DESC:Field of the invention:
The present invention relates to an electronic seal or lock, and more particularly to a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based non-reusable electronic security seal to secure and to identify containers or any other objects.
Background of the invention:
In global transportation, security of transportation and a cargo is crucial due to unauthorized access, stealing etc. Unauthorized access to the interior of the cargo shipping containers is one of the challenges in the transportation industry. Such unauthorized access often leads to the theft of container contents, resulting in substantial financial losses for individuals, businesses and others involved in the transportation of goods.
In order to identify the container or object and the cargo therein and also to keep the cargo from being stolen or being exchanged with something else, different types of seals are available currently. Active type RFID-based electric locks or seals are one of them. However the active type RFID seals are complicated in structure and expensive .
E.g. U.S. Pat. No. 7,298,274 discloses passive RFID-based electric seals comprising a complicated structure which includes a lower body, an upper body, an upper sleeve, a central sleeve, a lower sleeve, two antennas, an RFID chip, and two sockets. However, the parts or elements may not be easily manufactured and assembled, and a large man-power is required to assemble the parts or elements together, such that the manufacturing cost for the electric locks or seals will be greatly increased.
Another RFID tag based electronic seal having a microprocessor and the antenna attached to a substrate that is further attached to a container. The seal requires coding and configuring additional information regarding the filling, authentication and quality control. This makes the container manufacturing and filling the closure assembly complicated. This can lead to inefficiencies, increased costs, and also, the process of customizing an RFID tag is cumbersome.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide an electronic seal for container which overcomes drawbacks of the prior art.
Object of the invention:
An object of the present invention is to secure and identify a container and the cargo therein.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tamper-proof electronic seal for container.
Still another object of the present invention is to manufacture and assemble the structure of electronic seal in quick manner.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an easy to operate electronic seal by disabling the reuse and misuse of an antenna seal.
Yet another objective of the invention is to provide tamper proof seal by ensuring the non-reusability of the RFID antenna once removed after single or one time usage.
Summary of the Invention
An electronic seal for containers comprising the first housing having a cap at the top, a second housing configured therein and a locking pin inserted at the bottom part thereof. The second housing adapted to accommodate, an electronic circuit board mounted vertically over a securing plate and a resilient component configured at the at the top of the electronic circuit board. The electronic circuit board includes, an integrated circuit (IC) board electrically connected to a patch antenna board, wherein the IC board is embedded with a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip thereon. The resilient component compensates any linear dimensional variations of the electronic circuit board. The locking pin inserted into the slot provided on the first housing through a bush. The locking pin is locked inside the first housing to give electrical connectivity to the electronic circuit board through the securing plate and disconnects the connectivity by breaking at a cutting point provided thereon upon disengagement. The contact between the electronic circuit board and the locking pin completes the electrical circuit and the patch antenna remains radiating until experienced with a failure in the electrical circuit due to disengagement of the locking pin or disruption in the patch antenna board.
Brief description of the drawings:
The objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent when the disclosure is read in conjunction with the following figures, wherein
Figure 1 shows exploded view of electronic seal in accordance with the present invention,
Figure 2 shows a perspective view of an outer body of the electronic seal in accordance with the present invention,
Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a locking pin of the electronic seal, in accordance with the present invention,
Figure 4 shows a cross sectional view of a second housing of the electronic seal, in accordance with the present invention,
Figure 5 shows another cross sectional view of the second housing of the electronic seal, in accordance with the present invention.
Detailed Description of the invention:
The foregoing objects of the invention are accomplished, and the problems and shortcomings associated with prior art techniques and approaches are overcome by the present invention described in the present embodiments.
The present invention provides tamper proof RFID based electronic seal for container that can be easily and quickly manufactured and assembled. The electronic seal allows an external device to read the data inside the RFID chip to identify the container and the cargo inside it. The electronic seal also allows the user to inspect whether the container has been broken or not by simply reading the data therein. This improves the security and convenience in transportation of goods.
The present invention is illustrated with reference to the accompanying drawings, throughout which reference numbers indicate corresponding parts in the various figures. These reference numbers are shown in bracket in the following description and in the table below.
Table:
Component Name Component Number
Electronic seal 100
First Housing 10
Second housing 11a,11b
Electronic circuit board 12
Securing plate 13
Locking Pin 15
Bush 16
Resilient component 17
Locking Ring 18
Spacer 19
Cap 20
Cover 21
Referring to the figures from 1 to 5, an electronic seal (100) in accordance with the present invention is shown. The electronic seal (100) comprises a first housing (10), a locking pin (15), a cap (20) and a cover (21).
The first housing (10) is a hollow structure having apertures at each top and bottom faces. The top face is covered by the cap (20) and the bottom portion is lodged with the locking pin (15). The hollow inside portion of the first housing (10) is accommodated by a second housing (11). The second housing (11) is configured with an electronic circuit board (12) longitudinally mounted over a securing plate (13) therein. A resilient component (17) is provided at the top of the electronic circuit board (12) in such a way that it can compensate any linear dimensional variations. Thus, the electronic circuit board (12) is tightly secured inside the second housing (11) such that it gets protected from any shocks and vibrations. The bottom face of the second housing (11) is provided with a bore to receive a top end of the locking pin (15). In an embodiment, the electronic circuit board (12) is a printed circuit board (PCB) and the resilient component (17) is a compression spring. In a preferred embodiment, the first antenna housing (10) is a plastic housing.
The electronic circuit board (12) consists of two components namely an integrated circuit (IC) board and a patch antenna board. The IC board comprises a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip embedded on it. The IC board comprises two notches that allow the patch antenna board getting securely placed therein. The patch antenna board comprises a patch antenna etched as a copper pour pattern. In an embodiment, the patch antenna is capable of radiating at a frequency of 900MHz.The patch antenna board consists of two contact points that coincide with the notches and support the locking. In a preferred embodiment, the locking of the patch antenna board inside the notches is made by soldering.
The IC board further comprises two connecting points wherein, a first connecting point for the patch antenna board and a second connecting point for securing plate (13). The securing plate (13) is a plate that provides electrical connectivity for the IC board. The electronic circuit board (12) contains placement pads for electronic circuits, connecting via PCB tracks.
The locking pin (15) is a metallic component inserted into the first housing (10) through a bush (16) and is locked through a locking ring (18), covered by a spacer (19). The locking pin (15) is electrically connected to the electronic circuit board (12) through the securing plate (13). The locking pin (15) having a small end face with the blind counter bore and the bush (16) together used as one of the connecting poles of the dipole IC board.
When the locking pin (15) inserted into the first housing (10), it comes in contact with the electronic circuit board (12). This contact leads to completion of the electrical circuit and the patch antenna radiates in the presence of an electromagnetic field. Hence removal of the locking pin (15) disturbs the continuity of the electrical circuit and terminates the functionality of the entire unit. The RFID does not radiate for required range of frequency unless and until the locking pin (15) is connected. The locking pin (15) is optimized by eliminating any plastic coating over its outer diameter and giving high resistance to any mechanical cutting like one of the conventional method of cutting with strong metal scissors. A plurality of cutting locations are provided over the surface to ensure this in case of any mechanical efforts to remove the assembled RFID on container after its usage.
Further, the electronic circuit board (12) has a contact point for electrically engaging with a locking pin (15) on bottom face thereof. The patch antenna board of the electronic circuit board (12) is designed in such a way that it breaks at the neck of lug on which the IC is soldered upon tampering or any act of trying to break the electronic seal (100). Also the patch antenna board on the electronic circuit board (12) breaks, upon trying to disengage the locking pin from the second housing (11). The high security RFID seal cannot be used again after breaking of the electronic circuit board (12). This provides high security as compared to existing designs which fails at stopping the reuse of RFID.
In the embodiment, the top part formed by the first housing (10) and cap (20) are externally sealed by a cover (21), that extends till the point of insertion of the locking pin (15). The area of cross section of the cover (21) at the said point where the pin is inserted is such that the cover has a snug fit with the pin. Thus eliminating any chances of water or fluids seeping into the first and second housing and makes the whole device water proof. Specifically, the cover (21) is made of rigid materials like plastic.
Again referring to the diagrams from 1 to 5, an operation of the electronic seal (100) in accordance with the invention is described. The operation is described in conjunction with the diagrams.
The electronic circuit board (12) provided with the integrated circuit board and patch antenna board completes the electrical circuit through the locking pin (15). The locking pin (15) according to the RFID, is operating in dipole mode, with the electronic circuit board (12) and the locking pin (15) as second pole. The patch antenna radiates at a predefined frequency upon the insertion of the locking pin (15) and continues radiating until a break in the electrical supply. This break happens either by a removal of the locking pin (15) or by any unauthorized access to the electronic seal (100) that damages the patch antenna board in the electronic circuit board (12).
Advantages
1. Assembly time for the electronic seal (100) is reduced as it uses less number of components.
2. The first housing (10) as well as the second housing (11) of the electronic seal (100) is optimized as it uses 30% less plastic than the conventional designs.
3. The electronic seal (100) provides increased range of RFID and optimized antenna gain.
4. The electronic seal (100) provides extra security feature by disabling the reuse and misuse of the RFID.
5. The locking pin (15) has no plastic over molding which saves 100% plastic used on the conventional design thus reducing plastic pollution
6. The electronic seal (100) of the present invention is easy to operate.
7. The electronic seal (100) has a structure that can be manufactured easily as the numbers of components have come down than the conventional RFID Seals being currently used.
8. The range of RFID has been increased and the overall gain of antenna is improved.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, and to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is understood that various omissions and substitutions of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the application or implementation without departing from the scope of the present invention.
,CLAIMS:We claim:
1. An electronic seal (100) for containers, the electronic seal (100) comprising:
a first housing (10) configured with a slot at the bottom, the first housing (10) having,
a second housing (11), the second housing (11) adapted to accommodate,
an electronic circuit board (12) mounted vertically over a securing plate (13), the electronic circuit board (12) includes,
an integrated circuit (IC) board electrically connected to a patch antenna board, wherein the IC board is embedded with a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip thereon, and
a resilient component (17) configured at the at the top of the electronic circuit board (12), the resilient component (17) compensates any linear dimensional variations of the electronic circuit board (12);
a locking pin (15), the locking pin at one end inserted into the slot provided on the first housing (10) through a bush (16) wherein the locking pin (15) is locked inside the first housing (10) to electrically engage with the electronic circuit board (12) through the securing plate (13) and disconnects the electrical connectivity by breaking at a cutting point provided on the electronic circuit board (12) upon disengagement; and
a cap (20), the cap (20) covers the upper part of the first housing (10);
wherein the contact between the electronic circuit board (12) and the locking pin (15) completes the electrical circuit and the patch antenna remains radiating until experienced with a failure in the electrical circuit due to disengagement of the locking pin (15) or disruption in the patch antenna board.
2. The electronic seal (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the resilient component (17) is a compression spring.
3. The electronic seal (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the patch antenna radiates at a frequency of 900MHz.
4. The electronic seal (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the patch antenna is configured with two contact points that coincide with a pair of notches provided on the integrated circuit board by soldering.
5. The electronic seal (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the locking pin (15) is a metallic pin.
6. The electronic seal (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the RFID chip is a passive RFID chip.
Dated this on 22nd day of December, 2020

Ragitha K
Agent for Applicant
(IN/PA/2832)