Title: METHOD FOR THE TRACEABILITY OF CORK STOPPERS

DESCRIPTION

of the invention having the TITLE "Method for the traceability of cork stoppers" on behalf of LaBrenta S.r.l.

The present invention regards a traceability method for cork stoppers, according to the general part of claim 1.

As known, in compliance with the laws on food products, each batch of stoppers should be matched with a traceability system, which starts from the collection of raw material, up to delivery to the client.

This is obtained by printing, on the surface of each stopper, also the batch number besides personalised writings, such as the name of the product, the company logo, the food contact symbol as well as other technical/commercial information.

Usually, a batch identifies a limited number of stoppers (20-50 thousand) hence, practically, the manufacturer, in case of complaint, does not know the specific characteristics of the single stopper, but a plurality, though limited, of stoppers, hence it will be difficult, in case of complaints by the stopper purchaser or user, to be able to accurately identify the causes of the problem and provide the relative solutions.

In order to overcome this drawback, over the last years, stopper manufacturers have been meeting traceability requirements by creating a so-called "identity card" for every stopper.

At the current state of the art this "document" may be made up of a marking, on the surface of the stopper, a code (alphanumeric code, bar code, QR Code) or by entering a digital medium (chip, RFID) into the body of the stopper.

As observable from patent document EP2511857, DE29919460, US2003/0061706, EP1857374, WO2004/052742, where - outside the stopper - an electronic plate is applied and from patent document WO03/038767, where on the stopper an encrypted code is printed, which may be read only through an algorithm in the possession of the producer of the stopper and other applications suitable for the purpose placed on the market, the traceability of the stopper is always connected to "data", which comes from barcodes, up to microchips applied on the object, which are always on the "external" of the object to be classified, which are also defined and created by the operators who, usually, are different parties from the producer/seller of the stopper. Practically, this implies that the aforementioned identification "data" may be voluntarily erroneous or, in the worst case, counterfeit, as well as confused or misinterpreted, thus leading to the final consequence of not being able to correctly and specifically identify the characteristics of a specific or particular stopper.

An object of the present invention is to provide a traceability method for a stopper that is not related to the action of indicators arranged outside the stopper itself, hence the interpretation thereof is a subjective factor, related to a person, but defined directly by the body of the stopper itself (objective factor).

In order to show how crucial is a precise identification of the stopper it should be observed how important is the quality of the stopper in bottles containing fine wines or wines intended for long seasoning, as well as the use of stoppers for closing bottles containing particular substances such as medicines or other particular chemical products.

This object is attained by providing for adding - to the data which is normally entered into the identification card of a stopper - further information, which, by its nature, may solely and exclusively belong to that stopper and i.e. the image of the external surface thereof.

Practically, the photograph of the external surface of a stopper allows obtaining the image of an imprint that is unique, given that the cellular structure and the imperfections, such as grooves, waves, cracks, holes and slits present on the surface are unambiguous and specific as regards the portion of material used for obtaining that specific stopper.

Basically, the image that is detected through the scanner or other devices suitable for the purpose represents "a unique imprint", which distinguishes the single stopper and which, as an example, can be compared to the function of the digital imprint which is used for identifying people.

The invention shall be better illustrated through a description provided by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, wherein:

- figs 1, 2 and 3, 4 represent images with the detected imprints, respectively, on the cylindrical surface and the base of two different stoppers;

- fig 5 represents the steps of executing the method according to the invention.

As observable in figs 1-4, according to the method according to the invention, using a scanner or other devices suitable for the purpose, some digital images are taken, of the cylindrical surface "S" and the base "B" of two stoppers 1 and 1.1, representing the same dimensions, but considerably different in terms of their surface aspect, though obtained from the machining of the same block of natural cork.

Operatively, as observable in fig 5, the user (ref A), entering the code 2, borne on his/her stopper 1, through an interconnection 10, such as an internet connection, between the producer/seller of the stopper and the user/purchaser of the stopper, allows activating - in the database 20 of the producer (ref B) the scanning for the recognition of identification data regarding the code number 2 received by the user comprising, besides general information, in particular, also the digital image 3 of the surface of the stopper 1, previously detected by the producer, who preserves it and does not disclose it.

All this information, and especially image 3, are made accessible to the user in two ways:

- the most simple and instantaneous one is the possibility for the user to be directly connected with the aforementioned database 20 of the producer to read the accessible information;

- alternatively, for more safety (to prevent access to the database by foreigners), it is the producer who transmits to the user of the stopper 1 the information, including the image 3, regarding the identification code 2 submitted by the user.

In both cases, when the user holds the information and in particular the image 3 he/she can proceed with the verification, by comparing the imprints shown on the image 3, received and visible on the video 4, with the imprints directly visible on the surface of the stopper 1 he/she holds and thus may verify, in presence of images with equal or different imprints, whether the stopper he/she holds is the stopper received from the producer.

Specifically, the traceability method subject of the invention comprises the following steps:

1 - storing step 101 - by the producer - consisting in the following operations:

a) collecting, indicating with reference 101.1, the stopper 1, from a predefined batch 100 of stoppers;

b) marking, indicated with reference 101.2, an external/non-encrypted code 2 on the selected stopper 1 ; c) photo-recording, indicated with reference 101.3, through a scanner or other devices suitable for the purpose, the external surface of the stopper 1, to obtain the image 3, bearing the imprint of the external surface;

d) entering 101.4 into the database 20 of the produced stoppers, the image 3, additionally to other information.

2 - User/producer interconnection step 102, consisting in the following operations: a) establishing the telematic connection, through an internet network or any other type of network suitable for the purpose, between the user/owner of the stopper 1 and the computer system 20 of the producer/supplier of the stopper;

b) sending 102.1 of the code 2 detected on the specific stopper 1 by the user;

c) activating 102.2 - in the producer's database 20 - information, including the image 3, regarding the code 2 received by the user;

d) acquiring 102.3 - by the user - the information made available by the producer by accessing the database 20.

3 - The step of verifying 103 - carried out by the user - by comparing the virtual image 3 displayed on the computer 4 and the surface of the stopper 1 he/she holds, leading to the result that:

- if the image/stopper imprints are equal, the stopper 1 of the user is the same stopper 1 sent by the producer;

- if the image/stopper imprints are different, the stopper t of the user is not the same stopper 1 sent by the producer.

In addition, the invention provides for that in the traceability method described above information also regarding the product contained in the bottle be associated to the image 3 of the imprint of the stopper 1 ; for example, as regards wine producers, the further information consists of the indication of the type of wine contained in that specific bottle provided with that specific stopper.

It is clear that the invention is inherently adapted to serve, not only as a traceability method but also as an anti-counterfeit method, given that the user has the possibility of rapidly obtaining useful information regarding the actual contents of the bottle provided with a specific stopper, besides those specifically regarding the stopper.