Anti-theft arrangement, method and program

• US 7,259,673 B2
• Filed: 11/24/2004
• Issued: 08/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/24/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kioba Processing, LLC (IP Investments Group LLC)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Deeds, Douglas
• Primary Examiner(s): Hofsass; Jeffery
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fan; Hongmin
• Application Number:
  US10/996,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20060109122A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,000 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/572.3, 340/572.4, 340/571, 340/568.1, 340/568, 340/539, 235/384, 235/348, 235/345, 705/28
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2417 having a radio frequency identification chip
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2454 Checking of authorisation of a person accessing tagged items in an EAS system

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of security and especially to radio frequency identification. According to an embodiment method for securing a personal item for preventing unauthorized passage out of secured premises comprises steps of checking tag for identifying a personal item exiting the premises, checking a permission bits of the identified tag, and determining according to the permission bits of the tag is the item allowed to leave premises secured by the security system.

Claims

1. Apparatus, comprising

a transceiver for

sending a signal in order to form a radio frequency field around a tag fixable to an item within premises and chargeable by the radio frequency field;

and

reading a response signal from the tag including data identifying the item; and

a controller for

checking the data identifying the item to determine if a personal identifier check is required and,

if no personal identifier checking is required, proceeding with access control by allowing or preventing exit of the item from the premises based on said data identifying the item but,

if a personal identifier check is required,

obtaining a personal identifier and

checking from a database storing personal identifiers if the obtained personal identifier is associated to the identified tag, and

allowing an identified item to leave the premises if the identified tag is associated to the obtained personal identifier.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tag is fixed to the item in a manufacturing phase.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means for allocating the tag among tags controlled by an employer for use of a certain employee having a personal identifier.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising means for requesting the personal identifier from the user.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising an input device for inputting the personal identifier manually.

6. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising an input device for inputting the personal identifier automatically through a reader.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1, comprising a reader for remotely reading the personal identifier.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transceiver has a reader for remotely reading the personal identifier.

20. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said transceiver is located within a certain area of the premises and wherein said checking for the presence of a personal identifier is by checking whether a badge or like passage control identifier is also located within said area of the premises.

21. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said transceiver is located within a certain area of the premises and wherein said checking for the presence of a personal identifier is by checking whether a badge or like passage control identifier is also located within said area of the premises.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said transceiver is located within a certain area of the premises and wherein said checking for the presence of a personal identifier is by checking whether a badge or like passage control identifier is also located within said area of the premises.

9. Apparatus, comprising

a transceiver for sending a signal in order to form a radio frequency field around a tag fixable to an item within premises and chargeable by the radio frequency field during passage of said item off premises and for receiving back from said tag, in response to said signal, data identifying the tag fixed to the item, the tag having distinct permission bits to require a personal identifier to be associated to a user the tag is allocated to or not, for determining permission to leave the premises during said passage of the item off premises, and

a controller for checking the permission bits of the identified tag during said passage of the item off premises, and for determining according to the permission bits of the tag if the item is allowed to leave the premises, either by deciding, if so required, if the data identifying the tag corresponds to the personal identifier of the user or by deciding, if so required, simply if the data identifying the tag permits the item to leave the premises without requiring any correspondence to any personal identifier.

10. Apparatus, comprising

a transmitter for sending a signal within premises in order to form a radio frequency field around a radio frequency identification tag,

a receiver for receiving data from the radio frequency identification tag for identifying the tag,

a controller for checking said data to determine if a check for presence of a personal identifier is required, and, if not-required, proceeding with access control by allowing or preventing exit of the item from the premises without further checking, but if required,

checking from a database storing personal identifiers if a personal identifier is related to an identified tag and

allowing an identified item to leave the premises only if the item is associated to the personal identifier by the tag.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10, having a reader for remotely reading the personal identifier.

12. Apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said controller has access to an external database for storing identifiers and data associated to them.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10, having a memory for storing identifiers and data associated to them.

14. Method, comprising

sending a signal by a transceiver within premises in order to form a radio frequency field,

receiving data in the transceiver from a tag fixable to an item to be secured within the premises and chargeable by the radio frequency field formed by the transceiver,

identifying the tag by the data sent from the tag as a response to the tag arriving in a coverage area of the radio frequency field,

checking said data to determine if a check for presence of a personal identifier is required, and if not required, proceeding with access control by allowing or preventing exit of the item from the premises without further checking, but if present,

checking from a database storing personal identifiers if a personal identifier is related to the identified tag, and

after a found association, allowing the item to leave premises secured by the security system but otherwise preventing the item from leaving the premises.

15. Method comprising

checking by charging a radio frequency identification tag with a surrounding field within secured premises, said checking for identifying an item passing out of the secured premises,

checking during the passage out of the secured premises either if only the item itself or also a personal identifier is required for identifying a particular person passing out with the item identified from a database storing personal identifiers associated to corresponding items,

based on said checking, determining during the passage out of the secured premises either if the item itself is allowed passage out of the premises without requiring any association to any personal identifier or if the item is allowed passage out of the premises only associated with the personal identifier, and

allowing the passage out of the secured premises either with or without finding an association depending on whether a determination of a personal identifier is required or not.

16. Method comprising

allowing or preventing exit of an item from secured premises either with or without also checking a personal identifier by charging a radio frequency identification tag with a surrounding field within secured premises, and checking data on said tag to determine if a personal identifier must be associated to said item or not before passing out of the secured premises, and

during said passing out of the secured premises, determining either if the item itself is allowed passage out of the premises without requiring any association to any personal identifier or if the item is allowed passage out of the premises only associated with the personal identifier.

17. Method, comprising

identifying a tag fixed to an item during passage out of secured premises so that data is received by a transceiver from the tag fixed to the item as a response to the tag arriving in coverage area of, and thus charged by, a radio frequency field formed by the transceiver,

determining if a personal identifier is required in association with said item and if not proceeding with control of said passage without identifying any person but if a personal identifier is required,

identifying a person detected during said passage out of the secured premises by carrying the personal item in question by a personal identifier of a personal identifying system,

checking according to the identified tag and personal identifier, if the identified tag associated to the personal identifier, and according to a possibly found association, is allowed to leave the secured premises.

18. Method comprising, during passage of an item off premises,

identifying a tag fixed to the item so that data received by a transceiver of a security system from the tag fixed to the item as a response to the tag arriving in a coverage area of, and thus charged by, a radio frequency field formed by the transceiver, and

checking according to permission bits of the tag, if the identified tag is allowed to leave the premises with or without also checking if a personal identifier is associated to said item.

19. System, comprising:

means for identifying a tag fixed to a personal item during passage out of secured premises such that data received by a transceiver of a security system from the tag fixed to the personal item as a response to the tag arriving in a coverage area of, and thus charged by, a radio frequency field formed by the transceiver; and

means for checking during said passage out of the secured premises according to permission bits of the tag with or without also checking if a personal identifier is associated to said item if the identified tag is allowed to leave the secured premises.