Environmental sensing

• US 7,675,409 B2
• Filed: 02/28/2007
• Issued: 03/09/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Copeland Cold Chain LP
• Original Assignee: PakSense Incorporated (Emerson Electric Company)
• Inventors: Spencer, James J., Larson, Eric R., Bates, Allen M., Lawler, Casimir E. Jr., Jensen, Thomas P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mehmood; Jennifer
• Application Number:
  US11/712,075
• Publication Number:
  US 20070203650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,105 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.26, 340/539.1, 340/573.1, 340584-588, 340/539.22, 340/691.1, 340/691.5, 340/691.6, 340/693.5, 340/693.6, 340/693.7, 3405681-5729, 705/22, 368/10, 368/12, 368239-259, 368/278, 116/202, 116/216, 99341-344, 426/231
• US Class Current: 340/539.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 1/024 for remote indication
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 3/04 in respect of time
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0291 Labels or tickets undergoing a change under particular conditions, e.g. heat, radiation, passage of time

Abstract

One apparatus embodiment includes an electronics assembly including an environmental sensor, memory that provides data storage, a logic circuit, an indicator component, and a power source for providing power to at least one of the logic circuit and the memory. The logic circuit can be designed to perform a time measurement, perform an environmental measurement with the environmental sensor, and/or initiate an alarm status when a calculated alarm event time occurs based upon the environmental measurement. The indicator component can be connected to the logic circuit for displaying the alarm status.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

forming an environmental sensing component;

forming a logic circuit that receives environmental sensing information from the environmental sensing component and determines whether a display indication should be provided based upon the received sensing information;

providing a power source to provide power to at least one of the sensing component and the logic circuit;

encapsulating the environmental sensing component, the logic circuit, and the power source to form an environmental sensing assembly with an encapsulating material; and

adding a customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly, after encapsulating the environmental sensing component to form the environmental sensing assembly, by printing the customer specific item on an outer surface of the encapsulating material.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly includes adding a customer specific logo.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes adding another customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly by providing an item of data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein providing an item of data includes data to be used by the logic circuit in determining whether the display indication should be provided based upon the received sensing information.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes adding another customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly by configuring the logic circuit with a customer specific configuration to be used in determining whether the display indication should be provided based upon the received sensing information.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly includes adding a customer specific identifier.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly includes adding unit specific identification numbering.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly includes adding threshold information.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein adding the customer specific item to the environmental sensing assembly includes adding one or more sampling periods.

10. The method of claim 3, wherein adding another customer specific item includes adding the other customer specific item wirelessly.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the display indication includes illuminating a number illuminating indicators.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein illuminating the number of illuminating indicators includes illuminating a number of light emitting diodes (LEDs).

13. The method of claim 11, wherein illuminating the number of illuminating indicators includes illuminating one of the group including:

a first illuminating indicator as an over limit status indicator;

a second illuminating indicator as an under limit status indicator; and

a third illuminating indicator as an OK status indicator.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein illuminating the number of illuminating indicators includes performing coded flashes to signify different status conditions.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein illuminating the number of illuminating indicators includes illuminating a number of printed lenses.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein providing the display indication includes utilizing a chemical change to provide at least a portion of the display indication.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes forming the logic circuit that receives environmental sensing information from the environmental sensing component and compares the environmental sensing information to past environmental sensing information.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the method includes forming the logic circuit that receives environmental sensing information from the environmental sensing component and only stores the environmental sensing information if a settable period of time has passed since storing the last environmental sensing information.

19. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes forming the logic circuit that receives environmental sensing information from the environmental sensing component and only stores the environmental sensing information if the environmental sensing information is outside one or more settable window limits.

20. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes forming a logic circuit that receives environmental sensing information from the environmental sensing component and determines whether the display indication should be provided based upon the received sensing information after a settable period of time.