Printable flexible timer could smart up packaging
The device consists of an electronic logic circuit implemented with thin film metal oxide transistors, powered by a printed battery, and integrated onto a paper substrate. It has four timing sequences, activated by bending or "dog-earing" one of the corners of the paper substrate to make the connection between metallized pads.
Depending on what’s printed on the paper background, the same demonstrator can be used across four different applications: a workout timer, a cooking timer, a meeting timer and a children activity timer. The actual timing shows up as different LEDs light up on a scale.
The printed kitchen timer: courtesy of IDTechEx.
The transistors making the timing circuit are printed on a 25µm polyester substrate (the orange sheet seen on the picture), using standard production modules from PragmatIC.
“Future versions will use PragmatIC’s 7400 series of flexible ICs, or ultimately a full custom design which would allow the 200 transistors or so, to be easily integrated into a footprint of just a few square mm” told us Scott White, Chief Executive Officer of PragmatIC Printing Limited in an email exchange.
“Because it is a demonstrator product at this stage, the form factor was not as much optimised as a product going to volume production, and the components have been intentionally left exposed to allow the "inner workings" to be visible” added White, the overall thickness, including batteries and discrete LEDs is less than 1mm.
With appropriate optimisation of the design, the entire timer device could be produced for a few 10s of cents, estimates White.
Partners involved in this low volume, application demonstrator included consumer goods company Procter & Gamble, printed logic company PragmatIC, printed battery supplier Blue Spark Technologies, conductive ink and photonic curing equipment supplier NovaCentrix and Cal Poly, who designed and printed on the paper substrate.
In the future, such a timer could be combined with a printed display, or with printable LEDs. Procter & Gamble being on the end-user side, the company could certainly push creative use-cases for packaging applications, adding games, or timing the consumption of healthcare products.
Market research firm Freedonia Group forecasts intelligent packaging to expand at double-digit rates annually in the US, to reach USD1.3 billion in 2017 with the pharmaceutical market leading that growth.
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