Sensor-Based Systems and Methods for Monitoring Temperature Sensitive Products
First Claim
1. A device for monitoring a temperature of a product, the device comprising:
- at least one product-interfacing temperature sensor in thermal contact with the product and configured to generate first temperature sensor signals indicating a temperature associated with the product;
at least one ambient temperature sensor configured to generate second temperature sensor signals indicating a temperature of an ambient environment in which the product is located;
a processor; and
computer instructions stored in non-volatile computer-readable media and executable by the processor to;
receive the first sensor signals generated by the at least one product-interfacing temperature sensor;
receive the second sensor signals generated by the at least one ambient temperature sensor;
determine a product temperature of the product based at least on (a) the first sensor signals generated by the at least one product-interfacing temperature sensor and (b) the second sensor signals generated by the at least one ambient temperature sensor;
identify the existence of a notification condition based at least one the determined product temperature; and
generate a notification in response to identifying the existence of a notification condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A temperature measurement device is provided for monitoring the temperature of a temperature-sensitive product, e.g., a blood product. The temperature measurement device may include multiple different types of temperature sensors, e.g., at least two of the following types of temperature sensors: (a) a product-interfacing temperature sensor in thermal contact with the product, (b) an on-chip temperature sensor of a microprocessor or microcontroller, and/or (c) an ambient temperature sensor configured to measure an ambient temperature external to the product. The temperature measurement device may further include a processor configured to execute computer instructions to receive sensor signals from the multiple types of temperature sensors on the device, determine a product temperature of the product based at least on signals from the multiple temperature sensors, compare the determined product temperature with one or more threshold values, and determine whether to generate a notification based on the results of the comparison.
51 Citations
25 Claims
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1. A device for monitoring a temperature of a product, the device comprising:
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at least one product-interfacing temperature sensor in thermal contact with the product and configured to generate first temperature sensor signals indicating a temperature associated with the product; at least one ambient temperature sensor configured to generate second temperature sensor signals indicating a temperature of an ambient environment in which the product is located; a processor; and computer instructions stored in non-volatile computer-readable media and executable by the processor to; receive the first sensor signals generated by the at least one product-interfacing temperature sensor; receive the second sensor signals generated by the at least one ambient temperature sensor; determine a product temperature of the product based at least on (a) the first sensor signals generated by the at least one product-interfacing temperature sensor and (b) the second sensor signals generated by the at least one ambient temperature sensor; identify the existence of a notification condition based at least one the determined product temperature; and generate a notification in response to identifying the existence of a notification condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A device for monitoring a temperature of a product, the device comprising:
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a microcontroller (MCU) comprising an MCU on-chip temperature sensor configured to generate first sensor signals; a product-interfacing temperature sensor in thermal contact with the product and configured to generate second sensor signals; computer instructions stored in non-volatile computer-readable media and executable by a processor to; receive the first sensor signals generated by the MCU on-chip temperature sensor; receive the second sensor signals generated by the product-interfacing temperature sensor; determine a product temperature of the product based on at least one of (a) the first sensor signals generated by the MCU on-chip temperature sensor or (b) the second sensor signals generated by the product-interfacing temperature sensor; identify the existence of a notification condition based at least one the determined product temperature; and generate a notification in response to identifying the existence of a notification condition. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for monitoring a temperature of a product, the method comprising:
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receiving, at a processing unit, the first sensor signals generated by the product temperature sensor; receiving, at the processing unit, the second sensor signals generated by the ambient temperature sensor; determining, by the processing unit, a predicted product temperature of the product based at least on (a) the first sensor signals and (b) the second sensor signals, the predicted product temperature indicating a predicted temperature of the product at a future time; comparing, by the processing unit, the predicted product temperature with one or more threshold values; determining, by the processing unit, based on the comparison, whether to generate an alert signal.
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24. A device for monitoring a temperature of a product, the device comprising:
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at least one temperature sensor configured to generate temperature sensor signals associated with the product; a processor; and computer instructions stored in non-volatile computer-readable media and executable by the processor to; receive the temperature sensor signals generated by the at least one temperature sensor; determine a product temperature of the product based at least on the temperature sensor signals; calculate a time-based trend in the product temperature; calculate, based at least on the time-based trend in the product temperature, a predicted time at which the product temperature will exceed a threshold temperature value; and generating a notification based on the predicted time at which the product temperature will exceed a threshold temperature value. - View Dependent Claims (25)
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Specification