Graphic for use in determining a characteristic of a consumable

• US 9,035,785 B2
• Filed: 09/27/2010
• Issued: 05/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Original Assignee: Whirlpool Corporation
• Inventors: Dunsbergen, Kirk M., Ghosh, Kaustav, Pinkowski, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Dorsey, Renee
• Application Number:
  US12/890,817
• Publication Number:
  US 20120075305A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,695 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/815.4
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 15/0055 Metering or indication of used products, e.g. type or quantity of detergent, rinse aid or salt; for measuring or controlling the product concentration
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2401/023 Quantity or concentration of the consumable product
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2401/026 Nature or type of the consumable product, e.g. information on detergent, e.g. 3-in-1 tablets, rinsing aid or salt
• CPC Class Codes: A47L 2501/30 Regulation of machine operational steps within the washing process, e.g. performing an additional rinsing phase, shortening or stopping of the drying phase, washing at decreased noise operation conditions
• CPC Class Codes: D06F 39/02 Devices for adding soap or other washing agents

Abstract

A graphic may include a consumable and having optically encoded information.

Claims

1. A graphic comprising:

a body having opposing upper and lower surfaces defining a thickness of the body and further defining a depth direction extending between the upper and lower surfaces along the direction of the thickness;

a first optically encoded information located at a first depth in the body, wherein the first depth is at or below the upper surface of the body; and

a second optically encoded information located at a second depth in the body, wherein the second depth is greater than the first depth.

2. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the first depth at a first illumination intensity and the second optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the second depth at a second illumination intensity, with the second illumination intensity being greater than the first illumination intensity.

3. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first depth is at the upper surface of the body.

4. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first and second optically encoded information comprises at least one of:

information indicative of a cycle of operation, information indicative of at least one operating parameter of a cycle of operation, a presence or absence of a physical resource, an amount of the physical resource, a physical property of the physical resource, an identification of the physical resource and an authentication key.

5. The graphic of claim 4 wherein the first optically encoded information comprises an authentication key.

6. The graphic of claim 5 wherein the second optically encoded information comprises an identification of the physical resource.

7. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the first depth at a first wavelength and the second optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the second depth at a second wavelength, with the second wavelength being different than the first wavelength.

8. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the body comprises a plurality of layers.

9. The graphic of claim 8 wherein at least one of the plurality of layers has at least one of a thickness, a texture, a color, a refractivity, a reflectivity, an absorbance, a transmittance, an index of refraction and an optical polarity that is different than at least one other of the plurality of layers.

10. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the first depth at a first intensity of illumination and the second optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the second depth at a second intensity of illumination, with the second intensity being different than the first intensity.

11. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the first depth at multiple wavelengths and the second optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the second depth at multiple wavelengths.

12. The graphic of claim 1 wherein the first optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the first depth at a first polarity.

13. The graphic of claim 12 wherein the second optically encoded information is retrievable by illuminating the second depth at a second polarity, different from the first polarity.