Merchandise security system with data collection features and relevant technical field

• US 9,953,497 B2
• Filed: 12/24/2013
• Issued: 04/24/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Quasion Inc.
• Original Assignee: Quasion Inc.
• Inventors: Wu, Xiaohua, Ouyang, Ziyue
• Primary Examiner(s): Wang, Quan-Zhen
• Assistant Examiner(s): Foxx, Chico A
• Application Number:
  US15/107,182
• Publication Number:
  US 20170004687A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,582 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/00309 operated with bidirectional data transmission between data carrier and locks
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1409 for removal detection of electrical appliances by detecting their physical disconnection from an electrical system, e.g. using a switch incorporated in the plug connector
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1445 with detection of interference with a cable tethering an article, e.g. alarm activated by detecting detachment of article, breaking or stretching of cable furniture, e.g. shelves for displaying merchandise, incorporating tethers to prevent theft A47F7/024, A47F5/0861
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0428 wherein the data content is protected, e.g. by encrypting or encapsulating the payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• 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

A merchandise security system with data collection features and a relevant method are disclosed. The system has: a data management unit, at least one alarm unit and at least one alarm disabling unit, wherein the data management unit is configured to synchronize unlocking data in the alarm disabling unit and set unlocking judgment data in the alarm unit; the alarm unit can detect, in an alarm enabled state, whether a merchandise to be protected is in a normal state, and send out an alarm signal when judging that the merchandise to be protected is not in a normal state; and the alarm unit judges, according to the unlocking judgment data stored therein, whether the unlocking data is legitimate, and disable the alarm enabled state when judging that the unlocking data is legitimate. In the present disclosure, each of the unlocking judgment data corresponds to unique legitimate unlocking data embedded in the alarm disabling unit. The alarm unit can realize a data collection function, and can not only collect information related to enabling an alarm and disabling the alarm, but also can collect other data related to user behaviors for later data analysis.

Claims

1. A merchandise security system, comprising a data management unit for managing a state of a protected merchandise, an alarm unit comprising a sensor module to monitor the state of the merchandise and an alarm disabling unit for disabling an alarm enabled state of the alarm unit, wherein,

the alarm unit further comprises a data communications module that uses near field communications (NFC) and a storage module, and the alarm disabling unit communicates using NFC;

the data management unit synchronizes unlocking data in the alarm disabling unit, via a writing operation using NFC, and sets unlocking judgment data, via a writing operation using NFC, in the storage module;

the alarm unit detects, in the alarm enabled state, whether the protected merchandise is in a normal state, and send out an alarm signal to the data management unit when detecting that the protected merchandise is not in a normal state; and

the alarm unit judges, according to the unlocking judgment data stored therein, whether the unlocking data is legitimate, and disable the alarm enabled state when judging that the unlocking data is legitimate,

wherein the unlocking judgment data corresponds to unique legitimate unlocking data embedded in the alarm disabling unit to ensure that no other alarm disabling unit can disable the alarm enabled state.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the alarm unit has one or more unlocking judgment data stored therein, and the alarm disabling unit only has one unlocking data embedded therein;

and

when the unlocking data embedded in the alarm disabling unit is legitimate unlocking data for any of the unlocking judgment data in the alarm unit, the alarm disabling unit can disable the alarm enabled state of the alarm unit.

3. The system according to claim 2, wherein the embedded unlocking data is the legitimate unlocking data when the embedded unlocking data matches any of the unlocking judgement data.

4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the unlocking judgment data is encrypted data which is encrypted using a particular encryption algorithm, and the unlocking data is a key for decrypting the encrypted data.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the data management unit is further configured to enable the alarm unit from the alarm disabled state to the alarm enabled state.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the alarm unit is further configured to acquire and store working state history data, and the data management unit is further configured to read the working state history data from the alarm unit, wherein the working state history data is history information of changes in a working state of the alarm unit.

7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the working state history data comprises time for enabling the alarm enabled state, an identity of the data management unit implementing the enabling operation, time for disabling the alarm enabled state, and an identity of the alarm disabling unit implementing the unlocking operation.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the alarm unit is further configured to acquire and store merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data of the merchandise to be protected, and the data management unit is further configured to acquire the merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data of the merchandise to be protected from the alarm unit, wherein the merchandise state history data is information of changes in a state of the merchandise to be protected, and the user interaction data is data of interaction behaviors of a user with the merchandise to be protected and other user Information.

9. The system according to claim 8, wherein the state of the merchandise comprises a “

normal state”

in which the merchandise is protected and an “

abnormal state”

in which the merchandise is unprotected as well as other detectable states belonging to the “

normal state”

.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the alarm unit further comprises an alarm processing module and a main control module, wherein,

the sensor module is configured to transmits a state change signal to the main control module when it senses that the state of the merchandise to be protected changes;

the main control module is configured to control a working state of the alarm unit, and judges, in the alarm enabled state, whether the merchandise is in an abnormal state according to the state change signal, and transmits an alarm signal to the alarm processing module when it judges that the merchandise to be protected is in an “

abnormal state”

;

the alarm processing module is configured to implement an alarm process when receiving the alarm signal transmitted by the main control module;

the data communication module is configured to establish a data communication channel with the alarm disabling unit or the data management unit, and to receive data transmitted by the alarm disabling unit or the data management unit.

11. The system according to claim 10, wherein

the main control module is further configured to transmit the state change signal to the alarm processing module;

and

the alarm processing module is further configured to process the state change signal to generate merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data, and store the generated merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data into the storage module.

12. The system according to claim 11, wherein

the sensor module is further configured to monitor other detectable subdivided states of the merchandise to be protected belonging to the “

normal state”

, and transmits a subdivided state change signal to the main control module when a detected subdivided state belonging to the “

normal state”

changes;

the main control module is further configured to transmit the subdivided state change signal to the alarm processing unit; and

the alarm processing unit is further configured to process the subdivided state change signal to generate the merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data, and save the generated merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data into the storage module.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein

the storage module is further configured to save the working state history data, wherein the working state history data is history information of changes in a working state of the alarm unit;

and

the main control module is further configured to write the working state data into the storage module when the working state changes.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the working state history data further comprises data related to failure in changing the working state.

15. A method for operating a merchandise security system, comprising merchandise security system, comprising a data management unit for managing a state of a protected merchandise, an alarm unit comprising a sensor module to monitor the state of the merchandise and an alarm disabling unit for disabling an alarm enabled state of the alarm unit, wherein,

the alarm unit further comprises a data communications module that uses near field communications (NFC), and the alarm disabling unit communicates using NFC;

the data management unit synchronizes unlocking data in the alarm disabling unit, via a writing operation using NFC, and sets unlocking judgment data in the alarm unit;

the alarm unit detects, in the alarm enabled state, whether the protected merchandise is in a normal state, and send out an alarm signal to the data management unit when detecting that the protected merchandise is not in a normal state; and

wherein the unlocking judgment data corresponds to unique legitimate unlocking data embedded in the alarm disabling unit to ensure that no other alarm disabling unit can disable the alarm enabled state;

the alarm unit further comprises an alarm processing module and a main control module, and a storage module, wherein, the sensor module is configured to transmits a state change signal to the main control module when it senses that the state of the merchandise to be protected changes;

the main control module is configured to control a working state of the alarm unit, and judges, in the alarm enabled state, whether the merchandise is in an abnormal state according to the state change signal, and transmits an alarm signal to the alarm processing module when it judges that the merchandise to be protected is in an “

abnormal state”

;

the alarm processing module is configured to implement an alarm process when receiving the alarm signal transmitted by the main control module;

the data communication module is configured to establish a data communication channel with the alarm disabling unit or the data management unit, and to receive data transmitted by the alarm disabling unit or the data management unit; and

the storage module is configured to store the unlocking judgment data,

the method comprising writing unlocking judgment data in the alarm unit of the system by the steps of;

S11;

the data management unit establishing a NFC connection with the data communication module of the alarm unit;

S12;

judging whether the data management unit matches with the alarm unit;

S13;

if it is judged that the data management unit matches with the alarm unit in step S12, the data management unit retrieving synchronized unlocking judgment data and transmitting the unlocking judgment data to the main control unit of the alarm unit through the data communication module; and

if it is judged that the data management unit does not match with the alarm unit in step S12, returning error information; and

S14;

the main control module of the alarm unit writing the unlocking judgment data from the data communication module in the storage module to.

16. The method for operating a merchandise security system according to claim 15, further comprising disabling the alarm enabled state in the alarm unit of the system by steps of:

S21;

the alarm disabling unit establishing a NFC connection with the data communication module of the alarm unit;

S22;

the alarm unit acquiring the unlocking data embedded in the alarm disabling unit through the data communication module;

S23;

the main control module of the alarm unit judging whether the unlocking data is legitimate according to the unlocking data and the unlocking judgment data stored in the storage module of the alarm unit; and

S24;

if it is judged that the unlocking data is legitimate in step 23, the main control module setting the working state stored in a working state storage module in the main control module as data representing the alarm enabled state;

otherwise, not performing any operation.

17. The method for operating a merchandise security system according to claim 15, further comprising extracting state history data from the system by the following steps, wherein the state history data comprises working state history data, merchandise state history data and/or user interaction data:

S31;

the data management unit establishing a NFC connection with the data communication module of the alarm unit;

S32;

judging whether the data management unit is a legitimate management unit for the alarm unit;

S33;

if it is judged that the data management unit is a legitimate management unit for the alarm unit in S32, the data management unit requesting the state history data from the alarm unit through the data communication module;

otherwise, stopping operations and returning error information; and

S34;

the main control module of the alarm unit reading the state history data from the storage module, and transmitting the state history data to the data management unit through the data communication module.