Tamper evident cargo container seal bolt lock

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10119301-B2
Application number	US-201715619340-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2017
Priority date	Mar 9, 2012
Publication date	Nov 6, 2018
Grant date	Nov 6, 2018

Abstract

Systems and methods for a tamper-evident cargo container seal bolt lock are disclosed herein. The device can include a bolt member having a conductive medium running the axial length of the bolt, and a receiving member for locking the bolt into place. A battery-driven sensory circuit including a memory means, a processor, and a timing circuit can be disposed within the receiving member such that a continuous circuit is formed from one circuit pin over the conductive medium through the length of the bolt and back to a second pin. The sensory circuit is configured to sense whether the circuit has been interrupted (e.g., if the bolt has been cut). In the event of an interruption, the circuit can record the time and/or date in memory. This information can then be transmitted to an RFID reader/interrogator if a dispute arises as to when the lock had been broken.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A bolt lock device, comprising:
a receiving member comprising an electrical interface adapted to receive a first end of a locking member that, in response to receiving the first end of the locking member, forms a continuous circuit by an electrically conductive pathway through a conductive medium running within the locking member from the first end and along an axial length of the locking member; and
a transponder coupled to the continuous circuit and configured to:
store a unique identifier associated with the bolt lock device, and
transmit the identifier in response to a query.

2. The bolt lock device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transponder is further configured to:
store data with respect to at least one of the following: a nature of a shipment, and one or more contents of the shipment; and
transmit at least a portion of the data in response to the query.

3. The bolt lock device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transponder includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip, and wherein the transponder is configured to transmit the identifier over a wireless connection.

4. The bolt lock device as recited in claim 1 , wherein the transponder is connected to a serial bus, and wherein the transponder is configured to transmit the identifier over a wired connection.

5. A bolt lock device, comprising:
a bolt member comprising an electrically conductive medium running between a first end of the bolt member and a second end of the bolt member;
a receiving member adapted to receive the first end of the bolt member, the receiving member comprising a battery-operated sensory circuit with memory and pins adapted to form a continuous circuit by an electrically conductive pathway through the conductive medium of the bolt member after the first end of the bolt member has been inserted into the receiving member; and
wherein the sensory circuit is coupled to a transponder configured to:
store a unique identifier associated with the bolt lock device, and
transmit the identifier in response to a query.

6. The bolt lock device as recited in claim 5 , wherein the sensory circuit is adapted to detect an interruption in the sensory circuit.

7. The bolt lock device as recited in claim 6 , wherein the sensory circuit is further adapted to record in the memory a date and time of the interruption in response to detecting the interruption in the sensory circuit.

8. The bolt lock device as recited in claim 7 , wherein the transponder is further configured to transmit the date and time of the interruption in response to the query.

9. A method, comprising:
forming a continuous circuit in response to receiving a first end of a locking member at an electrical interface of a receiving member by an electrically conductive pathway through a conductive medium running within the locking member from the first end and along an axial length of the locking member;
storing an identifier associated with a bolt lock device in a transponder within the bolt lock device, wherein the transponder is coupled to the continuous circuit; and
transmitting the identifier in response to a query.

10. The method as recited in claim 9 , further comprising:
storing data with respect to at least one of the following: a nature of a shipment, and one or more contents of the shipment; and
transmitting at least a portion of the data in response to the query.

11. The method as recited in claim 9 , further comprising receiving a first end of a bolt member of the locking member in the receiving member, wherein the bolt member comprises an electrically conductive medium running between the first end of the bolt member and a second end of the bolt member, wherein the receiving member comprises a battery-operated sensory circuit with memory and pins adapted to form the continuous circuit by an electrically conductive pathway through the conductive medium of the bolt member after the first end of the bolt member has been inserted into the receiving member, and wherein the sensory circuit is coupled to the transponder.

12. The method as recited in claim 11 , further comprising detecting an interruption in the sensory circuit.

13. The method as recited in claim 12 , further comprising recording a date and time of the interruption in response to detecting the interruption in the sensory circuit.

14. The method as recited in claim 13 , further comprising transmitting the date and time of the interruption in response to the query.

15. The method as recited in claim 9 , wherein the transponder includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip, and wherein the transponder is configured to transmit the identifier over a wireless connection.

16. The method as recited in claim 9 , wherein the transponder is connected to a serial bus, and wherein the transponder is configured to transmit the identifier over a wired connection.

Assignees

• Neology Inc

Inventors

• Mullis Joe
• Kruest James Robert

Classifications

• G09F3/0317 Primary

  having bolt like sealing means (means for preventing relative axial movement of a pin, spigot, shaft or the like and a member surrounding it F16B21/00) · CPC title

• Y10T70/8081

  Electric · CPC title

• E05B45/06 Primary

  Electric alarm locks {(E05B45/005 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• E05B17/22

  Means for operating or controlling lock or fastening device accessories, i.e. other than the fastening members, e.g. switches, indicators {(E05B39/00 - E05B45/00 take precedence)} · CPC title

• G09F3/0335

  using RFID tags · CPC title