Locking Seal With Tamper Indication And Notification Device

• US 20080295555A1
• Filed: 09/15/2006
• Published: 12/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amplus Communication Pte Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Amplus Communication Pte Ltd.
• Inventors: Chen, Kee Fatt, Chan, Wee Piak, Tan, Huan Fong, Khoo, Tai Wee
• Granted Patent: US 7,825,811 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 70/439
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 45/005 Chain-locks, cable-locks or padlocks with alarms
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 67/36 Padlocks with closing means other than shackles ; Removable locks, the lock body itself being the locking element; Padlocks consisting of two separable halves or cooperating with a stud
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0317 having bolt like sealing means means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it F16B21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G09F 3/0335 using RFID tags
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/5004 For antitheft signaling device on protected article
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/5066 Bolt type
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/8216 Tampering detector

Abstract

A locking device comprising a lock body having a through hole, a bolt member having a longitudinal bore therethrough and an insertion end which is inserted into the through hole of the lock body. The bolt member is further having a retaining pin disposed within the longitudinal bore and a resilient means for biasing the retaining pin axially out of the longitudinal bore. When the bolt member is inserted into the lock body, a means within the lock body prevents the removal of the inserted bolt member therefrom, and engages an actuating means to actuate an identifying means. The identifying means transmits a signal to indicate whether the locking device has been tampered with or defeated. If the bolt member is cut, the retaining pin is displaced out of the longitudinal bore and dislodges the actuating means resulting in the identifying means indicating that the locking device has been tampered with or defeated.

Claims

1. A locking device comprises:

a lock body having a through hole, the through hole having a first end and a second end;

a bolt member having a longitudinal bore therethrough and an insertion end which is inserted into the through hole of the lock body;

an engagement end emerges out of said longitudinal bore at said insertion end when said bolt member is broken or cut;

an identifying means disposed near the second end of said through hole, which is capable of indicating wirelessly or contactlessly whether the locking device has been tampered with or defeated;

an actuating means disposed at the second end of said through hole, which actuates the identifying means when the bolt member is inserted into and secured within the through hole and when the locking device has been tampered with or defeated; and

a means within the lock body for preventing removal of the inserted bolt member therefrom.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the bolt member is further having a retaining pin with an engagement end disposed within the longitudinal bore and a resilient means for biasing the retaining pin axially out of the longitudinal bore.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein the device further comprises a receiving member having a housing, the housing having an inlet which communicates with the first end of the through hole.

4. The device of claim 3, wherein the housing is having a first cavity;

and a second cavity adjacent to the first cavity.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein the lock body for retaining the bolt member is fixedly disposed within the first cavity.

6. The device of claim 4, wherein the identifying means is disposed within the second cavity.

7. The device of claim 4, wherein part of the actuating means is received into the second end of the through hole.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the identifying means comprises a pair of contacts.

9. The device of claim 8, wherein the actuating means is having a flange in contact with one of the pair of contacts when the locking device has not been tampered with.

10. The device of claim 9, wherein the insertion end of the bolt member comes into contact with the actuating means and pushes the actuating means for a predetermined distance such that the flange actuates the pair of contacts by bending one of the pair of contacts to come into contact with the other one of the pair of contacts, when the device is in a locked position.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein the engagement end of the retaining pin in the bolt member is displaced by the resilient means, when the bolt member is broken or cut, to dislodge the actuating means from its locked position, thereby the flange of said actuating means stays out of contact with any one of the pair of contacts and hence the pair of contacts is not in contact with each other.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein a positive signal from the identifying means is received by a transceiver when said transceiver transmits a predetermined signal to said identifying means and when the pair of contacts is in contact with each other, the positive signal indicating that the device is in a locked position.

13. The device of claim 11, wherein no signal from the identifying means is received by a transceiver when said transceiver transmits a predetermined signal to said identifying means and when the pair of contacts is not in contact with each other.

14. The device of claim 8, wherein the pair of contacts is not in contact with each other when the insertion end of the bolt member has not been inserted into the lock body of the device.

15. The device of claim 14, wherein the pair of contacts is made of flexible and electrically conducting materials.

16. The device of claim 1, wherein the identifying means is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag or transponder.

17. The device of claim 2, wherein the resilient means is a helical spring.

18. A method of indicating whether a locking device has been tampered with or defeated, the method comprising:

providing a device comprising;

a lock body having a through hole, the through hole having a first end and a second end;

a bolt member having a longitudinal bore therethrough and an insertion end which is inserted into the through hole of the lock body;

an engagement end emerges out of said longitudinal bore at said insertion end when said bolt member is broken or cut;

an identifying means disposed near the second end of said through hole, which is capable of indicating wirelessly or contactlessly whether the locking device has been tampered with or defeated;

an actuating means disposed at the second end of said through hole, which actuates the identifying means when the bolt member is inserted into and secured within the through hole and when the locking device has been tampered with or defeated; and

a means within the lock body for preventing removal of the inserted bolt member therefrom.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the method further comprising providing a retaining pin with an engagement end disposed within the longitudinal bore and a resilient means for biasing the retaining pin axially out of the longitudinal bore.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the method further comprising inserting the bolt member into the lock body, thereby actuating the identifying means.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the method further comprising activating a transceiver to transmit a predetermined signal to said identifying means for indication of the device having been tampered with or defeated.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein the method further comprising the transceiver receiving a positive signal from the identifying means, the positive signal indicating that the device is in a locked position.

23. The method of claim 21, wherein the method further comprising the transceiver not receiving a signal from the identifying means, indicating that the device is in an unlocked position or the device has been tampered with or defeated.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the method further comprising determining that the device has been tampered with or defeated when the identifying means indicates that the device is in an unlocked position and the insertion end of the bolt member is retained within the lock body.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein the resilient means biases the retaining pin axially out of the longitudinal bore, thereby dislodging the actuating means and deactivating the identifying means, when the bolt member and the retaining pin are cut.