A medication management system
By incorporating an NFC communication design that integrates a carrier module and a pill capsule module into the pillbox, the problem of combining the pillbox with smart reminders is solved, enabling automatic reminders and medication records. This is especially suitable for the elderly, ensuring medication safety and reliability.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- TAIZHOU ENZE MEDICAL CENT GROUP
- Filing Date
- 2026-04-20
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-10
AI Technical Summary
Existing pillboxes cannot seamlessly integrate physical pillboxes with smart reminders. They are complicated to operate and cannot verify whether users are taking their medication on time and in the correct dosage, which is particularly unfriendly to the elderly.
The design incorporates a relay antenna coil built into the carrier module and a microchip built into the drug capsule module. NFC communication is achieved through mechanical sliding. When the drug capsule module slides, the electrode contacts and electrode pads form a physical connection, and the mobile terminal automatically reads the drug information and provides reminders and records.
It achieves a seamless integration of physical medicine box and smart reminders, ensuring simple operation and reliable verification, making it especially suitable for the elderly and ensuring medication safety and reliability.
Smart Images
Figure CN122351024A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This application relates to the field of smart pillboxes, and in particular to a medication management system. Background Technology
[0002] While most commercially available time-based pillboxes can divide medications into different compartments according to their dosage, and some even have labels indicating "morning," "noon," and "evening," this design has significant drawbacks: First, the pillbox itself lacks a reminder function, requiring users to remember the dosage time, which easily leads to missed doses; second, the compartments for different time periods are only distinguished by simple text, making it easy to take the wrong compartment or medication in low light or when the user has a poor memory; more importantly, these pillboxes cannot record actual medication usage, making it difficult for long-term users to confirm whether they have taken their medication on time and in the correct dosage, potentially jeopardizing future treatment outcomes.
[0003] Meanwhile, although smartphones can set medication reminders via alarms or dedicated apps, this electronic reminder method is completely disconnected from physical pillboxes: when the reminder sounds, users still need to manually find the pillbox, making it impossible to ensure that the medication is actually taken; moreover, most reminder apps require users to manually input information such as the medication name and dosage, making the process cumbersome and particularly unfriendly to the elderly. More importantly, existing technology cannot achieve a closed-loop management of "reminder-medication-dosing-recording," making it impossible to verify whether users are truly taking their medication on time.
[0004] Some existing smart pillboxes attempt to incorporate electronic functions, such as NFC recognition or QR code scanning technology. However, these solutions either suffer from recognition errors (multiple pillbox labels may be read simultaneously) or are complex to operate (requiring deliberate alignment for scanning), thus increasing the operational burden on the elderly in actual use. Therefore, the market urgently needs a solution that can seamlessly integrate physical pillboxes with smart reminders while ensuring simple operation and reliable verification. Summary of the Invention
[0005] The purpose of this application is to provide a medication management system that can seamlessly integrate physical pillboxes with smart reminders, while ensuring simple operation and reliable verification.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides the following solution: This application provides a medication management system, which includes: a carrier module, a drug capsule module, and a mobile terminal; The carrier module is disposed on the back of the mobile terminal; the back of the carrier module is provided with a sliding groove, and inside is a relay antenna coil that matches the NFC sensing area of the mobile terminal. The drug capsule module slides in from the sliding in end of the sliding groove and slides out from the sliding out end of the sliding groove; the inside of the drug capsule module is equipped with a drug compartment and a microchip; the microchip is used to store drug information; The mobile terminal is paired with the carrier module and is used to install a medication management application. The bottom of the sliding groove is provided with an electrode contact; the electrode contact is electrically connected to the relay antenna coil; the bottom of the drug capsule module is provided with an electrode contact; the electrode contact is electrically connected to the microchip. When the drug capsule module slides along the sliding groove to a preset position, the electrode contacts and the electrode pads make physical contact, so that the microchip and the relay antenna coil form an NFC communication loop, enabling the medication management application in the mobile terminal to read the drug information in the microchip through NFC sensing; the medication management application automatically arranges the medication schedule and records the drug information according to the drug information; and activates an early warning when the medication schedule reaches the time point.
[0007] Optionally, the electrode contacts include positive electrode contacts and negative electrode contacts; the positive electrode contacts and negative electrode contacts have an asymmetrical comb-like structure, which generates directional scraping when the drug capsule module is inserted to clean the electrode surface.
[0008] Optionally, the bottom of the drug capsule module is provided with an electrical connection groove; the electrical connection groove is used to place electrode contacts; the electrode contacts include positive electrode contacts and negative electrode contacts.
[0009] Optionally, positive metal contacts and negative metal contacts are provided at the bottom or side wall of the sliding end of the sliding groove; the positive metal contacts and negative metal contacts are connected to the two ends of the relay antenna coil respectively, and are connected in parallel with the lines at both ends of the relay antenna coil.
[0010] Optionally, the drug capsule module is provided with positive verification metal contacts and negative verification metal contacts at positions corresponding to the positive and negative metal contacts.
[0011] Optionally, the medication management application connects to a wearable device via Bluetooth; when an alert is issued, the wearable device is used to provide a reminder.
[0012] Optionally, the microchip is model NTAG216.
[0013] Optionally, the relay antenna coil adopts a multi-layer PCB embedded design and is wound with silver-plated copper wire of a set thickness.
[0014] Optionally, the warning includes a multi-level reminder mechanism; the multi-level reminder mechanism is to switch to a second-level reminder when there is no response within the reminder time; and to upgrade to an emergency reminder after the total time reaches a preset threshold; the emergency reminder includes calling an emergency contact or sending a text message.
[0015] Optionally, the drug information includes the drug name, dosage, and time of administration.
[0016] According to the specific embodiments provided in this application, this application has the following technical effects: This application provides a medication management system. A carrier module has a built-in relay antenna coil that matches the NFC area of a mobile terminal, with its two ends connected to electrode contacts at the bottom of a sliding slot. The medication capsule module contains a microchip and a medication compartment, with electrode contacts at its bottom connecting to the microchip. When the medication capsule module slides into the sliding slot, its electrode contacts physically connect to the electrode contacts in the slot, allowing the microchip to enter the relay antenna coil circuit and be read by the mobile terminal. This application uses mechanical sliding to achieve a reliable connection of the NFC chip, solving the identification error problem of traditional wireless coupling. This application features automatic medication reminders, medication behavior verification, and medication recording functions. It is simple and intuitive to operate, making it particularly suitable for the elderly. Compared to existing technologies, this application achieves a seamless integration of a physical medication box and intelligent reminders, ensuring medication safety and reliability. Attached Figure Description
[0017] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.
[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a medication management system structure in one embodiment of this application; Figure 2 A structurally exploded diagram of the medication management system from the rear angle; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the drug capsule module. Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating the state transitions during the sliding in and out process of the drug capsule module; Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the entire process of a user using the medication management system described in this application. Detailed Implementation
[0019] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this application.
[0020] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features and advantages of this application more apparent and understandable, the application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.
[0021] In one exemplary embodiment, such as Figure 1 As shown, a medication management system is provided, which includes a carrier module 1, a drug capsule module 2, and a mobile terminal; like Figure 2 As shown, the carrier module 1 is disposed on the back of the mobile terminal; the back of the carrier module 1 is provided with a sliding groove 11, and a relay antenna coil 3 matching the NFC sensing area of the mobile terminal is disposed inside. The drug capsule module 2 slides into the sliding groove 11 from the sliding in end 12 and slides out from the sliding out end 13 of the sliding groove 11; the inside of the drug capsule module 2 is provided with a drug compartment 21 and a microchip 22; the microchip 22 is used to store drug information; the drug information includes drug name, dosage and administration time.
[0022] The mobile terminal is paired with the carrier module 1 and is used to install a medication management application. The bottom of the sliding groove 11 is provided with an electrode contact 31; the electrode contact 31 is electrically connected to the relay antenna coil 3; the bottom of the drug capsule module 2 is provided with an electrode contact 23; the electrode contact 23 is electrically connected to the microchip 22. When the drug capsule module 2 slides along the sliding groove 11 to a preset position, the electrode contact 23 and the electrode contact piece 31 make physical contact, so that the microchip 22 and the relay antenna coil 3 form an NFC communication loop, enabling the medication management application in the mobile terminal to read the drug information in the microchip 22 through NFC sensing; the medication management application automatically arranges the medication schedule and records the drug information according to the drug information; and activates an early warning when the medication schedule reaches the time point.
[0023] Specifically, the sliding groove 11 adopts a guide rail structure design to ensure that the sliding trajectory of the drug capsule is precise and controllable. The sliding end 12 is provided with a guide slope, and the sliding end 13 is equipped with an elastic limiting mechanism. The entire sliding groove 11 can realize the smooth insertion and stable retention of the drug capsule module 2.
[0024] Furthermore, the medication management application connects to the wearable device via Bluetooth; when an alert is issued, the wearable device is used to provide a reminder.
[0025] The warning includes a multi-level reminder mechanism; the multi-level reminder mechanism is to switch to a level 2 reminder if there is no response within the reminder time; and to upgrade to an emergency reminder after the total time reaches a preset threshold; the emergency reminder includes calling an emergency contact or sending a text message.
[0026] As a specific embodiment, the carrier module 1 is made of polymer materials such as TPU or ABS.
[0027] As a specific example, such as Figure 3 As shown, when the mobile terminal is a mobile phone, the carrier module 1 is a mobile phone case carrier; this embodiment will be used for illustration. The mobile phone case carrier has a relay antenna coil 3 inside that matches the NFC sensing area of the mobile phone. The relay antenna coil 3 adopts a multi-layer PCB embedded design and is formed by winding 15 turns of silver-plated copper wire with a thickness of 0.1 mm. Positive and negative electrode contacts are provided at the bottom of the sliding groove 11 on the back of the mobile phone case carrier. The positive and negative electrode contacts are respectively connected to the two ends of the extension of the relay antenna coil 3. The medicine capsule module 2 has a medicine compartment 21 inside that can hold a single dose of medicine. A microchip 22 is built into the bottom. The pins of the microchip 22 are directly connected to the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the medicine capsule module 2. When the medicine capsule module 2 is inserted along the sliding groove 11, the positive and negative electrode contacts and the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the sliding groove 11 form a physical connection, so that the circuit formed by the microchip 22 and the relay antenna coil 3 becomes an NFC electronic tag, which is then read by the mobile phone's NFC sensing and supplied to the App (medication management application).
[0028] In implementation, the phone case carrier can be customized for several phone models on the market, or it can be a universal phone case. The universal phone case has an elastic design that covers the side of the phone, allowing it to shrink and wrap around any brand of phone. Alternatively, the phone case carrier can be a back-mounted type, meaning it only includes the relay antenna coil 3 and the sliding groove 11, and is then adhesively attached to the back of the phone or the back of an existing phone case. The medicine capsule module 2 adopts a modular design, and the medicine compartment 21 can be customized, with an internal medicine divider structure. The microchip 22 uses the NTAG216 system, with a storage capacity of over 800 bytes, and supports AES encryption. The positive and negative electrode contacts adopt a staggered layout design.
[0029] It should be noted that the drug capsule module 2 is mainly composed of information pre-written by the hospital into the chip of the smart drug capsule based on the medication prescribed by the doctor to the patient. During the writing process, information is written according to the type of medication, the time of administration, and the quantity to be taken, and the information is stored in JSON format.
[0030] If users use the medication capsule module 2 to hold medication, they can follow the medication usage guide provided by the pharmacy. Simply place the medication into the module 2 according to the dosage. Multiple medication capsule modules 2 may be provided for patients if necessary, and the medication will be written to multiple modules in sequence. Service time recording and alerts are handled by a matching app installed on the user's mobile phone. Patients can download the app themselves from the app store or via the link provided in the medication usage guide.
[0031] The mobile app has basic functions such as automatically reading the drug information (including drug name, dosage, and administration time) of the microchip 22 inside the drug capsule module 2 after the drug capsule module 2 and the relay antenna coil 3 form an NFC electronic tag, and automatically classifying and storing drugs according to type and purpose, and establishing a personal electronic medicine box. The whole process does not require manual input from the user.
[0032] In addition, the most important feature is the precise medication reminder function. It automatically generates a medication plan based on the drug information and the sequence of the drug capsule module 2, and then reminds the user through a multi-level reminder function, including but not limited to main reminder, two-dimensional reminder and emergency reminder.
[0033] If a patient needs to take a certain antibiotic and a certain anti-inflammatory tablet, with the antibiotic taken twice a day (morning and evening) and the anti-inflammatory tablets taken three times a day (morning, noon, and evening) for a week, the hospital will provide three pill capsule modules 2. The medication instructions will also specify the name, time, and quantity of the medication. However, the pill capsule modules 2 will be labeled as follows: Module 1 contains 1 antibiotic and 6 anti-inflammatory tablets; Module 2 contains only 6 anti-inflammatory tablets; and Module 3 contains both 1 antibiotic and 6 anti-inflammatory tablets. If the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory tablets cannot be taken simultaneously, an additional pill capsule module 2 can be added. Therefore, the above procedure requires five pill capsule modules 2. The antibiotic and anti-inflammatory tablets are placed separately and in the correct order. The usage interval is then set in the microchip 22. The patient simply needs to insert the medications into the corresponding numbered pill capsule modules 2 in the correct order.
[0034] like Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, the corresponding pills are loaded into the pill capsule module 2 according to the medication information. The user slides the pill capsule module 2 marked with the first mark into the sliding groove 11 from the sliding end 12 in the order of the marked number. The positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the sliding groove 11 near the sliding end 12 are electrically connected to the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the pill capsule module 2 to form a circuit. The mobile phone NFC reads the pill capsule module 2 marked with the first mark through the relay antenna coil 3. Then, the pill capsule module 2 marked with the second mark is slid into the sliding groove 11 from the sliding end 12. The pill capsule module 2 marked with the second mark pushes the pill capsule module 2 marked with the first mark further into the sliding groove 11. At this time, the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the pill capsule module 2 marked with the first mark slide away from the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the sliding groove 11. The relay antenna coil 3 and the chip in the pill capsule module 2 cannot form a circuit, and the mobile phone NFC does not work. When the second marked drug capsule module 2 slides in, its bottom positive and negative electrode contacts re-energize with the bottom positive and negative electrode contacts of the sliding groove 11. The relay antenna coil 3 and the microchip 22 inside the second marked drug capsule module 2 then re-establish a circuit, and the mobile phone's NFC begins reading information. The app first checks the marking sequence of the drug capsule module 2. If it is the next sequence number, it further records the information such as the medicine inside the chip into the program and arranges them by time, while also providing a warning.
[0035] Finally, two blank blocking blocks are provided, one on the sliding-in end 12 and the other on the sliding-out end 13. The blank blocking block on the sliding-in end 12 can be used to cut off the circuit formation after the last drug capsule module 2 is inserted and forms a circuit with the relay antenna coil 3, thereby activating the mobile phone's NFC reading and preventing the mobile phone's NFC from reading. If blank blocking blocks are used in the field, the last slid-in drug capsule module 2 can be pushed forward so that the bottom positive and negative electrode contacts are not electrically in contact with the positive and negative electrode contacts.
[0036] Furthermore, the electrode contact 23 includes a positive electrode contact and a negative electrode contact; the positive electrode contact and the negative electrode contact have an asymmetrical comb-like structure, which generates directional scraping when the drug capsule module 2 is inserted to clean the electrode surface.
[0037] During implementation, the staggered comb tooth structure and the stepped contact surface formed by the high comb tooth height can generate a tangential friction component. When the drug capsule module 2 is inserted, the leading edge of the comb tooth scrapes the oxide on the surface of the positive and negative electrode contact pieces at the bottom of the sliding groove 11. After sliding, the trailing edge is cleaned twice on the contact surface. This ensures the signal transmission quality while realizing the self-maintenance function of the electrode system, greatly improving the reliability of the drug capsule module 2 in complex environments.
[0038] Furthermore, the positive and negative electrode contacts exposed at the bottom of the drug capsule module 2 are located in the electrical connection groove provided at the bottom 2 of the drug capsule module 2, and the positive and negative electrode contacts occupy a section of the electrical connection groove.
[0039] In this embodiment, the function of the electrical connection groove is to pre-press and limit the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the sliding groove 11 after the drug capsule module 2 slides into the sliding groove 11, so as to ensure that the sliding and switching of electrical contacts are smoother and more fluid after the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the drug capsule module 2 slide past the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the sliding groove 11.
[0040] Furthermore, positive and negative metal contacts are provided at the bottom of the sliding end 13. These positive and negative metal contacts are connected to both ends of the relay antenna coil 3 and are connected in parallel with the original circuits at both ends of the relay antenna coil 3.
[0041] During implementation, when the mobile app issues a warning, the user slides the drug capsule module 2 out from the sliding end 13 to take the medication. At this time, the bottom or side wall of the sliding end 13 is provided with positive and negative metal contacts, which form a circuit with the positive and negative electrode contacts at the bottom of the drug capsule module 2 and the relay antenna coil 3. The mobile phone NFC reads the information, and the mobile app rereads the information of the drug capsule module 2. When the information read in the app is within the buffer period after the previous warning time of the drug capsule module 2 (usually within 1 hour, which can be increased as needed), it is considered that the drug capsule module 2 has been taken and recorded.
[0042] After taking the medicine, the user can insert the pill capsule module 2 into the medicine slot on the back of the phone, place it in a pocket, or discard it. The medicine slot can be added when the phone case is installed.
[0043] Furthermore, the App installed on the mobile phone can automatically arrange the medication schedule after reading via NFC, and record the drug information in the microchip 22 built into the drug capsule module 2; and activate the mobile phone alarm when the medication schedule reaches the time point.
[0044] During implementation, the microchip 22 stores information in JSON format. Information is automatically categorized by drug type and administration time according to the corresponding App. Additionally, the App automatically connects to the internet to match auxiliary information such as drug instructions and contraindications. The phone uses a multi-level alert system. The primary alert is triggered within ±5 minutes of the scheduled time via a full-screen pop-up and vibration. If there is no response for 10 minutes, it transitions to a secondary alert, extending the primary alert time by 15 minutes. The phone displays continuous vibration and voice announcements. After a total of 30 minutes, it upgrades to an emergency alert, triggered by calling or texting an emergency contact.
[0045] Furthermore, the phone is assumed to have Bluetooth functionality, and the app has permission to access Bluetooth. The wearable device can be a bracelet or necklace. For example, the bracelet has multiple health monitoring modules. After taking medication, it can send the patient's heart rate, blood pressure, and other information back to the app, which can be further summarized with the medication records in the app. It also includes analysis and evaluation of sleep after taking medication, which can provide important reference for the next diagnosis.
[0046] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined in any way. For the sake of brevity, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.
[0047] This document uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of this application. The descriptions of the above embodiments are only for the purpose of helping to understand the methods and core ideas of this application. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that, based on the ideas of this application, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. Therefore, the content of this specification should not be construed as a limitation of this application.
Claims
1. A medication management system, characterized in that, The medication management system includes: a carrier module, a drug capsule module, and a mobile terminal; The carrier module is disposed on the back of the mobile terminal; the back of the carrier module is provided with a sliding groove, and inside is a relay antenna coil that matches the NFC sensing area of the mobile terminal. The drug capsule module slides in from the sliding in end of the sliding groove and slides out from the sliding out end of the sliding groove; the inside of the drug capsule module is equipped with a drug compartment and a microchip; the microchip is used to store drug information; The mobile terminal is paired with the carrier module and is used to install a medication management application. The bottom of the sliding groove is provided with an electrode contact; the electrode contact is electrically connected to the relay antenna coil; the bottom of the drug capsule module is provided with an electrode contact; the electrode contact is electrically connected to the microchip. When the drug capsule module slides along the sliding groove to a preset position, the electrode contacts and the electrode pads make physical contact, so that the microchip and the relay antenna coil form an NFC communication loop, enabling the medication management application in the mobile terminal to read the drug information in the microchip through NFC sensing; the medication management application automatically arranges the medication schedule and records the drug information according to the drug information; and activates an early warning when the medication schedule reaches the time point.
2. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electrode contacts include positive electrode contacts and negative electrode contacts; the positive electrode contacts and negative electrode contacts have an asymmetrical comb-like structure, which generates directional scraping when the drug capsule module is inserted to clean the electrode surface.
3. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drug capsule module has an electrical connection groove at its bottom; the electrical connection groove is used to place electrode contacts; the electrode contacts include positive electrode contacts and negative electrode contacts.
4. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, Positive and negative metal contacts are provided at the bottom or side wall of the sliding end of the sliding groove; the positive and negative metal contacts are connected to the two ends of the relay antenna coil respectively, and are connected in parallel with the lines at both ends of the relay antenna coil.
5. The medication management system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The drug capsule module is equipped with positive and negative verification metal contacts at positions corresponding to the positive and negative metal contacts.
6. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The medication management application connects to the wearable device via Bluetooth; when an alert is triggered, the wearable device is used to provide a reminder.
7. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The microchip is model number NTAG216.
8. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The relay antenna coil adopts a multi-layer PCB embedded design and is wound with silver-plated copper wire of a set thickness.
9. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The warning includes a multi-level reminder mechanism; the multi-level reminder mechanism is that if there is no response within the reminder time, it will switch to a second-level reminder; Once the total time reaches a preset threshold, it will be upgraded to an emergency alert; the emergency alert may include calling an emergency contact or sending a text message.
10. The medication management system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drug information includes the drug name, dosage, and time of administration.