Two dimensional barcode with dynamic environmental data system, method, and apparatus

1. A sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode, comprising:

a substrate;

a two-dimensional error-correcting barcode symbol provided on the substrate, the bar code symbol further comprising a plurality of modules, each module having one of a first color state or a second color state;

a first layer provided on the substrate in a permanent color state; and

a second layer provided on the substrate in a sensor dye module pattern, the sensor dye module pattern containing sensor digital information, the second layer further comprising a sensor dye having a chemistry that is configured, responsive to the occurrence of an environmental, physical or biological condition, to undergo a chemical or physical state change causing a change in the color state of the sensor dye, thereby changing the color state of a subset of the plurality of modules.

2. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 1 wherein the environmental condition is selected from the group consisting of time, temperature, time-temperature product, light, humidity, gas vapor and nuclear radiation.

3. The sensor augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 2 , wherein, the sensor dye permanently changes color state when the environmental condition crosses a threshold value.

4. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 1 , wherein the first layer forms a readable barcode symbol in the symbology of the two-dimensional barcode, and wherein the two-dimensional barcode is readable both prior to and after the color state of a subset of the plurality of modules is changed.

5. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode claim 1 wherein the two-dimensional error-correcting barcode symbol is from the symbology group consisting of Data Matrix, QR Code, Aztec Code, MaxiCode, PDF417 and Dot Code symbologies.

6. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 1 wherein the two-dimensional error-correcting barcode symbol utilizes Reed-Solomon error correction.

7. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 1 wherein the sensor dye is initially in a black, white or transparent color state when unactivated and changes to a different color state upon activation.

8. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 7 wherein the sensor dye permanently changes color state when the specified condition of a sensed property of the environmental, physical, or biological condition is above or below a threshold value.

9. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 1 wherein the specified condition of a sensed property is a detection of the presence of a biological organism, biological agent or biological toxin.

10. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 9 , wherein a colorimetric immunoassay detects the presence of the biological organism, biological agent or biological toxin.

11. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 1 wherein the second layer provides sensor digital information.

12. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 11 , wherein the sensor digital information is encoded in an invariant bitmap of the two-dimensional symbol.

13. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 12 , wherein the sensor digital information is encoded as binary encoded sensor data.

14. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 13 , wherein the binary encoded sensor data is in an error correcting code.

15. The sensor augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 14 , wherein the error correcting code is chosen from the group consisting of Hamming Codes, Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem Codes, Golay Codes, Simplex Codes, Reed-Muller Codes, Fire Codes, Convolutional Codes, and Reed-Solomon Codes.

16. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol of claim 1 wherein the sensor digital information encoded in the sensor dye module pattern is a visual pattern or image.

17. The sensor augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 1 , wherein the modules are square, rectangular, or circular.

18. The sensor augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 1 , wherein the second layer is overprinted on the first layer.

19. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 1 , wherein the sensor dye module pattern has a fixed position, both before and after the change in the color state of the subset of the plurality of modules.

20. The sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode of claim 1 , wherein the modules are at least one of square shaped, rectangular shaped, and circular shaped.

21. An article of manufacture, comprising:

pharmaceutical, biological, or food product;

a container holding the pharmaceutical, biological, or food product; and

a sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol provided on or in the container, wherein the sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol includes:

a plurality of modules, each module having one of a first color state or a second color state,

a first layer in a permanent color state, and

a second layer in a sensor dye module pattern, the sensor dye module pattern containing sensor digital information, the second layer further comprising a sensor dye having a chemistry that is configured, responsive to the occurrence of an environmental, physical or biological condition, to undergo a chemical or physical state change causing a change in the color state of the sensor dye, thereby changing the color state of a subset of the plurality of modules.

22. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the pharmaceutical, biological, or food product is a vaccine, and wherein the sensor-augmented two-dimensional barcode symbol is applied to the outside surface of the container.

23. The article of manufacture of claim 21 , wherein the container is a vaccine vial.