Programmable Digital Labels for a Medicine Container

Abstract

A bottle for storing medicine that may include at least one sensor to determine an aspect about the medicine stored within the bottle. The bottle may also include a processor that receives the information from the one or more sensors. A wireless communication interface may be integrated with the bottle to communicate information.

1 . A container for containing medicine, the container comprising:
 a bottle with a bottom and sidewalls that form an interior space for holding the medicine;   a weight sensor positioned at the bottom of the interior space and configured to sense an amount of remaining medicine within the bottle;   a wireless communications interface integrated with the bottle for communicating with a remote device; and   a processor integrated with the bottle and configured to receive the amount of the remaining medicine within the bottle and to wirelessly contact the remote device when a change is detected in the amount of remaining medicine within the bottle.   
     
     
         2 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising a cap that extends across an opening formed by the sidewalls to enclose the interior space and prevent the escape of the medicine. 
     
     
         3 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to monitor usage of the medicine based on output signals generated by the weight sensor. 
     
     
         4 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising a display integrated with the bottle to display an indicator when the processor determines that the medicine has been taken. 
     
     
         5 . The container of  claim 1 , further comprising a humidity sensor that senses humidity and to forward the humidity information to the processor. 
     
     
         6 . The container of  claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to send a refill request through the wireless communications interface when the medicine usage reaches a predetermined setting, the refill request effective to obtain an additional amount of the medicine. 
     
     
         7 . A container for containing medicine, the container comprising:
 a bottle with a bottom and sidewalls that form an interior space for holding the medicine;   a weight sensor positioned at the bottom of the interior space;   a temperature sensor integrated with the bottle to detect a temperature;   a processor integrated with the bottle and configured to collect information received from the weight sensor and the temperature sensor; and   a wireless communications interface integrated with the bottle to communicate the information to a remote device.   
     
     
         8 . The container of  claim 7 , wherein the temperature sensor is positioned within the interior space of the bottle. 
     
     
         9 . The container of  claim 7 , further comprising a cap that extends across an opening formed by the sidewalls to enclose the interior space and prevent the escape of the medicine. 
     
     
         10 . The container of  claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to monitor medicine usage based on the information received from the weight sensor. 
     
     
         11 . The container of  claim 7 , further comprising a display integrated with the bottle for displaying medicine usage. 
     
     
         12 . The container of  claim 7 , wherein the processor is configured to send a refill request through the wireless communications interface when an amount of the medicine remaining in the interior space reaches a predetermined setting, the refill request effective to obtain an additional amount of the medicine. 
     
     
         13 . A container for containing medicine, the container comprising:
 a bottle with an interior space for holding the medicine;   a memory integrated with the bottle to store one or more dosage times during a day for a patient to take the medicine, the memory further comprising contact information for a remote device;   a weight sensor positioned within the interior space and configured to determine a weight of the medicine in the bottle;   a wireless communications interface integrated with the bottle to communicate with the remote device; and   a processor integrated with the bottle and configured to determine whether the medicine was taken based on a change of the weight of the medicine in the bottle and to wirelessly contact the remote device through the wireless communications interface when the medicine is not taken during the dosage time.   
     
     
         14 . The container of  claim 13 , further comprising a display integrated with the bottle to display a message when the processor determines that the medicine was not taken during one of the dosage times. 
     
     
         15 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is configured to send a refill request through the wireless communications interface when the weight of the remaining medicine within the bottle reaches a predetermined setting, the refill request effective to obtain an additional amount of the medicine. 
     
     
         16 . The container of  claim 13 , further comprising at least one input device on the bottle. 
     
     
         17 . The container of  claim 13 , further comprising a cap that extends across an opening formed by the sidewalls to enclose the interior space and prevent the escape of the prescription medicine. 
     
     
         18 . The container of  claim 13 , further comprising a sensor integrated with the bottle to detect movement of the bottle. 
     
     
         19 . The container of  claim 13 , further comprising an alerting device controlled by the processor to generate an alert signal based upon medicine usage. 
     
     
         20 . The container of  claim 13 , wherein the processor is further configured to wirelessly contact another remote device when the processor determines that the medicine was taken during the dosage time, the processor sending an amount of the medicine taken, and a time the medicine was taken.