Container qualification method, associated storage enclosure

• US 9,275,262 B2
• Filed: 03/27/2013
• Issued: 03/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/30/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Biolog-Id Co.
• Original Assignee: Biolog, Inc.
• Inventors: Mongrenier, Jean-Claude, Dussaux, Franois
• Primary Examiner(s): BLOUIN, MARK S
• Application Number:
  US14/388,965
• Publication Number:
  US 20150015373A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,070 Days
• Field of Search: 340/10.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 20/13 delivered from dispensers
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 for remote operation

Abstract

A qualification method for a container provided with an RFID tag comprising the following steps when the container is stored in a storage enclosure comprising a sensor suitable for measuring the temperature within the enclosure and an RFID reader:

• a/ radiofrequency transmission by reader of a message comprising a value representative of a temperature measurement in the enclosure; step a/ being reiterated after each measurement moment of a plurality of predetermined successive measurement moments;
• b/ storage, by the RFID tag of the container, of the value included in said message received, the memory of the RFID tag comprising successively stored temperature values each associated with a distinct determined measurement moment;
• c/ qualification or disqualification of the container as a function of a comparison between the number of temperature values stored for the container and the number of said determined measurement moments.

Claims

1. A qualification method for a container provided with first wireless telecommunications means comprising a memory, said method comprising the following steps when the container is stored in a container storage enclosure, said enclosure comprising at least one atmospheric sensor suitable for measuring, within the enclosure, at least one atmospheric parameter from among the temperature, pressure and humidity, and at least second wireless telecommunications means:

a/ radiofrequency transmission by the second wireless telecommunications means of the enclosure, to first wireless telecommunications means of the container, of a message including a value representative of a result of a measurement of said parameter in the enclosure;

step a/ being reiterated after each measurement moment of a plurality of determined successive measurement moments;

b/ for each of said messages received by the first wireless telecommunications means of the container, storage, by said first wireless telecommunications means of the container, of the representative value included in the received message, the memory of the first wireless telecommunications means of the container including values representative of the results of measurements of said parameter successively stored and each associated with a distinct determined measurement moment;

according to which the method further comprises a step for qualifying or disqualifying the container as a function of at least one comparison between the number of values representative of a result of a measurement of said parameter that are stored in the memory of the first wireless telecommunications means of the container and the number of said determined measurement moments.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first wireless telecommunications means of the container include an RFID tag and the second wireless telecommunications means of the enclosure include an RFID reader.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein in step a/, the message further comprises an indication of the moment of said determined measurement and in step b/, said indication is stored matching said representative value.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein steps a/ and b/ are reiterated for each period of length T.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein T is comprised between 10 seconds and 6 hours.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the container is qualified or disqualified as a function of a number of determined measurement moments for which the memory of the first wireless telecommunications means of the container does not include a value representative of a measurement result, said measurement moments being situated between the two measurement moments for which representative values of a result have been stored in the memory of the first telecommunications means.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a container is further qualified or disqualified based on the representative values stored in the memory of the first wireless telecommunications means of the container.

8. The method according to claim 1, comprising the following steps when the container is stored in a container transport enclosure, then transported between a departure point and a destination point in said transport enclosure, said transport enclosure comprising a sensor suitable for measuring the value of at least one atmospheric parameter from among the temperature, pressure and humidity within the enclosure and three wireless telecommunications means comprising a memory:

recording, during transport, a value representative of a result of a measurement of said parameters for each of several successive determined measurement moments, in the memory of the third wireless telecommunications means of the transport enclosure;

transmission, by the third wireless telecommunications means of the transport enclosure, said representative values to a processing device comprising fourth wireless telecommunications means and situated at the destination point;

qualification or disqualification of the container based on said representative values received by the processing device.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein third wireless telecommunications means comprise an RFID tag and the fourth wireless telecommunications means comprise an RFID reader.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising the following steps:

transmission, from the fourth wireless telecommunications means of the processing device to the first wireless communication means of the container, of at least said representative values received by the processing device;

reception of said representative values by the first wireless communication means of the container and storage by said first communication means of said parameter values received in the memory.

11. A storage enclosure for containers comprising at least one atmospheric condition sensor adapted for measuring, within the enclosure, at least one atmospheric parameter from among the temperature, pressure and humidity, and said enclosure comprising second wireless telecommunications means adapted for communicating with first wireless telecommunications means of at least one container stored in the enclosure, said storage enclosure being adapted for transmitting, after each measurement moment of a plurality of determined successive measurement moments, to first wireless telecommunications means of said container, a message including a value representative of a result of a measurement of said parameter in the enclosure for the storage, by the first wireless telecommunications means, of the representative value;

and being adapted for qualifying or disqualifying a container as a function of at least one comparison between the number of representative values of a result of the measurement of said parameter that are stored in the memory of the first wireless telecommunications means (10) of the container and the number of said determined measurement moments.

12. The enclosure according to claim 11, wherein the second wireless telecommunications means of the enclosure include an RFID reader, and the first wireless telecommunications means of the container include an RFID tag.

13. The enclosure according to claim 11, suitable for inserting an indication of the time of said determined measurement into the message.

14. The enclosure according to claim 11, wherein the measurement moments are separated by a period of length T.

15. The enclosure according to claim 14, wherein T is comprised between 10 seconds and 6 hours.