System and Method For Determining Product Shelf Life

Abstract

A method of determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life includes obtaining a first set of data associated with the product, wherein the first set of data includes a first timestamp and a first assessed quality, obtaining a second set of data associated with the product, wherein the second set of data includes a second timestamp and environmental history data, computing a second assessed quality using the first and second timestamps and the environmental history data, and determining whether the product is within the useable shelf life using the second assessed quality.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when descriptions of exemplary embodiments thereof are read with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a graph for illustrating an exponential decay curve representing the quality and expiration date as a function of average shipping temperature.

FIG. 2 is side view of an example of a system for determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is plan view of an example of system for determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a method for determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a method for determining whether to accept or reject a product based on a quality measurement, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for determining whether to accept or reject a product based on a quality measurement, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 illustrates a computer system for implementing a method for determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method of determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life, comprising: obtaining a first set of data associated with the product, wherein the first set of data includes a first timestamp and a first assessed quality;obtaining a second set of data associated with the product, wherein the second set of data includes a second timestamp and environmental history data;computing a second assessed quality using the first and second timestamps and the environmental history data; anddetermining whether the product is within the useable shelf life using the second assessed quality.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of obtaining the second set of data comprises reading at least one of an RFID tag, a bar code, or a contact-based identifier.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of obtaining the second set of data further comprises reading at least one sensor output.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second assessed quality is computed using at least one of a temperature-based model, humidity model or environmental model that is modeled using an exponential decay function.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the temperature-based model is based on an exponentially-decaying function of the average temperature at which the product was stored during its shipping history.

6. A system for determining whether a product is within a useable shelf life, comprising: a memory device for storing a program;a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to:obtain a first set of data associated with the product, wherein the first set of data includes a first timestamp, a first assessed quality and first environmental history data;obtain a second set of data associated with the product, wherein the second set of data includes a second timestamp and second environmental history data;compute a second assessed quality using the first and second timestamps and the first and second environmental history data; anddetermine whether the product is within the useable shelf life using the second assessed quality.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the step of obtaining the second set of data comprises reading a product identifier and at least one sensor output.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the product identifier is an RFID tag, a bar code, or a contact-based identifier.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the second assessed quality is computed using at least one of a temperature-based model, humidity model or environmental model that is modeled using an exponential decay function.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the temperature-based model is based on an exponentially-decaying function of the average temperature at which the product was stored during its shipping history.

11. A method for accepting or rejecting a product based on a quality measurement, comprising: placing the product on a conveyor for moving the product over a predetermined path;obtaining a first set of data associated with the product, wherein the first set of data includes a package identifier, a first timestamp, a first assessed quality and first environmental history data;determining whether a radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag has been read while operating the conveyor to move the product over a portion of the predetermined path;when it is determined that an RFID tag has been read, obtaining a second set of data associated with the product, wherein the second set of data includes the package identifier, a second timestamp, a sensor identifier and second environmental history data, andcomputing a second assessed quality using the first and second timestamps and the first and second environmental history data;using the second assessed quality and the sensor identifier to determine whether to stop the conveyor; andif the conveyor is stopped, determining whether to accept or reject the product based on the second assessed quality.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the package identifier is a numeric or alphanumeric string that is stored in an RFID tag, a bar code, or a contact-based identifier.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the sensor identifier is an RFID tag, a barcode, or a contact-based identification.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the second assessed quality is computed using at least one of a temperature-based model, humidity model or environmental model that is modeled using an exponential decay function.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising determining whether the second assessed quality is greater than a predetermined threshold.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second assessed quality is in a range of 0 to 1, and wherein the predetermined threshold is 0.75.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein, when it is determined that the second assessed quality is less than or equal to the predetermined threshold, stopping the conveyor.

18. A system for accepting or rejecting a product based on a quality measurement, comprising: a conveyor for moving the product over a predetermined path, the conveyor including a drive motor for driving the conveyor;a memory device for storing a program;at least one radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader for reading RFID tags, the RFID reader in communication with the memory device;a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to:control the drive motor to drive the conveyor to move the product over a predetermined path;obtain a first set of data associated with the product in the memory device, wherein the first set of data includes a first timestamp, a first assessed quality and first environmental history data;determine whether an RFID tag has been read;when it is determined that an RFID tag has been read, obtain a second set of data associated with the product in the memory device, wherein the second set of data includes a second timestamp, a sensor identifier and second environmental history data, andcompute a second assessed quality using the first and second timestamp and the first and second environmental history;use the second assessed quality and the sensor identifier to determine whether to stop the conveyor; andif the conveyor is stopped, determine whether to accept or reject the product based on the second assessed quality.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the second assessed quality is computed using at least one of a temperature-based model, humidity model or environmental model that is modeled using an exponential decay function.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the temperature-based model is based on an exponentially-decaying function of the average temperature at which the product was stored during its shipping history.