The present invention relates to a device for discharging a fixed quantity of contents, and more particularly, to a discharge device for discharging a fixed quantity of contents such as pills, tablets, or parts accommodated in a container, a content storage container having the discharge device, and a content management system.
Generally, pills, tablets, drugs in the form of capsules, health supplements, vitamins, small sweets, cosmetic products, small parts such as screws, etc. are produced as contents in the form of small solid articles (hereinafter referred to as “contents”) and are accommodated in a container.
For contents such as drugs or health supplements, it is important to make sure that the contents are taken in fixed amounts to prevent overuse or addiction as well as to maximize efficacy.
Also, for tools or parts such as screws, pins, or washers, there is a need for inventory management on site through discharge of a fixed quantity and automatic detection of the discharge.
Contents are sold after being accommodated in a predetermined container, and a conventional content storage container includes a container main body in which contents are accommodated and a stopper openably and closeably coupled to the container main body. Therefore, in order to ingest or use the contents, the stopper is opened from the container main body, and then the container main body is tilted or a hand is put into the container main body to take out the contents, and here, a large quantity of the contents may pour out, or the amount of contents grabbed by hand may be different each time. As a result, it is difficult to take out the contents one at a time or only a necessary demand amount.
When drugs or vitamins are taken, there is a need to promote convenience and guide the drugs or vitamins to be taken in fixed amounts by accurately adjusting the discharge of the contents without error and preventing more than a demand amount of the contents from being discharged. In particular, when Internet of Things (IoT) technology including a sensor is applied to a device for discharging a fixed quantity and an accommodating container in order to manage stored contents, through real-time automatic datafication of the detection of discharge of a fixed quantity and ingestion or use of the contents, management and use of the data may be possible.
Even for application of the IoT technology, a content discharge device should be able to accurately discharge a desired fixed quantity of contents without error. However, there is a problem in that conventional discharge devices lack convenience in use or have an error in discharging a fixed quantity.
The present invention is directed to providing a discharge device for discharging, without error, a fixed quantity of contents from a container accommodating the contents therein and a storage container having the discharge device.
The present invention is also directed to providing a content discharge device simultaneously having excellent convenience in use and excellent accuracy in controlling a discharge amount and a storage container having the content discharge device.
One aspect of the present invention provides a device for discharging a fixed quantity of contents that is to be coupled to a container main body accommodating the contents, the device including: a fixed portion fixed to the container main body for the device to be coupled to the container main body; and a passing movement portion rotatably installed at the fixed portion and configured to move for the contents to pass.
The passing movement portion may include an opening member configured to open or close an opening, a rotating shaft serving as a center of rotational movement, and a blocking member connected to the rotating shaft and configured to rotate together with the opening member.
While the device is tilted at a critical angle of inclination from an upright state, a center of gravity of the passing movement portion may be configured to be positioned along the rotating shaft for a rotational force to act in a direction opposite to a direction of inclination of the device. The critical angle of inclination may be an angle of the device at the time the contents come in contact with the opening member, relative to the upright state of the device (in which the angle of inclination is 0°). That is, the critical angle of inclination may be an angle at which the contents begin to come in contact with the opening member and apply impact thereto.
Since the passing movement portion of the device is configured to not move relative to the container main body until the angle of inclination reaches the critical angle of inclination from 0°, in a state in which the angle of inclination is less than or equal to the critical angle of inclination, the angle of inclination of the device may be considered to be the same as an angle of inclination of the container main body.
In order to guide movement of the contents, the fixed portion may include a passage portion configured to form a movement path for discharging a fixed quantity of the contents and a fixing member configured to fix the passage portion to the container main body.
The fixed portion may include a duct-type passage portion configured to form a movement path for discharging a fixed quantity of the contents and a guide passage connected to the passage portion to guide the contents. The contents may move along the guide passage, enter the passage portion, and then be discharged to the outside through an opening formed at an upper end of the passage portion.
The passing movement portion may be disposed to form one sidewall of the passage portion.
The center of gravity of the passing movement portion may be configured to be positioned in a range of −90° to 0° relative to a horizontal axis having the rotating shaft as its origin. Specifically, when the rotating shaft is the z-axis, an intermediate point between both ends of the rotating shaft may be an origin, and an xy plane including the origin may be presumed. On the xy plane, a horizontal axis from the origin may be the x-axis, and a vertical axis therefrom may be the y-axis.
Another aspect of the present invention provides a discharge device to be coupled to a container main body accommodating contents, the discharge device including: a passage portion configured to form a movement path for discharging a fixed quantity of the contents; and a passing movement portion rotatably installed at the passage portion and configured to rotate for the contents to be discharged.
An opening may be formed at an upper end of the passage portion, and due to the rotation of the passing movement portion, the opening at the upper end of the passage portion may be opened, and the contents may be discharged therethrough.
The passing movement portion may include an opening member configured to open or close the opening, a rotating shaft serving as a center of the rotational movement, and a blocking member connected to the rotating shaft and configured to rotate together with the opening member, and the passing movement portion may form at least a portion of one sidewall of the passage portion.
The opening member and the blocking member may be strongly coupled via a rotating shaft portion and may rotate as free ends relative to the rotating shaft portion. The opening member, the blocking member, and the rotating shaft portion may be integrally formed, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
The discharge device according to one embodiment of the present invention may further include a detector provided at the passage portion to detect the contents discharged due to the rotation of the passing movement portion.
A duct-type passage portion may form a movement path for discharging a fixed quantity of the contents, the passage portion may have a lower portion connected to a guide portion configured to guide the contents, and the contents may move along the guide portion, enter the passage portion, and then be discharged to the outside through the opening at the upper end of the passage portion.
The detector may include a light receiver and a light emitter, light radiated from the light emitter may pass through a path along which the contents move in order to be discharged and may be detected by the light receiver, and whether the contents have been discharged may be determined based on a quantity of the detected light.
More specifically, whether the contents have been discharged may be determined based on a pattern of changes over time in the quantity of the light detected by the light receiver.
The light receiver and the light emitter may be disposed to face each other on both sidewalls formed at left and right sides of the one sidewall.
The discharge device may include a plurality of detectors each including a light emitter and a light receiver, the light emitter and the light receiver may be disposed to face each other with a passage portion disposed therebetween at both side surfaces of the passing movement portion, and light radiated from the light emitter may pass through a path along which the contents move in order to be discharged and may be detected by the light receiver. In a maximum rotation state in which the passing movement portion is rotated due to the contents applying a stroke to the opening member while the discharge device is tilted at the critical angle of inclination, at least one of the plurality of detectors may be disposed to be positioned more downstream of the passage portion than the rotated blocking member.
The detector may detect information of the detected contents and may further include: a storing portion configured to store the information of the contents detected by the detector; a measuring portion configured to calculate an accumulated discharge amount of the contents for each period based on the information stored in the storing portion; and a communication portion configured to send the information of the contents detected by the detector, the information stored in the storing portion, or information calculated by the measuring portion to an external device through wired or wireless communication.
In a medicine-taking management system including a storage container having the discharge device mounted thereon, a medicine-taking management server, and a user terminal, the user terminal which is an information processor includes: a communication portion configured to wirelessly communicate with the storage container and the medicine-taking management server; an output portion; and a controller configured to receive medicine-taking state information from the detector of the discharge device, receive medicine-taking schedule information from the medicine-taking management server, use the medicine-taking schedule information and the medicine-taking state information to generate medicine-taking management information relating to a user, and output the medicine-taking management information to the output portion.
The output portion may output the medicine-taking management information using text, images, or voice.
Also, a configuration identical to the medicine-taking management system may be configured as a content management system. In a content management system including a storage container having the above-described discharge device installed thereon, a content management server, and a user terminal, the storage container includes a control module, a communication module that is able to wirelessly communicate with an external device, a clock, and a storing portion, and the control module is able to communicate with the user terminal or external device through the communication module.
According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a discharge device that can discharge a fixed quantity of contents from a storage container per discharge without error and thus has excellent accuracy, and due to excellent accuracy, errors in sensing and data management can be reduced.
According to another aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a fixed-quantity discharge device that can, when a user uses a storage container in a tilted state, reduce discharge errors just by physical operations of the storage container and the discharge device without electrical energy consumption and thus has excellent performance.
Hereinafter, a discharge device, a storage container, and a medicine-taking management device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this process, thicknesses of lines or sizes of components illustrated in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of description. Also, terms mentioned below are terms defined in consideration of functions in the present invention and may be changed according to an intention or customary practice of a worker or an operator. Therefore, such terms should be defined based on the content throughout the specification.
Referring to
Referring to
The neck portion 116 having an opening 171 formed therein is formed to extend upward from the accommodating portion 117, and screw threads for a container lid to be coupled may be formed on an outer circumferential surface of the neck portion 116.
The discharge device 100 includes a fixed portion 120 and a passing movement portion 123. The fixed portion 120 includes a fixing member 121 fixed and coupled to the neck portion 116. Alternatively, the fixed portion 120 may be coupled to the upper portion of the container main body.
The fixing member 121 may block the opening 171, and an opening 122 may be formed to pass through one region of the fixing member 121 to allow the contents to pass through the opening 122 and be discharged from the container main body to the outside.
As illustrated in
Meanwhile, a duct-type passage portion 172 configured to form a movement path for discharging a fixed quantity of contents 5 and a guide passage 182 connected to the passage portion 172 to guide the contents are formed at a lower portion of the opening 122 of the fixing member 121. A passage in which the opening 122, the passage portion 172, and the guide passage 182 are connected in that order in a substantially straight line is formed from an upper portion to a lower portion.
As the container main body is tilted, the contents move from the accommodating portion 117 to the passage portion 172 via the guide passage 182 and are discharged to the outside through the opening 122. One side of the guide passage 182 may be an inner wall of the container main body or may be formed by a separate guide portion 180.
The passage portion 172 is formed by a sidewall 170 extending downward to be adjacent to the opening 122 of the fixing member 121 and the passing movement portion 123 rotatably coupled to a rotating shaft holding portion formed at the fixing member.
The passing movement portion 123 disposed at the passage portion to form one portion of the passage portion is rotatably installed at the fixing member and rotates according to tilting of the container main body, to which the fixing member is fixed, to enable discharge of the contents to the outside. While the fixed portion is strongly fixed and coupled to the container main body and thus integrally moves with the container main body, the passing movement portion is able to move (rotate) relative to the fixed portion and the container main body about a rotating shaft. That is, the fixed portion is integrally tilted or integrally moves with the container main body according to tilting or movement thereof.
The passing movement portion 123 moves corresponding to movement of the contents caused by a gravitational action and opens the fixed portion 120 for the contents to pass. In the case where the fixed portion 120 is tilted or moves, the passing movement portion 123 may move due to at least one of the self-weight of the passing movement portion 123, inertia of the passing movement portion 123, and a force of the contents pressing the passing movement portion 123.
The rotational movement of the passing movement portion 123 that causes the contents to pass occurs due to gravitational motion of the contents or impact of the contents on an opening member of the passing movement portion 123, which is due to the fixed portion 120 being tilted, flipped, or shaken.
Also, the rotational movement of the passing movement portion 123 may occur due to a movement force caused by the contents pressing the passing movement portion 123 by the self-weight of the contents. The center of gravity of the passing movement portion 123 is positioned in a direction opposite to an external discharge direction of the discharge device 100 (an upstream side in the movement path of the contents), which is a rear of the position of a rotating shaft 125 of the passing movement portion 123.
The passing movement portion 123 includes an opening member 124 disposed in the opening 122, a rotating shaft portion connected to the opening member and having the rotating shaft 125 which is the center of the rotational movement, and a blocking member 127 connected to the rotating shaft portion to rotate together with the opening member. The rotating shaft portion is rotatably installed at the rotating shaft holding portion formed at the fixing member, and the passing movement portion 123 rotates about the rotating shaft due to gravity and external force.
In a normal state in which the storage container having the discharge device mounted therein stands upright, the opening member 124 blocks at least one portion of the opening 122 and closes the passage portion 172 from the outside of the housing 110. When, in a state in which the storage container is tilted at a predetermined angle or more, the contents move along the inclined passage portion and push the opening member, the opening member 124 rotates about the rotating shaft 125, the opening 122 is opened, and the contents are discharged to the outside after passing through the opening 122. The configuration and action of the passing movement portion 123 will be described in detail below with reference to
Meanwhile, as illustrated in
A guide portion 190 forms the guide passage 182, and when the container main body is tilted, the contents enter the passage portion 172 via the guide passage 182 and then are discharged to the outside through the opening at the upper end of the passage portion. The guide passage 182 is formed by one portion of an inner wall of the container main body 110 and the guide portions 180 and 190 disposed adjacent thereto.
Meanwhile, as illustrated in
The sizes and angles of the opening member 124 and the blocking member 127 and the size of the movement path of the contents are designed to accurately control movement and discharge of a desired amount of contents. For example, in the case where one piece of contents is a fixed quantity, when one piece of contents 5 (front passing contents 5) moves in the passage portion 172, another piece of contents 5 (rear passing contents 5) is positioned behind the front passing contents 5 and sequentially moves.
The blocking member 127 is configured to be bent, and a bent portion 127b of the blocking member 127 may be deflected linearly or formed as a curved surface. The bent portion 127b at which the blocking member 127 is bent may be configured to have a steep slope close to 90° to prevent more than a demand amount of contents from entering the fixed portion 120. Of course, the bent portion 127b may be bent at various other angles.
One or more detectors configured to detect contents discharged due to rotation of the passing movement portion are provided at the passage portion or adjacent to the passage portion. The configuration and arrangement of the detectors will be described below.
Referring to
In
In
As illustrated in
Due to the counterclockwise rotation of the opening member 124, the opening is opened, and the preceding contents are discharged to the outside of the storage container (see
As illustrated in
In this way, as the succeeding contents, which move along the inclined movement path, apply a stroke to the blocking member 127 positioned in front of the succeeding contents and act as a stopper to prevent the passing movement portion from returning to its original position and cause the blocking member to block the passage portion, additional contents are not discharged through the passage portion. In this way, by preventing pieces of contents from being discharged one after another, one piece of contents, which is a fixed quantity of the contents, can be discharged at a time.
Then, when the user tilts the storage container back to its original state so that the storage container stands upright as in the normal state, all of the pieces of contents that are not discharged, including the succeeding contents, fall to the container main body 110 at a lower portion and are stored therein. Such a series of operational mechanisms enables discharge of a fixed quantity of contents and storage of the remaining contents.
However, the inventors of the present invention have found some cases in which the above-described operational mechanisms do not work properly. Hereinafter, such cases will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
However, unlike in
In the case of
This is a malfunctioning state in the fixed-quantity discharge device that does not occur frequently but acts as a problem in terms of product reliability. In particular, such a situation may occur in a case where the critical angle of inclination is designed to be more than 90° and less than or equal to 130°.
As a result of study, the inventors of the present invention have solved the above problem using the relationship between the center of gravity of the passing movement portion and the rotating shaft.
In
In
Then, when a user tilts the storage container 90° or more as in
That is, in the state in which the critical angle of inclination is 130°, the passing movement portion receives gravity that is downward and receives the force causing the passing movement portion to rotate clockwise about the rotating shaft, the blocking member does not block the passage portion such that the contents pass through the passage portion and apply impact to the opening member, the opening member rotates counterclockwise due to the impact caused by the contents and opens the opening, and the contents are discharged.
In order to provide clear description by comparing a case where the operational mechanism of
First, in the table of
However, in case 7-1(b) in which the discharge device is rotated 90°, the center of gravity is positioned at the upper left side about the rotating shaft (origin), torque causing counterclockwise rotation acts due to gravity, and as a result, the blocking member blocks the passage portion. The same applies to case 7-1(c) in which the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination. Therefore, until the angle of inclination reaches the critical angle of inclination from 90°, the passage portion is blocked by the blocking member, and the contents are unable to enter the passage portion. In the case where the center of gravity is in the first quadrant while the angle of inclination is 0° as in 7-1(a), the passing movement portion is not able to operate for passage of the contents.
In case 7-2, a counterclockwise rotational force acts while the angle of inclination is in a range of 0° to 90°, the blocking member blocks the passage portion, and then, while the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination, a rotational force does not act, or a rotational force in an arbitrary direction acts. It may not be easy for the contents to enter the passage portion. Therefore, the case in which the center of gravity is positioned in the second quadrant as in 7-2 is also not appropriate for passage of the contents.
In case 7-3, the center of gravity is in the third quadrant, and a counterclockwise rotational force acts and causes the blocking member to block the passage portion while the angle of inclination is 0°, but afterwards, when the angle of inclination is in a range of 90° to the critical angle of inclination, a clockwise rotational force acts, and the blocking member does not block the passage portion. Therefore, the contents are able to enter the passage portion before the angle of inclination reaches 90°, and by the contents applying impact to the opening member and causing the passing movement portion to rotate, discharge of the contents is possible. However, when, while the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination, the contents apply impact to the passing movement portion, and the passing movement portion further rotates counterclockwise, case 7-3(d) in which the angle of inclination is 180° or an angle close to 180° is reached, and here, since the center of gravity is positioned at the upper right side about the origin, a clockwise rotational force acts on the passing movement portion. Therefore, since only gravity acts as an external force on the passing movement portion immediately after the contents are discharged, the passing movement portion immediately rotates clockwise. Such a result is the same as in
In case 7-4, while the angle of inclination is 0°, the center of gravity is positioned in the fourth quadrant. In this case, since, until the angle of inclination reaches the critical angle of inclination from 0°, the center of gravity of the passing movement portion is positioned at the right side of the origin, and a clockwise rotational force acts, the blocking member does not block the passage portion, and the contents may enter the passage portion and apply impact to the opening member.
When, while the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination, the contents apply impact to the passing movement portion, and the passing movement portion further rotates counterclockwise, case 7-4(d) in which the angle of inclination is 180° or an angle close to 180° is reached (see 7-4(d)). Here, the center of gravity of the passing movement portion is positioned in the second quadrant, and a counterclockwise rotational force acts. Therefore, even in a state in which impact is not applied to the passing movement portion due to discharge of the preceding contents, for the blocking member to block the passage portion, the counterclockwise rotational force is maintained while the succeeding contents approach the blocking member. When the succeeding contents collide with the blocking member, the succeeding contents act as a stopper, and thus discharge of a fixed quantity is possible without continuous discharge of pieces of contents.
Therefore, it can be seen that, in the case where the center of gravity of the passing movement portion is positioned in the fourth quadrant about the rotating shaft which is the origin, discharge of a fixed quantity is possible without error just by the discharge device being tilted.
Hereinafter, case 7-4 (the case where an angle relative to the right horizontal axis of the concentric circles exceeds −90° and is less than 0°) will be reviewed in more detail with reference to
In
In
While the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination as in
However, since 90°<C<180°, 0°<(a+C)°<180°. Since 90°<C<180°, and −90°<a<0°, (a+C)° is not able to be in the fourth quadrant and is in the first quadrant.
Therefore, since 0°<(a+C)°<90°, −C<a<(90−C)° and −90°<a<0° should be simultaneously satisfied. For example, when C is 130°, since −130°<a<−40° and −90°<a<0° should be simultaneously satisfied, −90°<a<−40° should be satisfied.
To generalize, −90°<a<(90−C)°, and here, 90°<C<180°.
While the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination, when the contents collide with the opening member and apply impact thereto, the passing movement portion further rotates counterclockwise, and the maximum angle of rotation M of the passing movement portion in this case may be in a range of 100° to 180° relative to the angle of inclination of 0° which is the reference. M is the maximum angle at which, when the contents apply impact to the opening member, the passing movement portion rotates due to the impact. The maximum angle is based on the horizontal axis in the state in which the storage container stands upright.
In
To sum up, −90°<a<(90−C)°, and here, 90°<C<180°.
Also, 90°<(a+M)°<180° should be satisfied at the same time.
Since (90−M)°<a<(180−M°) should be satisfied, but C<M and 100°<M≤180° should also be satisfied, (90−M)°<a<(90−C)°. For example, when C is 120° and M is 170°, −80°<a<−30°.
For example, in a case where M is 130° and C is 100°, −40°<a<−10°. When this is shown in a general expression, (90−M)°<a<0°, and C<M=<180°.
In
In
In
That is, even when the preceding contents are discharged, and impact caused by the contents is not being applied to the opening member, the passing movement portion does not return to its original state, and the blocking member keeps the passage portion blocked. Therefore, it is possible to block unwanted discharge of contents immediately after the discharge of the preceding contents.
In this way, due to the structure illustrated in
The shapes and angles of an equilibrium portion 123b, the opening member 124, and the blocking member 127 of the passing movement portion 123 may be designed to appropriately set the position of the center of gravity.
The present invention has been described above with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, but the embodiments are only illustrative, and those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims below.
According to the present invention, the amount of contents discharged from an accommodating device is accurately detected, and based on the detection, a user is able to take a fixed quantity of medicine.
Hereinafter, the detector of the discharge device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to
Referring to
One or more detectors may be disposed in the passage portion, and the detector may include a light receiver and a light emitter.
In
More specifically, the light emitter 410 and the light receiver 420 are disposed to face each other on both sidewalls formed at the left and right sides of the passing movement portion, and while the angle of inclination is 0°, the light emitter 410 and the light receiver 420 are disposed adjacent to each other under the opening member.
A case where a plurality of detectors are disposed will be described with reference to
Referring to
A configuration in which three detectors are disposed in the passage portion will be described in detail with reference to
The three detectors including the light emitters and the light receiver are linearly disposed from an upstream side to a downstream side in a direction in which contents move through the passage portion. The arrangement is the same even when more than three detectors are present. The three detectors are disposed so that, while the angle of inclination is 0° and the discharge device stands upright, light radiated from the light emitters 411, 412, and 413 passes through the passage portion between the opening member and the blocking member. Therefore, while the angle of inclination is 0° and the discharge device stands upright, the three detectors are disposed between the opening member and the blocking member, that is, between a downstream side of the blocking member and an upstream side of the opening member. Alternatively, at least one of the plurality of detectors is disposed between the downstream side of the blocking member and the upstream side of the opening member.
In the state in which the angle of inclination is the critical angle of inclination, the contents apply a stroke to the opening member, and the passing movement portion is maximally rotated, at least one of the plurality of detectors is disposed to be positioned more downstream from the passage portion than the blocking member.
A detector according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
First, referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In the state of
In
In
At the maximum angle of inclination, one of the plurality of detectors may be disposed to be positioned more downstream from the passage portion than the blocking member.
A medicine-taking management system including the storage container having the discharge device installed therein according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to
The medicine-taking management system may include the storage container having the discharge device installed therein, a medicine-taking management server, and a user terminal. The user terminal is an information processor that includes a smartphone and is able to perform communication.
The discharge device may further include: a storing portion (memory) configured to store information of contents detected by the detector; a measuring portion configured to calculate an accumulated discharge amount of the contents for each period based on the information stored in the storing portion; and a communication portion configured to send the information of the contents detected by the detector, the information stored in the storing portion, or information calculated by a sensing controller of the detector to an external device through wired or wireless communication. Alternatively, the storing portion, the detector, and the communication portion may be mounted on the storage container coupled to the discharge device.
The communication portion may be able to perform wireless communication such as Bluetooth communication, Wi-Fi, 5G, and Zigbee.
A controller may send a signal to the user terminal through the communication portion, receive medicine-taking guide information from the user terminal, and control the medicine-taking guide information to be output through an output portion, and the output portion may be able to output text, images, or voice. The medicine-taking management server is an information processor that is able to perform communication and may be connected to the user terminal through a wireless network, generate medicine-taking guide information and send the medicine-taking guide information to the user terminal or the storage container, and may collect and process medicine-taking information of medicine accommodated in the storage container.
The present invention is able to be used in the medicine storage container manufacturing industry and may also be used in medicine management and medicine-taking guide service, medicine-taking information collection and processing service industry, and the like.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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10-2021-0061870 | May 2021 | KR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/KR2022/006820 | 5/12/2022 | WO |