Patent Description:
The shipping and storage of food products is critical to providing food retailers, such as grocery and convenience stores, distributors, restaurants and processors with food and other consumable products that will ultimately be used and or consumed by a consumer or end user. Food, food products and consumable products are gathered, refined, processed and stored, as appropriate. For many types of perishable food and consumable products, this includes refrigerating or freezing, maintaining humidity levels and the like, so that the food and consumable products are maintained at a proper temperature, etc. so that they will be fresh and available for their intended use or sale upon delivery to the designated outlet, e.g. grocery or restaurant.

However, despite food or consumable products being packaged and stored with the intent of refrigeration or freezing, there is no known manner of tracking this other than manually checking thermometers or other gauges. Power outages, equipment failures, delays in sorting or packaging, labor issues, or higher than typical ambient temperatures during necessary movement of the food and consumable products from, for example, a refrigerated shipping container to a refrigerated storage unit or facility can result in decreases in food quality, lack of freshness of the food or consumable products, or spoilage. For example, food products being shipped in a refrigerated container on a truck could face a decrease in freshness or quality as a result of a temporary failure of the refrigeration unit or excessively high ambient temperatures that result in the refrigeration unit not being able to cool to an effective temperature. However, in such situations, there is no known manner, other than potential visual or olfactory inspections, to determine that there was a lack of refrigeration or that the food products may not have a desired freshness. Further, due to the packaging of food that is shipped, visual or olfactory inspections of food are often impossible until the food product is ultimately unpacked and opened for use or consumption. Additionally, there is often no known or reliable manner to determine the location or reason for spoilage of food, such as whether it spoiled during shipping, handling or storage following delivery.

<CIT> discloses a hand-held data collector having a sensor, for example, a temperature sensor, a reader, for example, a bar code scanner, a user I/O device, a data processor in electrical communication with the sensor, the reader and the user I/O device and a transceiver unit in electrical communication with the data processor. In a food processing facility, the above monitoring and tracking system may be used to monitor, track, analyse and provide a real time reporting of temperatures and locations of specific food items in inventory.

<CIT> discloses data collection and display representative of at least one characteristic relevant to a viability product contained in a sealed package, via monitoring at least one characteristic associated with a state condition of said product.

The present invention relates to a method and system for tracking the temperatures in refrigeration and/or freezer units. The method and system can include freezer and refrigeration units that are equipped with thermostats or modules for controlling and monitoring the temperatures inside the units. The thermostats may be communicatively coupled to a printer used for inventory labeling and containing date information as well as recipe, ingredient or other data necessary for food preparation, storage or handling. The thermostats may also include a variety of alarms that may be triggered as a result of temperatures in the units falling outside of a predetermined or desired range, or if elements of the system go offline. The modules can be further used to determine humidity or other environmental conditions which may be relevant to the food products being monitored.

The method and system may produce or provide a label that shows that designated food or consumable products which were stored in the refrigeration and freezer units were maintained at a predetermined or desired temperature or environmental range during the storage period. The label can thus provide an indicator of "freshness" or viability where one or more indicia may be printed thereon showing that the food or consumable product was properly stored, a temperature or environmental range, such as humidity, gas levels, spore levels and light during the storage period, duration of the storage period, expected shelf life of the food product, and the like. The label can be attached or adhered to the food or consumable product, to the container or package or to another record member for verification.

According to the invention, there is provided a system for use in determining food freshness as defined in claim <NUM>. Furthermore, according to the invention, there is provided a method for determining food freshness as defined in claim <NUM>.

Advantages of embodiments of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments thereof, which description should be considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals indicate like elements, in which:.

Aspects of the invention are disclosed in the following description and related drawings directed to specific embodiments of the invention. Additionally, well-known elements of exemplary embodiments of the invention will not be described in detail or will be omitted so as not to obscure the relevant details of the invention. Further, to facilitate an understanding of the description discussion of several terms used herein follows.

As used herein, the word "exemplary" means "serving as an example, instance or illustration. " The embodiments described herein are not limiting, but rather are exemplary only. It should be understood that the described embodiments are not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Moreover, the terms "embodiments of the invention", "embodiments" or "invention" do not require that all embodiments of the invention include the discussed feature, advantage or mode of operation.

According to an exemplary embodiment, and referring generally to the Figures, a method and system for monitoring the storage temperature or other environmental conditions, e.g. humidity, light, gas or spore levels, of food and consumable products and labeling the food products may be shown and described. The method and system can include a variety of elements, including a food storage container or package, a thermostat or module, a printer, and a scanning device which may be utilized to provide desired information. A food or consumable product that is stored in a storage container may thus have temperature information and other environmental conditions monitored and ultimately provided on a label or other record member that is printed and affixed to the food product or a container containing the food product to create a freshness record. This information may then be read by any of a variety of scanning devices to provide information regarding the temperature conditions when the food or consumable product was stored. The term "consumable product" applies to products such as nutraceuticals, supplements, vitamins, medicines or the like which are generally ingestible by a human being.

Referring now to exemplary <FIG>, a system <NUM> for temperature monitoring to determine food product freshness may be shown. System <NUM> includes a food storage unit <NUM>. Storage unit <NUM> can be any known refrigeration or freezing storage device or unit and may be any size, including industrial sized units, commercial units, and consumer units. Storage units may also include other cool storage, dry storage or other environmental storage areas such as for fruit or vegetables where one may want to monitor fruit ripening (e.g. capturing the amount of gas being emitted by the fruit, such as ethylene) or rotting or other food packages. Storage unit <NUM> is equipped with a thermostat, sensor or environmental module <NUM>. Thermostat <NUM> may provide a first function as a typical thermostat, for example to maintain a desired temperature inside storage unit <NUM> using known cooling (and/or heating) elements. The thermostat or module may further include other environmental sensors to detect light, humidity, certain gases or spore production from bacteria or fungus. Thermostat <NUM> is communicatively coupled to label printer <NUM>, such as a FRESHMARX® printer available from Avery Dennison Printer Systems Division of Miamisburg, OH and alarm system <NUM>. It may be appreciated that thermostat or module <NUM> may be communicatively coupled to printer <NUM>, alarm system <NUM>, and any other elements, such as heating and cooling control elements (not pictured) in a wired or wireless fashion. For example, the printer could provide the food storage area to increase or decrease a particular environmental condition, heating or cooling, light levels, humidity, etc..

Thermostat or module <NUM> may function as a typical thermostat or environmental monitor, as noted above. However, thermostat <NUM> may also provide a continuous monitoring and reporting of temperatures or environmental conditions inside storage unit <NUM>. According to the invention, thermostat <NUM> sends data or other information to label printer <NUM> indicating that the temperature or environmental condition inside storage unit <NUM> has been maintained in an appropriate range, such as with temperature within <NUM>-<NUM> degrees C for a predetermined amount of time. Thermostat or module <NUM> may be set to report a temperature range or other environmental condition at any desired time intervals, at the time of a triggering event, such as the opening or closing of storage unit <NUM>, following the stocking or removal of food product from storage unit <NUM>, when thermostat <NUM> is adjusted, upon a triggering event such as a change in temperature outside of a predetermined range, or as a result of another triggering event, as desired. Additionally, when some triggering events occur, thermostat, sensor or module <NUM> may also send a signal to an alarm system <NUM> or other notification device to trigger a repsonse. Upon receipt of such a signal, alarm system <NUM> may provide any desired form of audio or visual alarm, or send a communication to another device, such as a computer, phone, or smart phone so that an appropriate party may attend to the alarm and its cause and take corrective action. Alarm system <NUM> may also be such that when an alarm is received, the alarm system <NUM> can reset storage unit <NUM> to a desired or predetermined temperature or environmental condition or otherwise reset thermostat <NUM> and/or any associated cooling or heating hardware to resolve or troubleshoot the problem caused by the alarm.

According to the invention, food products are stored in a storage unit <NUM>. Storage unit <NUM> may be a cooled or refrigerated unit, for example with thermostat <NUM> set to about <NUM> degrees C to cool the food products therein. If the temperature is maintained at or about that temperature during the duration of the food storage, thermostat <NUM> may transmit such data to label printer <NUM> (and any associated computer or processing element associated therewith). The transmitted data can indicate that the food product was stored at a constant or desired temperature, provide the temperature range of the storage unit <NUM> during which the food product was stored, provide an average temperature, provide a target "sell by" date, or provide some other indication of proper storage, such as stating "FRESH" or similar language, providing an alphabetical or numerical grade of known or perceived freshness of the food product, or the like. This data can then be encoded in any of a variety of manners and printed on a label. According to the invention, the encoding is done in the form of printing the data in a regular languange and encoding an RFID tag with the data, where data is encoded in a RFID tag and printed on a label or other record member which accompanies the RFID tag, or any other desired methodology. The encoded information can also match all or a portion of the printed information. Exemplary RFID tags are available from Avery Dennison RFID Company, of Glendale, CA. The printed labels can then be applied to the food or consumable products as desired, for example by placing labels on containers or pallets of grouped food products, placing labels on individual food products, and the like.

In some other examples, if there is a variance in the temperature of storage unit <NUM> during the time when the food products are stored there, such information may also be conveyed and printed by label printer <NUM>, which may be, but is not limited to a FRESHMARX® printer. For example, for food products that experienced a brief temperature variation outside (above or below) of a predetermined range, but which would be unlikely to affect the quality of the food or have a minimal effect on the quality of food, the label printer and associated logic and processor may provide a label that indicates a grade of "B" (on a standard "A" to "F") scale, a numerical grade, such as <NUM> on a scale of10, some other internal coding or a shortened time period until a sell-by date as determined by an algorithm. It may be appreciated that other variances in temperature, environmental levels or storage conditions may result in decreased or increased scores, as appropriate. For example, if the food product was allowed to warm to an undesired temperature during storage in container unit <NUM> or cool to a freezing temperature when undesired, label printer may mark them with a grade of "D", "<NUM>/<NUM>", or indicate a sell-by date that is imminent. Other food product that is determined to be unfit for consumption may be marked as such, such as by printing black boxes or "X"s on the label or overstriking the information that has been printed.

It may be appreciated that the label printed by label printer <NUM> can be a pressure sensitive label or other record member that adheres to food or consumer product packaging or food products themselves, as desired. Further, in addition to temperature information or storage conditions, the label may provide standard inventory and dating information, as desired. Additionally, the labels may be utilized to provide ingredient information, allergy information, or any other appropriate consumer information.

The label affixed to the food product or products may then be scanned by scanner <NUM> to provide the information found on the label printed by label printer <NUM>. Such information can then be utilized by a processing system or appropriate personnel to sort, distribute, display, further store, or dispose of the food product, as appropriate or desired.

Referring now to exemplary <FIG>, food product label <NUM> may be utilized and scanned in any of a variety of locations. For example, the label <NUM> may be affixed to a food product while it is stored in storage unit <NUM> before it is distributed. While in storage unit <NUM>, label <NUM> can be scanned to provide inventory and freshness (product condition) information. When the food product is being prepared for transport, a shipping scan <NUM> can be made on label <NUM> to provide both inventory information and product freshness information. This can ensure quality in the shipping of the food products, ensure that the food product was in proper condition when it left the storage unit <NUM>, and ensure that the food was shipped properly upon delivery to its next destination. For example, food products can be shipped to a distributor <NUM>, wholesale warehouse <NUM>, grocery or convenience store <NUM>, and/or restaurant or kitchen <NUM>. At each of these locations label <NUM> can be scanned to ensure freshness of the food products. In such exemplary embodiments, storage unit <NUM> can be a shipping container that is refrigerated or cooled, and which is transported with the food products stored therein. Alternatively, various storage units <NUM>, thermostats <NUM>, and label printers <NUM> may be used at different stages of the food product storage and distribution. For example, a first storage unit may be at an initial processing facility and provide a first label and "freshness" score, a second may be utilized by a shipping agency to provide a second label and score (for example affixed over the first label), a third may be utilized at a warehouse, distribution center, grocery store, restaurant, etc. to provide another label and score, and so on. Further, in some exemplary embodiments, label <NUM> may be updated at each or any of these stages to reflect any change information, or, if the conditions remain the same throughout transport, a single label may be utilized for all stages. The updating can occur through additional printed or encoded information. Further, storage unit <NUM> may have thermostat <NUM> and label printer <NUM> coupled thereto or integrally formed so that the food product is monitored continuously from its initial processing until it arrives at its ultimate destination for sale or consumption. Additionally, it is envisioned that storage unit <NUM> could be a refrigerator or refrigeration or freezer unit, such as a commercial refrigeration unit at a grocery store or restaurant, or even a consumer refrigeration or freezer unit, which can allow for the monitoring the food product via thermostat <NUM> and label printer <NUM> associated with that refrigeration or freezer unit.

Utilization of such a system as that shown in exemplary <FIG> can allow for enhanced quality control between various custodial agencies of the food products as well as assurances that food products that are ultimately prepared for consumption are fresh or have otherwise been stored in appropriate conditions. For example, if a food product is marked as "FRESH" (or an equivalent marking) at the initial storage unit <NUM>, and then by shipping agency <NUM>, but not by grocery store <NUM>, it will be clear from a scan of label <NUM> that the food product was initially processed and stored properly, that it was shipped properly to the grocery store <NUM>, but that grocery store <NUM> experienced a situation which caused a decrease in the "freshness" or score of the food product, as shown on label <NUM>.

Additionally, in further examples, when food product must be disposed of, the label <NUM> can be scanned. This scan can provide important waste information that reflects if the food or consumable product was disposed of due to spoilage based on storage conditions, spoilage based on appropriate shelf life, or disposed of for other factors. Such information can then ultimately be utilized to provide economic data, predictive ordering data, waste data, and the like to the appropriate entity or entities.

In still further exemplary embodiments, the data printed on label(s) <NUM> may be stored in a database. The database may be located remotely from storage unit <NUM> and label printer <NUM> and may be, for example, cloud based. The data can be sortable and/or searchable, as desired, and may be accessed by other parties. For example, data generated during shipping <NUM> may be accessed by grocery store <NUM> so that they can track their inventory prior to delivery and ensure that the food product is fresh. Further, access to the data in the database can be restricted to certain parties or entities with appropriate privileges, as desired.

Additionally, scans of label <NUM> may assist in connecting food product data that could not previously be connected. For example, in a restaurant environment, food product and labels <NUM> associated therewith may be scanned upon receipt. However, such scans would not previously provide temperature or freshness information, nor would they allow for an automatic inventory update following the scan. Additionally, once scanned into inventory, the food products could be sorted (physically or via data) to show the freshness, shelf life, use-by or sell-by dates, and the like. Such information could also be used in conjunction with a food product ordering system or algorithm. In a kitchen hub environment, scanned labels <NUM> could provide for a further freshness check and also inventory update and control, as well as affect ordering. Further, such a scan in a kitchen environment could be utilized to ensure all food product attributes, such as the presence of allergens or certain ingredients, are monitored and controlled. Additionally, as noted above, the system may be utilized during waste management. Here, info regarding food product use, spoilage, actual cost of food product used versus that disposed of, and the like can be monitored and evaluated for efficiency or ordering purposes.

The foregoing description and accompanying figures illustrate the principles, preferred embodiments and modes of operation of the invention. However, the invention should not be construed as being limited to the particular embodiments discussed above.

Claim 1:
A system (<NUM>) for use in determining food freshness, comprising;
a perishable food product;
a storage unit (<NUM>) for holding the food product;
a module (<NUM>) for monitoring an environmental condition and transmitting information about the environmental condition, the module is positioned within the storage unit;
a printer (<NUM>) containing data relating to the food product, the printer is connected to the module and configured to receive information transmitted by the module;
a printable or encodable medium, the medium configured to receive data from the printer relating to the information received from the module;
wherein
the printer with information received from the module is configured to produce a freshness record for applying to the food product, wherein the freshness record comprises an encodable indication that a temperature or environmental condition inside storage unit (<NUM>) has been maintained in an appropriate range, the system being characterised in that
the printer is configured to provide the encodable indication encoded in an RFID tag and printed in regular language.