AU2009259782A1

AU2009259782A1 - Compatible electronic sealing lock

Info

Publication number: AU2009259782A1
Application number: AU2009259782A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Guanghua Jiang; Tao Liu; Xiongyue Sun
Original assignee: CHENGDU HUOAN MEASURE TECHNICAL CENTER
Current assignee: CHENGDU HUOAN MEASURE TECHNICAL CENTER
Priority date: 2008-06-20
Filing date: 2009-05-18
Publication date: 2009-12-23
Also published as: AU2009101346A4; WO2009152714A1; CN201149752Y

Description

A compatible electronic security lock Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the technical field of lock, and in particular relates to 5 a compatible electronic security lock. Description of the Prior art Conventionally, the mechanical security lock for railway cargo wagons and containers, which is used to facilitate the tracking of the sealing information, prevention of theft and 0 division of responsibilities, has long adopted the structure prescribed by the Regulations for Railway Cargo Transportation. According to this conventional structure, the names of the shipment agent, the lading station and the sealing number are engraved and/or printed on the surface of the security lock. When arriving at a cargo inspection station, the inspectors have to carry out one-by-one inspection of the security locks and the sealing 5 numbers. Such working procedure results in low operation efficiency and is not automatable, and the engraved/printed marks can be easily damaged or lost in the process of transportation and handling. To be short, the conventional security lock has no potential to be automated to achieve automatic identification of the sealing state of the cargo wagon/container and the sealing information about the sealed goods , which is an obstacle 0 for digitalized information management of railway transportation. Therefore, with the development of digitalization, there is an increasing urgent need for a compatible electronic security lock which is not only capable of reading out the encoded information automatically but also conforms to the structural requirements of the security locks under the existing railway transportation regulations. 25 Summary of the Invention The technical object of the present invention is to provide a compatible electronic security lock that is capable of overcoming the above mentioned problems. The technical solution of the present invention is described in the following: 30 The present invention provides a compatible electronic security lock comprising a mechanical security lock that is provided with a RFID (Radio frequency identification) tag. The RFID tag of said compatible electronic security lock is encapsulated in the mechanical security lock, and it is fixed on the lock sleeve of the mechanical security lock. A top cover plate and a bottom cover plate are respectively fixed on the top and 2522669_1 (GHMatters) bottom surfaces of the mechanical security lock of the compatible electronic security lock, and the RFID tag is bonded onto the backside of the top cover plate. The above mentioned RFID tag of the compatible electronic security lock is composed of a RFID chip and a tag antenna, the tag antenna being connected with the two ends of the 5 RFID chip. The ID number of the RFID tag and other encoded information correspond to the names of the shipment agent, the lading station and the sealing number marked on the surface of the mechanical security lock; the ID number of the compatible electronic security lock is exclusively allocated for each said electronic security lock. The mechanical security lock of said compatible electronic security lock is composed 0 of a lock sleeve and a lock bar or a wire rope, the lock sleeve is engaged with the lock bar or the wire rope through a mechanical latching mechanism. The lock sleeve of said compatible electronic security lock is composed of a casing and a lock body, the lock body being encapsulated in the casing. According to one aspect of the present invention, one end of the lock bar of said 5 compatible electronic security lock is provided with a bolt, another end of said lock bar is provided with a handle; the lock bar is engaged with the lock sleeve through the bolt. According to one aspect of the present invention, one end of the wire rope of said compatible electronic security lock is provided with a bolt, and another end is fixed on the lock sleeve, and the wire rope is engaged with the lock sleeve through the bolt. 0 The compatible electronic security lock of the present invention combines the mechanical security lock and the RFID tag into an integral unit through plastic packaging with the names of the shipment agent, the lading station and the sealing number engraved or printed on the surface of the lock sleeve; in addition, such same information is also encoded into the RFID tag. The compatible electronic security lock not only retains the 25 original functions of the mechanical security lock and the text information on the surface of the lock, but also enables the data stored in the RFID tag being automatically read when the train approaching the ground reader devices installed on both sides of the railway. Specifically, when the electronic security lock is approaching the ground reader devices along with the train, the tag antenna receives the microwave energy sent from the ground 30 reader devices and thus provides power supply for the RFID chip to work; After being modulated corresponding to the microwave, the data stored in the RFID chip are fed back to the reader devices through the tag antenna, and the modulated data are then decoded by the reader device. In this way, the sealing information on the security lock is identified, read, recorded and assessed automatically. In a station where no ground reader device is installed, 2 2522669_1 (GHMatters) manual inspection is still feasible for such compatible electronic security lock according to the original operation method, so that smooth transition from the original inspection method to such automatic inspection method is ensured. According to the present invention, the bolt and the lock sleeve of the compatible 5 electronic security lock of are engaged with each other through a mechanical latching mechanism. Once the bolt is inserted into the lock sleeve, the bolt cannot be pulled out, and the railway wagon or container door such locked cannot be opened unless the lock bar or the wire rope is forced damage so that no purpose of reuse can be achieved. Based on such a locking mechanism, the RFID tag is encapsulated in the lock sleeve which is made of D high durability composite material, and thus cannot be re-encoded or reused for a second time. The compatible electronic security lock of the present invention features more reasonable design, simple structure, convenient installation and operation as well as lower cost. With its compatibility with the existing mechanical security lock, it may be used in 5 parallel with the existing mechanical security lock when the regulations on railway freight transportation remain unchanged. Since the same sealing information is encoded and stored in the RFID tag as that on the lock body, lose of such sealing data due to the damage of the engraved/printed marks may be thus prevented. In addition, based on the RFID tag encapsulated in the lock sleeve, the compatible electronic security lock of the present 0 invention is readable no matter in which direction it is installed on the wagon lock cover or on the container, so that the operation efficiency is improved, which is favorable for the informatization of the management. Brief Description of the Drawings 25 FIG 1 is a schematic section view of the FS type structure of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention; FIG 2 is a schematic section view of the lock sleeve structure of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention; FIG 3 is a structural diagram of the lock bar of the compatible electronic security lock 30 of the present invention; FIG 4 is a top view of the top cover plate of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention; FIG 5 is a bottom view of the bottom cover plate of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention; 3 2522869_1 (GHMatters) FIG 6 is a structural section view of the RFID tag of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention; FIG 7 is a schematic section view of the FSP type structure of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention. 5 Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Embodiment 1 : FS type compatible electronic security lock As shown in FIGs 1-6, the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention comprises a mechanical security lock 1 and a RFID tag 2. o The RFID tag 2 of the compatible electronic security lock is encapsulated in the mechanical security lock 1. The RFID tag 2 of the compatible electronic security lock is fixed on a lock sleeve 3 of the mechanical security lock 1. A top cover plate 6 and a bottom cover plate 13 are respectively fixed on the top and 5 bottom surfaces of the mechanical security lock I of the compatible electronic security lock, and the RFID tag 2 is bonded onto the backside of the top cover plate 6. The RFID tag 2 of the compatible electronic security lock is composed of a RFID chip 4 and a tag antenna 5, the tag antenna 5 being connected with the two ends of the RFID chip 4; the ID number of the RFID tag 2 and other encoded information correspond to the o names of the shipment agent, the lading station and the sealing number marked on the surface of the mechanical security lock 1; the ID number of the compatible electronic security lock is exclusively allocated for each said electronic security lock. The model of the RFID chip 4 of the compatible electronic security lock is SL3ICS3001. 25 The mechanical security lock 1 of said compatible electronic security lock is composed of a lock sleeve 3 and a lock bar 7, the lock sleeve 3 is engaged with the lock bar 7 or the wire rope through a mechanical latching mechanism. The lock sleeve 3 is composed of a casing 9 and a lock body 10, and the lock body 10 is encapsulated in the casing 9. 30 One end of the lock bar 7 is provided with a bolt 11; another end the lock bar is provided with a handle 12, the lock bar 7 being engaged with the lock sleeve 11 through the bolt 3. The compatible electronic security lock of the present invention combines the mechanical security lock 1 and the RFID tag 2 into an integral unit through plastic 4 25226691 (GHMatters) packaging, with the names of the shipment agent, the lading station and the sealing number being still engraved on the surface of the lock sleeve 3; in addition, such same information is also encoded into the RFID tag 2. Said the compatible electronic security lock not only is capable of retaining the functions of the existing mechanical security lock I and the text 5 information on the lock sleeve thereof, but also automatically reads the data information stored in the RFID tag 2 when the train approaching the ground reader devices installed on both sides of the railway. Specifically, when the electronic security lock is approaching the ground reader devices along with the train, the tag antenna 5 receives the microwave energy sent from the ground reader devices and thus provides power supply for the RFID chip 4. 0 After being modulated corresponding to the microwave, the encoded data stored in the RFID chip are fed back to the reader devices through the tag antenna 5, and the modulated data are then decoded by the reader device. In this way, the sealing information on the security lock is identified, read, recorded and assessed automatically. In a station where no ground reader device is installed, manual inspection is still feasible for such compatible 5 electronic security lock according to the original operation method, so that smooth transition from the original inspection method to such automatic inspection method is ensured. According to the present invention, the bolt 11 and the lock sleeve 3 of the compatible electronic security lock of the present invention are engaged with each other through a o mechanical latching mechanism. Once the bolt II is inserted into the lock sleeve 3, the bolt cannot be pulled out, and door of the railway wagon or container cannot be opened unless the lock bar 7 or the wire rope are forced damage, so that no purpose of reuse can be achieved. Based on such a locking mechanism, the RFID tag 2 is encapsulated in the lock sleeve 3 that is made of high durability composite material, and thus cannot be re-encoded 25 or reused for a second time. Embodiment 2: FSP type compatible electronic security lock: As shown in FIGs 1, 2, 4, 5 and 7, the mechanical security lock 1 according to this embodiment is composed of a lock sleeve 3 and a wire rope 8; the lock sleeve 3 is engaged 30 with the wire rope 8 though a mechanical latching mechanism; one end of the wire rope 8 is provided with a bolt 11, another end is fixed on the lock sleeve 3, and the wire rope 8 is engaged with the lock sleeve 3 through the bolt 11. The remaining technical characteristics of the FSP type compatible security lock of the present invention are identical with those of 5 2522689_1 (GHMatters) embodiment 1. 6 2522669.1 (GHlMatters)

Claims

1. A compatible electronic security lock comprising a mechanical security lock (1), characterized in the following: said electronic security lock is provided with a RFID tag 5 (2).

2. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 1, characterized in the following: said RFID tag (2) is encapsulated in the mechanical security lock (1).

3. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 2, characterized in the following: said RFID tag (2) is fixed onto a lock sleeve (3) of the mechanical security lock (1). 0

4. The compatible electronic security lock of any of claims I - 3, characterized in the following: an top cover plate (6) and a bottom cover plate (13) are respectively fixed on the top and bottom surfaces of the mechanical security lock (1), and the RFID tag (2) is bonded onto the backside of the top cover plate (6).

5. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 1, characterized in the following: 5 said RFID tag (2) is composed of a RFID chip (4) and a tag antenna (5), said tag antenna (5) being connected with the two ends of the RFID chip (4); the ID number of the RFID tag (2) and encoded information correspond to the names of the shipment agent, the lading station and the sealing number marked on the surface of the mechanical security lock (1); the ID number of the compatible electronic security lock is exclusively allocated for each said 0 electronic security lock.

6. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 5, characterized in the following: the model of the RFID chip 4 of the compatible electronic security lock is SL3ICS3001.

7. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 1, characterized in the following: said mechanical security lock (1) is composed of a lock sleeve (3) and a lock bar (7) or a 25 wire rope (8), the lock sleeve (3) being engaged with the lock bar (7) or with the wire rope (8) through a mechanical latching mechanism.

8. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 3 or 7, characterized in the following: said lock sleeve (3) is composed of a casing (9) and a lock body (10), the lock body (10) being enclosed in the casing (9). 30

9. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 7, characterized in the following: one end of the lock bar (7) is provided with a bolt (11), another end is provided with a lock handle (12), the lock bar (7) being engaged with the lock sleeve (3) through the bolt (11).

10. The compatible electronic security lock of claim 7, characterized in the following: one end of the wire rope(8) has a bolt (11), another end is fixed on the lock sleeve (3), the 7

2522889.1 (GHMatters) wire rope(8) being engaged with the lock sleeve (3) through the bolt ( 11) 8 2522659_1 (GHMatters)