Encrypted Liquid Food Marking Codes for Scalable Partitioned Storage

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing systems face challenges in efficiently storing and managing large volumes of unique marking codes for liquid food packages, exceeding 1 PB, while ensuring fast and efficient storage and search capabilities in a database.

Innovation Solution

A method and system that generate encrypted marking codes using a predefined encryption algorithm, utilizing the marking code itself as the partition key for a distributed database, ensuring uniform data distribution across partitions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If marking codes are stored in a traditional database structure, then data can be stored, but search efficiency deteriorates and resource consumption increases with huge numbers of packages

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesearch efficiencyVSAvoiddata volume
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The database is divided into multiple partitions, each storing a specific range of marking codes. This segmentation allows search operations to be confined to relevant partitions rather than scanning the entire database, significantly improving search efficiency while handling huge volumes of package data

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a hierarchical dimension to the database structure by organizing partitions based on payload data ranges (time and location). This dimensional organization enables efficient navigation and search through the massive dataset by first filtering partitions and then searching within specific partitions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Quantity of substance

If database storage capacity is increased to handle more packages, then storage capacity improves, but resource consumption increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvestorage capacityVSAvoidresource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

By segmenting the database into partitions that can be independently managed and scaled, the system achieves high storage capacity without proportionally increasing resource consumption. Each partition can be optimized and processed separately, reducing the overall resource burden

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Reliability

If marking codes are encrypted for security, then authenticity verification improves, but database search and retrieval become more complex

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveauthenticity verificationVSAvoiddatabase search complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary organization of encrypted marking codes into partitions based on their payload data ranges before search operations. This pre-organization maintains security through encryption while simplifying search complexity by limiting the search scope to specific partitions rather than the entire database

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3822897B1Generating and storing unique marking codes for liquid food packages
Publication Date: 2025.08.13 TETRA LAVAL HOLDINGS & FINANCE SA
  • EP3822897B1 patent drawingFigure 1A~2
  • EP3822897B1 patent drawingFigure 3A~5B
  • EP3822897B1 patent drawingFigure 5C~6

AI summary

A method of generating marking codes to uniquely identify packages of liquid food is performed within a system comprising a code generator (22) operable to generate a marking code (MC) by encrypting package production data (EPD) that uniquely represents the production of an individual package, and to provide the marking code (MC) for marking of the individual package. The system further comprises a key generator (24B) operable to generate a partition key (PK) as a function of the marking code (MC), and a storage interface (24C) coupled to a database (30) comprising a plurality of partitions (P1-Pj). The storage interface (24C) is operable to determine a selected partition among the plurality of partitions (P1-Pj) based on the partition key (PK) and to store, in the selected partition, package itemization data (PID) comprising (a subset of) the marking code and (a subset) of the package production data.