Item-level access tracking using tag writing events

• US 20080180252A1
• Filed: 01/26/2007
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/26/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: SAP SE
• Original Assignee: SAP AG (SAP SE)
• Inventors: Vogt, Harald
• Granted Patent: US 7,777,627 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.4
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/07 with integrated circuit chips
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0723 the record carrier comprising an arrangement for non-contact communication, e.g. wireless communication circuits on transponder cards, non-contact smart cards or RFIDs
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/077 Constructional details, e.g. mounting of circuits in the carrier
• 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 19/07798 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
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/0008 General problems related to the reading of electronic memory record carriers, independent of its reading method, e.g. power transfer

Abstract

An electronic seal may be associated with a container and configured to detect an access event associated with the container, and may be further configured to output a notification of the access event in response thereto. A tag writer may be configured to receive the notification of the access event and further configured, in response, to write a data element to a write-once memory of a tag that is attached to an item within the container, the data element signifying the access event.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

an electronic seal associated with a container and configured to detect an access event associated with the container, and further configured to output a notification of the access event in response thereto; and

a tag writer configured to receive the notification of the access event and further configured, in response, to write a data element to a write-once memory of a tag that is attached to an item within the container, the data element signifying the access event.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic seal is configured to detect the access event based on a signal received from one or more sensors deployed at an access point of the container.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic seal comprises:

an interface configured to receive an authorization code in association with the access event; and

access logic configured to determine a receipt and/or validity of the authorization code.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic seal comprises status logic configured to provide a current status of the access event as authorized or unauthorized to a display.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag writer is configured to receive, from the electronic seal and in conjunction with the notification of the access event, a notification of authorization to access the container, and further wherein the tag writer is configured to write the notification of authorization to the write-once memory as an authorization data element in association with the data element.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag writer is configured to receive, from the electronic seal and in conjunction with the notification of the access event, a notification of non-authorization to access the container, and further wherein the tag writer is configured to write the notification of non-authorization to the write-once memory as a breach data element in association with the data element.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag writer is configured to write the data element signifying the notification of the access event to each of a plurality of tags that are respectively associated with a plurality of items within the container, including the tag and the item, based on corresponding unique identifiers of the tags.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag writer is configured to broadcast the data element signifying the notification of the access event to all of a plurality of tags that are respectively associated with a plurality of items within the container, including the tag and the item.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag writer is configured to write information regarding a timing and/or type of the access event to the write-once memory in association with the data element.

10. The system of claim 1 comprising:

a tag reader configured to read the write-once memory and validate the writing of the data element to the write-once memory.

11. The system of claim 1 comprising:

a tag reader configured to read the data element and report the access event based thereon.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the electronic seal is configured to receive the report of the tag reader and is configured to store the report including an identifier of the tag and/or the item.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the tag includes a Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID) tag.

14. A method comprising:

detecting an access event associated with a container, the container containing at least one item associated with at least one tag;

determining a failure to receive a valid authorization code in conjunction with the access event; and

writing a breach data element that represents the access event as being unauthorized to a slot of a write-once portion of a memory of the tag associated with the item within the container, based on the determining.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

determining receipt of the valid authorization code in conjunction with a separate access event; and

writing an authorization data element that represents the separate access event as being authorized to a separate slot of the write-once portion of the memory of the at least one tag associated with the at least one item within the container, based on the determining.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising:

reading the slot and the separate slot to determine an access history of the container with respect to the at least one item.

17. A system comprising:

an access detector configured to detect an access event associated with a container, the container including a plurality of items, each item associated with a tag;

access logic configured to make a determination as to whether the access event is authorized; and

an interface configured to issue a command to a tag writer, based on the determination, to write a data element to a memory of at least one of the tags, the data element recording an authorization status associated with the access event.

18. The system of claim 17 comprising:

status logic configured to provide a status of the access event as being authorized or unauthorized to a display associated with the container.

19. The system of claim 17 comprising:

an access event history configured to store information associated with the data element, the information including a history of access events and associated data elements, and including a count of items within the container at a time of each of the access events.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the data element is written to a write-once portion of the memory.