Shelf-life monitoring sensor-transponder system

• US 20050248455A1
• Filed: 04/22/2005
• Published: 11/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/27/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Infratab, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Infratab, Inc.
• Inventors: Pope, Gary W., Myers, Therese E., Burchell, Jonathan, Kaye, Stanton
• Granted Patent: US 7,495,558 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.270
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 2700/08 Sensors using Radio Frequency Identification [RFID]
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 29/00 Arrangement or mounting of control or safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/024 for remote indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 3/04 in respect of time
• CPC Class Codes: G04F 10/00 Apparatus for measuring unknown time intervals by electric means
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0717 the sensor being capable of sensing environmental conditions such as temperature history or pressure
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/06 Buying, selling or leasing transactions

Abstract

A perishable integrity indicator system includes a RFID transponder and a perishable integrity sensor. The RFID transponder includes a RF integrated circuit coupled with an antenna. The sensor monitors the time and temperature of the perishable. A freshness determining module receives time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determines a current freshness status. A communications interface to the RFID transponder permits a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module. The system further includes a power management module.

Claims

1. A perishable integrity indicator system, comprising:

(a) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(b) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(c) a memory module containing data representing one or more predefined temperature-dependent shelf-life trends;

(d) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status by applying the measurement data to the trend data from the memory module;

(e) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module; and

(f) a power management module.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the freshness monitoring module provides summary freshness information, or an alert when the freshness status data differs by a predetermined amount, or when a perishable is determined to be approaching an expected end of its shelf life, or combinations thereof.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein said one or more predetermined trends comprise an Arrhenius spoilage curve.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the freshness status data comprises integrations of temperature measurements over time.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more predetermined trends are provided in one or more data tables or equations or both.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the trends comprises an exponential decay component.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the trends comprises a linear component.

8. The system of claim 5, wherein at least one of the trends is customizable to expected temperatures over a perishable product'"'"'s shelf life.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the freshness status comprises a shelf life log that tracks time at fractions of shelf life lost.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the freshness status comprises a custody log that tracks information relating to multiple custody periods over a perishable product'"'"'s shelf life.

11. The system of claim 1, further comprising one or more additional perishable integrity sensors also communicatively coupled with said RFID transponder permitting the same or a different RFID reader, or both, to retrieve perishable data measured by the one or more additional sensors.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said RFID transponder and said sensor comprise modules of a single integrated circuit.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a one wire serial interface.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface comprises a two wire serial interface.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the communication interface connects the sensor to the antenna of the RFID transponder.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a RFID transponder portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor portion comprising the sensor freshness data.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the dedicated sensor portion comprises at least 32 bits of read/write memory.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the memory further comprises one or more tables or calculations, or both, for determining and updating the freshness status data.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the RFID transponder portion comprises alert and sensor status data, and program instructions for relaying communications between the RFID reader and the sensor.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein said RFID transponder comprises said RFID transponder portion and said dedicated sensor portion of the memory.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the memory further comprises the RFID reader'"'"'s commands to the sensor.

22. The system of claim 1, further comprising a display for providing visual freshness status information to a human observer.

23. The system of claim 1, wherein the freshness monitoring module compares the freshness status data to one or more predetermined trends, and provides an alert when they differ by a predetermined amount, or when a perishable is determined to be approaching an expected end of its shelf life, or both.

24. The system of claim 1, wherein the memory comprises a security component configured to provide selective access to the freshness status data.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor further includes a humidity-dependent freshness monitoring component, and wherein the freshness monitoring module further receives humidity-dependent measurement data from the freshness monitoring component, determines a current freshness status based at least in part on the humidity-dependent data, and accordingly updates the freshness status data.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the time- and temperature-dependent freshness monitoring component comprises a first substantially temperature-independent clock and a second temperature-dependent clock, wherein the measurement data comprises first and second signals received from the first and second clocks, respectively.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein current freshness status is determined based on a comparison of the measurement data with one or more pre-stored shelf life data tables or a fit to an equation or both.

28. The system of claim 1, wherein the sensor is configured to wake up in response to a RFID reader'"'"'s wake command relayed by the RFID transponder.

29. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the shelf life trends comprises a spoilage rate that increases continuously with increasing temperature over an expected temperature range.

30. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the shelf life trends follows an Arrhenius equation.

31. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the shelf life trends follows a non-linear equation.

32. A perishable integrity indicator system, comprising:

(a) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(b) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(c) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status;

(d) one or more memory media containing a RFID transponder program portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor data portion comprising freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the determining module, or special commands for retrieving said data, or a combination thereof, and configured such that said data is directly accessible by a RFID reader without disturbing the sensor;

(e) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve the current freshness status data from the memory media; and

(f) a power management module.

33. The system of claim 32, wherein the freshness monitoring module provides summary freshness information, or an alert when the freshness status data differs by a predetermined amount, or when a perishable is determined to be approaching an expected end of its shelf life, or combinations thereof.

34. The system of claim 32, wherein a current freshness status is determined based on a comparison of the freshness status data to one or more predetermined trends.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein said one or more predetermined trends comprise an Arrhenius spoilage curve.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein the freshness status data comprises integrations of temperature measurements over time.

37. The system of claim 34, wherein the one or more predetermined trends are provided in one or more data tables or equations or both.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the trends comprises an exponential decay component.

39. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the trends comprises a linear component.

40. The system of claim 37, wherein at least one of the trends is customizable to expected temperatures over a perishable product'"'"'s shelf life.

41. The system of claim 32, wherein the freshness status comprises a shelf life log that tracks time at fractions of shelf life lost.

42. The system of claim 32, wherein the freshness status comprises a custody log that tracks information relating to multiple custody periods over a perishable product'"'"'s shelf life.

43. The system of claim 32, further comprising one or more additional perishable integrity sensors also communicatively coupled with said RFID transponder permitting the same or a different RFID reader, or both, to retrieve perishable data measured by the one or more additional sensors.

44. The system of claim 32, wherein said RFID transponder and said sensor comprise modules of a single integrated circuit.

45. The system of claim 32, wherein the communication interface comprises a one wire serial interface.

46. The system of claim 32, wherein the communication interface comprises a two wire serial interface.

47. The system of claim 32, wherein the communication interface connects the sensor to the antenna of the RFID transponder.

48. The system of claim 32, wherein the memory comprises a RFID transponder portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor portion comprising the sensor freshness data.

49. The system of claim 48, wherein the dedicated sensor portion comprises at least 32 bits of read/write memory.

50. The system of claim 48, wherein the memory further comprises one or more tables or calculations, or both, for determining and updating the freshness status data.

51. The system of claim 48, wherein the RFID transponder portion comprises alert and sensor status data, and program instructions for relaying communications between the RFID reader and the sensor.

52. The system of claim 48, wherein said RFID transponder comprises said RFID transponder portion and said dedicated sensor portion of the memory.

53. The system of claim 52, wherein the memory further comprises the RFID reader'"'"'s commands to the sensor.

54. The system of claim 32, further comprising a display for providing visual freshness status information to a human observer.

55. The system of claim 32, wherein the freshness monitoring module compares the freshness status data to one or more predetermined trends, and provides an alert when they differ by a predetermined amount, or when a perishable is determined to be approaching an expected end of its shelf life, or both.

56. The system of claim 32, wherein the memory comprises a security component configured to provide selective access to the freshness status data.

57. The system of claim 32, wherein the sensor further includes a humidity-dependent freshness monitoring component, and wherein the freshness monitoring module further receives humidity-dependent measurement data from the freshness monitoring component, determines a current freshness status based at least in part on the humidity-dependent data, and accordingly updates the freshness status data.

58. The system of claim 32, wherein the time- and temperature-dependent freshness monitoring component comprises a first substantially temperature-independent clock and a second temperature-dependent clock, wherein the measurement data comprises first and second signals received from the first and second clocks, respectively.

59. The system of claim 58, wherein current freshness status is determined based on a comparison of the measurement data with one or more pre-stored shelf life data tables or a fit to an equation or both.

60. The system of claim 32, wherein the sensor is configured to wake up in response to a RFID reader'"'"'s wake command relayed by the RFID transponder.

61. The system of claim 32, wherein the dedicated sensor data portion, comprising the freshness status data or special commands for retrieving said data, resides on the RFID transponder.

62. A perishable integrity indicator system, comprising:

(a) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(b) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(c) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status;

(d) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module; and

(e) a power management module for periodically waking up the freshness monitoring component from a sleep or other low power state to gather the sensor measurements.

63. The system of claim 62, further comprising one or more additional perishable integrity sensors also communicatively coupled with said RFID transponder permitting the same or a different RFID reader, or both, to retrieve perishable data measured by the one or more additional sensors.

64. The system of claim 62, wherein said RFID transponder and said sensor comprise modules of a single integrated circuit.

65. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication interface comprises a one wire serial interface.

66. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication interface comprises a two wire serial interface.

67. The system of claim 62, wherein the communication interface connects the sensor to the antenna of the RFID transponder.

68. The system of claim 62, wherein memory comprises a RFID transponder portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor portion comprising the sensor freshness data.

69. The system of claim 68, wherein the dedicated sensor portion comprises at least 32 bits of read/write memory.

70. The system of claim 68, wherein the memory further comprises one or more tables or calculations, or both, for determining and updating the freshness status data.

71. The system of claim 68, wherein the RFID transponder portion comprises alert and sensor status data, and program instructions for relaying communications between the RFID reader and the sensor.

72. The system of claim 68, wherein said RFID transponder comprises said RFID transponder portion and said dedicated sensor portion of the memory.

73. The system of claim 72, wherein the memory further comprises the RFID reader'"'"'s commands to the sensor.

74. The system of claim 62, further comprising a display for providing visual freshness status information to a human observer.

75. The system of claim 62, wherein the freshness monitoring module compares the freshness status data to one or more predetermined trends, and provides summary information, or an alert when the data differs by a predetermined amount from a trend or when a perishable is determined to be approaching an expected end of its shelf life, or combinations thereof.

76. The system of claim 62, wherein the memory comprises a security component configured to provide selective access to the freshness status data.

77. The system of claim 62, wherein the sensor further includes a humidity-dependent freshness monitoring component, and wherein the freshness monitoring module further receives humidity-dependent measurement data from the freshness monitoring component, determines a current freshness status based at least in part on the humidity-dependent data, and accordingly updates the freshness status data.

78. The system of claim 62, wherein the time- and temperature-dependent freshness monitoring component comprises a first substantially temperature-independent clock and a second temperature-dependent clock, wherein the measurement data comprises first and second signals received from the first and second clocks, respectively.

79. The system of claim 78, wherein current freshness status is determined based on a comparison of the measurement data with one or more pre-stored shelf life data tables or a fit to an equation or both.

80. The system of claim 62, wherein the sensor is configured to wake up in response to a RFID reader'"'"'s wake command relayed by the RFID transponder.

81. The system of claim 62, wherein the freshness status data is retrievable while the freshness monitoring component is in the sleep or other low power state.

82. The system of claim 81, wherein the data is stored in sensor memory.

83. The system of claim 81, wherein the data is stored in transponder memory.

84. A method for efficiently monitoring perishable integrity over multiple segments of a product supply chain, comprising:

(a) providing a perishable integrity indicator system that comprises;

(i) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(ii) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(iii) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status;

(iv) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module; and

(v) a power management module; and

(b) transferring the freshness status data to a second perishable integrity indicator system.

85. The method of claim 84, wherein the transferring comprises uploading from the first RFID system to a RFID reader memory and downloading to the second integrity indicator system.

86. The method of claim 84, wherein the transferring is by direct connection of the first and second integrity indicator systems via the first or the second communication interface.

87. The method of claim 84, wherein the second integrity indicator system comprises a RFID-configured system.

88. The method of claim 87, wherein the transferring comprises uploading from the first RFID system to a RFID reader memory and downloading to the second RFID integrity indicator system from the RFID reader.

89. A system for monitoring perishable integrity over multiple segments of product supply chain, comprising:

(a) a perishable integrity indicator system that comprises;

(i) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(ii) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(iii) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status;

(iv) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module; and

(v) a power management module; and

(b) a second perishable integrity indicator system configured for transferring the freshness status data from the first indicator system to the second indicator system.

90. The system of claim 89, wherein the power management module periodically wakes up the freshness monitoring component from a sleep or other low power state to gather the sensor measurements.

91. The system of claim 89, wherein the memory comprises a RFID transponder portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor data portion comprising the freshness status data or special commands for retrieving the freshness data, or a combination thereof, and configured such that the freshness status data is directly accessible by the RFID reader without disturbing the sensor.

92. The system of claim 89, wherein a current freshness status is determined based on application of the measurement data to one or more predetermined temperature-dependent shelf-life trends stored in the memory.

93. The system of claim 89, wherein the second RFID indicator system is attachable to and detachable from the first RFID indicator system.

94. The system of claim 89, wherein the data are transferable to the second RFID integrity indicator system by uploading from the first RFID system to a RFID reader memory and downloading to the second integrity indicator system.

95. The system of claim 89, wherein the data are transferable by direct connection between the first and second integrity indicator systems via the first or the second communication interface.

96. The system of claim 89, wherein the second integrity indicator system comprises a RFID-configured system.

97. The system of claim 96, wherein the transferring of the data comprises uploading from the first RFID system to a RFID reader memory and downloading to the second RFID integrity indicator system from the RFID reader.

98. A perishable integrity indicator system that comprises:

(a) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(b) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(c) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status;

(d) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module; and

(e) a power management module,

(f) wherein the freshness status data comprises a shelf life log that tracks time at fractions of shelf life lost.

99. The system of claim 98, wherein the power management module periodically wakes up the freshness monitoring component from a sleep or other low power state to gather the sensor measurements.

100. The system of claim 98, wherein the memory comprises a RFID transponder portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor data portion comprising the freshness status data or special commands for retrieving the freshness data, or a combination thereof, and configured such that the freshness status data is directly accessible by the RFID reader without disturbing the sensor.

101. The system of claim 98, wherein a current freshness status is determined based on application of the measurement data to one or more predetermined temperature-dependent shelf-life trends stored in the memory.

102. The system of claim 98, wherein the data are transferable to a second integrity indicator system by uploading from the first RFID indicator system to a RFID reader memory and downloading to the second integrity indicator system.

103. A perishable integrity indicator system that comprises:

(a) a RFID transponder including a RFID integrated circuit coupled with an antenna;

(b) a perishable integrity sensor that monitors the time and temperature of the perishable;

(c) a freshness determining module for receiving time- and temperature-dependent measurement data from the perishable integrity sensor and determining a current freshness status;

(d) a communications interface to the RFID transponder permitting a RFID reader to retrieve current freshness status data corresponding to the freshness status determined by the freshness determining module; and

(e) a power management module,

(f) wherein the freshness status data comprises a custody log that tracks information relating to multiple custody periods over a perishable product'"'"'s shelf life.

104. The system of claim 103, wherein the power management module periodically wakes up the freshness monitoring component from a sleep or other low power state to gather the sensor measurements.

105. The system of claim 103, wherein the memory comprises a RFID transponder portion for controlling the RFID transponder, and a dedicated sensor data portion comprising the freshness status data or special commands for retrieving the freshness data, or a combination thereof, and configured such that the freshness status data is directly accessible by the RFID reader without disturbing the sensor.

106. The system of claim 103, wherein a current freshness status is determined based on application of the measurement data to one or more predetermined temperature-dependent shelf-life trends stored in the memory.

107. The system of claim 103, wherein the data are transferable to the second integrity indicator system by uploading from the first RFID indicator system to a RFID reader memory and downloading to the second integrity indicator system.

108. The system of claim 103, wherein the freshness status comprises a shelf life log that tracks time at fractions of shelf life lost.