WO2008000279A1

WO2008000279A1 - Blister package integrating rfid based tags

Info

Publication number: WO2008000279A1
Application number: PCT/EP2006/006138
Authority: WO
Inventors: Rafael Pous Andres
Original assignee: Aida Centre, S.L.
Priority date: 2006-06-26
Filing date: 2006-06-26
Publication date: 2008-01-03
Also published as: EP2040995A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to radio frequency identification (RFID) based tags integrated in a' package closing film, for example, in a blister package closing film and packages comprising a plurality of cavities (2) , each of said cavities for housing a respective item, and a closing film which seals said plurality of cavities, wherein a plurality of RFID tags (3-7) are integrated in the own structure of said closing film, each of said RFID tags (3-7) corresponding to a respective cavity (2) . Bach tag is automatically destroyed by the user every time an item is removed from the package, that is to say, when one unit is extracted from the blister.

Description

BLISTER PACKAGE INTEGRATING RFID BASED TAGS

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to radio frequency identification devices (RFID) based tags integrated in a package closing film, and preferably, to radio frequency identification devices (RFID) based tags integrated in a blister package closing film.

STATE OF THE ART

On the one hand, many consumer goods or other objects are packaged using a system called blister, which consists of a group of plastic or metal foil cavities which house the units of the product. These cavities are covered with a layer of plastic, metal foil or a multilayer film including both plastic and metal.

Blister packages may be used for pills in the pharmaceutical industry, portions in the food industry, precision parts or tools in mechanical assembly or operating rooms, or many other applications in which it is necessary to house different items that form a group but are used as separate units.

On the other hand, the technology called "Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID)" is based on electronic labels called "tags" which comprise a RFID chip and a small antenna. These RFID tags play the same roll that has traditionally been played by bar codes, but with great advantages. These RFID tags can be incorporated to any product. This technology allows products to be identified from a far distance and therefore to be controlled during the whole distribution chain, from the manufacturer to the final buyer. Furthermore, a lot of information related to the product associated to a RFID tag can be stored within the RFID chip. For the implementation of the RFID technology three main items are needed: a RFID tag, a RFID reader, which comprises an antenna, and an information system. The RFID tags comprise a RFID microchip or RFID chip which stores a code which identifies the item to which the RFID tag is associated. The RFID tags comprise an antenna as well. The RFID reader sends each RFID tag, via its antenna, a plurality of radiofrequency waveforms, which are received by the RFID tag by means of its small antenna. These waveforms activate the RFID chip which is comprised in the RFID tag, said RFID chip transmitting via the RFID small antenna the code of the item to the RFID reader. Once the RFID reader has received the code of the item, it transmits it to an information system, where the characteristics of the item have been previously stored: expiry date, weight, size, composition and so on. The item is therefore fully identified.

The international patent application published as WO 2005/117697 A2 describes techniques for reducing non- compliance of medication. In particular, techniques which involve generating and storing an identifier for a specific dosage instance of a specific patient. According to this document, one way of achieving said reduction in non-compliance of medication is by inserting a RFID tag inside a blister and seal it in such a way that the RFID tag cannot be read until the blister compartment is open, that is to say, until the RFID tag is unshielded.

However, a drawback in this system is derived from the fact that the RFID tag cannot be read until the blister is not open. For this reason, track of medication cannot be carried out until the blister package has been broken by the user. Furthermore, since the RFID tag is inserted inside the blister cavity, its scope is limited to cavities which are metallic or at least covered with metal, and would not work in the more common case of plastic cavities with a metal closing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary aim of the present invention to provide RFID-based tags integrated in a package closing multilayer film. In a preferred embodiment, said RFID- based tags are integrated in the closing film of a blister package. Each RFID tag is automatically destroyed by the user every time an item is removed from a cavity of the package, that is to say, when one unit is extracted from the blister. As a consequence, by using RFID readers it is possible to know which units are still available or non-used or, in other words, how many units have been consumed. A signal is then provided to the user or to a control system, carrying different kinds of information: advising when it is necessary to consume one unit of the product, calling the attention of the user or doctor to the fact that the wrong unit has been consumed, or indicating that the consumption of a pill has been forgotten.

The advantages of the proposed invention will become apparent in the description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complete the description and in order to provide for a better understanding of the invention, a set of drawings is provided. Said drawings -form an integral part of the description and illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention, which should not be interpreted as restricting the scope of the invention, but just as an example of how the invention can be embodied. The drawings comprise the following figures:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a conventional blister package.

Figures 2a and 2b show different topologies that can be adopted by the antennae of the system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3a shows an RFID chip connected to a generic slot dipole antenna according to a particular embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3b shows an RFID chip connected to a generic single turn slot antenna according to a particular embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The implementation of the present invention can be carried out as follows:

Figure 1 shows a package (1) which comprises a plurality of cavities (2) . In particular, figure 1 refers to a blister package, that is to say, a package in which a plurality of blisters contains each an item (for example, a pill) . The package (1) is preferably made of plastic, but it is not limited to this material.

A radio frequency identification tag (which will be referred to as "RFID tag" from now on) forms part of the cavity (2) in which a pill or similar is packaged. More precisely, each RFID tag forms part of the closing film of the blister cavity (2) . This means that the RFID tag of our invention is manufactured from the own structure or materials from which the package closing film is manufactured, in contrast to RFID tags of conventional systems, which are welded, adhered or glued to the corresponding closing film.

As already explained, in a preferred embodiment, said package (1) is a blister package. In other embodiments, said package (1) is yoghurt, water, juice, butter, cream or in general, food package, of a package for surgical supplies or a package for delicate material in general, such as material used in the aeronautics industry.

Preferably, a group of RFID tags are built into a same closing multilayer film which closes and seals a package (1), each RFID tag belonging to or being associated to a respective cavity (2) of the package (1).

The RFID tag can be read by a RFID reader at any moment, until the RFID tag is destroyed when the package is open. The RFID readers are not an object of the present invention. For the preferred case of a blister package, a RFID tag can be read at any moment until the RFID tag is destroyed when the blister cavity (2) to which said RFID tag belongs is broken and a pill. is taken out of the package. In other words, a RFID tag forms part of the closing film which seals each blister cavity (2) and is destroyed when the blister is opened by breaking the piece of closing film which seals said cavity (2).

This sealing is achieved by a multilayer closing film. Said multilayer film can comprise metal layers, plastic layers or a combination thereof, for example, at least a metal layer and a plastic layer.

Due to the fact that the multilayer closing film - and therefore, a RFID tag- is broken by a user when he/she extracts an item from a blister cavity (2) , by using RFID readers it is possible to know which units are still available or, similarly, the units that have been consumed. A radio frequency signal can then be provided to the user or to a control system to recall the user that he/she needs to consume one item of the product, to advice him/her about a wrong ingestion or to recall him/her that a unit should have been taken. In fact, it is impossible to extract an item without said extraction being detected. As said before, the RFID readers are not an object of the present invention.

The RFID tags which are object of the present invention comprise an antenna (3, 4, 6, 7) and a RFID chip (5) . The purpose of this antenna (3, 4, 6, 7) is to transmit the code associated to the item stored in the RFID chip (5) to the RFID reader.

Said antenna (3, 4, 6, 7) can be implemented in the form of different topologies: either slot antennae (4) etched in the metal layer of the closing film of the package (1), for those closing films which comprise at least a metal layer, or strip antennae (3) etched in the plastic layer of said closing film of the package (1), for those closing films which comprise at least a plastic layer.

For blister packages (1) which comprise at least a metal layer that can be etched easily, slot antennae (4) etched in the metal layer (8) of the closing film which closes and seals the respective blister cavity (2) are the preferred alternative, although not limited thereto.

Thus, each antenna (3, 4, 6, 7) for each blister cavity (2) is an integral part of the closing film, that is to say, said antenna (3, 4, 6, 7) is made from the same materials as the closing film of the blister package (1) and is integrated within the structure of the closing film. Figures 2a and 2b show possible topologies for said antennae, based on slots (negative topology, figure 2b) and strips (positive topology, figure 2a) .

An RFID chip (5) is then connected to each of these antennae (3, 4, 6, 7). This is illustrated in figures 3a and 3b: Figure 3-a shows a RFID chip (5) which, in this case, is integrated in a slot dipole antenna (6) which forms part of a metal layer (8) . Figure 3-b shows a RFID chip (5) which, in this case, is integrated in a single turn slot antenna (7) which forms part of a metal layer (8) .

One of the advantages of the present invention is that the RFID tags can be integrated in the production process and do not need any additional materials for its manufacture, just a layer definition process, such as etching.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the RFID tag is removed automatically every time a unit of product is consumed or extracted from its package, it is possible to keep control of the consumed and remaining units.

Although we have mainly described the RFID tags integrated in multilayer films of the present invention in systems in which pills or other medicaments are packed, any other item could be packaged by means of this system, not necessarily with medical purposes. Hence, the blister package identity tag (BPIT) has a great deal of applications, such as the management of surgical supplies for operating rooms, the management of delicate material, such as the one used in aeronautics industry, the control of individual doses in drug administration procedures, the control of expiration dates on food products, etc.

In this text, the term "comprises" and its derivations (such as "comprising", etc.) should not be understood in an excluding sense, that is, these terms should not be interpreted as excluding the possibility that what is described and defined may include further elements, steps, etc.

The invention is obviously not limited to the specific embodiments described herein, but also encompasses any variations that may be considered by any person skilled in the art (for example, as regards the choice of components, configuration, etc.), within the general scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .

Claims

1. Package (1) comprising one or more cavities (2) each of said one or more cavities (2) for housing a respective item, and a closing film which seals said one or more cavities (2) of the package (1), characterised in that one or more RFID tags are integrated within the structure of said closing film, each of said one or more RFID tags being associated to a respective one or more cavities (2) .

2. Package according to claim 1, wherein said closing film is a multilayer closing film.

3. Package according to claim 2, wherein said multilayer closing film comprises at least a metal layer (8) .

4. Package according to claim 2, wherein said multilayer closing film comprises at least a plastic layer.

5. Package according to claim 3, wherein each of said RFID tags comprises a slot antenna (4, 6, 7) etched in said metal layer (8) of the multilayer closing film.

6. Package according to claim 4, wherein each of said RFID tags comprises a metal strip antenna (3) which is built on said plastic layer of the multilayer closing film.

7. Package according to either claim 5 or 6, wherein each of said RFID tags further comprises a RFID chip (5) connected to the respective antennae (3, 4, 6, 7) .

8. Package according to any preceding claim, wherein said package is made of plastic.

9. Package according to any preceding claim, wherein each of said RFID tags is destroyed when a user breaks the piece of closing film which closes the respective cavity (2) to which said RFID tag is associated.

10. Package according to any preceding claim, wherein said package is selected from the group formed by: blister packages, food packages, packages for surgical supplies or packages for delicate material.