Method and Apparatus Using Magnetic Flux for Container Security
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising a seal device that includes:
- a locking member having a portion made of a magnetically permeable material;
a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field;
a magnetic field detector; and
structure that can receive said locking member, said structure supporting said magnetic field generator and said magnetic field detector at locations spaced from each other and from a region that is respectively free of and occupied by said portion of said locking member respectively before and after said locking member is received by said structure, said structure defining a main flux path for said magnetic field, said flux path being a loop and having a first portion, a second portion and a remainder that are mutually exclusive, said remainder being the entirety of said flux path other than said first and second portions thereof, said structure including magnetically permeable material, said first portion of said flux path being within said magnetic field generator, said second portion of said flux path being within said region, and most of said remainder of said flux path extending through magnetically permeable material of said structure, said detector being disposed at a selected location where said magnetic field has different characteristics when said portion of said locking member is respectively present in and absent from said region.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A seal device includes a locking member with a magnetically permeable material portion, and structure that can receive the locking member. The structure supports a magnetic field generator and detector at locations spaced from each other and from a region that is occupied by the portion of the locking member when the locking member is received by the structure. The structure defines a main flux path as a loop having a first portion, a second portion and a remainder that are mutually exclusive, and that collectively define the entirety of the flux path. The first and second portions are respectively within the magnetic field generator and the region, and most of the remainder extends through magnetically permeable material of the structure. The detector is located where the magnetic field has different characteristics when the portion of the locking member is respectively present in and absent from the region.
44 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising a seal device that includes:
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a locking member having a portion made of a magnetically permeable material; a magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field; a magnetic field detector; and structure that can receive said locking member, said structure supporting said magnetic field generator and said magnetic field detector at locations spaced from each other and from a region that is respectively free of and occupied by said portion of said locking member respectively before and after said locking member is received by said structure, said structure defining a main flux path for said magnetic field, said flux path being a loop and having a first portion, a second portion and a remainder that are mutually exclusive, said remainder being the entirety of said flux path other than said first and second portions thereof, said structure including magnetically permeable material, said first portion of said flux path being within said magnetic field generator, said second portion of said flux path being within said region, and most of said remainder of said flux path extending through magnetically permeable material of said structure, said detector being disposed at a selected location where said magnetic field has different characteristics when said portion of said locking member is respectively present in and absent from said region. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of operating an apparatus that includes a seal device having a locking member with a portion made of a magnetically permeable material, and having structure that can receive said locking member and that has magnetically permeable material, said method comprising;
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generating a magnetic field with a magnetic field generator disposed at a first location spaced from a region that is respectively free of and occupied by said portion of said locking member respectively before and after said locking member is received by said structure providing a main flux path for said magnetic field, said flux path being a loop and having a first portion, a second portion and a remainder that are mutually exclusive, said remainder being the entirety of said flux path other than said first and second portions thereof, said first portion of said flux path being within said magnetic field generator, said second portion of said flux path being within said region, and most of said remainder of said flux path extending through said magnetically permeable material of said structure; and detecting said magnetic field at a second location where said magnetic field has different characteristics when said portion of said locking member is respectively present in and absent from said region, said second location being spaced from each of said first location and said region. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification