Intelligent medicine reminding and swallowing auxiliary cup for old patients

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of medical auxiliary devices, in particular to an intelligent medicine taking reminding and swallowing auxiliary cup for old patients, which comprises a cup body, a cup cover detachably connected to the top of the cup body, a manual water passing valve arranged on the side wall of the cup body, a medicine storage cabin detachably and fixedly connected to the cup cover on the cup body, a plurality of medicine control units evenly arranged in the medicine storage cabin along the circumference of the cup body, the medicine control units all sending medicines to the top surface of the cup cover for the patient to drink and take the medicines, a medicine taking auxiliary system integrated in the medicine storage cabin, the medicine taking auxiliary system comprising a time sequence medicine sending module, a medicine taking reminding module and a medicine taking recording module, the medicine directly sent to the top surface of the cup cover is realized by integrating the medicine storage cabin and the plurality of medicine control units, the manual water passing valve and the medicine taking auxiliary system are combined to construct the prompting, monitoring and control from the medicine sending to the old patient's water drinking and swallowing, and the supervision blind area of the existing product in the stage of the old patient taking the medicines and sending the medicine entrance is made up.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical assistive device technology, specifically to a smart medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients. Background Technology

[0002] With age-related physiological changes, elderly patients often experience multiple functional impairments such as decreased memory and cognitive function, and reduced fine motor coordination. This makes it difficult for them to accurately follow the complete process of timely, quantitative, and standardized medication dispensing when dealing with increasingly complex medication regimens. As a result, missed doses, incorrect doses, or duplicate doses have become core risk factors affecting the safety of home medication.

[0003] Currently available smart medication cups have gone beyond the traditional container's single function of holding water. By integrating multimodal reminder modules such as sound, light, and vibration, they have built a smart health terminal that integrates medication reminders, categorized storage, and medication behavior management. This aims to precisely intervene in the problem of missed doses caused by forgetfulness in elderly patients from a time perspective.

[0004] However, existing smart cup products with medication reminder functions primarily focus on monitoring and reminding patients of medication times, aiming to ensure elderly patients start their medication routine on time. However, even after the reminder, the patient still needs to manually retrieve the medication. The medication dispensing stage (from the time the medication is removed from the cup until swallowing) remains a blind spot in monitoring, making it difficult to effectively prevent missed doses or forgotten doses due to momentary forgetfulness, interruptions, or the medication slipping. To address this limitation, it is necessary to develop a smart medication cup capable of monitoring the entire medication dispensing stage. By extending the monitoring chain of medication behavior, a closed-loop control system from medication reminders to swallowing assistance can be achieved, thereby further improving medication adherence and safety for elderly patients. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention provides an intelligent medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients. By integrating a medication storage compartment and multiple medication control units, it enables direct dispensing of medication to the top of the cup lid. Combined with a manual water valve and a medication assistance system, it establishes a system for prompting, monitoring, and controlling the process from medication dispensing to the elderly patient's drinking and swallowing, thus filling the regulatory blind spot in existing products during the medication dispensing stage after the elderly patient has taken their medication.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A smart medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients includes a cup body, a cup lid detachably connected to the top of the cup body, a drinking spout on the cup lid, and a manual water valve on the side wall of the cup body corresponding to the drinking spout. The manual water valve is used to regulate the communication state between the drinking spout and the inside of the cup body, and the manual water valve is normally closed.

[0007] A medicine storage compartment is detachably and fixedly connected to the cup body at the position corresponding to the cup lid. Several medicine control units are evenly arranged along the circumference of the cup body in the medicine storage compartment. The medicine control units are used for patients to fill, store, and deliver medicine. The medicine control units deliver medicine to the top surface of the cup lid for the patient to drink and take the medicine into the mouth.

[0008] The medicine storage compartment is also equipped with a medication assistance system, which includes a timed medication delivery module, a medication reminder module, and a medication record module.

[0009] The timing-based drug delivery module is used to allow patients to input and receive medication orders and drug filling information from each drug control unit, extract the drug delivery timing information from the medication orders, and transmit the corresponding delivery drive signal to each drug control unit according to the timing information.

[0010] The medication reminder module generates acoustic signals to assist and remind patients to take their medication.

[0011] The medication record module is used to collect and record the number of times a patient takes medication.

[0012] The technical principle of the above solution is as follows: This solution uses a normally closed manual water valve located on the side wall of the cup to regulate the flow between the drinking spout and the inside of the cup. Multiple medication control units are evenly arranged around the circumference of the medication storage compartment. Each unit independently handles the filling, storage, and directional delivery of medication, directly delivering the medication to the top of the cup lid, allowing the patient to take the medication into their mouth in a drinking posture. The medication storage compartment integrates a medication administration assistance system, which includes a timed medication delivery module, a medication reminder module, and a medication recording module. The timed medication delivery module receives the patient's medication order and the medication filling information from each control unit, and generates corresponding drive signals based on the medication order to control each control unit to deliver medication sequentially. The medication reminder module generates acoustic signals to assist and guide the patient in taking the medication. The medication recording module collects and records the actual number of times the patient takes the medication, achieving timed medication delivery at the physical structure level and completing the entire process from reminder to recording at the information interaction level.

[0013] The above approach has the following beneficial effects:

[0014] 1. This solution addresses the problem of elderly patients having difficulty accurately taking medication due to decreased fine motor skills by designing a medication storage compartment and setting up multiple independent medication control units within it. This simplifies the medication process to a passive procedure where patients directly receive medication in a drinking posture, thus lowering the barrier to medication administration.

[0015] 2. This solution uses a time-series drug delivery module to generate drive signals for drug delivery based on medical orders, controlling each drug control unit to deliver drugs precisely in sequence. It physically specifies the order and timing of drug administration, reducing problems such as confusion about the order of medication, missed doses, or incorrect doses caused by patients' memory loss or cognitive decline, and improving the accuracy of medication regimen execution.

[0016] 3. This solution, through the design of the normally closed manual water valve and the structural layout of the drinking spout, allows patients to obtain drinking assistance immediately after taking the medication through a simple operation, thus integrating the two actions of taking medication and drinking water into one, ensuring swallowing safety, forming a complete closed loop of medication taking action, and improving the smoothness of medication taking operation for elderly patients.

[0017] Furthermore, the manual water valve includes a valve plate with a corresponding opening for the drinking spout. The valve plate is slidably connected to the side wall of the cup along the radial direction of the cup body, and a pressing block is fixedly connected to the side of the valve plate away from the cup body.

[0018] The valve plate is equipped with a press-type elastic self-locking component that is fixedly connected to the side wall of the cup body.

[0019] Beneficial effects: Elderly patients can mechanically control the flow of water by pressing the valve plate, which slides radially along the cup body to align or misalign the inlet with the drinking spout. The press-type elastic self-locking component provides self-locking when the valve plate slides to the open position, maintaining the alignment of the inlet and drinking spout, and unlocking and resetting upon pressing again. On the one hand, this structure integrates the flow control into a press-controlled method, which conforms to the operating habits of elderly patients who naturally apply force with their thumb when holding the cup with one hand, reducing the complexity of operation. On the other hand, the introduction of the elastic self-locking component allows patients to maintain the water flow without continuous force, making it easier for them to complete the drinking and swallowing action.

[0020] Furthermore, the pressing block is equipped with a pressing counter. The pressing counter responds to the patient's pressing action on the pressing block and summarizes the process of the patient taking the medicine. The process from the patient pressing the pressing block to switch the drinking spout to the inside of the cup to a connected state, to the patient pressing the pressing block again to restore the drinking spout to the inside of the cup to a closed state, is counted as a complete connection cycle.

[0021] Beneficial effects: By linking the trigger mechanism of the pressure counter with the operation cycle of the manual water valve, the pressure counter records the number of times the pressure block is pressed, enabling quantitative data collection of the patient's behavior each time they use the drinking function. This integrates data acquisition functionality into the mechanical behavior used for on / off control, allowing the medication recording module to indirectly determine the frequency of the patient's actual swallowing by counting the number of pressure cycles. Compared to methods that solely rely on medication delivery signals for recording, this design more accurately reflects whether the medication has ultimately been swallowed by the patient, providing behavioral data that closely approximates clinical reality for medication adherence assessment.

[0022] Furthermore, a drug delivery slope is fixedly connected to the cup lid and fits against the side of the drug storage chamber near the cup lid. Each drug control unit includes an annular chamber opened in the drug storage chamber. Each annular chamber is equipped with a conveyor belt. Several drug dispensing plates are fixedly connected to the conveyor belt. The inner side of the conveyor belt is equipped with a driving component for driving the belt to transport several drug dispensing plates along the annular chamber. Each annular chamber is equipped with a drug outlet on the side near the drug delivery slope.

[0023] The annular chamber has several drug inlets connected to the side away from the drug outlet, and each drug inlet is slidably connected to a sliding cover.

[0024] Beneficial effects: The combination of the annular chamber and the conveyor belt enables continuous and quantitative storage and delivery of drugs, allowing a single drug control unit to handle multiple doses over several days, reducing the operational burden of frequent filling; secondly, the physical separation of drugs by the dispensing plate ensures the accuracy of each delivery dose; in addition, the introduction of the drug delivery slope allows drugs to be delivered to the drinking water inlet in a smooth rolling manner, reducing the possibility of drug jamming or scattering during the transmission process.

[0025] Furthermore, the time-series drug delivery module is connected to an information input terminal, which is used for patients to input medication orders and drug placement information;

[0026] The timing-based drug delivery module receives drug placement information, extracts the actual types of drugs placed on the dispensing plates in each annular chamber from the drug placement information, and extracts the drug delivery sequence, preset drug types, and drug dosage from the medication order information. Then, it generates control signals for each corresponding drive component according to the drug delivery sequence.

[0027] Beneficial effects: This design automates the process from inputting medical orders to mechanical execution, eliminating errors that may arise from manual memorization and settings. By identifying the actual types of medications placed and matching them with the preset types in the medical orders, the system can complete consistency verification before generating control signals, reducing the risk of incorrect administration due to incorrect medication placement.

[0028] Furthermore, the medication reminder module is connected to an acoustic component for generating voice medication prompts, and the acoustic component is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cup body;

[0029] The medication reminder module responds to the control signal generated by the timed drug delivery module. When any driving component is activated under the control of the corresponding control signal, the medication reminder module generates a voice broadcast signal to the acoustic component for voice broadcast. The voice broadcast signal includes the preset drug type and drug dosage information that matches the current drug delivery time.

[0030] Beneficial effects: The voice broadcast includes specific information on the type and quantity of medication, allowing patients to verify the information audibly before taking the medication. This double verification, combined with visual confirmation, reduces the risk of medication errors in elderly patients. The synchronized triggering mechanism for reminders and delivery ensures that patients receive a notification as soon as the medication reaches the lid, shortening the exposure time of the medication on the lid and reducing the possibility of contamination or forgetting.

[0031] Furthermore, the medication recording module is connected to the press counter signal;

[0032] The medication record module collects and counts the number of connected cycles collected by the pressure counter, and uses the number of connected cycles as the number of times the patient takes medication.

[0033] Beneficial effects: This design shifts the basis of medication records from the action of medication delivery to the closed loop of the patient's actual swallowing action, effectively eliminating interference from situations where medication has been delivered but not ingested (such as the patient forgetting after taking the medication or the medication slipping during delivery); compared to conventional schemes that only record the reminder trigger time or the status of the medication compartment opening, this design can more realistically reflect whether the medication has ultimately entered the patient's body, providing clinically valuable data for medication adherence assessment.

[0034] Furthermore, the medication assistance system also includes a medication feedback module, which uses a timing counter to collect the time of the continuous cycle as the medication consumption time, and corrects the subsequent preset medication delivery sequence in the timing drug delivery module based on the medication consumption time.

[0035] Beneficial effects: This design transforms the medication timing from a preset fixed mode to an adaptive adjustment mode, which can automatically delay or advance the subsequent medication window based on the patient's swallowing time in a single or multiple consecutive swallowing sessions; secondly, recording the medication time serves as an indirect indicator reflecting the patient's swallowing function status, and its abnormal prolongation can serve as an early warning of potential swallowing difficulties or operational disorders, providing intervention references for family members or medical staff.

[0036] Furthermore, the information input terminal integrates a drug incompatibility correction module. Based on the drug placement information input by the patient, the drug incompatibility correction module calls a preset standard drug incompatibility database for comparison and identification to determine whether there is any incompatibility between the drugs filled in each drug control unit. When the identification result indicates that there is incompatibility, a voice warning command is generated and transmitted to the acoustic component to issue a corresponding voice warning signal to remind the patient.

[0037] Beneficial effects: This design transforms the traditional safety barrier that relies on patients' own knowledge or pharmacists' manual review into a real-time automated verification process built into the device, reducing the risk of medication contraindications caused by patients' insufficient understanding of drug interactions.

[0038] Furthermore, a filter screen is fixedly connected to the inlet.

[0039] Beneficial effects: This design enables elderly patients to take medication in one step by having the medication accumulate at the drinking spout and swallow it with water. Through the synergistic effect of physical interception of the medication and the flushing effect of water, it reduces the risk of difficulty in picking up medication or the risk of medication slippage caused by the decline in fine motor skills of elderly patients. It makes the medication taking action closer to the natural habit of drinking water, improving the convenience of operation and reducing the probability of missed or forgotten doses. Furthermore, because the medication is taken directly into the mouth with water, it reduces the risk of foreign body sensation and choking when swallowing.

[0040] Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Attached Figure Description

[0041] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the intelligent medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the disassembly of the cup lid and cup body in an embodiment of the intelligent medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 3 This is an axonometric sectional view of the medicine storage compartment in an embodiment of the intelligent medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 4 for Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the manual water valve at point A in the middle;

[0045] Figure 5 This is an isometric schematic diagram of the filter arrangement in an embodiment of the intelligent medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 6This is a schematic diagram of the operation process of the medication assistance system in an embodiment of the intelligent medication reminder and swallowing assistance cup for elderly patients of the present invention.

[0047] The reference numerals in the accompanying drawings of the instruction manual include: 1. Cup body; 2. Cup lid; 201. Medicine delivery slope; 3. Drinking spout; 4. Medicine storage chamber; 5. Medicine control unit; 501. Annular chamber; 502. Conveyor belt; 503. Medicine dispensing plate; 504. Medicine outlet; 505. Medicine inlet; 506. Sliding cover; 6. Acoustic components; 7. Manual water valve; 701. Valve plate; 702. Inlet; 703. Pressing block; 704. Press counter; 705. Elastic self-locking component; 8. Filter screen. Detailed Implementation

[0048] The technical solution of the present invention will now be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some, not all, of the embodiments of the present invention. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0049] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing the invention and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0050] In the description of this invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention based on the specific circumstances.

[0051] The following detailed description illustrates the specific implementation method:

[0052] Example 1:

[0053] This embodiment provides a smart medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients, specifically as follows: Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, it includes a cup body 1, a cup lid 2 that is detachably attached to the top of the cup body 1, and a drinking spout 3 on the cup lid 2.

[0054] Based on existing products, medication delivery typically involves integrating a medication storage mechanism into the cup body or bottom, combined with medication reminders to facilitate medication reminders and retrieval for elderly patients. However, it is unavoidable that after the medication reminder is completed, the medication retrieval operation still requires manual execution by the elderly patient. The medication delivery stage (i.e., the period from when the medication is taken out of the cup to before swallowing) still presents a regulatory blind spot.

[0055] Therefore, the special feature of this embodiment is that a medicine storage compartment 4 is detachably engaged on the cup body 1 at the position corresponding to the cup lid 2. Several drug control units 5 are evenly arranged along the circumference of the cup body 1 within the medicine storage compartment 4. This embodiment intends to use the drug control units 5 to deliver the medication to the top surface of the cup lid 2 so that the patient can directly ingest the medication in a drinking motion. Specifically, [further details are needed]. Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown:

[0056] The cup lid 2 has an integrally formed feeding ramp 201 that fits against the side of the medicine storage chamber 4 near the cup lid 2. Each medicine control unit 5 includes an annular chamber 501 opened within the medicine storage chamber 4. Each annular chamber 501 is equipped with a conveyor belt 502, and several medicine dispensing plates 503 are fixedly connected to each conveyor belt 502. Adjacent medicine dispensing plates 503 form a dispensing cavity. The inner side of each conveyor belt 502 is equipped with a driving component for driving the belt to transport the medicine dispensing plates 503 along the annular chamber 501 (the driving component is preferably a symmetrical combination of a stepper servo motor and a conveyor wheel; the inner wall of the conveyor belt 502 is flush with the conveyor wheel). (The delivery wheel is in contact with the delivery slope 201). Each of the annular chambers 501 has a dispensing port 504 on the side of the medicine storage chamber 4. The dispensing port 504 is combined with the delivery slope 201. The medicine in the dispensing chamber of the annular chamber 501 driven by the conveyor belt 502 can fall out of the dispensing port 504 and roll down the delivery slope 201 to the drinking port 3. This allows elderly patients to put the medicine into their mouths in a drinking posture. On the one hand, it eliminates the blind spot of supervision when elderly patients take medicine in the mouth in conventional auxiliary medication cups. On the other hand, it can reduce the risk of drug contamination in the process.

[0057] like Figure 3 As shown, the annular chamber 501 is connected to several drug dispensing ports 505 on the side away from the drug outlet 504 (the drug dispensing ports 505 of the same drug control unit 5 are all equally spaced from top to bottom on the side wall of the drug storage chamber 4). Each drug dispensing port 505 is slidably connected to a sliding cover 506 (elderly patients can slide open the sliding cover 506 to fill the corresponding drug into the dispensing chamber). With this design, during the preparation stage, the elderly patient or guardian can fill the corresponding drug according to the medication order, following the rule of placing the same drug in one drug control unit 5, and then combining the number of times to take the drug in the medication order.

[0058] Furthermore, in addressing the increasingly complex modern medication orders due to drug interactions, placing different drugs in independent drug control units 5 facilitates independent control of the timing and dosage of each drug according to the strict dosing intervals and sequences required in the prescription. This avoids potential antagonistic effects or incompatibilities caused by simultaneous drug administration at both the physical and temporal levels. For example, in complex prescriptions requiring alendronate sodium tablets to be taken on an empty stomach in the morning, followed by calcium carbonate D3 tablets two hours later, the system can automatically lock the calcium carbonate D3 tablet control unit 5 after the alendronate sodium tablets are administered and the dosing record is completed, based on preset timing logic, until the specified time window opens. This ensures that the patient receives only the single medication required at the correct time, resolving the issue of decreased absorption caused by simultaneous administration of two types of drugs and reducing medication safety risks due to confusion in dosing order or insufficient intervals.

[0059] Regarding intelligent medication reminders, this embodiment integrates a medication assistance system within the medication storage compartment 4. The medication assistance system includes a timed medication delivery module, a medication reminder module, and a medication recording module, as detailed below... Figure 6 As shown:

[0060] The time-series drug delivery module is connected to an information input terminal (preferably a mobile app or a human-computer interaction display screen embedded in the cup body 1). The information input terminal allows patients to input medication orders and drug placement information. The time-series drug delivery module extracts the actual types of drugs placed on the dispensing plates 503 in each annular chamber 501 from the drug placement information, and extracts the drug delivery sequence, preset drug types, and drug dosage from the medication orders. Then, it generates control signals for each corresponding drive according to the drug delivery sequence to drive the conveyor belt 502 in each annular chamber 501 to accurately transport the dispensing plates 503 carrying the corresponding drug types and quantities to the dispensing port 504, so that the drugs are delivered to the top surface of the cup lid 2 via the delivery slope 201.

[0061] The medication reminder module is connected to an acoustic component 6 for generating voice medication prompts. The acoustic component 6 is embedded in the outer wall of the cup body 1 (preferably a miniature speaker unit). The medication reminder module responds to the control signal generated by the timing-based drug delivery module. When any driving component is activated under the control of the corresponding control signal, the medication reminder module generates a voice broadcast signal to the acoustic component 6 for voice broadcast. The voice broadcast signal includes preset drug type and dosage information matching the current medication sequence. On the one hand, the voice broadcast signal can remind elderly patients to take their medication. On the other hand, when elderly patients take their medication, the broadcast of the preset drug type and dosage information can help them determine whether they are taking the medication correctly.

[0062] Regarding the medication record module:

[0063] Firstly, in order to comprehensively enable elderly patients to take medication into their mouths in a drinking posture and then swallow the medication, this embodiment has a manually operated water valve 7 that is normally closed at the position of the drinking port 3 on the side wall of the cup body 1. Specifically, the manually operated water valve 7 includes a valve plate 701, on which a through-hole 702 corresponding to the drinking port 3 is opened. The valve plate 701 is slidably connected to the side wall of the cup body 1 along the radial direction of the cup body 1. A pressing block 703 is fixedly connected to the side of the valve plate 701 away from the cup body 1. After the elderly patient puts the medication into their mouth, they press the pressing block 703 with the thumb of the same hand holding the cup body 1, which drives the valve plate 701 to slide into the cup body 1, so that the through-hole 702 is aligned with the drinking port 3, thereby opening the water flow channel. At this time, the patient can swallow the medication by cooperating with the drinking action.

[0064] Secondly, combine Figure 1 and Figure 4 As shown, the valve plate 701 is provided with a press-type elastic self-locking component 705 fixedly connected to the side wall of the cup body 1 (the press-type elastic self-locking component 705 refers to the elastic self-locking structure of the ballpoint pen cap, including a locking component etched on the side of the press block 703 near the cup body 1 and a guide groove opened on the cup body 1 corresponding to the locking component, and a spring is provided in the guide groove); based on this, elderly patients can press the press block 703 to connect the drinking mouth 3 with the inside of the cup body 1, and limit and lock it to maintain the connection state. At this time, they can drink the water in the cup body 1 to swallow the medicine; then press the press block 703 again to close the drinking mouth 3 with the inside of the cup body 1, which facilitates the subsequent administration of medicine into the mouth.

[0065] Based on the above, this embodiment includes a press counter 704 (preferably an RS303-4 type small mechanical counter) on the press block 703. The press counter 704 responds to the patient's pressing action on the press block 703. During the patient's medication administration, the process from the patient pressing the press block 703 to switch the drinking spout 3 and the inside of the cup body 1 to a connected state, to the patient pressing the press block 703 again to restore the drinking spout 3 and the inside of the cup body 1 to a closed state, is counted as one complete connection cycle. The medication recording module is signal-connected to the press counter 704: the medication recording module collects and counts the number of connection cycles collected by the press counter 704, and uses the number of connection cycles as the number of times the patient takes medication.

[0066] Example 2:

[0067] As attached Figure 6 As shown, the difference from Embodiment 1 is that the medication assistance system also includes a medication feedback module. The medication feedback module is used to collect the time of the continuous cycle of the timing press counter 704 as the medication consumption time, and to correct the subsequent preset medication delivery sequence in the timing drug delivery module according to the medication consumption time.

[0068] This design transforms the medication sequence from a pre-set, fixed procedure into an adaptive adjustment mode, ensuring the necessary interval between medications while accommodating the individual differences in swallowing ability and behavioral habits of elderly patients. This improves medication safety while enhancing the medication experience and adherence of elderly patients.

[0069] Example 3:

[0070] As attached Figure 6 As shown, the difference from Embodiment 2 is that the information input terminal integrates a drug incompatibility correction module. The drug incompatibility correction module calls a preset standard drug incompatibility database for comparison and identification based on the drug placement information input by the patient, so as to determine whether there is any incompatibility between the drugs filled in each drug control unit 5. When the identification result is that there is incompatibility, a voice warning command is generated and transmitted to the acoustic component 6 to issue a corresponding voice warning signal to remind the patient.

[0071] Based on the above, this embodiment transforms the traditional medication safety mechanism, which relies on the patient's own knowledge or pharmacist's manual review, into a real-time automated verification process built into the device. On the one hand, this reduces the risk of reduced efficacy, adverse reactions, and drug-induced damage caused by patients taking drugs with antagonistic or toxic effects simultaneously. On the other hand, it reduces the cognitive load required for patients to remember complex medication contraindications through real-time voice warnings. This allows the smart medication cup proposed in this embodiment to expand its ability to proactively defend against medication risks, in addition to providing medication reminders and swallowing assistance. As a result, it provides technical safety assurance for elderly people with multiple diseases and multiple medications.

[0072] Example 4:

[0073] The difference from Embodiment 3 is that a filter screen 8 is fixedly connected to the port 702 (specifically in conjunction with...). Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 (As shown) When the medication control unit 5 delivers the medication to the top surface of the cup lid 2, the medication is intercepted by the filter 8 and accumulates near the drinking spout 3. The patient does not need to manually take or deliver the medication; they only need to press the press block 703 to connect the drinking spout 3 to the inside of the cup body 1, and then hold the drinking spout 3 in their mouth to drink water. As the water flows through the filter 8, it washes and carries the medication into the mouth. The original process of medication delivery, medication intake, and swallowing is simplified into a one-step operation where the medication accumulates at the drinking spout 3 and is swallowed with water. This makes the medication taking action closer to the natural habit of drinking water, further reducing the probability of missed doses and forgotten doses while improving the convenience of operation. Also, because the medication is directly taken into the mouth with water, the risk of foreign body sensation and choking during swallowing is reduced.

[0074] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely illustrative examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all possible implementations here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A smart medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients, comprising a cup body (1), a cup lid (2) detachably connected to the top of the cup body (1), and a drinking spout (3) on the cup lid (2), characterized in that, A manual water valve (7) is provided on the side wall of the cup body (1) at the position corresponding to the drinking port (3). The manual water valve (7) is used to regulate the communication state between the drinking port (3) and the inside of the cup body (1). The manual water valve (7) is normally closed. A medicine storage compartment (4) is detachably and fixedly connected to the cup body (1) at the position corresponding to the cup lid (2). Several medicine control units (5) are evenly arranged in the cup body (1) along the circumference of the medicine storage compartment (4). The medicine control units (5) are all used for patients to fill, store and deliver medicine. The medicine control units (5) deliver medicine to the top surface of the cup lid (2) for patients to drink and deliver medicine into the mouth. The medicine storage compartment (4) is also equipped with a medication assistance system, which includes a timed drug delivery module, a medication reminder module and a medication record module. The timing drug delivery module is used for patients to input and receive medication orders and drug filling information from each drug control unit (5), extracts the drug delivery timing information from the medication orders, and transmits the corresponding delivery drive signal to each drug control unit (5) according to the timing information. The medication reminder module generates acoustic signals to assist and remind patients to take their medication. The medication record module is used to collect and record the number of times a patient takes medication.

2. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 1, characterized in that, The manual water valve (7) includes a valve plate (701), on which a corresponding water inlet (702) is provided. The valve plate (701) is slidably connected to the side wall of the cup body (1) along the radial direction of the cup body (1). A pressing block (703) is fixedly connected to the side of the valve plate (701) away from the cup body (1). The valve plate (701) is provided with a press-type elastic self-locking part (705) that is fixedly connected to the side wall of the cup body (1).

3. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 2, characterized in that, The pressing block (703) is equipped with a pressing counter (704). The pressing counter (704) responds to the patient's pressing action on the pressing block (703). During the patient's medication process, the process from the patient pressing the pressing block (703) to switch the drinking mouth (3) and the inside of the cup body (1) to a connected state, to the patient pressing the pressing block (703) again to restore the drinking mouth (3) and the inside of the cup body (1) to a closed state, is counted as a complete connected cycle.

4. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 3, characterized in that, A feeding ramp (201) is fixedly connected to the cup lid (2) and fits against the side of the medicine storage chamber (4) near the cup lid (2). Each medicine control unit (5) includes an annular chamber (501) opened in the medicine storage chamber (4). Each annular chamber (501) is equipped with a conveyor belt (502). Each conveyor belt (502) is fixedly connected with several medicine dispensing plates (503). Each conveyor belt (502) is equipped with a driving component for driving the several medicine dispensing plates (503) to move along the annular chamber (501). Each annular chamber (501) near the feeding ramp (201) is equipped with a medicine outlet (504). The annular chamber (501) is connected to several drug inlets (505) on the side away from the drug outlet (504), and each drug inlet (505) is slidably connected to a sliding cover (506).

5. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 4, characterized in that, The time-series drug delivery module is connected to an information input terminal, which is used for patients to input medication orders and drug placement information. The timing-based drug delivery module receives drug placement information, extracts the actual types of drugs placed on the dispensing plates (503) of each annular chamber (501) in the drug placement information, and extracts the drug delivery sequence, preset drug types and drug dosage specified in the medication order information. Then, it generates control signals for each corresponding drive according to the drug delivery sequence.

6. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 5, characterized in that, The medication reminder module is connected to an acoustic component (6) for generating voice medication prompts, and the acoustic component (6) is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the cup body (1); The medication reminder module responds to the control signal generated by the timing drug delivery module. When any drive is started under the control of the corresponding control signal, the medication reminder module generates a voice broadcast signal to the acoustic component (6) for voice broadcast. The voice broadcast signal includes the preset drug type and drug quantity information that match the current drug delivery sequence.

7. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 6, characterized in that, The medication recording module is connected to the push-to-counter (704) signal; The medication record module collects and counts the number of connected cycles collected by the press counter (704), and uses the number of connected cycles as the number of times the patient takes medication.

8. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 7, characterized in that, The medication assistance system also includes a medication feedback module, which uses the timing press counter (704) to collect the time of the continuous cycle as the medication consumption time, and corrects the subsequent preset medication delivery sequence in the timing drug delivery module according to the medication consumption time.

9. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 8, characterized in that, The information input terminal integrates a drug incompatibility correction module. The drug incompatibility correction module calls the preset standard drug incompatibility database for comparison and identification based on the drug placement information input by the patient, so as to determine whether there is any incompatibility between the drugs filled in each drug control unit (5). When the identification result is that there is incompatibility, a voice warning command is generated and transmitted to the acoustic component (6) to issue a corresponding voice warning signal to remind the patient.

10. The intelligent medication reminder and swallowing aid cup for elderly patients according to claim 2, characterized in that, A filter screen (8) is fixedly connected to the inlet (702).

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