GB2366939A

GB2366939A - Plant tag device and method

Info

Publication number: GB2366939A
Application number: GB0021211A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Devito; Duncan Charles Alast Mclintock
Original assignee: BURALL FLORAPRINT
Current assignee: BURALL FLORAPRINT
Priority date: 2000-08-29
Filing date: 2000-08-29
Publication date: 2002-03-20
Also published as: GB0021211D0

Abstract

A method and a device for storage and retrieval of data about a plant 9. The device 1 includes a memory, a power source and an antenna and can be fixed to the plant 9, fixed to an internal wall of the plant's pot 10 or placed in the soil surrounding the plant, preferably lying among the plant's roots. The device 1 may store identification, price and/or care information, allowing the history of the plant 9 to be tracked and when concealed in the soil, preventing retail fraud. The method involves positioning a data storage and retrieval device in a plant pot, planting the plant in the pot and communicating with the device to store or retrieve data.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> Plant Tag Device and Method The present invention relates to a method and device for the storage and retrieval of data about a specific plant, and in particular to an identity tag for use in the soil of a plant pot.

The use of means and/or methods to identify and track an object or animal is well known. For example, many endangered species of birds have rings placed round their legs so that their movements can be monitored. In addition, animals such as sheep are marked with a dye as means of identifying their owner. However, these forms of identification are somewhat limited in their usefulness.

Other forms of identification include metal tags which have been used to indicate that an animal has been immunised. However these tags have been illegally transferred between animals to raise the value of the animal.

As a result of the problems with the above forms of identification, alternative means, known as smart tags, have been developed which are more secure and allow for the input of a wide range of additional information. An advantage of this type of tag is that the information can be updated, for example to reflect changes in ownership.

Smart tags, also known as smart cards, are designed to be portable devices and are conveniently formed in the same size as forms of credit or security card. The term is, however, used generically to cover similar devices which may have a

different size or shape including antennas linked to integrated circuits and embedded into items such as key fobs.

Smart tags operate by communicating with a read/write unit and transferring data thereto through the antenna. The tags are generally supplied with a power circuit to operate the chips and circuitry on the card.

The main advantage of a smart tag is the absence of any requirement for electrical contact between the smart card and the read/write unit. For this reason their use has become increasingly popular.

The primary use of smart tags is to maintain a record of the object or animal that has been tagged. Typically, the information stored relates to ownership, age or location.

In the prior art there are a number of examples of this type of tag. British Patent Application No. 2 217 968 discloses a smart tag to identify pigs. More recently, as consequence of the BSE health scare cattle are required to be tagged as part of the effort to eradicate this disease.

Tags have also been used as a security means to ensure that the product, whether an animal or object, has not been the subject of interference by a third party. For example animal vaccination programmes, which use tags to identify animals that have been vaccinated, have been undermined by the swapping of these tags.

At present, plants are commonly sold with a card having a loop which can be placed around a stem or branch or a pointed end which is inserted into the plant pot. The card generally identifies the plant type and is provided with point of sale information such as price and bar code, and other general information about growing conditions, flowering and plant care. The inclusion of point of sale information on these cards, however, makes them liable to be the subject of fraud. The fraud is generally achieved by using the cards from similar, but cheaper, plants to replace those from more expensive plants. It is known that exotic and larger plant varieties are the subject of such fraudulent activity.

It would therefore be advantageous if there was a tag suitable for use with a plant to provide information about care of the plant and act as a means of security by preventing fraud.

The present invention is intended to provide such a tag. According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a device for storage and retrieval of data about a plant comprising a read/write memory, a power source and an antenna.

Preferably the data storage and retrieval device is in the form of a tag.

Preferably the memory is provided with a RFID communications means which uses a standard frequency.

Preferably the data storage/retrieval device is provided with a protective coating. Typically the coating is in the form of a plastic material such as PVC.

Preferably, the memory, power supply and antenna are mounted on a substrate.

The data storage/retrieval device is preferably positioned in the soil of a plant pot. The data storage/ retrieval device may be secured by being fixed to the plant itself or to the wall of the plant pot.

The device may be used to store information concerning the cost of a plant and/or the identity of a plant.

The device may be used as a security device preventing the fraudulent transfer of price codes.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for storing and retrieving data about a plant comprising the steps of a) positioning a data storage/ retrieval device in a plant pot; b) planting a plant in the plant pot and c) communicating with the device to store and/or retrieve data. Typically the data storage/retrieval device is fixed to either the plant itself or to the internal wall of the plant pot. Optionally the data storage/retrieval device may be fixed to a plant prior to the plant being positioned in a plant pot.

The storage/retrieval device is typically in the form of a tag as described in the first aspect of the present invention. The data that is stored on the tag allows for the prevention of fraud; and provides information about the physical characteristics of the plant and its history.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying Figures in which: Figure 1 illustrates a plant tagging device in accordance with the present invention; and Figure 2 illustrates a plant tagging device in use. Referring firstly to figure 1 there is provided a plant tagging device 1 which comprises a memory chip 2, communication means 3 and a power source 4, on a substrate 5. The chip 2 is connected to a loop antenna 6. Typically the antenna is either printed or etched onto the substrate. The antenna 6 is further provided with a capacitor 7 which allows for the antenna to be tuned to a predetermined radio frequency. The device 1 is provided with a coating 8 which encapsulates the other components. The coating 8 is made from a durable plastics material.

The device 1 is powered from an external reader by a radio signal at the predetermined frequency. The reader also provides for bi-directional communications with the device 1. The memory chip 2 is able to both receive and transmit information thus allowing the external reader to retrieve and update the information stored on the chip's memory. This

information can be stored on the chip 2 over a period of many years.

It is preferred that the memory of the clip 2 is non-volatile so that the data held in the memory can be retained indefinitely. In this case the power source 4 merely receives and stores sufficient power for reliable operation of the smart tag from the reader. Alternatively, the memory could be volatile, and in this case the power source 4 must be able to store sufficient power to maintain the data held in the memory between readings.

The device 1 communicates with the external reader using a modulated frequency radio signal. There are several standard frequencies and modulation standards used, for example 125Khz, 13.56Mhz, 418Mhz and 2.4Ghz. other frequencies can also be used. In the preferred embodiment the device utilises the 13.56Mhz standard and type B modulation. Typically, the chip 2 has 256 bytes of read/write memory.

Figure 2 illustrates the device 1 tagged to a plant 9 in a pot 10 by the device 1 being inserted into earth 11 in the plant pot 10 to lie among the roots of a plant 9. The device 1 is hidden wholly beneath the earth 11 so that it is not visible. As a result of the demanding environmental conditions to which the device 1 is exposed, the protective covering 8 is required. In particular, the covering 8 should protect the device against the effects of moisture and/or physical damage. In the example illustrated in the Figures the device is encapsulated in a plastic material such as PVC.

In alternative embodiments the device 1 may be attached to the plant or the bottom or side wall of the pot.

In use, the device 1 is generally placed towards the bottom the soil or earth within a plant pot or similar container and the plant or seed is planted in the normal way.

In the alternative embodiments the device 1 can be affixed to the bottom of the container or one of the walls or the plant stem or roots and then covered by the soil.

Once the device 1 has been positioned and the plant/seed has been planted the required information can be stored on the memory chip 2.

The information is transferred to the memory chip 2 from a reader (not shown) which is located under the container or under a conveyer belt. A hand held reader may also be used. The device 1 can be used to store on the memory chip 2 information about a number of parameters such as price, type of plant, physical characteristics, date of potting, soil type, treatments, identification of seed/plant source, transportation details, care instructions, batch number, operator number, and details concerning the next operation required.

When the information carried on the device 1 includes price or type information the device can be used to prevent fraud which results from the transfer of a price tag or barcode bearing sticker from a cheaper plant to a more expensive one because of

the difficulty of covertly finding, removing and replacing the device 1 from within the plant pot below the earth in the pot. Preferably, where the device is placed in the earth and not positioned on a container surface the tag is located within the root ball of the plant to make it difficult to find and remove the device 1.

Also, the device can carry care and planting instructions which can be read by a purchaser using a handheld reader unit. Further, the device can be used to ensure that delivery targets are met; or to allow the movement of a plant from nursery to purchaser to be tracked.

The presence of the read/write memory is particularly useful for plants which are nearing their sell-by-date. The price information for these plants held in the device can be adjusted accordingly.

The present invention provides means for storing data about a specific plant within the plant pot. Such means can be used to prevent fraud, supply a wide range of information regarding growing conditions and plant care, and allow processing and transport of the plant to be tracked and audited throughout the nursery, wholesale and retail process.

The present invention is particularly suitable for use with plants planted outside, whose conventional care instruction cards can easily be mislaid, when the embodiment has the device 1 placed in the earth in the plant pot or container because

when the plant is planted out from the pot the tag should remain close to the plant. This is particularly the case when the device 1 is located within the root ball of the plant. In addition, the care and identity information can be retrieved for plants whose identity is unknown.

As explained above, it is preferred that the memory of the device contains information identifying the plant type and also care information to allow the plant to be properly looked after together with planting information where appropriate to allow a suitable location for outdoor planting to be selected. However, the full care and planting instructions for a plant can be a large amount of information and it may be difficult to store all of the information within the memory of the device without undesirably increasing the cost and bulk of the device. Also, the time take to transfer the full set of care and planting information from the device to a consumers hand held scanner may be unacceptably long.

Accordingly, as an alternative to including care and planting information in the memory of the device it may be preferred to give only summary or guideline care and planting instructions or even no care and planting instructions at all on the device. In this case the consumer can use a hand held scanner to read the plant type data held on the device and obtain a definite and positive identification of the plant. The user can then refer to a database of plant care and planting instructions to see what instructions apply to that plant type. Although this information could be in any data presentation format it is preferred to provide the plant care and planting information in an electronically accessible form, for example by placing the

instructions on a publicly accessible website or by providing it as a CD-ROM readable by a conventional home computer, and to provide the hand held reading device with an interface means to allow it to automatically retrieve the relevant instructions itself or through another device such as a home computer.

This procedure is preferred in order to be sure that the plant identity and the corresponding care and planting instructions are both obtained from, or are at least under the control of, the same source, generally the wholesaler or retailer selling the plant, in order to ensure that the instructions are correct.

In the above description the soil or earth within a plant pot or container is referred to. The term soil is used in this application generically to refer to the contents of a plant pot within which a plants roots grow and it should be understood that this soil may be earth, compost, bark chips or any other known plant growth medium.

Further modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention described herein.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. A device for storage and retrieval of data about a plant comprising a memory, a power source and an antenna.
2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the device is in the form of a tag.
3. A device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein the device is provided with a protective coating.
4. A device as claimed in claim 3 wherein the protective coating is a plastics material.
5. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the memory, power supply and antenna are mounted on a substrate.
6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the device is positioned in the soil of a plant pot.
7. A device as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the device is secured by being fixed to the plant itself or to the wall of the plant pot.
8. A device as claimed in any preceding claim in which the device is used to store information identifying a plant.
9. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the memory is provided with a RFID communications means which uses a standard frequency.

<Desc/Clms Page number 12>
10. A device as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the device is used to store information concerning the cost of a plant.
11. A device as claimed any of preceding claims wherein the device is used as a security device preventing the fraudulent transfer of price identifiers.
12. A method for storing and retrieving data about a plant comprising the steps of a) positioning a data storage and retrieval device in a plant pot; b) planting a plant in the plant pot and c) communicating with the device to store or retrieve data.
13. A method as claimed in claim 12 wherein the device is fixed to either the plant itself or to the internal wall of the plant pot.
14. A method as claimed in claim 13 wherein the device is fixed to a plant prior to the plant being positioned in a plant pot.
15. A method as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 14, wherein the stored data identifies the plant.
16. A method as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the stored data provides price information about the plant.

<Desc/Clms Page number 13>
17. A method as claimed in any one of claims 12 to 16 wherein the device is in the form of a tag as described claimed in any one of claims 1 to 11.
18. A device substantially as shown in or as described with reference to the accompanying figures.