Patent Application
20100214061
All of the material in this patent document is subject to copyright protection under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in official governmental records but, otherwise, all other copyright rights whatsoever are reserved.
The present invention generally relates to an assembly comprising a remote sensor interface (RSI). RSIs are utilized for remotely collecting data in the field and communicating the collected data to one or more centralized locations. For example, RSIs are utilized in tracking and monitoring assets that are stored and/or transported in association with wireless transceivers, such as radio frequency identification tags (RFIDs). In such implementations, an RSI has been previously referred to as a wireless reader tag or WRT. The data regarding the tracked and monitored assets is communicated by an RSI to one or more central servers for processing. Such data is useful, for instance, in supply chain management. Such data further is useful, for instance, in homeland security, especially when the assets being tracked and monitored are being imported into the United States from foreign countries.
Of course, the RSI of the present invention preferably is capable of wireless communications with external devices. For example, the RSI preferably communicates with other RSIs in forming one or more wireless networks. Furthermore, the RSI preferably communicates with a gateway that itself serves as a bridge to other networks, such as the Internet, a cellular network, or a Satellite network.
The present invention relates in particular to an assembly of an RSI that includes a first housing having an internal compartment for electronic components and a second housing for receiving power source components. The housing for power source components is capable of being opened separately from the housing for the electronic components for protection of the electronic components when the power source components are serviced or replaced. For example, a battery of an RSI can be replaced without exposure of electronic components thereof to an outdoor and potentially harsh environment such as that of a sea port, the deck of a sea vessel, a railroad yard, or a truck loading area.
One or more embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings which are briefly described below, wherein the same elements are referred to with the same reference numerals, and wherein various elements are not necessarily shown in conformance to any particular absolute or relative scale.
As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one having ordinary skill in the relevant art (“Ordinary Artisan”) that the present invention has broad utility and application. Furthermore, any embodiment discussed and identified as being “preferred” is considered to be part of a best mode contemplated for carrying out the present invention. Other embodiments also may be discussed for additional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention. Moreover, many embodiments, such as adaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements, will be implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fall within the scope of the present invention.
Accordingly, while the present invention is described herein in detail in relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present invention, and is made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the present invention. The detailed disclosure herein of one or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed, to limit the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention, which scope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It is not intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found herein that does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.
Thus, for example, any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps of various processes or methods that are described herein are illustrative and not restrictive. Accordingly, it should be understood that, although steps of various processes or methods may be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, the steps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carried out in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise. Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carried out in various different sequences and orders while still falling within the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention is to be defined by the appended claims rather than the description set forth herein.
Additionally, it is important to note that each term used herein refers to that which the Ordinary Artisan would understand such term to mean based on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that the meaning of a term used herein—as understood by the Ordinary Artisan based on the contextual use of such term—differs in any way from any particular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that the meaning of the term as understood by the Ordinary Artisan should prevail.
Furthermore, it is important to note that, as used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one,” but does not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use dictates otherwise. Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having an apple” describes “a picnic basket having at least one apple” as well as “a picnic basket having apples.” In contrast, reference to “a picnic basket having a single apple” describes “a picnic basket having only one apple.”
When used herein to join a list of items, “or” denotes “at least one of the items,” but does not exclude a plurality of items of the list. Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having cheese or crackers” describes “a picnic basket having cheese without crackers”, “a picnic basket having crackers without cheese”, and “a picnic basket having both cheese and crackers.” Finally, when used herein to join a list of items, “and” denotes “all of the items of the list.” Thus, reference to “a picnic basket having cheese and crackers” describes “a picnic basket having cheese, wherein the picnic basket further has crackers,” as well as describes “a picnic basket having crackers, wherein the picnic basket further has cheese.”
Turning now to
In the embodiment illustrated in
As shown in
As further shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the cover 114 is particularly formed to receive a standard AA battery having opposing positive and negative terminals; the electrical contacts 118 are formed and disposed to contact the opposing terminals of the battery; and, the second housing 106 is dimensioned to cover and protect the AA battery. It should be appreciated, however, that in other embodiments according to the invention, other battery sizes and power sources can be accommodated by differently shaped and configured cover, electrical contacts, and second housing, as desired, so long as such elements are designed for sealing engagement with the first housing 104.
Various electronic components optionally are disposed within the first compartment 112. The electronic components are powered by the power source 120 by way of the electrical contacts 118. The electronic components are sealed and protected between the first housing 104 and cover 114 when closure and sealing of the first compartment is obtained as shown in
Several exemplary electronic components are shown in
Another PCA card 124 preferably includes a standards based radio for two-way wireless communications with one or more gateways and/or one or more other RSIs. Such standards based radio preferably comprises a Bluetooth radio or WiFi radio. The PCA card 124 preferably communicates with a gateway for receiving commands, communicating data acquired via its sensors, and/or forwarding data collected and communicated from another RSI. In this regard, the PCA card 124 preferably is used by the RSI in forming ad-hoc networks and in relaying communications between other RSI units and a gateway.
As further shown in
Each PCA card 122,124,126 of
When the PCA cards 122,124,126 of
Turning now to an illustrative example according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in
The mounting template 206 of the kit 200 is provided to facilitate convenience in mounting the RSI 202 and magnet housing 204 onto respective surfaces. Guide holes 208 formed in the template 206 correspond to mounting holes formed in the magnet housing 204. Guide holes 210 formed in the template correspond to the slots 212 formed in the base 214 of the RSI 202. The guide holes of the template are useful to guide a marking pen or drill bit so that respective surfaces upon which the RSI and magnet housing are to be mounted can be pre-drilled with holes for receiving mounting connectors such as screws, bolts, or rivets. Once such holes are formed, the RSI and magnet housing are mounted to the respective surfaces.
Continuing in the illustrative example, in
In another illustrative arrangement, in
A shipping yard including a plurality of embodiments 700 according to
Based on the foregoing description, it will be readily understood by those persons skilled in the art that the present invention is susceptible of broad utility and application. Accordingly, while one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described herein in detail, it is to be understood that this disclosure is only illustrative and exemplary and is made merely for the purpose of providing a full and enabling disclosure of the invention. The foregoing disclosure is not intended to be construed to limit the present invention or otherwise exclude any other embodiments, adaptations, variations, modifications or equivalent arrangements, the scope of the invention being limited only by the claims of an issued patent and the equivalents thereof.
The present application is a U.S. continuation patent application of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to, U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 12/507,017, filed Jul. 21, 2009, which '017 application published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0283320 A1 on Nov. 19, 2009, which application and publication are each hereby incorporated herein by reference, and which '017 application is a U.S. continuation patent application of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §120 to, U.S. Nonprovisional patent application Ser. No. 11/423,127, filed Jun. 8, 2006, which application published as U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2006/0289204 on Dec. 28, 2006 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,563,991 on Jul. 21, 2009, which application, publication, and patent are each hereby incorporated herein by reference, and which application is a nonprovisional of, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to Twitchell, U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/688,737 filed Jun. 8, 2005. The entire disclosure of this provisional patent application is hereby incorporated herein by reference. The present application further hereby incorporates by reference each of: U.S. Pat. No. 6,753,775 B2; U.S. Pat. No. 6,745,027 B2; U.S. Pat. No. 6,665,585 B2; U.S. Pat. No. 5,458,042; International Patent Application Publication No. WO 03/032501 A2 (designating the United States and published in English); International Patent Application Publication No. WO 03/098851 A1 (designating the United States and published in English); U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0082296 A1; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0183673 A1; and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0021572 A1.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60688737 | Jun 2005 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12507017 | Jul 2009 | US |
| Child | 12774597 | US | |
| Parent | 11423127 | Jun 2006 | US |
| Child | 12507017 | US |
