JPH02257960A - Medicine taking time alarming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a medicine taking time alarming device which reliably reports a medicine taking time and is portable by a method wherein when the preset number of tablets is taken out from a package, a timer is automatically started, and when a specified time set by a timer lapses, an alarm is sounded. CONSTITUTION:In use, when a medicine taking time comes at intervals of, for example, six hours, '6' is set by a switch 13, and the number of taking tablets is set by a switch 14. By inserting the one end of a blister pack 2 into an opening 12 of an alarming device 1, a switch 33 is turned ON, a power source is fed to an electronic circuit from a battery incorporated in a case 11, and a conductor 24 wired on the a blister pack 2 side is electrically connected to a controller 30 through a connector 31. The controller 30 starts a built-in timer by means of a signal serving as a trigger signal. When an lapse time amounts form 6 hours, an alarm instruction is outputted from the controller 30, and in this case, a buzzer circuit 32 outputs an alarm signal, and a piezoelectric buzzer 15 sounds an alarm.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention relates to a dosing time alarm bag δ that alerts you to the dosing time of a medicine, particularly a tablet.

(Prior art) Medication can be taken at fixed times, such as before meals, between meals, after meals, or before bedtime, or at regular intervals, such as every 6 hours. There are some things that are strictly defined. On the other hand, if you take the medicine while leading a busy daily life or take it in the middle of the night, you may accidentally forget the time to take it.This is not a problem if the medicine has a less strict dosing time like the former, but if the medicine has a strict dosing time like the latter. This is a problem because it may affect the effectiveness of taking the drug if it is prescribed as such.

Therefore, some patients may set a timer to take the medication.
Some people have devised measures such as setting an alarm, but it is cumbersome to carry a timer with you when you go out, and you may forget to set it.

(Objective and Structure of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned points, and provides a TM alarm device at the time of taking medicine, which can reliably notify the time to take medicine and can be carried along with the medicine. In order to achieve this purpose, a timer is automatically started when a preset number of tablets are taken out of the package, and an alarm sounds when a certain amount of time set by the timer has elapsed. It is configured so that it emits.

(Example> The present invention will be explained below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a medicine taking time alarm bag δ according to the present invention, where l is an alarm device and 2 is a tablet package (hereinafter referred to as a blister bag) in which tablets to be taken are packaged.

Figure 2 shows the blister bag 2 seen from the back side, and the blister bag 2 is a transparent resin base on which a plurality of (eight in the illustrated example) four tablet storage parts 21a are formed by body molding. A tablet K is placed in each of the 21 indentations i'1i21a, and a resin-coated aluminum foil 22 serving as a packaging sheet is pressed onto the flat back side to form 4fM.
21a is closed and sealed. As shown in FIG. 3, on the joint surface of the aluminum foil 22 and the resin base 21,
A conductive wire 24 is printed or glued through the insulating pattern 23. The terminal of each conducting wire 24 appears near one end of the resin base 21 on the surface opposite to the bonding surface of the aluminum foil 22, and terminates as a terminal portion 24a. What is important here is that the guide fi 24 is located at a position A (indicated by a chain line circle in FIG. 3) corresponding to the tablet storage recess 21a.

It is wired to pass through the center of B, C, -H, and the insulation pattern 23 and conductor! ! Q24 is easily torn and cut with weak force by hand. An insulating pattern 23 is also applied on the aluminum foil 22 by printing or gluing.

On the other hand, the 1G alarm device l has an electronic circuit as shown in FIG. 4 built into a flat case 11 made of resin as shown in FIG. An opening 12 is formed. A connector (indicated by the reference numeral 32 in FIG. 4, which will be described later) is formed immediately inside this opening 12, and the resin base 2 of the blister bag 2
When one end 21b of the blister-back tablet 2 is inserted into the opening 12, the terminal portion 24a of the blister-back tablet 2 and the internal circuit are electrically connected by the connector 31.

A switch 13 for setting the dosing time interval and a switch 14 for setting the number of tablets to be taken at one time are provided on the top surface of the case 11. Note that the circle indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1 indicates the approximate installation position of the piezoelectric buzzer 15 built into the case 11 for alarming the dosing time.

Next, an example of an electronic circuit will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, 30 is a controller with a timer function, and is composed of a microcomputer. 31 is Solisterback 2
A connector 32 electrically connected to the terminal portion 24a of the controller 30 is a buzzer circuit that operates the buzzer 15 in response to a command from the controller 30.

Now, when it is used, the interval between doses is set using the switch 13. For example, if the dosing time is every 6 hours, the switch 13 is set to "6". Furthermore, switch 1
4 indicates the number of tablets to be taken at one time (e.g. "2")
Set.

One end of the blister bag 2 containing the tablets (the end where the terminal portion 24a is provided) is inserted into the opening 12 of the alarm device l.
When it is inserted into the case 11, the switch 33 is turned on.
Power is supplied from the built-in battery (not shown) to the electronic circuit shown in the figure f54 (indicated by B in the figure), and one circuit (indicated by B in the figure) becomes operational, and the conductor 24 wired to the side of the blister bag 2 and an electronic circuit controller 30 are electrically connected via a connector 31.

I'm about to take a medicine and there are two tablets in Bristano\Nk2 (for example, the two tablets in WlA and E).
When the aluminum foil 22 is removed, that portion of the aluminum foil 22 is torn and the conducting wire 24 is broken. This corresponds to the blowing of the fuse in the area surrounded by broken-line circles A and E in the electronic circuit shown in FIG.

The controller 30 uses this signal as a trigger signal to start an internal timer. When the elapsed time reaches 6 hours, the timer is reset and an alarm command is output from the controller 30, and the buzzer circuit 32 outputs an alarm signal by oscillating.

Accordingly, the piezoelectric buzzer 715 emits an alarm sound. This alarm sound may be a continuous sound or an intermittent sound, and the patient can know that it is time to take the medication. Additionally, the timer is restarted with the output of the alarm command and starts timing operation.

The next two pills K that the patient should take after hearing this alarm.
(For example, when taking out the first of two tablets located at positions 11B and 11F), that portion of the aluminum foil 22 is torn and the conductive wire 24 is broken. This corresponds to the blowing of the fuse in the part surrounded by the broken line 9B in the electronic circuit shown in FIG. Then, take out the second tablet K (for example, the tablet at position gl Ft).

The controller 30 stops outputting the alarm command in response to these signals.

In this way, an alarm sound is generated every 6 hours to inform you of the time to take the tablet, and at the same time, the timing operation for the next 6 hours is started, and 2 tablets are taken.
The alarm will stop sounding each time you take out an item.

The alarm sound is stopped when the last tablet of the eight tablets stored in the blister bag 2 is taken out. Also, at this point, the power supply to the electronic circuit is cut off. The above is an explanation of the alarm operation for a specific blister bag.

For another blister bag, operation is started by setting the time interval between dosing times using the switch 13, resetting the number of tablets to be taken at one time using the switch 14, and inserting the same into the alarm device 1.

In the above embodiment, the blister bag 2 is exemplified as one in which all eight tablets are stored, or in some cases, one pack is cut in the middle and delivered as a bag piece containing only four tablets, for example. Sometimes. In order for the alarm device l to perform the alarm function even for such bag pieces, the conductor 2 wired to the blister bag 2 must be
The terminal portions 24a of No. 4 may be provided not at the ends in the longitudinal direction of the bag 2 as shown in FIG. 3, but on both sides or one side edge along the longitudinal direction.

Further, in the above embodiment, the alarm device 1 is prepared separately from the blister bag 2, but the 1g alarm device 1 may be integrally assembled on the resin base 21 of the blister bag 2, and a disposable system may be used.

FIG. 5 shows a conductive pattern different from the conductive pattern shown in FIG. 3, and in the figure, the same reference numerals as in FIG. 3 indicate the same components.

In this conductive pattern, the conductive wire 24 passes through the center of the tablet storage position in the longitudinal direction of the blister bag, and a portion of the conductive wire is shared between two facing tablets (for example, tablets 21A and E), so that the terminal portion 24a The number of terminals lined up in
It is less than the wiring method shown in the figure.

In the present invention, an alarm device using a needle electrode as shown in Fig. 755 can be used instead of the connector type alarm device shown in Fig. t51.

Therefore, the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 will be explained next.

This embodiment also consists of a four-report device 1 and a blister bag 2, similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.

The blister bag 2 is made by putting tablets K into each of the recesses 21a of a transparent resin base 21 forming four tablet storage parts 21a, and pressing resin-coated aluminum foil 22 as a packaging sheet on the flat back side. As shown in FIG. 7, a conductive wire 24 is printed or bonded to the aluminum foil 22 via an insulating pattern 23. The conductive wire 24 is wired to pass through the center of positions A, B, C, -H (indicated by dashed-line circles in FIG. 7) corresponding to the four tablet storage parts 21a, and the insulating pattern 23 and the conductive wire 24 are connected to the tablet storage portions 21a. As in the case of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the K is easily torn and cut by a weak force when pushed out with a finger.

The conductive wire 24 is wired independently for each tablet storage position A, B, C, -H, and both ends of the conductive wire 24 are connected to the circular pattern 2.
4a (eg diameter allllI). At approximately the center of the blister bag 2 in the longitudinal direction, a conductive wire 25 whose both ends are terminated in a circular pattern 25a is printed or bonded via an insulating pattern 26. Conductor 2
Reference numeral 5 is for detecting the presence or absence of the blister bag 2, and the reason why a plurality of these are provided is to detect the presence or absence of the blister bag even when the blister bag 2 is cut at the parting line J in the middle and used as a bag piece. This is so that it can be detected.

Returning to FIG. 6 and explaining the alarm device l, the alarm device l
It consists of a support stand 17 and a frame body 18 which can be opened and closed with a hinge 16, and an end portion 17a of the support stand 17 is provided with a switch 13 for setting the dosing time and a switch 14 for setting the number of tablets to be taken. In addition to electronic circuits X such as a controller 30 and a buzzer circuit 32 shown in FIG. 4, a piezoelectric buzzer 15 is built inside.

Four shallow parts 17b are formed in the center of the support base 17, and serve as receiving parts for storing and supporting the blister bag 2.
An opening 17c is formed in this recess 17b and has a size such that the tablet storage recess 21a of the blister bag 2 can be loosely inserted therein. There are 2 wooden metal needles 1 on the outside of each opening 17c.
7d are embedded at a distance, and the distance between the needles is determined by the inner pattern 2 provided at both ends of the conductor 24 of the blister bag 2.
Equal to the spacing of 4a.

On the other hand, the frame body 18 is provided with a large opening 18a in the center,
Small holes 18b are formed in a line on both sides of the hole. The position of this hole 18b is determined by the position of the needle 1 embedded in the support base 17.
It corresponds to the position 7d.

The electronic circuit of this embodiment is substantially the same as that shown in FIG.

Now, when the tablet K stored in the blister bag 2 gIA is taken out, the fuse is cut, and the controller 30 detects this and starts the timer.

The operation thereafter until the alarm command is output is the same as that of the electronic circuit shown in FIG. 4, so the explanation will be omitted.

In use, the blister bag 2 is placed in the recess 17b of the support base 17 from above as shown by the self-arrow in FIG. 6, and the frame 18 is placed on top of it, as shown in FIG. ,
The needle 17d embedded in the support stand 17 is attached to the blister bag 2.
It is inserted into the resin base 21 and the aluminum foil 22, and particularly into the circular pattern 24a at both ends of the conductive wire 24 printed on the aluminum foil 22. As a result, an "L" signal is input to the controller 30 via the fuse located at the storage position of each tablet.

Here, the tablets in the blister bag 2 (for example, in the storage position)
When you take out the tablet at A), the fuse corresponding to that position is cut off, and the controller 30 receives an "H" signal instead of the "L" signal that had been input until then, so the built-in timer starts. Start. When the elapsed time reaches 6 hours, the timer is reset and the controller 30
An alarm command is output from the buzzer circuit 32, which outputs an alarm signal, which causes the piezoelectric buzzer 15 to emit an alarm sound.

Note that when the frame 18 is stacked on the support base 17, the needle 17d also pierces the circular pattern 25a of the conducting wire 25, and the controller 30 can detect that the blister bag 2 is placed in the alarm device ll.

FIG. 9 shows another example of the conductive pattern of the blister bag used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, which replaces the conductive pattern shown in FIG.

In the figure, the same reference numerals as in FIG.
4a and the circular pattern 25a at both ends of the conductive wire 25 are penetrated by needles 17d embedded in the support base 18 of the alarm device l, as in the case of FIG.

In addition to embodiments in which a conductive pattern is applied to the blister back side as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 6, the present invention is implemented without applying any conductive pattern to the blister back side as shown in Fig. 1O. You can also.

FIG. 1O is an example of an alarm device constituting yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Since the basic structure of the alarm device 11 is the same as that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are given to the same components.

Each opening 1 of the support base 17 is used to detect the removal of a tablet.
A phototransistor 17e is embedded in the outer inner surface of the phototransistor 7c, and a light guide material 17 such as a transparent resin is provided in the central longitudinal direction.
f is embedded, and the branches of the light guiding material 17f are exposed on the inner surface inside each opening 17c. Since one end of the light guiding material 17f is disposed to face the light emitting diode 17g, the light from the light emitting diode 17g passes through the light guiding material 17f and is emitted from its branches into each opening 17c. A phototransistor 17h for detecting the presence or absence of blister back is embedded near the light emitting diode 17g in the concave portion 17b of the support base 17 as a receiving portion. FIG. 11 is a sectional view of the alarm device.

Fig. 12 is an example of the electronic circuit of the alarm device shown in Fig. 1θ, and the same $1'! Letter a indicates the same component.

A plain blister bag (containing eight tablets, for example) is supported as a receiving part for the alarm device l shown in FIG. After setting the dosage time using the switch 13 and setting the number of tablets to be taken at a time using the switch 14, when the frame 18 is placed on the support stand 17, the light emitting diode The light from 17g is on the back side of the blister bag (in this example, the support base 17
Since light enters the phototransistor 17h through the resin base 21 (the side in contact with the recess 17b), the controller 3
A signal indicating that there is a blister back is input to 0.

If two tablets K (for example, tablets at positions A and E) to be taken at once are pushed out with a finger from the underside of the support stand 17 of the alarm device all, the tablets will disappear from the opening 17c corresponding to that position. Therefore, the shoulder diode 1 is guided by the branch of the light guiding material 17f, which was previously blocked by the tablet K.
The light from 7g is transmitted to photodiode 1 located in the opposite position.
7e, the controller 30 starts a timer for measuring the dosing time. When the timer measures 6 hours of dosing time, the controller 30 outputs an alarm command, which activates the buzzer circuit 32 to output an alarm signal, and the buzzer 15 emits an alarm sound.

The subsequent circuit operation is exactly the same as that of the previous embodiment, and will not be described further.

FIG. 13 shows an embodiment in which a mechanical detection method is used instead of the optical detection method shown in FIG.

In the alarm device of this embodiment, for each opening 17c of the support base 17 similar to the embodiments described so far, a mechanical switch 17 is placed on the opposite side of the opening, as shown in cross section in FIG.
j and the spring 17 are respectively provided.

A mechanical switch 171 for detecting the presence or absence of blister back is arranged at one end of the recess 17b of the support base 17.

The electronic circuit of this embodiment has a mechanical switch 17j connected in place of the phototransistor 17e of the electronic circuit of FIG.

Now, set the blister bag containing the tablets on the support stand 17 in the state shown in Fig. 14, and use the switches 13 and 14 to set the "dose time" and "number of tablets to be taken at one time", respectively. When the frame body 18 is placed on top of the frame body 18 after setting, first, the 1 mechanical switch 171 is turned ON/OFF, and a signal indicating that the blister back is present is inputted to the controller 32.

When the tablet storage recess 21a is pressed with a finger to push out the number of tablets to be taken at one time (for example, two tablets), the Il mechanical switch 17j turns ON/OFF and the timer starts counting the next dosage from that point on. It begins.

The subsequent operations are the same as those in the previously described embodiment, so the explanation will be omitted.

FIG. 15 shows a cross section of an alarm device according to yet another embodiment.

In this embodiment, the upper part of the blister bag 2 is covered with a piezoelectric film 25, and when taking out the tablet K, the four tablet storage parts 21a are pressed from above the piezoelectric film 25.
At this time, the voltage pulse generated in the piezoelectric film 25 by the pressing force is used to detect the removal of the tablet.

Several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, but the number of wires can be reduced by using a matrix method using one wire common to multiple tablets as an electrical connection method for the electronic circuit incorporated in the alarm device. can.

Further, a circuit or wiring for detecting the presence or absence of blister back is not essential to the present invention.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the time interval between doses and the number of tablets to be taken at one time can be set externally, or these information can be recorded in advance on the blister bag, and the
The information may be read out by the F-report device.

Furthermore, the present invention is suitable for cases where the tablet is packaged in a blister bag as exemplified, and is not limited to this type of packaging; it is also applicable to packages using normal heat sealing. It can also be applied to forms such as cases and bottles. In this case, it is electrically detected that the cap of the bottle is removed once or the lid of the case is removed or slid once, and the detection signal is used as a trigger signal to start the timer operation. It is better to do so.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, in the present invention, a timer is triggered every time a tablet stored in a package is taken out.
This timer is configured to output an alarm sound every time a predetermined period of time is counted, and the alarm sound is stopped when the tablet is taken out, so that the patient can reliably take the medication without forgetting the dosing time.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the drug-taking time alarm device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a blister-back tablet using the alarm device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is the same as shown in FIG. Wired in aluminum foil for blister-back tablets. 4 is an example of the electronic circuit of the alarm device of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another example of the conductive pattern applied to the blister-back tablet; FIG. The figure is a perspective view of another embodiment of the drug-taking time alarm device according to the present invention, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the conductive pattern of the blister-back tablet used in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the usage state of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the conductive pattern of the blister-back tablet used in the embodiment of FIG. 6, and FIG. Furthermore, a perspective view of another embodiment, FIG. 11 is a sectional view showing the usage state of the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is an example of the electronic circuit of the alarm device of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the drug taking time alarm device according to the present invention, FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view showing the usage state of the embodiment shown in tIS13, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a usage state of yet another embodiment of the dosing time alarm device. l...Alarm device, 11-...Case, 12...Opening, 14...Dose time interval setting switch, 15-...
Switch for setting the number of tablets, 21--Resin base, 21
a-=Tablet storage recess, 22-... aluminum foil, 23-...
・Insulation pattern, 24-...conductor, 24a-terminal part,
30--Controller, 32--Connector, 34-
...Buzzer circuit patent applicant: Nisshin Seifun Co., Ltd. agent, patent attorney: Hiroshi Suzuki Figure 2, Figure 8, Figure 10

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) A receiving part in which a conductive wire pattern is wired to the tablet removal breakage part on the packaging material of a tablet packaging body of the type in which a part of the packaging material is broken to take out the tablet inside, and the tablet packaging body is set; an electrical connection part that electrically connects to the conductive pattern of the tablet package when the tablet package is set in the receiving part;
This medicine dosing time alarm device is provided with a timing circuit that starts a timing operation when a conductive pattern is broken by taking out a tablet, and an alarm means that generates an alarm sound when the timing circuit measures a predetermined time. (2) The medicine taking time alarm device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined time is automatically set by a tablet packaged in a tablet package. (3) A receiver for setting a tablet package of the type that breaks a part of the packaging material to take out the tablet inside, and a detection means for detecting that a tablet has been taken out from the tablet package set in the receiver. a time-measuring circuit that starts a time-measuring operation using the output of the detection means as a trigger signal; and an alarm means that emits an alarm when the time-measuring circuit measures a predetermined time. Device. (4) The drug dosing time alarm device according to claim 5, wherein the detection means comprises a pair of light-emitting element and light-receiving element that are arranged opposite to each other with the tablet packaged in the tablet package interposed therebetween. (5) The drug dosing time alarm device according to claim 3, wherein the detection means comprises a mechanical switch provided in a passage for taking out the tablets packaged in the tablet package and turned on when pressed by the tablets. (6) A signal generating means that outputs a signal when the tablet is taken out of the container, a timing circuit that starts a timing operation based on the signal, and when the timing circuit measures a predetermined time, generates an alarm sound and outputs the signal. 1. A medication-taking time alarm device, comprising an alarm means for stopping an alarm sound. (7) A conductive wire pattern is wired to the tablet ejection fracture part on the packaging material of a tablet packaging body in which a part of the packaging material is broken to take out the tablet inside, and a time is measured when the conductive pattern is broken by taking out the tablet. A medicine dosing time alarm device comprising, on the packaging material, a clock circuit that starts operation and an alarm means that generates an alarm sound when the clock circuit measures a predetermined time.