Adaptive Nutritional Storage with Dynamic Tracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

The food and beverage industry lacks a comprehensive system to track and communicate changes in nutritional, organoleptic, and aesthetic values of nutritional substances throughout the supply chain, from creation to consumption, leading to inadequate information for consumers and inefficiencies in quality control and waste management.

Innovation Solution

A system that uses sensors and dynamic information identifiers to collect, store, and transmit data on nutritional, organoleptic, and aesthetic values, allowing for adaptive conditioning and storage to minimize degradation and improve quality, while enabling consumers to provide feedback and update information in real-time.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If traditional storage and handling methods are used for nutritional substances, then operational simplicity is maintained, but nutritional content degradation occurs and information about nutritional value is lost

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenutritional content preservationVSAvoidstorage and handling system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by embedding sensors and dynamic information identifiers in packaging before the nutritional substance is stored or handled. This allows continuous tracking of nutritional content, environmental conditions, and supply chain data to be collected in advance, preventing degradation rather than responding to it after the fact.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces intermediary components including sensors, dynamic information identifiers, and communication modules that act as mediators between the nutritional substance and the tracking system. These intermediaries enable data collection and transmission without directly contacting or altering the nutritional substance itself, thus preserving its integrity while providing monitoring capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Loss of information

If comprehensive tracking of nutritional values is implemented, then consumer information quality improves, but system complexity and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenutritional information availabilityVSAvoidtracking system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The dynamic information identifier serves multiple functions simultaneously: it identifies the specific batch of nutritional substance, stores nutritional content data, tracks environmental conditions, and enables communication with the central system. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components for each tracking function, thereby managing complexity while providing comprehensive information.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Solution Approach 2:

The sensors and dynamic information identifiers are integrated into the packaging itself, allowing the product to self-monitor and self-report its nutritional content and condition. This eliminates the need for external manual tracking systems, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive data collection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Manufacturing precision

If real-time monitoring of nutritional substances is performed, then quality control improves, but energy consumption and operational complexity increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality control precisionVSAvoidenergy consumption for monitoring
Core Design Contradiction:
Manufacturing precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system employs periodic monitoring rather than continuous monitoring, where sensors take measurements at intervals and the dynamic information identifier updates nutritional content data periodically. This approach maintains quality control precision by detecting changes at regular intervals while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous real-time monitoring.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #19Periodic action

Data Source

PatentUS9080997B2Local storage and conditioning systems for nutritional substances
Publication Date: 2015.07.14 ICEBERG LUXEMBOURG S A R L
  • US9080997B2 patent drawing
  • US9080997B2 patent drawing
  • US9080997B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Nutritional substance systems and methods are disclosed enabling the tracking and communication of changes in nutritional, organoleptic, and aesthetic values of nutritional substances, and further enabling the adaptive storage and adaptive conditioning of nutritional substances.