Patent Application
20070008107
This invention relates in general to mobile containers and, more particularly, to techniques for monitoring mobile containers.
Many different types of mobile containers are used for transporting and shipping a wide variety of items. One example of a mobile container is a truck with an enclosed portion that serves as the container. Persons assisting with the transport of a mobile container, such as the driver of a truck, are not always trusted agents.
Accordingly, there are situations where it is desirable to be able to generate prompt notice if tampering occurs while a mobile container is in transit. As one example, a truck or some other mobile container may be transporting an authorized shipment of military weapons. Given the global threat of terrorism, it is desirable that notice be promptly provided to a central location if there is any tampering and/or theft in regard to the container or its cargo.
One of the broader forms of the invention involves: supporting first and second portions of a monitoring system on a mobile arrangement that includes a container; monitoring a selected aspect of the container with the first portion; transmitting a first wireless communication from the first portion to the second portion, the first wireless communication including first information relating to the selected aspect of the container; and broadcasting a second wireless communication from the second portion to a remote location, the second wireless communication including second information that is based on the first information.
A better understanding of the present invention will be realized from the detailed description that follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
In addition to the antennas 21 and 22, the monitoring system has other structure that is not visible in
In the disclosed embodiment, the antennas 21 and 22 are mounted on top of the cab of the tractor 26. However, it would alternatively be possible to mount the antennas at any other suitable location on the truck 11. For example, the two antennas 22 could each be mounted on a respective front fender of the tractor 26, or on a respective side mirror thereof. As another alternative, some or all of the external antennas 21 and 22 could be replaced with internal antennas disposed within the cab of the tractor 26.
In addition to the antennas 21 and 22, the monitoring system includes a transceiver 46 and a reader 47 that are disposed within the cab of the tractor 26. The transceiver 46 is operatively coupled to the antenna 21. The transceiver 46 uses the antenna 21 to transmit wireless signals to the satellite 16, and to receive wireless signals from the satellite 16, as indicated diagrammatically at 51. Although the disclosed embodiment has the transceiver 46 and the antenna 21 configured to communicate with the satellite 16, it would alternatively be possible for the transceiver 46 and antenna 21 to be configured for wireless communication with some other type of system, such as a cellular telephone network. Further, the transceiver 46 could include a global positioning system (GPS) device that receives GPS signals from GPS satellites, and that calculates the location of the apparatus 10. The GPS device would then supply the location information to the transceiver 46, which in turn can include this location information in the wireless signals 51.
The reader 47 is an RFID reader of a known type. With reference to
As mentioned above in association with
In this regard,
The tag 101 has a housing 112 on the outer leg of the clamp 111. The housing 112 contains a not-illustrated antenna, through which the tag 101 can send and receive wireless signals. The tag 101 has a further housing 113 disposed on the inner leg of the clamp 111. The housing 113 contains not-illustrated circuitry that is coupled by not-illustrated wires to the antenna within the housing 112. The circuitry includes not-illustrated sensors that monitor various characteristics within the container portion of the trailer 27. In the disclosed embodiment, these sensors include a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, and also a photocell that can detect visible light. A door engaging part 116 is pivotally supported on the housing 113, and is biased by a spring to engage the inner side of the door 72 when the doors 71 and 72 are in their closed positions. If the door 72 is opened, the part 116 will be moved by the spring, and the circuitry within the housing 113 will detect this movement. In addition to or in place of the sensors discussed above, the tag 101 could have a pressure sensor, a moisture sensor, a radiation sensor for detecting radioactive emissions, a gas sensor for detecting hazardous or poisonous gases (such as hydrogen cyanide or phosgene), an RF sensor that can monitor an RF signal for changes indicative of unauthorized intrusion, or any other desired type of sensor.
From the foregoing discussion, it will be recognized that are different ways in which the circuitry within the housing 113 can detect a situation where either of the doors 71 and 72 is opened. For example, the circuitry can detect visible light that enters when either door is open, and can detect movement of the part 116 when a door opens. The circuitry can then use the antenna within the housing 112 to transmit a wireless signal that indicates one or both of the doors 71 and 72 have been opened. The circuitry within the housing 113 can also detect a condition where the temperature or humidity within the container portion of the trailer 27 is above or below a selected limit, and can transmit a wireless signal identifying the particular condition that has been detected.
In the disclosed embodiment, the tags 102 and 103 are effectively identical. Therefore, to avoid redundancy, only the tag 103 is discussed here.
The operation of the tag 103 is generally similar to the operation of the tag 101. Therefore, since the operation of the tag 101 has already been briefly described above, the operation of the tag 103 is not separately described here in detail.
When the truck 11 of
For example, each of the tags 101-103 will indicate whether it detected that a door 71 or 72 of the trailer has been opened, whether it detected an abnormal temperature condition, whether it detected an abnormal humidity condition, and so forth. Consequently, if there has been an unauthorized entry into the trailer 27, at least one of the tags 101-103 will be reporting information that reflects this. In addition, the tags 101-103 each have a degree of capability to detect a situation where someone tampers with the tag itself. Consequently, if any of the tags 101-103 determines that someone tampered with it, the tag will report this in one of the wireless signals 53 that it sends to the reader 47.
The two spaced antennas 22 help to reduce the likelihood that a wireless signal traveling in either direction between the reader 47 and the tags 101-103 will not be properly received. For example, the tag 102 is on one side of the truck 11, and may communicate more readily with the antenna 22 on the same side of the truck than with the other antenna 22. Similarly, the tag 103 is located on the opposite side of the truck 11, and may communicate more readily with the antenna 22 on the same side of the truck than with the other antenna 22. Further, the tag 101 is centered in the back of the truck 11, and use of the two spaced antennas 22 may facilitate the transmission of wireless communications to and from the tag 101, for example when the truck is turning a corner.
As explained above, the tags 101-103 receive and then reply to a periodic wireless interrogation signal sent by the reader 47. In addition, if any of the tags 101-103 detects an abnormal event, the tag immediately transmits a wireless signal that contains the unique code of the tag and that identifies the event, without waiting for the next interrogation signal. Later, when the next interrogation signal is received, the tag will send a reply that identifies the detected event.
The reader 47 takes the information received from the tags 101-103, and uses the transceiver 46 and the antenna 21 to transmit wireless signals 51 containing this information to a location remote from the truck 11, and in particular to the satellite 16. The satellite 16 then transmits a wireless signal that relays this information to a central system at some other location remote from the truck 11. The central system will then be aware of whether or not everything is normal with the truck 11, and in particular will know if some abnormal event has been detected by the monitoring system on the truck 11.
As a further possibility, items being transported in the trailer 27 may have not-illustrated RFID tags thereon that transmit wireless signals, and one or more of the tags 101-103 may have the capability to receive these wireless signals. After these wireless signals are received by one or more of the tags 101, 102 or 103, the information can be used to generate inventory information or a manifest list that identifies the items present in the trailer 27. In one approach, the tag 101, 102 or 103 generates the inventory information, and can save that information in its own memory and/or pass the information on to the central system through the wireless signals 51 and the satellite 16. Where the inventory information is passed on to the central system, the tag may maintain a duplicate copy of that information in its memory, or may maintain only an identifier that can be used to look up the inventory information in a database of the central system. In the latter case, a person would need not only the identifier but also an authenticated link to the central system in order to access the inventory information stored in the central system.
Although one selected embodiment has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be understood that a variety of substitutions and alterations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.
