WO2017216182A1

WO2017216182A1 - Tablet container

Info

Publication number: WO2017216182A1
Application number: PCT/EP2017/064444
Authority: WO
Inventors: Francesco Mazzotta
Original assignee: Pilloxa Ab
Priority date: 2016-06-14
Filing date: 2017-06-13
Publication date: 2017-12-21
Also published as: SE1630152A1

Abstract

The present invention is directed towards a tablet container comprising a housing with at least one compartment for storing at least one tablet, wherein each compartment comprises a lid, at least one sensor, which is configured to detect the presence of at least one tablet, and a compressible member configured to hold the at least one tablet in a fixed position relative to the sensor when the lid of the compartment is closed. The tablet container also comprises means configured to relay data obtained from the sensor.

Description

Tablet Container

The present invention is concerned with providing a tablet container. There are many existing containers for storing tablets. The types of tablets which are stored in containers range from medication pills to vitamin tablets. A long recognised problem in the health care industry is the non-compliance of patients taking medication. Approximately 50% of the population does not take medication when it should do. If the prescribed medication is not taken at the right time or in the correct dosage, this can be dangerous or even fatal to the patient. Furthermore, non-compliance of patients taking medication results in huge costs for society. Therefore, it is important to provide a container that is capable of monitoring the presence of the pills contained therein.

A large number of people over 65 are admitted into hospital every year due to medication non-compliance. Therefore, there is a need to produce an improved tablet container for the elderly. However, for the population under 65, there is a desire to move away from "old-fashioned" tablet containers which are often large and non-portable.

An example of a tablet container is described in US 8,754,769. This document discloses a medication container which is capable of sensing whether or not the removable cap of the medication container has been opened or closed. The container disclosed in this document is also capable of sensing a quantity of medication within the container.

The present Applicants have produced an improved tablet container which has an improved sensitivity to the presence of the tablets contained therein. A further object of the present invention is to provide a tablet container which has improved single tablet resolution. A further object is to produce a tablet container which is cheap and simple to produce. An even further object is to produce a tablet container which reduces noise emitted from the container when the tablet container is in use.

The listing or discussion of an apparently prior-published document in this specification should not necessarily be taken as an acknowledgement that the document is part of the state of the art or is common general knowledge. According to the present invention, there is provided a tablet container comprising a housing with at least one compartment for storing at least one tablet, wherein each compartment comprises: a lid;

at least one sensor, wherein the at least one sensor is configured to detect the presence of at least one tablet; and

a compressible member configured to hold the at least one tablet in a fixed position relative to the sensor when the lid of the compartment is closed; and

wherein the tablet container comprises means configured to relay data obtained from the sensor.

In accordance with the present invention, the housing of the tablet container may be formed of any suitable material, such as, rubber, plastic or metal. However, preferably the housing comprises an aluminium or hard plastic outerframe. Preferably, the housing of the container comprises polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA), thermoplastic urethane (TPU), polypropylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), or polycarbonate (PC). Numerous types of plastics and metals which would be known to the skilled person could also be used. The housing of the container may have any shape, such as cylindrical, square, conical, elliptical and rectangular. The housing may be decorative and may include a child friendly shape. The container can be disposable after a patient has completed a course of tablets required by prescription. Alternatively, the container is reusable.

The tablet container comprises at least one compartment for storing at least one tablet. The compartment can be any appropriate shape which is suitable for holding at least one tablet. The tablet container can also comprise a plurality of compartments so that the container holds multiple tablets. Each compartment can also hold one or more tablets as appropriate.

The tablet container can be used to store medication in tablet form, but can also be used to store other compositions in tablet form such as vitamins, health products and energy products.

As used herein, the terms "pill" and "tablet" are intended to refer to discrete unit dosage forms of medication, and the like. The terms are meant to encompass pills and tablets, as well as other dosage forms such as caplets and capsules that contain solids, powder, liquids and/or gels.

Each compartment comprises at least one sensor, wherein the sensor is configured to detect the presence of at least one tablet. The sensor is preferably a capacitance sensor; however other sensors such as an optical sensor or a weight sensor. One or more types of these sensors can be used. Suitable sensors are known in the art such as those described in US 8,754,769. Preferably, the sensor is arranged such that it monitors a capacitance influenced by the presence of the pill or pills in the housing. Preferably, the sensor has interleaved electrodes oriented vertically, horizontally or angularly relative to the axis of the tablet container. A sensor can also be used to detect whether or not the lid of the compartment is open or closed.

As different tablets can have different properties, in one aspect the tablet container has the ability to be calibrated for a particular type of tablet so that the sensor is able to correctly determine the presence of a single tablet.

Each compartment of the tablet container comprises a lid. The lid covers the compartment and ensures that the at least one tablet remains within the compartment. The lid of the compartment is affixed to the housing of the container so that the compartment can be easily opened and closed, but the lid cannot be completely removed. In a further aspect, the lid can be completely removed. In one aspect, the lid is comprised of the same material as the housing, for example, a plastic such as PLA or a metal such as aluminium. Again, the skilled person would be aware of numerous materials and options available to them. Preferably, the lid comprises a metallic sheet encased in plastic.

Each compartment of the present invention comprises a compressible member which is configured to hold the at least one tablet in a fixed position relative to the sensor when the lid of the compartment is closed.

Preferably, the compressible member extends from the lid of each compartment and the compressible member is shaped such that it is configured to fit within the corresponding compartment. When the lid is closed, the compressible member holds the tablet or tablets contained within the compartment in a fixed position relative to the sensor. This is advantageous because it stops the one or more tablet from moving around in the compartment. This is also beneficial because the tablets will not be free to rattle around and make noise in the compartment, but it will also prevent the tablets from breaking apart and avoids the build up of loose powder, especially if the tablets are particularly friable. The compressible member comprises any material which is configured to deform in shape such that it fixes the tablet in the compartment when the lid of the compartment is closed but then returns to its original shape when the lid is opened. Preferably, the compressible member comprises a polymer, and more preferably soft silicone. More preferably, the material from which the compressible member comprises is biocompatible with the tablets (i.e. does not affect the stability of the tablets or the ingredients from which the tablets comprise). However, any suitable deformable biocompatible material which will hold the tablet within the compartment but not break the tablet can be used. Other options include, but are not limited to, plastic or silicone expanders.

In one aspect of the present invention, the compressible material further comprises a conductive biasing means which improves the sensitivity of the sensor to the presence of the one or more tablets contained in each compartment. The conductive biasing means can comprise a conductive expandable metal or a conductive expandable plastic. The conductive biasing means is preferably a metal spring, and more preferably a steel spring; however any conductive material that is capable of expanding and compressing through at least 1000 use cycles would be suitable. In a preferred embodiment, the compressible member comprises a silicone-coated spring steel conical coil. When the lid of the compartment of the container is closed, the compressible material comprising the conductive conical coil is pressed toward the bottom of the compartment. The capacitance sensor is arranged at the bottom of the compartment. The function of the conductive biasing means is that it will influence the readout of the capacitive sensor when the lid is closed, even at minimum extension.

When the lid is open and thus rotated away (for example by 180 degrees) from the lid in its closed position, the distance between the conductive biasing means and the sensor is large and thus detectable. This would be detectable because there would be no influence of the conductive biasing means detected by the sensor.

In use, the conductive biasing means alters the readout of the capacitance present where the change in the capacitance present depends on the presence of tablets in the compartment.

When tablets are not present in the compartment the tip of the conductive biasing means will be as close as possible to the capacitance or antenna on the sensor. This will induce to a perturbation of the charges there thus to a detectable signal. When pills are present, they will fall in the bottom of the container and act as a spacer between the tip of the conductive biasing means (e.g. a steel spring) and the capacitance sensor (located, for example, on a printed circuit board). This will in turn reduce the effect of the perturbation. As described above, preferably there is a capacitance sensor coupled to the bottom of the compartment. However, in a further aspect of the present invention a further sensor can be coupled to the lid of the compartment in order to detect if the lid is opened or closed.

The tablet container in accordance with the present invention also comprises a processor which is configured to process and relay data obtained from the sensor. Appropriate sensors and processors and known and described, for example, in US 8,941 ,391. The tablet container also comprises means to alert the user as to the presence or absence of tablets within each compartment. The means may produce a visual or audio alert or reminder. The alert or reminder may be in the form of one or more light sources, such as light emitting diodes (LED's). In one aspect, the one or more LED's are positioned to correspond with each compartment. The one or more LED's may light up when the lid is either opened or closed, or to show the presence or absence of a tablet. In one aspect, different colours of LED can be used for different days of the week to indicate which day is associated with a particular tablet-containing compartment. For example, red LED could be used for Mondays, green for Tuesdays and so on. Alternatively, the container may vibrate as a signalling tool.

The alert or reminder may be an audio sound to communicate data to the user of the container.

The container of the present invention may further comprise one or more further components selected from graphical displays, user interfaces, speaker, display lights, a wireless transmitter and a wireless receiver.

Preferably, the container does not include a display because the container communicates data to the user via an external display device, such as a computer, a tablet or a smart phone. This can simplify the construction of the container, allowing for a long battery life, and can keep costs down.

The container has the ability to relay data obtained from the sensor. This could involve the relaying of data locally, by the container itself. This could be achieved, for example, by presenting information graphically (by the use of lights and/or a visual display), and/or by presenting information by sound. In another aspect the container can relay data obtained from the sensor remotely. This could involve the transmission of data to a remote system, such as a phone, computer or smart watch. The transmission of data can be achieved using infrared, radio or other wireless communication methods, such as Bluetooth, wifi and near field communication. The container of the present invention may also include a power source for powering electrical circuitry within the container and to enable its operation.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying figures, in which:

Figure 1 shows the tablet container in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the tablet container in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 3 is an illustration of the sensor used in the present invention and details the helical pattern of the electrode.

In more detail, Figure 1 shows the tablet container (1) having a plurality of compartments (2). One of the compartments is shown with the lid (4) open to reveal a tablet (3) contained within the compartment. The lid of the opened compartment comprises a compressible member (5) which extends from the lid and contains and conductive biasing means within.

Figure 2 shows a cross-section of the short side of the tablet container in accordance with the present invention and of the compartments therein. The flat rectangle under the compartments is the electronic board where the sensors are present. The lid comprises a hinge which is positioned on the external side of the opening and allows the lid to open and close. The figure shows how the tablets act as a spacer (7) between the sensor and the conductive biasing means (6). The compressible member is compressed when the lid is closed and can regain full extension while the lid is open. Figure 3 shows a typical representation of the sensor. It is two interfoliated electrodes where the one initiating in the middle is the signal input where the potential is applied and the other one is the ground. The ground electrode shields the outer edge of the signal electrode so that it is at least 45 degrees longer on the outer edge. If the outer shell is in aluminium, it will be extruded and the openings for the compartments and the LEDs will be produced afterwards by laser cutting or using a computer numerical control machine. The extrusion can guarantee slits for placement of the electronic board and batteries.

For manufacturing purposes, alternatively, if the housing comprises plastic, the product would be a combination of injection molding parts.

The sensor (8), as shown in Figure 3, comprises an electrode (9) used for capacitance measuring means has increased sensitivity to the presence of a tablet due to the conductive biasing means of the compressible member.

Claims

1. A tablet container comprising a housing with at least one compartment for storing at least one tablet, wherein each compartment comprises:

a lid;

a compressible member configured to hold the at least one tablet in a fixed position relative to the sensor when the lid of the compartment is closed; and wherein the tablet container comprises means configured to relay data obtained from the sensor.

2. The container according to claim 1 , wherein the compressible member extends from the lid of the at least one compartment and the shape of the member is configured to fit within the corresponding compartment.

3. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensor is a capacitance sensor, an optical sensor or a weight sensor.

4. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the compressible member further comprises a conductive biasing means which improves the sensitivity of the sensor to the presence of a tablet.

5. The container according to claim 4, wherein the conductive biasing means is a metal spring, preferably a steel spring.

6. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the sensor is further configured to detect the opening and/or closing of the lid of the compartment.

7. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the compressible member comprises a polymer, preferably wherein the compressible member comprises silicone.

8. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises a sensor coupled to the bottom of the compartment and/or a sensor coupled to the lid of the compartment.

9. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises a plurality of compartments.

10. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the container comprises at least one tablet.

11. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the lid is affixed to the housing of the container.

12. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the container further comprises a processor configured to process and relay information obtained from the sensor.

13. The container according to any preceding claim, wherein the container further comprises one or more selected from graphical displays, user interfaces, speaker, display lights, wireless transmitter and wireless receiver.