AU2019101311A4 - ACTIVE TECHNOLOGY ENABLED SMART PACKAGING: Temperature and food safety control - Google Patents

Abstract

Packaging for agricultural produce with a smart ventilation system, temperature control, temperature monitoring using a thermochromic lining, and powered by a re-fillable flexible electrolytic battery. A BluetoothTM chip enables data to be transferred for monitoring, control, and ventilation management over the internet via an app.

Description

DESCRIPTION

Many parts of Asian countries are known for their excellent cuisine, but the food industry has taken much negative publicity lately for its troubling lack of standards (and for a good reason). People everywhere are sceptical of paying a premium for Australian products in Asian countries, and it’s easy to understand why.

For example, for years, some unscrupulous traders in China has been inventive in creating fake products and food items (sometimes these have been recognised as toxic to humans). While there is anecdotal evidence that a considerable amounts of these products being sold locally as an imitation to the higher quality products that are imported from Australia, sites such as eBay and some vendors on Amazon.com have been seen selling food that sometimes openly, sometimes discreetly are being made and often shipped straight from the country. Dislodging counterfeit food is no small challenge with fraud costing as the world’s food industry an estimated $US40 billion ($A53 billion) a year, Alibaba said, citing Michigan State University research. In China, $US1 billion in counterfeit goods were seized in 2014, according to the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition. This amount is expected to increase as consumers become more aware of the benefits of the high-quality produce available from countries like Australia.

There is a very lucrative market for counterfeiters to exploit when it comes to premium food. Australia being an exporter of premium quality agricultural produce attracts a large premium paid for its products. Australia is acknowledged for its high standards of food safety, nutrition and hygiene; this is coupled with the clean and green environment of production which has placed Australian producers at a high level of brand recognition among Asian consumers. Counteriftters are known to take advantage of the premium that Australian food attracts and are unscrupulous in

2019101311 30 Oct 2019 efforts to substitute lower cost production country’s products and pass it off as Australian premium food. There has been continuous research and development in the field of anti-counterfeiting in a bid to battle this never-ending war with the counterfiiters. The global anti-counterfeit packaging market is highly fragmented and offers high potential for growth. Vendors have been increasing their investments in the R&D of radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices to introduce cost-effective and secure RFIDs. The influx of private labels in the market is also on the rise. Therefore, to establish a strong foothold in this competitive environment, vendors are introducing product and service offerings which have clear and unique value propositions.

Australia holds a significant advantage over other primary production countries i.e. brand value and recognition. With agriculture poised to be Australia’s next 100 billion dollar industry, it is imperative that we take the necessary steps to protect it. The Asian middle-class boom is rising and expanding very quickly with over haff of the world's population eager for more of our product. This invention is a significant step leading towards a more secure supply chain to uphold the integrity of the provenance of the exported food.

This invention is a tamper-proof packaging for perishable products that prevent the possibility of counterfeiting. A move towards a more digitally enabled supply chain allows smart packaging techniques such as this invention to work within safe parameters of food handling. loT devices and world-class low orbit satellite communication technology enable this technology to execute its purpose.

The invention in itself is a system that can be attached or preferably embedded into the packaging in a modified method to various types of packaging. The packaging types could vary from flute board, plastic boxes and even ranging to

2019101311 30 Oct 2019 hard plastic boxes. The system is a versatile set of components and technologies that can be incorporated within these different types of packages to make them “smart”. The key elements of this system include an internet of things configured communications system reporting back to an artificial intelligence engine that takes the relevant information provided from the smart packaging and makes real time decisions to ensure the quality, nutritional value, the temperature parameters are maintained and if continual feedback parameters are in excess of established quality parameters identifies those products that need to be automatically excluded from the logistics system. The system embeds the technology within the packaging layered with silicone for protection, smart vents that allow moisture capture/release combined with temperature control using gel packs and new temperature control technologies currently being developed encapsulated within the vent housing. These elements will be powered by highly efficient energy and storage systems that captures power through motion from movement.

1. loT and food quality control unit - This unit is mounted on and incorporated within the boxing design such that it is safe for transportation and weather condition. The control unit itself is enabled with an loT sensor that allows the detection of temperature and moisture levels within the package. The housing also has a Bluetooth chip that connects instantly to the AgriGate smart supply chain communication system and artificial intelligence engine and relays all information to the AgriGate distributed ledger monitoring system. While the package automatically alters the environment within the package, it can also be manipulated through the back-end system of the AgriGate supply chain when connected to a

2019101311 30 Oct 2019 nearby device. Drawing 1 represents the layout of the housing unit in a boxed beef flute board container.

2. Next generation energy generation and storage system- All technology needs a constant supply of energy to work. It is not feasible to incorporate any other source of energy due to practicality and financial viability. As a result, this packaging will house the next generation energy generation system that sit on the top and bottom of the package as shown in Fig 2 with a primary function of powering up the technological aspects of this packaging. Counterfeiters can remove the power source to nullify the intent of this technology. As a result, this packaging will incorporate multiple individual back up energy storage devices to supply energy to the system. These systems will be monitored by the loT device. If there has been any attempt to remove any- one power source, the device will send an alert to the AgriGate. Al based monitoring which is then relayed to the exporter and customer as text messages or notification through the AgriGate supply chain app.

3. Layered thermochromic material - The entire package will be lined with thermochromic material which are engineered specifically to change colour under different temperatures. Most perishable food items need to be stored persistently under 5 degrees Celsius, as a result any prolonged exposure to higher temperatures will also show in a coloured box for immediate review. This thermochromic material is also linked to the loT housing unit that captures colour changes through a single laser that intermittently capture colour information and stores on its memory and

2019101311 30 Oct 2019 corroborates this information with the digital temperature information through its sensors to verify the environmental conditions.

4. Liquid based non rigid battery pack - The lower part of the packaging will house a battery pack that is non - rigid in structure like the traditional lithium ion batteries. It will be powered by replaceable charged electrolytes which can easily be filled up the bottom and will generate enough power to keep the active devices on the packaging to keep running in any condition.

The combination of the above elements is then able to provide a retail level packaging that will uphold the integrity of the food and reassure consumers for the premium that they are paying for a high-quality Australian food product.

There is however, a more pressing matter that isn’t solved. Creating these active smart packages are expensive and can be difficult to create into an economically feasible use as a use and throw type materials. Therefore, these packages will have a strict and structured return cycle that would not only enable us to reduce packaging waste but also encourage reusing on a large scale. These packages will have one time use biodegradable inner liners which will protect the surfaces from the food that is stored within it.

Claims (5)

1. loT enabled housing that controls venting system

2. Smart venting system that can control temperature and moisture through venting gel packs/dry ice and moisture beads and miniaturised refrigeration system

3. Laser system that capture colour information

4. Liquid based battery pack with refillable electrolyte to power loT systems.

5. Thermochromic lining that changes colour when the temperatures rise above certain set temperatures.