Electromagnetic state sensing devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11537806-B2
Application number	US-202217693649-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 14, 2022
Priority date	Aug 9, 2018
Publication date	Dec 27, 2022
Grant date	Dec 27, 2022

Abstract

A container includes a surface and a first resonance portion. The surface defines a volume of the container, and the first resonance portion includes an assembly of three-dimensional (3D) carbon-containing structures printed on the surface of the container using one or more first carbon-based inks. The first resonance portion is configured to indicate a presence of an item within the container by resonating at one or more predetermined frequencies in response to an electromagnetic radiation ping associated with a user device located a distance from the container. In some implementations, the container may include a second resonance portion including an assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures printed on the surface of the container using one or more second carbon-based inks, the one or more second carbon-based inks being different than the one or more first carbon-based inks.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A container, comprising:
a surface defining a volume of the container; and
a first resonance portion including an assembly of three-dimensional (3D) carbon-containing structures printed on the surface of the container using one or more first carbon-based inks, the first resonance portion configured to indicate a presence of an item within the container by resonating at one or more predetermined frequencies in response to an electromagnetic radiation ping associated with a user device located a distance from the container.

2. The container of claim 1 , wherein the first resonance portion is configured to:
resonate at a first frequency in response to the electromagnetic radiation ping based on the presence of the item within the container; and
resonate at a second frequency in response to the electromagnetic radiation ping based on an absence of the item within the container, the second frequency being different than the first frequency.

3. The container of claim 1 , wherein the item comprises an analyte, and a resonant frequency of the first resonance portion is based at least in part on one or more characteristics of the analyte.

4. The container of claim 3 , wherein the first resonance portion further includes a sensing material that is sensitive to the presence of the analyte within the container.

5. The container of claim 4 , wherein a capacitance of the sensing material is based at least in part on the presence of the analyte within the container.

6. The container of claim 4 , wherein the sensing material comprises a redox mediator.

7. The container of claim 1 , wherein a resonant frequency of the first resonance portion is based at least in part on a size of the printed assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures on the surface of the container.

8. The container of claim 1 , wherein a resonant frequency of the first resonance portion is based at least in part on a geometry of the printed assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures on the surface of the container.

9. The container of claim 1 , wherein a resonant frequency of the first resonance portion is based at least in part on a permeability of the container.

10. The container of claim 1 , further comprising:
a second resonance portion including an assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures printed on the surface of the container using one or more second carbon-based inks, the one or more second carbon-based inks being different than the one or more first carbon-based inks.

11. The container of claim 10 , wherein the assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures of the first resonance portion is printed on a first area of the container surface, and the assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures of the second resonance portion is printed on a second area of the container surface that is different than the first area of the container surface.

12. The container of claim 11 , wherein the first area of the container surface has a different physical geometry than the second area of the container surface.

13. The container of claim 11 , wherein a size of the first area of the container surface is different than a size of second area of the container surface.

14. The container of claim 10 , wherein the second resonance portion is configured to resonate at different frequencies than the first resonance portion in response to the electromagnetic radiation ping.

15. The container of claim 10 , wherein the second resonance portion is configured to indicate state information of the item when present within the container, the state information including one or more of a quantity of the item within the container, a potency of the item within the container, or a staleness of the item within the container.

16. The container of claim 10 , wherein the second resonance portion is configured to indicate product identification information of the item when present within the container.

17. The container of claim 10 , further comprising:
a third resonance portion including an assembly of 3D carbon-containing structures printed on the surface of the container using one or more third carbon-based inks, the one or more third carbon-based inks being different than the one or more first carbon-based inks and being different than the one or more first carbon-based inks.

18. The container of claim 17 , wherein the item comprises an analyte, and wherein:
the first resonance portion is configured to indicate the presence of the analyte within the container by resonating at one or more first predetermined frequencies in response to the electromagnetic radiation ping;
the second resonance portion is configured to indicate state information of perishable goods stored within the container by resonating at one or more second predetermined frequencies in response to the electromagnetic radiation ping; and
the third resonance portion is configured to indicate product identification information of the perishable goods stored within the container by resonating at one or more third predetermined frequencies in response to the electromagnetic radiation ping.

19. The container of claim 18 , wherein:
the state information includes one or more of an amount or volume of the perishable goods stored within the container, a temperature of the perishable goods stored within the container, or a staleness of the perishable goods stored within the container; and
the product information includes a product code or a product ID of the perishable goods stored within the container.

20. The container of claim 1 , wherein the user device is a smartphone, a radio frequency identification (RFID) reader, or a near-field communication (NFC) device.

Assignees

• Lyten Inc

Inventors

• Stowell Michael W
• Lanning Bruce

Classifications

• G06K19/07758

  arrangements for adhering the record carrier to further objects or living beings, functioning as an identification tag · CPC title

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• G06K19/0723

  the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs · CPC title

• G06K19/02

  characterised by the selection of materials, e.g. to avoid wear during transport through the machine · CPC title

• C09D11/52 Primary

  Electrically conductive inks · CPC title