Cigarette Packaging Traceability Using Image Capture and Common Identifiers
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Solution Overview
Problem
The cigarette industry faces challenges in efficiently tracking products across different packaging levels due to difficulties in reading and processing codes at high production speeds, making it hard to maintain comprehensive product traceability and prove production details.
Innovation Solution
A method involving cameras to capture images of packaging units at various levels, assigning a common identifier to these images, and storing them with production information, allowing for tracing without necessarily reading codes in real-time, thus simplifying and enhancing traceability across packaging levels.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If codes are read and processed in real-time during high-speed packaging, then product traceability is achieved, but system complexity and processing difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the copying principle by creating visual copies (images) of packaging units at different levels and storing them in a database. Instead of processing complex codes in real-time, the system captures images with camera devices, stores these visual copies with associated identifiers, and enables traceability through image retrieval and analysis. This replaces complex real-time code processing with simpler image capture and storage operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary action by capturing and storing images of packaging units in advance during the packaging process. Images of lower-level packaging units are taken before they are packed into higher-level units, and these pre-captured images are stored in a database with identifiers. This preliminary documentation eliminates the need for complex real-time code reading and processing during high-speed packaging operations.
2Loss of information
If codes are read and analyzed during the manufacturing process, then packaging assignments are recorded, but processing time increases and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/code-based information processing system with an optical imaging system. Instead of using cameras to read and analyze codes during high-speed packaging, the system uses camera devices to capture visual images of packaging units. These images are stored in a database and can be analyzed later without impacting packaging speed. This substitution of code reading with image capture eliminates processing time constraints and maintains high productivity.
3Reliability
If comprehensive code information is processed and stored, then complete traceability is achieved, but computing power requirements and data processing load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent stores visual copies (images) of packaging units in a database rather than processing and storing extensive code information. Each image is associated with an identifier that links it to the packaging hierarchy. This approach requires significantly less computing power and storage capacity compared to maintaining comprehensive code databases, while still enabling complete traceability through image retrieval and identifier matching.
Data Source
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Figure 3a~3b
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for producing and/or packaging products, in particular cigarettes, in a production and/or packaging system, in which packaging units of a lower packaging level (15) are fed to at least one production unit (13) of the system and are packaged by the production unit (13) into associated packaging units of a higher level (14) so that the packaging units of the higher packaging level (14) comprise one or more packaging units of the lower packaging level (15). According to the invention, a camera (20g) records images of the packages of the packaging units of the lower level (15) to be fed or already fed to the production unit, and a camera (20f, 20m) records images of the packages of the packaging units of the higher level (14) each associated with the packaging units of the lower level (15), and the recorded images (41, 42) of the packages of the packaging units (14, 15) associated with each other are associated with a common identifier (35), preferably a machine-internal sequential number of the production unit (13).