Patent Application
20230264869
The invention relates to a device comprising an arrangement for setting a date. More specifically, the invention disclosed herein relates to a device for use with a container intended for storing various materials, which device comprises a date setting arrangement.
Expiration date of a material stored in a specific item (or of the item itself) is the important information one should pay attention to before consuming such a material (or using the item), especially in those cases when the expiration date depends on the opening date of the item.
The mentioned item may relate to containers comprising materials such as medications, nutrition products, food, drinks, beauty products, cosmetics, colors, paints or the like.
However, the item may belong to a variety of assemblies in which the expiration date affects their operation, for example the item may be a water filter.
In this patent application, for the sake of simplicity, the device of interest will be presented and discussed using a representative but not limiting example, namely as a device intended for use with containers storing a medication.
Expiration date indicates the date at which the medication is meant to become no longer effective or even unsafe to use. This date is important for drug manufacturers, since correct indication of it allows properly informing the customer when the product is safe and effective to use.
Usually, the expiration date depends on the manufacturing date and is just stamped by the manufacturer on the container. However, sometimes the expiration date depends on the opening date of the container. This may be caused by a specific character of the material stored in the container (for example, liquid medications, pills, ointments, therapeutic lotions, etc.) Once the original medication container is opened, the medication is exposed to various environmental factors (such as, temperature, light, humidity, etc.,) that affect the expiration date, so from that point in time the expiration date should be calculated as suggested by the manufacturer, usually for several months thereafter.
Typically, a consumer does not recall when the medication container was actually opened. Due to that, the consumer may be unaware whether the medication is already expired or not. The outcome of taking an out-of-date medication may in some cases be a fatal mistake. This problem is even more critical when it comes to children's medications or medications for elders for example, as their health is much more vulnerable.
To overcome the problem of keeping track to various dates important for a medication, many manufacturers developed a variety of smart caps that can be attached to an existing cap of a medication container. For example, a smart cap may be capable of establishing a wireless connection to a smartphone application to keep track of the medication adherence, opening date, expiration date and so on. Such a solution is quite expensive to develop and to manufacture, resulting in significantly increasing the cost of the shelf product for the end consumer. There is no justification to use such an expensive solution for rarely or irregularly taken medications, such as those used to treat fever and headaches. Another point is that such a solution requires interaction with a cellphone or the like, which may be a problem for a specific clientele.
There are other prior art solutions, some of them use mechanical means for indication of an expiry date. For example, DE102013001579(A1) describes a method for identification of durability of a product stored in a beverage bottle subjected to expiry, for managing and monitoring an expiration date after the first-time opening of the bottle.
There is a need for an economical solution which would enable a user to easily monitor the expiration date of a material/device. The solution has to ensure that the user takes the medication that is proven to be safe and effective, without putting the user's health at risk.
According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for use with an item having an expiration date; the device, at least when in use, comprising:
The movement may be understood as a rotating motion or as a sliding motion between the dial and the display area.
The dial/s may be, for example, in the form of rotatable disc/s, in the form of tapes movable/slidable on pulleys, in the form of slidable plates etc. with the icons facing the display area. In this case the display area may be configured to comprise one or more orifices/windows/frames/pointers/clock hands or the like.
Alternatively, the movable dial/s may comprise rotatable clock hand/s, slidable frame/s or other movable pointer/s, while the display area may be static and may have the icons to be pointed to.
The display area may be provided, for example, at the static front face or in proximity to it.
There is an option when the disc/s (being rotatable dial/s or a static display area) may form part of the front face.
In one specific embodiment of the invention, said at least one dial may be disposed between the front face and the rear face of the device, the display area may be configured to display at least one icon thereat, the icons may be provided on said at least one dial facing in the direction of the display area, and said at least one dial is movable when the force is applied thereto so as to bring the icons into said position with respect to (or at) said display area.
In the above-mentioned specific embodiment, there is provided a device for use with an item having an expiration date; the device, at least when in use, comprising:
The device may be intended for managing and monitoring, by the user, of the so-called date of interest which depends on the expiration date.
The at least one icon displayed at the display area upon bringing it into the desired position relative to the dial, will indicate the date of interest.
The term “date of interest” may be understood at least in the following three meanings:
as an expiration date stated by the manufacturer of the item, as a date of opening the item, as a date of expiration after the opening.
The date of interest may be set by the user on the device by moving and locking said at least one dial at a desired position relative to a display area.
The term “dial”, in the above-mentioned specific embodiment, should be understood as a movable part of the device that shows the icons serving for indication of respective elements of the date of interest. The dial is moved in order to control it. The dial may comprise a plate, a disk, a face, or other element (for example a movable tape, a pulley), and in this embodiment has the icons/digits on it, upon which the time/date can be indicated.
The term “display area”, in this specific embodiment, may be understood as an area comprising one or more static pointers, for example windows/frames/openings/arrows etc. provided at the front face. The icons on the movable dial/s may be brought into the mentioned position in front of the static pointer/s.
More specifically, said at least one dial may be in the form of a disc rotatable when the force is applied thereto by the user, and the term “movement” may be understood as rotation of said at least one dial relative to the display area.
Alternatively, indication of the date of interest may be performed using a relative position of a dial with respect to a display area. The dial, for example, may have the form of a clock-hand and the display area may be provided with the icons.
Yet alternatively in the description, indication of the date of interest may be done using digital display/s as a display area. In general, a setting means may be used in cooperation with any display area. The setting means may be electronic (for example, buttons or switches) or mechanic (for example, dials, pointers, clock-hands).
In one embodiment, the device may be configured for use with the item which is a container holding inside a product having the expiration date. The expiration date may be stated by the product's manufacturer but may be calculated from the date of opening the container. The user may therefore determine and set the relevant date of interest on the device.
In another embodiment of the device, the item may be an assembly/an apparatus (for example, a water filter) for which the expiration date is calculated after opening/initiating the assembly. For example, the user may select the date of interest by calculating a predetermined period from the date of opening the water filer. An additional option of the date of interest may be a date of service, it may be selected by the user a bit before the expiration date.
The “device” may be separate from the item, may be engageable/attachable to the item, or may form integral part of the item.
In a further specific embodiment, the device is a cap or a cap cover that may be designed and produced to suit any existing container (or any existing cap). In this embodiment, the cap is designed to allow quite simple setting on it the date of interest and ensuring that the setting remains unchanged. The proposed cap is quite simple and inexpensive in production.
In the device, the mentioned at least one locking element has an unlocking position, at which said at least one dial is allowed to move (rotate), and a locking position, at which at least a portion of said at least one locking element engages the at least one dial so as to permanently prevent the movement (rotation) thereof.
The mentioned locking element may be movable from the unlocking position to the locking position by applying force thereto by the user at least indirectly.
The mentioned locking element may be permanently securable to the item (say, container) or another element of the device in the locking position.
When the device is in the unlocking position of the at least one locking element, at least a portion thereof may protrude outwardly from the front face or the side wall of the device.
When the device is in the locking position of the at least one locking element, an exterior surface thereof may be disposed within boundaries of a footprint of the device.
In the proposed device, the mentioned at least one dial may be in the form of a disc and may have grooves configured to receive at least a portion of said at least one locking element therein so as to engage said at least a portion of said at least one locking element to prevent the at least one dial from rotating.
In the proposed device, said front face may have a stationary portion and at least one movable portion in the form of at least one cover, said at least one cover may have an open position and a closed position, such that its open position enables access to the at least one dial and/or to the at least one locking element and its closed position prevents access to the at least one dial and/or the at least one locking element.
In its closed position, said at least one cover may be permanently securable to the item (say, a container) or to another element of the device.
According to another aspect of the invention, the proposed device may be defined from a different angle. While the first version of the device focuses on its ability to permanently lock the dial(s) in order to preserve the performed setting of a date, the next version of the device is focused on its ability to provide access to said dials(s) when a user wishes to set the date of interest:
A device for use with an item having an expiration date, the device comprising:
As the previously defined device, this version also allows managing and monitoring, by the user, of a so-called date of interest which depends on the expiration date. The icons displayed at the display area upon bringing the dial/s into the position are supposed to indicate the date of interest.
The at least one dial may be a disc rotatable when the force is applied thereto.
The item mentioned above may be a container intended for storing a product having the expiration date.
The peripheral side wall between the front and rear faces may be circumferential.
The mentioned said at least one cover may be permanently securable to the item (container) or permanently secured to another element of the device.
The mentioned at least one cover may be movable from the open position to the closed position by applying force thereto by the user, at least indirectly.
The device may further comprise at least one locking element configured for permanently locking the at least one dial in place, thereby permanently preventing the movement (say, rotation) thereof.
When the at least one cover of the device is in the closed position, an exterior surface of the cover may be disposed within boundaries of a footprint of the device.
The said at least one cover may be pivotally attached to another element of the device. Alternatively, the mentioned cover may be slidably attachable to the container or to another element of the device.
Any of the above-defined embodiments of the proposed device may also have the following characteristic features:
The first dial may define a first plane, and the second dial may define a second plane different from the first plane.
In other embodiments of the invention, the device with date arrangement may be designed in the shape of an analog watch comprising at least two adjustable hands, that may be shifted manually and serve as dials and pointers. A clock face may comprise one or more rings/discs with a plurality of digits to which the clock hands may be brought to point respective elements of the date.
Alternatively, the clock hands may be stationary and serve as stationary pointers, while the clock face may be formed as several concentric rotatable discs/rings which will then serve as dials.
In the above embodiment, one hand may point on a number representing the day, the second—on a number representing the month, and optionally a third hand may point on a number representing the year.
In other embodiments of the invention, the date arrangement may comprise at least one digital display (serving as the display area), for displaying either the opening date or the expiration date or both of them. In such a configuration, the date arrangement may further comprise an energy source and at least one button/switch or any other suitable tuning element that may be used for the purpose of setting the date. The date set on the digital display(s) may further be permanently locked using the same at least one button/switch, for example by applying a long press thereto. Alternatively or in addition, an additional upper transparent lid may be mounted on the arrangement after setting the date, so as to permanently block access to the button(s)/switch(es).
According to a further aspect of the invention, the proposed device may be defined as a device (for example, in the form of a cap/cap cover) for use with an item having an expiry date (for example, a container storing a product having that expiry date); the device comprises:
Further, there is also provided a container comprising the above-described device. The container may be manufactured integrally with the proposed device.
Still further, the device (or, in case the device is integral with an item, the item itself) may be used with an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) circuit comprising an RFID tag having its ID and configured to provide a dedicated information on the item having said expiration date. More specifically, said dedicated information may comprise at least indication of the specific product intended to be stored in the item (container) and having its specific expiration date.
The RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) circuit may be implemented as an NFC (Near Field Communication) circuit.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided an RFID tag for use with a container storing a product having an expiration date, said tag having ID and being configured to provide information indicative of (dedicated to) said product.
Such RFID tags may be manufactured for monitoring the expiration date of a specific product, and may be installed on the containers/caps of the containers storing that product.
The tags may be installed by the manufacturer of the containers/caps. However, users may also perform the installation, for example if they buy a kit comprising the RFID tag and the container storing said product.
For obtaining the information stored in the RFID tag, the customer utilizes an RFID reader adapted to be in communication with the RFID tag; the RFID reader may form part, for example, of a mobile device such as a smartphone. The obtained information should be stored in a data base of the RFID circuit, for example on a server adapted to be in communication with the RFID reader.
More specifically, the RFID circuit may comprise:
For products having an expiration date, said at least one date of interest may be selected from a non-exhaustive list comprising a date of opening the container, a date of expiration of the product stored in the container after opening the container.
We keep in mind that at least one date of interest may be set by the user on the display area of the device which is described in the present application.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there may be provided a method for monitoring a date of interest in respect of an item constituted or engageable by the at least one portion of the above-described device (having the display area), the method may comprise:
For example, the date may be set at the display area and may be a date of first use of the item (for example, the date of opening the container), etc.
The method may further comprise a step of sharing the registered data (say, with a user and/or a third party), for example by sending the mentioned URL from the server to the user's electronic calendar. The calendar may be implemented as a software application in the user's computer, for example in a mobile device.
In case the item is an assembly/apparatus with some expiration date (say, a service date for a water filter, an air conditioner in which freon should be timely refilled, a car which should timely pass a test, etc.), the date of first use of the item may be the date of its installation, of its previous service, etc. The RFID circuit may be configured to store one or more additional dates of interest. For example, the additional date may be indicative of a reminder before the expiration date (for service of the item, for purchasing a new item, etc.)
The invention will be further described using a number of exemplary embodiments and with reference to the accompanying non-limiting drawings, in which:
The invention relates to a device having an arrangement for setting at least one date of interest and enabling to monitor that at least one date. The date of interest is related to an expiration date of the item to which the device is intended.
The device may be, for example, in the form of a cap designed for the item in the form of a container or a bottle (storing a product having an expiration date).
In another example, the device may be in the form of a cap cover which is configured to be tightly coupled on a standard cap of a container for storing such a product.
Alternative items (for example, water filters with an expiration date) may exist, and they may be provided with the alternative device which will allow monitoring the expiration date. The alternative device may have any arbitrary shape.
The date of interest may be equal to the expiration date stated for the product/item, but may differ from it. For example, it may be calculated based on the date of opening (de-hermitizing) the container, the filter, etc.
For illustrating the principles of the invention, the “cap” example will be used as a basic (though not limiting one) in the description and the drawings. It should be emphasized that the cap example shown in the drawings illustrates both the cap implementation, and the cap cover implementation, since they may be similar in shape and may differ from one another only by dimensions and by securing means (for engaging the device either with an item or with a cap). In view of the above, both in the description and in the drawings, the device shaped as a cap should be understood as representing also the “cap cover” option.
The inventive cap may be designed to suit an existing medication container and to replace its original cap. In certain circumstances the invention may constitute a cap cover that is especially suited for use with an existing medication container cap. The cap or the cap cover comprises a date arrangement allowing a consumer to set one or more dates of interest. The user may select which date to set: the expiration date of the medication, the opening date of the medication container and/or the expiration date of such medication based on the opening date, according to the manufacturer's instructions. This is to allow the consumer to verify that the medication stored therein did not became expired and it is safe and effective for use. The functional design of the cap/ cap cover makes it easy to use. Moreover, the cap and/or the cap cover is inexpensive to manufacture.
In some embodiments of the invention, the cap is manufactured for an existing medication container according to the manufacturer's specifications as a complete unit.
As said, the cap is configured to be compatible to an existing medication container or to be coupled with an existing cap of a medication container as a cap cover. Therefore, in both cases the shape of the cap fits to the size and measurements of the original medication container cap—either if designed to replace it or to cover it. The manufacturer of the medication containers and caps is not required to change or modify its production line. The cap is designed to be compatible to an existing medication container. Therefore, the shape and size of the cap varies depending on the shape and size of the target medication container, and may have any shape such as oval, square, circular, etc. but yet should be compatible in its shape and dimensions to the target medication container. The figures disclosed herein illustrate only optional embodiments of the device design disclosed herein, and other designs may apply as well.
The embodiments described and illustrated in this patent application are optional. However, other designs of the date arrangement and the locking elements are applicable as well.
The cap may be formed of any material that is suitable for the corresponding industry (drugs, food, beverages, paints, etc.). Suited materials include plastic polymers, and others.
In some embodiments of the invention, the cap may be recycled or discarded after the use or may be reused later any number of times on other containers of the same kind or on other compatible containers.
In summary, the cap of the invention is inexpensive to manufacture, since it has a small number of components. The cap overcomes disadvantages of the existing solutions such as smart caps, which tend to be expensive to manufacture resulting in substantially increasing the cost of the product to the end consumer. The disclosed cap also provides a solution for securing the settings of the date from being unintentionally changed.
The cap provides added value to existing medication containers, by allowing the consumer to easily track and monitor the expiration date of the medication therein and ensure that the consumer consumes safe and effective medication.
It should also be noted that the proposed inventive device may form integral part of the item which the device serves, for example a container may be provided with the features described for the inventive cap. One example of such a container is shown in
The date arrangement of the cap 10 comprises two rotatable dials in the form of discs 12 and 14 laying in two parallel planes and disposed between a front face 16 and a rear face 18 of the cap. The dials have icons in the form of digits which serve for setting a date of interest. A user sets the date by turning the dials 12 and 14 which have grooved rims. The front face 16 comprises a display area consisting of two orifices 20 and 21 through which a user may see the underlying digits of the selected date of interest. The date is set and then kept for further monitoring. To this purpose, the front face 16 has a movable cover (lid) 22 with a locking element, for example a hook 24 which, when the lid is closed, is engaged within a recess 26, locks the lid and thus prevents further manipulations with the dials 12 and 14. It is understood that the hook 24 and the recess 26 may be positioned vice versa.
More dials may be placed in the cap 10, preferably in a horizontal position in order to exceed the original height of the original container cap as minimum as possible. According to some embodiments of the invention, the total height of the date arrangement may be of about 4 mm.
Each dial 32 allows easy movement thereof when force is applied thereto. Each dial sets a different part of the date—the first sets a number indicating the day and the second sets a number indicating the month. The third and the fourth pulley set a number indicating the year.
According to the embodiment of
The date arrangement shown in
The date arrangement of
The lid 22 is provided with a locking element (hook) 25. When the lid 22 is in its closed position, the element 25 enters a recess 27. It may be further clamped there-inside and block the dials 12 and 14 at their places (the hook 25 may be additionally caught between “teeth” of the dials). The main function of the lid 22 is a) to allow access to the dials 12, 14 when needed, and b) when the date of interest is set, to cover the dials and permanently lock the access by the element 25.
In practice, a so-called inner cap (schematically shown by a dotted contour with an arrow) may be used instead of the rare face. The inner cap is provided with engaging means and is responsible for engaging a standard (or the proposed) cap with a bottle/container. In our case, the inner cap would create tight contact with the rear surface and the inner peripheral walls 28 of the cap 40.
In some embodiments of the invention, the proposed device with date arrangement may comprise at least one button, switch (bracket, clamp, scotch cover or any other suitable element designed to lock the date settings), ensuring the date settings are secured and not mistakenly or accidentally changed. Optionally, a suitable mechanism also may be used to secure the date settings in a way that only if the consumer intentionality wishes to change said date settings, he would be able to do so by correctly operating said mechanism.
The arrangement 62 may be implemented in one of two alternative manners a) or b), using relative movement of the dials and the clock hands:
In addition to any implementation of the date arrangement described and illustrated in this patent application, the device may be provided with an RFID/NFC circuit. One example of such a circuit comprising an RFID tag 72 is illustrated in
In
The tag 72 can be placed anywhere on the can, for example under the arrangement 62.
An RFID (NFC) reader 74 may be provided separately, but may be incorporated in a modern smart phone 75.
Let the user opens the container 60 and then sets the expiration date and/or the opening date mechanically, by turning the dials.
In addition, the user may perform the following process with the aid of the RFID tag 72, for example in order to provide for himself/herself a computerized reminder.
We keep in mind that the tag 72 is provided with an indication of a specific medication for which the tag is intended (manufactured).
When bringing the phone 75 close to the RFID tag, the reader 74 will identify the tag 72 and will detect this moment of time as the initiation date of the tag 72. The initiation date will indicate the date when the medication container 60 was opened.
The information about opening a container with the RFID tag 72 will be sent by the RFID reader 74 to a server 78 where, owing to a specific software script (software code) 79, a webpage/URL link will be created. The script will calculate and register at the URL one or more dates of interest (say, the expiration date of Neurophen in the can opened at a specific date). The expiration date will be recorded for the tag's 72 ID, i.e. will be associated with the type of medication registered in that tag 72 and with the opening date of the container where the tag 72 is placed.
A copy of the link (i.e. all the relevant data stored at the URL) may be communicated from the server 78 to a calendar computer application 76 which may be installed in the same smartphone 74 or in any other computer device of the user.
In other words, at least one date relevant to the specified medication or cosmetics may be registered with reference to the can 60 (for example related to its opening date), and this information will be associated with the ID number of the RFID (NFC) tag 72 and the specific product for which the tag was manufactured. Additional data may be provided in the tag 72, for example on the place where the item (container) was sold, its barcode, etc.
Having described the invention with regard to certain specific embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the description is not meant as a limitation, as further modifications will now become apparent to those skilled in the art, so that the description and the claims which follow are intended to cover such modifications.
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/IL2021/050902 | 7/27/2021 | WO |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63057903 | Jul 2020 | US |
