Wireless Tracking and Monitoring Electronic Seal

• US 20110012731A1
• Filed: 07/28/2009
• Published: 01/20/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Savi Technology Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Deal Magic Inc., Savi Technology Incorporated
• Inventors: Stevens, Timothy Dirk
• Granted Patent: US 8,456,302 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.31
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/02 Mechanical actuation

Abstract

An electronic security seal (e-Seal) is disclosed. The e-Seal monitors security of shipments including intermodal containers, reports tampers in real-time, monitors environmental status of goods and reports exceptions in real-time, and reports the location of the shipment with high frequency. The security monitoring complies with the ISO 17712 standard, adding electronic real-time reporting of tamper time and location and LED tamper indication. The e-Seal can be manufactured and operated at low cost due to diagnostic and logistic features. The e-Seal supports low cost upgrades due to a modular architecture allowing a plug-in update of separate functions. The e-Seal allows flexible usage across supply chain tradelanes, due to highly programmable operation including over-the-air remote programming via wireless communications. The e-Seal provides low power operation to save battery usage and lower costs.

Claims

1. An electronic seal, comprising:

a security mechanism configured for attaching to a physical asset; and

a processor having a security interface coupled to the security mechanism, the processor configured for detecting a security event associated with the electronic seal or the physical asset, and for generating a security status in response to the detecting, where the electronic seal includes a modular architecture of functional components, the modular architecture including interfaces for allowing plug-in updating of a functional component without redesigning other functional components.

2. The electronic seal of claim 1, where the security mechanism is a bolt seal.

3. The electronic seal of claim 1, where the security mechanism is an indicative seal.

4. The electronic seal of claim 1, where the security mechanism is a cable seal.

5. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

a navigation system coupled to the processor and configured for providing location fixes for the electronic seal.

6. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

an environmental interface coupled to the processor and to a number of environmental sensors for monitoring status of goods inside the physical asset.

7. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

a wireless communication system coupled to the processor and configured for sending the status over a wireless communication channel to a service provider.

8. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

a power interface coupled to the processor and to a power source for powering the electronic seal.

9. The electronic seal of claim 8, further comprising:

a battery fuel gauge coupled to the processor for monitoring a power condition of the electronic seal.

10. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

a serial interface coupled to the processor and configured for updating of parameters of the electronic seal.

11. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory coupled to the processor for storage of parameters and queued location fixes for reporting

12. The electronic seal of claim 1, further comprising:

a housing integrated with, or coupled to, the security mechanism, and including a security compartment including circuitry for detecting a security event, and an electronics compartment for storing the processor and wireless communications system, the housing including a window for displaying a status indication provided by one or more light sources.

13. A method performed by an electronic seal configured for coupling to a physical asset, the method comprising:

receiving over a wireless communication channel one or more parameters indicating geofence location definitions and actions to be taken by the electronic seal in response to entering, persisting or exiting a geofence;

determining one of entering, persisting or exiting based on the geofence location definitions; and

responsive to the determining, performing one or more of the actions.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing for low power operations based upon geofencing actions.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing for programmable operations based upon parameters programmed into memory of the electronic seal.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing for local update of the programmable parameters using a serial interface.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

providing for remote update of the programmable parameters using a wireless interface.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

receiving a tamper reset command for enabling multi-stop loading or inspections of the physical asset.

19. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing a navigation maintenance mode in the electronic seal to measure and report navigation signals from a single navigation signal or single simulated navigation signal.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

commanding a processor in the electronic seal to measure, record or report statistics for at least one of location fixes, wireless communication statistics or performance statistics related to the electronic seal.