Timed sequence indicators
AssigneeEastman Kodak Company
InventorsJoseph Anthony Manico, Kevin Michael Gobeyn
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A containment system for packaging a plurality of products that are to be accessed in a predetermined sequence. The containment system includes a plurality of product compartments that each holds at least one of the plurality of products. Indicators having a gas reactive material that changes appearance after a predetermined period of time of exposure to ambient air are deployed when gas cover seals are removed or broken to access a product in the product compartment.
Claims14
A method of manufacturing a containment system for a plurality of products that are to be accessed in a predetermined timed sequence, comprising;
- providing a substrate with a plurality of product compartments, each product compartment having a volume sufficient to receive a product;
- providing products in each of the product compartments;
- providing a plurality of gas sensitive indicators on the substrate, each gas sensitive indicator including an ultraviolet-activatable gas sensitive material that becomes reactive to ambient air upon activation using ultraviolet light, wherein after activation the gas sensitive material changes appearance at a predetermined time after exposure to ambient air, each gas sensitive indicator being associated with one of the product compartments;
- sealing the gas sensitive indicators using ultraviolet-light-permeable gas seals that seal the gas sensitive material against atmospheric gases;
- sealing the product compartments using removable gas seals that seal the product compartments against atmospheric gases, wherein opening the product compartment by disrupting the gas seal to access a product allows ambient air to enter the product compartment and from there to expose the associated gas sensitive indicator;
- and
- activating the gas sensitive materials by exposing them to ultraviolet light through the ultraviolet-light-permeable gas seals.
A method of manufacturing an indicator system having time-based visual indicators, comprising;
- providing a plurality of gas sensitive indicators on a substrate, each gas sensitive indicator including an ultraviolet-activatable gas sensitive material that becomes reactive to ambient air upon activation using ultraviolet light, wherein after activation the gas sensitive material changes appearance at a predetermined time after exposure to ambient air to provide a visual indicator;
- sealing the gas sensitive indicators using user-removable, ultraviolet-light-permeable gas seals that seal the gas sensitive material against atmospheric gases, wherein disrupting a particular gas seal allows ambient air to expose the associated gas sensitive indicator;
- and
- activating the gas sensitive materials by exposing them to ultraviolet light through the ultraviolet-light-permeable gas seals.
A method of manufacturing a containment system for a plurality of products that are to be accessed in a predetermined timed sequence, comprising;
- providing one or more gas sensitive indicators on a substrate, each gas sensitive indicator including an ultraviolet-activatable gas sensitive material that becomes reactive to ambient air upon activation using ultraviolet light, wherein after activation the gas sensitive material changes appearance at a predetermined time after exposure to ambient air;
- sealing the gas sensitive indicators using ultraviolet-light-permeable gas seals that seal the gas sensitive material against atmospheric gases;
- sealing the product compartments using removable gas seals that seal the product compartments against atmospheric gases, wherein opening the product compartment by disrupting the gas seal to access a product allows ambient air to enter the product compartment and from there to expose the associated gas sensitive indicator;
- and
- activating the gas sensitive materials by exposing them to ultraviolet light through the ultraviolet-light-permeable gas seals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.