BOLT-TYPE SEAL LOCK HAVING SEPARATE HOUSING, CONNECTED TO LOCKING BODY, WITH ELECTRONICS FOR DETECTING AND WIRELESS COMMUNICATING CUTTING OF BOLT

• US 20090127873A1
• Filed: 12/31/2008
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: TeraHop Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: Terry, Daniel J., Kenney, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,828,344 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 292/327
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 39/02 with destructible seal closures or paper closures
• 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 3/0358 using a rigid hasp lock
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/31 Hasps
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/48 Seals
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/51 Seal bolts
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 70/5031 Receptacle

Abstract

The system described here is a bolt-type seal lock which includes a bolt, having a shaft with proximal and distal portions, a head that is wider than the distal portion of the shaft and located at the proximal portion of the shaft, and a microchip containing a unique serial number of the bolt; a locking body having a passageway with an open end for receiving and retaining the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt in locking engagement after the shaft has been inserted a predetermined extent into the open end of the passageway, at which point the shaft cannot be withdrawn from the open end of the passageway; and a housing connected to, and movable relative to, the locking body, having electronics and a power source therein. The electronics and the housing are configured to read the unique serial number of the bolt from the microchip.

Claims

1. (canceled)

2. A bolt-type seal lock, comprising:

(a) a bolt comprising,

(i) a shaft having a proximal portion and a distal portion,

(ii) a head located at the proximal portion of the shaft, the head being wider than the distal portion of the shaft, and

(iii) a microchip containing a unique serial number of the bolt;

(b) a locking body having a passageway with an open end for receiving and retaining the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt in locking engagement after the shaft has been inserted a predetermined extent into the open end of the passageway, at which point the shaft cannot be withdrawn from the open end of the passageway;

(c) a housing connected to the locking body such that the housing and locking body are movable relative to each other, the housing comprising,

(i) electronics therein, the electronics including,

(A) a microprocessor,

(B) memory for storing data,

(C) a wireless communication component configured to wirelessly communicate data, and

(ii) a power source for powering the electronics; and

(d) wherein the electronics in the housing are configured to read the unique serial number of the bolt from the microchip when the bolt is in the locking engagement with the locking body, and are configured to detect cutting of the bolt when in the locking engagement with the locking body.

3. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 2, wherein the electronics are configured to log the detected cutting of the bolt in the memory of the housing.

4. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 2, wherein the electronics are configured to wirelessly communicate the detected cutting of the bolt using the wireless communication component of the housing.

5. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 2, wherein the serial number is read from the microchip and stored in memory at a time of the locking engagement between the bolt and the locking body.

6. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the proximal portion of the shaft and the head of the bolt protrude from the open end of the passageway when the locking body and bolt are in the locking engagement.

7. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 2, wherein the electronics in the housing are configured to store in memory of the housing the serial number read from the microchip of the bolt.

8. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 2, wherein the bolt further comprises a sheath that extends along the shaft thereof and wherein the bolt type seal lock further comprises an ID tag having a portion defining an opening through which the shaft of the bolt passes, wherein the portion of the ID tag is retained between and in abutment with the locking body and a shoulder of the sheath when the bolt and locking body are in the locking engagement, the ID tag bearing for display a serial number corresponding to the serial number electronically contained by the microchip of the bolt.

9. A bolt-type seal lock, comprising:

(a) a bolt comprising,

(i) a shaft having a proximal portion and a distal portion,

(ii) a head located at the proximal portion of the shaft, the head being wider than the distal portion of the shaft, and

(iii) electronics, including,

(A) two exposed annular contact patches located proximate the distal portion of the shaft,

(B) two circuit leads, each lead being connected to a respective one of the two annular contact patches and each lead traversing a majority of the length of the shaft, and

(C) a microchip that bridges the two circuit leads at the proximal portion of the shaft, the microchip containing a unique serial number of the bolt;

(b) a locking body having,

(i) a passageway with an open end for receiving and retaining the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt in locking engagement after the shaft has been inserted a predetermined extent into the open end of the passageway, at which point the shaft cannot be withdrawn from the open end of the passageway, and

(ii) contacts that engage the annular contact patches of the bolt when the bolt is in the locking engagement with the locking body, the bolt thereby bridging the contacts, whereby an electrical circuit is created for reading the serial number of the bolt from the microchip;

(c) a housing connected to the locking body such that the housing and locking body are rotatable relative to each other, the housing configured to be removably mounted to a door of a shipping container, whereby the locking body does not freely swing on the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt during movement of the shipping container, the housing comprising,

(i) electronics therein, the electronics including,

(A) a microprocessor,

(B) memory for storing data,

(C) a wireless communication component configured to wirelessly communicate data, and

(ii) a power source for powering the electronics; and

(d) a wired connection extending from the electronics contained within the housing to the contacts within the locking body;

(e) wherein the electronics in the housing are configured to read the unique serial number of the bolt from the microchip and are configured to detect cutting of the bolt when in the locking engagement with the locking body.

10. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 9, wherein the electronics are configured to detect the termination of the electrical circuit created by the bridging of the contacts by the bolt when in the locking engagement with the locking body.

11. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 10, wherein the termination of the electrical circuit is logged in the memory of the housing.

12. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 10, wherein the termination of the electrical circuit is wirelessly communicated using the wireless communication component of the housing.

13. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 9, wherein the serial number is read from the microchip and stored in memory at a time of the locking engagement between the bolt and the locking body.

14. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 13, wherein at least a portion of the proximal portion of the shaft and the head of the bolt protrude from the open end of the passageway when the locking body and bolt are in the locking engagement.

15. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 9, wherein the electrical circuit is continuously monitored.

16. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 9, wherein the bolt further comprises,

(a) a flexible circuit board material on which the two annular contact patches, the two circuit leads, and the microchip are located;

and

(b) a sheath that extends from the proximal portion toward the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt and partially covers the flexible circuit board material, including the two circuit leads and the microchip.

17. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 16, wherein the bolt-type seal lock further comprises an ID tag having a portion defining an opening through which the shaft of the bolt passes, wherein the portion of the ID tag is retained between and in abutment with the locking body and a shoulder of the sheath when the bolt and locking body are in the locking engagement, and wherein the ID tag bears for display a serial number corresponding to the serial number electronically contained by the microchip of the bolt.

18. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 9, wherein the locking body contains electronics therein, the electronics including,

(a) memory for storing data,

(b) a wireless communication component configured to wirelessly communicate data, and

(c) a power source for powering the wireless communication component.

19. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 18, wherein the electronics of the locking body further include a USB port that is externally accessible for reading data from the memory contained within the locking body.

20. The bolt-type seal lock of claim 18, wherein the wireless communication component of the locking body and the wireless communication component of the housing are configured for wireless communications with each other.

21. A method of securing a shipping container, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a bolt-type seal lock, comprising,

(i) a bolt comprising,

(A) a shaft having a proximal portion and a distal portion,

(B) a head located at the proximal portion of the shaft, the head being wider than the distal portion of the shaft, and

(C) a microchip that electronically contains a unique serial number of the bolt,

(ii) a locking body having a passageway with an open end for receiving and retaining the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt in locking engagement after the shaft has been inserted a predetermined extent into the open end of the passageway, at which point the shaft cannot be withdrawn from the open end of the passageway, and

(iii) a housing connected to the locking body such that the housing and locking body are movable relative to each other, the housing comprising,

(A) electronics therein, the electronics including,

(1) a microprocessor,

(2) memory for storing data,

(3) a wireless communication component configured to wirelessly communicate data, and

(B) a power source for powering the electronics;

(b) inserting the distal portion of the shaft of the bolt,

(i) through an opening in a locking structure of a door of the shipping container such that the shaft of the bolt must be withdrawn from the opening of the hasp in order to open the door of the shipping container without causing structural damage to the shipping container, the head of the bolt being too wide to pass through the opening in the locking structure of the door of the shipping container, and

(ii) into an open end of the passageway of the locking body a predetermined extent such that the locking body receives and retains the shaft of the bolt in the locking engagement therewith; and

(c) after the locking engagement of the bolt with the locking body, reading the serial number from the microchip and storing the serial number in the memory of the housing; and

(d) after reading the serial number from the microchip of the bolt and storing the serial number in the memory of the housing, attempting to read the serial number from the microchip of the bolt, and detecting that the bolt is cut if the attempt to read the serial number from the microchip of the bolt fails.