Transparent Display Device Integrated into Container Cover for Food Freshness Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional containers lack the ability to display information about the contents, such as storage duration, environmental conditions, and freshness of food, which are crucial for maintaining food quality.
Innovation Solution
A display device integrated into a container cover, featuring a substrate with a driving circuit unit, display element, sealing member, and a sensing unit that measures temperature and humidity, allowing for the display of information like storage period and freshness, represented by color, along with user-input memos, using transparent materials like glass or plastic with thin film transistors and transparent conducting oxides.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a conventional container is used, then the container structure is simple, but the container cannot display information about contents, storage period, temperature, humidity, or freshness
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a display device with a container cover to create an integrated system. The display device includes a substrate with a driving circuit unit, display element unit, and sensing unit that measures temperature and humidity. This merging allows the container to display information about contents, storage period, environmental conditions, and freshness without requiring separate monitoring devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The container cover is designed to serve multiple functions: it acts as both a protective cover and an information display interface. The display element unit can show various types of information including storage duration, temperature, humidity, and freshness indicators. The sensing unit simultaneously monitors multiple environmental parameters, making the system universally applicable for monitoring different aspects of food storage.
2Loss of information
If a display device is integrated into the container cover, then information display capability is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display device is divided into distinct functional modules: a substrate, a driving circuit unit, a display element unit, and a sensing unit. Each module can be manufactured and tested separately before assembly, simplifying the overall manufacturing process. The segmentation allows for specialized fabrication techniques for each component while maintaining compatibility with standard container cover manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs thin film transistor technology with transparent conducting oxide materials that can be deposited using standard thin film fabrication techniques. The display element unit utilizes materials and processes compatible with existing manufacturing capabilities, such as transparent plastics (PET, PEN, PC, PI) and glass substrates, allowing for integration into current production lines with minimal equipment modification.
3Illumination intensity
If transparent materials are used for the substrate and sealing member, then visual transparency is maintained, but material selection and coating requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate and sealing member are constructed from transparent materials such as glass, transparent plastics (PET, PEN, PC, PI), or other transparent polymers. These materials provide both the required visual transparency and the necessary mechanical properties for container cover applications. The use of composite transparent materials allows light to pass through while maintaining structural integrity and protecting the internal electronic components.
Solution Approach 2:
The display device is designed as a disposable component integrated into the container cover. The transparent substrate and sealing member are made from cost-effective materials that can be easily manufactured and disposed of with the container. This approach eliminates the need for complex protective coatings or expensive durable materials, as the entire display device is replaced with each new container.
4Measurement precision
If a sensing unit is added to measure temperature and humidity, then monitoring capability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing unit is integrated into the same substrate as the display element unit, combining environmental sensing functions with the display function in a single device. The temperature and humidity sensors share the same physical space and electrical connections with the driving circuit, eliminating the need for separate sensor housings and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensing unit is designed to simultaneously measure multiple environmental parameters (temperature and humidity) using a single integrated sensor array. This multi-functional sensing capability allows the device to monitor various aspects of food storage conditions without requiring separate sensors for each parameter, reducing the overall complexity of the monitoring system.
Data Source
AI summary
A display device on a container cover includes a substrate, a driving circuit unit on the substrate, a display element unit on the driving circuit unit, a sealing member on the display element unit, and a coupling portion to a container body.