Thermoformed platform having a communications device
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:
- a manufacturing machine,a receiver,an electrical control system connected to said machine and said receiver,an extruded sheet with at least one data storage device affixed thereto with said sheet being manufactured by said machine into an article, andsaid receiver operably interfacing with said data storage device to ascertain data previously stored on said device and said control system changing manufacturing characteristics of said machine based upon data received from the device.
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Abstract
An apparatus has a communications device associated therewith. In another aspect of the present invention, a pallet is made from thermoformed polymeric sheets with an attached communications device. A further aspect of the present invention provides a radio frequency identification device attached to an apparatus. In still another aspect of the present invention, a communications device is incorporated into one or more sheets of a pallet or other container prior to forming. Methods of making and using a thermoformed pallet and container, having a communications device, are also provided.
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Citations
36 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a manufacturing machine, a receiver, an electrical control system connected to said machine and said receiver, an extruded sheet with at least one data storage device affixed thereto with said sheet being manufactured by said machine into an article, and said receiver operably interfacing with said data storage device to ascertain data previously stored on said device and said control system changing manufacturing characteristics of said machine based upon data received from the device. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A system comprising:
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a thermoforming apparatus for shaping extruded sheet into articles, a receiver associated with the thermoforming apparatus operable to send and receive radio frequency signals, an electronic control system connecting to said thermoforming apparatus and said receiver for receiving and processing data contained in the radio frequency signals, an extruded sheet with at least one data storage device affixed thereto with said extruded sheet being thermoformed by said thermoforming apparatus into an article, said receiver operably interfacing with said data storage device using radio frequency signals to obtain shaping instructions stored on said data storage device and said electronic control system changing shaping characteristics of said thermoforming apparatus based upon instructions received from the device. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for shaping extruded plastic materials comprising:
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a machine frame having at least four stages including a first stage for admitting the plastic materials, a second stage for heating the plastic materials, a third stage for shaping the plastic materials, and a fourth stage for holding exiting articles, a receiver for communicating with RF devices positioned within said machine frame stages, said receiver having a plurality of interrogation zones comprising reader/writers for receiving and transmitting data to and from the RF devices, a control system connected to a network for managing operations of the apparatus, for processing data communicated within the interrogation zones, for receiving condition information about the plastic materials, and for obtaining heating and shaping instructions for the intended articles, and means for storing the information and changing the apparatus shaping influences to produce said intended articles. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system comprising:
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an extruded sheet being sized for shaping a plurality of articles with a plurality of attached RFID tags pre-positioned for each article, a thermoforming apparatus having a receiver for communicating with the RFID tags, and said receiver having a reader/writer communicating with at least one RFID tag to obtain instructions before the extruded sheet is shaped into said articles, said instructions including processing information for the articles to be shaped by the thermoforming apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A system for making a twin sheet article with an attached RFID tag comprising:
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a thermoforming apparatus having a machine frame with a plurality of defined processing stations for shaping the twin sheet article and means for communicating with the RFID tag distributed within said processing stations, a receiver having a reader/writer, a first extruded sheet with an attached RFID tag containing shaping information, a second extruded sheet for forming into the twin sheet article, a control module for processing data obtained from the attached RFID tag, at least one programmable logic controller (PLC) linked to said control module for managing components within the processing stations, and said PLC being responsive to the data to control the operation of said thermoforming apparatus. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36)
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Specification