Seal method and system for packages

• US 20060255953A1
• Filed: 05/10/2005
• Published: 11/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Pradhan, Salil, Serra, Bill, Caban, Alipio, Lyon, Geoff, Badillo, Jorge E.
• Granted Patent: US 7,372,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.800
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2203/10 Transponders
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2401/05 Tearable non-integral strips
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 55/02 Locking devices; Means for discouraging or indicating unauthorised opening or removal of closure B65D41/32 takes precedence; protective covers for bottles B65D23/08; protective cap-like outer covers for bottle or jar closures B65D41/62; pressure-applying means B65D45/00; closures with means for discouraging unauthorised opening or removal of closures B65D50/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07749 the record carrier being capable of non-contact communication, e.g. constructional details of the antenna of a non-contact smart card
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0776 the adhering arrangement being a layer of adhesive, so that the record carrier can function as a sticker
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07798 part of the antenna or the integrated circuit being adapted for rupturing or breaking, e.g. record carriers functioning as sealing devices for detecting not-authenticated opening of containers electronic seals G09F3/03

Abstract

A seal for a package includes a circuit having electrical characteristics that change under mechanical deformation and an attaching material coupled to the circuit and for attaching the circuit to the package. The seal is attached to the package and processed prior to shipping to establish an untampered state for the seal. This includes identifying a circuit on the sealed package according to a seal type associated with the seal, recording one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal and storing the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal for later comparison. To detect tampering to the package, the seal type and corresponding seal and circuit for the seal is identified, the characteristics associated with a circuit from the seal are determined and compared with the previous characteristics recorded when the seal was initially applied to the package. If the comparison indicates that a mechanical deformation of the seal occurred, it is possible the seal and package were tampered with during shipment or delivery.

Claims

1. A seal for a package, comprising:

a circuit having electrical characteristics that change under mechanical deformation; and

an attaching material coupled to the circuit and for attaching the circuit to the package.

2. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the circuit includes circuit elements selected from a set including:

a resistor, an inductor and a capacitor.

3. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the resistor has a resistance value selected from a range of zero to infinite.

4. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the circuit elements are coupled together as a resonant circuit.

5. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the circuit elements are operatively coupled together into a series-resonant circuit having a reduced impedance at a resonant frequency.

6. The circuit of claim 2 wherein the circuit elements are operatively coupled together into a parallel-resonant circuit having an increased impedance at a resonant frequency.

7. The circuit of claim 1 wherein the electrical characteristics of the circuit include a resonant frequency.

8. The seal of claim 1 wherein the mechanical deformation can result from tampering with the attaching seal.

9. The seal of claim 1 wherein the mechanical deformation of the circuit can result from one or more actions selected from a set of actions including:

bending, breaking, burning, removing, stretching, cutting, heating, moistening, tearing and perforating.

10. The seal of claim 1 wherein the circuit is embedded under at least one layer of material forming the seal.

11. The seal of claim 1 wherein the circuit is laminated onto the attaching material.

12. The seal of claim 1 wherein the circuit is printed onto at least one layer of material forming the seal.

13. A method of sealing a package with a seal to detect tampering, comprising:

identifying a circuit on the sealed package according to a seal type associated with the seal;

recording one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal; and

storing the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal to establish an untampered state for the seal.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the storing further includes,

reading a tag associated with the package to determine an identifier for the package;

and

referencing the identifier for the package along with the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein the tag associated with the package is selected from a set of tags including:

a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a barcode tag.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the seal type corresponds to a circuit selected from a set of circuits including a series resistor-inductor-capacitor circuit and a parallel resistor-inductor-capacitor circuit.

17. The method of claim 13 wherein a mechanical deformation of the seal changes the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit includes a resonant frequency.

19. The method of claim 13 wherein the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit includes the Q of a resonant circuit.

20. The method of claim 13 wherein the seal type is identified according to one or more qualities of the seal selected from a set including:

a shape, a size, a barcode identifier, a character string and a symbol.

21. The method of claim 13 wherein recording the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit includes:

scanning the circuit on the sealed package with an electromagnetic wave; and

measuring a waveform resulting from the electromagnetic wave to determine the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit.

22. The method of claim 13 wherein the seal is not considered an acceptable seal on the package if the seal characteristics are not within a predetermined range of values for the seal type.

23. The method of claim 13 wherein the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit are stored in a database accessible over a network.

24. A method of detecting tampering to a package having a seal, comprising:

identifying a seal type and corresponding seal and circuit for the seal attached to the package;

determining one or more characteristics associated with a circuit from the seal on the package;

receiving one or more previous characteristics recorded when the seal was initially applied to the package; and

comparing the one or more characteristics with the one or more previous characteristics to determine if a mechanical deformation of the seal may have occurred.

25. The method of claim 24 wherein the seal type corresponds to a circuit selected from a set of circuits including a series resistor-inductor-capacitor circuit and a parallel resistor-inductor-capacitor circuit.

26. The method of claim 24 wherein the mechanical deformation of the seal changes the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal.

27. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit includes a resonant frequency.

28. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit includes a Q of a resonant circuit.

29. The method of claim 24 wherein the seal type is identified according to one or more qualities of the seal selected from a set including:

a shape, a size, a barcode identifier, a character string and a symbol.

30. The method of claim 24 wherein determining the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal includes:

scanning the circuit on the sealed package with an electromagnetic wave; and

measuring a waveform resulting from the electromagnetic wave to determine the one or more characteristics associated with the circuit.

31. The method of claim 24 further comprising,

indicating that package has been tampered with if the comparing results in differences between the one or more characteristics and the one or more previous characteristics that exceed a predetermined tampering range.

32. The method of claim 24 wherein the one or more previous characteristics recorded when the seal was initially applied to the package are received from a database accessible over a network.

33. An apparatus for sealing a package with a seal to detect tampering, comprising:

means for identifying a circuit on the sealed package according to a seal type associated with the seal;

means for recording one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal; and

means for storing the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal to establish an untampered state for the seal.

34. An apparatus for detecting tampering to a package having a seal, comprising:

means for identifying a seal type and corresponding seal and circuit for the seal attached to the package;

means for determining one or more characteristics associated with a circuit from the seal on the package;

means for receiving one or more previous characteristics recorded when the seal was initially applied to the package; and

means for comparing the one or more characteristics with the one or more previous characteristics to determine if a mechanical deformation of the seal may have occurred.