ES2464873A2 - Method for the provision of digital information and product authentication through an nfc sensor included in the packaging of said product. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

Method for the provision of digital information and product authentication through an nfc sensor included in the packaging of said product. The present invention relates to a method of supplying digital information to consumers of products and services characterized in that it comprises an nfc sensor (2) included in the product package (1) itself (3), a metallized film (5) located in the inside the container (1) in close proximity to the nfc sensor (2) interfering with its magnetic field. The method allows that when the metallic film (5) is removed or sufficiently far from the sensor (2) it is able to establish a communication with a software application installed in an electronic device (6) carried by the user that contains a second nfc sensor and is connected to the internet, and the implementation by the application of the location and presentation operations of a series of digital contents or actions determined in said electronic device (6), as well as the ability to inform the consumer about the authenticity of the product or service in question. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

Method for the supply of digital information and product authentication using an NFC sensor included in the package of said product.

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a method of supplying digital information to consumers of products by means of electronic labels included in the product package itself, for example cardboard packages with hard cover such as "crush-proof" tobacco packets. pack ”, so that they can be consulted by the consumer with their mobile phone or similar device. Access to information occurs only when the product has been opened, for example in the case of tobacco packets when the flip-top lid has been opened and / or the metallic paper flap covering the cigarettes withdrawal.

The method of the invention has been designed to be used, using an electronic device that includes the communication technology known as NFC (Near Field Communication) with internet connection, for example of the type "tablet" or "smarphone" among others; and a specific NFC tag placed in a specific place on the package, mainly inside the lid.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Products in general increasingly present methods to interact with the consumer with the intention of offering information, content and digital features.

For this, systems such as printed codes of the two-dimensional barcode type, known as QR or BIDI codes among other denominations, are currently being used. The user, through his mobile phone, can scan these codes with the camera and through a specific software application installed in the mobile terminal access digital content pre-established by the owner of said printed code.

All these types of systems printed on the package are easily reproducible and therefore do not offer any authenticity about the originality of the product. In addition to being outside the same any person without buying the product can access the information contained in the code, which can be useful in certain cases but not for when the manufacturer wants to provide a series of content or functionalities restricted to the consumers who really buy the product.

As an alternative there is a type of passive tags based on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) wave technology known as NFC (Near Field Communication), and which are specifically designed to exchange information with mobiles and other widely used devices by common users, being essentially constituted by an antenna and a microcontroller encoded with a unique identifier, in addition to including security systems that prevent its duplication.

To access the content of these tags there are electronic devices such as "smartphone" among others, which include different technologies to establish communication with their environment, among which is NFC technology. It also turns out that most of these devices are usually connected to the internet.

On the other hand certain products such as cigarettes are mostly packaged in cardboard boxes with a lid, forming a single set. Between this container and the cigarettes a metallic paper is inserted to keep the freshness and flavor of the product known as "inner liner", and which has a cut forming a flap that is necessary to remove and discard to access said cigarettes. It also turns out that cigarette packages are presented sealed with a transparent polymeric film to preserve their content.

Therefore, the problem that arises is the development of a method that allows the supply of information and the authentication of the product against counterfeiting, in order for consumers who purchase the product and with the intervention of an electronic device or telephone mobile of the type described above, make a verification of the authenticity of said product in addition to allowing them access to a series of digital content or exclusive programs offered by the manufacturer for the fact of having purchased said product.

Description of the invention

The method of providing information and authentication, object of this invention, presents a series of features aimed at allowing the consumer of a product to obtain these functionalities in a simple way, it is sufficient for the product to incorporate a label or first NFC sensor in the container, and there is a second NFC (Near Field Communication) sensor incorporated in an electronic device or mobile phone used by the consumer, and that said device is connected to the internet.

For this, and according to the invention this method comprises:

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the incorporation of an NFC label in the package, for example in a pack of cigarettes, preferably on the inside of the lid thereof, such that when said lid is closed, it comes into contact with the metallic paper that covers the cigarettes interfering thus in the radio waves that the antenna of said NFC sensor tag receives, thus preventing its normal use and therefore of the system that supplies the information. In this case, the consumer's electronic device would not receive any information from said system, especially when said packaging is sealed and cannot be opened until it is acquired;

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 Removing the metal paper flap that covers the cigarettes makes it possible to establish a wireless communication between the first NFC sensor as part of the package label, and the second NFC sensor incorporated in the electronic device connected to the Internet used by the consumer , in such a way that even closing the lid of the container, and since there is no longer the electromagnetic barrier produced by the metallized paper, both NFC sensors can establish communication;

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the automatic activation in the electronic device connected to the internet or “smartphone” of a specific software application at the time of establishing the aforementioned NFC communication, and the realization by said application of the necessary operations for the supply of information and authentication of the product to the consumer, using this internet network as a connection channel;

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The type of container where the present invention can be applied can be any that has a cover or wrap that has to be removed to access the product, so that the NFC sensor is located inside and is not accessible until the purchase of the cited product for example because it is sealed, being necessary for the system

act that the consumer access the sensor and remove, take off or eliminate a metal type film intimately linked to the antenna of said sensor, thus enabling communication;

As described, the proposed system constitutes a method to obtain digital content supplied by the manufacturer of a product, and for its authentication before the consumers of the product, which occurs once this is opened and the metallic paper is removed that prevents the correct communication between the NFC sensor label included in said package and the electronic device or “smartphone” carried by said consumer.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to facilitate the understanding of the characteristics of the invention, a set of drawings is attached to the present specification in which, for illustrative and non-limiting purposes, the following has been represented:

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Figure 1 schematically shows a pack of cigarettes with an NFC sensor tag located on the lid of the container on its inner side.

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 Figure 2 shows the same pack of cigarettes with their upper lid open and with the NFC sensor tag inside, and the metallic paper that protects the product as presented to the consumer before removing the flap to access the content. The electronic device or “smartphone” must be close enough to the label to operate, usually a few centimeters.

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 Figure 3 shows the scheme of operation of the system with the different elements that compose it and their interrelation: The NFC sensor, the electronic device or “smartphone” and the data server connected to the internet.

Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, the method of the invention is carried out with the location in the package (1) of a first NFC sensor tag (2) specifically configured. The product, in this case cigarettes (3) are housed inside, wrapped in metallic paper (4).

While the container is closed and the flap (5) is not removed, the NFC sensor tag (2) is disabled and the NFC sensor of the phone or mobile device (6) cannot operate with it.

When opening the package as shown in Figure 2, the NFC sensor label (2) is removed from the metallized paper (4) and therefore fully operational. If the NFC sensor of the electronic device or “smartphone” (6) approaches, it will operate correctly.

Once the flap (5) has been removed and the container (1) closed, the NFC sensor label is also left

(2) enabled, so you can also operate without problems with the NFC sensor of the electronic device or “smartphone” (6).

The electronic device or “smartphone” (6) carried by the consumer must incorporate the NFC functionality and an internet data connection. The software application installed on the device is specific and is responsible for managing the download and display of digital content or programs provided by the manufacturer to the consumer, and is specifically designed to be activated when the NFC sensor of the label is approached at close range (2), this being in any case compatible with the system.

The specific NFC sensor label (2) that operates with the system must be placed in the package (1), as shown in Figure 1, inside the package itself and completely adjacent to the foil (4), when Said container is closed and sealed. The system is currently disabled.

In the case of tobacco packets, removing the flap (5) allows that there is no metal adjacent to the NFC tag (2), and therefore the system can operate properly. From this moment and even if the lid of the pack is closed the system will remain fully operational.

Once the system is physically enabled, when the first NFC sensor or tag and the second NFC sensor included in the electronic device or “smartphone” (6) are approached, a communication between them is established and automatically activated in said device a software application that locates a series of digital contents predefined by the manufacturer of the product through the internet network, and presents them in said electronic device or “smartphone” carried by the consumer. These digital contents can be in any format of the carrier by the electronic device or “smartphone”, as is the case of videos, texts, sounds, links to web pages, and a long list of different content formats, as well as programs that carry out Actions.

These contents can be informative and / or topics related to the authentication of the product, or take a specific action. In the case of the authentication of the originality of the product it can be credited because each label has a unique identifier, that the software application is specific and controlled, and that the connection to the server of said information is made through Internet using encrypted and secure methods.

Once the nature of the invention has been sufficiently described, as well as a preferred embodiment, it is stated for the appropriate purposes that the materials, shape, size and arrangement of the described elements may be modified, provided that this does not imply an alteration. of the essential features of the invention that are claimed below.

Claims (1)

1.- Method for the supply of digital information and authentication of products and services, characterized in that it comprises:

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 a first NFC sensor containing a unique identifier and a web address also unique and specific to the method or system;

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 a metallized paper or film located inside the container in close proximity to the first NFC sensor or label such that it interferes with the electromagnetic field of said sensor, preventing it from operating properly;

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establishing a wireless communication between the first NFC sensor set to a

10 container, and a second NFC sensor incorporated in an electronic device connected to the Internet carried by the user, when the metal film is removed or sufficiently far from the first sensor, such that said first and second NFC sensors can approach a sufficient distance as to establish said NFC communication without interference;

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 automatic activation in the electronic device of a software application when

15 establishes the aforementioned NFC communication, and the implementation by said application of the location and presentation operations of a series of digital contents or actions determined in the electronic device carried by the user, as well as informing the consumer about the authenticity of the product or service, and which were previously defined by the owner of the first NFC sensor or label, usually the manufacturer or 20 provider of said product or service.