Device and method for detecting unwanted disposition of the contents of an enclosure

A device for placing in an enclosure and detecting unwanted disposition of the contents thereof, comprising:

• a) an environmental sensor responsive to an environmental condition indicative of unwanted disposition for generating a signal indicative of unwanted disposition;
• b) a reporting unit enabled by the arming signal and responsive to the signal from the environmental sensor for providing information about the unwanted disposition;
• c) an information storage unit responsive to information from the reporting unit for storing a record of the unwanted disposition;
• e) a compact interface unit for communicating the record of the unwanted disposition in a compact format;
• and
• d) a decoder coupled to the environmental sensor and coupled to the arming unit, configured to accept the arming command in the form of a time-related pattern of user modification of the environmental condition.

A device for placing in an enclosure and detecting unwanted disposition of the contents thereof, comprising:

• a) an environmental sensor responsive to an environmental condition indicative of unwanted disposition for generating a signal indicative of unwanted disposition;
• b) a reporting unit enabled by the arming signal and responsive to the signal from the environmental sensor for providing information about the unwanted disposition;
• c) an information storage unit responsive to information from the reporting unit for storing a record of the unwanted disposition;
• e) a compact interface unit for communicating the record of the unwanted disposition in a compact format;
• f) a retrieval unit responsive to an interrogation command from a user and selectively enabling the compact interface unit, for selecting the record to be communicated in response to the interrogation command;
• and
• g) a decoder coupled to the environmental sensor and coupled to the retrieval unit, configured to accept the interrogation command in the form of a time-related pattern of user modification of the environmental condition.

A method of detecting unwanted disposition of the contents of an enclosure, comprising the steps of:

• a) providing a sensing device;
• b) arming the sensing device by modifying the environmental condition perceived by the environmental sensor in a time-related pattern, the arming device being armed thereby to detect an environmental condition indicative of unwanted disposition;
• c) placing the sensing device in the enclosure;
• d) storing information about unwanted disposition when such disposition is detected;
• and
• e) communicating the stored information in a compact interface format.

A self-contained, compact device for placing inside an enclosure and detecting unwanted disposition of the contents thereof, comprising:

• a) an environmental sensor responsive to an environmental condition indicative of unwanted disposition and configured to
• i. accept user command in the form of a time-related pattern of user modification of the environmental condition, and
• ii. generate a trigger signal when the environmental condition indicates that unwanted disposition has occurred;
• b) an arming unit responsive to an arming command from the compact user interface for generating an arming signal upon assertion of the arming command;
• c) a reporting unit enabled by the arming signal and responsive to the trigger signal for providing notification of unwanted disposition;
• d) a real-time clock for providing time information;
• e) an information storage unit responsive to time information from the real-time clock and notification from the reporting unit for storing a time-related record of the unwanted disposition;
• f) a retrieval unit responsive to an encoded interrogation command from the compact user interface and accessible to the record from the information storage unit, for communicating the record of the unwanted disposition in a compact interface format;
• g) a decoder responsive to user command through the environmental sensor and coupled to at least one of
• i. the arming unit, the user command comprising the arming command, and
• ii. the retrieval unit, the user command comprising the interrogation command, wherein the user command takes the form of a time-related pattern of user modification of the environmental condition;
• and
• h) a surrounding shell of packaging material for presenting the appearance of a unit of ordinary packaging material.

A device for detecting unwanted disposition, comprising:

• a) a light sensor for detecting light;
• b) an arming unit responsive to an arming command from a user for generating an arming signal upon assertion of the arming command;
• c) a reporting unit enabled by the arming signal and coupled to the light sensor for providing information about the detected light;
• d) an information storage unit responsive to information from the reporting unit for storing a record of the information;
• e) a compact interface unit for communicating the record in a compact format;
• and
• f) a surrounding shell of packaging material for presenting the appearance of a unit of ordinary packaging material.