Reusable Electronic Tag with Flex Connector for Blister Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medication monitoring devices for blister packages face issues with unreliable electrical connections, instability of conductive inks, high costs, and user-friendliness due to rigid substrates and complex manufacturing processes.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a reusable electronic sensor monitoring tag attached to a flexible dielectric substrate with a conductive grid using a low or zero insertion force flex circuit connector, allowing for precise and reliable electrical continuity, enabling the use of thin, breakable substrates and optional features like sensors and displays, and facilitating easy reuse of the tag with new grids.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If conductive ink is printed on paperboard substrate, then the package can be manufactured with simple materials, but the electrical characteristics become unreliable and the ink cracks under repeated deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the monitoring device into two separate parts: a reusable electronic tag and a disposable printed grid on thin substrate. This segmentation allows the electronic components to be preserved and reused while the printed grid is replaced, solving the reliability issue of printed conductive ink while maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies the discarding and recovering principle by making the electronic tag reusable and the printed grid disposable. The tag can be recovered and reused with new grids, eliminating the need to discard expensive electronic components while maintaining reliable electrical connections throughout the product lifecycle.
2Reliability
If rigid substrate is used for the electronic tag, then the electrical connection is stable, but the package bulk increases and consumer use becomes less easy
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin flexible substrates (such as thin plastic or foil) instead of rigid materials for the printed grid carrier. This allows the package to maintain a compact, thin profile while still providing a stable base for the conductive grid pattern, reducing bulk without compromising electrical connection stability.
3Reliability
If thick conducting traces are used, then the electrical continuity is more reliable, but the cost of conductive ink increases and space for additional features is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite material structures where a thin flexible substrate is combined with conductive ink patterns. This composite approach allows for optimized trace thickness that maintains electrical reliability while minimizing material usage and cost, and enables additional features to be integrated into the remaining space.
4Reliability
If the electronic tag is integrated permanently with the grid, then the electrical connection is most reliable, but the cost increases significantly when reused multiple times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the monitoring system into a permanent reusable electronic tag and a disposable printed grid. This segmentation enables the expensive electronic components to be reused across multiple packages while only the inexpensive printed grid is replaced, dramatically reducing the overall cost for multiple uses while maintaining reliable electrical connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The electronic tag is designed as a universal component that can be reused with multiple different printed grids. This multi-functionality allows a single tag to serve across numerous packages, amortizing the cost of the electronic components over many uses and reducing the overall cost per use significantly.
Data Source
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Figure 2A~2B
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AI summary
There is provided a content use monitoring package and method of making the same. The package includes a cover layer followed by a blister card layer. The third layer comprises an electronic sensor monitoring tag connected to a rupturable layer imprinted with a conductive grid. The grid is printed on a non-conductive, non paperboard rupturable substrate and is aligned with associated blisters in the blister card. To ensure precise and reliable electrical continuity between the tag and grid they are connected by a low or zero insertion force flat flex connector which connection is also reversible. The tag includes re-usable electronic circuitry and power source. The fourth and bottom layer is a backing which contains a mechanism to tear open the package and remove the tag by unplugging the flex circuit connector. The tag can then be reused and the battery replaced as required.