Introduction

The invention relates to a passive transponder embedding a temperature indicator and its manufacturing method. The invention is particularly studied and implemented for thermal monitoring of perishable goods, medical items, food and drugs, or in all those applications requiring the detection of a thermal peak/event.

Technical features

The complexity of commercial exchanges and the spreading of logistics-related issues for perishable goods, increasingly requires augmented tracking, sensing and monitoring capabilities. Nowadays, RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) identification systems have been added to the optical labeling methods based mainly on bar codes. One of the current frontiers of RFID technology is the integration of sensors in electronic labels satisfying the needs of traceability, conservation and authenticity of the products. The patent concerns a temperature indicator completely integrated in a passive transponder based on HF RFID technology (High Frequency). The design of the transponder and the manufacturing process are simple and inexpensive with minimal impact on the manufacturing process of a standard non-sensitive transponder. Furthermore, data about the thermal peak is stored in the label even in the absence of the electricity supplied by the transponder and it can be acquired by means of a reader already patented by ENEA.

Possible Applications

• Perishable goods logistics;
• Cold chain monitoring;
• Biological samples handling.

Advantages

• Data security;
• Items tracking;
• Sensed data persistence;
• Low costs;
• Low complexity;
• Embeddability.