USE OF ULTRASOUND FOR MONITORING SECURITY OF SHIPPING CONTAINERS
First Claim
1. A method for detecting whether a door of a shipping container has been opened, comprising the steps of:
- (a) producing an ultrasound signal inside of the shipping container, wherein the ultrasound signal is propagated along a path that is affected by opening the door of the shipping container;
(b) receiving and detecting the ultrasound signal after it has been propagated along the path that is affected by opening the door; and
(c) determining that the door has been opened by detecting a change in the ultrasound signal occurring because the door was opened.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Ultrasound is used to detect either or both the opening of a door of a shipping container or a change in the contents of a shipping container. Ultrasound signals transmitted from one or more ultrasonic transducers configured to be mounted within an interior of a shipping container travel through the interior and are reflected by a reflector, e.g., a corner reflector. The reflected ultrasound is received by an ultrasonic receiver, which produces an output signal corresponding to the received ultrasound signal. If the ultrasonic transducer or the reflector is mounted on the door, the time of flight of the ultrasound signal can be used to determine the distance that the ultrasound signal travels. Opening the door changes this distance, which can be detected. Similarly, changes in ultrasound reflected from contents in the shipping container can be detected and used to detect changes in the contents, which may be caused by terrorist activity.
19 Citations
48 Claims
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1. A method for detecting whether a door of a shipping container has been opened, comprising the steps of:
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(a) producing an ultrasound signal inside of the shipping container, wherein the ultrasound signal is propagated along a path that is affected by opening the door of the shipping container; (b) receiving and detecting the ultrasound signal after it has been propagated along the path that is affected by opening the door; and (c) determining that the door has been opened by detecting a change in the ultrasound signal occurring because the door was opened. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A system configured to be used with a shipping container for detecting whether a door of the shipping container has been opened, comprising:
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(a) an ultrasonic transducer that produces an ultrasound signal, the ultrasonic transducer being configured to mount within a shipping container and to produce at least one ultrasound signal that is propagated along a path affected by opening a door of the shipping container; (b) an ultrasonic receiver that is configured to be mounted inside a shipping container and to detect an ultrasound signal and to respond by producing a corresponding output signal, the ultrasonic receiver being mountable to receive the ultrasound signal that is propagated along the path affected by opening the door of the shipping container; and (c) a logic unit that is coupled to the ultrasonic receiver to receive the output signal produced by the ultrasonic receiver, the logic unit being configured to determine whether the door has been opened by responding to a change in the output signal from the ultrasonic receiver occurring because the door was opened. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for detecting a change in a configuration of contents of a shipping container, comprising the steps of:
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(a) producing an ultrasound signal that propagates over an area within the shipping container, so that ultrasound signal is expected to interact with any contents of the shipping container; (b) detecting the ultrasound signal after it has propagated within the shipping container and interacted with the contents, producing an output signal corresponding to the ultrasound signal that was detected; and (c) determining that a configuration of the contents has changed based upon the output signal. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A system for detecting a change in a configuration of contents of a shipping container, comprising:
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(a) an ultrasonic transducer that produces an ultrasound signal, the ultrasonic transducer being configured to mount within a shipping container and to produce at least one ultrasound signal that is propagated over an area inside a shipping container; (b) an ultrasonic receiver that is configured to be mounted inside a shipping container and to detect an ultrasound signal and to respond by producing a corresponding output signal, the ultrasonic receiver being mountable to receive the ultrasound signal that is propagated; and (c) a logic unit that is coupled to the ultrasonic receiver to receive the output signal produced by the ultrasonic receiver, the logic unit being configured to determine whether a change in a configuration of contents within the shipping container has occurred based upon a change in the output signal produced by the ultrasonic receiver. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43)
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44. A method for detecting a change in a level of a fluid in a shipping container, comprising the steps of:
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(a) transmitting an ultrasound signal from an ultrasonic transducer disposed in the shipping container; (b) reflecting the ultrasound signal from a corner reflector disposed in the shipping container; (c) receiving the ultrasound signal with an ultrasonic receiver after the ultrasound signal has been reflected from a surface of the fluid in the shipping container; (d) in response to the ultrasound signal that was received, producing an output signal indicative of a level of the fluid in the shipping container; and (e) detecting a change in the level of the fluid in the shipping container, by comparison of a current level with a previously determined level. - View Dependent Claims (45, 46, 47, 48)
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Specification