Patent Application
20200247589
The present invention relates to a Smart closure for any container that has lock/unlock features, and can be accessed using keypad or biometrics, also including RFID, Bluetooth, or wireless control and communication. This can also include monitoring solutions, with data logging. For example, time of access, temperature, weight, or other environmental conditions.
Aspects of the present invention relate more particularly to smart caps for medication containers, and more particularly, some embodiments relate to smart cap systems and methods for a medication container.
Bottles, containers and other receptacles containing hazardous or volatile materials, or materials which react with air, are used for different purposes in locations such as chemical and biochemical laboratories, industries and hospitals. At times, a user, such as a scientist, may fail to recap a bottle or container after use, resulting in the escape of hazardous materials such as gases or vapors into the atmosphere resulting in harm to the user and the environment. Often such gases can reach toxic levels when permitted to flow out of a container for an extended time period.
GlowCap® is a universal bottle cap that provides a series of escalating audio and visual alerts to remind patients to take their medication. The GlowCap® syncs directly through a mobile broadband network using a local hub. If a patient forgets to take a prescribed medication, he or she may be sent a text message through the mobile network, The GlowCap® has limited mobility as it only works in the presence of a mobile network a hub, and is carrier specific. Additionally, it needs its own data connection and is costly.
CleverCap® is a universal bottle cap that is programmed to time release tablets. Audio, visual, and mobile reminders may be delivered. The main short shortcomings of CleverCap® are its large size, price, and lack of scale.
There are many types of child resistant closure systems described in the art. An example of a particular type of child resistant closure system is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,078, which relates to a combination of a container and safety cap. While many child resistant caps effectively provide protection against the danger of small children being able to remove potentially harmful contents, e.g. pills, from vials or other containers, they also provide a problem for a considerable portion of the adult population that require medication but lack the manual dexterity or strength to remove the child resistant cap. This is of a particular concern to the elderly population or people suffering from arthritis and other disabling diseases.
However, to Applicant's knowledge, none of these prior art methods have been found to be completely suitable to meet these needs and are cumbersome and non-durable. Hence, the inventor of the present invention proposes to resolve and surmount existent technical difficulties related to lock/unlock features and to eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings of prior art.
In light of the disadvantages of the prior art, the following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
According to a first embodiment the invention is a Smart closure for any container and can be locked/unlocked using keypad or biometrics, also including RFID, Bluetooth, or wireless control and communication. This can also include monitoring solutions, with data logging.
Another object of the invention relates to Smart closure with built-in wireless connectivity, data log in, biometric, RFID, Infrared, NEC and data logging with environment sensing and assessment.
This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention, and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.
Considering the advances the concept is Smart closure for any container that has lock/unlock features, and can be accessed using keypad or biometrics, also including RFID, Bluetooth, or wireless control and communication. This can also include monitoring solutions, with data logging. For example, time of access, temperature, weight, or other environmental conditions.
The first component on the top of the closure in
It is to be understood that the smart enclosure with positive lock mechanism provided in accordance with the present invention can be formed of any suitable material such as plastic or metal or a combination of materials and the like and that the invention is not intended to be limited by the material from which the parts are formed.
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
