GB2438188A

GB2438188A - Forward date printing apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2438188A
Application number: GB0609740A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Hiro Punjabi
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-05-17
Filing date: 2006-05-17
Publication date: 2007-11-21
Also published as: GB0609740D0

Abstract

A digital calendar / clock is capable of printing dated labels, for a set forward period, such as for indicating foodstuff consumption dates. The apparatus, is envisaged to be used domestically, for occasions on which the opening of food package alters the original best before date. The package opening date can be entered into the device, and a new best before date calculated, printed onto a label, and placed on the package.

Description

The ife 2 Eat?' timer 2438188 Concept How many times do you go to the

fridge and take a gamble on an item of food or condiment or preserve whose labelling states Best before dd/mm/yyyy. Once open keep refrigerated and consume within x days (or weeks) of opening', but you just can't remember when you opened it? The Safe 2 Eat ? timer takes the guesswork / risk out of that, hence eliminating the chance of food poisoning and also unnecessary waste if you have erred on the side of caution.

Description I features

The device has a simple digital perpetual calendar I clock chip and an LCD readout showing these elements with the ability to calculate a forward time or date, similar to the timers used in prepay Pay and display' car park machines. This is then interfaced to either a thermal or ink ribbon printer (such as is found on small desktop calculators/adding machines) In addition to the LCD display, the front panel would contain the buttons in a vertical row numbered I to 7, and adjacent to the right, 2 further buttons labelled "days" and "weeks". By pressing one of the number buttons, followed by either the "days" or "weeks" button, the device would be able to calculate from today's date forward anywhere between I to 7 days or 1 to 7 weeks (this pretty much covers all eventualities for this sort of application) and print this future date, prefixed with the words "Consume by:" on to a self adhesive ticket, which can then be applied onto the container of the food item to be opened.

The device would further have "Cancel" (coloured red) and "Print" (coloured green) buttons, and for the display to show the number and the period selected, prior to printing, to negate input errors and ensure that the ticket intended is printed. The "Print" button would also reset the input to zero' after printing.

(Buttons for setting the time / date would be recessed and situated on the side of the device to avoid confusion with day-to-day use).

The manufacturer of this device can decide whether the design would use consumables (ink /labels) generally available through most good office supplies retailers or whether to have proprietary consumables.

The only considerations are the fastness of the ink, and the self-adhesiveness of the labels to withstand the temperature and moisture levels typically found in a domestic fridge inside environment.

Based on the template of a small adding machine, a device containing the above functionality could be encased in a plastic box of approximately 8cm width x 15cm height x 3cm depth, powered by 4 AA' type batteries weighing less than 300g when loaded with batteries and consumables. To enable easy removal from its mounting point (in order to replace consumables and batteries) the device would have rails on the reverse side to enable it to slot on to a separate back plate which itself can be fixed by either one side magnetic I one side adhesive strips (in order to attach to the outside of a metal fridge door), or dual sided adhesive tape (for a more permanent or non-magnetic fixture). All buttons are of the soft rubberised plastic type similar to those found on certain calculators. The labels would feed from the bottom, and the exit point should have a serrated edge to facilitate easy tear-off of the label. The adhesive/magnetic tape would need to be strong enough to securely hold a device of this weight to a vertical surface. Consumables I battery compartments would be accessed through panels on the reverse side (not illustrated).

The device (drawn to approximately 80% of intended size) might look as per the attached sketch on page 2.

One would reasonably expect such an item to retail for at least 19.99 and for the manufacturing costs including the cost of the first set of consumables to be of the order of 5.00.

Claims

The "Safe 2 Eat ?" timer.

CLAIMS

1. A device based on a digital clock I calendar type microchip with a liquid crystal digital display recording and displaying the current time and date, equipped with a small thermal or ink-ribbon based label printer, with the ability to calculate a future date in the format ddlmmlyyyy, as defined by user input in numbers, and days or weeks through appropriately designated buttons on its front surface, and print that future date on a self-adhesive ticket for the purpose of affixing to food product packaging in order to accurately record a date by which that product can safely be consumed within the "after opening" period guidelines stated on its packaging.

2. A device as claimed in Claim 1 with buttons discreetly positioned on one of its sides for the purposes of setting the current time and date.

3. A device as claimed in Claim 1 and Claim 2 which is made from metal, plastics material, paper or wood, or from a combination of these materials.

4. A device as claimed in any proceeding claim which has internal compartments to contain the printing mechanism, and store printing consumables, self-adhesive tickets and batteries (where applicable).

5. A device substantially as herein described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.