Electrical sensor for monitoring degradation of products from environmental stressors
First Claim
1. A sensor element for detecting degradation of an environmentally sensitive product comprising:
- a plurality of electrically conductive particles and a control agent dispersed in a polymeric matrix;
wherein said control agent is selected to influence a reaction rate of said sensor element to selected environmental conditions so that change of an electrical measurement of said sensor element is correlatable to said degradation of said environmentally sensitive product.
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Abstract
An environmental degradation sensor for environmentally sensitive products such as food, pharmaceuticals or cosmetic products provides the degraded state and estimated remaining life of the product. The sensor is made of a polymeric matrix and conductive filler. A control agent, selected to adjust a reaction rate of the sensor to environmental conditions, allows correlation of an electrical property of the sensor to a degraded state of the product. The sensor may be integrated with a passive RFID to provide product identification and degradation status wirelessly via reader. The sensor improves product safety, reduces cost of premature product disposal and, combined with RFIDs, improves the security of products through combined product degradation monitoring and tracking.
41 Citations
22 Claims
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1. A sensor element for detecting degradation of an environmentally sensitive product comprising:
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a plurality of electrically conductive particles and a control agent dispersed in a polymeric matrix; wherein said control agent is selected to influence a reaction rate of said sensor element to selected environmental conditions so that change of an electrical measurement of said sensor element is correlatable to said degradation of said environmentally sensitive product. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of detecting degradation of an environmentally sensitive product comprising the steps:
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taking a first electrical measurement of a conductive composite degradation sensor in communication with said environmentally sensitive product, said degradation sensor comprising a polymeric matrix, conductive filler particles and a control agent selected to affect the rate of an environmentally affected reaction of said degradation sensor; and correlating said first electrical measurement to a degraded state of said environmentally sensitive product, said correlating incorporating degradation data of previously degraded environmentally sensitive product portion and electrical property data of at least one previously degraded test sensor comprising said polymeric matrix, said conductive filler particles and said control agent. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification