Latch Monitoring Apparatus for a Shipping Container Door
First Claim
1. A latch monitor for a container door, comprising:
- a magnet attached to a moving portion of a latch mechanism attached to said container door; and
an array of magnetic sensors disposed in fixed positions relative to a stationary portion of said latch mechanism and proximate a path traversed by said magnet.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system, method, and apparatus for monitoring and detecting movement of components of a shipping container latch. A latch monitor may embody an electromagnetic sensing unit and a nearby magnet or light emitter for measuring and characterizing the profile of a nearby electromagnetic field. The field profile is monitored to detect a change in the profile, log the change, and report any abnormal disturbance to the electromagnetic field, indicating a breach of the integrity of a latching mechanism on a shipping container. An alert of a breach event may be sent via a communication network to an authority for response. The invention can distinguish authorized, incidental, and tampering events, and also store and upload an electronic manifest for a shipping container.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A latch monitor for a container door, comprising:
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a magnet attached to a moving portion of a latch mechanism attached to said container door; and an array of magnetic sensors disposed in fixed positions relative to a stationary portion of said latch mechanism and proximate a path traversed by said magnet. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A latch monitor for a container door, comprising:
an array of magnetic sensors disposed in fixed positions relative to a stationary portion of a latch mechanism attached to said container door and proximate a path traversed by a magnet disposed on an adjacent moving portion of said latch mechanism.
Specification