Abstract:
A luggage tracking and surveillance system uses a zipper pull attached to a conventional suitcase closure zipper and a retaining fastener attached to conventional fastening straps securing contents inside the suitcase. An observer is not aware of the specially designed zipper pull and retaining fastener because they mimic the appearance of their conventional counterparts. The external zipper pull communicates wirelessly with the retaining fastener inside the suitcase when a zipper pull touch sensor senses that the suitcase has been opened. This awakens a retainer fastener power supply and activates a recording system in the fastener to create a record of the person who opened the suitcase. The retaining fastener can also sense the presence of a human and independently activate the recording system. Recorded still pictures, video, and audio, along with location information supplied by GPS circuitry in the zipper pull and/or retaining fastener, are transmitted a remote database.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates, generally, to security and tracking systems. More specifically, it relates to discreet luggage tracking and surveillance devices. 
     2. Brief Description of the Prior Art 
     Checked luggage is a multi-billion dollar industry and yet 26 million pieces of luggage go missing every year. Recent increased security measures prevent travelers from locking their luggage when using various transportation ports, such as airports. When traveling through these transportation ports luggage is regularly searched by unknown security personnel and too often valuables become lost or stolen. 
     Many searches are conducted in closed rooms lacking video surveillance making it nearly impossible to identify the perpetrator. Additionally an owner may be unaware that his/her valuables have been stolen until it is too late because of the extended period of separation between owner and luggage and the hectic nature of traveling. Recovering stolen valuables and identifying perpetrators has become extremely difficult. 
     Accordingly, what is needed is a simple means for adapting luggage with an effective security system to aid in locating an individual&#39;s luggage and providing evidence of the identity of the perpetrator. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome. 
     All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply. 
     While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, this in no way disclaims these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein. 
     The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein. 
     In this description, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions: or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a retaining fastener according to an embodiment of the luggage security system described herein. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the retaining fastener in  FIG. 1  attached to internal luggage retaining straps. 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded view seen from the top of the retaining fastener in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 4  is a exploded view seen from the bottom of the retaining fastener in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a luggage zipper pull according to an embodiment of the luggage security system. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the zipper pull in  FIG. 5  showing how it attaches to a zipper on an item of luggage incorporating the luggage security system described herein. 
         FIG. 7  is an exploded view of the zipper pull in  FIG. 5 . 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a luggage latch member according to an alternate embodiment of the luggage security system. 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded view of the latch member in  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof, and within which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. 
     The present invention is a discreet luggage tracking and surveillance system having in the present embodiment a replaceable interior retaining fastener  100  (see  FIGS. 1 to 4 ) and a zipper pull  200  (see  FIGS. 5 to 7 ), which are capable of communicating with each other and transmitting data in a manner known by a person having ordinary skill in the art. The zipper pull  200  has an aesthetic design generally similar to that of existing luggage zipper pulls such that a thief would be unaware that the zipper pull  200  is anything other than a simple structure providing a user with a handle to aid in pulling open a conventional zipper Z to gain access to the interior of the piece of luggage. The zipper pull of the present embodiment contains a fastener, such as the removable hook ring  202 , so that it can be easily attached to the existing zipper structure Z when the existing zipper pull (not shown in the drawings) has been removed. 
     As seen in  FIG. 7 , the zipper pull  200  has a top casing member  204  and a lower casing member  206  which are secured together to form a housing (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ). The zipper pull housing encloses various components to effect operation as described herein. The housing encloses a touch sensor/controller  208  that senses when the zipper pull has been touched by a human. The housing also encloses an antenna  210 , a power supply system  212 , GPS circuitry  214 , and a microcontroller  216 . The zipper pull components provide a system for communicating with the retaining fastener  100 . The zipper pull can also transmit GPS information. 
     The interior retaining fastener  100  has an aesthetic design generally similar to that of existing fastener members (not shown in the drawings) that attach to fastening or retaining straps RS found inside most conventional luggage.  FIGS. 3 and 4  show the retaining fastener top casing member  102  and a retainer fastener bottom casing member  104 , which are secured together to firm a housing (see  FIGS. 1 and 2 ). The interior retaining fastener  100  has a connection feature that comprises connection receptacles  106  formed in the bottom casing member  104  (see  FIGS. 3 and 4 ) which accept the conventional releasable fastening clips FS on the retaining straps RS, thus permitting the retaining fastener  100  to discreetly replace an existing retaining fastener member. 
     The retaining fastener  100  includes a component circuit board  108  that mounts various fastener components within the housing. These components include a photo camera  110  and a top-facing first video camera  112 , preferably a low-light wide angle photo camera and an HD video camera with built-in image stabilization, and having embedded date/time stamp and audio recording capabilities. The retaining fastener also contains GPS circuitry  114 , a capacitive touch sensor controller  116  that senses when the retaining fastener has been touched by a human, and an on-board antenna  118 . The circuit board mounts a SIM card holder  120  and a microcontroller  122 . The fastener  100  provides a system for communicating with the zipper pull  200  and a transmission system. Moreover, the retaining fastener contains a power system that includes a battery  124  having an awake and sleep mode, where the sleep mode is the default mode to reduce power consumption and conform with FAA and TSA requirements for inflight electronics. The retaining fastener may contain a USB port  126  to allow for easy recharging of the power system through a USB access opening  128  in the top casing member  102 . In a certain embodiment the retaining fastener touch sensor is capable of shifting the retaining fastener power system to the awake mode when the touch sensor detects a human being touching the retaining fastener. 
     As seen in  FIG. 4 , which shows the retaining fastener from the bottom, a bottom-facing second video camera  130  mounts on the circuit board  108  and faces toward the contents of the piece of luggage when the retaining fastener is locked and securing the contents of the piece of luggage. This ensures that images of a potential thief will be captured if the retaining fastener were to be flipped upside down from the desired orientation shown in  FIG. 2 . The video camera  130  points toward a translucent display window  132  carried by the bottom casing member  104 . A second photo camera can be provided in addition to or instead of the video camera  130 . 
     In a certain embodiment, the retaining fastener  100  may be lockable to aid in preventing theft of valuables secured by the retaining straps RS, but will also contain a “key hole”  150  accessible by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) master key code. In such an embodiment the system may contain an indicator, transmission, and/or notification to a user, in a manner known by a person having ordinary skill in the art, to confirm that the master key was used to unlock the retaining fastener. In a preferred embodiment the retaining fastener can include a touch screen key pad  152 , known by a person having ordinary skill in the art, for locking and unlocking. Such an embodiment may also utilize “locked” and “unlocked” icons  154   a  and  154   b , respectively, which alternately illuminate, depending on the status of the lock, to indicate to a user the position of the lock. This lock may also be adapted for remote locking and unlocking capabilities in a manner known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. 
     When the touch sensor  208  of the zipper pull is activated, the zipper pull communicates, preferably wirelessly, with the retaining fastener  100 , causing the retaining fastener to shift to the awake mode. The retaining fastener remains in the awake mode for a predetermined length of time. Once in awake mode, the GPS circuitry  114  is activated and the cameras  110 ,  112 , and  130  on the retaining fastener begin recording audio, video and/or a plurality of images, as the case may be. The GPS circuitry automatically transmits the location of the retaining fastener to a database and/or a user&#39;s account, after a predetermined time but before the retaining fastener shifts back to sleep mode. The camera recordings are also automatically transmitted, via the transmission system in a manner known by a person having ordinary skill in the art, to a database before the retaining fastener shifts back to sleep mode. In a certain embodiment the information sent to the database is organized based on the specific zipper pull and retaining fastener from which the information was sent. Each zipper pull and retaining fastener may include identifying information in the transmission to associate a particular owner with the audio, video, or still-image information gathered by the retaining fastener. In a certain embodiment, the transmitted information will be sent to a database accessible only by the proper authorities to reduce the risk of vigilante actions and keep the identity of innocent search personnel private. However, the system may provide users with alerts that the system has been activated and information was transmitted. The alerts may be transmitted through a process known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. 
     In one embodiment, the zipper pull and retaining fastener are linked to a user account and interactive computer software. Upon arrival at by the user at his/her destination, the software allows the user to record whether his/her luggage and all belongings are in his/her possession. If the user indicates that no possessions are missing, all transmitted data from the preceding trip is removed from the database. If the user indicates that his/her belongings were not returned, the information will be saved to allow the proper authorities to utilize the information. In other embodiments, the software may ask additional information that could aid authorities in their investigation. Additionally, the user account and interactive software may allow a user to identify several pieces of luggage and respective security systems. 
     Moreover, the system may allow remote access to the fastening member and the zipper pull using a receiver known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. Remote access will allow a user or the proper authorities to activate either device in the event that one of the devices fails to perform as designed. The user may also have the ability to remotely access the GPS of either device to confirm the location of his/her luggage at any point while the luggage is not in his/her possession. The GPS may use provided Wi-Fi services to transmit the location in a manner known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, the GPS may utilize a processor that will enable the unit to operate in challenging GPS environments, such as indoor tracking or when the end-user is on the move. This high level of GPS performance is achieved by using innovative GPS firmware which can detect changes in context, temperature, and satellite signals, and opportunistically update its internal parameters which enables near-continuous navigation by maintaining and opportunistically updating its internal parameters while consuming mere microwatts of battery power. 
     The touch sensors described herein may utilize any touch sensor technology known to those skilled in the art, including but not limited to pressure and heat sensors. The present invention may use any suitable system known by those skilled in the art, preferably wireless, for communicating between the zipper pull and the retaining fastener. It will also be appreciated that different embodiments may also use any camera, GPS, and power system known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. 
     A certain alternate embodiment may instead of the zipper pull device  200  described above use a latch member device  300  like that shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9  for luggage having latches instead of zipper closures. The latch member has all of the features of the zipper pull and performs the same functions.  FIGS. 8 and 9  use “ 300 ” series reference numerals to identify components according to their “ 200 ” series counterparts in  FIGS. 5 to 7 . It will be appreciated, however, that  FIGS. 8 and 9  do not depict all of the components required to carry out the functions of the latch member that correspond to functions of the zipper pull device  200 . In that regard, a latch member top casing member  304  and lower casing member  306  together form a housing of the latch member  300  as shown in  FIG. 8 . Within the housing are a touch sensor/controller  308 , an antenna  310 , a power supply system  312 , a microcontroller  316 . As noted, these components perform the same functions in the latch member  300  as their counterparts do in the zipper pull device  200 . Other like components to those of the zipper pull device  200 , such as GPS circuitry, are not explicitly depicted in  FIG. 9 , but may nevertheless be included in the latch member device  300 . 
     In a certain embodiment the power systems of the zipper pull and retaining fastener may be capable of converting solar or kinetic energy to electric energy using any conversion technique known to a person having ordinary skill in the art. The devices may also notify the user when their respective power supply is low. 
     GLOSSARY OF CLAIM TERMS 
     Awake Mode: is a power mode providing increased power distribution from sleep mode. 
     GPS: is a global positioning system. 
     Latch Member: is any fastener used to close luggage other than a zipper. 
     Luggage: is any suitcase, bag, or container used to carry or transport personal belongings. 
     Retaining Fastener: is a device attached to retaining straps typically found in luggage. 
     Sleep Mode: is a power mode intended to the reduce power distribution rate from the maximum rate. 
     Zipper Pull: is a device attached to a zipper which provides a user with a handle-like means to aid in opening the zipper. 
     The advantages set forth above, and those made apparent from the foregoing description, are efficiently attained. Since certain changes may be made in the above construction without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. 
     It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention that, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.