WO2014021857A1

WO2014021857A1 - Electronic shutter over image to render image optically readable or unreadable

Info

Publication number: WO2014021857A1
Application number: PCT/US2012/049020
Authority: WO
Inventors: Devin A. Mourey; Steven J. Simske
Original assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
Priority date: 2012-07-31
Filing date: 2012-07-31
Publication date: 2014-02-06

Abstract

An electronic shutter is positioned over an image. The electronic shutter has an opaque state in which the electronic shutter is opaque to render the image optically unreadable by a machine, and a transparent state in which the electronic shutter is transparent to render the image optically readable by the machine. Electrodes are coupled to the electronic shutter. A change in an electrical characteristic between the electrodes causes the electronic shutter to transition from the opaque state to the transparent state or from the transparent state to the opaque state.

Description

ELECTRONIC SHUTTER OVER IMAGE TO RENDER IMAGE OPTICALLY READABLE OR UNREADABLE

BACKGROUND

[0001] Smart packaging, or intelligent packaging, typically involves a product being able to sense or measure an attribute thereof, such as its shipping environment, and so on. This information can then be communicated to a user, or can trigger an active packaging function to be performed in relation to the product. As one example, as a product to be shipped is transported throughout the fulfillment process from packaging, shipment, warehousing, and delivery, the product may be able to communicate such status information to a user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional diagram of an example electronic shutter assembly positioned over a bar code printed on a print medium substrate.

[0003] FIGs. 2A and 2B are top view diagrams of an example electronic shutter assembly positioned over a bar code, where the electronic shutter assembly is in different states.

[0004] FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method of use of an electronic shutter assembly positioned over a bar code.

[0005] FIGs. 4A and 4B are a diagram of an example electronic shutter assembly positioned over a bar code and that can be fabricated prior to being affixed over the bar code, and of an example method for fabricating such an assembly.

[0006] FIGs. 5A and 5B are a diagram of an example electronic shutter assembly positioned over a bar code and fabricated during the same process in which the bar code is printed on a medium, such as after the bar code has been printed, and of an example method for performing the same. [0007] FIG. 6 is a diagram of an example progressive electronic shutter assembly positioned over a bar code, where the electronic shutter and the bar code together make up a dynamic bar code having multiple bar code states.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION [0008] As noted in the background section, smart packaging involves a product or other object being able to sense or measure an attribute thereof, and to communicate this information or trigger some functionality based thereon to be performed. The focus of smart packaging has been on radio frequency

identifiers (RFIDs). An RFID tag is affixed to an object. The RFID tag wirelessly communicates information, such as the object's unique or other identification, and a RFID reader positioned in proximity to the object is able to detect and read this information. A difficulty with RFID tags is that while individually inexpensive, the cost to affix a tag to each of a large number of objects can be cost prohibitive, particularly in profit margin-sensitive scenarios.

[0009] Disclosed herein are techniques that provide for functionality similar to that of RFID tags, but typically at lower cost. An electronic shutter is

positioned over a bar code, or another type of image. The electronic shutter has an opaque state and a transparent state. In the opaque state, the electronic shutter renders the bar code optically unreadable by a machine. In the

transparent state, the electronic shutter renders the bar code optically readable by a machine. The electronic shutter can be controlled in response to a particular stimulus related to or attribute of the object, such as its current location. An electronic shutter can be manufactured at lower cost than an RFID tag, permitting the usage of smart packaging in scenarios in which heretofore smart packaging has been cost prohibitive to implement.

[0010] FIG. 1 shows a cross section of an example electronic shutter assembly 100. The assembly 100 includes an electronic shutter 102, electrodes 104A and 104B, collectively referred to as the electrodes 104, and can also include a switchable power source 106. The assembly 100 is positioned over a bar code 108, which may be printed on a print medium, or substrate, 1 10. The assembly 100 is typically affixed to the print medium 1 10, as is described in more detail later in the detailed description. The bar code 108 and/or the medium 1 10 may be considered as part of the assembly 100 in some implementations. The electronic shutter assembly 100 is more generally referred to as an apparatus. The bar code 108 is more generally any type of image.

[0011] The electronic shutter 102 may be a layer of electronic ink that can be inkjet- or laser-printed on a flexible substrate, and is an electrically modulated optical switch. The electronic shutter 102 has an opaque state and a transparent state. In the opaque state, the electronic shutter 102 is opaque, in that it does not permit the bar code 108 positioned thereunder to be optically machine readable, such as by a bar code scanner. In the transparent state, the electronic shutter 102 is transparent, in that it does permit the bar code 108 to be optically machine readable. In different implementations, the electronic shutter 102 may be an electrowetting-based shutter, an electrochromic-based shutter, an electrophoretic-based shutter, a liquid crystal-based shutter, or an electrokinetic- based shutter. As to the latter, charged electronic ink and three-dimensional structures are employed such that the ink is compacted from an opaque state via electrokinetic fluidic forces into confined areas to transition the shutter 102 into a clear state.

[0012] The electrodes 104 are electrically coupled to the electronic shutter 102, and there may be more than two electrodes 104 as depicted in FIG. 1 . The electrodes 104 are positioned to either side of the electronic shutter 102 in FIG. 1 , which is the case especially where the electrodes 104 are themselves opaque, such as metal or metallic. In other implementations, however, the electrodes 104 may be positioned to the top and bottom of the electronic shutter 102, specifically where the electrodes 104 are transparent.

[0013] A change in an electrical characteristic between the electrodes 104 causes the electronic shutter 102 to transition from the opaque state to the transparent state, or vice-versa. For example, in one implementation, when an electrical current applied between the electrodes 104 rises above a threshold, the electronic shutter 102 transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state, or from the transparent state to the opaque state. In one implementation, the electronic shutter 102 then transitions back to its former state when the electrical current subsequently falls below the threshold - that is, such that the shutter 102 is reversible, although in another implementation, the shutter 102 may not be reversible in this manner.

[0014] As another example, in one implementation, when an electrical current applied between the electrodes 104 falls below a threshold, the electronic shutter 102 transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state, or from the transparent state to the opaque state. In one implementation, the electronic shutter 102 then transitions back to its former state when the electrical current subsequently rises above the threshold. That is, in this latter implementation, the electronic shutter 102 is reversible, although in another implementation, the shutter 102 may not be reversible in this manner. In this and the former example, the electrical characteristic between the electrodes 104 that changes is electrical voltage.

[0015] As a third example, in one implementation, when the electrodes 104 are electrically shorted together, the electronic shutter 102 transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state, or from the transparent state to the opaque state. In one implementation, the electronic shutter 102 then transitions back to its former state when the electrodes 104 are no longer electrically shorted together and a voltage is applied between the electrodes 104. That is, in this latter implementation, the electronic shutter 102 is reversible, although in another implementation, the shutter 102 may not be reversible in this manner.

[0016] As a fourth example, in one implementation, when the electrodes 104 are not electrically shorted, such as when they are electrically opened, the electronic shutter 102 transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state, or from the transparent state to the opaque state. In one implementation, the electronic shutter 102 then transitions back to its former state when the electrodes 104 are electrically shorted together. That is, in this latter

implementation, the electronic shutter 102 is reversible, although in another implementation, the shutter 102 may not be reversible in this manner. In this and the former example, the electrical characteristic between the electrodes 104 that changes is the electrical shorting or open state of the electrodes 104.

[0017] The switchable power source 106 is electrically connected between the electrodes 104, such that an electrical circuit can be formed among the electronic shutter 102, the electrodes 104, and the power source 106. The switchable power source 106 can include a variety of different sources of power. For example, the sources of power can be a battery, a capacitor, a solar power cell, and so on.

[0018] The switchable power source 106 is switchable in that the power source 106 has at least two states, and transitioning between these two states causes the electronic shutter 102 to transition from the opaque state to the transparent state, or from the transparent state to the opaque state. The switchable power source 106 can include a variety of different switching mechanisms to control the transition between its two states. For example, the switchable power source 106 can include a fuse, a relay, a transistor, and so on.

[0019] The bar code 108 is an optical machine-readable representation of data relating to an object to which it is attached. The print medium 1 10 may be a surface of this object, or may itself be affixed to the object, such as in the case where the print medium 1 10 is part of a sticker having the bar code 108 printed thereon. The bar code 108 can be a one-dimensional bar code or a two- dimensional bar code. An example of the former is a Universal Product Code (UPC), whereas an example of the latter is a Quick Response (QR) code.

[0020] FIGs. 2A and 2B show top views of the electronic shutter assembly 100 when the electronic shutter 102 is in the transparent state and in the opaque state, respectively. The electrodes 104 and the power source 106 are not depicted in FIGs. 2A and 2B for illustrative clarity and convenience. In FIG. 2A, the electronic shutter 102 is transparent because the shutter 102 is in the transparent state. As such, the bar code 108 printed on the print medium 1 10 is viewable through the electronic shutter 102, rendering the bar code 108 optically readable by a machine like a bar code scanner. [0021] In FIG. 2B, the electronic shutter 102 is opaque because the shutter 102 is in the opaque state. As such, the bar code 108 printed on the print medium 1 10 is not viewable through the electronic shutter 102, which is why the bar code 108 is not called out in FIG. 2B). Therefore, the bar code 108 has been rendered optically unreadable by a machine like a bar code scanner.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a rudimentary example method of use 300 of the electronic shutter assembly 100 that has been described. An event related to the object with which the bar code 108 is associated is detected (302). In response, the electrical characteristic between the electrodes 104 is changed to cause the electronic shutter 102 to transition from its current state to its other state (304). Specifically, the electronic shutter 102 transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state, or transitions from the transparent state to the opaque state.

[0023] For example, consider a scenario in which a shipping box has two bar codes imprinted thereon, each having its own electronic shutter that defaults to the opaque state. Each bar code may correspond to a different object that may be shipped using the box. Depending on which object is placed in the shipping box, the appropriate electronic shutter is caused to transition to the transparent state. Therefore, identification of the object within the box may be determined by optical machine reading of the visible bar code.

[0024] In this example, the event that results in the electronic shutter in question to transition from the opaque state to the transparent state is the placement of an object within the box. A user may manually select which object has been placed in the box, causing the appropriate electronic shutter to transition to the transparent state. In another scenario, the appropriate electronic shutter may be caused to transition to the transparent state in a more automated manner. For instance, if the two objects have measurably different weights, an electronic scale may be employed to trigger the appropriate electronic shutter to transition to the transparent state.

[0025] FIGs. 4A and 4B are related to an implementation of the example electronic switch assembly 100 in which the assembly 100 can be fabricated prior to the bar code 108 being printed on the print medium 1 10. For example, for existing bar codes 108, which may take the form of stickers that are affixed to objects or their packaging, or which may be directly printed on such objects or their packaging, this implementation permits such bar codes 108 to be used in conjunction with electronic shutters 102 even if they were not contemplated to be so used. The electronic switch assembly 100, after fabrication, is affixed over the bar code 108. The assembly 100 may itself take the form of a sticker, for instance.

[0026] FIG. 4A shows such an example electronic switch assembly 100. As before, the assembly 100 includes the electronic shutter 102 and the electrodes 104. The switchable power source 106 is not depicted in FIG. 4A for illustrative clarity and convenience. The electronic shutter 102 and/or the electrodes 104 are disposed on a bottom transparent substrate 402, and a top transparent substrate 404 is disposed on the electronic shutter 102 and/or the electrodes 104. The transparent substrates 402 and 404 may be a flexible material, such that the entirety of the electronic switch assembly 100 is itself flexible, as in the case when the electronic shutter 102 is electronic ink. The assembly 100 is affixed to the print medium 1 10 over the bar code 108 that has been printed on the medium 1 10.

[0027] FIG. 4B shows an example method 450 for fabricating the example electronic switch assembly 100 of FIG. 4A. The bottom transparent substrate 402 is provided (452), and the electronic shutter 102 is fabricated on this substrate (454). As noted above, for example, the electronic shutter 102 may include or take the form of electronic ink, and thus can be printed onto the bottom transparent substrate 402. The electrodes 104 are fabricated as well (456), such that the electrodes 104 are electrically coupled to the electronic shutter 102. The top transparent substrate 404 can then be provided over the electronic shutter 102 and/or the electrodes 104 (458), and serves as an encapsulating protective layer for the shutter 102.

[0028] The resulting electronic switch assembly 100 can be affixed over the bar code 108 on the print medium 1 10 (460), which as noted above is one example of a substrate. For instance, an adhesive may be used to attach the assembly 100 to the print medium 1 10 over the bar code 108. The adhesive may be part of the assembly 100 itself where the assembly 100 is a sticker, or it may be separately applied to the print medium 1 10 and/or to the bottom transparent substrate 402 and the assembly 100 and the print medium 1 10 joined together.

[0029] The fabrication process of the method 450 thus permits the electronic switch assembly 100 to be manufactured separately from the printing process by which the bar code 108 is printed on the print medium 1 10. The fabrication process of the assembly 100, in other words, is a discrete and separate process to the process that results in the bar code 108 being formed on the print medium 1 10. Because these two processes are separate, this means that the assembly 100 can be manufactured prior to printing of the bar code 108, or subsequent to such printing. As such, a user may purchase or stockpile, for example, a relatively large number of electronic switch assemblies 100, and apply them as needed to bar codes 108.

[0030] FIGs. 5A and 5B are related to an implementation of the example electronic switch assembly 100 in which the assembly 100 is fabricated during an integrated process during which the bar code 108 is also printed on the print medium 1 10. For example, when it is contemplated a priori that bar codes 108 are to have electronic shutters 102, the electronic shutters 102 may be formed during the same process during which the bar codes 108 are themselves printed. The result can be an integrated electronic switch assembly 100, including the bar code 108 itself in addition to the electronic shutter 102.

[0031] FIG. 5A shows such an example electronic switch assembly 100. As before, the assembly 100 includes the electronic shutter 102 and the electrodes 104. The switchable power source 106 is not depicted in FIG. 5A for illustrative clarity and convenience. The electronic shutter 102 and/or the electrodes 104 can be formed directly on the print medium 1 10 after the bar code 108 has been printed on the medium 1 10. As such, there may not be a bottom transparent substrate in the example of FIG. 5A as there is in the example of FIG. 4A. However, the top transparent substrate 404 may again be disposed on the electronic shutter 102 and/or the electrodes 104. [0032] FIG. 5B shows an example method 550 for fabricating the example electronic switch assembly 100 of FIG. 5A, including the bar code 108. The bar code 108 is formed on the print medium 1 10 (552), which as noted above is one example of a substrate. For instance, the bar code 108 may be inkjet- or laser- printed on the medium 1 10. The electronic shutter 102 is directly fabricated on the print medium 1 10, too (554), over the bar code 108. As before, the electronic shutter 102 may also be inkjet- or laser-printed on the medium. The electrodes 104 are fabricated (556), such that the electrodes 104 are electrically coupled to the electronic shutter 102. As in the method 450 of FIG. 4B, the top transparent substrate 404 can be provided over the electronic shutter 102 and/or the electrodes 104 (558) in the method 550.

[0033] The method 550 is thus an integrated process in which both the electronic shutter 102 is fabricated and the bar code 108 is printed as part of the electronic switch assembly 100. Unlike the fabrication process of FIG. 4B, the fabrication process of FIG. 5B does not involve the electronic shutter 102 being fabricated separately from the bar code 108 being printed. However, the resulting electronic switch assembly 100 may be less costly to manufacture, because, at a minimum, a bottom transparent substrate does not have to be provided.

[0034] FIG. 6 shows an example dynamic bar code 600 that can be realized by extending the electronic shutter 102 that has been described so that it is patterned. The resulting dynamic bar code 600 can includes differently selectable bar code states that each correspond to a different combination of the printed bar code 108 that has been described and zero or more parts of such a patterned electronic shutter 102. Where different parts of such a patterned electronic shutter 102 can separately transition to the opaque state, this means that more than two bar code states of the dynamic bar code 600 are possible.

[0035] The example dynamic bar code 600 is a two-dimensional bar code having sixteen rectangular bar code portions 602 organized in a grid. The bar code portions 602 include bar code portions 604 that correspond to the printed bar code 108. Stated another way, printed bar code 108 includes the bar code portions 604 of the dynamic bar code 600. This means that the bar code portions 604 are static, in that they cannot be turned on or off, but are optically machine readable when the dynamic bar code 600 itself is visible.

[0036] The bar code portions 602 of the dynamic bar code 600 also includes bar code portions 606A, 606B, 606C, and 606D, which are collectively referred to as the bar code portions 606. The bar code portions 606 correspond to the electronic shutter 102. That is, the electronic shutter 102 is patterned, in that just the parts thereof that can transition the opaque state are those that correspond to the bar code portions 606. Stated another way, the patterned electronic shutter 102 includes the bar code portions 606 of the dynamic bar code 600. This means that the bar code portions 606 are dynamic, in that they can be transparent when the bar code portions 606 transition to the transparent state, and can be opaque when the bar code portions 606 transition to the opaque state.

[0037] Therefore, the example dynamic bar code 600 has at least two bar code states. One bar code state corresponds to a combination of just the bar code portions 604 of the printed bar code 108 and none of the bar code portions 606 of the patterned electronic shutter 102. Another bar code state corresponds to a combination of both the bar code portions 604 and the bar code portions 606. Stated another way, the former bar code state corresponds to the electronic shutter 102 being completely transparent, in which the bar code portions 606 have entered the transparent state, and the latter bar code state corresponds to the bar code portions 606 having entered the opaque state. In the example of the previous paragraph, it can be said that the bar code portions 606 are organized within a single group that is transitionable between the opaque and transparent states.

[0038] However, in some implementations, the bar code portions 606 of the patterned electronic shutter 102 may selectively enter the opaque state in separate groups over which the bar code portions 606 are organized. For example, the bar code portions 606A, 606B, and 606C may correspond to one such group, whereas the bar code portion 606D may correspond to another such group. The bar code portions 606 of the former group can transition between the transparent and opaque states separately and independent of the bar code portion 606 of the latter group.

[0039] In such an example, there are thus four bar code states of the dynamic bar code 600: just the bar code portions 604; the bar code portions 604 plus the bar code portions 606A, 606B, and 606C; the bar code portions 604 plus the bar code portion 606D; and the bar code portions 604 and the bar code portions 606A, 606B, 606C, and 606D. A maximum number of bar code states occurs where each bar code portion 606 is its own group. That is, the maximum number of bar code states occurs where each bar code portion 606 is able to enter the opaque state separately and independent any other bar code portion 606.

[0040] The dynamic bar code 600 can be realized using a patterned electronic shutter 102 that is fabricated in a number of different ways. The bar code portions 606 may be fabricated within the same layer of the electronic shutter 102, but with the bar code portions 606 of each group having a separate set of electrodes 104. The bar code portions 606 can also be fabricated within different layers of the electronic shutter 102, where each group of bar code portions 606 is within its own layer and has a separate set of electrodes 104. The example dynamic bar code 600 thus permits multiple bar code states to be optically read by machine - in effect, as different bar codes - as opposed to just a single bar code state.

[0041] As noted above, the example electronic switch assembly 100 that has been described can be used in the context of smart packaging. This permits smart packaging to be employed in scenarios in which the advantages of smart packaging are desired, but for which existing smart packaging techniques, such as RFID tags, are too costly to implement. However, the electronic switch assembly 100 that has been described can be used in scenarios other than smart packaging.

Claims

We claim:

1 . An apparatus comprising:

an electronic shutter positionable over a print medium substrate having an image printed thereon, the electronic shutter having an opaque state in which the electronic shutter is opaque to render the image optically unreadable by a machine and a transparent state in which the electronic shutter is transparent to render the image optically readable by the machine; and

a plurality of electrodes coupled to the electronic shutter, such that a change in an electrical characteristic between the electrodes causes the electronic shutter to transition from the opaque state to the transparent state or from the transparent state to the opaque state.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising the print medium substrate having the image printed thereon.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein one or more of the electronic shutter and the electrodes are formed directly on the print medium during an integrated printing process.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a transparent substrate between the electronic shutter and the print medium, the transparent substrate affixable to the print medium substrate to the print medium after the electronic shutter, the electrodes, and the transparent substrate have been fabricated in a fabrication process, and after the image has been printed on the print medium substrate in a printing process separate from the fabrication process.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising one or more of:

a transparent substrate above both the electronic shutter and the print medium; and

a power source coupled between the electrodes.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic shutter transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state upon an electrical voltage applied between the electrodes rising above a threshold, and the electronic shutter transitions from the transparent state to the opaque state upon the electrical voltage applied between the electrodes falling below the threshold.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic shutter transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state upon an electrical voltage applied between the electrodes falling below a threshold, and the electronic shutter transitions from the transparent state to the opaque state upon the electrical voltage applied between the electrodes rise above the threshold.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic shutter transitions from the opaque state to the transparent state upon the electrodes being electrically shorted together, and the electronic shutter transitions from the transparent state to the opaque state upon the electrical current applied between the electrodes not being electrically shorted together.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the electronic shutter transitions from the transparent state to the opaque state upon the electrodes being electrically shorted together, and the electronic shutter transitions from the opaque state back to the transparent state upon a voltage being applied between the electrodes.

The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the image is one or more of:

a one-dimensional bar code;

a two-dimensional bar code; a Quick Response (QR) code;

a Universal Product Code (UPC).

1 1 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the image is a bar code printed on the print medium substrate and comprises one or more first bar code portions of a dynamic bar code,

wherein the electronic shutter comprises a plurality of second bar code portions of the dynamic bar code, the second bar code portions organized over one or more groups, each group including one or more of the second bar code portions, each group separately transitionable between the opaque state and the transparent state,

wherein the dynamic bar code is optically readable by the machine in a plurality of bar code states, each bar code state corresponding to a unique combination of the first bar code portions and zero or more of the second bar code portions in the opaque state,

and wherein each bar code state of the dynamic bar code is optically readable by the machine as a different bar code.

12. A method comprising:

fabricating an electronic shutter positionable above an image, the electronic shutter having an opaque state in which the electronic shutter is opaque to render the image optically machine unreadable and a transparent state in which the electronic shutter is transparent to render the image optically machine readable; and

fabricating a plurality of electrodes electrically coupled to the electronic shutter, such that a change in an electrical characteristic between the electrodes causes the electronic shutter to transition from the opaque state to the transparent state or from the transparent state to the opaque state.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

printing the image on a substrate, such that the electronic shutter and the electrodes are fabricated directly on the substrate thereafter within a process integrated with printing of the image on the substrate; and

providing a top transparent substrate above the electronic shutter.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising providing a top transparent substrate above the electronic shutter and a bottom transparent substrate below the electronic shutter,

wherein the bottom transparent substrate is affixable via an adhesive to a substrate on which the image has been printed in a printing process separate and discrete from fabrication of the electronic shutter and the electrodes.

15. A method comprising:

detecting an event related to an object having an image associated therewith; and

responsive to detecting the event, changing an electrical characteristic between a plurality of electrodes coupled to an electronic shutter positioned over the image to cause the electronic shutter to transition from an opaque state to a transparent state or from the transparent state to the opaque state, to indicate the event,

wherein in the opaque state, the electronic shutter is opaque to render the image optically machine unreadable,

and wherein in the transparent state, the electronic shutter is transparent to render the image optically machine readable.