Method for determining thermal exposure of a product

• US 6,397,163 B1
• Filed: 12/02/1999
• Issued: 05/28/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
• Inventors: Segur, Dennis L., Hoyt, William G., Kolankiewicz, Thomas R., Muehlbauer, Nadine N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hoff, Marc S.
• Assistant Examiner(s): KIM, PAUL L
• Application Number:
  US09/453,105
• Time in Patent Office: 908 Days
• Field of Search: 702/136,3,130,131,132 206/559
• US Class Current: 702/136
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A computer-based method of determining a thermal exposure of a product disposed within a shipping container to determine whether a conditioned environment is required for shipping. A shipping route is defined from a first geographic location to a second geographic location. The thermal characteristics of the shipping container are provided, as is a historical weather database. Ambient temperatures, cloud cover and humidity from the historical weather database are retrieved which correspond to the shipping route. A system of mathematical equations are generated to correspond the retrieved ambient temperature to an ambient temperature within the shipping container and to the product temperature. The corresponding product temperature is compared to a thermal exposure profile for the product to determine if the corresponding product temperature is within the thermal exposure profile.

Claims

1. A method of determining a cumulative thermal exposure of a product disposed within a shipping container, the method comprising:

defining a shipping route from a first geographic location to a second geographic location, the shipping route comprising at least one geographic position intermediate the first and second geographic location, the shipping route having a time duration;

providing a thermal product-keeping exposure profile for the product;

providing thermal characteristics of the shipping container;

providing a historical weather database of ambient temperature;

retrieving an ambient temperature from the historical weather database corresponding to the first and second geographic locations and the at least one geographic position along the shipping route;

corresponding the retrieved ambient temperature to an ambient temperature within the shipping container;

corresponding the ambient temperature within the shipping container to a product temperature of the product disposed within the shipping container;

developing a cumulative thermal exposure of the product using the corresponding product temperature; and

determining if the cumulative thermal exposure of the product is within the thermal product-keeping exposure profile.

2. The method according to claim 1 further comprising the step of determining a temperature within the shipping container at a top wall of the shipping container by increasing the corresponding ambient temperature within the shipping container by a value of less than or equal to about 20 degrees F.;

and

determining if the ambient temperature at the top wall of the shipping container is within the thermal product-keeping exposure profile.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the range of ambient temperature is within a statistical tolerance.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein defining a shipping route from a first geographic location to a second geographic location is accomplished by a plurality of shipping modes selected from the group consisting of truck, rail, airplane, ship, customs, storage and staging area.

5. A method of determining a cumulative thermal exposure of a plurality of products disposed within a single shipping container, the method comprising:

defining a shipping route from a first geographic location to a second geographic location, the shipping route comprising at least one geographic position intermediate the first and second geographic location;

providing a thermal product-keeping exposure profile for the plurality of products;

providing thermal characteristics of the single shipping container;

providing a worldwide historical weather database of ambient temperatures;

retrieving ambient temperatures from the historical weather database corresponding to the geographic locations and the geographic position of the shipping route;

modeling the plurality of products as a lumped sum mass;

modeling a heat transfer between the retrieved ambient temperature and the lumped sum mass to determine a corresponding product temperature;

comparing the corresponding product temperature to the thermal product-keeping exposure profile;

developing a cumulative thermal exposure of the plurality of products using the corresponding product temperatures; and

determining if the cumulative thermal exposure of the plurality of products is within the thermal product-keeping exposure profile.

6. The method according to claim 5 further comprising the step of determining a temperature within the shipping container at a top wall of the shipping container by increasing the corresponding ambient temperature within the shipping container by a value of less than or equal to about 20 degrees F.;

and

determining if the ambient temperature at the top wall of the shipping container is within the thermal product-keeping exposure profile.

7. The method according to claim 5 wherein the range of ambient temperature is within a statistical tolerance.

8. The method according to claim 5 wherein defining a shipping route from a first geographic location to a second geographic location is accomplished by a plurality of shipping modes selected from the group consisting of truck, rail, airplane, ship, customs, storage and staging area.

9. A computer-based system for determining whether a conditioned environment is needed to ship a product within a shipping container, the method comprising:

first means defining a shipping route from a first geographic location to a second geographic location, the shipping route comprising at least one geographic position intermediate the first and second geographic location, the shipping route being defined by a plurality of shipping modes selected from the group consisting of truck, rail, airplane, ship, customs, storage and staging area;

second means for providing a thermal product-keeping exposure profile for the product;

third means for providing thermal characteristics of the shipping container;

fourth means for providing worldwide historical weather data;

retrieving means for retrieving ambient temperatures from the worldwide historical weather database corresponding to the first and second geographic locations and the at least one geographic position along the shipping route;

corresponding means for corresponding the retrieved ambient temperature to a product temperature;

comparison means for comparing the product temperature to the thermal product-keeping exposure profile; and

determination means determining if the product temperature is within the thermal product-keeping exposure profile.

10. A method of determining a cumulative thermal exposure of an entity disposed within a container, the method comprising:

defining a first geographic location;

providing a thermal product-keeping exposure profile for the entity;

providing thermal characteristics of the container;

providing a historical weather database of ambient temperature;

retrieving an ambient temperature from the historical weather database corresponding to the first geographic location;

corresponding the retrieved ambient temperature to an ambient temperature within the container;

corresponding the ambient temperature within the container to a product temperature of the entity disposed within the container;

developing a cumulative thermal exposure of the entity using the corresponding entity temperature; and

determining if the cumulative thermal exposure of the entity is within the thermal product-keeping exposure profile.