Patent Publication Number: US-2019184601-A1

Title: System and method for labeling and monitoring cementitious composites

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/352,141 filed on Jun. 20, 2016, and incorporates said provisional application by reference into this document as if fully set out at this point. 
    
    
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This disclosure relates generally to the taking, testing, monitoring, and labeling concrete specimens for quality control testing or concrete members. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Millions of concrete specimens are taken annually and the labeling, and relabeling upon demolding, has always been a challenge of the concrete construction industry. The results of these tests determine payment for supplied concrete so these test results are important. 
     Furthermore, many members are precast or premanufactured out of concrete and then shipped to the job site for usage. Identification of these members and determining the details of their construction is an important and challenging task. 
     It also may be helpful to label members that are cast-in-place on a job site to establish payment, communicate important details such as a defect, superior property, location within a BIM model or perhaps as a guide so that others know where they need to complete their next set of work. 
     Sample and member labeling and monitoring has always caused problems in the concrete industry for a few different reasons. For example, the conventional approach is to demold the concrete specimen from the form it was cast in and relabel it using a marker, tape, or grease pen. This is done manually. If the writing cannot be read, if it becomes worn away, or if the sample or member is never labeled then this can cause significant problems. Furthermore, sometimes there is only a limited amount of space where a label could be added to the member and it can be challenging to modify these labels to fit and still communicate effectively. 
     It is also possible to fix a label or radio-frequency identification (hereinafter “RFID”) tag to the surface of concrete after it has been removed from the form. However, often these samples and members are placed in extreme environments (such as saturated lime water, deicing salts, freezing environments, and severe drying, etc.) and this can cause the connection to fail and then the sample or member is no longer labeled. A solution is needed that can label the sample or member as it is being cast and provide a way to fix the label securely to bond the label to the surface that is robust and which does not significantly change the sample or member dimensions. 
     Before proceeding to a description of the present invention, however, it should be noted and remembered that the description of the invention which follows, together with the accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the invention to the examples (or embodiments) shown and described. This is so because those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains will be able to devise other forms of this invention within the ambit of the appended claims. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to an embodiment, there is provided a system of labeling or sensing for concrete samples or members that does not suffer from the problems of previous approaches. 
     This system which includes an internal “tag” solves many of the issues commonly experienced with labeling concrete specimens and elements. 
     One embodiment is a concrete labeling technology that is used to track concrete samples or elements using custom labels. An embodiment uses a series of corresponding labels, one for the outside of the form, and one for the inside of the form that becomes part of the concrete sample. It is also possible to just use the tag inside of the forms and without the corresponding external label. The corresponding inside tags are physically bonded to the concrete specimen in a way that creates only a minimal impact on the shape and properties of the concrete. This embodiment will eliminate the need to relabel the samples after demolding. It will also allow many more properties of the concrete to be added to the label such as the conditions, locations, details of creation, materials, and performance to be effectively logged over time. 
     The foregoing has outlined in broad terms some of the more important features of the invention disclosed herein so that the detailed description that follows may be more clearly understood, and so that the contribution of the instant inventors to the art may be better appreciated. The instant invention is not to be limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. Rather, the invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various other ways not specifically enumerated herein. Finally, it should be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting, unless the specification specifically so limits the invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These and further aspects of the invention are described in detail in the following examples and accompanying drawings. 
         FIG. 1  contains an exterior view of a concrete form suitable for use with an embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  contains an interior view of a form with an embodiment of the inventive tag installed. 
         FIG. 3  contains a view of an upper side of an embodiment of the instant device. 
         FIG. 4  contains a view of a lower side of an embodiment of the instant device. 
         FIG. 5  contains a view of the embodiment bonded to the surface of a concrete specimen. 
         FIG. 6  contains a schematic view of an embodiment that contains a circuit board. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings, and will herein be described hereinafter in detail, some specific embodiments of the instant invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodiments or algorithms so described. 
     In one embodiment and as is illustrated in  FIG. 1 , an adhesive exterior label  110  is affixed to a form  100  that is designed to receive semi-liquid concrete samples as is conventionally done, the purpose of the exterior label  110  being to uniquely identifying the contents of the form  100  through the use of a series of characters or other identifiers. This identifier is conventionally placed on the outside of the form  100  to identify the material while the concrete sample hardens within the form  100 . The exterior label  110  could also include a bar code, RFID tag, QR code, etc. Of course, adhesive is just one way of affixing the label  110  to the form. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that that there are numerous ways of attaching the label to a form that don&#39;t involve adhesive, with the particular type of attachment potentially depending on the type of form that is used (e.g., nails, staples, screws, magnets, hook-and-loop, etc.). In some embodiments the label  110  will be removably attached. In other instances it could be permanently attached. As such, when it is said herein that the label  110  is attached or attachable to a surface, that language should be broadly interpreted to include any conventional or unconventional means suitable for attaching that label to the chosen form. 
     An embodiment of the corresponding inventive interior tag  200  ( FIGS. 2 and 3 ) has an adhesive (in some cases a contact adhesive) applied to one face (the upper face  210  of the tag  200  for purposes of specificity hereinafter) that is designed to allow it to be removably affixed to an interior wall or bottom of the form  100 . The strength of the adhesive must be chosen such that the tag  200  remains in place while fresh concrete is added but will release when the form is removed. 
     According to the embodiment of  FIG. 3 , the face  210  additionally contains a descriptive label  220  that covers at least a portion of its surface and which contains information that might be a printed, embossed, etc. on the label  220 . The descriptive label  220  and/or the tag  200  to which it is attached could also include a bar code, RFID tag, QR code or a microcontroller and sensor(s) to measure the immediate or long-term performance of the concrete over time. If the chosen adhesive is relatively clear (e.g., transparent or translucent) the label  220  might be permanently adhered to the upper face  210  of the tag and adhesive applied on top of it. 
     In other embodiments, a piece of double sided tape might be used on the surface with the written information between the tag  200  and the form  100 . In some embodiments, if the tape is not transparent it could be removably attached to the tag  200  so that after the concrete is removed from the form the label  220  could be made visible again. Of course, if the label is, for example, an RFID chip, removal of the tape would not be necessary. In either case, if tape with two adhesive sides is used to secure the tag  200  to the form, the tape will considered to be a part of the tag  200  unless specifically indicated otherwise. Again, the strength of the adhesive on the tape must be chosen such that the tag  200  remains in place while fresh concrete is added but will release when the form is removed, thereby revealing the label  220  that has become bonded to the concrete. 
     Note that for purposes of the instant disclosure, when the term “adhesive” is used herein that term should be broadly construed to be contact adhesive (clear, translucent, or opaque), or other adhesive or a mechanical mechanism (e.g., a hook and loop system) that secures the tag  200  to the side of the form  100  while the fresh concrete is being added to the form and then allows the tag  200  to be released from the form after it has bonded to the concrete sample. 
     Preferably the label  220  will be permanently secured to the upper face  210  of the tag  200 . In some embodiments the code printed thereon will match the label  110  on the exterior of the form  100 . Of course, that is not strictly necessary but will be useful in many embodiments. A central role of the descriptive label  220  is to allow the concrete specimen or member to be identified after it is removed from the form  100  as described below. The tag&#39;s upper surface  210  will preferably be generally planar and pliable so as allow it to mate securely with the interior of the form  100 . 
     The lower face  230  of the tag  200  embodiment of  FIG. 4  comprises a material that is able to reliably bond to the fresh concrete when it is poured into the form  100 . In some embodiments, the textured surface of the lower face  230  will take the form of a material such as the fibers or loops side of a hook-and-loop/Velcro®-type product or any other textured surface. This surface  230  might have fibers, loops, hooks, fibers of various lengths, or, more generally, protrusions on the surface that extend toward the interior of the form  100 . For purposes of the instant disclosure, the word “protrusions” will be used in a general sense to describe any sort of surface texture that is found on at least a portion of the surface  230 , that extends toward the interior of the form after the tag  200  is affixed to it, and that can become embedded in the outer surface of fresh concrete and become permanently bonded thereto after the concrete hardens. 
     Regardless of the procedure used, what is important is that the texture of the surface  230  be such that the tag  200  becomes reliably embedded, bonded, or otherwise attached to the concrete  300  after it has hardened as shown in the example of  FIG. 5 . 
     Once the form  100  is removed, the textured material of the tag face  230  provides a secure bond to the concrete that is stronger than the adhesive on the surface of the opposite face  210 . This means the tag  200  will separate from the form  100  and remain attached to the surface of the concrete. The descriptive label  220  will now be visible and will continue to serve as an identifier of that particular concrete member or sample after it has been extracted from the form  100 . The inventive tag  200  has a minimal surface profile and so will not impact the shape, volume, or mechanical properties of the extracted specimen while still providing a means of identifying the sample. 
     By way of example, the tag  200  can have numbers, bar codes, QR codes, etc., printed on the label  220  to help identify the sample. Barcodes and the like could be easily scanned to help track the samples. The tag  200  may also contain a passive or active RFID, microcontroller or other electronic component that can digitally record this information. An application for a mobile device (e.g., a smart phone or tablet) could be developed that allows all of the construction details or any other helpful information to be recorded for the concrete specimen or member and tie this to the information printed on the label or to the unique identifier communicated by the RFID, microcontroller or other electronic component contained within the tag  200 . This information could be placed in long-term storage and would be of great value to the user. 
     Additionally and according to other embodiments, the tag could contain passive or active RFID, microcontrollers, or other electronic components that can use sensor technology to measure a number of properties/parameters of the concrete or its environment while it is being placed or while those parameters change over time. These may include: conductivity, resistivity, impedance, temperature, moisture content, cracking, ion concentration, pH, acceleration from shock, and overall effectiveness of the concrete. The tag  200  would provide a method to obtain these measurements from the concrete while also labeling the material. Note that, for purposes of the instant disclosure, when it is said that parameters of the concrete are measured, that phrase should be broadly interpreted to include instances where the measured parameter includes a measurement of the environment surrounding or proximate to where the concrete is located. 
     Further, in some embodiments (e.g.,  FIG. 6 ), a tag  600  might include a circuit board  615  and power supply/battery  620  to allow additional/real-time information to be obtained about the curing concrete (e.g., wirelessly via Bluetooth®). In some embodiments, sensors that report temperature (e.g., using a thermocouple or other device or label that indicates an approximate temperature or that reacts to a temperature change and changes color such as a liquid crystal thermometer), resistivity/conductivity/impedance (e.g., using probes of a known spacing and measuring the response to controlled electrical signals over time), moisture content/humidity (e.g., by comparing change in electrical signal of known materials with moisture content), pH/other ion measurement (e.g. by comparing change in electrical signal of specially designed sensing links), cracking or strain (e.g. by measuring the change in electrical signal of a material with deformation), and other parameters of the concrete might be made a part of the tag  600 . In some embodiments, the sensor(s) might be readable by a microprocessor in the circuit board  615 . In still other embodiments, wire leads  625  might be extended from the tag  600  for subsequent use (e.g., when reading any of the provided sensors), in which case the circuit board  615  might be optional if the sensors are in electrical communication with the wire leads  625 . Sensors such as an impact sensor (e.g., accelerometer) might also be made a part of the tag  600  and used in subsequent testing of the sample or an indication of the handling of the sample or member. In this sort of embodiment, it will be important (as before) that the face  610  of the tag  600  have an adhesive that will allow it to be removably attached to the form and maintained in place while the fresh concrete is being added and then detached from the form after the opposite side of the tag has bonded with the hardened concrete in the form. 
     Still further, it should be noted that although one application is concrete samples that are used to test the properties of the hardened material, it should be clear that this approach could also be used with pre-formed or precast items or cast-in-place, columns, slabs, etc. 
     It is to be understood that the terms “including”, “comprising”, “consisting” and grammatical variants thereof do not preclude the addition of one or more components, features, steps, or integers or groups thereof and that the terms are to be construed as specifying components, features, steps or integers. 
     If the specification or claims refer to “an additional” element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element. 
     It is to be understood that where the claims or specification refer to “a” or “an” element, such reference is not be construed that there is only one of that element. 
     It is to be understood that where the specification states that a component, feature, structure, or characteristic “may”, “might”, “can” or “could” be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. 
     Where applicable, although state diagrams, flow diagrams or both may be used to describe embodiments, the invention is not limited to those diagrams or to the corresponding descriptions. For example, flow need not move through each illustrated box or state, or in exactly the same order as illustrated and described. 
     Methods of the present invention may be implemented by performing or completing manually, automatically, or a combination thereof, selected steps or tasks. 
     The term “method” may refer to manners, means, techniques and procedures for accomplishing a given task including, but not limited to, those manners, means, techniques and procedures either known to, or readily developed from known manners, means, techniques and procedures by practitioners of the art to which the invention belongs. 
     For purposes of the instant disclosure, the term “at least” followed by a number is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example, “at least 1” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit, or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or less than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. Terms of approximation (e.g., “about”, “substantially”, “approximately”, etc.) should be interpreted according to their ordinary and customary meanings as used in the associated art unless indicated otherwise. Absent a specific definition and absent ordinary and customary usage in the associated art, such terms should be interpreted to be ±10% of the base value. 
     When, in this document, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)-(a second number)”, this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 25 to 100 should be interpreted to mean a range whose lower limit is 25 and whose upper limit is 100. Additionally, it should be noted that where a range is given, every possible subrange or interval within that range is also specifically intended unless the context indicates to the contrary. For example, if the specification indicates a range of 25 to 100 such range is also intended to include subranges such as 26-100, 27-100, etc., 25-99, 25-98, etc., as well as any other possible combination of lower and upper values within the stated range, e.g., 33-47, 60-97, 41-45, 28-96, etc. Note that integer range values have been used in this paragraph for purposes of illustration only and decimal and fractional values (e.g., 46.7-91.3) should also be understood to be intended as possible subrange endpoints unless specifically excluded. 
     It should be noted that where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where context excludes that possibility), and the method can also include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two of the defined steps, or after all of the defined steps (except where context excludes that possibility). 
     Further, it should be noted that terms of approximation (e.g., “about”, “substantially”, “approximately”, etc.) are to be interpreted according to their ordinary and customary meanings as used in the associated art unless indicated otherwise herein. Absent a specific definition within this disclosure, and absent ordinary and customary usage in the associated art, such terms should be interpreted to be plus or minus 10% of the base value. 
     Still further, additional aspects of the instant invention may be found in one or more appendices attached hereto and/or filed herewith, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference as if fully set out at this point. 
     Thus, the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned above as well as those inherent therein. While the inventive device has been described and illustrated herein by reference to certain preferred embodiments in relation to the drawings attached thereto, various changes and further modifications, apart from those shown or suggested herein, may be made therein by those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the spirit of the inventive concept the scope of which is to be determined by the following claims.