Anti-theft method for detecting the unauthorized opening of containers and baggage
First Claim
1. For an apparatus having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving first and second closure members together and apart, respectively, an improved security device for signalling whether the aperture is opened, comprising:
- (a) an elongated electrical conductor having first and second ends, the conductor extending between the two closure members and being attached to both the first closure member and the second closure member so that the two closure members cannot be moved apart more than a predetermined amount to open the aperture without breaking the conductor; and
(b) an RFID transceiver, connected to the two ends of the conductor, including an electrical circuit for detecting when electrical continuity between the two ends of the conductor is broken and subsequently transmitting a radio frequency alarm signal.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A simple trip-wire or magnetic circuit associated with a shipping container provides continuity, which is detected electrically. Simply, if continuity is disabled by a forced entry of the container, electrical detection means, such as a radio-frequency-identification (RFID) tag, will alert the owner or monitoring station. The trip-wire concept would require the replacing of a broken trip wire (resulting from forced entry), while the magnetic circuit concept can be reused repetitively. In a second embodiment a magnetic circuit and the detection device (RFID tag) are embedded into the shipping article during manufacturing. The preferred detection device, an RFID tag, could also be a battery backed transceiver type on which a replaceable or rechargeable battery could be mounted on the inside of the shipping container during manufacturing. The RFID tag would communicate with an interrogator unit, which could be connected to a host computer. The interrogator and/or the host computer and/or other alarm devices would then monitor the shipping container'"'"'s status (opened or closed).
19 Citations
99 Claims
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1. For an apparatus having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving first and second closure members together and apart, respectively, an improved security device for signalling whether the aperture is opened, comprising:
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(a) an elongated electrical conductor having first and second ends, the conductor extending between the two closure members and being attached to both the first closure member and the second closure member so that the two closure members cannot be moved apart more than a predetermined amount to open the aperture without breaking the conductor; and (b) an RFID transceiver, connected to the two ends of the conductor, including an electrical circuit for detecting when electrical continuity between the two ends of the conductor is broken and subsequently transmitting a radio frequency alarm signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. For an apparatus having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving first and second closure members together and apart, respectively, an improved security device for signalling whether the aperture is opened, comprising:
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(a) an electrical device, mounted on the apparatus adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is open or closed; and (b) an RFID transceiver which transmits a radio frequency alarm signal after said device detects the aperture has been opened. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. For an apparatus having an aperture which is selectably closed and opened by moving first and second closure members together and apart, respectively, an improved security device for signalling whether the aperture is opened, comprising:
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(a) an electrical device, mounted on the apparatus adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is open or closed, wherein the electrical device includes; (i) first and second electrical contacts mounted on the first closure member, and (ii) a third electrical contact mounted on the second closure member at a position such that, when the two closure members are moved together so as to close the aperture, the third electrical contact mates with both the first and the second contacts so as to complete an electrical continuity between the first and second contacts; and (b) an RFID transceiver which transmits a radio frequency alarm signal in response to said electrical continuity being broken.
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12. A secure apparatus for signalling whether an aperture of the apparatus is opened, comprising:
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an apparatus having first and second closure members and having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving the two closure members together and apart, respectively; an electrical device, mounted on the apparatus adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is opened; and an RFID transceiver which transmits an alarm signal after said device detects the aperture has been opened. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for signalling whether an aperture is opened, comprising the steps of:
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providing an apparatus having first and second closure members and having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving the first and second closure members together and apart, respectively; detecting whether the aperture is opened; and in response to detecting that the aperture is opened, transmitting a radio frequency alarm signal. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A method for signalling whether an aperture is opened, comprising the steps of:
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providing a shipping container having at least one hinge, first and second closure members, and an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving, via the at least one hinge, the first and second closure members together and apart, respectively; providing an unauthorized opening detection unit attached to the shipping container adjacent the aperture, the detection unit comprising an RFID device storing data concerning the shipping container and a detection circuit; detecting whether the aperture is opened using the detection circuit; generating a detection signal if the aperture is opened, wherein, in response to the detection signal, alarm data is stored in the detection unit to indicate that the aperture is opened; and in response to detecting that the aperture is opened, transmitting a radio frequency alarm signal from the RFID device if the aperture is detected to be opened. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53)
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54. For a shipping container having an aperture, an improved security device for signalling whether the aperture is opened, comprising:
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(a) an electrical detection device, mounted on the shipping container adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is open or closed, the shipping container having first and second closure members, the aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving the first and second closure members together and apart, respectively, the detection device to generate a detection signal if the aperture is opened; and (b) an RFID transceiver device which transmits a radio frequency alarm signal after the electrical device detects the aperture has been opened, the RFID transceiver device coupled to the detection device and storing data concerning the shipping container; wherein, in response to the detection signal, alarm data is stored in the security device to indicate that the aperture has been opened. - View Dependent Claims (55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68)
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69. A secure apparatus for signalling whether an aperture of the apparatus is opened, comprising:
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a shipping container having first and second closure members, and an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving the first and second closure members together and apart, respectively; an electrical detection device, mounted on the shipping container adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is open or closed and for generating a detection signal if the aperture is opened; and an RFID transceiver device which transmits a radio frequency alarm signal after the electrical device detects the aperture has been opened, the RFID transceiver device coupled to the electrical detection device and storing data concerning the shipping container; wherein, in response to the detection signal, alarm data is stored in the RFID device to indicate that the aperture has been opened. - View Dependent Claims (70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84)
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85. A method for signalling whether an aperture is opened, comprising the steps of:
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providing an apparatus having first and second closure members including a door, and having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving, via the door, the first and second closure members together and apart, respectively; providing an RFID device to wirelessly identify the apparatus to an interrogator; after the door is closed, applying an unauthorized opening detection unit to form a continuity circuit, wherein a change in the continuity circuit indicates that the door is opened; detecting whether the aperture is opened using the detection unit; and in response to detecting that the aperture is opened, transmitting a radio frequency alarm signal from the RFID device to the interrogator if the aperture is detected to be opened. - View Dependent Claims (86, 87, 88, 89)
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90. For an apparatus having an aperture, an improved security device for signalling whether the aperture is opened, comprising:
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(a) an electrical device, mounted on the apparatus adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is open or closed, the apparatus having first and second closure members including a door, the aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving, via the door, the first and second closure members together and apart, respectively, the electrical device comprising a conductor to form a continuity circuit which when disrupted generates a signal indicating that the aperture is opened; and (b) a RFID transceiver tag coupled to the electrical device to monitor the continuity circuit, the RFID transceiver tag having memory to store identification information of the RFID transceiver tag and to store status information indicating whether the aperture has been opened, wherein the RFID transceiver tag transmits the identification information and transmits a radio frequency alarm signal according to the status information stored in the memory after the electrical device detects the aperture has been opened. - View Dependent Claims (91, 92, 93, 94)
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95. A secure apparatus for signalling whether an aperture of the apparatus is opened, comprising:
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an apparatus having first and second closure members comprising a door and having an aperture capable of being closed and opened by moving, via the door, the two closure members together and apart, respectively; an electrical device, mounted on the apparatus adjacent the aperture, for detecting whether the aperture is opened, the electrical device comprises a conductor, continuity of the conductor to be changed when the aperture is opened, when continuity of the conductor is changed the electrical device to generate an signal indicating that the aperture is opened; an RFID transceiver tag coupled to the electrical device, the RFID transceiver tag having memory to store data concerning the apparatus and to store, in response to the signal generated by the electrical device, status information indicating whether the aperture has been opened; and an interrogator wirelessly coupled to the RFID transceiver tag via radio frequency signals, wherein in response to an interrogation command received from the interrogator, the RFID tag transmits an alarm signal to the interrogator, according to the status information stored in the memory, after said device detects the aperture has been opened. - View Dependent Claims (96, 97, 98, 99)
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Specification