Drug storage box
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current pharmaceutical storage solutions in refrigerators lack effective management of pharmaceutical entry and exit information, leading to insufficient tracking and inventory control in medical institutions and other facilities.
Innovation Solution
A pharmaceutical storage box design with reversible side plates, equipped with antennas for accurate tracking of pharmaceuticals, allows for precise management of entry and exit information by enabling the correct reception of ID data from IC tags attached to the pharmaceuticals, even when placed in various orientations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a fixed antenna configuration is used in the storage box, then the structure is simple, but the information reception accuracy decreases when the box is placed in different orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by making the side plates asymmetric in design - one side plate includes an antenna while the other does not. This asymmetric configuration allows the system to achieve high-accuracy information reception when placed in the correct orientation within the refrigerator, while maintaining relatively simple structural design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by making the side plates reversible and interchangeable. The antenna-equipped side plate can be swapped with the non-antenna side plate depending on the placement position within the refrigerator, allowing the system to adapt dynamically to different installation scenarios and maintain high reception accuracy regardless of orientation.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple storage boxes are arranged in a refrigerator, then the storage capacity increases, but the radio wave interference between adjacent antennas increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the antenna function from both side plates and concentrates it in only one side plate. This extraction approach ensures that even when multiple storage boxes are arranged adjacently in the refrigerator, only one antenna per box is active, significantly reducing radio wave interference between neighboring boxes while maintaining full storage capacity.
3Reliability
If both side plates are equipped with antennas, then the information reception is reliable in any orientation, but the radio wave interference with adjacent storage boxes increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the antenna function from one side plate only, removing the redundant antenna from the other side plate. This extraction maintains sufficient reception reliability for single-box operation while eliminating the source of interference that would occur with multiple antennas per box in adjacent arrangements.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by equipping only one side plate with an antenna rather than both. This partial configuration provides sufficient reception capability for the intended single-orientation use case while avoiding the excessive radio wave interference that would result from having antennas on both sides of each storage box.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution ensures high-accuracy tracking and management of pharmaceuticals within the storage boxes, enhancing inventory control and reducing errors in medical settings.
Implementation Method 1
an antenna configured to receive information of the IC tag
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
[SOLUTION] A pharmaceutical storage box to be stored in a pharmaceutical refrigerator so as to be freely movable in and out of the pharmaceutical refrigerator, the pharmaceutical storage box being managed by a control device, the pharmaceutical storage box including: a bottom plate on which a pharmaceutical is to be placed thereon, the pharmaceutical having an IC tag attached thereto; a first side plate having a first antenna attached thereto, the first antenna being configured to receive information of the IC tag, the first side plate being configured to be removably connected to a first end surface of the bottom plate such that the first antenna is on the side directed to the bottom plate; a second side plate configured to be removably connected to a second end surface of the bottom plate such that the second side plate faces the first side plate; and a back plate configured to be removably connected to a third end surface of the bottom plate such that the back plate is sandwiched between the first side plate and the second side plate, wherein the first side plate has a first connection structure that is connectable to the second end surface such that the first antenna is on the side directed to the bottom plate, with positions of an edge of the first side plate on a side to be connected to the first end surface and an edge thereof on an opposite side not to be connected to the first end surface being reversed, and wherein the second side plate has a second connection structure that is connectable to the first end surface with positions of an edge of the second side plate on a side to be connected to the second end surface and an edge thereof on an opposite side not to be connected to the second end surface being reversed.