Patent Grant
9542825
The subject matter herein generally relates to transportation systems, and particularly to a cold chain transportation device with a temperature detection function.
To facilitate and extend the shelf life of products, such as, for example, chemicals, foods, and pharmaceutical drugs, from manufacture through distribution, a temperature-controlled supply chain (sometimes referred to as a cold chain) is generally required. An unbroken cold chain, for example, generally includes an uninterrupted series of storage and distribution activities, which consistently maintain a product's environment within a desired, relatively low, temperature range. Consequently, packaging used in the cold chain must often maintain a product's environment within the desired, relatively low, temperature range for an extended period of time, thereby ensuring that the product's temperature stays within a proper temperature range for the entire duration of the cold chain transmission, from manufacture to end use.
Implementations of the present technology will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached figures.
It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. Also, the description is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the embodiments described herein. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated to better illustrate details and features of the present disclosure.
Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented.
The term “coupled” is defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “substantially” is defined to be essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape, or other feature that the term modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising,” when utilized, means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in the so-described combination, group, series and the like.
The present disclosure is described in relation to a detection system for a cold chain transportation device.
The body 10 can be a carton, a box and/or any other sealing hollow containers suitable for containing an item, such as chemicals, foods, and pharmaceutical drugs, for example. The body 10 may be made from various materials, including, for example, recycled paper, plastic and/or a wood material. In addition, the body 10 defines two holes 11 at a boundary frame.
The cover 30 is mounted to, e.g. hinged to, the body 10 to cover the body 10. In at least one embodiment, the cover 30 includes an outer shell 31 and a plate 32. The outer shell 31 is mounted to the body 10, and the plate 32 engages with the body 10. Additionally, the plate 32 is received in the outer shell 31 and defines a first receiving groove 321 and a second receiving groove 322.
The control unit 53 includes a processor 531, a storage 532, a communication module 533, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag 534, a gravity sensor (G-sensor) 535, a display 536, an indicating module 537, and an input module 538. The processor 531 is electronically connected to the storage 532, the communication module 533, the RFID tag 534, the G-sensor 535, the display 536, the indicating module 537, and the input module 538.
The storage 532 is configured to store the opened/closed states of the cover 30, the temperature, the motion states, and the working states of the cold chain transportation device 100.
The communication module 533 can be a general packet radio service (GPRS) unit. The communication module 533 is configured to transmit data of the temperature, the opened/closed states, the motion states, and the working states of the cold chain transportation device 100 to an electronic terminal at a fixed time interval. The electronic terminal can be a tablet, a personal computer, or a mobile phone. In at least one embodiment, the motion states include an inclined angle and an acceleration of the cold chain transportation device 100. The working states include working modes of the detection system 50 and a remaining capacity of the power supply 51. Additionally, the communication module 533 transmits a positioning signal to the electronic terminal based on a mobile positioning service system and receives a setting command or a short message from the electronic terminal. Thus, a system clock, a temperature threshold, an inclined threshold, an acceleration threshold, a first remaining capacity threshold, a second remaining capacity threshold, and other parameters (such as time of turning on/off, sleeping, or restarting) of the detection system 50 can be set or reset by the setting command or the short message. Optionally, the parameters at least including the temperature threshold, the inclined threshold, and the acceleration threshold can be also stored in the storage 532.
The RFID tag 534 is configured to allocate an identification number to the cold chain transportation device 100 for allowing the electronic terminal to identify the cold chain transportation device 100. In at least one embodiment, the RFID tag 534 operates at 2.4 GHz, and a transmitting power and a transmitting frequency of the RFID tag 534 can be adjusted.
The G-sensor 535 is configured to detect the inclined angle and the acceleration of the cold chain transportation device 100, and then the G-sensor 535 transmits the inclined angle and the acceleration to the processors 531. The processor 531 compares the inclined angle and the acceleration with the inclined threshold and the acceleration threshold, respectively. If the inclined angle of the cold chain transportation device 100 exceeds the inclined threshold or the acceleration of the cold chain transportation device 100 exceeds the acceleration threshold, the processor 531 triggers a control signal to enable the indicating module 537. In at least one embodiment, the inclined threshold can be about 30 degrees, and the acceleration threshold can be about 1 g.
The display 536 is configured to display the temperature of the cold chain transportation device 100, the remaining capacity of the power supply 51, and the working modes of the detection system 50. In addition, a flight mode icon and a wireless communication icon can be shown on display 536 for indicating the working modes of the detection system 50.
In at least one embodiment, the working modes of the detection system 50 include a non flight mode, a flight delay mode, and a flight mode. In detail, when the detection system 50 works at the non flight mode, the wireless communication icon can be highlighted and shown on the display 536. At this time, all the functions of the detection system 50 can be activated. When the detection system 50 works at the flight delay mode, the flight mode icon can be highlighted and shown on the display 536. At this time, all the functions of the detection system 50 can also be activated. After a predetermined time, the detection system 50 may enter the flight mode from the flight delay mode. At this time, the communication module 533 and the RFID tag 534 are disabled, other functions of the detection system 50 can be still activated. In at least one embodiment, the predetermined time can be about three hours. The detection system 50 can exit the flight mode by manually manipulating the input module 538, or by the setting command or the short message. In at least one embodiment, the detection system 50 enters the non flight mode by default once being powered on.
The indicating module 537 includes a buzzer and a plurality of light emitting diodes (LEDs). The LEDs include a first LED, a second LED, a third LED, and a fourth LED. When the temperature of the cold chain transportation device 100 exceeds the temperature threshold, the processor 531 turns on the first LED and the buzzer. When the inclined angle of the cold chain transportation device 100 exceeds the inclined threshold or the acceleration of the cold chain transportation device 100 exceeds the acceleration threshold, the processor 531 turns on the second LED and the buzzer. When the remaining capacity of the power supply 51 is less than the first remaining capacity threshold, the processor 531 turns on the third LED. When he remaining capacity of the power supply 51 is less than the second remaining capacity threshold, the processor 531 turns on the fourth LED and turns off the communication module 533 to conserve power. In at least one embodiment, the second remaining capacity threshold is less than the first remaining capacity threshold.
In at least one embodiment, the input module 538 includes at least one key. The detection system 50 can be set or reset by pressing the input module 538. In detail, for example, the detection system 50 can be powered on/off by pressing the input module 538 two times for a predetermined period of time, such as three seconds, and the display 536 can be activated by clicking the input module 538. For another example, the working modes of the detection system 50 can be set or mutually switched by pressing the input module 538.
The temperature sensor 55 is coupled to the processor 531 via a signal wire to transmit the temperature of the cold chain transportation device 100 to the processor 531. In at least one embodiment, a temperature sensing range of the temperature sensor 55 can be about −55 degrees to +125 degrees, a resolution of the temperature sensor 55 can be about 0.1 degrees, and an error of the temperature sensor 55 can be about ±0.5 degrees.
Referring to
In summary, the temperature sensor 55 senses the temperature of the cold chain transportation device 100, the detection unit 57 detects the opened/closed states of the cover 30, and the control unit 53 determines the motion states and the working states of the cold chain transportation device 100. Then, the communication module 533 transmits the temperature, the opened/closed states, the motion states, and the working states of the cold chain transportation device 100 to the electronic terminal to facilitate remote monitoring. Additionally, the processor 531 may trigger the control signal to enable the indicating module 537 according to the temperature, the inclined angle, and the acceleration. Thus, it is sufficient to efficiently ensure that the items stays within a proper condition for the entire duration of the cold chain transmission, from manufacture to end use. Therefore, the cold chain transportation device 100 is both intelligent and convenient.
The embodiments shown and described above are only examples. Many details are often found in the art such as the other features of the case and the cold chain transportation device using the same. Therefore, many such details are neither shown nor described. Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present technology have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the present disclosure, the disclosure is illustrative only, and changes may be made in the details, especially in matters of shape, size and arrangement of the parts within the principles of the present disclosure up to, and including the full extent established by the broad general meaning of the terms used in the claims. It will therefore be appreciated that the embodiments described above may be modified within the scope of the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 1 0428760 | Aug 2014 | CN | national |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20100306544 | Lionetti | Dec 2010 | A1 |
| 20130278067 | Poss | Oct 2013 | A1 |
| 20140266791 | Lloyd | Sep 2014 | A1 |
| 20140317005 | Balwani | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20150017627 | Anderson | Jan 2015 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160063842 A1 | Mar 2016 | US |
