Artificial cutting stone with digital information about the cutting

Abstract

The artificial offshoot stone with digital information about the offshoot is characterized by the integration of a writable and readable NFC chip into a waterproof carrier body, invisibly cast.

Description

Technical area:

[0001] Accessories for coral and plant breeding in freshwater and marine aquariums 1. State of the art:

[0002] In freshwater and marine aquariums, coral and plant offshoots are attached to a coral or plant offshoot stone for propagation. The attachment is achieved by gluing or allowing the coral to grow. This facilitates handling, transport, and installation in the aquarium.

[0003] The frag stones are functionally standardized and manufactured artificially. They are compatible with other aquarium accessories, such as breeding decks or breeding grids for staking the individual frag stones.

[0004] They generally consist of a larger, round mounting disc with a diameter of approximately 30 mm, onto which the coral or plant is attached. A smaller, round plug with a diameter of 10-13 mm is attached beneath this disc for insertion onto a grid or into openings in the rock in the aquarium.

[0005] The production of the offshoot stones is usually done by pouring a waterproof and low-pollutant casting compound into a mold.

[0006] The corals or plant cuttings are offered for sale on these cutting stones by many manufacturers and breeders.

[0007] The exact name of the species and other additional information such as keeping conditions are only given verbally in the store or via a picture with a description on the seller's online sales page.

[0008] In principle, every coral is protected, and a CITES certificate of species protection from the importer of the parent coral is required. This is very difficult and cumbersome under current sales conditions, as the offshoots are often traded by third parties or privately, and the original information from the importer of the parent coral is lost! 2. Problem:

[0009] Since the cuttings and the associated information on the corals and plants are acquired separately, it often happens in practice that the exact species name, additional information and the CITES certificate are lost.

[0010] The owner of the coral or plant no longer knows exactly which genus and species it is.

[0011] In this case, the owner of the offshoot must conduct laborious research. Reliable and verified information is generally unavailable. 3. Solution:

[0012] In the carrier body for fastening the offshoot, an NFC (Near Field Communication) chip is waterproofly inserted during the production of the offshoot stone ( Fig. 1)

[0013] The shape and dimensions of the offshoot stones are designed in line with the state of the art and are compatible with common breeding systems.

[0014] A waterproof and low-pollutant, castable material, e.g. a synthetic resin-sand mixture, is used for the carrier body so that the chip does not come into contact with water and remains functional.

[0015] Using the integrated NFC chip, the coral or plant can now be directly signed with digital information. The information can be written or read at any time using an NFC reader app on a smartphone ( Fig. 2)

[0016] For technical reasons, the reading distance must be between 1 cm and 5 cm. Therefore, the coral or plant on the plug must be outside the aquarium or in a transport container for reading or writing.

[0017] This digital signature includes, for example, the following information: Latin species name, German name, keeping conditions such as light, flow and nutrient conditions, as well as the voluntary indication of the source of the offshoot (dealer, original importer)

[0018] In accordance with data protection regulations, all information is entered voluntarily before the offshoot is sold and is not personal.

[0019] The owner of the offshoot can add their own information at any time to meet their own needs. Write protection can be activated if necessary. 4. Advantages:

[0020] Thanks to the integrated digital signature information on each offshoot, all information about the coral or plant can now be accessed directly by the owner at any time.

[0021] Questions about species or keeping conditions are answered simply and sustainably at each individual offshoot.

[0022] By specifying the original importer, the CITES proof requirement is also easily and without restrictions.

[0023] As an added benefit, the data can be transferred to a personal database, allowing private saltwater aquarium owners to know which corals or plants they have in their tank. This prevents accidental duplicate purchases. Fig. 1: Section of the structure of the “NFC plug”: 1: Waterproof carrier body made of castable material (e.g. plastic) 2: NFC (near field communication) chip Fig.2: Illustration of the application 1: NFC plug, carrier body with integrated NFC chip 2: Schematic representation of a coral or plant, firmly connected to the plug (glued or grown) 3: NFC - Wireless digital signal from the NFC chip, which can be displayed by a receiver (smartphone with NFC reader software).

[0024] The information displayed relates directly to the plant or coral attached to the “NFC plug”.

[0025] The content of the information is, for example: species, genus, name, keeping conditions and date of purchase.

Claims

[] The following protection claims are required: [1] The artificial offshoot stone with digital information about the offshoot is characterized by the integration of a writable and readable NFC chip into a waterproof carrier body, invisibly cast. [2] The carrier body (offshoot stone) and the digital information are firmly connected to a coral or plant offshoot [3] The offshoot can be directly digitally signed and read by a smartphone using any type of NFC software and information can be added.

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