Seal method and system for packages
First Claim
1. A seal for an individual package, comprising:
- a resonant circuit associated with an individual product contained in the individual package and having a predetermined resonant frequency that changes under mechanical deformation resulting from tampering;
an attaching material coupled to the circuit for attaching the circuit to the package and printed with a first identifier to determine a seal type; and
a storage area in the seal for storing a second identifier to individually identify the resonant circuit and for cross-referencing with a database the predetermined resonant frequency of the resonant circuit prior to potential tampering along with one or more characteristics of the seal to establish an untampered state for the seal and one or more predetermined qualities of the seal.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A seal for a package includes a circuit having electrical characteristics that change under mechanical deformation and an attaching material coupled to the circuit and for attaching the circuit to the package. The seal is attached to the package and processed prior to shipping to establish an untampered state for the seal. This includes identifying a circuit on the sealed package according to a seal type associated with the seal, recording one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal and storing the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal for later comparison. To detect tampering to the package, the seal type and corresponding seal and circuit for the seal is identified, the characteristics associated with a circuit from the seal are determined and compared with the previous characteristics recorded when the seal was initially applied to the package. If the comparison indicates that a mechanical deformation of the seal occurred, it is possible the seal and package were tampered with during shipment or delivery.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A seal for an individual package, comprising:
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a resonant circuit associated with an individual product contained in the individual package and having a predetermined resonant frequency that changes under mechanical deformation resulting from tampering; an attaching material coupled to the circuit for attaching the circuit to the package and printed with a first identifier to determine a seal type; and a storage area in the seal for storing a second identifier to individually identify the resonant circuit and for cross-referencing with a database the predetermined resonant frequency of the resonant circuit prior to potential tampering along with one or more characteristics of the seal to establish an untampered state for the seal and one or more predetermined qualities of the seal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method of sealing an individual package with a seal to detect tampering with the individual package, comprising:
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identifying a resonant circuit in the seal according to a first identifier printed on the sealed individual package holding an individual product and indicating a seal type of the seal; recording a predetermined resonant frequency and second identifier associated with the resonant circuit from the seal wherein a mechanical deformation of the seal changes the predetermined resonant frequency associated with the circuit from the seal; and storing the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal and the predetermined resonant frequency cross-referenced by the second identifier in a database to establish an untampered state for the seal and one or more predetermined qualities of the seal based upon the seal type. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A method of detecting tampering to an individual package having a seal, comprising:
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identifying a seal type and corresponding seal and resonant circuit for the seal attached to the package according to a first identifier printed on the seal; determining a resonance frequency associated with the resonant circuit from the seal on the individual package and in accordance with the seal type; receiving one or more previous characteristics and a predetermined resonance frequency recorded in a database when the seal was initially applied to the package and cross-referenced in the database by a second identifier associated with the resonant circuit; and comparing the resonance frequency determined with the predetermined resonance frequency received to determine if a mechanical deformation of the seal indicative of tampering with the individual package and an individual product contained within may have occurred. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. An apparatus for sealing an individual package with a seal to detect tampering with the individual package, comprising:
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means for identifying a resonant circuit in the seal according to a first identifier printed on the sealed individual package holding an individual product and indicating a seal type of the seal; means for recording a predetermined resonant frequency and second identifier associated with the resonant circuit from the seal wherein a mechanical deformation of the seal changes the predetermined resonant frequency associated with the circuit from the seal; and means for storing the seal type and one or more characteristics associated with the circuit from the seal and the predetermined resonant frequency cross-referenced by the second identifier in a database to establish an untampered state for the seal and one or more predetermined qualities of the seal based upon the seal type.
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31. An apparatus for detecting tampering to an individual package having a seat, comprising:
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means for identifying a seal type and corresponding seal and resonant circuit for the seal attached to the package according to a first identifier printed on the seal; means for determining a resonance frequency associated with the resonant circuit from the seal on the individual package and in accordance with the seal type; means for receiving one or more previous characteristics and a predetermined resonance frequency recorded in a database when the seal was initially applied to the package and cross-referenced in the database by a second identifier associated with the resonant circuit; and means for comparing the resonance frequency determined with the predetermined resonance frequency received to determine if a mechanical deformation of the seal indicative of tampering with the individual package and an individual product contained within may have occurred.
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Specification