Environmental history monitor with positional displacement and security features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11241902-B1
Application number	US-202017024187-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Sep 17, 2020
Priority date	Sep 17, 2020
Publication date	Feb 8, 2022
Grant date	Feb 8, 2022

Abstract

Environmental monitors for monitoring a predetermined environmental exposure, for example, an historical heat exposure such as a cumulative ambient heat exposure and/or a peak ambient heat exposure may include an environmental indicator material and a security material. The environmental monitor may be configured to attach to a host product for monitoring the predetermined environmental exposure of the host product, and additionally serve as an anti-counterfeiting indicator.

First claim

The invention is claimed as follows:

1. A historical temperature exposure monitor comprising:
a substrate;
an optically readable, thermally sensitive indicator element supported by the substrate, the indicator element further comprising an indicator material configured to physically move in response to a predetermined temperature exposure; and
a security material supported by the substrate and further comprising a luminescent material configured to give a bright appearance of a predetermined color when exposed to specific light wavelengths,
wherein the bright appearance of the predetermined color is undetectable to a naked eye, and wherein the indicator element is inactive below a base temperature and being thermally responsive at or above an activation temperature to record irreversibly with respect to time cumulative ambient temperature exposure above the activation temperature, the activation temperature being equal to or greater than the base temperature.

2. A historical temperature exposure monitor comprising:
a substrate;
an optically readable, thermally sensitive indicator element supported by the substrate, the indicator element further comprising an indicator material configured to physically move in response to a predetermined temperature exposure; and
a security material supported by the substrate and further comprising a luminescent material configured to give a bright appearance of a predetermined color when exposed to specific light wavelengths,
wherein the bright appearance of the predetermined color remains for at least a predetermined interval after cessation of illumination with the specific light wavelengths, and wherein the bright appearance of the predetermined color is undetectable to a naked eye.

3. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined interval is 0.1-60 seconds.

4. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 2 , wherein the predetermined interval is 1-15 seconds.

5. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 4 , wherein the luminescent material includes an UV ink selected from the group consisting of a green UV ink, a blue UV ink, a pink UV ink, a yellow UV ink, a red UV ink, a clear UV ink, and combinations thereof.

6. A historical temperature exposure monitor comprising:
a substrate;
an optically readable, thermally sensitive indicator element supported by the substrate, the indicator element further comprising an indicator material configured to physically move in response to a predetermined temperature exposure; and
a security material supported by the substrate and further comprising a luminescent material configured to give a bright appearance of a predetermined color when exposed to specific light wavelengths,
wherein the bright appearance of the predetermined color is undetectable to a naked eye, and wherein the luminescent material is a phosphorescent component selected from the group consisting of Green Phosphorescent Pigment Powder, Red ZnS Phosphorescent Pigment Powder, Red CaS Phosphorescent Pigment Powder, Strontium Aluminate, CaS, ZnS, Calcium Sulfide, Strontium Aluminate Euporium Dysprosium, Yttirium Oxide, ZnS:Cu, and combination thereof.

7. A historical temperature exposure monitor comprising:
a substrate;
an optically readable, thermally sensitive indicator element supported by the substrate, the indicator element further comprising an indicator material configured to physically move in response to a predetermined temperature exposure; and
a security material supported by the substrate and further comprising a luminescent material configured to give a bright appearance of a predetermined color when exposed to specific light wavelengths,
wherein the bright appearance of the predetermined color is undetectable to a naked eye, and wherein the security material is mixed into and is part of the indicator material, so that the security material physically moves together with the indicator material in response to the predetermined temperature exposure.

8. The historical temperature exposure monitor of claim 7 , where the predetermined temperature exposure is selected from the group consisting of freezing exposure, thawing exposure, peak temperature exposure, cumulative heat exposure, and combinations thereof.

9. A historical temperature exposure monitor comprising:
a substrate;
an optically readable, thermally sensitive indicator element supported by the substrate, the indicator element further comprising an indicator material configured to physically move in response to a predetermined temperature exposure; and
a security material supported by the substrate and further comprising a photochromic material configured to change color state when exposed to specific light wavelengths, the change in color state being undetectable to a naked eye,
wherein the security material is mixed into and is part of the indicator material, so that the security material physically moves together with the indicator material in response to the predetermined temperature exposure.

10. The historical temperature exposure monitor of claim 7 , wherein the security material includes the luminescent material which is, prior to exposure to the specific light wavelengths, undetectable to the naked eye under lighting conditions of visible light.

11. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 7 , wherein the specific light wavelengths are in a range selected from the group consisting of 10-400 nm, 10-380 nm, 10-100 nm, 100-280 nm, 280-315 nm, 315-400 nm, 180-380 nm, 180-400 nm, 100-400 nm, 100-315 nm, 280-400 nm, 400-500 nm, 700 nm-1 mm, 700 nm-1.1 μm, 780 nm-1.4 μm, 1.4-3 μm, and 3 μm-1 mm.

12. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 7 , wherein the security material includes the luminescent material which comprises at least one component selected from the group consisting of: a phosphorescent material, a fluorescent material, a phosphorescent dye, a phosphorescent ink, a fluorescent dye, a fluorescent ink, an infrared-absorbing material, an ultraviolet-absorbing material, Strontium Aluminate, CaS, ZnS, and a phosphorescent pigment powder.

13. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 7 , wherein the indicator element is inactive below a base temperature and being thermally responsive at or above an activation temperature to record irreversibly with respect to time cumulative ambient temperature exposure above the activation temperature, the activation temperature being equal to or greater than the base temperature.

14. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 13 , wherein the indicator material is a meltable solid at or below the base temperature in its initial state, and melts to be a viscous liquid at or above a determined temperature and begins to flow.

15. The historical temperature exposure monitor according to claim 7 , wherein the indicator element comprises a transport member supporting the indicator material, a distance of the physical movement of the indicator material is a displacement with respect to the transport member, a distance of the physical movement of the security material is a displacement with respect to the transport member, and the displacement of the security material is the same as the displacement of the indicator material.

16. A historical temperature exposure monitor comprising:
a substrate;
an optically readable, thermally sensitive indicator element supported by the substrate, the indicator element further comprising an indicator material configured to physically move i

Assignees

• Temptime Corp

Inventors

• Smith Marielle K
• Abdo Mohannad
• Do Thi N
• Huffman Brian S

Classifications

• G09F2003/0277

  Tamper resistant · CPC title

• G09F2003/0276

  Safety features, e.g. colour, prominent part, logo · CPC title

• G09F3/0294

  where the change is not permanent, e.g. labels only readable under a special light, temperature indicating labels and the like · CPC title

• G09F3/0292

  tamper indicating labels · CPC title

• G09F3/0291

  Labels or tickets undergoing a change under particular conditions, e.g. heat, radiation, passage of time · CPC title