Anti-theft method for detecting the unauthorized opening of containers and baggage
US5406263A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 12, 1993 |
| Grant date | Apr 11, 1995 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 12, 2013 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG08B21/0286
- WIPO fieldControl
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A simple trip-wire or magnetic circuit associated with a shipping container monitors 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).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.