Product Carrier Strip
A product carrier strip (1) comprising a transponder circuit (2, 3). When the product carrier strip is used, it is possible to trace back medicaments from a patient to a manufacturer, for example, for each individual product strip which is usually sold in an external packaging, together with several other product carrier strips. Product carrier strips with metallic extruded films (7) comprise a recess (8) whose edge is used as an antenna. a non-metallic extruded film is provided according to one varient of the invention.
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The present invention relates to a product carrier strip. Product carrier strips are frequently used to present products, such as pharmaceuticals, candies, parts of technical assemblies and the like to the consumer clearly and—in the case of pharmaceuticals and foods—hygienically.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONAbove all in the pharmaceutical field, the problem arises of being able to track pharmaceuticals from the patient back to the producer, for each individual product carrier strip, which has typically been sold in an external package together with multiple other product carrier strips. The identification of the individual product carrier strip is to occur as rapidly as possible and without great effort being expended.
IDEA OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention is therefore based on the object of developing a product carrier strip which permits completely automatic identification as much as possible even when it is located in an external package.
This object is achieved in that the product carrier strip has a transponder circuit. With the aid of electromagnetic transponder technology, serial number, batch number, expiration date, etc., of the pharmaceutical tablets situated on a product carrier strip according to the present invention may be detected and electronically stored if desired, for example. The detection may be performed automatically, for example, when the product carrier strip passes through a gate in a larger external package—possibly together with other product carrier strips. Contact between product and read device or precise geometric orientation in relation to the read device, as is necessary for optical detection of characters or codes, may be dispensed with.
According to an advantageous embodiment, the product carrier strip comprises a blister film, which has a bubble-shaped receptacle chambers for products. The number of the receptacle chambers is arbitrary, however, typically multiple (more than two) receptacle chambers are provided.
According to a further advantageous embodiment, the bubble-shaped receptacle chambers are closed by at least one push-through film.
If the push-through film is metallic, according to an especially advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the film is provided with a recess. The edge of the recess acts as an antenna for the electromagnetic query and response signals. It is advantageous to situate the transponder circuit in the area of the recess, it also being advantageous to couple the transponder circuit via a wire bridge to the push-through film, or more precisely, to the part of the push-through film which encloses the recess, in order to connect the transponder circuit to the antenna in this way.
According to an especially advantageous embodiment of the present invention, a non-metallic (electrically non-conductive) film is used as the push-through film. Providing recesses in the push-through film may be dispensed with in this embodiment of the present invention. Plastic films, polymer films, polypropylene films, and particularly non-elastic polypropylene films have been shown to be suitable as non-metallic films. However, the latter film is especially advantageous, since the film tears immediately due to the non-elasticity, as soon as the consumer pushes in a receptacle chamber of the blister film in order to press a product, such as a tablet, through the push-through film out of the receptacle chamber. The effect is similar to the effect with the metallic push-through films typically used for blister strips.
According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, a transponder circuit whose operating frequency is in the range from 10 to 15 MHz is used in connection with non-metallic push-through films.
However, it is also possible to operate transponder circuits at an operating frequency of 850 MHz to 2.5 GHz. Transponder circuits having this operating frequency, which are advantageously equipped with a UHF chip component, may also advantageously be used in product carrier strips having metallic push-through film, if it is provided with a recess.
As explained above, metallic push-through films which are provided with a recess may also be used as an antenna, in particular if transponder circuits having an operating frequency of 850 MHz to 2.5 GHz are used. Antennas for the transponder circuit may be attached to the product carrier strip, in particular to the push-through film, however. Printing the antenna or etching the antenna out of a metal layer have been shown to be especially advantageous, since these procedures may be incorporated into the production process for product carrier strips.
According to an advantageous refinement of the present invention, the transponder is provided with a removal sensor system, by which it is determined when a product is removed from the product carrier strip. The transponder stores the removal event with the date and possibly also with the time of day. The consumer behavior may thus also be “queried”, which is of special significance in the pharmaceutical field in particular (research of the “patient compliance”).
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the transponder circuit is situated on at least one receptacle chamber. In this configuration, the transponder circuit is situated at a distance to the push-through film which corresponds to the height of the receptacle chamber area even if the push-through film is metallic, sufficient transmission and/or reception quality may be ensured as a result of the distance between the transponder circuit and the push-through film.
The present invention will be explained in greater detail in the following on the basis of the exemplary embodiments schematically illustrated in the drawing. The figures of the drawing are not to scale, in particular, the thicknesses of the various layers shown are drawn greatly enlarged in relation to their other dimensions for reasons of visibility.
A transponder circuit 2 is attached to a section free of receptacle chambers (at the right end of the product carrier strip 1 in
Since the push-through film is manufactured from plastic and, as a result, is non-conductive, the operation of the transponder circuit 2 is not disturbed. With the aid of the transponder circuit 2, which has an operating frequency of 13.56 MHz in the example, the product carrier strip 1 may be identified even when it is located in an external package. Relevant data are stored in the chip 3, such as serial number, batch number, and expiration date, and the transponder circuit 2 transmits this data to the query circuit in response to an appropriate query signal.
It is to be noted on the production technology that the antenna 10 was printed onto the push-through film 7 and the chip 3 was attached to the push-through film 7 using adhesive before the push-through film 7 has been welded to the blister film 6.
Notwithstanding the embodiment shown in
In a section free of receptacle chambers (on the right end of the product carrier strip 1 in
The edge of the metallic push-through film 7 running along the recess 8 acts as an antenna, and the antenna signal is transmitted to the chip 3.
With the aid of the transponder circuit comprising the chip 3, which has an operating frequency of 915 MHz in the example, the product carrier strip 1 may be identified, even when it is located in an external package. Relevant data, such as serial number, batch number, and expiration date, are stored in the chip 3. The transponder circuit transmits this data to the query circuit in response to a corresponding query signal.
It is possible to operate the transponder circuit at a frequency in the range from 850 MHz to 2.5 GHz due to the recess 8 in the metallic push-through film, the edge of the recess 8 is used as an antenna simultaneously.
Four receptacle chambers 4 are not filled with tablets on one section (at the right end of the product carrier strip 1 in
If a transponder is situated on a metal surface, the operation is significantly interfered with, which is noticeable due to a reduced transmission and/or reception power and therefore a lower query distance. The interference may even cause the operation to fail completely. Since the transponder circuit 2 is located at a distance to the push-through film 7 which corresponds to the height of the receptacle chambers 4, the operation of the transponder circuit 2 is not interfered with by the metallic push-through film 7. The product carrier strip 1 may be identified with the aid of the transponder circuit 2, which has an operating frequency of 13.56 MHz in the example, even when it is located in an external package. Relevant data are stored in the chip 3, such as serial number, batch number, and expiration date, and—in the case of a removal sensor system—data of the removal times, and the transponder circuit 2 transmits this data to the query circuit in response to a corresponding query signal.
Claims
1. A product carrier strip (1), wherein it has a transponder circuit (2, 3).
2. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 1, comprising a blister film (6) having bubble-shaped receptacle chambers (4) for products (5).
3. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 2, wherein it has multiple receptacle chambers (4).
4. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 1, wherein the products (5) are pharmaceuticals.
5. The product carrier strip (1) according to at claim 2, comprising at least one push-through film (7), which closes the bubble-shaped receptacle chambers (4).
6. The product carrier strip according to claim 3, wherein the push-through film (7) is metallic and has at least one recess (8).
7. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 6, wherein the area of the push-through film (7) enclosing the recess (8) is an antenna for the transponder circuit (3).
8. The product carrier strip according to claim 6, wherein the transponder circuit (3) is situated in the area of the recess (8).
9. The product carrier strip according to claim 6, wherein the transponder circuit (3) is electrically coupled to the metallic push-through film (7).
10. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 5, wherein the push-through film (7) is non-metallic.
11. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 5, wherein the push-through film (7) comprises plastic.
12. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 5, wherein the push-through film (7) comprises a polymer.
13. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 5, wherein the push-through film (7) comprises a polypropylene.
14. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 5, wherein the push-through film (7) comprises non-elastic polypropylene.
15. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 5, wherein the push-through film (7) is electrically non-conductive.
16. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 10, wherein the transponder circuit (2) has an operating frequency of 10 to 15 MHz.
17. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 1, wherein the transponder circuit (3) has an operating frequency of 850 MHz to 2.5 GHz.
18. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 17, wherein the transponder circuit (3) has a UHF chip.
19. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 1, wherein the transponder circuit (2) has an antenna (10).
20. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 19, wherein the antenna (10) is etched.
21. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 19, wherein the antenna (10) is printed.
22. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 19, wherein the antenna (10) is printed on the push-through film (7).
23. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 1, wherein the transponder circuit (2) contains a tablet removal sensor system.
24. The product carrier strip (1) according to claim 1, wherein the transponder circuit (2) is situated on at least one receptacle chamber (4).
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 20, 2004
Publication Date: Jun 12, 2008
Applicant: SCHREINER GROUP GMBH & CO. KG (Oberschleissheim)
Inventor: Rolf Pohl (Laupheim)
Application Number: 11/658,111
International Classification: B65D 85/00 (20060101);