U.S. patent number RE40,073 [Application Number 11/416,475] was granted by the patent office on 2008-02-19 for low power remote asset monitoring.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.. Invention is credited to David S. Breed.
United States Patent |
RE40,073 |
Breed |
February 19, 2008 |
Low power remote asset monitoring
Abstract
Arrangement for monitoring an asset including an interior sensor
system arranged on the asset to obtain information about contents
in the interior of the asset, a location determining system
arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset and a
communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the
interior sensor system and the location determining system. The
communication system operatively transmits the information about
the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the
asset to a remote facility. The interior sensor system may include
at least one wave transmitter arranged to transmit waves into the
interior of the asset and at least one wave receiver arranged to
receive waves from the interior of the asset. A processor may be
provided to compare waves received by the wave receiver(s) at
different times or analyze the waves received by the wave
receiver(s).
Inventors: |
Breed; David S. (Miami Beach,
FL) |
Assignee: |
Intelligent Technologies
International, Inc. (Denville, NJ)
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Family
ID: |
29715507 |
Appl.
No.: |
11/416,475 |
Filed: |
May 1, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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60387792 |
Jun 11, 2002 |
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Reissue of: |
10457238 |
Jun 9, 2003 |
06919803 |
Jul 19, 2005 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
340/539.14;
340/426.19; 340/539.1; 340/540; 340/568.1; 340/8.1; 342/457;
705/22 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
20/203 (20130101); G08B 13/1427 (20130101); G08B
13/2462 (20130101); G08B 13/248 (20130101); G08B
21/0227 (20130101); G08B 21/023 (20130101); G08B
21/0286 (20130101); G08B 29/181 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G08B
1/08 (20060101); G08B 13/14 (20060101); G08B
29/00 (20060101); G08B 29/18 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;340/539.14,426.19,568.1,539.1,540,825.36,825.49 ;342/457
;705/22 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Other References
TMW Systems, Products & Services, "Manage Your Trailers Like
the Valuable Assets They Are", printed Jun. 15, 2006. cited by
other .
Skybitz, GLS Technology, "How It Works", printed Jun. 15, 2006.
cited by other .
Skybitz, "Trailer Tracking", Nov. 2002. cited by other .
Skybitz Wherenet "Results of the Container Tracking Demonstration
for the Maritime Administration", Fall, 2003. cited by
other.
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Primary Examiner: Goins; Davetta W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Roffe; Brian
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent
application Ser. No. 60/387,792 filed Jun. 11, 2002 under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(e).
Claims
I claim:
1. An asset including an arrangement for monitoring the asset and
.Iadd.inanimate contents in .Iaddend.an interior of the asset,
comprising: an interior sensor system arranged on the asset, said
interior sensor system being arranged to obtain information about
.Iadd.the inanimate .Iaddend.contents in the interior of the asset
different than .Iadd.the presence of the contents, .Iaddend.the
location of the asset and the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents
thereof; a location determining system arranged on the asset, said
location determining system being arranged to monitor the location
of the asset; and a communication system arranged on the asset and
coupled to said interior sensor system and said location
determining system, said communication system being arranged to
transmit the information about the .Iadd.inanimate
.Iaddend.contents in the interior of the asset and the location of
the asset to a remote facility, said interior sensor system
comprising at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves
from the interior of the asset and a processor arranged to compare
waves received by said at least one wave receiver at different
times and obtain information about the .Iadd.inanimate
.Iaddend.contents in the interior of the asset based on the
comparison of the waves received by said at least one wave receiver
at different times.
2. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
further comprises at least one wave transmitter arranged to
transmit waves into the interior of the asset.
3. The asset of claim 2, further comprising a door; and a door
status sensor arranged to detect when said door is closed, said
interior sensor system being coupled to said door status sensor and
arranged to cause said at least one wave receiver to receive waves
from the interior of the asset only when said door status sensor
detects when said door is closed after having been opened.
4. The asset of claim 3, wherein said at least one wave transmitter
is coupled to said door status sensor and arranged to transmit
waves into the interior of the asset only when said door status
sensor detects when said door is closed after having been
opened.
5. The asset of claim 2, further comprising at least one
light-detecting sensor arranged to detect any change in light in
the interior of the asset, said at least one light-detecting sensor
being arranged to cause said at least one wave transmitter to
transmit waves into the interior of the asset only when a change in
light is detected.
6. The asset of claim 2, wherein said processor is arranged to
compensate for thermal gradients in the interior of the asset.
.[.7. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system is
arranged to determine the presence of objects in the interior of
the asset..].
8. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises at least one imager arranged to obtain images of the
interior of the asset.
9. The asset of claim 8, wherein said interior sensor system
further comprises a processor embodying a trained pattern
recognition system for obtaining information about the contents of
the images obtained by said at least one imager.
10. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system is
arranged to detect motion within the interior of the asset relative
to the asset.
11. The asset of claim 10, further comprising an inertial device
coupled to said interior sensor system and arranged to detect
movement of the asset, said interior sensor system receiving
information about movement of the asset and analyzing the movement
of the asset in conjunction with the detected motion within the
interior of the asset relative to the asset to ascertain whether
the detected motion is caused by the movement of the asset or by
independent movement of the contents in the interior of the
asset.
12. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises at least one chemical sensor.
13. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises a sensor selected from a group consisting of .[.a
temperature sensor,.]. a pressure sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor,
a humidity sensor, a hydrocarbon sensor, a narcotics sensor, a
mercury vapor sensor, a radioactivity sensor, a microphone, an
electromagnetic wave sensor, electric or magnetic field sensor and
a light sensor.
14. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises an initiation device for periodically initiating said
interior sensor system to obtain information about the contents in
the interior of the asset, said initiation device being arranged to
cause said at least one wave receiver to receive waves from the
interior of the asset at periodic intervals.
15. The asset of claim 14, further comprising a wakeup sensor
system for detecting the occurrence of an internal or external
event, or the absence of an event for a time period, requiring a
change in the frequency of monitoring of the interior of the asset,
said initiation device being coupled to said wakeup sensor system
and being arranged to change the rate at which it initiates said
interior sensor system to obtain information about the contents in
the interior of the asset in response to the detected occurrence of
an internal or external event by said wakeup sensor system.
16. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a motion or vibration
detection system arranged to detect motion or vibration of the
asset or a part thereof, said interior sensor system being coupled
to said motion or vibration detection system and being arranged to
detect information about the contents of the interior of the asset
by causing said at least one wave receiver to receive waves from
the interior of the asset only after the asset or a part thereof is
determined to have moved from a stationary position or
vibrated.
.[.17. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a wakeup sensor
system for detecting the occurrence of an internal or external
event relating to the condition or location of the asset, said
communication system being coupled to said wakeup sensor system and
being arranged to transmit a signal relating to the detected
occurrence of an internal or external event..].
18. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a memory unit for
storing data relating to the location of the asset and the contents
in the interior of the asset.
19. The asset of claim 18, further comprising: a door; and a door
status sensor arranged to detect when said door is closed.
20. The asset of claim 19, wherein said memory unit is arranged to
store data relating to the opening and closing of the door in
conjunction with the location of the asset and the contents in the
interior of the asset.
21. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor
arranged on the asset for monitoring motion of the asset or a part
thereof.
22. The asset of claim 21, further comprising an alarm or warning
system coupled to said motion sensor and which is activated when
said motion sensor detects dangerous motion of the asset.
23. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises at least one weight sensor for measuring the weight of
the contents of the asset or the distribution of weight in the
interior of the asset.
24. The asset of claim 1, further comprising at least one
environment sensor arranged on the asset to measure a property of
the .Iadd.exterior .Iaddend.environment in which the asset is
situated.
25. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises a radio frequency transmitter and receiver unit arranged
to transmit signals into the interior of the asset and receive
signals from RFID or SAW devices present in the interior of the
asset.
26. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises an optical barcode reader arranged to transmit light into
the interior of the asset and receive light reflected from any
barcodes present on objects in the interior of the asset.
27. The asset of claim 1, further comprising an exterior monitoring
system for monitoring the area in the vicinity of the asset.
28. The asset of claim 27, wherein said exterior monitoring system
comprises a sensor selected from a group consisting of an
ultrasound sensor, an imager such as a camera both with and without
illumination including visual, infrared or ultraviolet imagers,
scanners, other types of sensors which sense other parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum, capacitive sensors, electric or magnetic
field sensors, and chemical sensors.
29. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
utilizes a trained pattern recognition technique.
30. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system
comprises at least one sensor having a diagnostic capability.
.[.31. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system,
said location determining system and said communication system have
low power requirements..].
.[.32. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a battery coupled
to said interior sensor system, said location determining system
and said communication system for providing power to said interior
sensor system, said location determining system and said
communication system when needed..].
.[.33. The asset of claim 32, wherein said battery is
rechargeable..].
34. An arrangement for monitoring an asset, comprising: a location
determining system adapted to be arranged on the asset, said
location determining system being arranged to monitor the location
of the asset; at least one environment sensor adapted to be
arranged on the asset, said at least one environment sensor being
arranged to obtain information about the .Iadd.exterior
.Iaddend.environment in which the asset is located different than
the location of the asset; a communication system adapted to be
arranged on the asset and coupled to said at least one environment
sensor and said location determining system, said communication
system being arranged to transmit the information about the
location of the asset and the environment in which the asset is
located to a remote facility, said at least one environment sensor
comprising at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves
from an area in a vicinity of the asset and a processor arranged to
analyze waves received by said at least one wave receiver and
obtain information about the environment in which the asset is
located based on the waves received by said at least one wave
receiver.
35. A method for monitoring movable assets and .Iadd.inanimate
.Iaddend.contents in the assets; comprising the steps of: assigning
a unique identification code to each asset; determining the
location of each asset.Iadd., said location determining step being
performed on the asset.Iaddend.; assigning an event to initiate a
determination of at least one property or characteristic of the
.Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents of each asset, the at least one
property or characteristic being different than .Iadd.the presence
of the contents in the asset and .Iaddend.the location of the
asset; detecting the event; determining the at least one property
or characteristic of the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents of each
asset only after detection of the event assigned to that asset; and
after detection of the event and the determination of the at least
one property of characteristic of the .Iadd.inanimate
.Iaddend.contents of the asset, transmitting the location of each
asset along with the determined at least one property or
characteristic of the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents of the
asset to a data processing facility to form a database of
information about the use of the assets or to retransmit the data
to another location.
36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of determining at
least one property or characteristic of the contents of each asset
comprises the step of determining the weight of the contents of the
asset and/or determining the weight distribution of the contents of
the asset.
37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of
determining the weight of an asset and/or determining the weight
distribution of an asset utilizing the determined weight of the
contents of the asset and/or the determined weight distribution of
the contents of the asset and the known weight and weight
distribution of the asset without contents.
38. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:
arranging at least one sensor on each asset to determine a
condition of the .Iadd.exterior .Iaddend.environment in the
vicinity of the asset; and transmitting the condition of the
environment in the vicinity of the assets to the data processing
and facility for inclusion in the database or retransmission to
another location.
39. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of
constructing the at least one sensor to measure or detect at least
one of the exposure of the asset to excessive heat, exposure of the
asset to excessive cold, vibrations of the asset, exposure of the
asset to water and exposure of the asset to hazardous material.
40. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:
arranging at least one sensor on each asset to determine a
condition of the environment of the interior of the asset; and
transmitting the condition of the environment of the interior of
the assets to the data processing facility for inclusion in the
database or retransmission.
41. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of
constructing the at least one sensor to measure or detect at least
one of .[.the presence of excessive heat in the interior of the
asset,.]. the presence of excessive cold in the interior of the
asset, vibrations of the asset, the presence of water in the
interior of the asset and the presence of hazardous material in the
interior of the asset.
42. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:
providing a responsive identification tag on individual cargo items
at least when present in one of the assets; arranging an initiation
and reception device on each asset to cause the identification tag
on each cargo item in the asset to generate a responsive signal
containing data on the cargo item when initiated by the initiation
and reception device; periodically initiating the initiation and
reception device; receiving the responsive signals from the cargo
items after initiation of the initiation and reception device to
thereby obtain information about the identification of the cargo
items; and transmitting information about the identification of the
cargo items to the data processing facility for inclusion in the
database or retransmission.
43. The method of claim 42, further comprising the steps of:
comparing the information about the identification of the cargo
items received from each asset to pre-determined information about
the identification of the cargo items in that asset; and generating
an alert upon the detection of differences between the information
about the identification of the cargo items received from each
asset and the predetermined information about the identification of
the cargo items in that asset.
44. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of
providing a memory unit on each asset and storing the information
about the location of each asset along with the at least one
property or characteristic of the contents of the asset in the
memory unit.
45. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:
providing an optically readable identification code on individual
cargo items at least when present in one of the assets; arranging
an initiation and reception device on each asset to cause the
identification code on each cargo items in the asset to provide a
responsive pattern of light containing data on the cargo item when
initiated by the initiation and reception device; periodically
initiating the initiation and reception device when the cargo items
are in a position to direct light to the identification code on the
cargo item; receiving the responsive patterns of light from the
cargo items after initiation of the initiation and reception device
to thereby obtain information about the identification of the cargo
items; and transmitting information about the identification of the
cargo items to the data processing facility.
46. The method of claim 45, further comprising the steps of:
comparing the information about the identification of the cargo
items received from each asset to pre-determined information about
the identification of the cargo items in that asset; and generating
an alert upon the detection of differences between the information
about the identification of the cargo items received from each
asset and the predetermined information about the identification of
the cargo items in that asset.
47. The method of claim 35, wherein each asset has at least one
door, further comprising the steps of: detecting openings and/or
closing of the at least one door of each asset; and transmitting
the information about the openings and closings of the at least one
door to the data processing facility.
48. The method of claim 35, wherein each asset has at least one
door, the assigned event being openings or closings of the at least
one door.
49. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:
obtaining information about an implement or individual moving the
asset; and transmitting the information about the implement or
individual moving the asset to the data processing facility.
50. A method for monitoring movable assets and .Iadd.inanimate
.Iaddend.contents in the assets; comprising the steps of: mounting
a replaceable cell phone or PDA having a location providing
function and a low duty cycle to the asset; determining the
location of the asset; determining information about the
.Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents of the asset other than the
location of the asset, said information determining step comprising
the steps of arranging at least one wave receiver on the asset in a
position to receive waves from the interior of the asset and
comparing waves received by the at least one wave receiver at
different times such that the information about the .Iadd.inanimate
.Iaddend.contents of the asset are obtained based on the comparison
of the waves received by the at least one wave receiver at
different times; enabling communications between the cell phone or
PDA and the asset to enable the cell phone or PDA to obtain the
determined location of the asset and the determined information
about the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents of the asset; and
establishing a communications channel between the cell phone or PDA
and a location remote from the asset to enable the information
about the asset and its .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents to be
transmitted to the remote location.
51. The method of claim 50, wherein the cell phone or PDA obtains
an identification number from the asset.
52. The method of claim 50, further comprising the step of coupling
the cell phone or PA to a battery fixed to the asset.
53. The method of claim 50, wherein a cell phone is mounted to the
asset, the cell phone having a sound-receiving component, further
comprising the step of providing a pattern recognition system in
the cell phone to recognize events relating to the asset based on
sounds received by the sound-receiving component.
.[.54. The asset of claim 1, further comprising an event monitoring
sensor coupled to said processor for monitoring an event related to
the asset, said processor being arranged to cause said at least one
wave receiver to receive waves from the interior of the asset only
when said event monitoring sensor detects occurrence of the
event..].
55. An asset including an arrangement for monitoring the asset and
.Iadd.inanimate objects in .Iaddend.an interior of the asset,
comprising: an interior sensor system arranged on the asset, said
interior sensor system being arranged to obtain information about
.Iadd.the inanimate .Iaddend.contents in the interior of the asset
different than.Iadd., the presence of the contents and .Iaddend.the
location of the asset and the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents
thereof, said interior sensing system including at least one sensor
arranged to periodically determine a property or characteristic of
the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents in the interior of the asset,
an event monitoring sensor arranged to monitor an event related to
the asset and a processor coupled to said at least one sensor and
said event monitoring sensor and arranged to cause said at least
one sensor to determine the property or characteristic of the
.Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents in the interior of the asset only
when said event monitoring sensor detects occurrence of the event;
a location determining system arranged on the asset, said location
determining system being arranged to monitor the location of the
asset; and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled
to said interior sensor system and said location determining
system, said communication system being arranged to transmit the
information about the .Iadd.inanimate .Iaddend.contents in the
interior of the asset and the location of the asset to a remote
facility.
.Iadd.56. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a frame defining
a cargo-containing interior and having the form of a cargo trailer,
said interior sensor system, said location determining system and
said communication system being arranged on said
frame..Iaddend.
.Iadd.57. The asset of claim 1, wherein said at least one wave
receiver is arranged to receive waves from the interior of the
asset generated by, reflected by or emanating from the
inanimate..Iaddend.
.Iadd.58. The asset of claim 14, wherein said initiation device is
arranged in a common housing with said at least one wave
receiver..Iaddend.
.Iadd.59. The asset of claim 40, wherein the at least one sensor
determines a condition of the environment of the interior of the
asset other than temperature of the interior of the
asset..Iaddend.
.Iadd.60. The method of claim 50, wherein the at least one wave
receiver is arranged in a position to receive waves from the
interior of the asset generated by, reflected by or emanating from
the inanimate contents..Iaddend.
.Iadd.61. The asset of claim 55, wherein said event monitoring
sensor is arranged in a common housing with said interior sensor
system..Iaddend.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to systems for remotely monitoring
transportation assets and other movable and/or stationary items
which have very low power requirements. In particular, the present
invention relates to a system for attachment to shipping containers
and other transportation assets which enables remote monitoring of
the location, contents, properties and/or interior or exterior
environment of shipping containers or other assets and
transportation assets and since it has a low power requirement,
lasts for years without needing maintenance.
The present invention also relates to a tracking method and system
for tracking shipping containers and other transportation assets
and enabling recording of the travels of the shipping container or
transportation asset.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Many issues are now arising that render a low power remote asset
monitoring system desirable. Some of these issues developed from
the terrorist threat to the United States since Sep. 11, 2001, and
the concern of anti-terrorist personnel with the relatively free
and unmonitored transportation of massive amounts of material
throughout the United States by trains, trucks, and ships. A system
that permits monitoring of the contents of these shipping
containers could substantially reduce this terrorist threat.
The FBI has recently stated that cargo crime is conservatively
estimated at about $12 billion per year. It is the fastest growing
crime problem in the United States. Other areas of criminal
activity involve shipments imported into the United States that are
used to conceal illegal goods including weapons, illegal
immigrants, narcotics, and products that violate trademarks and
patents. The recent concern on the potential use of cargo
containers as weapons of mass destruction is also causing great
pressure to improve information, inspection, tracking and
monitoring technologies. Furthermore, the movement of hazardous
cargo and the potential for sabotage is also causing increased
concern among law enforcement agencies and resulting in increasing
demands for security for such hazardous cargo shipments.
A low cost low power monitoring system of cargo containers and
their contents could substantially solve these problems.
Cargo security is defined as the safe and reliable intermodal
movement of goods from the shipper to the eventual destination with
no loss due to theft or damage. Cargo security is concerned with
the key assets that move the cargo including containers, trailers,
chassis, tractors, vessels and rail cars as well as the cargo
itself. Modern manufacturing methods requiring just-in-time
delivery further places a premium on cargo security.
The recent increase in cargo theft and the concern for homeland
security are thus placing new demands on cargo security and because
of the large number of carriers and storage locations, inexpensive
systems are needed to continuously monitor the status of cargo from
the time that it leaves the shipper until it reaches its final
destination. Technological advancements such as the global
positioning system (GPS), and improved communication systems,
including wireless telecommunications via satellites, and the
Internet have created a situation where such an inexpensive system
is now possible.
To partially respond to these concerns, projects are underway to
remotely monitor the geographic location of shipping containers as
well as the tractors and chassis, boats, planes and railroad cars
that move these containers or cargo in general. The ability exists
now for communicating limited amounts of information from shipping
containers directly to central computers and the Internet using
satellites and other telematics communication devices.
In some prior art systems, cargo containers are sealed with
electronic cargo seals, the integrity of which can be remotely
monitored. Knowledge of the container's location as well as the
seal integrity are vital pieces of information that can contribute
to solving the problems mentioned above. However, this is not
sufficient and the addition of various sensors and remote
monitoring of these sensors is now not only possible but
necessary.
Emerging technology now permits the monitoring of some safety and
status information on the chassis such as tire pressures, brake
system status, lights, geographical location, generator
performance, and container security and this information can now be
telecommunicated to a remote location. This invention is concerned
with these additional improvements to the remote reporting
system.
Additionally, biometric information can be used to validate drivers
of vehicles containing hazardous cargo to minimize terrorist
activities involving these materials. This data needs to be
available remotely especially if there is a sudden change in
drivers. Similarly, any deviation from the authorized route can now
be detected and this also needs to be remotely reported. Much of
the above-mentioned prior art activity is in bits and pieces, that
is, it is available on the vehicle and sometimes to the dispatching
station while the vehicle is on the premises. It now needs to be
available to a central monitoring location at all times. Homeland
security issues arising out the components that make up the cargo
transportation system including tractors, trailers, chassis,
containers and railroad cars, will only be eliminated when the
contents of all such elements are known, monitored, and thus the
misappropriation of such assets eliminated. The shipping system or
process that takes place in the United States should guarantee that
all shipping containers contain only the appropriate contents and
are always on the proper route from their source to their
destination and on schedule. This invention is concerned with
achieving this 100 percent system primarily through low power
remote monitoring of the assets that make up the shipping
system.
The system that is described herein for monitoring shipping assets
and the contents of shipping containers can also be used for a
variety of other asset monitoring problems including the monitoring
of unattended boats, cabins, summer homes, private airplanes,
sheds, warehouses, storage facilities and other remote unattended
facilities. With additional sensors, the quality of the
environment, the integrity of structures, the presence of unwanted
contaminants etc. can also now be monitored and reported on an
exception basis through a low power, essentially maintenance-free
monitoring and reporting system in accordance with the invention as
described herein.
Definitions
Preferred embodiments of the invention are described below and
unless specifically noted, it is the applicants' intention that the
words and phrases in the specification and claims be given the
ordinary and accustomed meaning to those of ordinary skill in the
applicable art(s). If the applicant intends any other meaning, he
will specifically state he is applying a special meaning to a word
or phrase.
Likewise, applicants' use of the word "function" here is not
intended to indicate that the applicants seek to invoke the special
provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, sixth paragraph, to define their
invention. To the contrary, if applicants wish to invoke the
provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, sixth paragraph, to define their
invention, they will specifically set forth in the claims the
phrases "means for" or "step for" and a function, without also
reciting in that phrase any structure, material or act in support
of the function. Moreover, even if applicants invoke the provisions
of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, sixth paragraph, to define their invention,
it is the applicants' intention that their inventions not be
limited to the specific structure, material or acts that are
described in the preferred embodiments herein. Rather, if
applicants claim their inventions by specifically invoking the
provisions of 35 U.S.C. .sctn.112, sixth paragraph, it is
nonetheless their intention to cover and include any and all
structure, materials or acts that perform the claimed function,
along with any all known or later developed equivalent structures,
materials or acts for performing the claimed function.
"Pattern recognition" as used herein will generally mean any system
which processes a signal that is generated by an object (e.g.,
representative of a pattern of returned or received impulses, waves
or other physical property specific to and/or characteristic of
and/or representative of that object) or is modified by interacting
with an object, in order to determine to which one of a set of
classes that the object belongs. Such a system might determine only
that the object is or is not a member of one specified class, or it
might attempt to assign the object to one of a larger set of
specified classes, or find that it is not a member of any of the
classes in the set. The signals processed are generally a series of
electrical signals coming from transducers that are sensitive to
acoustic (ultrasonic) or electromagnetic radiation (e.g., visible
light, infrared radiation, radar, or any other frequency), although
other sources of information including information from capacitance
and electric field sensors are frequently included.
A trainable or a trained pattern recognition system as used herein
generally means a pattern recognition system which is taught to
recognize various patterns constituted within the signals by
subjecting the system to a variety of examples. The most successful
such system is the neural network or modular neural network. Thus,
to generate the pattern recognition algorithm, test data is first
obtained which constitutes a plurality of sets of returned waves,
or wave patterns or other data, from an object (or from the space
in which the object will be situated in the container or other
storage facility or asset, e.g., the space in a truck or container)
and an indication of the identity of that object, (e.g., a number
of different objects are tested to obtain the unique wave patterns
from each object). As such, the algorithm is generated, and stored
in a computer processor, and which can later be applied to provide
the identity of an object based on the wave or other pattern being
received during use by a receiver connected to the processor and
other information. For the purposes here, the identity of an object
sometimes applies to not only the object itself but also to its
location and/or orientation in a compartment, container or storage
facility. For example, a rear facing child seat is a different
object than a forward facing child seat, an out-of-position adult
is a different object than a normally seated adult and an open
container door is a different object than a closed container
door.
Other means of pattern recognition exist where the training is done
by the researcher including fuzzy logic and sensor fusion
systems.
To "identify" as used herein will generally mean to determine that
the object belongs to a particular set or class. The class may be
one containing, for example, all rear facing child seats, one
containing all human occupants, or all human occupants not sitting
in a rear facing child seat or a box equal to or larger than a
particular size depending on the purpose of the system. In the case
where a particular person is to be recognized, the set or class
will contain only a single element, i.e., the person to be
recognized.
To "ascertain the identity of" as used herein with reference to an
object will generally mean to determine the type or nature of the
object (obtain information as to what the object is), i.e., that
the object is a box, an adult, an occupied rear facing child seat,
an occupied front facing child seat, an unoccupied rear facing
child seat, an unoccupied front facing child seat, a child, a dog,
a bag of groceries, etc.
"Transducer" as used herein will sometimes mean the combination of
a transmitter and a receiver. In some cases, the same device will
serve both as the transmitter and receiver while in others two
separate devices adjacent to each other will be used. In some
cases, a transmitter is not used and in such cases transducer will
mean only a receiver. Transducers include, for example, capacitive,
inductive, ultrasonic, electromagnetic (antenna, CCD, CMOS arrays),
weight measuring, temperature, acceleration, chemical, sound or
other sensing devices.
"Adaptation" as used herein represents the method by which a
particular sensing system is designed and arranged for a particular
vehicle container or other object. It includes such things as the
process by which the number, kind and location of various
transducers is determined. For pattern recognition systems, it
includes the process by which the pattern recognition system is
taught to recognize the desired patterns. In this connection, it
will usually include (1) the method of training, (2) the makeup of
the databases used for training, testing and validating the
particular system, or, in the case of a neural network, the
particular network architecture chosen, (3) the process by which
environmental influences are incorporated into the system, and (4)
any process for determining the pre-processing of the data or the
post processing of the results of the pattern recognition system.
The above list is illustrative and not exhaustive. Basically,
adaptation includes all of the steps that are undertaken to adapt
transducers and other sources of information to a particular
vehicle, container, storage facility, structure or other object to
create the system that accurately identifies and determines the
location of an object in a vehicle, container or other object, for
example.
For the purposes herein, a "neural network" is defined to include
all such learning systems including cellular neural networks,
support vector machines and other kernel-based learning systems and
methods, cellular automata and all other pattern recognition
methods and systems that learn. A "combination neural network" as
used herein will generally apply to any combination of two or more
neural networks that are either connected together or that analyze
all or a portion of the input data. A combination neural network
can be used to divide up tasks in solving a particular pattern
recognition problem. For example, one neural network can be used to
identify an object occupying a passenger compartment of an
automobile or a shipping container and a second neural network can
be used to determine the position of the object or its location
with respect to the airbag or end of the container, for example,
within the passenger compartment or container respectively. In
another case, one neural network can be used merely to determine
whether the data is similar to data upon which a main neural
network has been trained or whether there is something radically
different about this data and therefore that the data should not be
analyzed. Combination neural networks can sometimes be implemented
as cellular neural networks.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide new and
improved systems for remotely monitoring transportation assets and
other movable and/or stationary items which have very low power
requirements.
It is another object of the present invention to provide new and
improved systems for attachment to shipping containers and other
transportation assets which enable remote monitoring of the
location, contents and/or interior or exterior environment of
shipping containers or other assets and transportation assets and
since it has a low power requirement, lasts for years without
needing maintenance.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide new and
improved tracking methods and systems for tracking shipping
containers and other transportation assets and enabling recording
of the travels of the shipping container or transportation
asset.
Accordingly, to achieve at least one of the objects above, an asset
including an arrangement for self-monitoring comprises an interior
sensor system arranged on the asset to obtain information about
contents in the interior of the asset, a location determining
system arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset
and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the
interior sensor system and the location determining system. The
communication system operatively transmits the information about
the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the
asset to a remote facility.
The interior sensor system may comprise at least one wave
transmitter arranged to transmit waves into the interior of the
asset and at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves from
the interior of the asset. A processor is also typically provided
to compare waves received by the wave receiver(s) at different
times or analyze the waves received by the wave receiver(s),
preferably compensating for thermal gradients in the interior of
the asset in an appropriate manner. To conserve power, a door
status sensor is arranged to detect when the door is closed after
having been opened with the wave transmitter(s) being coupled to
the door status sensor and transmitting waves into the interior of
the asset only when the door status sensor detects when the door is
closed after having been opened.
The interior sensor system can also comprise an RFID or SAW
transmitter and receiver unit arranged to transmit signals into the
interior of the asset and receive signals from RFID or SAW devices
present in the interior of the asset. The interior sensor system
can also comprise an optical barcode reader arranged to transmit
light into the interior of the asset and receive light reflected
from any barcodes present on objects in the interior of the
asset.
The interior sensor system may be designed and constructed to
determine the presence of objects and/or motion in the interior of
the asset. It may also comprise at least one imager arranged to
obtain images of the interior of the asset, in which case, a
processor optionally embodying a pattern recognition system obtains
information about the contents from the images obtained by the
imager(s).
An inertial device may be coupled to the interior sensor system for
detecting movement of the asset. The interior sensor system would
receive information about movement of the asset and analyze the
movement of the asset with the detected motion within the interior
of the asset to ascertain whether the detected motion is caused by
the movement of the asset or by independent movement of the
contents in the interior of the asset.
Sensors included in the interior sensor system, may include at
least one chemical sensor, a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor,
a carbon dioxide sensor, a humidity sensor, a hydrocarbon sensor, a
narcotics sensor, a mercury vapor sensor, a radioactivity sensor, a
microphone and a light sensor. Another possible sensor is at least
one weight sensor for measuring the weight of the contents of the
asset or the distribution of weight in the interior of the asset.
Still other possible sensors include inertial, acceleration,
gyroscopic, ultrasonic, radar, electric field, magnetic, velocity,
displacement among others. Any of the foregoing sensors can be
provided with a diagnostic capability or self-diagnostic
capability.
The interior sensor system may be designed to utilize a pattern
recognition technique, neural network, modular neural network,
combination neural network, fuzzy logic and the like that can be
used to reduce the information about the contents in the interior
of the asset to a minimum. Such techniques could also be used to
reduce the information transmitted by the communication system to a
minimum.
The interior sensor system can include an initiation device for
periodically initiating the interior sensor system to obtain
information about the contents in the interior of the asset. A
wakeup sensor system can be provided for detecting the occurrence
of an internal or external event requiring instantaneous or a
change in the monitoring rate of the interior of the asset. The
initiation device is coupled to the wakeup sensor system and
arranged to change the rate at which it initiates the interior
sensor system to obtain information about the contents in the
interior of the asset in response to the detected occurrence of an
internal or external event by the wakeup sensor system.
If the asset includes a motion or vibration detection system
arranged to detect motion or vibration of the asset, the interior
sensor system is optionally coupled thereto and arranged to detect
information about the contents of the interior of the asset only
after the asset is determined to have moved or vibrated from a
stationary position.
If the asset includes a wakeup sensor system for detecting the
occurrence of an internal or external event relating to the
condition or location of the asset, the communication system is
optionally coupled to the wakeup sensor system and arranged to
transmit a signal relating to the detected occurrence of an
internal or external event.
The asset can include a memory unit for storing data relating to
the location of the asset and the contents in the interior of the
asset. The memory unit can be arranged to store data relating to
the opening and closing of the door, as determined by a door status
sensor, in conjunction with the location of the asset and the
contents in the interior of the asset.
If the asset includes a motion sensor arranged on the asset for
monitoring motion of the asset, it can also include an alarm or
warning system coupled to the motion sensor and activated when the
motion sensor detects a potentially or actually dangerous motion of
the asset.
The asset can also include one or more environment sensors arranged
on the asset to measure a property of the environment in which the
asset is situated, with such property being storable in a memory
unit or transmittable in association with the location of the
asset.
An exterior monitoring system for monitoring the area in the
vicinity of the asset can also be provided. In this case, the
exterior monitoring system can comprise an ultrasound sensor,
images such as cameras both with and without illumination including
visual, infrared or ultraviolet imagers, scanners, other types of
sensors which sense other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum,
capacitive sensors, electric or magnetic field sensors, laser
radar, radar, phased array radar and chemical sensors, among
others.
Another arrangement for monitoring an asset in accordance with the
invention comprises a location determining system arranged on the
asset to monitor the location of the asset, at least one
environment sensor arranged on the asset to obtain information
about the environment in which the asset is located and a
communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the
environment sensor(s) and the location determining system. The
communication system transmits the information about the location
of the asset and the environment in which the asset is located to a
remote facility. Other features of this arrangement include those
mentioned above in the previous embodiment of the invention.
A method for monitoring movable assets and contents in the assets
in accordance with the invention comprises the steps of assigning a
unique identification code to each asset, determining the location
of each asset, determining at least one property or characteristic
of the contents of each asset, and transmitting the location of
each asset along with the property(ies) or characteristic(s) of the
contents of the asset to a data processing facility to form a
database of information about the use of the assets or for
retransmission to another location such as via the Internet.
Determining a property or characteristic of the contents of each
asset may entail determining the weight of the contents of the
asset and/or determining the weight distribution of the contents of
the asset, optionally utilizing the determined weight of the
contents of the asset and/or the determined weight distribution of
the contents of the asset and the known weight and weight
distribution of the asset without contents.
At least one sensor may be arranged on each asset to determine a
condition of the environment in the vicinity of the asset and the
condition of the environment in the vicinity of the assets
transmitted to the data processing for inclusion in the database or
for retransmission. The sensor(s) can be constructed to measure or
detect the exposure of the asset to excessive heat, exposure of the
asset to excessive cold, vibrations of the asset, exposure of the
asset to water and/or exposure of the asset to hazardous
material.
At least one sensor may be arranged on each asset to determine a
condition of the environment of the interior of the asset and the
condition of the environment of the interior of the assets
transmitted to the data processing facility for inclusion in the
database or for retransmission. The sensor(s) can be constructed to
measure or detect the presence of excessive heat in the interior of
the asset, the presence of excessive cold in the interior of the
asset, vibrations of the asset, the presence of water in the
interior of the asset and/or the presence of hazardous material in
the interior of the asset.
A responsive identification tag may be provided on individual cargo
items at least when present in one of the assets and an initiation
and reception device arranged in or on each asset to cause the
identification tag on each cargo item in the asset to generate a
responsive signal containing data on the cargo item when initiated
by the initiation and reception device. Periodically, the
initiation and reception device is initiated and the responsive
signals from the cargo items received to thereby obtain information
about the identification of the cargo items. The information about
the identification of the cargo items is then transmitted to the
data processing facility for inclusion in the database or for
retransmission. The information about the identification of the
cargo items received from each asset can be compared to
pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo
items in that asset. An alert may be generated upon the detection
of differences between the information about the identification of
the cargo items received from each asset and the pre-determined
information about the identification of the cargo items in that
asset.
A memory unit may be provided on each asset that may store
information about the location of each asset along with the
property or characteristic of the contents of the asset in the
memory unit.
An optically readable identification code may be provided on
individual cargo items at least when present in one of the assets
and an initiation and reception device arranged in or on each asset
to cause the identification code on each cargo items in the asset
to provide a responsive pattern of light containing data on the
cargo item when initiated by the initiation and reception device.
Periodically, the initiation and reception device is initiated when
the cargo items are in a position to direct light to the
identification code on the cargo item. The responsive patterns of
light are consequently received from the cargo items to thereby
obtain information about the identification of the cargo items. The
information about the identification of the cargo items may be
transmitted to the data processing facility for inclusion in the
database or otherwise processed and/or retransmitted. Optionally,
the information about the identification of the cargo items
received from each asset is compared to predetermined information
about the identification of the cargo items in that asset. An alert
can thus be generated upon the detection of differences between the
information about the identification of the cargo items received
from each asset and the pre-determined information about the
identification of the cargo items in that asset.
Openings and closings of each door of each asset can be detected
such that the information about the openings and closings of each
door is transmitted to the data processing for inclusion in the
database or retransmitted.
To conserve power, closure of each door can be detected and the
property or characteristic of the contents of each asset determined
only after closure of the door is detected.
Information about an implement or individual moving the asset can
be obtained and transmitted to the data processing facility for
inclusion in the database or retransmission. This will keep tabs on
the personnel or implements involved in the transfer, handling and
movement of the asset.
Another method for monitoring movable assets and contents in the
assets comprises mounting a portable, replaceable cell phone or PDA
having a location providing function and a low duty cycle to the
asset, enabling communications between the cell phone or PDA and
the asset to enable the cell phone or PDA to obtain information
about the asset and/or its contents (such as an identification
number or other information obtained by various sensors associated
with the asset) and establishing a communications channel between
the cell phone or PDA and a location remote from the asset to
enable the information about the asset and/or its contents to be
transmitted to the remote location. The cell phone or PA may be
coupled to a battery fixed to the asset to extend its operational
life. When a cell phone is mounted to the asset, and includes a
sound-receiving component, the cell phone can be provided with a
pattern recognition system to recognize events relating to the
asset based on sounds received by the sound-receiving
component.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The following drawings are illustrative of embodiments of the
invention and are not meant to limit the scope of the invention as
encompassed by the claims.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a shipping container including
one embodiment of the monitoring system in accordance with the
present invention.
FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing one manner in which a container is
monitored in accordance with the invention.
FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a container showing the use of
RFID technology in a monitoring system and method in accordance
with the invention.
FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a container showing the use of
barcode technology in a monitoring system and method in accordance
with the invention.
FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing one manner in which multiple assets
are monitored in accordance with the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
1. Monitoring the Interior Contents of a Shipping Container,
Trailer, Boat, Shed, etc.
Commercial systems are now available from companies such as Skybitz
Inc. 45365 Vintage Park Plaza, Suite 210, Dulles, Va. 20166-6700,
which will monitor the location of an asset anywhere on the surface
of the earth. Each monitored asset contains a low cost GPS receiver
and a satellite communication system. The system can be installed
onto a truck, trailer, container, or other asset and it will
periodically communicate with a low earth orbit (LEO) or a
geostationary satellite providing the satellite with its location
as determined by the GPS receiver or a similar system such as the
Skybitz Global Locating System (GLS). The entire system operates
off of a lithium battery, for example, and if the system transmits
information to the satellite once per day, the battery can last
many years before requiring replacement. Thus, the system can
monitor the location of a trailer, for example, once per day, which
is sufficient if trailer is stationary. The interrogation rate can
be automatically increased if the trailer begins moving. Such a
system can last for 2 to 10 years without requiring maintenance
depending on design, usage and the environment. Even longer periods
are possible if power is periodically or occasionally available to
recharge the battery such as by solar cells, capacitive coupling,
inductive coupling, RF or vehicle power.
The Skybitz system by itself only provides information as to the
location of a container and not information about its contents,
environment, and/or properties. This invention is intended to
provide this additional information, which can be coded typically
into a few bytes and sent to the satellite along with the container
location information and identification. First consider monitoring
of the interior contents of a container. From here on, the terms
"shipping container" or "container" will be used as a generic cargo
holder and will include all cargo holders including standard and
non-standard containers, boats, sheds, warehouses, storage
facilities, tanks, buildings or any other such object that has
space and can hold cargo.
One method of monitoring the space inside such a container is to
use ultrasound such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,653,462,
5,829,782, 5,943,295, 5,901,978, 6,116,639, 6,186,537, 6,234,520,
6,254,127, 6,270,117, 6,283,503, 6,341,798, 6,397,136 and RE 37,260
for monitoring the interior of a vehicle (all of these patents are
incorporated by reference herein in their entirety). Also,
reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,946, incorporated by
reference herein, which discusses various ways to use an ultrasonic
transducer while compensating for thermal gradients, all of which
can be used in the invention to the extent possible. Reference is
also made to U.S. Pat. Nos. 05,653,462, 05,694,320, 05,822,707,
05,829,782, 05,835,613, 05,485,000, 05,488,802, 05,901,978,
05,943,295, 06,309,139, 06,078,854, 06,081,757, 06,088,640,
06,116,639, 06,134,492, 06,141,432, 06,168,198, 06,186,537,
06,234,519, 06,234,520, 60,242,701, 06,253,134, 06,254,127,
06,270,116, 06,279,946, 06,283,503, 06,324,453, 06,325,414,
06,330,501, 06,331,014, RE37260 U.S. Pat. Nos. 06,393,133,
60,397,136, 06,412,813, 06,422,595, 06,452,870, 06,442,504,
06,445,988, 06,442,465, all of which are incorporated herein and
disclose inventions that may be incorporated into the invention(s)
disclosed herein.
Consider now a standard shipping container that is used for
shipping cargo by boat, trailer, or railroad. Such containers are
nominally 8'w.times.8'h.times.20' or 40' long outside dimensions,
however, a container 48' in length is also sometimes used. The
inside dimensions are frequently around 4'' less than the outside
dimensions. In a simple interior container monitoring system, one
or more ultrasonic transducers can be mounted on an interior part
of the container adjacent the container's ceiling in a protective
housing. Periodically, the ultrasonic transducers would emit a few
cycles of ultrasound and receive reflected echoes of this
ultrasound from walls and contents of the trailer. In some cases,
especially for long containers, one or more transducers, typically
at one end of the container, can send to one or more transducers
located at, for example, the opposite end. Usually, however, the
transmitters and receivers are located near each other.
Referring to FIG. 1, a container 10 is shown including an interior
sensor system 12 arranged to obtain information about contents in
the interior of the container 10. The interior sensor system
includes a wave transmitter 14 mounted at one end of the container
10 and which operatively transmits waves into the interior of the
container 10 and a wave receiver 16 mounted adjacent the wave
transmitter 14 and which operatively receives waves from the
interior of the container 10. As shown, the transmitter 14 and
receiver 16 are adjacent one another but such a positioning is not
intended to limit the invention. The transmitter 14 and receiver 16
can be formed as a single transducer or may be spaced apart from
one another. Multiple pairs of transmitter/receivers can also be
provided, for example transmitter 14' and receiver 16' are located
at an opposite end of the container 10 proximate the doors 18.
The interior sensor system 12 includes a processor coupled to the
receiver 16, and optionally the transmitter 14, and which is
resident on the container 10, for example, in the housing of the
receiver 16 or in the housing of a communication system 20. The
processor is programmed to compare waves received by each receiver
16,16' at different times and analyze either the received waves
individually or the received waves in comparison to or in relation
to other received waves for the purpose of providing information
about the contents in the interior of the container 10. The
processor can employ pattern recognition techniques and as
discussed more fully below, be designed to compensate for thermal
gradients in the interior of the container 10. Information about
the contents of the container 10 may be the presence or motion of
objects in the interior. The processor may be associated with a
memory unit which can store data on the location of the container
10 and the analysis of the data from the interior sensor system
12.
The container 10 also includes a location determining system 22
which monitors the location of the container 10. To this end, the
location determining system can be any asset locator in the prior
art, which typically include a GPS receiver, transmitter and
appropriate electronic hardware and software to enable the position
of the container 10 to be determined using GPS technology or other
satellite or ground-based technology including those using the cell
phone system or similar location based systems.
The communication system 20 is coupled to both the interior sensor
system 12 and the location determining system 22 and transmits the
information about the contents in the interior of the container 10
(obtained from the interior sensor system 12) and the location of
the container 10 (obtained from the location determining system
22). This transmission may be to a remote facility wherein the
information about the container 10 is stored, processed, counted,
reviewed and/or monitored and/or retransmitted to another location,
perhaps by way of the Internet.
The container 10 also includes a door status sensor 24 arranged to
detect when one or both doors 18 is/are opened or closed after
having been opened. The door status sensor 24 may be an ultrasonic
sensor which is positioned a fixed distance from the doors 18 and
registers changes in the position of the doors 18. Alternately,
other door status systems can be used such as those based on
switches, magnetic sensors or other technologies. The door status
sensor 24 can be programmed to associated an increase in the
distance between the sensor 24 and each of the doors 18 and a
subsequent decrease in the distance between the sensor 24 and that
door 18 as an opening and subsequent closing of that door 18. In
the alternative, a latching device can be provided to detect
latching of each door 18 upon its closure. The door status sensor
24 is coupled to the interior sensor system 12, or at least to the
transmitters 14,14' so that the transmitters 14,14' can be designed
to transmit waves into the interior of the container 10 only when
the door status sensor 24 detects when at least one door 18 is
closed after having been opened. For other purposes, the ultrasonic
sensors may be activated on opening of the door(s) in order to
monitor the movement of objects into or out of the container, which
might in turn be used to activate an RFID or bar code reading
system or other object identification system.
When the ultrasonic transducers are first installed into the
container 10 and the doors 18 closed, an initial pulse transmission
can be initiated and the received signal stored to provide a vector
of data that is representative of an empty container. To initiate
the pulse transmission, an initiation device or function is
provided in the interior sensor system 12, e.g., the door status
sensor 24. At a subsequent time when contents have been added to
the container (as possibly reflected in the opening and closing of
the doors 18 as detected by the door status sensor 24), the
ultrasonic transducers can be commanded to again issue a few cycles
of ultrasound and record the reflections. If the second pattern is
subtracted from the first pattern, or otherwise compared, in the
processor the existence of additional contents in the container 10
will cause the signal to change, which thus causes the differential
signal to change and the added contents detected. Vector as used
herein with ultrasonic systems is a linear array of data values
obtained by rectifying, taking the envelope and digitizing the
returned signal as received by the transducer.
When a container 10 is exposed to sunlight on its exterior top, a
stable thermal gradient can occur inside the container 10 where the
top of the container 10 near the ceiling is at a significantly
higher temperature than the bottom of the container 10. This
thermal gradient changes the density of the gas inside the
container causing it to act as a lens to ultrasound that diffracts
or bends the ultrasonic waves and can significantly affect the
signals sensed by the receiver portions 16,16' of the transducers.
Thus, the vector of sensed data when the container is at a single
uniform temperature will look significantly different from the
vector of sensed data acquired within the same container when
thermal gradients are present.
It is even possible for currents of heated air to occur within a
container 10 if a side of the container is exposed to sunlight.
Since these thermal gradients can substantially affect the vector,
the system must be examined under a large variety of different
thermal environments. This generally requires that the electronics
be designed to mask somewhat the effects of the thermal gradients
on the magnitude of the sensed waves while maintaining the
positions of these waves in time. This can be accomplished as
described in detail in the above-referenced patents and patent
applications through the use, for example, of a logarithmic
compression circuit. There are other methods of minimizing the
effect on the reflected wave magnitudes that will accomplish
substantially the same result.
When the complicating aspects of the thermal gradients are taken
into account, in many cases a great deal of data must be taken with
a large number of different occupancy situations to create a
database of perhaps 10,000 to one million vectors each representing
the different occupancy state of the container in a variety of
thermal environments. This data can then be used to train a pattern
recognition system such as a neural network, modular or combination
neural network, cellular neural network, support vector machine,
fuzzy logic system, Kalman filter system, sensor fusion system,
data fusion system or other classification system. Since all
containers of the type transported by ships, for example, are of
standard sizes, only a few of these training exercises need to be
conducted, typically one for each different geometry container. The
process of adapting an ultrasonic occupancy monitoring system to a
container or other space is described in considerable detail for
automobile interior monitoring in the above-referenced patents and
patent applications which are all incorporated herein by reference
and therefore this process need not be repeated here.
Other kinds of interior monitoring systems can be used to determine
and characterize the contents of a space such as a container. One
example uses a scanner and photocell 26, as in a laser radar
system, and can be mounted near the floor of the container 10 and
operated to scan the space above the floor in a plane located, for
example, 10 cm above the floor. Since the distance to a reflecting
wall of the container 10 can be determined and recorded for each
angular position of the scanner, the distance to any occupying item
will show up as a reflection from an object closer to the scanner
and therefore a shadow graph of the contents of the container 10 cm
above the floor can be obtained and used to partially categorize
the contents of the container 10. Categorization of the contents of
the container 10 may involve the use of pattern recognition
technologies. Naturally, other locations of such a scanning system
are possible.
In both of these examples, relatively little can be said about the
contents of the container other then that something is present or
that the container is empty. Frequently this is all that is
required. A more sophisticated system can make use of one or more
imagers (for example cameras) 28 mounted near the ceiling of the
container, for example. Such imagers can be provided with a strobe
flash and then commanded to make an image of the trailer interior
at appropriate times. The output from such an imager 28 can also be
analyzed by a pattern recognition system such as a neural network
or equivalent, to reduce the information to a few bytes that can be
sent to a central location via an LEO or geostationary satellite,
for example. As with the above ultrasonic example, one image can be
subtracted from the empty container image and if anything remains
then that is a representation of the contents that have been placed
in the container. Also, various images can be subtracted to
determine the changes in container contents when the doors are
opened and material is added or removed or to determine changes in
position of the contents. Various derivatives of this information
can be extracted and sent by the telematics system to the
appropriate location for monitoring or other purposes.
Each of the systems mentioned above can also be used to determine
whether there is motion of objects within the container relative to
the container. Motion of objects with the container 10 would be
reflected as differences between the waves received by the
transducers (indicative of differences in distances between the
transducer and the objects in the container) or images (indicative
of differences between the position of objects in the images). Such
motion can also aid in image segmentation which in turn can aid in
the object identification process. This is particularly valuable if
the container is occupied by life forms such as humans.
In the system of FIG. 1, wires (not shown) are used to connect the
various sensors and devices. It is contemplated that all of the
units in the monitoring system can be coupled together wirelessly,
using for example the Bluetooth, WI-FI or other protocol.
If an inertial device 30 is also incorporated, such as the MEMSIC
dual axis accelerometer, which provides information as to the
accelerations of the container 10, then this relative motion can be
determined by the processor and it can be ascertained whether this
relative motion is caused by acceleration of the container 10,
which may indicate loose cargo, and/or whether the motion is caused
by the sensed occupying item. In latter case, a conclusion can
perhaps be reached that container is occupied by a life form such
as an animal or human. Additionally, it may be desirable to place
sensors on an item of cargo itself since damage to the cargo could
occur from excessive acceleration, shock, temperature, vibration,
etc. regardless of whether the same stimulus was experienced by the
entire container. A loose item of cargo, for example, may be
impacting the monitored item of cargo and damaging it. Relative
motion can also be sensed in some cases from outside of the
container through the use of accelerometers, microphones or
MIR.
Chemical sensors 32 based on surface acoustic wave (SAW) or other
technology can in many cases be designed to sense the presence of
certain vapors in the atmosphere and can do so at very low power. A
properly designed SAW or equivalent sensing device, for example,
can measure temperature, pressure, carbon dioxide concentration,
humidity, hydrocarbon concentration, and the presence or
concentration of many other chemicals. A separate SAW or similar
device may be needed for each chemical species (or in some cases
each class of chemicals) where detection is desired. The devices,
however, can be quite small and can be designed to use very little
power. Such a system of SAW or equivalent devices can be used to
measure the existence of certain chemical vapors in the atmosphere
of the container much like a low power electronic nose. In some
cases, it can be used to determine whether a carbon dioxide source
such as a human is in the container. Such chemical sensing devices
can also be designed, for example, to monitor for many other
chemicals including some narcotics, hydrocarbons, mercury vapor,
and other hazardous chemicals including some representative vapors
of explosives or some weapons of mass destruction. With additional
research, SAW or similar devices can also be designed or augmented
to sense the presence of radioactive materials, and perhaps some
biological materials such as smallpox or anthrax. In many cases,
such SAW devices do not now exist, however, researchers believe
that given the proper motivation that such devices can be created.
Thus, although heretofore not appreciated, SAW or equivalent based
systems can monitor a great many dangerous and hazardous materials
that may be either legally or illegally occupying space within a
container, for example. In particular, the existence of spills or
leakages from the cargo can be detected in time to perhaps save
damage to other cargo either within the container or in an adjacent
container. Although SAW devices have in particular been described,
other low power devices using battery or RF power can also be used
where necessary.
Other sensors that can be designed to operate under very low power
levels include microphones 34 and light sensors 36 or sensors
sensitive to other frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum as
the need arises. The light sensors 36 could be designed to cause
activation of the interior sensor system 12 when the container is
being switched from a dark condition (normally closed) to a light
situation (when the door or other aperture is opened). A flashlight
could also activate the light sensor 36.
Instead of one or more batteries providing power to the interior
sensor system 12, the communication system 20 and the location
determining system 22, solar power can be used. In this case, one
or more solar panels 88 are attached to the upper wall of the
container 10 (see FIG. 1) and electrically coupled to the various
power-requiring components of the monitoring system. A battery can
thus be eliminated. In the alternative, since the solar panel(s) 88
will not always be exposed to sunlight, a rechargeable battery can
be provided which is charged by the solar panel 88 when the solar
panels are exposed to sunlight. A battery could also be provided in
the event that the solar panel 88 does not receive sufficient light
to power the components of the monitoring system. In a similar
manner, power can temporarily be supplied by a vehicle such as a
tractor either by a direct connection to the tractor power or
though capacitive, inductive or RF coupling power transmission
systems.
In some cases, a container is thought to be empty when in fact it
is being surreptitiously used for purposes beyond the desires of
the container owner or law enforcement authorities. The various
transducers that can be used to monitor interior of a container as
described above, plus others, can also be used to allow the trailer
or container owner to periodically monitor the use of his
property.
2. Monitoring the Entire Asset
Immediately above, monitoring of the interior of the container is
described. If the container is idle, there may not the need to
frequently monitor the status of the container interior or exterior
until some event happens. Thus, all monitoring systems on the
container can be placed in the sleep mode until some event such as
a motion or vibration of the container takes place. Other wakeup
events could include the opening of the doors or a change in the
interior temperature of the container above a reference level, for
example. When any of these chosen events occurs, the system can be
instructed to change the monitoring rate and to immediately
transmit a signal to a satellite or another communication system,
or respond to a satellite-initiated signal for some LEO-based
systems, for example. Such an event may signal to the container
owner that a robbery was in progress either of the interior
contents of the container or of the entire container. It also might
signal that the contents of the container are in danger of being
destroyed through temperature or excessive motion or that the
container is being misappropriated for some unauthorized use.
FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of the manner in which container 10 may be
monitored by personnel or a computer program at a remote facility
for the purpose of detecting unauthorized entry into the container
and possible theft of the contents of the container 10. Initially,
the wakeup sensor 38 detects motion, sound, light or vibration
including motion of the doors 18, or any other change of the
condition of the container 10 from a stationary or expected
position. The wakeup sensor 38 can be designed to provide a signal
indicative of motion only after a fixed time delay, i.e., a period
of "sleep". In this manner, the wakeup sensor would not be
activated repeatedly in traffic stop and go situations.
The wakeup sensor 38 initiates the interior sensor system 12 to
perform the analysis of the contents in the interior of the
container, e.g., send waves into the interior, receive waves and
then process the received waves. If motion in the interior of the
container is not detected at 40, then the interior sensor system 12
may be designed to continue to monitor the interior of the
container, for example, by periodically re-sending waves into the
interior of the container. If motion is detected at 40, then a
signal is sent at 42 to a monitoring facility via the communication
system 20 and which includes the location of the container 10
obtained from the location determining system 22 or by the ID for a
permanently fixed container or other asset, structure or storage
facility. In this manner, if the motion is determined to deviate
from the expected handling of the container 10, appropriate law
enforcement personnel can be summoned to investigate.
When it is known and expedited that the container should be in
motion, monitoring of this motion can still be important. An
unexpected vibration could signal the start of a failure of the
chassis tire, for example, or failure of the attachment to the
chassis or the attachment of the chassis to the tractor. Similarly,
an unexpected tilt angle of the container may signify a dangerous
situation that could lead to a rollover accident and an unexpected
shock could indicate an accident has occurred. Various sensors that
can be used to monitor the motion of the container include
gyroscopes, accelerometers and tilt sensors. An IMU (Inertial
Measurement Unit) containing for example three accelerometers and
three gyroscopes can be used.
In some cases, the container or the chassis can be provided with
weight sensors that measure the total weight of the cargo as well
as the distribution of weight. By monitoring changes in the weight
distribution as the vehicle is traveling, an indication can result
that the contents within the trailer are shifting which could cause
damage to the cargo.
Other container and chassis monitoring can include the attachment
of a trailer to a tractor, the attachment of electrical and/or
communication connections, and the status of the doors to the
container. If the doors are opened when this is not expected, this
could be an indication of a criminal activity underway. Several
types of security seals are available including reusable seals that
indicate when the door is open or closed or if it was ever opened
during transit, or single use seals that are destroyed during the
process of opening the container.
Another application of monitoring the entire asset would be to
incorporate a diagnostic module into the asset. Frequently, the
asset may have operating parts, e.g., if it is a refrigerated and
contains a refrigeration unit. To this end, sensors can be
installed on the asset and monitored using pattern recognition
techniques as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,809,437 and 6,175,787,
incorporated by reference herein. As such, various sensors would be
placed on the container 10 and used to determine problems with the
container 10 which might cause it to operate abnormally, e.g., if
the refrigeration unit were about to fail because of a refrigerant
leak. In this case, the information about the expected failure of
the refrigeration unit could be transmitted to a facility and
maintenance of the refrigeration unit could be scheduled.
3. Telecommunications
Generally monitoring of containers, trailers, chassis etc. is
accomplished through telecommunications primarily with LEO or
geostationary satellites or through terrestrial-based communication
systems. These systems are commercially available and will not be
discussed here. Expected future systems include communication
between the container and the infrastructure to indicate to the
monitoring authorities that a container with a particular
identification number is passing a particular terrestrial point. If
this is expected, then no action would be taken. The container
identification number can be part of a national database that
contains information as to the contents of the container. Thus, for
example, if a container containing hazardous materials approaches a
bridge or tunnel that forbids such hazardous materials from passing
over the bridge or through the tunnel, then an emergency situation
can be signaled and preventative action taken.
It is expected that monitoring of the transportation of cargo
containers will dramatically increase as the efforts to reduce
terrorist activities also increase. If every container that passes
within the boarders of the United States has an identification
number and that number is in a database that provides the contents
of that container, then the use of shipping containers by
terrorists or criminals should gradually be eliminated. If these
containers are carefully monitored by satellite or another
communication system that indicates any unusual activity of a
container, an immediate investigation can result and then the cargo
transportation system will gradually approach perfection where
terrorists or criminals are denied this means of transporting
material into and within the United States. If any container is
found containing contraband material, then the entire history of
how that container entered the United States can be checked to
determine the source of the failure. If the failure is found to
have occurred at loading port outside of the United States, then
sanctions can be imposed on the host country that could have
serious effects on that country's ability to trade worldwide. Just
the threat of such an action would be a significant deterrent.
Thus, the use of containers to transport hazardous materials or
weapons of mass destruction as well as people, narcotics, or other
contraband and can be effectively eliminated through the use of the
container monitoring system of this invention.
Prior to the entry of a container ship into a harbor, a coast guard
boat from the U.S. Customs Service can approach the container
vessel and scan all of the containers thereon to be sure that all
such containers are registered and tracked including their
contents. Where containers contain dangerous material legally, the
seals on those containers can be carefully investigated prior to
the ship entering U.S. waters. Obviously, many other security
precautions can now be conceived once the ability to track all
containers and their contents has been achieved according to the
teachings of this invention.
Containers that enter the United States through land ports of entry
can also be interrogated in a similar fashion. As long as the
shipper is known and reputable and the container contents are in
the database, which would probably be accessible over the Internet,
is properly updated, then all containers will be effectively
monitored that enter the United States with the penalty of an error
resulting in the disenfranchisement of the shipper, and perhaps
sanctions against the country, which for most reputable shippers or
shipping companies would be a severe penalty sufficient to cause
such shippers or shipping companies to take appropriate action to
assure the integrity of the shipping containers. Naturally,
intelligent selected random inspections guided by the container
history would still take place.
Although satellite communication is preferred, communication using
cell phones and infrastructure devices placed at appropriate
locations along roadways are also possible. Eventually there will
be a network linking all vehicles on the highways in a peer-to-peer
arrangement (perhaps using Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11 (WI-FI) or other
local or ad-hoc network) at which time information relative to
container contents etc. can be communicated to the Internet or
elsewhere through this peer-to-peer network. It is expected that a
pseudo-noise-based or similar communication system such as a code
division multiple access (CDMA) system, wherein the identifying
code of a vehicle is derived from the vehicle's GPS determined
location, will be the technology of choice for this peer-to-peer
vehicle network. It is expected that this network will be able to
communicate such information to the Internet (with proper security
precautions including encryption where necessary or desired) and
that all of the important information relative to the contents of
moving containers throughout the United States will be available on
the Internet on a need-to-know basis. Thus, law enforcement
agencies can maintain computer programs that will monitor the
contents of containers using information available from the
Internet. Similarly, shippers and receivers can monitor the status
of their shipments through a connection onto the Internet. Thus,
the existence of the Internet or equivalent can be important to the
monitoring system described herein.
An alternate method of implementing the invention is to make use of
a cell phone or PDA. Cell phones that are now sold contain a
GPS-based location system as do many PDAs. Such a system along with
minimal additional apparatus can be used to practice the teachings
disclosed herein. In this case, the cell phone, PDA or similar
portable device could be mounted through a snap-in attachment
system, for example, wherein the portable device is firmly attached
to the vehicle. The device can at that point, for example, obtain
an ID number from the container through a variety of methods such
as a RFID, SAW or hardwired based system. It can also connect to a
satellite antenna that would permit the device to communicate to a
LEO or GEO satellite system as described above. Since the portable
device would only operate on a low duty cycle the battery should
last for many days or perhaps longer. Of course, if it is connected
to the vehicle power system, its life could be indefinite.
Naturally, when power is waning, this fact can be sent to the
satellite or cell phone system to alert the appropriate personnel.
Since a cell phone contains a microphone, it could be trained,
using an appropriate pattern recognition system, to recognize the
sound of an accident or the deployment of an airbag or similar
event. It thus becomes a very low cost OnStar.RTM. type telematics
system.
As an alternative to using a satellite network, the cell phone
network can be used in essentially the same manner when a cell
phone signal is available. Naturally, all of the sensors disclosed
herein can either be incorporated into the portable device or
placed on the vehicle and connected to the portable device when the
device is attached to the vehicle. This system has a key advantage
of avoiding obsolescence. With technology rapidly changing, the
portable device can be exchanged for a later model or upgraded as
needed or desired keeping the overall system at the highest
technical state. Existing telematics systems such as OnStar.RTM.
can of course also be used with this system.
Importantly, an automatic emergency notification system can now be
made available to all owners of appropriately configured cell
phones, PDAs, or other similar portable devices that can operate on
a very low cost basis without the need for a monthly subscription
since they can be designed to operate only on an exception basis.
Owners would pay only as they use the service. Stolen vehicle
location, automatic notification in the event of a crash even with
the transmission of a picture for camera-equipped devices is now
possible. Automatic door unlocking can also be done by the device
since it could transmit a signal to the vehicle, in a similar
fashion as a keyless entry system, from either inside or outside
the vehicle. The phone can be equipped with a biometric
identification system such as fingerprint, voice print, facial or
iris recognition etc. thereby giving that capability to vehicles.
The device can thus become the general key to the vehicle or house,
and can even open the garage door etc. If the cell phone is lost,
its whereabouts can be instantly found since it has a GPS receiver
and knows where it is. If it is stolen, it will become inoperable
without the biometric identification from the owner.
Other communication systems will also frequently be used to connect
the container with the chassis and/or the tractor and perhaps the
identification of the driver or operator. Thus, information can be
available on the Internet showing what tractor, what trailer, what
container and what driver is operating at a particular time, at a
particular GPS location, on a particular roadway, with what
particular container contents. Suitable security will be provided
to ensure that this information is not freely available to the
general public. Naturally, redundancy can be provided to prevent
the destruction or any failure of a particular site from failing
the system.
This communication between the various elements of the shipping
system which are co-located (truck, trailer, container, container
contents, driver etc.) can be connected through a wired or wireless
bus such as the CAN bus. Also, an electrical system such as
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,809,437, 6,175,787 and 6,326,704, all
of which are incorporated by reference herein, can also be used in
the invention.
4. Recording
In many cases it is desirable to obtain and record additional
information about the cargo container and its contents. As
mentioned above, the weight of the container with its contents and
the distribution and changes in this weight distribution could be
valuable for a safety authority investigating an accident, for
highway authorities monitoring gross vehicle weight, for container
owners who charge by the used capacity, and others. The environment
that the container and its contents have been subjected to could
also be significant information. Such things as whether the
container was flooded, exposed to a spill or leakage of a hazardous
material, exposed to excessive heat or cold, shocks, vibration etc.
can be important historical factors for the container affecting its
useful life, establishing liability for damages etc. For example, a
continuous monitoring of container interior temperature could be
significant for perishable cargo and for establishing
liability.
With reference to FIG. 3A, in some cases, the individual cargo
items 46 can be tagged with RFID or SAW tags 48 and the presence of
this cargo in the container 10 could be valuable information to the
owner of the cargo. One or more sensors on the container that
periodically read RFID tags could be required, such as one or more
RFID interrogators 44 which periodically sends a signal which will
causes the RFID tags 48 to generate a responsive signal. The
responsive signal generated by the RFID tags 48 will contain
information about the cargo item on which the RFID tag 48 is
placed. Multiple interrogators or at least multiple antennas may be
required depending on the size of the container.
Similarly, for certain types of cargo, a barcode system might
acceptable, or another optically readable identification code. The
cargo items would have to be placed so that the identification
codes are readable, i.e., when a beam of light is directed over the
identification codes, a pattern of light is generated which
contains information about the cargo item. As shown in FIG. 3B, the
cargo items in this case are boxes having an equal height so that a
space remains between the top of the boxes 86 and the ceiling of
the container 10. One or more optical scanners 82, including a
light transmitter and receiver, are arranged on the ceiling of the
container and can be arranged to scan the upper surfaces of the
boxes 86, possibly by moving the length of the container 10, or
through a plurality of such sensors. During such a scan, patterns
of light are reflected from the barcodes 84 on the upper surfaces
of the boxes 86 and received by the optical scanner 82. The
patterns of light contain information about the cargo items in the
boxes 86. Receivers can be arranged at multiple locations along the
ceiling. Other arrangements to ensure that a light beam traverses a
barcode 84 and is received by a receiver can also be applied in
accordance with the invention.
The ability to read barcodes and RFID tags provides the capability
of the more closely tracking of packages for such organizations as
UPS, Federal Express, the U.S. Postal Service and their customers.
Now, in some cases, the company can ascertain that a given package
is in fact on a particular truck or cargo transporter and also know
the exact location of the transporter.
Frequently, a trailer or container has certain hardware such as
racks for automotive parts, for example, that are required to stay
with the container. During unloading of the cargo these racks, or
other sub-containers, could be removed from the container and not
returned. If the container system knows to check for the existence
of these racks, then this error can be eliminated. Frequently, the
racks are of greater value then the cargo they transport. Using
RFID tags and a simple interrogator mounted on the ceiling of the
container perhaps near the entrance, enables monitoring of parts
that are taken in or are removed from the container and associated
with the location of container. By this method, pilferage of
valuable or dangerous cargo can at least be tracked.
Containers constructed in accordance with the invention will
frequently have a direct method of transmitting information to a
satellite. Typically, the contents of the container are more
valuable than the truck or chassis for the case of when the
container is not a trailer. If the tractor, train, plane or ship
that is transporting the container is experiencing difficulties,
then this information can be transmitted to the satellite system
and thus to the container, carrier, or cargo owner or agent for
attention. Information indicating a problem with carrier (railroad,
tractor, plane, boat) may be sensed and reported onto a bus such as
CAN bus which can be attached either wirelessly or by wires to the
container. Alternately, sensors on the container can determine
through vibrations etc. that the carrier may be experiencing
problems. The reporting of problems with the vehicle can come from
dedicated sensors or from a general diagnostic system such as
described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,809,437 and 6,175,787. Whatever the
source of the diagnostic information, especially when valuable or
dangerous cargo is involved, this information in coded form can be
transmitted to a ground station, LEO or geostationary satellite as
discussed above. Other information that can be recorded by
container includes the identification of the boat, railroad car, or
tractor and operator or driver.
The experiences of the container can be recorded over time as a
container history record to help in life cycle analysis to
determine when a container needs refurbishing, for example. This
history in coded form could reside on a memory that is resident on
the container or preferably the information can be stored on a
computer file associated with that container in a database. The
mere knowledge of where a container has been, for example, may aid
law enforcement authorities to determine which containers are most
likely to contain illegal contraband.
The pertinent information relative to a container can be stored on
a tag that is associated and physically connected to the container.
This tag may be of the type that can be interrogated remotely to
retrieve its contents. Such a tag, for example, could contain
information as to when and where the container was most recently
opened and the contents of the container. Thus, as containers enter
a port, their tags can each be interrogated to determine their
expected contents and also to give a warning for those containers
that should be inspected more thoroughly. In most cases, the tag
will not reside on the container but in fact will be on a computer
file accessible by those who have an authorization to interrogate
the file. Thus, the container need only have a unique
identification number that cannot easily be destroyed, changed or
otherwise tampered with. These can be visual and painted on the
outside of the container or an RFID, barcode or other object
identification system can be used.
FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of the manner in which multiple assets
may be monitored using a data processing and storage facility 50,
each asset having a unique identification code. The location of
each asset is determined at 52, along with one or more properties
or characteristics of the contents of each asset at 54, one or more
properties of the environment of each asset at 56, and/or the
opening and/or closing of the doors of each asset at 58. This
information is transmitted to the data processing and storage
facility 50 as represented by 60 with the identification code.
Information about the implement being used to transport the asset
and the individual(s) or company or companies involved in the
transport of the asset can also be transmitted to the facility as
represented by 62. This latter information could be entered by an
input device attached to the asset.
The data processing and storage facility 50 is connected to the
Internet at 64 to enable shippers 66 to check the progress of the
asset, the contents of the asset, the environment of the asset,
whether the doors are being opened and closed impermissibly and the
individual and companies handling the asset. The same information,
or a subset of this information, can also be accessed by law
enforcement personnel at 68 and maritime/port authorities at 70.
Different entities can be authorized to access different items of
information or subsets of the total information available relating
to each asset.
For anti-theft purposes, the shipper enters the manifest of the
asset using an input device 72 so that the manifest can be compared
to the contents of the asset (at 74). A determination is made at 76
as to whether there are any differences between the current
contents of the asset and the manifest. For example, the manifest
might indicate the presence of contents whereas the information
transmitted by the asset reveals that it does not contain any
objects. When such a discrepancy is revealed, the shipment can be
intercepted at 78 to ascertain the whereabouts of the cargo. The
history of the travels of the asset would also be present in the
data facility 50 so that it can be readily ascertained where the
cargo disappeared. If no discrepancy is revealed, the asset is
allowed to proceed at 80.
5. Exterior Monitoring
Having the ability to transmit coded information to a satellite, or
other telematics system, using a low cost device having a battery
that lasts for many years opens up many other, previously
impractical opportunities. Many of these opportunities are
discussed above and below and all are teachings of this invention.
In this section, opportunities related to monitoring the
environment in the vicinity of the container will be discussed.
Many types of sensors can be used for the purpose of exterior
monitoring including ultrasound, imagers such as cameras both with
and without illumination including visual, infrared or ultraviolet
imagers, radar, scanners including laser radar and phased array
radar, other types of sensors which sense other parts of the
electromagnetic spectrum, capacitive sensors, electric or magnetic
field sensors, and chemical sensors among others.
Cameras either with or without a source of illumination can be used
to record people approaching the container and perhaps stealing the
contents of the container. At the appropriate frequencies, (tetra
Hertz, for example) the presence of concealed weapons can be
ascertained as described in Alien Vision: Exploring the
Electromagnetic Spectrum With Imaging Technology (SPIE Monograph
Vol. PM104) by Austin Richards, which is incorporated herein by
reference. Infrared sensors can be used to detect the presence of
animal life including humans in the vicinity of container. Radio
frequency sensors can sense the presence of authorized personnel
having a keyless entry type transmitter or a SAW, RFID or similar
device of the proper design. In this way, the container can be
locked as a safe, for example, and only permit an authorized person
carrying the proper identification to open the container or other
storage facility.
A pattern recognition system can be trained to identify facial or
iris patterns, for example, of authorized personnel or ascertain
the identity of authorized personnel to prevent theft of the
container. Such a pattern recognition system could operate on the
images obtained by the cameras. That is, if the pattern recognition
system is a neural network, it would be trained to identify or
ascertain the identity of authorized personnel based on images of
such personnel during a training phase and thus operationally only
allow such personnel to open the container, enter the container
and/or handle the container.
Naturally a wide variety of smart cards, biometric identification
systems (such as fingerprints, voice prints and Iris scans), can be
used for the same purpose. When an unauthorized person approaches
the container, his or her picture can be taken and in particular,
if sensors determine that someone is attempting to force entry into
the container, that person's picture can be relayed via the
communication system to the proper authorities. Cameras with a
proper pattern recognition system can also be used to identify if
an approaching person is wearing a disguise such as a ski mask or
is otherwise acting in a suspicious manner. This determination can
provide a critical timely warning and in some cases permit an alarm
to be sounded or otherwise notify the proper authorities.
Capacitance sensors or magnetic sensors can be used to ascertain
that the container is properly attached to a trailer. An RFID or
barcode scanner on the container can be used to record the
identification of the tractor, trailer, or other element of the
transportation system. These are just a small sampling of the
additional sensors that can be used with the container or even
mounted on a tractor or chassis to monitor the container. With the
teachings of this invention, the output of any of these sensors can
now be transmitted to a remote facility using a variety of
telematics methods including communication via a low power link to
a satellite, such as provided by the Skybitz Corporation as
described above and others.
Thus, as mentioned above, many new opportunities now exist for
applying a wide variety of sensors to a cargo container or other
object as discussed above and below. Through a communication system
such as a LEO or geostationary or other satellite system, critical
information about the environment of container or changes in that
environment can be transmitted to the container owner, law
enforcement authorities, container contents owner etc. Furthermore,
the system is generally low cost and does not require connection to
an external source of power. The system generally uses low power
from a battery that can last for years without maintenance.
6. Analysis
Many of the sensor systems described above output data that can
best be analyzed using pattern recognition systems such as neural
networks, cellular neural networks, fuzzy logic, sensor fusion,
modular neural networks, combination neural networks, support
vector machines, neural fuzzy systems or other classifiers that
convert the pattern data into an output indicative of the class of
the object or event being sensed. One interesting method, for
example, is the ZISC.RTM. chip system of Silicon Recognition Inc.,
Petaluna, Calif. A general requirement for the low power satellite
monitoring system is that the amount of data routinely sent to the
satellite be kept to a minimum. For most transmissions, this
information will involve the location of the container, for
example, plus a few additional bytes of status information
determined by the mission of the particular container and its
contents. Thus, the pattern recognition algorithm must convert
typically a complex image or other data to a few bytes
representative of the class of the monitored item or event.
In some instances, the container must send considerably more data
and at a more frequent interval than normal. This will generally
happen only during an exceptional situation or event and when the
added battery drain of this activity is justified. In this case,
the system will signal the satellite that an exception situation
exists and to prepare to receive additional information.
Many of the sensors on the container and inside the container may
also require significant energy and thus should be used sparingly.
For example, if the container is known to be empty and the doors
closed, there is no need to monitor the interior of the container
unless the doors have been reopened. Similarly, if the container is
stationary and doors are closed, then continuously monitoring the
interior of the container to determine the presence of cargo is
unnecessary. Thus, each of the sensors can have a program duty
cycle that depends on exterior or other events. Naturally, in some
applications either solar power or other source of power may be
available either intermittently to charge the battery or
continuously.
Since the duty cycle of the sensor system may vary considerably,
and since any of the sensors can fail, be sabotaged or otherwise be
rendered incapable of performing its intended function either from
time, exposure, or intentionally, it is expected that some or all
of the sensors will be equipped with a diagnostic capability. The
communication system will generally interrogate each sensor or
merely expect a transmission from each sensor and if that
interrogation or transmission fails or a diagnostic error occurs,
this fact will be communicated to the appropriate facility. If, for
example, someone attempts to cover the lens of a camera so that a
theft would not be detected, the mere fact that the lens was
covered could be reported, alerting authorities that something
unusual was occurring.
7. Safety
As mentioned previously, there are times when the value of the
contents of a container can exceed the value of the tractor,
chassis and container itself Additionally, there are times when the
contents of the container can be easily damaged if subjected to
unreasonable vibrations, angles, accelerations and shocks. For
these situations, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) can be used in
conjunction with the container to monitor the accelerations
experienced by the container (or the cargo) and to issue a warning
if those accelerations are deemed excessive either in magnitude,
duration, or frequency or where the integrations of these
accelerations indicate an excessive velocity, angular velocity or
angular displacement.
If the vehicle operates on a road that has previously been
accurately mapped, to an accuracy of perhaps a few centimeters,
then the analysis system can know the input from the road to the
vehicle tires and thus to the chassis of the trailer. The IMU can
also calculate the velocity of the trailer. By monitoring the
motion of the container when subjected to a known stimulus, the
road, the inertial properties of the container and chassis system
can be estimated. If these inertial properties are known than a
safe operating speed limit can be determined such that the
probability of rollover, for example, is kept within reasonable
bounds. If the driver exceeds that velocity, then a warning can be
issued. Similarly, in some cases, the traction of the trailer
wheels on the roadway can be estimated based on the tendency of a
trailer to skid sideways. This also can be the basis of issuing a
warning to the driver and to notify the contents owner especially
if the vehicle is being operated in an unsafe manner for the road
or weather conditions. Since the information system can also know
the weather conditions in the area where the vehicle is operating,
this added information can aid in the safe driving and safe speed
limit determination. In some cases, the vibrations caused by a
failing tire can also be determined. For those cases where radio
frequency tire monitors are present, the container can also monitor
the tire pressure and determine when a dangerous situation exists.
Finally, the vehicle system can input to the overall system when
the road is covered with ice or when it encounters a pothole.
Thus, there are many safety related aspects to having sensors
mounted on a container and where those sensors can communicate
periodically with a LEO or other satellite, or other communication
system, and thereafter to the Internet or directly to the
appropriate facility. Some of these rely on an accurate IMU.
Although low cost IMUs are generally not very accurate, when they
are combined using a Kalman filter with the GPS system, which is on
the container as part of the tracking system, the accuracy of the
IMU can be greatly improved, approaching that of military grade
systems.
8. Other Remote Monitoring
The discussion above has concentrated on containers that contain
cargo where presumably this cargo is shipped from one company or
organization to another. This cargo could be automotive parts,
animals, furniture, weapons, bulk commodities, machinery, fruits,
vegetables, TV sets, or any other commonly shipped product. What
has been described above is a monitoring system for tracking this
cargo and making measurements to inform the interested parties
(owners, law enforcement personnel etc.) of the status of the
container, its contents, and the environment. This becomes
practical when a satellite system exists such as the Skybitz, for
example, LEO or geostationary satellite system coupled with a low
cost low power small GPS receiver and communication device capable
of sending information periodically to the satellite. Once the
satellite has received the position information from the container,
for example, this information can be relayed to a computer system
wherein the exact location of the container can be ascertained.
Additionally, if the container has an RFID reader, the location of
all packages having an RFID tag that are located within the
container can also be ascertained.
The accuracy of this determination is currently now approximately
20 meters. However, as now disclosed for the first time, the
ionosphere caused errors in GPS signals received by container
receiver can be determined from a variety of differential GPS
systems and that information can be coupled with the information
from the container to determine a precise location of the container
to perhaps as accurate as a few centimeters. This calculation can
be done at any facility that has access to the relevant DGPS
corrections and the container location. It need not be done onboard
the container. Using accurate digital maps the location of the
container on the earth can be extremely precisely determined. This
principle can now be used for other location determining purposes.
The data processing facility that receives the information from the
asset via satellites, can also know the DGPS corrections at the
asset location and thus can relay to the vehicle its precise
location.
Although the discussion above has centered on cargo transportation
as an illustrative example, this invention is not limited thereto
and in fact can be used with any asset whether movable or fixed
where monitoring for any of a variety of reasons is desired. These
reasons include environmental monitoring, for example, where asset
damage can occur if the temperature, humidity, or other atmospheric
phenomena exceeds a certain level. Such a device then could
transmit to the telecommunications system when this exception
situation occurred. It still could transmit to the system
periodically, perhaps once a day, just to indicate that all is OK
and that an exceptional situation did not occur.
Another example could be the monitoring of a summer home during the
months when the home is not occupied. Of course, any home could be
so monitored even when the occupants leave the home unattended for
a party, for example. The monitoring system could determine weather
the house is on fire, being burglarized, or whether temperature is
dropping to the point that pipes could freeze due to a furnace or
power failure. Such a system could be less expensive to install and
maintain by a homeowner, for example, than systems supplied by ADT,
for example. Naturally, the monitoring of a real estate location
could also be applied to industrial, governmental and any other
similar sites. Any of the sensors including electromagnetic,
cameras, ultrasound, capacitive, chemical, moisture, temperature,
pressure, radiation, etc. could be attached to such a system which
would not require any other electrical connection either to a power
source or to a communication source such as a telephone line which
is currently require by ADT, for example. In fact, most currently
installed security and fire systems require both a phone and a
power connection. Naturally, if a power source is available it can
be used to recharge the batteries or as primary power.
Of particular importance, this system and techniques can be applied
to general aviation and the marine community for the monitoring of
flight and boat routings. For general aviation, this or a similar
system can be used for monitoring the unauthorized approach of
planes or boats to public utilities, government buildings, bridges
or any other structure and thereby warn of possible terrorist
activities.
Portable versions of this system can also be used to monitor living
objects such as pets, children, animals, cars, and trucks, or any
other asset. What is disclosed herein therefore is a truly general
asset monitoring system where the type of monitoring is only
limited by requirement that the sensors operate under low power and
the device does not require connections to a power source, other
than the internal battery, or a wired source of communication. The
communication link is generally expected to be via a transmitter
and a LEO, geostationary or other satellite, however, it need not
be the case and communication can be by cell phone, an ad hoc
peer-to-peer network, IEEE 801.11, Bluetooth, or any other wireless
system. Thus, using the teachings of this invention, any asset can
be monitored by any of a large variety of sensors and the
information communication wireless to another location which can be
a central station, a peer-to-peer network, a link to the owners
location, or, preferably, to the Internet.
Additional areas where the principles of the invention can be used
for monitoring other objects include the monitoring of electric
fields around wires to know when the wires have failed or been cut,
the monitoring of vibrations in train rails to know that a train is
coming and to enable tracking of the path of trains, the monitoring
of vibrations in a road to know that a vehicle is passing, the
monitoring of temperature and/or humidity of a road to signal
freezing conditions so that a warning could be posted to passing
motorists about the conditions of the road, the monitoring of
vibrations or flow in a oil pipe to know if the flow of oil has
stopped or being diverted so that a determination may be made if
the oil is being stolen, the monitoring of infrared or low power
(MIR) radar signal monitoring for perimeter security, the
monitoring of animals and/or traffic to warn animals that a vehicle
is approaching to eliminate car to animal accidents and the
monitoring of fluid levels in tanks or reservoirs. It is also
possible to monitor grain levels in storage bins, pressure in
tanks, chemicals in water or air that could signal a terrorist
attack, a pollution spill or the like, carbon monoxide in a garage
or tunnel, temperature or vibration of remote equipment as a
diagnostic of pending system failure, smoke and fire detectors and
radiation. In each case, one or more sensors is provided designed
to perform the appropriate, desired sensing, measuring or detecting
function and a communications unit is coupled to the sensor(s) to
enable transmission of the information obtained by the sensor(s). A
processor can be provided to control the sensing function, i.e., to
enable only periodic sensing or sensing conditioned on external or
internal events. For each of these and many other applications, a
signal can be sent to a satellite or other telematics system to
send important information to a need-to-know person, monitoring
computer program, the Internet etc.
Three other applications of this invention need particular mention.
Periodically, a boat or barge impacts with the structure of a
bridge resulting in the collapse of a road, railroad or highway and
usually multiple fatalities. Usually such an event can be sensed
prior to the collapse of the structure by monitoring the
accelerations, vibrations, displacement, or stresses in the
structural members. When such an event is sensed, a message can be
sent to a satellite and/or forwarded to the Internet, and thus to
the authorities and to a warning sign or signal that has been
placed at a location preceding entry onto the bridge. Alternately,
the sensing device can send a signal directly to the relevant sign
either in addition or instead of to a satellite.
Sometimes the movement of a potentially hazardous cargo in itself
is not significantly unless multiple such movement follow a
pattern. For example, the shipment of moderate amounts of
explosives forwarded to a single location could signify an attack
by terrorists. By comparing the motion of containers of hazardous
materials and searching for patterns, perhaps using neural
networks, fuzzy logic and the like, such concentrations of
hazardous material can be forecasted prior to the occurrence of a
disastrous event. This information can be gleaned from the total
picture of movements of containers throughout a local, state or
national area. Similarly, the movement of fuel oil and fertilizer
by itself is usually not noteworthy but in combination using
different vehicles can signal a potential terrorist attack.
Many automobile owners subscribe to a telematics service such as
OnStar.RTM.. The majority of these owners when queried subscribe so
that if they have an accident and the airbag deploys, the EMS
personnel will be promptly alerted. This is the most commonly
desired feature by such owners. A second highly desired feature
relates to car theft. If a vehicle is stolen, the telematics
services can track that vehicle and inform the authorities as to
its whereabouts. A third highly desired feature is a method for
calling for assistance in any emergency such as the vehicle becomes
stalled, is hijacked, runs off the road into a snow bank or other
similar event. The biggest negative feature of the telematics
services such as OnStar.RTM. is the high monthly cost of the
service.
The invention described here can provide the three above-mentioned
highly desired services without requiring a high monthly fee. A
simple device that communicates to a satellite or other telematics
system can be provided, as described above, that operates either on
its own battery or by connecting to the cigarette lighter or
similar power source. The device can be provided with a microphone
and neural network algorithm that has bene trained to recognize the
noise signature of an airbag deployment. Thus, if the vehicle is in
an accident, the EMS authorities can be immediately notified of the
crash along with the precise location of the vehicle. Similarly, if
the vehicle is stolen, its exact whereabouts can be determined
through an Internet connection, for example. Finally, a discrete
button placed in the vehicle can send a panic signal to the
authorities via a telematics system. Thus, instead of a high
monthly charge, the vehicle owner would only be charged for each
individual transmission, which can be as low as $0.20 or a small
surcharge can be added to the price of the device to cover such
costs through averaging over many users. Such a system can be
readily retrofitted to existing vehicles providing most of
advantages of the OnStar.RTM. system, for example, at a very small
fraction of its cost. The system can reside in a "sleep" mode for
many years until some event wakes it up. In the sleep mode, only a
few microamperes of current are drawn and the battery can last the
life of the vehicle. A wake-up can be achieved when the airbag
fires and the microphone emits a current. Similarly, a
piezo-generator can be used to wake up the system based on the
movement of a mass or diaphragm displacing a piezoelectric device
which then outputs some electrical energy that can be sensed by the
system electronics. Similarly, the system can be caused to wake up
by a clock or the reception of a proper code from an antenna. Such
a generator can also be used to charge the system battery extending
its useful life. Such an OnStar.RTM.-like system can be
manufactured for approximately $100.
The invention described above can be used in any of its forms to
monitor fluids. For example, sensors can be provided to monitor
fuel or oil reservoirs, tanks or pipelines and spills. Sensors can
be arranged in, on, within, in connection with or proximate a
reservoir, tank or pipeline and powered in the manner discussed
above, and coupled to a communication system as discussed above.
When a property of characteristic of the environment is detected by
the sensor, for example, detection of a fluid where none is
supposed to be (which could be indicative of a spill), the sensor
can trigger a communication system to transmit information about
the detection of the fluid to a remote site which could send
response personnel, i.e., clean-up personnel. The sensors can be
designed to detect any variables which could provide meaningful
information, such as a flow sensor which could detect variations in
flow, or a chemical sensor which could detect the presence of a
harmful chemical, or a radiation sensor which could detect the
presence of radioactivity. Appropriate action could be taken in
response to the detection of chemicals or radioactivity.
Remote water monitoring is also contemplated in the invention since
water supplies are potentially sabotageable, e.g., by the placement
of harmful chemicals in the water supply. In this case, sensors
would be arranged in, on, within, in connection with or proximate
water reservoirs, tanks or pipelines and powered in the manner
discussed above, and coupled to a communication system as discussed
above. Information provided by the sensors is periodically
communicated to a remote site at which it is monitored. If a sensor
detects the presence of a harmful chemical, appropriate action can
be taken to stop the flow of water from the reservoir to municipal
systems.
Even the pollution of the ocean and other large bodies of water
especially in the vicinity of a shore can now be monitored for oil
spills and other occurrences.
Similarly, remote air monitoring is contemplated within the scope
of the invention. Sensors are arranged at sites to monitor the air
and detect, for example, the presence of radioactivity and
bacteria. The sensors can send the information to a communication
system which transmits the information to a remote site for
monitoring. Detection of aberrations in the information from the
sensors can lead to initiation of an appropriate response, e.g.,
evacuation in the event of radioactivity detection.
An additional application is the monitoring of borders such as the
on between the United States and Mexico. Sensors can be placed
periodically along such a border at least partially in the ground
that are sensitive to vibrations, infrared radiation, sound or
other disturbances. Such sensor systems can also contain a pattern
recognition system that is trained to recognize characteristic
signals indicating the passing of a person or vehicle. When such a
disturbance occurs, the system can "wake-up" and receive and
analyze the signal and if it is recognized, a transmission to a
communication system can occur. Since the transmission would also
contain either a location or an identification number of the
device, the authorities would know where the border infraction was
occurring.
Above, the discussion of the invention has included the use of a
location determining signal such as from a GPS or other location
determining system such as the use of time of arrival calculations
from receptions from a plurality of cell phone antennas. If the
device is located in a fixed place where it is unlikely to move,
then the location of that place need only be determined once when
the sensor system is put in place. The identification number of the
device can then be associated with the device location in a
database, for example. Thereafter, just the transmission of the
device ID can be used to positively identify the device as well as
its location. Even for movable cargo containers, for example, if
the container has not moved since the last transmission, there is
no need to expend energy receiving and processing the GPS or other
location determining signals. If the device merely responds with
its identification number, the receiving facility knows its
location. The GPS processing circuitry can be reactivated if
sensors on the asset determine that the asset has moved.
Once the satellite or other communication system has received a
message from the sensor system of this invention, it can either
store the information into a database or, more commonly, it can
retransmit or make available the data usually on the Internet where
subscribers can retrieve the data and use it for their own
purposes. Since such sensor systems are novel to this invention,
the transmission of the data via the Internet and the business
model of providing such data to subscribing customers either on an
as-needed bases or on a push basis where the customer receives an
alert is also novel. Thus, for example, a customer may receive an
urgent automatically-generated e-mail message or even a pop-up
message on a particular screen that there is a problem with a
particular asset that needs immediate attention. The customer can
be a subscriber, a law enforcement facility, or an emergency
services facility, among others.
Although several preferred embodiments are illustrated and
described above, there are possible combinations using other
geometries, sensors, materials and different dimensions for the
components that perform the same functions. This invention is not
limited to the above embodiments and should be determined by the
following claims.
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