ISO 18185-1:2007

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 18185-1
First edition
2007-05-01
Freight containers — Electronic seals —
Part 1:
Communication protocol
Conteneurs pour le transport de marchandises — Scellés
électroniques —
Partie 1: Protocole de communication

Reference number
©
ISO 2007
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ii © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword. iv
Introduction . v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions. 2
4 Common requirements. 2
5 Seal data . 3
6 Data link layer protocol for electronic seal . 4
6.1 433 MHz long range data link layer protocol for type A systems . 5
6.2 SRL data link layer definition for type A systems . 18
6.3 2,4 GHz LRL layer data protocol for type B systems. 19
6.4 SRL data link layer definition for type B systems . 22
Bibliography . 23

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies
(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO
technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been
established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and
non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the
International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International Standards
adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting. Publication as an
International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 18185-1 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 104, Freight containers, Subcommittee SC 4,
Identification and communication.
ISO 18185 consists of the following parts, under the general title Freight containers — Electronic seals:
⎯ Part 1: Communication protocol
⎯ Part 2: Application requirements
⎯ Part 3: Environmental characteristics
⎯ Part 4: Data protection
⎯ Part 5: Physical layer
iv © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

Introduction
The communication protocol for an electronic seal for freight containers has been developed by the committee
to provide for the data link requirements related to the unambiguous interrogation and maintenance of the
integrity of a freight container seal from point of sealing to point of opening.

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 18185-1:2007(E)

Freight containers — Electronic seals —
Part 1:
Communication protocol
1 Scope
This part of ISO 18185 provides a system for the identification and presentation of information about freight
container electronic seals. The identification system provides an unambiguous and unique identification of the
container seal, its status and related information.
The presentation of this information is provided through a radio-communications interface providing seal
identification and a method for determining whether a freight container’s seal has been opened.
This part of ISO 18185 specifies a read-only, non-reusable freight container seal identification system, with an
associated system for verifying the accuracy of use, having
⎯ a seal status identification system,
⎯ a battery status indicator,
⎯ a unique seal identifier including the identification of the manufacturer,
⎯ the seal (tag) type.
This part of ISO 18185 is used in conjunction with the other parts of ISO 18185.
It applies to all electronic seals used on freight containers covered by ISO 668, ISO 1496-1 to ISO 1496-5,
and ISO 8323. Wherever appropriate and practicable, it also applies to freight containers other than those
covered by these International Standards.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO/TS 14816, Road transport and traffic telematics — Automatic vehicle and equipment identification —
Numbering and data structure
ISO 17712, Freight containers — Mechanical seals
ISO 18185-2, Freight containers — Electronic seals — Part 2: Application requirements
ISO 18185-5, Freight containers — Electronic seals — Part 5: Sensor interface
ISO/IEC 18000-7, Information technology — Radio frequency identification for item management — Part 7:
Parameters for active air interface communications at 433 MHz
ISO/IEC 19762-1, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 1: General terms relating to AIDC
ISO/IEC 19762-2, Information technology — Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) techniques —
Harmonized vocabulary — Part 2: Optically readable media (ORM)
ISO/IEC 24730-2, Information technology — Real-time locating systems (RTLS) — Part 2: 2,4 GHz air
interface protocol
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 19762-1, ISO/IEC 19762-2,
ISO 17712 and the following apply.
3.1
electronic seal
eSeal
read-only, non-reusable freight container seal conforming to the high-security seal defined in ISO 17712 and
conforming to ISO 18185 or revision thereof that electronically evidences tampering or intrusion through the
container doors
3.2
seal identification
Seal ID
unique identification of each manufactured seal incorporating serial number (i.e. Tag ID) and manufacturer ID
3.3
interrogator identification
Interrogator ID
code used to identify the source address during every communication session originated by the interrogator
3.4
low frequency transmitter
LF transmitter
device that emits a short range magnetically coupled signal
3.5
Short Range Link
SRL
low frequency link using the low frequency magnetically coupled signalling
3.6
Long Range Link
LRL
radio frequency link using 433,92 MHz or 2,4 GHz signalling
3.7
localization
capability in any operational scenario to associate an eSeal to the container onto which it is affixed
4 Common requirements
The seal shall be uniquely identified by the tag manufacturer ID and the tag ID (serial number) combination.
This combination shall be called seal ID and shall be used in all point-to-point communication to uniquely
identify a source (seal to interrogator) and destination address (interrogator to seal).
The seal ID is permanently programmed into the seal during manufacturing and cannot be modified.
2 © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

The interrogator ID is a user configurable parameter and their assignment is not regulated by this International
Standard.
The LF transmitter ID is a user configurable parameter.
The seal shall be verified by uniquely identifying the location of that specific seal during the communication
exchange with the seal as defined in ISO 18185-2.
5 Seal data
5.1 The electronic seal mandatory data includes seal tag ID and manufacturer ID (which combine to make
up the seal ID), date/time for sealing and opening, seal status, low battery status, protocol ID, and protocol
version. Model ID and product version are optional data.
The seal status occupies two bits as follows:
⎯ open and unsealed;
⎯ closed and sealed;
⎯ opened.
The following are definitions of the seal states (see Figure 1):
⎯ open and unsealed: the initial state of the seal when the container is open and seal is still unsealed;
⎯ closed and sealed: physically closed and sealed (cable connected, bolt inserted, etc.);
⎯ opened: physically open and seal broken (cable disconnected, bolt removed).
5.2 The low battery status occupies one bit. For low battery status, “0” indicates that the battery state is
above the threshold; “1” indicates a battery state at or below the threshold. For battery-less seals, this field is
fixed to a value of “0”. The battery low state is defined to indicate that the battery left is insufficient for another
trip as defined in ISO 18185-2.
5.3 The seal tag ID occupies 32 bits. This is the identification number (serial number) that the manufacturer
assigned to the seal.
5.4 The tag manufacturer ID occupies 16 bits. This is the identification of the tag component manufacturer.
This identification is assigned in accordance with ISO/TS 14816. The RF component manufacturer ID of the
seal is programmed by the RF component manufacturer.
5.5 Date/time sealed occupies 32 bits. The eSeal will record the time of sealing from a real-time clock
based on UTC time.
5.6 Date/time opened occupies 32 bits. The eSeal will record the time of opening from a real-time clock
based on UTC time.
5.7 The protocol ID occupies eight bits. It indicates the protocol type.
5.8 The model ID occupies 16 bits. It indicates the manufacturer’s model number.
5.9 Product version occupies 16 bits. It indicates the version of the product (firmware version). The high
byte is the major version number and the low byte is the minor version.
5.10 Protocol version occupies 16 bits. It indicates the version of the standard protocol (this International
Standard) to which the seal adheres. The high byte is the major version number and the low byte is the minor
version. For this version of the International Standard, this parameter shall be 0x0100 (i.e. version 1.0).
5.11 LF transmitter ID occupies 16 bits. It indicates the LF transmitter identification.

Figure 1 — Seal states
6 Data link layer protocol for electronic seal
There are two types of physical layers. Type A physical layer is the 433 MHz long range link and LF short
range link. Type B physical layer is the 2,4 GHz long range link and FSK short range link. The eSeal shall
support all the data link protocols. The data link protocols are different for each physical layer. Interrogators
and reader devices may support one or both of the physical layers.
The eSeal shall be capable of communicating on both operational mode types A and B. The protocol for these
type A long range links at 433 MHz is specified in 6.1. The protocol for the type A short range links using OOK
is specified in 6.2. The protocol for these type B long range links at 2,4 GHz is specified in 6.3. The protocol
for the type B short range links using FSK is specified in 6.4. Data may be transmitted from the LF transmitter
to the eSeal(s) without acknowledgment (one-way link only).
4 © ISO 2007 – All rights reserved

6.1 433 MHz long range data link layer protocol for type A systems
This clause specifies the long range data link layer packet structure for 433 MHz communications.
6.1.1 Packet fields format and definition
6.1.1.1 Protocol ID
The Protocol ID field identifies the data link layers packet structures as
...