Smart packaging

Abstract

A housing having an interior for holding an article including a signal -interfering material for use with a signal-emitting chip operative to emit a signal informative of at least one parameter relating to the article, the housing comprising: a plurality of walls each having a wall outer surface, facing away from the interior of the housing, and a corresponding wall inner surface facing towards the interior of the housing; a barrier associated with at least one of the walls and having a wall-facing surface facing one of the walls and an interior-facing surface; a chip placement region on at least one of the following: the wall inner surface of said one of the walls; and the wall-facing surface of the barrier; the barrier being made of a material operative to isolate the chip from the signal-interfering material of the article when the chip is attached to the chip placement region.

Description

[0001] SMART PACKAGING

[0002] TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0003] The presently disclosed subject matter relates generally to smart packaging, for holding an article, having a smart chip associated with an information about the article, and more particularly to smart packaging that eliminate interference with signals of the smart chip.

[0004] CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0005] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.

[0006] 63 / 744,408, filed January 13, 2025, and entitled “An edge to be added to a case of drugs for retaining a chip” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.

[0007] BACKGROUND

[0008] Smart packaging has been increasingly adopted in the pharmaceutical field to provide access to information relating to packaged products, such as expiration dates and dates of first use. To this end, it is known for containers carrying pharmaceutical products to include radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags or near-field communication (NFC) tags, associated with information about the pharmaceutical product. One example of such packaging is disclosed in European patent application no. EP4189666A4.

[0009] GENERAL DESCRIPTION

[0010] The presently disclosed subject matter relates to smart packaging that can hold an article and includes a smart chip capable of providing access to information about one or more parameters relating to the article. In some examples, the smart chip can be an information carrier device that can carry the information, or at least a link to the information, and can allow access to the information to a user via a user device used by the user to access the information. In particular, the smart chip can emit a signal informative of one or more parameters relating to the article, which can be received by a corresponding and suitable user device. However, if the article includes a material that interferes with the signal emitted by the chip, then signal is distorted and the user devicemay not be able to receive, read, and / or interpret the signal. The presently disclosed subject matter provides solutions to eliminate the interference with the signal emitted by the smart chip.

[0011] Thus, according to a first aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, provided herein is a housing, for example of a packaging, having an interior for holding an article including a signal-interfering material for use with a signal -emitting chip operative to emit a signal informative of at least one parameter relating to the article. The housing comprises a plurality of walls each having a wall outer surface, facing away from the interior of the housing, and a corresponding wall inner surface facing towards the interior of the housing, a barrier associated with at least one of the walls and having a wall-facing surface facing one of the walls and an interior-facing surface, a chip placement region on at least one of the following: the wall inner surface of said one of the walls, and the wallfacing surface of the barrier. The barrier is made of a material operative to isolate the chip from the signal-interfering material of the article when the chip is attached to the chip placement region.

[0012] The signal-emitting chip can be any integrated circuit, chiplet, system-on-chip, module, or circuitry configured to enable near-field wireless communication with a user device. In some examples, the signal-emitting chip can enable communication with the user device using inductive coupling and / or magnetic field coupling at short range. In some examples, the signal-emitting chip can operate as a passive device that is powered and / or triggered when a user device emitting a field (for example, magnetic and / or electromagnetic field) is brought in proximity of (and / or tapped on) the chip. In some examples, the signal-emitting chip can modulate and / or backscatter the user device’s field. For the present description, such modulating and / or backscattering of the user device’s field is also to be understood as signal being emitted by the signal-emitting chip. In some examples, the signal -emitting chip can operate as an active device that generates a field (for example, magnetic and / or electromagnetic field) and emits signals on its own.

[0013] In any case, the signal-emitting chip can emit signals that can provide access to the information associated with the chip. It is to be understood herein that signal being emitted by the signal -emitting chip can be in form including magnetic field, electromagnetic field, radio frequency, acoustic signals, or equivalents thereof that can carry information. The signal emitted by the signal -emitting chip can be in the form of acontinuous signal and / or periodically repeated discrete signals. In some examples, the signal-emitting chip can be a near-field-communi cation (NFC) chip.

[0014] The user device can be any device operable to receive, read, and / or interpret the signals emitted by the signal -emitting chip. In some examples, a user device can be any device equipped with an NFC reader. Some examples of a user device can include tablets, laptops, mobile phones, wearable devices, PCs, USB NFC readers, dedicated NFC readers, and equivalents thereof. The user device can be a portable / handheld device or can be a fixed mount device.

[0015] The material of which the article is made of, or which is included at least partially in the article, can interfere with the signals emitted from the chip, and thus is being referred to herein as signal-interfering material. The signal-interfering material can in any manner distort, or interfere with, the communication between the user device and the signal-emitting chip, which for the purposes of the present description is to be understood as interfering with the signal of the signal -emitting chip. Some examples of the signalinterfering material can include reflective materials, metals, metallic-looking wraps, foil stamps, metallized films, and equivalents thereof. Some exemplary causes of the interference can include induction of eddy currents in the signal-interfering material due to the signals, reflectance of the signals from the signal-interfering material, magnetization of the signal-interfering material, and equivalents thereof. Accordingly, the signal-interfering material can interfere with the communication between the user device and the signal-emitting chip even if such a material is not positioned between the user device and the signal -emitting chip.

[0016] It is to be understood herein that the article can include blister pack for encasing medications or dietary supplements. In some examples, the article can be any item that is stored in a packet made of signal-interfering material and together therewith is to be packed in the packaging described herein. In other words, the article can be any pack made of signal-interfering material to stores, or is operable to store, any item, and together therewith is to be packed in the packaging described herein. In some examples, the article can be any item or product made of or including a signal-interfering material.

[0017] The information or parameters related to the article can be of a kind that needs to be exposed to a user or an operator of an article-management application. The parameters can be related to usage, manufacturing, transit, storage, cost, recipe, or the like. In some examples, the information can be link to a website or application that stores theparameters. In some examples, the signal -emitting chip can store the information and / or the parameters which can be directly accessed by the user device. In some examples, the signal-emitting chip can store a link to the parameters, which the user device can access.

[0018] In some examples, the user of the information or the parameters can be an end user or an operator of a warehouse managing storage or transit of the article. In the examples in which the article includes medications or dietary supplements, the user can be a care giver, patient, pharmacist, or a health care worker.

[0019] It is to be understood herein that the user of the information or the parameters need not necessarily be a person, and can also be a machine or device that accesses the information or parameter at any stage of article production, management, purchase, sale, and / or usage. Accordingly, the user can be a person or a device / machine, or automated system associated with any one or more of: logistics management, production management, payments and commerce, POS / payment terminals, tap-to-pay kiosk, selfcheckout kiosk, vending machine, transit and mobility, retail ops, manufacturing, production-line operation, and equivalents thereof.

[0020] According to a second aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter, provided herein is a package including the housing of the first aspect, and the chip positioned between the wall inner surface of one of the walls and the wall-facing surface of the barrier. In some examples, the package can further comprise the article.

[0021] It is to be understood herein that the chip placement region can be located, and accordingly the chip can be positioned, on a wall inner surface of one or more of the walls of the housing and / or on a surface of the barrier, which surface faces a wall of the housing when the chip and / or the article are positioned in the housing. In any case, the barrier is positioned between the chip and the article, and the chip is positioned between the barrier and a wall of the housing.

[0022] The barrier can be a separate element from the housing and can be positioned in the housing, for example during placement of the signal -emitting chip and / or the article. In some examples, the barrier can be unitarily formed with the packaging, for example as an extension of any wall or connected to a surface of the wall, and can be positioned, for example by folding, between the signal-emitting chip and the article. In some examples, the barrier can be unitarily formed with the packaging and can be tom off and positioned between the signal-emitting chip and the article.In some examples, the packaging can be made of material including paper -based materials such as paper, kraft paper, tissue paper, corrugated fiberboard, cardboard, paperboard, carton board, molded pulp, and equivalents thereof. In some examples, the packaging can be made of material including plastics, polymers, wood-based materials, textile-based materials, fiber-based materials, and equivalents thereof.

[0023] Below are listed a number of more specific embodiments of the presently disclosed subject matter.

[0024] 1. A housing having an interior for holding an article including a signal-interfering material for use with a signal -emitting chip operative to emit a signal informative of at least one parameter relating to the article, the housing comprising:

[0025] a plurality of walls each having a wall outer surface, facing away from the interior of the housing, and a corresponding wall inner surface facing towards the interior of the housing;

[0026] a barrier associated with at least one of the walls and having a wall-facing surface facing one of the walls and an interior-facing surface;

[0027] a chip placement region on at least one of the following:

[0028] the wall inner surface of said one of the walls; and

[0029] the wall-facing surface of the barrier;

[0030] the barrier being made of a material operative to isolate the chip from the signalinterfering material of the article when the chip is attached to the chip placement region.

[0031] 2. A package comprising the housing of Embodiment 1 and said chip positioned between the wall inner surface of said one of the walls and the wall-facing surface of the barrier.

[0032] 3. The package of Embodiment 2, further comprising said article.

[0033] 4. The housing according to any one of Embodiments 1-3, wherein said article is a blister pack for encasing medications or dietary supplement and said parameter is of a kind that needs to be exposed to the user or an operator of an article-management application, the user being any one of: an end user of the medication or supplement, a pharmacists and an operator of a warehouse managing the blister pack.5. The housing according to any one of Embodiments 1-4, wherein the housing is constituted by a folded blank, and wherein said barrier is in the form of a flap extended from said one wall and folded so that the wall-facing surface of the barrier faces the wall inner surface of said one wall.

[0034] 6. The housing according to any one of Embodiments 1-5, wherein the chip placement region is on the wall inner surface of said one of the walls.

[0035] 7. The housing according to any one of Embodiments 1-6, wherein the chip placement region is on the wall-facing surface of the barrier.

[0036] 8. The housing according to any one of Embodiments 1-7, wherein the chip is a near field communication (NFC) chip.

[0037] 9. The housing according to any one of Embodiments 1-8, wherein said chip is attached to the chip placement region via adhesives.

[0038] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0039] In order to better understand the subject matter that is disclosed herein and to exemplify how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0040] Fig. l is a front view of an internal side of an unfolded blank, which can be folded to constitute a housing, according to an example of the presently disclosed subject matter;

[0041] Fig. l is a front view of an internal side of an unfolded blank, which can be folded to constitute a housing, according to another example of the presently disclosed subject matter;

[0042] Fig- 3 is a front view of the blank of Fig. 1 or 2, with a barrier covering a wall thereof;

[0043] Fig- 4 is a perspective view of a package, according to an example of the presently disclosed subject matter; andFig- 5 is a top view of the package of Fig. 4, as seen along arrow TV in Fig. 4.

[0044] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0045] The following detailed description provides examples of packaging that can have a housing to hold an article. A smart signal-emitting chip (interchangeably referred to herein as chip or signal-emitting chip) having associated therewith an information about one or more parameters related to the article can be positioned in the housing. A user can access the information associated with the chip by interacting with the signals using a suitable signal-receiving user device depending on the signal-emitting chip and the type of signal being emitted therefrom. The signal -emitting chip and the corresponding user device can be any one of the types of signal -emitting chips and user devices generally described herein above.

[0046] The signals being emitted by the signal -emitting chip can experience interference from the article, or a material thereof. Accordingly, the housing of the packaging can be equipped with means to eliminate such interference, as described below.

[0047] In general, the housing, at least when holding the article having a signal -interfering material, can include one or more barriers positioned between, and isolating, the signalemitting chip and the article. The barrier can be formed of any material, same or different from the material of the packaging, that can isolate the signal-emitting chip, and / or the signal emitted therefrom, from the article, or at least the signal-interfering material of the article. The barrier can be positioned between the article and a surface that bears the signal-emitting chip, i.e., a surface to which the signal-emitting chip is attached. In some examples, the surface that bears the signal -emitting chip can be a surface of the barrier that faces away from the article. In some examples, the surface that bears the signalemitting chip can be a surface of one wall of the housing that faces the article, or in other words faces an interior of the housing. In any case, the barrier is positioned between the article and the signal-emitting chip thereby isolating the chip from the article and eliminating the interference caused to the signals of the chip by the article. In some examples, the barrier, in addition to eliminating the interference, can also prevents the chip from physical damage.

[0048] In some examples, the barrier can be a separate element that can be positioned in the housing, for example during placement of the signal -emitting chip and / or the article in the housing. In some examples, the barrier can be unitarily formed with the packagingin a manner to be positioned between the signal-emitting chip and the article, for example during placement of the signal -emitting chip and / or the article in the housing. In any of the above-mentioned examples, the barrier can optionally be in the form of a layer, flap, or a panel.

[0049] It is to be understood herein that the packaging can be pre-formed in a shape, in which the packaging already has the housing and can be used to hold the article, or can be in the form of a blank that can be folded into a shape to have the housing, and can then be used to hold the article. In any case, the packaging at least in use-state, i.e., to be able to hold the article, has the housing.

[0050] In general, the housing can have an interior, to receive therein the article, defined by a plurality of walls, each wall having a wall inner facing surface facing the interior and a wall outer surface facing away from the interior. It is to be understood herein that the housing can be in any irregular or regular shapes including cuboidal, cubical, cylindrical, polyhedron, and equivalents thereof. All such shapes, including the spherical, cylindrical, any shape with curved continuous walls is to be understood as being defined by a plurality of walls. In other words, any housing covered with a wall from more than one sides is to be understood as being defined by a plurality of walls.

[0051] The housing can include a barrier associated with at least one of the walls. The barrier being associated with at least one wall is to be understood as the barrier, at least when in use, i.e., at least when the barrier is positioned between the signal -emitting chip and the article, being at least partially attached to one or more walls of the housing. For instance, in some examples, the barrier can be attached to the wall at which the signalemitting chip is positioned. In some examples, the barrier can be attached to one or more walls adjacent to the wall at which the signal-emitting chip is positioned. It is to be understood herein that the barrier can be attached to a wall by any suitable means. In some examples, the barrier can be attached by gluing or any other appropriate form of adhesive bonding. In some examples, the barrier can be attached by a portion of one of the barrier and the wall being received in a slot formed in the other one of the barrier and the wall. In some examples, the barrier can be attached by being snugly received between the walls, or portions of the same wall.

[0052] In general, the signal-emitting chip can be positioned at a dedicated location referred to herein as a chip placement region. The chip placement region can be a dedicated region on a surface, or can be whole of the surface, at which the chip can beattached or positioned. It is to be understood herein that the chip can be attached by any suitable means. In some examples, the chip can be attached by gluing or any other appropriate form of adhesive bonding. In some examples, the chip can be attached by being snugly fit between two surfaces. For the purposes of the present description, the chip being fixed to a surface is to be understood as being attached to the surface, as well as the chip being positioned and held between two surfaces, without being fixed to any of the surfaces, is to be understood as being attached to any or both of the surfaces. In the examples in which the chip is positioned and held between two surfaces, without being fixed to any of the surfaces, any or both of the surfaces are to be understood as having a chip placement region.

[0053] The chip placement region can be located on a wall inner surface of one or more of the walls of the housing and / or on a surface of the barrier, which surface faces a wall of the housing when the chip and / or the article are positioned in the housing. In some examples, the housing can include more than one chip placement regions for providing a choice of placement of the chip at any of such regions.

[0054] Once the chip is positioned at a chip placement region, the barrier is positioned to be located between the chip and the article, when the article is positioned in the housing. Accordingly, at least when in use, the barrier can have an interior-facing surface that faces the interior of the housing and a wall-facing surface. The wall-facing surface of the barrier faces that wall of the housing between which wall and the barrier is the chip positioned. The chip can be positioned, for example at the chip placement region which can be on the wall inner surface of the wall and / or on the wall-facing surface of the barrier. In some examples, the chip can be held between the wall inner surface of the wall and on the wall facing surface of the barrier, while not being fixed to any of the surfaces.

[0055] In some examples, the barrier can be attached to the wall to prevent the chip from falling from between the wall and the barrier. The barrier can be attached to the wall of the housing at a region adjacent to a perimeter of the barrier, for example at least along a portion of the perimeter or along all of the perimeter. In some examples, the attachment of the barrier to the wall can be at discrete attachment points, and in some examples, the attachment of the barrier to the wall can be a continuous attachment. In some examples, the attachment of the barrier to the wall can be at locations more central to the barrier than being adjacent to the perimeter. The attachment of the barrier to the wall can be by any suitable means. In some examples, the barrier can be attached to the wall by gluing,for example, gluing the wall-facing surface of the barrier to the wall inner surface of the wall. In some examples, the barrier can be attached by a portion of one of the barrier and the wall being received in a slot formed in the other one of the barrier and the wall. In some examples, the barrier can be attached by being snugly received between two walls, or portions of the same wall.

[0056] Reference is now made to Figs. 1 to 5, illustrating packaging having housing, at least when in use (Fig. 4), according to some examples of the presently disclosed subject matter. The packaging 10 is constituted by a foldable blank 12, which can originally be manufactured, transported, stored, and / or received in the form of the unfolded blank 12 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The blank 12 can be folded, for example along dedicated folding regions 13, to constitute a housing 14 (Fig. 4). The portions 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 of the blank 12 constitute the six walls 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 of the housing 14 once the blank 12 is folded to constitute the housing 14. It is to be understood herein that the number of walls of a housing can be different from what is illustrated in this example. Each of the walls 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, and 26 has a wall inner surface facing an interior 141 of the housing 14 (Fig. 4) and an opposite wall outer surface facing away from the interior 141 of the housing 14. For the purposes of conciseness, the wall inner surface 16A and the wall outer surface 16B of only the wall 16 have been marked. All other walls have corresponding wall inner and wall outer surfaces.

[0057] In the illustrated example, the blank 12 has a barrier 28 unitarily formed therewith in the form of a flap attached to and extending from the wall 16. The barrier 28 can be folded as shown by arrow AR, for example at the folding region 29, onto the wall inner surface 16A of the wall 16 (Fig. 3). The barrier has a wall -facing surface 28 A that faces the wall 16 when the barrier is folded onto the wall 16 (i.e., when the housing 14 and the barrier is in use), and an interior-facing surface 28 that faces the interior 141 of the housing when the barrier is folded onto the wall 16 (i.e., when the housing 14 and the barrier is in use). In some examples, the barrier 28 can be attached to any other wall while still being foldable (or detached and positioned) onto the wall inner surface 16A of the wall 16. In some examples, the barrier 28 can be attached at any of the folding regions 13.

[0058] The housing 14 has a chip placement region 30, which in the example illustrated in Fig. 1 is on the wall inner surface 16A of the wall 16, and in the example illustrated in Fig. 2 is on the wall-facing surface 28A of the barrier 28. It is to be understood herein that the only difference between the examples of Figs. 1 and 2 is the location of the chipplacement region 30. The chip 50 (Fig. 4) is attached at the chip placement region 30 and the barrier 28 is folded as shown in Fig. 3, the barrier 28 isolates the chip 50 from the article 60 (Fig. 5) when positioned in the housing 14 and eliminates the chances of interference caused to the signals of the chip 50 by the article 60, and prevents the chip 50 from physical damage as well.

[0059] Once the chip 50 and the article 60 are positioned in the housing 14 of the packaging 10, the whole unit constitutes a package 100 as shown in Fig. 5, provided herein according to an aspect of the presently disclosed subject matter. In some examples, the packaging can include on any wall outer wall surface, an indication of the location of the chip inside the housing, for example in the form of a marking.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A housing having an interior for holding an article including a signal-interfering material for use with a signal -emitting chip operative to emit a signal informative of at least one parameter relating to the article, the housing comprising:a plurality of walls each having a wall outer surface, facing away from the interior of the housing, and a corresponding wall inner surface facing towards the interior of the housing;a barrier associated with at least one of the walls and having a wall-facing surface facing one of the walls and an interior-facing surface;a chip placement region on at least one of the following:the wall inner surface of said one of the walls; andthe wall-facing surface of the barrier;the barrier being made of a material operative to isolate the chip from the signalinterfering material of the article when the chip is attached to the chip placement region.

2. A package comprising the housing of Claim 1 and said chip positioned between the wall inner surface of said one of the walls and the wall-facing surface of the barrier.

3. The package of Claim 2, further comprising said article.

4. The housing according to any one of Claims 1-3, wherein said article is a blister pack for encasing medications or dietary supplement and said parameter is of a kind that needs to be exposed to the user or an operator of an article-management application, the user being any one of: an end user of the medication or supplement, a pharmacists and an operator of a warehouse managing the blister pack.

5. The housing according to any one of Claims 1-4, wherein the housing is constituted by a folded blank, and wherein said barrier is in the form of a flap extended from said one wall and folded so that the wall-facing surface of the barrier faces the wall inner surface of said one wall.

6. The housing according to any one of Claims 1 -5, wherein the chip placement region is on the wall inner surface of said one of the walls.

7. The housing according to any one of Claims 1 -6, wherein the chip placement region is on the wall-facing surface of the barrier.

8. The housing according to any one of Claims 1-7, wherein the chip is a near field communication (NFC) chip.

9. The housing according to any one of Claims 1-8, wherein said chip is attached to the chip placement region via adhesives.

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