System and method for improved quality management in a product logistic chain

• US 10,726,375 B2
• Filed: 09/05/2019
• Issued: 07/28/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Varcode, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Varcode, Ltd.
• Inventors: Nemet, Yaron, Brand, Ephraim
• Primary Examiner(s): Hess, Daniel A
• Application Number:
  US16/561,621
• Publication Number:
  US 20200065738A1
• Time in Patent Office: 327 Days
• Field of Search: 235383
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 13/00 Thermometers specially adapted for specific purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 31/221 for investigating pH value
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/02 Food
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/84 involving inorganic compounds or pH
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06028 using bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06037 multi-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06046 Constructional details
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/10 at least one kind of marking being used for authentication, e.g. of credit or identity cards verification of coded identity or credit cards in mechanisms actuated by them G07F7/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/1408 the method being specifically adapted for the type of code
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06395 Quality analysis or management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising

Abstract

A quality management system for products including a multiplicity of product unit specific indicators, each operative to provide a machine-readable indication of exceedence of at least one threshold by at least one product quality determining parameter, an indicator reader operative to read the product unit specific indicators and to provide output indications and a product type specific indication interpreter operative to receive the output indications and to provide human sensible, product unit specific, product quality status outputs.

Claims

1. A method for producing a plurality of product quality indicators, each operative to provide a machine-readable indication of exceedence of at least one temperature threshold, the method comprising:

providing at least one substrate strip including a plurality of barcodes in a first readable state;

providing an additional substrate strip having formed thereon a plurality of temperature responsive elements; and

joining said at least one substrate strip and said at least one additional substrate strip to form said plurality of product quality indicators, each of said plurality of product quality indicators including one of said plurality of barcodes in a first readable state and one of said plurality of temperature responsive elements,

each of said plurality of temperature responsive elements being operative upon exceedence of said at least one threshold to color a portion of said at least one substrate strip, thereby causing each of said product quality indicators to assume a second readable state.

2. A method according to claim 1 and wherein said providing at least one substrate strip comprises:

providing a transparent substrate strip;

printing, in a first color, said plurality of barcodes in said first readable state on said transparent substrate strip;

forming a plurality of transparent areas alongside each of said plurality of barcodes in said first readable state by printing, in a second color, areas of said transparent substrate strip other than said plurality of barcodes and said plurality of transparent areas;

providing an opaque substrate strip; and

joining said transparent substrate strip and said opaque substrate strip.

3. A method according to claim 2 and wherein said second color is a color defining high contrast with respect to said first color.

4. A method according to claim 1 and also comprising forming a perforation line between adjacent indicators.

5. A method according to claim 1 and also comprising maintaining said additional substrate strip having formed thereon a plurality of temperature responsive elements below a predetermined temperature threshold prior to use.