EP1699027A1

EP1699027A1 - System and method for sensing the opening of a container

Info

Publication number: EP1699027A1
Application number: EP05425157A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Maurizio Possenti; Alberto Rolando; Paolo Vercesi
Original assignee: Gpsaeroborne Srl
Current assignee: Gpsaeroborne Srl
Priority date: 2005-03-02
Filing date: 2005-03-16
Publication date: 2006-09-06
Also published as: ITBG20050010A1

Abstract

A system for sensing the opening of a container, characterised in that said container comprises, associated with it, a continuous conductive path in the form of a thick continuous line, with adjacent portions of said line being a maximum of 7 cm. apart so that said conductive path is interrupted if said container suffers break-in; an electric circuit which senses the presence of alterations in the conductivity of said continuous conductive path; an events recorder which memorizes time data when an alteration in the conductivity of said continuous conductive path takes place.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for sensing the opening of a goods container. In particular it relates to a system for monitoring and memorizing both authorized and non-authorized access to goods protected by the system.
Various types of devices are known for preventing the tampering of goods while in transit or lying in a warehouse. Of these known devices, none is able to sense the making of small-dimension openings, sufficient for withdrawing or inserting small articles from or into a container, and to protect goods, their warehouses and, in general, their aerial, naval and terrestrial transit and the vehicles which transport them, without disturbing the control instruments of these latter. Known devices are also often highly sensitive to the conditions of the external environment, because of which they give rise to false alarms.
The object of the present invention is to provide a system for sensing small-dimension openings in a container and to memorize the event.
This object is attained according to the present invention by a system for sensing the opening of a container, characterised in that said container comprises, associated with it, a continuous conductive path in the form of a thick continuous line, with adjacent portions of said line being a maximum of 7 cm. apart so that said conductive path is interrupted if a cut or other interruptions are made in the surface of said container; an electric circuit which senses the presence of alterations in the conductivity of said continuous conductive path; and an events recorder which memorizes time data when an alteration in the conductivity of said continuous conductive path takes place.
Said object is also attained by a method for sensing the opening of a container, comprising the steps of: associating an electrical quantity with said container by means of a continuous conductive path associated with it in the form of a thick continuous line, with adjacent portions of said line being a maximum of 7 cm. apart so that said conductive path is interrupted if a cut is made in said container; determining any alteration in said electrical quantity; recording the event.
Further characteristics of the invention are described in the dependent claims.
The present invention makes it possible to increase the level of protection of the contents of a container by enabling any access to or introduction of articles to be recorded, while at the same time improving the monitoring capacity of those places in which the containers lie and the vehicles which transport them.
The system is also able to sense the opening of a container without altering normal goods packaging processes and compatible with all those limitations which exist within the logistic chain.
In particular, the system is designed to enable containers protected by this system to be granted access to all those areas involved in their transportation, such as airports, aeroplanes or other vehicles using advanced telecommunications equipment. In this respect, the proposed system guarantees the absence of any interaction with those instruments essential for the control and navigation of said vehicles.
The characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of a practical embodiment thereof, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a schematic electrical circuit according to the present invention;
Figure 2 shows a schematic embodiment of a container according to the present invention.

With reference to the accompanying figures, the circuit comprises a voltage generator 10, such as a battery, which provides a predetermined voltage to an inlet terminal 11 of a continuous conductive path 12. An outlet terminal 13 of the continuous conductive path 12 is connected to a threshold comparator 14. The output of the threshold comparator is connected preferably to an indicator indicating lack of continuity of the continuous conductive path 12, for example a lamp, an LED or a siren. The output of the threshold comparator 14 is also connected to an events recording system 18. The events recording system 18 used is a circuit indicated by the symbol DS1678 of the Dallas Semiconductor Company.
The data recorded by the events recording system 18 can be transferred to a computer via a communication interface 20, for example of RS232 type.
The voltage generator 10 supplies a predetermined voltage to the continuous conductive path 12 and to the threshold comparator 14. If the conductive path remains uninterrupted, the voltage applied to the threshold comparator 14 is unable to vary its output. If the conductive path is interrupted, the voltage across the threshold comparator 14 disappears or is at least reduced, to fall below the threshold, so that its output varies. This activates the indicator 18 and the recording of an event within the events recording system 18, in the sense that it records the time data of the event, i.e. the date and time of the lack of continuity.
By connecting a computer to the communication interface 20 the list of events can be downloaded.
With reference to Figure 2, which shows a container 30 of the present invention, the terminals 11 and 12 of the conductive path can be seen. The conductive path 12 is inserted into the weft 32 and into the warp 34 to form a continuous path between the two terminals 11 and 13.
The conductive path 12 is shown in Figure 2 as a regular pattern, however any regular or irregular pattern can be used, provided that it is very dense so that it can be interrupted even by a very small cut.
In particular, the conductive path 12 must form a continuous thick line, with adjacent portions of the conductive path 12 being indicatively 7 cm. or less apart, so that the conductive path 12 is interrupted if a cut is made extending for at least 10 cm. in one direction of the container. The conductor density can also be reduced if the conductive path presents an irregular shape (e.g. spiral turns or serrations).
The container 30 is shown as a goods covering or sheet of fabric type, but other types of containers can be used, such as a container of rigid type with the conductive path applied directly to its outer surface, or again of rigid type with an outer sheet of the aforesaid type which covers it or is glued to its surface.
In the case of a sheet, this can be used to cover a container containing the goods, or can cover the goods themselves. The terminals 11 and 13 of he container 30 must be connected to those terminals shown in the circuit of Figure 1. The sheet must cover the goods, and the circuit of Figure 1 must be inserted into its interior together with the goods, and possibly contained in a protection box. The sheet must then be closed in the most appropriate manner.
The conductive path can be obtained by inserting a conductor into the weft during manufacture of the surface, depositing a conductive substance or printing the path with conductive inks on synthetic or natural fibres such as to provide flexibility, elasticity and impermeability characteristics if required. Insertion can be achieved either by using conductive threads in the surface weaving or assembly stage instead of one of the original process yarn spools, or by a wafer method, or again by laying a conductive path between two material layers. The path can be obtained by constructing a weft with contact points alternating from one side to the other of the surface to form a coil, then fixed by the warp threads of the conventional synthetic or natural material with which the surface is to be manufactured. Deposition can be either by offset printing or by direct spraying, or by ink-jet printing heads using conductive inks.
The materials used to contain the goods are generally made by weaving natural or polymer materials which do not present intrinsic conductivity. To make these surfaces conductive, the industrial manufacturing process must be altered to introduce materials of different type from those with which protection surfaces are manufactured. In contrast, processes based on nanotechnology enable the main mechanical characteristics of the materials to remain unaltered. Their capacity to conduct electricity is ensured by functionalizing artificial fibres and natural materials by periodically inserting atoms of conductive substances to allow the nanoparticles introduced into the raw material to interact, this then being used to manufacture the coverings without altering the production processes or the use of said coverings.
Various methods aimed at increasing the conductivity of insulating fibres can be used, the main methods being external fibre covering (applicable both to natural and synthetic fibres), and internal fibre modification (applicable only to synthetic fibres).
The first method, which is the most efficient industrially, is based on spirally wrapping a very thin sheet of conductor material (typically a silver or carbon fibre sheet of between sub-micronic and nanometric dimensions) about the fibre (which hence maintains its original properties, in particular its mechanical properties, which are of importance for not altering the production process and the use of the covering surfaces). The smaller the dimensions of this wrapping sheet, the more the mechanical effects, for example breakages on the loom, are reduced, with consequent reduction in fibre costs. Commercially available fibres are currently micrometric (giving rise to loom problems) and extremely expensive. A second but more complex solution is to insert conductors, metal nanoparticles or nanotubes into the polymer fibres. Independently of the inserted material the process is as follows: the electrons in a normal synthetic fibre move very slowly by hopping (from one atom to the other by quantum phenomena). This motion can be facilitated in two ways: by facilitating electron movement on an atomic scale, or by inserting zones of greater conductivity (metal nanotubes and nanoparticles) which form extremely rapid preferential paths for the electrons (as if the average resistance of the thread were to collapse). With these treatments very high conductivity can be achieved, even though less than the previously described methods. This second option also implies molecular modifications to the fibre, with possible repercussions on mechanical strength.
The surfaces can be produced by combining areas with the said properties, independently connected to the events sensing device. This combining technique enables separate areas to be monitored, even when one or more of these areas have already been altered. The device can independently interrogate the different areas and record any tampering in each.
The bulk coverings must be produced such as to ensure continuity of the conductive phenomenon in every part to be monitored. The shape of the conductive path can be geometrically regular, such as spiral or serpentine curves, or irregular with randomness in the pattern, not visible from the outside and with a distance between successive lines not greater than a distance such as to prevent cuts being made which do not interrupt electrical continuity. If the covering is formed in parts which have to be joined together when packaging, each part to be monitored must be connected independently to the device, or alternatively a connection be made between the parts to maintain electrical conductivity. This continuity can be achieved by conductive connection elements, such as metal zips, metal hooks, cable passageways, connected to the ends of the conductor elements present in the surfaces. These closure elements can be metal hooks, conductive zips, or conductive velcro systems.

Claims

A system for sensing the opening of a container, characterised in that said container comprises, associated with it, a continuous conductive path in the form of a thick continuous line, with adjacent portions of said line being a maximum of 7 cm. apart so that said conductive path is interrupted if a cut is made in said container;
an electric circuit which senses the presence of alterations in the conductivity of said continuous conductive path;
an events recorder which memorizes time data when an alteration in the conductivity of said continuous conductive path takes place.
A system for sensing the opening of a container as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said conductive path is produced by printing with conductive ink an electrical lattice having an entry conductor and an exit conductor.
A system for sensing the opening of a container as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said container consists of a woven weave of fibres; said conductive path being produced by making said fibres conductive by wrapping at least some of said fibres with a wire or with a conductive sheet, so that said conductive path is continuous and has an inlet terminal and an outlet terminal.
A system for sensing the opening of a container as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said container consists of a woven weave of fibres; said conductive path being produced by making said fibres conductive by inserting into at least some of said fibres conductive elements such as metal nano-tubes or nano-particles, so that said conductive path is continuous and has an inlet terminal and an outlet terminal.
A system for sensing the opening of a container as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said electric circuit comprises a voltage generator supplying a voltage to an inlet of said conductive path, and a threshold comparator which verifies the presence or absence of said voltage.
A system for sensing the opening of a container as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said events recorder memorizes the date and time of opening of said container.
A method for sensing the opening of a container as claimed in claim 1, comprising the steps of: associating an electrical quantity with said container by means of a continuous conductive path associated with it in the form of a thick continuous line, with adjacent portions of said line being a maximum of 7 cm. apart so that said conductive path is interrupted if a cut is made in said container; determining any alteration in said electrical quantity; recording the event.
A method as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that said step of determining any alteration in said electrical quantity comprises the step of sensing the lack of conduction of said conductor element.
A method as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that said step of associating an electrical quantity with said container comprises the step of associating a conductor element by means of nanotechnology.