SYSTEM AS WELL AS METHOD FOR PROTECTING AN ITEM TO BE SECURED

• US 20100253522A1
• Filed: 07/31/2006
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Pitchers, Steve
• Granted Patent: US 8,576,077 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.400
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0222 Message structure or message content, e.g. message protocol
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0255 System arrangements wherein the parent unit emits, i.e. the parent unit incorporates the emitter
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0258 System arrangements wherein both parent and child units can emit and receive

Abstract

In order to further develop a system (100) as well as a method for protecting at least one item to be secured, for example at least one piece of luggage, the system comprising at least one transponder device (50), in particular at least one electronic tag, being assigned to the item, and at least one monitor device (10, 20), in particular being based on short range radio frequency communication, with at least one transmitting unit (18, 28) for transmitting and/or for broadcasting and/or for multicasting, in particular periodically, at least one request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50), in such way that the monitor device (10, 20) can be carried with him by at least one user and that at the same time it can be discovered whether the item remains nearby the respective monitor device (10, 20), it is proposed that the transponder device (50) comprises at least one processing unit (52) for determining the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) being arranged within the range, in particular within the receiving and/or transmitting range, of the transponder device (50), and˜having transmitted and/or having broadcasted and/or having multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50), within a certain time interval, and that the transponder device (50) is designed for transmitting and/or for broadcasting and/or for multicasting at least one response (60, 62) comprising the determined number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) to the respective monitor device (10, 20) having transmitted and/or having broadcasted and/or having multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50).

Claims

1. A system (100) for protecting at least one item to be secured, for example at least one piece of luggage, the system comprising

at least one transponder device (50), in particular at least one electronic tag, being assigned to the item, and

at least one monitor device (10, 20), in particular being based on short range radio frequency communication, with at least one transmitting unit (18, 28) for transmitting and/or for broadcasting and/or for multicasting, in particular periodically, at least one request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50),

characterized in

that the transponder device (50) comprises at least one processing unit (52) for determining the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20)

being arranged within the range, in particular within the receiving and/or transmitting range, of the transponder device (50), and

having transmitted and/or having broadcasted and/or having multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50), within a certain time interval, and

that the transponder device (50) is designed for transmitting and/or for broadcasting and/or for multicasting at least one response (60, 62) comprising the determined number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) to the respective monitor device (10, 20) having transmitted and/or having broadcasted and/or having multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50).

2. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that each monitor device (10, 20) comprises at least one alarm unit (12, 22) for triggering at least one, in particular visual and/or acoustical and/or haptic and/or tactile, alarm signal (12s, 32s)

in case the determined number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) falls below a predetermined threshold, in particular falls to one, and/or

in case the monitor devices (10, 20), in particular the sole monitor device (10, 20),

being arranged within the range, in particular within the receiving and/or transmitting range, of the transponder device (50), and

having transmitted and/or having broadcasted and/or having multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50), do(es) not receive any response (60, 62) from the transponder device (50) within a certain time interval.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that each monitor device (10, 20) comprises

at least one timer unit (14, 24), in particular at least one clock, for determining if the respective monitor device (10, 20) receives the response (60, 62) from the transponder device (50) within the certain time interval, the timer unit (14, 24) being designed

for triggering the transmission and/or the broadcast and/or the multicast of the request (40, 42), and/or

for counting the number (R) of responses (60, 62) of the respective transponder device (50), and/or

for decrementing the counted number (R) of responses (60, 62) for the respective transponder device (50) in case a certain time interval expires, and/or

at least one warning unit (16, 26) for triggering at least one, in particular visual and/or acoustical and/or haptic and/or tactile, warning signal (16s) in case the determined number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) falls below a predetermined threshold, in particular falls to one.

4. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the processing unit (52)

takes for determining the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) only the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) being assigned to the respective transponder device (50) into account, and/or

is designed for counting the number (P) of requests (40, 42) of the respective monitor device (10, 20), in particular up to a predetermined maximum value, and/or

comprises at least one timer unit (54) for decrementing the counted number (P) of requests (40, 42) for the respective monitor device (10, 20) in case a certain time interval expires, and/or

is designed for determining the recent number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20)

by summing up all monitor devices (10, 20) for which the counted number (P) of requests (40, 42) is at least one or

by summing up all monitor devices (10, 20) for which the counted number (P) of requests (40, 42) is at least equal to and/or is above at least one predetermined threshold.

5. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that the transponder device (50)

is designed to transmit and/or to broadcast and/or to multicast the response (60, 62) only to monitor devices (10, 20) being assigned to the respective transponder device (50),

comprises at least one alarm unit (56) for triggering at least one, in particular visual and/or acoustical and/or haptic and/or tactile, alarm signal in case the transponder device (50) does not receive any request (40, 42) from the monitor device (10, 20) within a certain time interval, and/or

is designed for broadcasting and/or for multicasting at least one alarm message (64)

to at least one of the monitor devices (10, 20) and/or

to at least one further monitor device (30) being not assigned to the transponder device (50),

said monitor device (10, 20, 30) being arranged within the range, in particular within the receiving and/or transmitting range, of the transponder device (50) and said alarm message (64) being designed for indicating the monitor device (10, 20, 30) to trigger at least one, in particular visual and/or acoustical and/or haptic and/or tactile, warning signal (12s, 32s).

10. Use of at least one system (100) according to claim 1

for monitoring at least one item to be secured, in particular at least one valuable item, in any situation, especially in a situation where responsibility for looking after the item is shared by more than one person or other entity, for example for supervising the luggage of a group of travelers, and/or

for monitoring a number of items to be secured, in particular for monitoring a group of valuable items, for example

for preventing loss of personal items of older people, and/or

for supervising the tools of craftsmen, and/or

for supervising at least one group of young children.

6. A method for protecting at least one item to be secured, for example at least one piece of luggage, wherein for monitoring the item

at least one transponder device (50), in particular at least one electronic tag, is assigned to the item, and

at least one monitor device (10, 20), in particular being based on short range radio frequency communication, transmits and/or broadcasts and/or multicasts, in particular periodically, at least one request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50),

characterized in

that the transponder device (50) determines the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20)

being arranged within the range, in particular within the receiving and/or transmitting range, of the transponder device (50), and

having transmitted and/or having broadcasted and/or having multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50) within a certain time interval, and

that the transponder device (50) transmits and/or broadcasts and/or multicasts at least one response (60, 62) comprising the determined number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) to the respective monitor device (10, 20) having transmitted and/or broadcasted and/or multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50).

7. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that at least one, in particular visual and/or acoustical and/or haptic and/or tactile, alarm signal (12s) is triggered

in case the determined number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) falls below a predetermined threshold, in particular falls to one, and/or

in case the monitor devices (10, 20), in particular the sole monitor device (10, 20),

being arranged within the range, in particular within the receiving and/or transmitting range, of the transponder device (50), and

having transmitted and/or broadcasted and/or multicasted its respective request (40, 42) to the transponder device (50),

do(es) not receive any response (60, 62) from the transponder device (50) within a certain time interval.

8. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the step of determining if the respective monitor device (10, 20) receives the response (60, 62) from the transponder device (50) within the certain time interval, comprises

counting the number (R) of responses (40, 42) of the respective transponder device (50), and/or

decrementing the counted number (R) of responses (40, 42) for the respective transponder device (50) in case a certain time interval expires.

9. The method according to claim 6, characterized in that the step of determining the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20), in particular of determining the number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20) being assigned to the respective transponder device (50), comprises the steps of

counting the number (P) of requests (40, 42) of the respective monitor device (10, 20), in particular up to a predetermined maximum value, and/or

decrementing the counted number (P) of requests (40, 42) for the respective monitor device (10, 20) in case a certain time interval expires, and/or

determining the recent number (N) of monitor devices (10, 20)

by summing up all monitor devices (10, 20) for which the counted number (P) of requests (40, 42) is at least one or

by summing up all monitor devices (10, 20) for which the counted number (P) of requests (40, 42) is at least equal to and/or is above at least one predetermined threshold.