Patent ID: 7535358

Claim:
A method of tracking a piece of luggage comprising: monitoring the opening and closing of the luggage; determining whether the luggage is open; when the luggage is determined to be open, transmitting a first signal from a detecting device inside the luggage to a circuit inside the luggage to record status information that the luggage is opened, said status information consisting of a date, time and location of the luggage; periodically transmitting a second signal from a timing device inside the luggage to a circuit inside the luggage to record tracking information, said tracking information consisting of the date, time and location of the luggage; receiving said first or second signals comprising said status and tracking information, respectively; storing said transmitted tracking and status information in a storage device of said circuit; and transmitting an alert signal to a receiver outside of the luggage, when said tracking or status information is received by the circuit, to notify a user of the location of the luggage and to display said tracking or status information.