user have.

Claims (32)

1. A case in which an opening is formed;

   A cartridge which is accommodated in the case and rotates, the cartridge having a plurality of compartments, the cartridge having an identification pattern reflecting a position of at least one of the compartments in the plurality of compartments;

   A sensor unit for sensing an arrangement state of the identification pattern; And

   And a controller configured to determine a position of an opening of the at least one compartment that moves according to the rotation based on a result detected by the sensor unit.

   Medicine box.
2. The method of claim 1,

   It further comprises a drive unit for rotating the cartridge,

   The control unit controls the driving unit to communicate a specific section with the opening based on the determination.

   Medicine box.
3. The method of claim 2,

   Further comprising: a storage unit for storing a medication schedule;

   The controller is configured to determine the specific compartment based on the medication schedule.

   Medicine box.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the identification pattern,

   At least one first structure provided in the first radius of rotation of the cartridge surface and at least one second structure provided in the second radius of rotation of the cartridge surface

   Medicine box.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one first structure and the at least one second structure,

   Slit provided through one surface of the cartridge

   Medicine box.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the at least one first structure and the at least one second structure,

   Protruding

   Medicine box.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the sensor unit,

   At least one of the light sensor and the switch

   Medicine box.
8. case;

   A cartridge that is accommodated in the case and rotates, the cartridge including a section moving in accordance with the rotation, each cartridge having a plurality of identification patterns reflecting a direction of the section with respect to the rotation axis;

   A sensor unit detecting one identification pattern of the plurality of identification patterns; And

   And a controller configured to determine the direction of the section based on the identification pattern detected by the sensor unit.

   Medicine box.
9. The method of claim 8,

   The case has an opening formed at one side,

   The compartment communicates with the opening when the direction of the compartment substantially coincides with the direction of the opening.

   Medicine box.
10. The method of claim 9,

    It further comprises a drive unit for rotating the cartridge,

    The control unit controls the drive unit to communicate with the opening based on the determination.

    Medicine box.
11. The method of claim 10,

    Further comprising: a storage unit for storing a medication schedule;

    The compartment, the medicine is received according to the medication schedule

    Medicine box.
12. The method of claim 8, wherein the plurality of identification patterns,

    Each reflecting the direction of the compartments depending on the presence of at least two structures

    Medicine box.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least two structures,

    A first structure provided at a first radius of one side of the cartridge and a second structure provided at a second radius of one side of the cartridge;

    Medicine box.
14. The method of claim 12, wherein the at least two structures,

    Slit or protrusion provided through one surface of the cartridge

    Medicine box.
15. The method of claim 12, wherein the sensor unit,

    Containing at least two sensors

    Medicine box.
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the at least two sensors,

    Light sensor or switch-in

    Medicine box.
17. A case in which an opening is formed;

    A cartridge which is accommodated in the case, rotates, includes a plurality of compartments that move in accordance with the rotation, and accommodates medicine, and each of which has a plurality of identification patterns each reflecting a direction of a specific compartment with respect to the rotation axis;

    A sensor unit detecting one identification pattern of the plurality of identification patterns; And

    And a controller configured to determine the direction of the specific compartment based on the identification pattern detected by the sensor unit.

    Medicine box.
18. The method of claim 17,

    It further comprises a drive unit for rotating the cartridge,

    The control unit controls the driving unit to move the specific section substantially in the direction in which the opening is formed, based on the determination.

    Medicine box.
19. The method of claim 18,

    Further comprising: a storage unit for storing a medication schedule;

    The controller is configured to determine the specific compartment based on the medication schedule.

    Medicine box.
20. The method of claim 19,

    Further comprising: a storage unit for storing a medication schedule;

    The plurality of compartments, the medicine is accommodated according to the medication schedule

    Medicine box.
21. The method of claim 17,

    The plurality of identification patterns, respectively reflect the direction of the specific compartment depending on the presence of at least two structures

    Medicine box.
22. case;

    A cartridge accommodated in the case and rotating;

    At least one first structure formed along a first radius of rotation of one side of the cartridge;

    At least one second structure formed along a second radius of rotation of one side of the cartridge;

    A first sensor for sensing the first structure;

    A second sensor for sensing the second structure; And

    And a controller configured to obtain a rotation value of the cartridge according to a combination of the results detected by the first sensor and the second sensor.

    Medicine box.
23. The method of claim 22,

    The case has an opening formed at one side,

    The cartridge includes a plurality of compartments in which the medicine is received,

    In the plurality of compartments, one compartment communicates with the opening according to the rotation value.

    Medicine box.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein

    It further comprises a drive unit for rotating the cartridge,

    The controller is configured to control a specific section of the plurality of compartments to communicate with the opening by using the rotation value.

    Medicine box.
25. The method of claim 24,

    Further comprising: a storage unit for storing a medication schedule;

    The controller is configured to determine the specific compartment based on the medication schedule.

    Medicine box.
26. A case comprising an opening;

    A cartridge that is accommodated in the case and rotates, the cartridge including a plurality of compartments in which one of the plurality of compartments communicates with the opening, the cartridge including a plurality of identification patterns corresponding to each of the plurality of compartments;

    A sensor unit for detecting an identification pattern corresponding to the section communicating with the opening; And

    And a controller configured to recognize a section communicating with the opening based on the detected identification pattern.

    Medicine box.
27. The method of claim 26,

    It further comprises a drive unit for rotating the cartridge,

    The control unit controls the drive unit to communicate a specific section.

    Medicine box.
28. The method of claim 27,

    Further comprising: a storage unit for storing a medication schedule;

    The controller is configured to determine the specific compartment based on the medication schedule.

    Medicine box.
29. The method of claim 26, wherein the plurality of identification patterns,

    Reflecting the plurality of compartments, each with or without at least two structures;

    Medicine box.
30. The method of claim 29, wherein the structure,

    A slit or protrusion provided through one surface of the cartridge

    Medicine box.
31. The method of claim 26, wherein the sensor unit,

    Containing at least two sensors

    Medicine box.
32. The method of claim 31, wherein the sensor,

    Light sensor or switch-in

    Medicine box.

Images