Device and method for checking the integrity of physical objects

• US 9,489,811 B2
• Filed: 08/14/2012
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Inria Institut National de Recherche EN Informatique et EN Automatique
• Original Assignee: Inria Institut National de Recherche EN Informatique et EN Automatique
• Inventors: Banatre, Michel, Couderc, Paul, Becus, Mathieu, Allard, Fabien
• Primary Examiner(s): KUDDUS, DANIEL A
• Application Number:
  US13/585,126
• Publication Number:
  US 20120306629A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,547 Days
• Field of Search: 707/701, 707/704
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/14 by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/04 Key management, e.g. using generic bootstrapping architecture [GBA]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/10 Integrity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/76 Group identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for monitoring physical objects that comprises one or more short-range remote readers, memory elements to be attached to physical objects, and a controller adapted for executing a reading function capable of interaction with the one or more remote readers in order to acquire data contained in adjacent memory elements, and for executing an integrity validation function capable of distinguishing, from the acquired data, individual identifiers particular to each of the memory elements as well as group description data stored in at least some of said memory elements, and of checking the sufficiency of group description data while checking the compliance of individual identifiers with corresponding group description data.

Claims

1. A method for delivering a set of physical objects to a distant recipient, the method comprising a coupling step and a delivering step following the coupling step, the coupling step comprising:

affixing to each of said set of physical objects at least one label, said at least one label comprising at least one respective identifier;

reading said at least one label of each of said set of physical objects using a short-range label reader to get said at least one respective identifier;

establishing group identifying data based on said at least one respective identifier of said at least one label of each of said set of physical objects and on first identification data relative to said distant recipient;

writing said group identifying data in said at least one label of at least one of said set of physical objects using the short-range remote reader;

the delivering step comprising;

obtaining second identification data relative to said distant recipient;

checking an identity of the recipient and an integrity of the set of physical objects as a function of said group identifying data, said respective identifier of said at least one label of said set of objects and said second identification data; and

delivering said set of physical objects to said distant recipient, when the identity of the recipient and the integrity of said set of physical objects are checked.

2. The method according to claim 1, the coupling step further comprising:

providing said distant recipient with a personal label comprising at least one respective identifier;

wherein at least one of said first identification data and said second identification data comprises said respective identifier of said personal label, and

wherein the identification data relative to the recipient includes a respective identifier of a label associated with said recipient.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein said first identification data includes a public key and said second identification data includes a private key data, said private key being memorized in said personal label, and said public key being consistent with said private key.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein establishing group identifying data further comprises:

applying a hash function to said respective identifier of said at least one label of said set of physical objects and to said first identification data to obtain group identifying data.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the coupling step further comprises:

establishing sub-group identifying data from said at least one respective identifier of said at least one label of each of said set of physical objects, the sub-group identifying data being established without using the first identification data; and

writing said sub-group identifying data in said at least one label element of at least one of said set of physical objects using the short-range remote reader.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein establishing sub-group identifying data further comprises:

applying a hash function to said respective identifier of said at least one label of said set of physical objects and to the first identification to obtain sub-group identifying data.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein writing said sub-group identifying data further comprises:

writing said sub-group identifying data in said at least one label tag with which said at least one physical container is provided.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said set of objects is a physical container containing at least some others of said set of physical objects.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein writing said group identifying data further comprises:

writing said group identifying data in said at least one label, with which said physical container is provided.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of said set of physical objects is a physical container containing each other physical object of said set of physical objects.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said at least one short-range label reader is not attached to any of the set of physical objects.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said group identifying data is memorized by at least one of said label on each of said objects, and wherein said group identifying data comprises elementary identifier data relative to each of said objects and object identifier data relative to the set of objects.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one label is in the form of a radiofrequency tag, a bar code or a magnetic medium.

14. A method for delivering a set of physical objects to a distant recipient comprising a coupling step and a delivering step following said coupling step, the coupling step comprising:

affixing to each of said set of physical objects with at least one label, said at least one label at least one respective identifier, said at least one label of one of said set of physical objects memorizing group identifying data, and

said delivering step comprising;

reading the group identifying data using a short-range remote reader;

reading said at least one respective identifier of said label of each of said set of physical objects;

obtaining first identification data relative to the distant recipient;

applying a first function to said at least one respective identifier of said label of each of said set of physical objects and to said first identification data to obtain a first result value;

comparing said first result value to the group identifying data, to check an integrity of said set of physical objects and an identity of the distant recipient; and

delivering said set of physical objects to the distant recipient when said identity and said integrity are checked.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the coupling step further comprises:

providing the distant recipient with a personal label comprising said first identification data; and

obtaining first identification data further comprises;

reading the first identification data in the personal label using a short-range remote reader.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the first identification data includes a private key.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein the first function comprises a hash function.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein said set of physical objects comprises a physical container containing at least some others of said set of physical objects.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said set of physical objects comprises a physical container containing each other of said set of physical objects.

20. The method according to claim 18, wherein reading the group identifying data further comprises:

reading group identifying data in said at least one label with which said physical container is provided.

21. The method according to claim 14, wherein the coupling step further comprises:

providing a closable physical container with an electronic opening system configured to open and/or close the closable physical container;

providing said set of physical objects being within the closable physical container; and

wherein delivering said set of physical objects further comprises;

automatically commanding the electronic opening system of the closable physical container when said identity and said integrity are checked.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein the coupling step further comprises:

reading subgroup identifying data from said at least one label, with which at least one of said set of physical objects is provided using a short-range remote reader;

applying a second function to said at least one respective identifier of said label of each of said set of physical objects to obtain a second result value;

comparing said second result value to the sub-group identifying data to check an integrity of said set of physical objects and an identity of the distant recipient; and

commanding the electronic opening system to close the closable physical container when said integrity is checked.

23. The method according to claim 14, wherein the at least one label is in the form of a radiofrequency tag, a bar code or a magnetic medium.

24. A device for delivering a set of physical objects to a recipient, the device comprising:

a set of labels, each label comprising at least one respective identifier, each of said set of physical objects bearing at least one of said set of labels, one of said set of labels further memorizing group identifying data and being born by at least one of said set of physical objects;

at least one physical container configured to contain said set of physical objects;

at least one short-range label reader arranged relative to said at least one physical container to read the set of labels when the set of physical objects is contained in said physical container;

an electronic opening system configured to open and/or close said at least one physical container; and

a controller cooperating with said at least one short-range label reader to obtain the respective identifiers of the ones of the set of labels whose physical object is in the physical container and said group identifying data, the controller further obtaining identification data relative to the distant recipient, the controller further applying a first function to said at least one respective identifier of the set of labels and said identification data to obtain a first result value, said controller further comparing said first result value to said group identifying data to check an integrity of said set of physical objects and an identity of the recipient, the controller further automatically commanding the electronic opening system depending on said integrity and identity are checked.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein at least one of said set of labels comprise subgroup identifying data and the controller is configured to cooperate with said at least one short-range label reader to obtain said subgroup identifying data, the controller further applying a second function of said respective identifiers to obtain a second result value, the controller further proceeding with a comparison of the second result value to the read sub-group identifying data, the controller automatically commanding the electronic opening system to close the physical container depending on a result of said comparison.

26. The method according to claim 24, wherein the set of labels comprises radiofrequency tags, bar codes or magnetic media.