Systems and methods for monitoring temperature or movement of merchandise
First Claim
1. A system for monitoring the temperature of merchandise items comprising:
- a temperature sensor disposed at or near one or more merchandise items;
a control circuit operatively coupled to the temperature sensor, the control circuit configured to;
read temperature measurements from the temperature sensor at predetermined time intervals;
generate and encode a barcode with data representing a first temperature measurement;
update and encode the barcode with data representing the first temperature measurement and one or more subsequent temperature measurements corresponding to the temperature measurements taken by the temperature sensor at the predetermined time intervals;
the barcode being updated after each temperature measurement to add data representing a most recent temperature measurement and the updated barcode comprising data representing a plurality of sequential temperature measurements taken at the predetermined time intervals from the first temperature measurement to the most recent temperature measurement; and
an interface disposed at or near the one or more merchandise items and operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to display the updated barcode, the interface comprising a display configured to periodically display barcodes on the same display at or near the one or more merchandise items and to overwrite a barcode with an updated barcode comprising data representing the plurality of sequential temperature measurements.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In some embodiments, apparatuses and methods are provided herein useful to monitoring temperature or movement of merchandise during and after transport of the merchandise. Some of these embodiments include systems for monitoring the temperature of merchandise items comprising: a temperature sensor disposed at or near one or more merchandise items; a control circuit operatively coupled to the temperature sensor, the control circuit configured to: read temperature measurements from the temperature sensor at predetermined time intervals; generate and encode a barcode with data representing a first temperature measurement; and update and encode the barcode with data representing the first temperature measurement and one or more subsequent temperature measurements; and an interface operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to display the updated barcode.
212 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A system for monitoring the temperature of merchandise items comprising:
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a temperature sensor disposed at or near one or more merchandise items; a control circuit operatively coupled to the temperature sensor, the control circuit configured to; read temperature measurements from the temperature sensor at predetermined time intervals; generate and encode a barcode with data representing a first temperature measurement; update and encode the barcode with data representing the first temperature measurement and one or more subsequent temperature measurements corresponding to the temperature measurements taken by the temperature sensor at the predetermined time intervals; the barcode being updated after each temperature measurement to add data representing a most recent temperature measurement and the updated barcode comprising data representing a plurality of sequential temperature measurements taken at the predetermined time intervals from the first temperature measurement to the most recent temperature measurement; and an interface disposed at or near the one or more merchandise items and operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to display the updated barcode, the interface comprising a display configured to periodically display barcodes on the same display at or near the one or more merchandise items and to overwrite a barcode with an updated barcode comprising data representing the plurality of sequential temperature measurements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for monitoring the temperature of merchandise items comprising:
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by a temperature sensor at or near one or more merchandise items, measuring temperature at predetermined time intervals; by a control circuit, generating and encoding a barcode with data representing a first temperature measurement; by a control circuit, updating and encoding the barcode with data representing the first temperature measurement and one or more subsequent temperature measurements corresponding to the temperature measurements taken by the temperature sensor at the predetermined time intervals; the barcode being updated after each temperature measurement to add data representing a most recent temperature measurement and the updated barcode comprising data representing a plurality of sequential temperature measurements taken at the predetermined time intervals from the first temperature measurement to the most recent temperature measurement; and by an interface disposed at or near the one or more merchandise items and operatively coupled to the control circuit, displaying the updated barcode, the interface comprising a display configured to periodically display barcodes on the same display at or near the one or more merchandise items and to overwrite a barcode with an updated barcode comprising data representing the plurality of sequential temperature measurements. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A system for monitoring the movement of merchandise items, the system comprising:
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a sensor disposed on a merchandise item measuring movement; a control circuit operatively coupled to the sensor, the control circuit configured to; read measurements from the sensor at predetermined time intervals; generate and encode a barcode with data representing a first sensor measurement; update and encoding the barcode with data representing the first sensor measurement and the one or more subsequent sensor measurements corresponding to the sensor measurements taken by the sensor at the predetermined time intervals; the barcode being updated after each sensor measurement to add data representing a most recent sensor measurement and the updated barcode comprising data representing a plurality of sequential sensor measurements taken at the predetermined time intervals from the first sensor measurement to the most recent sensor measurement; and an e-ink interface disposed at or near the one or more merchandise items and operatively coupled to the control circuit and configured to display the updated barcode, the interface comprising a display configured to periodically display barcodes on the same display at or near the one or more merchandise items and to overwrite a barcode with an updated barcode comprising data representing the plurality of sequential sensor measurements. - View Dependent Claims (19)
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Specification