A method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold-chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch. The method comprises the following steps: providing a multi-tag radio frequency identification system, which includes a reader, a passive coupling antenna, and a tag; fixing the tag on the primary packaging unit and the coupling antenna on the intermediate packaging unit; using a reader externally mounted on a cold-chain transport vehicle to collect the temperature information of the pharmaceuticals filled in each primary packaging unit; during the entire cold-chain transport of pharmaceuticals, using an RFID reader to collect the temperature information of the pharmaceuticals filled in each primary packaging unit, thereby achieving full-process monitoring of the temperature of cold-chain transported pharmaceuticals. Before the RFID tag of the present invention is fixed on the primary packaging unit, a magnesium aluminum silicate coating is pre-coated on its surface, which can reduce the difference in the measurement results of the same batch of pharmaceuticals caused by too low temperature under low temperature conditions, thereby achieving uniform and accurate monitoring of the temperature of cold-chain transported pharmaceuticals within the batch.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of cold chain transportation of pharmaceuticals, and in particular to a method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of pharmaceuticals transported through a cold chain within a batch. Background Art

[0002] At present, about 25% of the pharmaceutical products on the market are temperature sensitive and need to be strictly stored and transported at low temperatures through professional medical cold chains, including vaccines, blood products, temperature-sensitive chemicals, and medical testing-related reagents. In particular, vaccines and blood products, as special biological products, play an important role in public health and the prevention, treatment, and diagnosis of diseases. The cold chain logistics of biological products such as vaccines and blood products refers to the logistics process in which the temperature of the raw materials and finished products is always controlled within the specified range in all links from production to storage, transportation, sales, and vaccination. Cold chain storage and transportation mainly include four main links: receiving, storage, sorting, and transportation. Each link consists of multiple basic work processes. Compared with normal temperature drugs and APIs, the temperature control and transportation of biological products such as vaccines and blood products is more demanding, the work process is more complicated, and there are more risk factors, which makes the quality and safety of biological products such as vaccines and blood products face higher risks in the cold chain process.

[0003] Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is a reflective communication technology that has been widely used in logistics, public transportation, access control systems and many other scenarios. RFID includes RFID readers and RFID tags (TAGs). RFID readers are active devices that transmit information to TAGs by transmitting and modulating high-frequency carriers. TAGs are mostly passive devices that change channel conditions through load modulation technology. This change can be detected by RFID readers and the TAG information can be read. Existing RFID technologies often have very limited reading distances. For example, the 15693 protocol is generally only about 10 cm, while 14443 is even closer, and the "long-range" 900MHz RFID distance can only reach about 3 meters. In addition, most existing TAG terminals have no perception capabilities and cannot be equipped with specific sensors to complete the collection of specific information, which greatly limits the use scenarios of these products. For example, in a centralized box, assuming that there are multiple identical items, when it is necessary to monitor the information of these items in real time, such as temperature, the existing solutions generally require batteries, which puts a lot of pressure on the monitoring cost and may also cause secondary pollution.

[0004] There are some literature reports on cold chain logistics monitoring based on RFID in the prior art. For example, CN112837012A relates to a method for monitoring temperature data of cold chain logistics using RFID tags, which includes the following steps: (1) When the product leaves the factory, the RFID tag is fixed on the outer packaging of the product; and the product information is written into the RFID tag; (2) Before the product is transported in the cold chain, the reader is used to initialize the RTC in the internal register of the RFID tag chip, and the RFID tag actively starts the product according to the parameters of the initialization setting in the RTC in the RFID tag and records it; (3) During the transportation of the product, the RFID tag measures the temperature of the product according to the test interval time set by the initialization setting and saves it to the internal register of the RFID tag chip. The reader reads the product temperature in the RFID tag in real time and transmits it to the system end for storage; (4) After arriving at the transportation location, the product temperature data and product quantity are detected through the passage door or reader equipped with the reader.

[0005] CN111442858A discloses a system for detecting temperature in cold chain transportation based on RFID technology, including a database processor, an RFID data acquisition module, a GPS positioning module and a data terminal module; the RFID data acquisition module includes an RFID intelligent temperature tag and an RFID temperature wireless sensor, wherein the database processor is connected to the RFID data acquisition module, the GPS positioning module, and the data terminal module, and the data terminal module is connected to a mobile terminal.

[0006] However, the above-mentioned RFDI-based cold chain technology still has some shortcomings in the cold chain transportation of pharmaceuticals. Since pharmaceuticals are usually packaged in different quantities of unit products, involving minimum packaging, small packaging, medium packaging, and large packaging, the minimum packaging is usually a bottle of medicine for one person, the medium packaging is usually a packaging box for multiple people, such as 2 to 20 people or 2 to 50 people, and the large packaging can provide boxes for more people than the above. Generally speaking, people often need to allocate an RFID tag (also commonly referred to as TAG) of an RFID multi-tag radio frequency identification system in each small, medium or large packaging box to facilitate the use of multiple products in different situations. However, the experimental results show that in a low temperature environment, the temperature standard deviation value SD of multiple packages measured by the RFID tag of the prior art is large, which indicates that the temperature measurement of the RFID tag of the prior art is not accurate enough. Therefore, we propose a method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transportation pharmaceuticals within a batch. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to improve and innovate the shortcomings and problems existing in the background technology, and to provide a method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch is provided, comprising the following steps:

[0009] Step 1, providing a multi-tag radio frequency identification system based on RFID, which includes a mutually independent RFID reader, a plurality of passive coupling antennas and a plurality of RFID tags, wherein a data storage device is provided in the RFID reader;

[0010] Step 2: fix the RFID tag on each primary packaging unit by pasting, and fix the passive coupling antenna on each secondary packaging unit by pasting, each primary packaging unit is filled with at least one pharmaceutical unit, and each secondary packaging unit is filled with at least one primary packaging unit;

[0011] Step 3: Use an RFID reader mounted on a cold chain transport vehicle to collect temperature information of the pharmaceutical products filled in each primary packaging unit, and store the collected information in a data storage device;

[0012] Step 4: During the entire cold chain transportation of pharmaceuticals, the temperature information of the pharmaceuticals filled in each primary packaging unit is collected and stored using an RFID reader at fixed or irregular intervals, thereby achieving full-process monitoring of the temperature of pharmaceuticals in cold chain transportation;

[0013] Wherein, before the RFID tag is fixed on the primary packaging unit, a magnesium aluminum silicate coating is pre-coated on its surface, and the magnesium aluminum silicate coating is coated in the following manner: micronized magnesium aluminum silicate, povidone K30 and lanolin are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:1:1, added to 8 times the weight of ethanol, stirred and heated to 65°C to dissolve the povidone K30 and lanolin and to evenly suspend the magnesium aluminum silicate to obtain a suspension, and the suspension is evenly coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the RFID tag, and the solvent is evaporated to obtain the RFID tag. The coating amount of the tag per square centimeter is 1-2 mg in terms of magnesium aluminum silicate, and the micronized magnesium aluminum silicate refers to magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can completely pass through a standard No. 8 sieve and contains no less than 95% that can pass through a No. 9 sieve.

[0014] A further solution is that after the RFID tag is coated with magnesium aluminum silicate, a layer of plastic film is sealed on the surface.

[0015] A further solution is that each primary packaging unit is filled with 1 to 50 pharmaceutical units, and each secondary packaging unit is filled with 1 to 30 primary packaging units.

[0016] A further solution is that the interval time is a fixed or irregular interval time within the range of 1 to 24 hours.

[0017] A further solution is that the RFID reader is radio frequency coupled to the plurality of RFID tags respectively through a passive coupling antenna, and is used to read the plurality of RFID tags simultaneously;

[0018] An RFID tag is an RFID tag with an interface and separate transmitting and receiving antennas;

[0019] The RFID tags all include a receiving antenna, an energy collection module, a first modulation and demodulation module, a transmitting antenna, a first interface module and a first data storage module; in the RFID tags, the receiving antenna is connected to the input end of the energy collection module, and the receiving antenna is also connected to the signal input end of the first modulation and demodulation module; the output end of the energy collection module is connected to the power supply end of the first modulation and demodulation module, the signal output end of the first modulation and demodulation module is connected to the transmitting antenna, the signal output end of the first modulation and demodulation module is also connected to the input end of the first interface module, the output end of the first interface module is connected to the input end of the first data storage module, and the output end of the first data storage module is connected to the signal input end of the first modulation and demodulation module; the front ends of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are both equipped with multi-stage adjustable capacitors;

[0020] The RFID tag also includes a rectifier module, and the output end of the energy collection module is also connected to the multi-stage adjustable capacitors of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna through the rectifier module;

[0021] The energy collection module includes capacitor C1, capacitor C2, capacitor C3, capacitor C4, diode D1, diode D2, diode D3 and diode D4; the input end of the energy collection module is between one end of the capacitor C1 and the positive electrode of the diode D2, the other end of the capacitor C1 is respectively connected to the negative electrode of the diode D2 and one end of the capacitor C2, the other end of the capacitor C2 is respectively connected to the negative electrode of the diode D3 and the positive electrode of the diode D4, the negative electrode of the diode D4 is connected to one end of the capacitor C4, the other end of the capacitor C4 is respectively connected to the positive electrode of the diode D3 and the negative electrode of the diode D1, the positive electrode of the diode D1 is connected to the negative electrode of the diode D2, one end of the capacitor C3 is connected to the negative electrode of the diode D1, the other end of the capacitor C3 is connected to the positive electrode of the diode D2, the positive electrode of the diode D2 is also connected to the digital ground, and the output end of the energy collection module is between the positive electrode of the diode D2 and the negative electrode of the diode D4.

[0022] A further solution is that the resonance points of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are different, and the Q values ​​of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are both greater than 50;

[0023] The RFID tag also includes a frequency division module, and the first modulation and demodulation module is connected to the transmitting antenna through the frequency division module;

[0024] The frequency division module is specifically a frequency division circuit with an adjustable frequency division coefficient, and the first interface module includes any one or more combinations of an SPI interface, an IIC interface, and an ADC interface; or,

[0025] A hardware filtering algorithm is embedded in the first modulation and demodulation module.

[0026] A further solution is that the RFID reader includes a multi-transmitting antenna array, a multi-receiving antenna array, a second modulation and demodulation module, a second interface module, a second data storage module and a control module; the multi-receiving antenna array is connected to the signal input end of the second modulation and demodulation module, the signal output end of the second modulation and demodulation module is connected to the multi-transmitting antenna array, the signal output end of the second modulation and demodulation module is also connected to the input end of the second interface module, the output end of the second interface module is connected to the input end of the second data storage module, the output end of the second data storage module is connected to the signal input end of the second modulation and demodulation module, and the control module is bidirectionally connected to the second interface module; the front end of the multi-receiving antenna array is equipped with a multi-stage adjustable capacitor.

[0027] A further solution is that the RFID-based multi-tag radio frequency identification system performs radio frequency identification operations according to the following steps:

[0028] After the RFID reader detects the change in the impedance of the RFID tag and before the RFID reader issues a user retrieval code instruction, the RFID tag and the RFID reader are tuned;

[0029] After the tuning between the RFID tag and the RFID reader is completed, the load modulation method based on the full-duplex communication enables data transmission between the RFID tag and the RFID reader;

[0030] The tuning process of the RFID tag is as follows:

[0031] Adjust the multi-level adjustable capacitor at the front end of the receiving antenna to maximize the feedback voltage of the receiving antenna; use the strength of the signal read by the RFID reader as the feedback value, and tune the transmitting antenna by adjusting the multi-level adjustable capacitor at the front end of the transmitting antenna to achieve the best matching point;

[0032] The tuning process of the RFID reader is as follows:

[0033] Based on the ALOHA algorithm, the extreme value of the signal strength received by the multi-receiving antenna array is used as the tuning target value, and the energy of the carrier signal generated by the RFID reader is gradually increased from low to high in multiple stages. When any RFID tag among the multiple RFID tags completes its own tuning at the corresponding energy, it is in a silent state until all RFID tags complete the tuning.

[0034] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a radio frequency identification system for monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals is provided, comprising an independent RFID reader, a plurality of passive coupling antennas, and a plurality of RFID tags, wherein a data storage device is provided in the RFID reader; wherein, before the RFID tag is fixed on the primary packaging unit, a magnesium aluminum silicate coating is pre-coated on its surface, and the magnesium aluminum silicate coating is coated in the following manner: micronized magnesium aluminum silicate, povidone K30 and lanolin are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:1:1, added to 8 times the weight of ethanol, stirred and heated to 65°C to dissolve the povidone K30 and lanolin and uniformly suspend the magnesium aluminum silicate to obtain a suspension, and the suspension is uniformly coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the RFID tag, and the solvent is evaporated to obtain the RFID tag, the coating amount of the tag per square centimeter is 1-2 mg in terms of magnesium aluminum silicate, and the micronized magnesium aluminum silicate refers to magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can completely pass through a standard No. 8 sieve and contains not less than 95% of magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can pass through a No. 9 sieve.

[0035] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effect of the present invention is that by coating the RFID reader, the present invention can reduce the difference in measurement results of the same batch of drugs caused by too low temperature under low temperature conditions, thereby achieving uniform and accurate monitoring of the temperature of cold chain transported drugs within the batch. This discovery is simply unforeseeable by the prior art. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0036] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0037] Figure 1 This is a structural block diagram of a multi-tag radio frequency identification system based on RFID of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 2 It is the structural block diagram of RFID tag;

[0039] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the circuit structure of the energy collection module in the RFID tag. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In order to make the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] It should be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element or there may be an intermediate element. When an element is considered to be "connected to" another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time.

[0042] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as those commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. The terms used herein in the specification of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. The term "and / or" used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the related listed items.

[0043] See also Figure 1-Figure 3 , provides an overall architecture of the multi-tag radio frequency identification system of the present invention, including independent RFID readers, passive coupling antennas, and RFID tags. The passive coupling antennas and RFID tags are placed within a preset space range. The RFID reader is radio frequency coupled to multiple RFID tags through the passive coupling antenna, and is used to read multiple RFID tags at the same time, that is, one passive coupling antenna can be paired with multiple RFID tags to work; in addition, one RFID reader can work with multiple passive coupling antennas.

[0044] In a specific example, the RFID tag is an RFID tag with an interface and separate transceiver antennas; the RFID reader is an RFID reader with an interface and separate transceiver antennas. In a multi-tag radio frequency identification system, an RFID reader will communicate with multiple RFID tags at the same time, but the placement positions and angles of multiple RFID tags are random, and it cannot be guaranteed that each RFID tag antenna can be parallel to the plane of the RFID reader antenna. When the planes of the RFID tag antenna and the RFID reader antenna are seriously not parallel, communication failure will occur. In order to ensure that an RFID reader communicates with multiple RFID tags at the same time, a passive coupling antenna is used as a buffer to solve the reading direction problem; the magnetic field on the RFID reader antenna can be cut by the passive coupling antenna, generating mutual induction current to form a new magnetic field, and these new magnetic fields can be coupled with the RFID tag antenna at the other end to realize communication between the reader and the tag, thereby realizing one reader reading multiple tags in different directions.

[0045] In a multi-tag scenario, the RFID tag antenna is not necessarily completely parallel to the plane of the RFID reader antenna. When the reader antenna is completely perpendicular to the RFID tag antenna, tag reading is most difficult, and communication will fail in this case. Moreover, the magnetic field generated by the RFID reader cannot generate mutual induction current on the RFID tag antenna, so the RFID tag cannot be activated, let alone reliable communication. When the passive coupling antenna is introduced, the passive coupling antenna can be used as a medium. The magnetic field on the RFID reader antenna can be cut by the passive coupling antenna, thereby generating mutual induction current to form a new magnetic field. These newly generated magnetic fields can couple with the RFID tag antenna at the other end, thereby transmitting the information transmitted by the reader to the card end.

[0046] The RFID tag antenna of the present invention may include the receiving antenna and transmitting antenna described below in the RFID tag, and the RFID reader antenna may include the multi-transmitting antenna array and the multi-receiving antenna array described below in the RFID reader.

[0047] RFID tags are well known in the art, and they can be easily obtained from commercial sources, wherein the RFID tag includes a receiving antenna, an energy collection module, a first modulation and demodulation module, a transmitting antenna, a first interface module and a first data storage module; the receiving antenna is connected to the input end of the energy collection module, and the receiving antenna is also connected to the signal input end of the first modulation and demodulation module; the output end of the energy collection module is connected to the power supply end of the first modulation and demodulation module, the signal output end of the first modulation and demodulation module is connected to the transmitting antenna, the signal output end of the first modulation and demodulation module is also connected to the input end of the first interface module, the output end of the first interface module is connected to the input end of the first data storage module, and the output end of the first data storage module is connected to the signal input end of the first modulation and demodulation module; the front ends of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are both equipped with multi-stage adjustable capacitors.

[0048] In the present invention, the term "RFID tag" may also be referred to as "tag" for short, and the term "RFID reader" may also be referred to as "reader" for short. The working principle of RFID tag is known in the art. When the tag enters the reading range of the reader, the receiving antenna of the tag receives the carrier emitted by the reader, and the receiving antenna transmits the high-frequency signal of the received carrier to the energy collection module. The energy collection module converts the high-frequency signal of the carrier into a DC signal to power the first modulation and demodulation module. The receiving antenna transmits the signal in the received carrier to the first modulation and demodulation module, and the first modulation and demodulation module demodulates the signal in the carrier. When the tag matches the reader, the first modulation and demodulation module obtains the pre-stored tag data from the first data storage module, modulates the tag data, and transmits it to the reader through the transmitting antenna. The first interface module is used for external devices. The first interface module can transparently transmit the data demodulated from the first modulation and demodulation module to the first data storage module, and can also transparently transmit the information transmitted by the external device to the first data storage module.

[0049] In addition, the uplink and downlink antennas of the RFID tag of the present invention are separated, which is conducive to the use of high Q value circuits, greatly improving the communication distance and ensuring the feasibility of reliable communication under high Q value conditions. The receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna have different resonance points and are used for the downlink and uplink communication links respectively. The Q values ​​of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are both greater than 50.

[0050] Both the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna can adopt a loop antenna formed by PCB traces. For example, the front end of the antenna is equipped with a multi-level adjustable capacitor C, that is, the front end of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna is equipped with a multi-level adjustable capacitor C, which is composed of multiple adjustable capacitors connected in parallel, and the number of adjustable capacitors is set according to actual conditions. The front end of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna is equipped with a multi-level adjustable capacitor for automatic fine-tuning of the Q value or the resonance point. The advantages of multi-stage adjustable capacitors are multifaceted. For example, the Q value or resonance point of the antenna end can be guaranteed to be unchanged to a certain extent. When the tag is placed in different environments, the capacitance or inductance effect introduced by the environment will affect the resonance point or Q value of the antenna. Due to the introduction of multi-stage adjustable capacitors, the influences in these environments can be compensated to a certain extent, thereby ensuring the reliable performance of the tag; it can also ensure to a certain extent that the communication distance will not be attenuated due to the change of the Q value. When the Q value or resonance point caused by the external environment changes, the energy absorbed from the antenna end will change. Due to the high Q value, the change caused by resonance may cause a sharp decrease in the absorbed energy, thereby causing the chip to fail to work normally, and the introduction of multi-stage adjustable capacitors can improve this situation. Through the design of the present invention, the tag can dynamically and adaptively adjust the Q value or resonance frequency of the antenna end. The adjustment of the dynamic Q value helps the circuit part to ensure a higher energy collection efficiency and a communication distance that is better than that of traditional RFID.

[0051] In addition, the energy collection module is used to convert the high-frequency signal in the carrier received by the receiving antenna into a DC signal through a voltage-boosting circuit composed of a diode and a capacitor to power other parts (such as the first modulation and demodulation module). Figure 3 As shown, the energy collection module includes capacitors C1 to C4, and diodes D1 to D4; the input end of the energy collection module is between one end of the capacitor C1 and the positive electrode of the diode D2, the other end of the capacitor C1 is respectively connected to the negative electrode of the diode D2 and one end of the capacitor C2, the other end of the capacitor C2 is respectively connected to the negative electrode of the diode D3 and the positive electrode of the diode D4, the negative electrode of the diode D4 is connected to one end of the capacitor C4, the other end of the capacitor C4 is respectively connected to the positive electrode of the diode D3 and the negative electrode of the diode D1, the positive electrode of the diode D1 is connected to the negative electrode of the diode D2, one end of the capacitor C3 is connected to the negative electrode of the diode D1, the other end of the capacitor C3 is connected to the positive electrode of the diode D2, the positive electrode of the diode D2 is also connected to the digital ground, and the output end of the energy collection module is between the positive electrode of the diode D2 and the negative electrode of the diode D4. Figure 3 Medium V in Indicates the voltage input terminal; V out Represents the voltage output terminal, and EP represents the ground wire. In addition, the RFID tag also includes a rectifier module, and the output terminal of the energy collection module is also connected to the multi-stage adjustable capacitors of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna through the rectifier module. When the DC signal of the energy collection module enters the rectifier module, its peak voltage is used as the feedback of the antenna to adjust the Q value or resonance point of the antenna to achieve a better energy collection efficiency. The RFID tag of the present invention adopts adaptive adjustment of the transmission frequency point, and achieves the purpose of changing the transmission frequency point by changing the step coefficient, so that the transmission frequency point is consistent with the resonance frequency point of the transmitting antenna, so that the communication distance of the uplink is optimized. In addition, the first modulation and demodulation module is used to demodulate the signal in the carrier or modulate the signal to be transmitted. In particular, the RFID tag also includes a frequency division module, and the first modulation and demodulation module is connected to the transmitting antenna through the frequency division module; the frequency division module is a frequency division circuit with an adjustable frequency division coefficient. When the first modulation and demodulation module modulates the local information for use in the uplink, the frequency division module downconverts the carrier signal, and the downconverted signal is used to shift the center frequency of the carrier signal to match the resonant frequency of the transmitting antenna to achieve the best transmission effect. The frequency division coefficient of the frequency division module can be adjusted, so that when the carrier after frequency division is offset from the resonant point of the transmitting antenna, it can be alleviated by appropriately changing the frequency division coefficient.

[0052] In a specific example, the first interface module is used to connect an external device and communicate with it. It can transparently transmit data demodulated from the downlink, and can also transparently transmit information transmitted by the external device. Different interface circuits can be selected, such as SPI, IIC, ADC. The first interface module is used to expand the functions of the tag, such as connecting an analog or digital temperature sensor through the ADC interface and the IIC interface for passive temperature sensing; connecting a Flash chip through the SPI interface for event recording, etc.

[0053] In a specific example, a hardware filtering algorithm is embedded in the first modulation and demodulation module. When the first interface module is connected to an external device (such as an external sensor) to read data, the data obtained by the sensor will inevitably be subject to various interferences and generate noise, which will inevitably affect the reliability of the read data. In order to obtain the most authentic data information, a hardware filtering algorithm is embedded in the tag, so that more stable data can be obtained as much as possible without increasing costs or affecting system reliability.

[0054] In addition, the RFID reader includes a multi-transmitting antenna array, a multi-receiving antenna array, a second modulation and demodulation module, a second interface module, a second data storage module and a control module; the multi-receiving antenna array is connected to the signal input end of the second modulation and demodulation module, the signal output end of the second modulation and demodulation module is connected to the multi-transmitting antenna array, the signal output end of the second modulation and demodulation module is also connected to the input end of the second interface module, the output end of the second interface module is connected to the input end of the second data storage module, the output end of the second data storage module is connected to the signal input end of the second modulation and demodulation module, and the control module is bidirectionally connected to the second interface module; the front end of the multi-receiving antenna array is equipped with a multi-stage adjustable capacitor.

[0055] The basic functional modules of the RFID reader are similar to those of the above-mentioned tags, that is, the transmission and reception antenna separation technology and high Q value circuit are adopted, and an adjustable capacitor is introduced at the antenna end for tuning. The difference is that since the RFID reader is an active device, beamforming technology can be introduced at both the transmission and reception ends to improve the SNR of the signal, which can equivalently increase the communication distance; at the same time, the introduction of multi-antenna technology is conducive to solving the directional problem of reading. For example, when the multi-receiving antenna array contains two square antennas, which are arranged in a perpendicular manner to each other, it is difficult for the RFID tag to appear in any direction in any way it appears in the field of view. If more antennas are introduced, multi-angle RFID tag reading can be easily realized, which will greatly expand the application scenarios of RFID tags. For example, RFID tags can be used to realize real-time collection and monitoring of the temperature of multiple vaccine bottles in cold chain transport vehicles or containers, thereby supporting multi-card reading.

[0056] In a specific example, the control module may be a programmable control chip, which is the control center of the RFID reader.

[0057] The RFID-based multi-tag radio frequency identification system of the present invention is used to perform multi-tag radio frequency identification, for example, for temperature monitoring of cold chain transportation of pharmaceuticals, which includes the following steps:

[0058] (S1) after the RFID reader detects a change in impedance of the RFID tag and before the RFID reader issues a user retrieval code instruction, tuning the RFID tag and the RFID reader;

[0059] (S2) after the tuning between the RFID tag and the RFID reader is completed, data transmission is performed between the RFID tag and the RFID reader based on a load modulation method of full-duplex communication;

[0060] In (S1),

[0061] The tuning process of the RFID tag is as follows:

[0062] Adjust the multi-stage adjustable capacitor at the front end of the receiving antenna to maximize the feedback voltage of the receiving antenna;

[0063] Based on the signal strength read by the RFID reader as the feedback value, the transmitting antenna is tuned by adjusting the multi-level adjustable capacitor at the front end of the transmitting antenna to make the transmitting antenna reach the best matching point;

[0064] The tuning process of the RFID reader is as follows:

[0065] Based on the ALOHA algorithm, the extreme value of the signal strength received by the multi-receiving antenna array is used as the tuning target value, and the energy of the carrier signal generated by the RFID reader is gradually increased from low to high in multiple stages. When any RFID tag among the multiple RFID tags completes its own tuning at the corresponding energy, it is in a silent state until all the RFID tags complete the tuning.

[0066] In the multi-tag radio frequency identification method of the present invention, after the RFID reader detects the change in the impedance of the RFID tag and before the RFID reader issues a user retrieval code instruction, the RFID tag and the RFID reader are tuned to ensure normal and stable communication between the RFID tag and the RFID reader; in addition, the full-duplex communication mode is adopted to reduce the feedback time.

[0067] The method of the present invention can use the traditional RFID protocol. When the RFID reader detects the change of impedance, it will issue a user search code instruction to start reading the card. In addition, in the present invention, before issuing the user search code instruction, the Q value or the resonant frequency is automatically adjusted. For the tag, the receiving antenna will automatically adjust the capacitance so that the feedback voltage reaches the maximum, thereby achieving the purpose of resonance; the tuning of the transmitting antenna requires the cooperation of the RFID reader, and whether the transmitting end is tuned to reach the best matching point is based on the feedback information of the RFID reader: specifically, the RFID reader sends the read signal strength back to the tag as a feedback value. For the RFID reader, it only needs to tune the receiving end: the extreme value of the received signal strength is used as the target value of the tuning. Since the tuning is for the mismatched circuit, that is, the carrier frequency deviates from the resonant point, and the tag in the present invention uses a high Q value circuit, when the circuit is detuned, it is very likely that the Q value is too high and the resonant point deviates too far, resulting in the circuit The receiving end energy is too small and cannot work. For this reason, during the tuning process, the energy of the carrier signal generated by the RFID reader increases continuously from low to high in several stages. When a tag completes its own tuning under certain energy conditions, it can be in a silent state and no longer participate in the tuning process. The entire tuning process is completed in conjunction with the ALOHA algorithm to complete the calibration of multiple tags; the entire calibration process is completed in a very short time; when necessary, such as when the tag position changes and causes the antenna to detune, it can be manually stimulated to tune again.

[0068] In the tuning method between the tag and the RFID reader, after the RFID reader detects the change in the impedance of the RFID tag and before the RFID reader issues a user retrieval code instruction, the RFID tag and the RFID reader are tuned to ensure normal and stable communication between the RFID tag and the RFID reader.

[0069] In (S2) of the method of the present invention, the load modulation method of full-duplex communication is specifically that the downlink between the RFID tag and the RFID reader adopts amplitude modulation, and the uplink between the RFID tag and the RFID reader adopts phase modulation; the implementation method of the downlink between the tag and the reader adopting amplitude modulation and the uplink adopting phase modulation is: the real part of the impedance of the load element and the real part of the impedance of the load modulation element are set to be consistent in size and sign, and the imaginary part of the impedance of the load element and the imaginary part of the impedance of the load modulation element are set to be consistent in size and opposite in sign.

[0070] The present invention adopts amplitude modulation for the downlink and phase modulation for the uplink.

[0071] Example 1

[0072] The present invention uses an RFID tag, which is an adhesive RFID tag, which is made into a roll label form that is removed manually or by a labeling machine. It is the most widely used mainstream product in current applications, that is, an electronic label is attached to the back of the trademark and is directly attached to the object to be identified.

[0073] Before use, the RFID tag is pre-coated with a magnesium aluminum silicate coating on its surface. The magnesium aluminum silicate coating is coated in the following manner: micronized magnesium aluminum silicate, povidone K30 and lanolin are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:1:1, added to 8 times the weight of ethanol, stirred and heated to 65°C to dissolve the povidone K30 and lanolin and to evenly suspend the magnesium aluminum silicate to obtain a suspension, and the suspension is evenly coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the RFID tag, and the solvent is evaporated to obtain the RFID tag, and a layer of plastic film is further plastic-sealed on the surface, and the coating amount of the label per square centimeter is 1.5 mg in terms of magnesium aluminum silicate. The micronized magnesium aluminum silicate refers to magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can pass through a standard No. 8 sieve and contains no less than 95% that can pass through a No. 9 sieve;

[0074] Follow the steps below to monitor the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals:

[0075] (1) A multi-tag radio frequency identification system based on RFID is provided, which includes an independent RFID reader as described above in the present invention, a plurality of passive coupling antennas, and a plurality of RFID tags as described in this embodiment, wherein a data storage device is provided in the RFID reader;

[0076] (2) The RFID tag is fixed on each primary packaging unit by pasting, and the passive coupling antenna is fixed on each intermediate packaging unit by pasting; each primary packaging unit, i.e., a medicine box, is filled with one bottle of freeze-dried vaccine (i.e., a pharmaceutical unit, one glass bottle per box) that needs to be stored at -28 to -25°C, and each intermediate packaging unit, i.e., a large medicine box, is filled with 20 primary packaging units;

[0077] (3) using an RFID reader mounted on a cold chain transport vehicle (a cold chain vehicle that provides a storage condition of -28 to -25°C for pharmaceuticals) to collect temperature information of the pharmaceuticals (vaccines) filled in each primary packaging unit, and storing the collected information in the data storage device;

[0078] (4) During the entire cold chain transportation of pharmaceuticals, the temperature information of the pharmaceuticals filled in each primary packaging unit is collected and stored using an RFID reader at fixed intervals (2 hours), thereby achieving full monitoring of the temperature of pharmaceuticals in cold chain transportation;

[0079] In view of the fact that the multi-tag radio frequency identification system of the present invention, especially the RFID tags therein, need to work at very low temperatures, the inventors unexpectedly found that after the RFID tags were treated with the magnesium aluminum silicate coating described herein, the uniformity of the temperature data fed back by the 20 primary packaging units with RFID tags in the same intermediate packaging unit was significantly improved;

[0080] As described in the above steps (1) to (4), the test is specifically carried out in the following manner: the test product: an intermediate packaging unit (on which a passive coupling antenna is fixed), 20 primary packaging units loaded in the intermediate packaging unit (each primary packaging unit is affixed with an RFID tag); the above test product is placed in a cold storage of a cold chain transport vehicle with a predetermined temperature of -26±2°C, and temperature data are collected at 0 hours, 2 hours, 4 hours, 6 hours, 8 hours, 10 hours, and 12 hours. For these 7 reading time points, the result of each reading time point is expressed as the mean ± SD of the 20 readings; the results are as follows: 0h=13.56±0.11°C, 2h=-1.62±0.17°C, 4h=-13.51±0.23°C, 6h=-25.72±0.25°C, 8h=-24.44±0.24°C, 10h= -26.63±0.23°C, 12h=-25.49±0.25°C. From the results, it can be seen that after the temperature of each primary packaging unit dropped below -10°C, the differences between the 20 readings at each reading time point (i.e., the standard deviation SD) were very small, indicating that the 20 RFID tags were very consistent in their sensitivity to temperature.

[0081] Comparative Example a

[0082] The only difference is that when the RFID tag is coated with magnesium aluminum silicate, no lanolin is added to the coating solution, and the coating amount per square centimeter of the tag is also 1.5 mg in terms of magnesium aluminum silicate. The rest of the operation is the same as in Example 1. The temperature data of 20 RFID tags are read at 7 reading time points, and the results are expressed as mean ± SD. The results are as follows: 0h = 12.47 ± 0.15°C, 2h = -1.83 ± 0.18°C, 4h = -14.11 ± 0.84°C, 6h = -26.31 ± 2. 11°C, 8h=-25.73±1.85°C, 10h=-25.37±2.19°C, 12h=-26.84±2.35°C. From the results, it can be seen that after the temperature of each primary packaging unit dropped below -10°C, the differences between the 20 readings at each reading time point (i.e., the standard deviation value SD) were significantly greater than that in Example 1, indicating that the 20 RFID tags had significantly greater sensitivity to temperature when coated with a coating that did not contain lanolin, which was completely unexpected.

[0083] Comparative Example b

[0084] The only difference is that when the RFID tag is coated with magnesium aluminum silicate, magnesium aluminum silicate is not added to the coating liquid, and the coating amount per square centimeter of the tag is also 0.5 mg based on lanolin, that is, the equivalent amount is the same as that of Example 1 except that magnesium aluminum silicate is not added. The rest of the operation is the same as Example 1, and the temperature data of 20 RFID tags are read at 7 reading time points, respectively, and expressed as mean ± SD; the results are as follows: 0h = 13.74 ± 0.14°C, 2h = -1.54 ± 0.12°C, 4h = -13.25 ± 0.93°C, 6h = =-25.97±1.97°C, 8h=-26.41±2.26°C, 10h=-26.14±2.14°C, 12h=-24.25±2.31°C. From the results, it can be seen that after the temperature of each primary packaging unit dropped below -10°C, the differences between the 20 readings at each reading time point (i.e., the standard deviation value SD) were significantly greater than those in Example 1, indicating that the 20 RFID tags had significantly greater differences in sensitivity to temperature when coated with a coating that does not contain magnesium aluminum silicate, which is completely unexpected.

[0085] Comparative Example c

[0086] Referring to the method of the above Example 1, the only difference is that the RFID tags used are not coated with magnesium aluminum silicate. The rest of the operation is the same as that of Example 1. The temperature data of 20 RFID tags are read at 7 reading time points, respectively, and expressed as mean ± SD; the results are as follows: 0h = 12.87 ± 0.12°C, 2h = -1.73 ± 0.15°C, 4h = -13.86 ± 1.37°C, 6h = -24.45 ± 2.63°C, 8h = -26.57 ± 2.58°C, 10h = -26.37 ± 2.87°C, 12h = -25.04 ± 2.63°C. From the results, it can be seen that after the temperature of each primary packaging unit drops below -10°C, the differences (i.e., standard deviations SD) between the 20 readings at each reading time point are significantly greater than those in Example 1, indicating that the 20 RFID tags have significantly greater sensitivity to temperature when they are not coated with magnesium aluminum silicate, which is completely unexpected. It can be seen from the results of Example 1 and Comparative Examples a to c that when monitoring temperature data in an environment below -10°C, especially below -24°C, the intra-batch differences in temperature monitoring results (SDs are all greater than 1.8°C) of the RFID tags that have not been subjected to the coating process described in the present invention, or the RFID tags that have been subjected to the coating process that does not contain lanolin, or the RFID tags that have been subjected to the coating process that does not contain magnesium aluminum silicate are significantly greater than those of the RFID tags that have been subjected to the coating process of the present invention (SDs are all less than 0.25°C). This result unexpectedly shows that the multi-tag RFID system based on wireless RFID technology using the RFID tags that have been subjected to the coating process of the present invention, when used to monitor the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals, shows significantly more uniform intra-batch temperature monitoring results.

[0087] The above results show that the method for monitoring the temperature of cold-chain transported medicines involved in the present invention includes medicines, vaccines, blood products, medical testing reagents, etc. that need to be stored at low temperatures. The method involved in the present invention has an outstanding and excellent effect of being able to uniformly monitor the temperature of cold-chain transported medicines within a batch.

[0088] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: Step 1, providing a multi-tag radio frequency identification system based on RFID, which includes a mutually independent RFID reader, a plurality of passive coupling antennas and a plurality of RFID tags, wherein a data storage device is provided in the RFID reader; Step 2: fix the RFID tag on each primary packaging unit by pasting, and fix the passive coupling antenna on each secondary packaging unit by pasting, each primary packaging unit is filled with at least one pharmaceutical unit, and each secondary packaging unit is filled with at least one primary packaging unit; Step 3: Use an RFID reader mounted on a cold chain transport vehicle to collect temperature information of the pharmaceutical products filled in each primary packaging unit, and store the collected information in a data storage device; Step 4: During the entire cold chain transportation of pharmaceuticals, the temperature information of the pharmaceuticals filled in each primary packaging unit is collected and stored using an RFID reader at fixed or irregular intervals, thereby achieving full-process monitoring of the temperature of pharmaceuticals in cold chain transportation; Wherein, before the RFID tag is fixed on the primary packaging unit, a magnesium aluminum silicate coating is pre-coated on its surface, and the magnesium aluminum silicate coating is coated in the following manner: micronized magnesium aluminum silicate, povidone K30 and lanolin are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:1:1, added to 8 times the weight of ethanol, stirred and heated to 65°C to dissolve the povidone K30 and lanolin and to evenly suspend the magnesium aluminum silicate to obtain a suspension, and the suspension is evenly coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the RFID tag, and the solvent is evaporated to obtain the RFID tag. The coating amount of the tag per square centimeter is 1-2 mg in terms of magnesium aluminum silicate, and the micronized magnesium aluminum silicate refers to magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can completely pass through a standard No. 8 sieve and contains no less than 95% that can pass through a No. 9 sieve.

2. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The RFID tag is coated with magnesium aluminum silicate and then a layer of plastic film is sealed on the surface.

3. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each primary packaging unit is filled with 1 to 50 pharmaceutical units, and each secondary packaging unit is filled with 1 to 30 primary packaging units.

4. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The interval time is a fixed or irregular interval time within the range of 1 to 24 hours.

5. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The RFID reader is radio frequency coupled to the plurality of RFID tags respectively through a passive coupling antenna, and is used to read the plurality of RFID tags simultaneously; An RFID tag is an RFID tag with an interface and separate transmitting and receiving antennas; The RFID tags all include a receiving antenna, an energy collection module, a first modulation and demodulation module, a transmitting antenna, a first interface module and a first data storage module; in the RFID tags, the receiving antenna is connected to the input end of the energy collection module, and the receiving antenna is also connected to the signal input end of the first modulation and demodulation module; the output end of the energy collection module is connected to the power supply end of the first modulation and demodulation module, the signal output end of the first modulation and demodulation module is connected to the transmitting antenna, the signal output end of the first modulation and demodulation module is also connected to the input end of the first interface module, the output end of the first interface module is connected to the input end of the first data storage module, and the output end of the first data storage module is connected to the signal input end of the first modulation and demodulation module; the front ends of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are both equipped with multi-stage adjustable capacitors; The RFID tag also includes a rectifier module, and the output end of the energy collection module is also connected to the multi-stage adjustable capacitors of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna through the rectifier module; The energy collection module includes capacitor C1, capacitor C2, capacitor C3, capacitor C4, diode D1, diode D2, diode D3 and diode D4; the input end of the energy collection module is between one end of the capacitor C1 and the positive electrode of the diode D2, the other end of the capacitor C1 is respectively connected to the negative electrode of the diode D2 and one end of the capacitor C2, the other end of the capacitor C2 is respectively connected to the negative electrode of the diode D3 and the positive electrode of the diode D4, the negative electrode of the diode D4 is connected to one end of the capacitor C4, the other end of the capacitor C4 is respectively connected to the positive electrode of the diode D3 and the negative electrode of the diode D1, the positive electrode of the diode D1 is connected to the negative electrode of the diode D2, one end of the capacitor C3 is connected to the negative electrode of the diode D1, the other end of the capacitor C3 is connected to the positive electrode of the diode D2, the positive electrode of the diode D2 is also connected to the digital ground, and the output end of the energy collection module is between the positive electrode of the diode D2 and the negative electrode of the diode D4.

6. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The resonance points of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are different, and the Q values ​​of the receiving antenna and the transmitting antenna are both greater than 50; The RFID tag also includes a frequency division module, and the first modulation and demodulation module is connected to the transmitting antenna through the frequency division module; The frequency division module is specifically a frequency division circuit with an adjustable frequency division coefficient, and the first interface module includes any one or more combinations of an SPI interface, an IIC interface, and an ADC interface; or, A hardware filtering algorithm is embedded in the first modulation and demodulation module.

7. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The RFID reader includes a multi-transmitting antenna array, a multi-receiving antenna array, a second modulation and demodulation module, a second interface module, a second data storage module and a control module; the multi-receiving antenna array is connected to the signal input end of the second modulation and demodulation module, the signal output end of the second modulation and demodulation module is connected to the multi-transmitting antenna array, the signal output end of the second modulation and demodulation module is also connected to the input end of the second interface module, the output end of the second interface module is connected to the input end of the second data storage module, the output end of the second data storage module is connected to the signal input end of the second modulation and demodulation module, and the control module is bidirectionally connected to the second interface module; the front end of the multi-receiving antenna array is equipped with a multi-stage adjustable capacitor.

8. The method for uniformly monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals within a batch according to claim 1, characterized in that: The RFID-based multi-tag radio frequency identification system performs radio frequency identification operations according to the following steps: After the RFID reader detects the change in the impedance of the RFID tag and before the RFID reader issues a user retrieval code instruction, the RFID tag and the RFID reader are tuned; After the tuning between the RFID tag and the RFID reader is completed, the load modulation method based on the full-duplex communication enables data transmission between the RFID tag and the RFID reader; The tuning process of the RFID tag is as follows: Adjust the multi-level adjustable capacitor at the front end of the receiving antenna to maximize the feedback voltage of the receiving antenna; use the strength of the signal read by the RFID reader as the feedback value, and tune the transmitting antenna by adjusting the multi-level adjustable capacitor at the front end of the transmitting antenna to achieve the best matching point; The tuning process of the RFID reader is as follows: Based on the ALOHA algorithm, the extreme value of the signal strength received by the multi-receiving antenna array is used as the tuning target value, and the energy of the carrier signal generated by the RFID reader is gradually increased from low to high in multiple stages. When any RFID tag among the multiple RFID tags completes its own tuning at the corresponding energy, it is in a silent state until all RFID tags complete the tuning.

9. A radio frequency identification system for monitoring the temperature of cold chain transported pharmaceuticals, characterized in that: The invention comprises an independent RFID reader, a plurality of passive coupling antennas, and a plurality of RFID tags, wherein a data storage device is arranged in the RFID reader; wherein, before the RFID tag is fixed on the primary packaging unit, a magnesium aluminum silicate coating is pre-coated on the surface of the RFID tag, and the magnesium aluminum silicate coating is coated in the following manner: micronized magnesium aluminum silicate, polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 and lanolin are mixed in a weight ratio of 3:1:1, added to 8 times the weight of ethanol, stirred and heated to 65°C to dissolve the polyvinylpyrrolidone K30 and lanolin, and the magnesium aluminum silicate is uniformly suspended to obtain a suspension, and the suspension is uniformly coated on the upper and lower surfaces of the RFID tag, and the solvent is evaporated to obtain the RFID tag, and the coating amount of the tag per square centimeter is 1-2 mg in terms of magnesium aluminum silicate, and the micronized magnesium aluminum silicate refers to magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can completely pass through a standard No. 8 sieve and contains no less than 95% of magnesium aluminum silicate powder that can pass through a No. 9 sieve.

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