SYSTEMS, APPARATUS, NON-TRANSIENT COMPUTER READABLE MEDIA, AND METHODS FOR AUTOMATICALLY MANAGING AND MONITORING A LOAD OPERATION RELATED TO A LOGISTICS CONTAINER USING A SCANNING SENSOR NODE
First Claim
1. An improved scanning sensor apparatus for managing a load operation related to a container;
- the apparatus comprising;
a housing configured to mount within the container in a position located above storage space within the container;
a processing unit disposed within the housing;
a memory disposed within the housing, the memory being operatively coupled to the processing unit and maintaining at least a load operation program code section and a scanning program code section for execution by the processing unit;
a depth sensor operatively coupled to the processing unit, wherein the depth sensor is disposed and oriented to map the storage space within the container from above the storage space;
an identification scanner operatively coupled to the processing unit, wherein the identification scanner is configured to identify an item to be shipped within the container; and
a wireless communication interface disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the processing unit; and
wherein the processing unit, when executing the load operation program code section and the scanning program code section, is operative toreceive an identification of the item to be shipped within the container from the identification scanner,cause the depth sensor to map the storage space within the container after the item has been placed within the container,receive mapping data generated by the depth sensor associated with the mapped storage space within the container,determine an occupied capacity within the container based upon the mapping data associated with the mapped storage space, andinstruct the wireless communication interface to transmit a notification to a managing node in communication with the improved scanning sensor apparatus over the wireless communication interface, wherein the notification is related to the occupied capacity within the container.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus, systems, non-transient media, and methods are described that use a removable scanning sensor node for managing a load operation related to a container. For example, the method has the scanning sensor node identifying an item to be shipped within the container and mapping the space within the container after the item has been placed within the container using the node as temporarily disposed within the container and oriented to map the container'"'"'s space from above the space. The method then has the scanning sensor node determining an occupied capacity within the container based upon mapping data associated with the mapped space and transmitting a notification to a managing node in communication with the removable scanning sensor node. The transmitted notification relates to the occupied capacity within the container as determined by the scanning sensor node.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. An improved scanning sensor apparatus for managing a load operation related to a container;
- the apparatus comprising;
a housing configured to mount within the container in a position located above storage space within the container; a processing unit disposed within the housing; a memory disposed within the housing, the memory being operatively coupled to the processing unit and maintaining at least a load operation program code section and a scanning program code section for execution by the processing unit; a depth sensor operatively coupled to the processing unit, wherein the depth sensor is disposed and oriented to map the storage space within the container from above the storage space; an identification scanner operatively coupled to the processing unit, wherein the identification scanner is configured to identify an item to be shipped within the container; and a wireless communication interface disposed within the housing and operatively coupled to the processing unit; and wherein the processing unit, when executing the load operation program code section and the scanning program code section, is operative to receive an identification of the item to be shipped within the container from the identification scanner, cause the depth sensor to map the storage space within the container after the item has been placed within the container, receive mapping data generated by the depth sensor associated with the mapped storage space within the container, determine an occupied capacity within the container based upon the mapping data associated with the mapped storage space, and instruct the wireless communication interface to transmit a notification to a managing node in communication with the improved scanning sensor apparatus over the wireless communication interface, wherein the notification is related to the occupied capacity within the container. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- the apparatus comprising;
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18. An improved system for managing load operations related to a plurality of containers, the system comprising:
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a managing node device associated with at least one operator, the managing node device further comprising at least a wireless communication interface; and a display interface that generates information to be provided to the at least one operator; and a plurality of scanning sensor nodes, wherein each of the scanning sensor nodes are in operative wireless communication with the managing node device, wherein each of the scanning sensor nodes is disposed within a respective one of the containers above a storage space within the respective container; wherein each of the scanning sensor nodes mounted in the respective one of the containers is operative to identify one or more items as the items are loaded into the storage space within the respective one of the containers using an identification scanner on the scanning sensor node, map the storage space from above the storage space using a sensor on the scanning sensor node while the items are loaded into the storage space, determine an occupied capacity within the respective one of the containers based upon mapping data generated by the sensor related to the mapped storage space, and transmit a notification to the managing node device, wherein the notification is related to the occupied capacity within the respective one of the containers; and wherein the managing node device is operative to receive the notification over the wireless communication interface from each of the scanning sensor nodes, assess the notification received from each of the scanning sensor nodes relative to at least one loading characteristic, generate a loading change message related to a change in the load operations related to the containers, and provide the loading change message on the display interface. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
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29. An improved method for managing a load operation related to a container using a removable scanning sensor node, the method comprising:
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identifying, by the removable scanning sensor node, an item to be shipped within the container; mapping, by the removable scanning sensor node, the space within the container after the item has been placed within the container, wherein the removable scanning sensor node being temporarily disposed within the container and oriented to map the space within the container from above the space; determining, by the removable scanning sensor node, an occupied capacity within the container based upon mapping data associated with the mapped space; and transmitting, by the removable scanning sensor node, a notification to a managing node in communication with the removable scanning sensor node, wherein the notification is related to the occupied capacity within the container. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
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45. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions which when executed on a processor of a removable scanning sensor node performs an improved method for managing a load operation related to a container using the removable scanning sensor node, the method comprising:
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identifying, by the removable scanning sensor node, an item to be shipped within the container; mapping, by the removable scanning sensor node, the space within the container after the item has been placed within the container, wherein the removable scanning sensor node being temporarily disposed within the container and oriented to map the space within the container from above the space; determining, by the removable scanning sensor node, an occupied capacity within the container based upon mapping data associated with the mapped space; and transmitting, by the removable scanning sensor node, a notification to a managing node in communication with the removable scanning sensor node, wherein the notification is related to the occupied capacity within the container. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60)
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Specification