Variable pattern shield protection system for a tamper-evident container

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments provide a method for tamper-evident shipment or storage of goods. An Electrical Shield pattern is embedded in or printed on a substrate with other electrical, optical, and electronic components, communication components, semiconductors, which are attached or printed on a substrate to form a shipment bag used as a shipping container. The shield pattern can be made variable between different bags by using algorithms entered into a printer control system. The shipment bag with its components can then be assigned a unique signature which differentiates each bag. Application of encryption methods serves to guarantee the shipped goods are authentic and that were not tampered with during shipment. Digital signal processing is used to generate pedigree information, which may include items such as shipping location, serial numbers, sensor information, and lot numbers for the goods. The information related to the history of tampering attempts and other sensor status can be placed in encrypted form in an RFID tags or control or monitoring electronics which can be read by a mobile phone application or sent to a remote cloud-based server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An anti-tamper container comprising:
 an electrical shield made with a variable conductive pattern having a conductive pattern design on a substrate, the conductive pattern design varying in at least one of form or density; and   monitoring electronics in communication with the electrical shield and configured to detect a tampering status of the container based on an electrical signature of the electrical shield.   
     
     
         2 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern design is variable in density and form. 
     
     
         3 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern design is generated automatically by a process that uses an algorithm. 
     
     
         4 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern design comprises one or more traces comprising conductive ink. 
     
     
         5 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern design comprises one or more traces comprising carbon ink. 
     
     
         6 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive pattern design comprises one or more electric or electronic circuits placed on insulating material to provide a unique signature. 
     
     
         7 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical shield comprises optical components placed on insulating material to provide a unique signature. 
     
     
         8 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the electrical shield further comprises one or more printed sensors on the substrate to provide information needed to guarantee quality of shipped goods. 
     
     
         9 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 9 , wherein the one or more printed sensors comprise at least one of a temperature sensor or a humidity sensor. 
     
     
         10 . The anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , wherein the monitoring electronics use a programmable shield measurement test time period to extend battery life. 
     
     
         11 . A method for secure shipment of goods using the anti-tamper container of  claim 1 , the method comprising:
 placing the goods into the anti-tamper container of  claim 1 ;   causing encryption of the electrical signature based on an encryption key;   causing the encrypted electrical signature to be stored in the monitoring electronics of the first container;   causing the first container to be transferred to a recipient; and   causing a decryption key corresponding to the encryption key to be sent to a computing device associated with the recipient to guarantee authenticity of the goods.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the decryption key is transferred to the recipient via a remote server. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the decryption key is sent to the recipient automatically based on an initialization of the monitoring electronics by a computing device associated with a sender of the goods. 
     
     
         14 . A set of anti-tamper containers, each anti-tamper container of the set of anti-tamper containers comprising:
 an electrical shield made with a variable conductive pattern having a conductive pattern design on a substrate, the conductive pattern design being different from the conductive pattern design of at least one other anti-tamper container of the set of anti-tamper containers; and   monitoring electronics in communication with the electrical shield and configured to detect a tampering status of the container based on an electrical signature of the electrical shield.   
     
     
         15 . The set of anti-tamper containers of  claim 14 , wherein the conductive pattern design is randomly differentiated among the anti-tamper containers using an algorithm. 
     
     
         16 . An anti-tamper mailing bag comprising:
 a rectangular substrate folded widthwise about a dividing line and sealed along edges perpendicular to the dividing line to form a bag having an open edge opposite the dividing line;   a first flap contiguous with the open edge, the first flap comprising a plurality of first conductive contacts;   a plurality of second conductive contacts arranged on an outside of the bag proximate the open edge or on a second flap contiguous with the open edge opposite the first flap, each second conductive contact having substantially the same lateral location and distance from the open edge as a corresponding one of the plurality of first conductive contacts;   a plurality of printed traces disposed on the rectangular substrate, each printed trace of the plurality of printed traces electrically connecting one of the first conductive contacts to one of the second conductive contacts other than the second conductive contact corresponding to the one of the first conductive contacts; and   an adhesive configured to adhere the first flap to the outside of the bag or the second flap such that each first conductive contact is electrically connected to the corresponding second conductive contact to form a single conductive path around the bag including the plurality of printed traces.   
     
     
         17 . The anti-tamper mailing bag of  claim 16 , further comprising monitoring electronics electrically connected to at least one of the printed traces. 
     
     
         18 . The anti-tamper mailing bag of  claim 17 , wherein at least some components of the monitoring electronics are printed onto the substrate or the first flap. 
     
     
         19 . The anti-tamper mailing bag of  claim 17 , wherein the adhesive comprises a conductive adhesive disposed on the first conductive contacts or on the second conductive contacts. 
     
     
         20 . The anti-tamper mailing bag of  claim 19 , wherein the conductive adhesive is disposed on both the first conductive contacts and the second conductive contacts.