Patent Application
20180114386
To increase security of freight and shipments, locks and seals may be used to control access to the cargo being transported. Use of locks or seals, however, may make it more challenging to manage the handling and delivery of individual shipping structures (containers) and their respective cargo to their respective destinations.
The devices, methods, products, systems, apparatus, and other implementations described herein include a method comprising obtaining, by a lock system, environmental data representative of characteristics of an environment at which a lock device, configured to control access to a structure, is located, with the lock device including a lock controller in electrical communication with a lock mechanism. The method further includes controlling the lock mechanism of the lock device based on a comparison of at least one of the characteristics of the environment to corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device.
Embodiments of the method may include at least some of the features described in the present disclosure, including one or more of the following features.
Obtaining the environmental data may include wirelessly receiving from a remote device, at the lock device, the environmental data.
Wirelessly receiving from the remote device the environmental data may include wirelessly receiving the environmental data, via a near-field interface of the lock device, from a mobile device located within near-field communication range of the lock device.
The near-field interface may include a Bluetooth Low energy (BLE) interface.
Obtaining the environmental data may include determining, at the lock device, at least some of the environmental data based on measurements data obtained by one or more sensors of the lock device.
The method may further include storing on a memory storage device coupled to the lock device the pre-determined data associated with the lock device.
Controlling the lock mechanism of the lock device based on the comparison of the at least one of the characteristics of the environment to the corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device may include receiving from a remote wireless device an actuation signal to cause the lock mechanism of the lock to unlock, the actuation signal transmitted in response to a determination, at the remote wireless device, that the at least one characteristic of the environment substantially matches the corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device, with the corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device being stored at the remote wireless device.
The at least one of the characteristics of the environment may include a geographical position of a mobile device in communication with the lock device, and controlling the lock mechanism may include determining whether to unlock the lock device based on a determination of whether the geographical position of the mobile device substantially matches a pre-determined destination position.
The at least one of the characteristics of the environment may include a temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located, the pre-determined data associated with the lock device may include a pre-determined temperature value at which cargo inside the structure needs to be maintained, and controlling the lock mechanism may include determining whether to unlock the lock device based on a determination of whether the temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located substantially matches the pre-determined temperature value at which the cargo inside the structure needs to be maintained.
The at least one of the characteristics of the environment may include motion data representative of motion of the lock device, and controlling the lock mechanism may include determining whether to unlock the lock mechanism based on a determination of whether the motion data substantially matches a pre-determined motion value.
The pre-determined data associated with the lock device may include one or more of, for example, cargo placed inside the structure, destination for cargo, attributes of cargo, and/or handling requirements for the cargo.
The lock mechanism may include one or more of, for example, an electromagnetic lock operable in a fail-secure configuration, and/or an electrical strike lock operable in the fail-secure configuration.
The method may further include determining, based on current temperature data obtained for the lock system, based on pre-determined temperature data relating to temperature handling requirements for cargo inside the structure, and based on current location data, navigation data to one or more refrigeration centers to facilitate temperature handling for the cargo.
In some variations, an additional method is provided that includes obtaining, by a lock device comprising a lock controller in electrical communication with a lock mechanism, environmental data representative of characteristics of an environment at which the lock device is located, with the lock device being configured to control access to a structure. The additional method further includes controlling, by the lock device, the lock mechanism of the lock device based on a comparison of at least one of the characteristics of the environment to corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device.
Embodiments of the additional method may include at least some of the features described in the present disclosure, including at least some of the features described above in relation to the first method, as well as one or more of the following features.
Obtaining the environmental data may include one or more of, for example, wirelessly receiving at least some of the environmental data from a remote device that collected the at least some of the environmental data, via a near-field communication interface of the lock device, and/or measuring at least some other of the environmental data using one or more sensors of the lock device coupled to the lock controller.
Controlling the lock mechanism of the lock device may include one or more of, for example, determining whether to unlock the lock mechanism based on a determination of whether a geographical position of a mobile device in communication with the lock device substantially matches a pre-determined destination position stored at the lock device, and/or determining whether to unlock the lock mechanism based on a determination of whether a temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located substantially matches a pre-determined temperature value, stored at the lock device, at which cargo inside the structure needs to be maintained.
In some variations, a lock device is provided to inhibit physical access to a structure on which the lock device is placed. The device includes a lock mechanism, a communication module to communicate with remote devices, with the communication module configured to obtain from at least one of the remote devices environmental data representative of characteristics of an environment at which the lock device is located, and a controller coupled to the lock mechanism. The controller is configured to control the lock mechanism of the lock device based on a comparison of at least one of the characteristics of the environment to corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device.
Embodiments of the lock device may include at least some of the features described in the present disclosure, including at least some of the features described above in relation to the methods, as well as one or more of the following features.
The communication module may be configured to obtain a message including a geographical position of a mobile device in communication with the lock device, and the controller configured to control the lock mechanism may be configured to determine whether to unlock the lock mechanism based on a determination of whether the geographical position of the mobile device substantially matches a pre-determined destination position.
The communication module may be configured to obtain a message including a temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located, and the controller configured to control the lock mechanism may be configured to determine whether to unlock the lock mechanism based on a determination of whether the temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located substantially matches a pre-determined temperature value at which a cargo inside the structure needs to be maintained.
The lock device may include one or more of, for example, a memory storage device to store the corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device, and/or one or more sensors to measure data relating to one or more of the characteristics of the environment at which the lock device is located.
Details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and in the description below. Further features, aspects, and advantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims.
These and other aspects will now be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.
A lock or seal device configured to be that unlocked based on environmental data, such as position, temperature, motion, etc. is disclosed. The environmental data may be received, in some embodiments, from a mobile device that is within range from the lock/seal. Thus, for example, a lock device may be configured to obtain environmental data representative of characteristics of an environment at which a lock device (used to control access to a structure, such as a freight or container) is located, and to control a lock mechanism of the lock device (e.g., unlock the lock mechanism) based on a comparison of at least one of the characteristics of the environment to a corresponding pre-determined value.
Accordingly, disclosed herein are systems, devices, methods, and various implementations, including a method to control a lock device (a processor-based device to actuate an electrically/magnetically-based or mechanically-based lock device), with such a method including obtaining, by a lock system (which may include the lock device, comprising a lock controller and a lock mechanism, and at least one remote device, such as a mobile device), environmental data representative of characteristics of an environment at which a lock device, configured to control access to a structure, is located. The method further includes controlling the lock mechanism of the lock device based on a comparison of at least one of the characteristics of the environment to corresponding pre-determined data associated with the lock device (such pre-determined data may include, for example, data about the cargo placed in the structure whose access is controlled by the lock device including cargo attributes, destination(s) data for the cargo, handling requirements for the cargo (e.g., temperature), etc.) For example, in some embodiments, the lock device may receive environmental condition or location/motion data from sensors in communication with the lock device, or via a wireless transmission from a remote device (e.g., a near-by mobile device, such as a smartphone), and compare those to pre-determined data stored in a memory module of the lock device. If, for example, a position approximation measured or wirelessly received by the lock device substantially matches (within some confidence or tolerance level) a pre-determined location (which may correspond to a destination location) thus indicating that the lock device has reached its pre-determined destination, the lock device may actuate the lock mechanism to unlock it and allow access to an inside of a structure that the lock device was inhibiting access to. Alternatively, operations to obtain and process environmental data (including to measure and derive environmental data, and compare it to pre-stored data associated with the lock device) may be performed at the at least one remote device. If, based on the comparison results, it is determined that the lock device may be unlocked, the remote device may send an RF transmission to the lock device to cause the lock device to unlock. In such embodiments, the lock device may receive the RF transmissions, optionally authenticate it (the RF transmission may include a certificate or a signature from pre-authorized users or devices from which the lock device is allowed to receive and act-upon communicated transmissions). In some embodiments, the remote device may communicate with the lock device via near-field interfaces such as a Bluetooth Low Energy interface.
Thus, with reference to
In some embodiments, the lock device 110 may also include one or more sensors, including, inertial sensors, such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, etc., environmental condition sensors (a barometer, which may be used to measure and/or derive altitude, thermometer), RF sensors (e.g., GNSS receiver to receiver satellite transmissions, e.g., from satellite vehicles such as the satellite vehicle 136 depicted in
As further illustrated in
As further depicted in
The example system 100 of
In operation, environmental data representative of characteristics of an environment at which the lock device is located, including location and motion data representative of the location and motion of the lock device (and, by extension, of cargo inside the structure to which access is controlled by the lock device) is obtained. The lock device generally includes a controller (inside a controller housing, and comprising one or more processors, and a communication module, such as a BLE transceiver) and a lock mechanism. Optionally, the controller of the lock device may include one or more sensors that may be used to facilitate obtaining the environmental data and/or a user-interface device. In some embodiments, at least some of the environmental data may be provided by a remote device (such as the mobile device 120a-120c depicted in
With reference now to
As shown, the example device 200 may include one or more transceivers (e.g., a LAN transceiver 206, a WLAN transceiver 204, a near-field transceiver 209, etc.) that may be connected to one or more antennas 202. The transceivers 204, and 206, and/or 209 may comprise suitable devices, hardware, and/or software for communicating with and/or detecting signals to/from a network or remote devices (such as devices/nodes depicted in
As described herein, in some variations, the device 200 may also include a near-field transceiver (interface) configured to allow the device 200 to communicate according to one or more near-field communication protocols, such as, for example, Ultra Wide Band, ZigBee, wireless USB, Bluetooth (classical Bluetooth), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol, etc. When the device on which a near-field interface is included is configured to only receive near-field transmissions, the transceiver 209 may be a receiver and may be not capable of transmitting near-field communications. For example, a lock device, such as the lock device 110 of
As further illustrated in
In some embodiments, one or more sensors 212 may be coupled to a processor 210 to provide data that includes relative movement and/or orientation information which is independent of motion data derived from signals received by, for example, the transceivers 204, 206, and/or 209, and the SPS receiver 208. By way of example but not limitation, sensors 212 may utilize an accelerometer (e.g., a MEMS device), a gyroscope, a geomagnetic sensor (e.g., a compass), and/or any other type of sensor. Moreover, sensor 212 may include a plurality of different types of devices and combine their outputs in order to provide motion information. The one or more sensors 212 may further include an altimeter (e.g., a barometric pressure altimeter), a thermometer (e.g., a thermistor), an audio sensor (e.g., a microphone), a camera or some other type of optical sensors (e.g., a charge-couple device (CCD)-type camera, a CMOS-based image sensor, etc., which may produce still or moving images that may be displayed on a user interface device, and that may be further used to determine an ambient level of illumination and/or information related to colors and existence and levels of UV and/or infra-red illumination), and/or other types of sensors.
The output of the one or more sensors 212 may provide additional data about the environment in which any of the devices/nodes of
In some embodiments, data collected by the various one or more sensors 212 (be it motion data, location data derived based on RF measurements by any of the communication modules of the device 200, and/or other environmental data collected by any of the sensors) may also be used to perform other operations related to the management of the cargo and/or the lock device. For example, if the cargo requires to be provided to a refrigeration center within a certain time period that depends on ambient temperature and the elapsed in-transit time for the cargo, temperature data obtained for the environment in which the cargo is stored (such data may be obtained from the lock device's temperature sensor and/or a temperature sensor of a nearby mobile or stationary device) may be used to determine if the cargo should be delivered to a refrigeration center (or to otherwise determine if temperature management operations, such as placing the structure holding the cargo in ice, need to be performed). If it is determined that the cargo needs to be delivered to some intermediate refrigeration center or that some other temperature management/remediation operation needs to be performed, location data, derived from RF and or motion data may be used to determine a location approximation for the structure holding the cargo, and navigation data may be derived to provide directions to a location in which the temperature management/remediation operation may be performed.
In some embodiments, sensor measurements may also be used to perform cargo security functionality. For example, various sensor measurements may be monitored to identify attempts to gain unauthorized access to the cargo. For example, unexpected relative motion of the structure holding the cargo (as may be determined from measurements by motion/inertial sensors housed within the controller housing of the lock device) may indicate that someone is trying to move the cargo. In another example, a change in the ambient light level (e.g., resulting from a rogue party directing a flash light at the lock device during an attempt to breach the lock) may also be indicative of an unauthorized access attempt. In either of these situations (as well as in numerous other example situations, not specifically discussed herein, that may indicate an unauthorized access to cargo), an alert may be sent to one or more remote devices (e.g., the nearby device used to communicate with the lock device, another remote smartphone of, for example, the owner of the lock device or the cargo, and/or a remote server, such as the server 142, which may be a central security administration server to monitor the status of in-transit cargo).
With continued reference to
The processor (also referred to as a controller) 210 may be connected to the transceivers 204 and/or 206, the SPS receiver 208 and the motion sensor 212. The processor may include one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, and/or digital signal processors that provide processing functions, as well as other calculation and control functionality. The processor 210 may also include memory 214 for storing data and software instructions for executing programmed functionality within the device.
The functionality implemented via software may depend on the particular device at which the memory 214 is housed, and the particular configuration of the device and/or the devices with which it is to communicate. For example, if the device 200 is used to implement a lock device with limited power availability, the device may be configured (via software modules/applications provided on the memory 214) to implement a process to receive actuation signals from a remote device, authenticate the actuation signal, and then cause (e.g., using power available at the power unit 220, or using power harvested from the received actuation signals and/or ambient RF radiation received at the lock device) actuation of the lock mechanism. In some embodiments, the lock device may be implemented to receive measurement data relating to the environment (e.g., location data, temperature, etc.) and determine based on that data (and/or pre-stored data associated with the lock device) whether to actuate the lock mechanism. In some embodiments (e.g., if the lock device has sufficient available power), the lock device may also be configured to obtain environmental data using on-board sensor measurements. In embodiments in which the device 200 is used to implement a remote device, the instructions stored on the memory 214 may include instructions to, for example, collect environmental data, transmit such data (with or with authentication) to a lock device, transmit actuation signals to the lock device (in such embodiments, the remote device may determine, based on measured data, whether the lock mechanism of the lock device is to be actuated). The memory 214 may be on-board the processor 210 (e.g., within the same IC package), and/or the memory may be external memory to the processor and functionally coupled over a data bus. Further details regarding an example embodiments of a processor or computation system, which may be similar to that of the processor 210, are provided below in relation to
The example device 200 may further include a user interface 250 which provides any suitable interface systems, such as a microphone/speaker 252, keypad 254, and display 256 that allows user interaction with the mobile device 200. As noted, such a user interface, be it an audiovisual interface (e.g., a display and speakers) of a smartphone such as the smartphone 120b of
With reference now to
As noted herein, the lock may also include a controller, which may be implemented, at least in part, using the configuration illustrated in
As noted, in some implementations, due to power conservation considerations, the lock device may have limited power availability, and thus, data collection (of the environmental data) may be performed, at least in part, by one of the remote devices of the lock system. Typically, a remote device, such as a mobile device or a more stationary device (e.g., a computing device secured to a delivery truck carrying the container to which the lock device is affixed) located proximate (e.g., within a short distance at which near-field communication protocols are effective) may be used to collect environmental data about the environment at which the lock device is located. The remote device may obtain the data via one or more of its sensors, or it may receive some of the data from another remote device.
The environmental data collected by the remote device can then be communicated to the lock device for further processing (e.g., to perform the control operations to control/actuate the lock device). Thus, in such embodiments, obtaining the environmental data may include wirelessly receiving from a remote device, at the lock device, the environmental data. As noted, that environmental data may be received via a near-field interface of the lock device, which may include, for example, a Bluetooth interface, a Bluetooth Low Energy interface, or any other type of near-field communication interface realized at the lock device. Alternatively and/or additionally, in some embodiments, at least some of the environmental data may be measured by on-board sensors of the lock device (e.g., temperature sensor, RF receivers, including the receiver of the communication interface receiving data from the remote device, etc.) Thus, in such embodiments, obtaining the environmental data may include determining, at the lock device, at least some of the environmental data based on measurements data obtained by one or more sensors of the lock device.
Turning back to
When the comparison operation are performed at the remote device (e.g., at a device such as one of the devices 120a-c of
Alternatively, as noted, in some variations, at least some of the pre-determined data associated with the lock device may be stored at the lock device. In such variations, comparison of at least some of the environmental data to the corresponding pre-determined data stored at the lock device is performed at the lock device, and, in response to a determination that the at least some of the environmental data substantially matches the corresponding pre-determined data, the lock device provides an actuation signal to cause the lock mechanism to be unlocked or unsealed.
As noted, the environmental data may include such information as location information, motion data, time data, physical attributes of the area where the lock device is located (e.g., temperature, humidity, altitude, topography), and so on. The pre-determined data (associated with the lock device) against which the environmental data would be compared may include one or more of, for example, cargo placed inside the structure, destination for cargo, attributes of cargo, handling requirements for the cargo, etc. In some embodiments, to enhance data security, at least some of the pre-determined data being stored may be encrypted. Decryption of any of pre-determined data (in order to compare it to current/local environmental data) may then only be performed by an authorized party in possession of the correct decryption key.
Location information may be used to determine if the current position of the lock device substantially matches a pre-determined destination position(s). If the current position of the lock device does not substantially match a pre-determined destination position, the lock device may be kept locked. Thus, in such embodiments, the at least one of the characteristics of the environment may include a geographical position of a remote wireless device in communication with the lock device, and controlling the lock mechanism may include determining whether to unlock the lock device based on a determination of whether the geographical position of the mobile device substantially matches a pre-determined destination position. Motion data can be used to determine if the lock device (or a remote device communicating therewith) is in motion, and prevent/inhibit the unlocking of the lock device is the lock device is determined or inferred to still be in motion (generally, the lock device should be opened only when it reaches its destination and is no longer moving). In such embodiments, the at least one of the characteristics of the environment may thus include motion data representative of motion of the lock device, and controlling the lock mechanism may include determining whether to unlock the lock mechanism based on a determination of whether the motion data substantially matches a pre-determined motion value or behavior (profile). Motion data can also be used to determine a possible unauthorized attempt to unlock the device, e.g., if the lock device senses, through on-board motion sensors, irregular movement indicative of trying to breach the lock device. It is to be noted that other sensor data may also be used to detect a possible attempt to override/break the lock, including, for example, the detection of a bright light source being directed at the lock device (as may be determined through an optical sensor). If the lock device detects, through measurements made by one or more sensors coupled to the lock device, that a potential lock breach is being attempted, the lock device may be configured, via one of its interfaces to transmit a warning message to a remote server that an attempted lock breach may be under way. It may be necessary, under these circumstances, for a long-range communication interface, such as a WWAN interface, to be used to contact a remote server, since a near-by remote device might belong to the party attempting the breach.
Location and motion data may be derived using any number of location determination and motion determination techniques/procedures, such as deriving position fixes for a particular device through fingerprinting-based procedures, implementations of multilateration-based procedures using, for example, timing-based techniques (e.g., observed-time-difference-of-arrival (or OTDOA), RTT-based measurements, etc.), signal strength measurements (e.g., RSSI measurements), etc., measurement of RF signals received from satellite vehicles and/or from ground-based (terrestrial) devices, and so on. Furthermore, a coarse location for the device (be it the remote wireless device or the lock device) may be derived based on the identity of a wireless node (e.g., a cellular base station or WLAN access point), with the device imputed a location approximation that may be, for example, the known location of the wireless node. Additionally, positioning (location determination operations) may be based, at least in part, using measurements from the device's various inertial/orientation sensors to compute movement/motion for the device, and using the determined motion to compute a position approximation (e.g., using dead reckoning techniques). In some embodiments, movement of the mobile device may be derived based on positioning operations determined based on RF signals. For example, sequential positions of the mobile device may be derived based on RF signals received from satellite and/or terrestrial nodes (e.g., wireless WWAN or WLAN access points, satellite vehicles, etc.) The sequential positions at sequential time instances define motion of the mobile device during the interval between the sequential time instances.
Another environmental characteristic that may be used to control the locking/unlocking of the lock device is the environmental temperature. As noted, cargo stored within the structure locked by the lock device may require specific temperature profile, and may be subject to other particular handling requirements. When it is determined that the required temperature and/or other handling requirements have been satisfied or met, the lock device may be unlocked. Thus, for example, in some embodiments, the at least one of the characteristics of the environment may include a temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located, the pre-determined data associated with the lock device may include a pre-determined temperature value at which cargo inside the structure needs to be maintained, and controlling the lock mechanism may include determining whether to unlock the lock device based on a determination of whether the temperature of the environment in which the lock device is located substantially matches the pre-determined temperature value at which the cargo inside the structure needs to be maintained.
As discussed herein, in some embodiments, the environmental data may be used to perform other types of cargo management and delivery operations (and not only lock device control). For example, the temperature of the cargo may be monitored, and, in conjunction with determined location information, the cargo (or, rather, the vehicle/vessel carrying the cargo) may be routed to handling centers (e.g., refrigeration centers, when the cargo requires special refrigeration handling).
Performing the various operations described herein may be facilitated by a processor-based computing system. Particularly, each of the various systems/devices described herein may be implemented, at least in part, using one or more processing-based devices such as a computing system. Thus, with reference to
The processor-based device 410 is configured to facilitate, for example, the implementation of operations to control a lock device (such as the lock device 110 of
Computer programs (also known as programs, software, software applications or code) include machine instructions for a programmable processor, and may be implemented in a high-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language, and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term “machine-readable medium” refers to any non-transitory computer program product, apparatus and/or device (e.g., magnetic discs, optical disks, memory, Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to a programmable processor, including a non-transitory machine-readable medium that receives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal.
Some or all of the subject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component (e.g., as a data server), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an application server), or that includes a front-end component (e.g., a client computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a user may interact with an embodiment of the subject matter described herein), or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or medium of digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examples of communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a wide area network (“WAN”), and the Internet.
The computing system may include clients and servers. A client and server are generally remote from each other and typically interact through a communication network. The relationship of client and server generally arises by virtue of computer programs running on the respective computers and having a client-server relationship to each other.
Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly or conventionally understood. As used herein, the articles “a” and “an” refer to one or to more than one (i.e., to at least one) of the grammatical object of the article. By way of example, “an element” means one element or more than one element. “About” and/or “approximately” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, and the like, encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein. “Substantially” as used herein when referring to a measurable value such as an amount, a temporal duration, a physical attribute (such as frequency), and the like, also encompasses variations of ±20% or ±10%, ±5%, or +0.1% from the specified value, as such variations are appropriate in the context of the systems, devices, circuits, methods, and other implementations described herein.
As used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” or “one or more of” indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than one feature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Also, as used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function or operation is “based on” an item or condition means that the function or operation is based on the stated item or condition and may be based on one or more items and/or conditions in addition to the stated item or condition.
Although particular embodiments have been disclosed herein in detail, this has been done by way of example for purposes of illustration only, and is not intended to be limiting with respect to the scope of the appended claims, which follow. In particular, it is contemplated that various substitutions, alterations, and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Other aspects, advantages, and modifications are considered to be within the scope of the following claims. The claims presented are representative of the embodiments and features disclosed herein. Other unclaimed embodiments and features are also contemplated. Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims.
