Photoluminescent Oxygen Probe Tack for Package Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical oxygen probes are not suitable for all packaging types, as they can interfere with measurement, be perceived as contamination, or are cost-prohibitive for inclusion in every package, necessitating an inexpensive and non-destructive method for oxygen concentration measurement.
Innovation Solution
A disposable photoluminescent oxygen probe with a tack, pressure-sensitive adhesive, and oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent element, allowing for non-invasive measurement by puncturing the package and adhering the probe to the exterior, enabling communication with the enclosed space for oxygen concentration assessment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an optical oxygen probe is incorporated into packaging, then nondestructive measurement of oxygen concentration is enabled, but the probe interferes with interrogation through opaque and metalized films
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary optical fiber system that transmits excitation light to the probe and carries emission light back to the detector. This intermediary allows the probe to function through opaque and metalized packaging materials that would otherwise block direct optical interrogation, thereby resolving the contradiction between measurement capability and packaging compatibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates an optical copy or representation of the oxygen concentration data by measuring the photoluminescent emission from the probe and converting it into quantifiable oxygen concentration information. This copying approach allows indirect measurement through packaging materials without requiring direct optical access to the probe.
2Measurement precision
If an optical oxygen probe is incorporated into packaging, then oxygen concentration measurement is enabled, but the probe is perceived as contamination by consumers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the probe from the interior of the packaging and positions it on the exterior surface. This extraction eliminates the probe's presence from the packaged product space, removing the source of consumer contamination concern while maintaining the probe's ability to measure oxygen concentration through the packaging material.
Solution Approach 2:
The packaging material itself becomes an intermediary that separates the consumer from the probe. The probe remains outside the package, and the packaging material serves as the medium through which optical interrogation occurs, eliminating direct consumer-probe contact that would cause contamination perception.
3Measurement precision
If an optical oxygen probe is incorporated into every package, then oxygen concentration measurement is enabled, but the cost becomes prohibitive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a single probe to create optical measurements that can represent multiple packages or large batches of packages. By placing one probe on a pallet or container holding multiple packages, the system creates a copied measurement representation for each package without requiring individual probes, dramatically reducing per-unit cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent makes the probe serve multiple functions and multiple packages simultaneously. A single probe can interrogate oxygen concentration across numerous packages through optical fiber transmission, allowing one probe to replace what would otherwise require many individual probes, thereby reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining measurement capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables quick, accurate, and cost-effective measurement of oxygen concentration within packages, suitable for various packaging materials, without perceived contamination and applicable to select packages, facilitating quality control.
Implementation Method 1
exposing the oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent dye on the underside of the probe's head to excitation radiation through the probe's head, measuring radiation emitted by the excited oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent dye
Implementation Method 2
adhering the underside of the probe's head to an exterior surface of the container so as to sealingly surround the puncture
Data Source
AI summary
A photoluminescent oxygen probe including a tack with a layer of a pressure-sensitive adhesive and an oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent element on the underside of the head. The probe is effective for sensing oxygen concentration within an enclosed space by puncturing the container defining the enclosed space the with the probe's shank and adhering the underside of the probe's head to the container so as to sealingly surround the puncture, thereby placing the oxygen-sensitive photoluminescent dye on the underside of the probe's head into sensible communication with the enclosed space through the puncture hole.