Bottle-cap medication reminder and overdose safeguard

• US 6,604,650 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2001
• Issued: 08/12/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Sagar, Richard Bryan
• Primary Examiner(s): Noland, Kenneth W.
• Application Number:
  US09/968,343
• Publication Number:
  US 20030063522A1
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 221/2, 221/3, 221/7, 221/9, 221/15, 221/97, 221/191, 221/82, 221/129, 700/231, 700/244, 340/870.09, 340/309.15
• US Class Current: 221/3
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0418 with electronic history memory
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0436 resulting from removing a drug from, or opening, a container
• CPC Class Codes: A61J 7/0481 working on a schedule basis
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 90/10 Information and communication technologies [ICT] supporting adaptation to climate change, e.g. for weather forecasting or climate simulation

Abstract

A medicine-dispensing system has a medication reminder to assist the patient in following a drug regimen. In an example embodiment, a medication reminder comprises a timer programmable to a predetermined interval. A user-alert is responsive to the timer, reminding the user to take a dose of medicine at the predetermined interval. A sensor detects whether a dose of medicine has been taken and a dose-indication informs the user of the time since a last medication. The dose indication further informs the user as to whether to take a next medication dose. Time of the last dose is determined by the timer receiving a signal from the sensor. A communications interface enables programming of a parameter associated with administering a medication.

Claims

1. A container comprising an interface part for enabling a user to be reminded of taking a dose of a substance in the container, the interface part comprising:

a timer; and

a user-alert generator coupled to the timer for generating an alert upon a predetermined time interval, the user-alert generator further comprises,

a sensor to detect whether a closure has been removed from the container; and

a dose-indication informing the user of the time since a last substance dose was taken, the dose-indication farther informing the user as to whether to take a next substance dose, the time of the last dose being determined by the timer receiving a signal from the sensor.

2. The container of claim 1, further comprising:

a communications interface enabling programming of a parameter associated with the alert to administer the substance.

3. The container of claim 2, wherein the communications interface enables the programming via at least one of the following:

a PDA, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless telephone.

4. A medication reminder system, comprising:

a timer programmable to a predetermined interval;

a user-reminder responsive to the timer, for reminding the user to take a dose of medicine upon the predetermined interval having elapsed;

a sensor to detect whether a dose of medicine has been taken, the sensor comprising a switch for detecting when a closure is removed from the medicine container; and

a dose-indicator informing the user as to whether to take a next medication dose, the time of the last dose being determined by the timer receiving a signal from the sensor; and

a communications interface enabling programming of a parameter associated with administering the medication.

5. The medication reminder system of claim 4, wherein the communications interface enables programming the timer via at least one of the following:

a PDA, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a wireless telephone.

6. The medication reminder system of claim 4 wherein, the sensor further comprises at least one of the following switch types:

optical, mechanical, magnetic.

7. The medication reminder system of claim 6 wherein the medication reminder system with at least one of the following:

the closure, the medicine container.