Patent Application
20190009957
The presently disclosed embodiments are directed to providing a flexible memory device, more particularly to a product seal, tag and/or tracking means including a flexible memory device, and even more particularly to a product seal, tag and/or tracking means including a flexible memory device that evidences tampering or modification, e.g., intentional and/or selective lead destruction, while maintaining a portion of data stored in the memory device.
Flexible memory devices, e.g., printed memory (PM) labels and devices, are manufactured in a variety of sizes, including but not limited to twenty bit (20-bit), twenty-five bit (25-bit) and thirty-six bit (36-bit), which each have various arrangements of electrical contacts or contact pads. An example of a known 20-bit printed memory device is depicted in
Products and product packaging may be subjected to tampering or counterfeiting. Products such as popular liquors and cigarettes, for example, are at times adulterated or replaced with knock off products in order for others to profit from the theft and deception. Thus, there is a need for a device that can both seal a product and ensure the product is what it is intended to be.
The present disclosure sets forth a seal or tag containing a flexible memory device that can be disabled in whole or in part so that any tampering after the product has left the original manufacturer is detectable. It makes it possible to track if the seal or tag has been broken post manufacture. Moreover, information about the product or the status of the product retained in memory, before and after the seal or tag, or a portion of the seal or tag, is broken can further minimize the foregoing issues. Tampering with the product and breaking the seal or tag may disable the ability to read part or all of the information stored in the flexible memory device.
This invention proposes to re-route one or more leads in a flexible memory device such that they connect memory cells to contact pads via a perforated area. When the perforation is torn, the connection is broken between the memory cells and the contact pad.
Broadly, the present disclosure sets forth embodiments of a flexible memory device including a flexible substrate, a plurality of contact pads, a plurality of lines and a first partially weakened portion of the flexible substrate. The plurality of contact pads are disposed on the flexible substrate. At least one contact pad of the plurality of contact pads forms at least one tamper evident contact pad. The plurality of lines are disposed on the flexible substrate, each line of the plurality of lines connected to a contact pad of the plurality of contact pads. At least one line of the plurality of lines forms at least one first tamper evident line and is connected to the at least one first tamper evident contact pad. The first partially weakened portion of the flexible substrate is arranged across the at least one tamper evident line.
Other objects, features and advantages of one or more embodiments will be readily appreciable from the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings and claims.
Various embodiments are disclosed, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, in which:
At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers on different drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar, structural elements of the embodiments set forth herein. Furthermore, it is understood that these embodiments are not limited to the particular methodologies, materials and modifications described and as such may, of course, vary. It is also understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosed embodiments, which are limited only by the appended claims.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill in the art to which these embodiments belong. As used herein, “weakened portion”, for example a weakened portion of a flexible substrate, is intended to mean a portion of an original structure that has been modified, altered or formed in such a way that a force required to sever the weakened portion is less than the severing force required for the original structure. Examples of “weakened portions” include but are not limited to perforations, notches, partial cuts, decreased material thickness, etc.
It should be understood that use of “or” in the present application is with respect to a “non-exclusive” arrangement, unless stated otherwise. For example, when saying that “item x is A or B,” it is understood that this can mean one of the following: (1) item x is only one or the other of A and B; (2) item x is both A and B. Alternately stated, the word “or” is not used to define an “exclusive or” arrangement. For example, an “exclusive or” arrangement for the statement “item x is A or B” would require that x can be only one of A and B. Furthermore, as used herein, “and/or” is intended to mean a grammatical conjunction used to indicate that one or more of the elements or conditions recited may be included or occur. For example, a device comprising a first element, a second element and/or a third element, is intended to be construed as any one of the following structural arrangements: a device comprising a first element; a device comprising a second element; a device comprising a third element; a device comprising a first element and a second element; a device comprising a first element and a third element; a device comprising a first element, a second element and a third element; or, a device comprising a second element and a third element.
Moreover, although any methods, devices or materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of these embodiments, some embodiments of methods, devices, and materials are now described.
The present disclosure sets forth various embodiments of flexible memory devices, e.g., flexible printed memory devices, arranged to evidence tampering and/or arranged to positively indicate the occurrence of an action, e.g., inspection of an article.
In an example embodiment, a write operation would write a 0 value to tamper evident contact pads 78 connected to tamper evident lines 68. When perforation 70 is torn or severed, a read operation will yield a value of 1 for these bits, regardless of the 0 value that was originally written. In this example embodiment, the bits of memory act to detect whether perforation 70 has been torn or severed, i.e., whether flexible memory device 60 was subject to tampering or its associated packaging opened. Moreover, if a second indication of tampering is required, device 60 may also be arranged such that perforation 74 may be severed simultaneously as or at a different time than perforation 70, thereby permitting a similar instance of bit storage for tamper evident contact pads 79.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing arrangement of tamper evident contact pads and tamper evident lines is not limited to embodiments where all lines on a particular side of device 60 are simultaneously severed. For example,
The following is best understood in view of the accompanying figures, which figures are individually described in greater detail above. The present disclosure sets forth various embodiments of flexible memory devices, e.g., flexible printed memory devices arranged to evidence tampering and/or arranged to positively indicate the occurrence of an action, e.g., inspection of an article. Although the embodiments described below may discuss elements contained within a single figure, the embodiments are not limited to a single configuration, and various aspects of some embodiments may be combined with various aspects of other embodiments.
In some embodiments, flexible memory device 80 comprises flexible substrate 82, plurality of contact pads 84, plurality of lines 86 and partially weakened portion 88 of flexible substrate 82. Plurality of contact pads 84 are disposed on flexible substrate 82. At least one contact pad of plurality of contact pads 84 forms at least one tamper evident pad, e.g., tamper evident pad 92. Plurality of lines 86 are disposed on flexible substrate 82 and each line 86 passes over common line 93, as described above, i.e., with a ferrite layer therebetween. At least one line of plurality of lines 86 forms at least one first tamper evident line, e.g., tamper evident line 90. Partially weakened portion 88 of flexible substrate 82 is arranged across the at least one tamper evident line 90.
In some embodiments, plurality of contact pads 84 and plurality of lines 86 are arranged to store a plurality of bits of data. It should be appreciated that the manufacture and encoding of flexible memory devices such as printed memory devices are generally known, and therefore, a detailed description of these aspects is unnecessary.
In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 88 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 82 into first part 232 and second part 234 thereby severing the at least one tamper evident line 90 and the at least one tamper evident pad 92 from plurality of contact pads 84 other than the at least one tamper evident pad 92 and plurality of lines 86 other than the at least one tamper evident line 90. In some embodiments, plurality of contact pads 84 other than the at least one tamper evident pad 92 and plurality of lines 86 other than the at least one tamper evident line 90 store at least one bit of data after severing the at least one tamper evident line 90.
In some embodiments, each of plurality of lines 86 passes over common line 236, as described above, i.e., with a ferrite layer therebetween. In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 88 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 82 into first part 232 and second part 234 without severing common line 236 (See, e.g.,
In some embodiments, plurality of lines 238 comprises a first portion, i.e., lines 239, which pass over a second portion, i.e., lines 240. In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 142 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 242 into first part 244 and second part 246 without severing an area, i.e., area 247, common to lines 239 and 240 (See, e.g.,
In some embodiments, plurality of contact pads 64 and 77 collectively form an area, e.g., area 248 bound by dashed line 250, and partially weakened portion 70 is arranged across area 248 (See, e.g.,
In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 70 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 62 into first part 252 and second part 254, a first group of plurality of contact pads 64 are disposed on first part 252, e.g., contact pads 78, and a second group of plurality of contact pads 64 are disposed on second part 254, e.g., contact pads 79 (See, e.g.,
In some embodiments, plurality of contact pads 84 collectively form an area, e.g., area 256 bound by dashed line 258, and partially weakened portion 88 is arranged outside area 256 (See, e.g.,
In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 88 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 82 into first part 232 and second part 234 and plurality of contact pads 84 are disposed on first part 232 (See, e.g.,
In some embodiments, the presently described flexible memory device 260 comprises adhesive layer 262, e.g., pressure sensitive adhesive, disposed on at least a portion of first surface 264 of flexible substrate 82. Printed memory device 260 comprises seven layers: base substrate layer 82; bottom electrode layer 266; ferrite layer 268; top electrode layer 270; contact pads 84 and 94; soft protective layer 272; and, hard protective layer 274. Ferrite layer 268 is arranged between bottom and top electrode layers 266 and 270, respectively. In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 88 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 82 into first part 232 and second part 234, and adhesive 260 is disposed on first part 232. In some embodiments, partially weakened portion 88 is arranged to separate flexible substrate 82 into first part 232 and second part 234, and adhesive 260 is disposed on a portion of first part 232, e.g., the portion including area 256.
In some embodiments, flexible substrate 276 comprises first part 206, second part 208 and third part 204. Third part 204 is arranged between first and second parts 206 and 208, respectively. Partially weakened portion 200 is arranged between third part 204 and first part 206, and/or partially weakened portion 202 is arranged between third part 204 and second part 208, and adhesive 260 is disposed on at least a portion of first part 206, at least a portion of second part 208 and/or at least a portion of third part 204.
In some embodiments, the presently described flexible memory device comprises at least one first tamper evident contact pad selected from plurality of contact pads, e.g., tamper evident contact pad 278, at least one first tamper evident line selected from plurality of lines, e.g., tamper evident line 184, and connected to the at least one first tamper evident contact pads 278, and further comprising a first partially weakened portion, e.g., weakened portion 186, of flexible substrate 280 arranged across the at least one first tamper evident line, e.g., tamper evident line 184. Additionally, the foregoing flexible memory device comprises at least one second tamper evident contact pad selected from plurality of contact pads, e.g., tamper evident contact pad 282, at least one second tamper evident line selected from plurality of lines, e.g., tamper evident lines 188, and connected to the at least one second tamper evident contact pad 282, and further comprising a second partially weakened portion, e.g., weakened portion 190, of flexible substrate 280 arranged across the at least one second tamper evident line, e.g., tamper evident line 188.
It should be appreciated that the flexible memory devices described herein may be used in a variety of applications. The following provides some non-limiting examples of how and where the present flexible memory devices may be used.
It should be appreciated that the foregoing examples are non-limiting and that other configurations and uses of the present flexible memory device are also possible. For example, more than one weakened portion may be utilized in preventing tampering with a container's contents. Additionally, other structures or enclosures different than a bag or a pill bottle may be used in combination with a present flexible memory device or devices, e.g., a compact disc jewel case, shipping packages, a carton, a box, a crate, a can, a bottle, an envelope, etc.
Although the various embodiments depicted in the figures and discussed herein include 20-bit, 25-bit and 36-bit flexible memory devices, the presently described flexible memory devices may be used with other embodiments, e.g., 16-bit, or with other memory technologies, including but not limited to write-once printed memory. Depending on configuration, tearing or separating the perforation or weakened portion may disable 0-20 bits of the 20-bit memory, 5-25 bits of the 25-bit memory, or 6-36 bits of the 36-bit memory. In some applications, the presently described flexible memory device permits detection of the tear or severing operation, or alternatively more than one tear or severing operations, while maintaining the function of a portion of the stored memory or data bits on the device. In some applications, the presently described flexible memory device obscures some or all of the stored memory or data bits on the flexible memory device. Moreover, intermediate use cases are also supported. For example, a 25-bit flexible memory device may be configured so that tearing or severing the perforation, i.e., weakened portion, obscures 11 bits of data while leaving 14 bits functional. In other terms, 14 bits of data would remain available for subsequent retrieval from the flexible memory device.
In view of the foregoing it should be appreciated that present disclosure sets forth a tear-able or severable sealing and/or label design using a flexible memory device. Some memory devices, e.g., printed memory devices, are accessed by a memory reader touching contact pads that are printed on a flexible substrate. In such devices, printed conductive traces between the contact pads and the memory device are printed across perforations or weakened portions in the substrate so that strategic bits in the memory device can be made inaccessible by or obscured from the memory reader once the flexible substrate has been torn or severed along the weakened portion. In this way, some memory locations remain functional, while others are rendered non-functional due to the severing or removal of a portion of the substrate. Thus, the presently described flexible memory device provides the ability to selectively disable certain memory locations of the device by tearing/severing/removing a portion of the flexible substrate.
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
