Container tracking system

• US 7,323,981 B2
• Filed: 02/20/2004
• Issued: 01/29/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 02/20/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: L3Harris Technologies, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Global Statistics, Inc.
• Inventors: Gates, Tell A., Peel, John W., Topping, Thomas R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee; Benjamin C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLOUNT, ERIC
• Application Number:
  US10/781,799
• Publication Number:
  US 20040174259A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,439 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C

Abstract

Shipping containers are networked for transferring data between the shipping containers. The shipping containers include sensors for detecting hazardous conditions associated with the shipping containers. The hazardous condition sensed by any shipping container on a ship is transmitted through the network to a satellite transmitter and/or a radio transmitter for reporting to a central database.

Claims

1. A shipping container tracking system, comprising:

at least one shipping container sensor adapted to be attached to a first shipping container to sense a national security condition of said first shipping container;

a first communication adapter associated with said first shipping container constructed and arranged to adaptively communicate said national security condition of said first shipping container with a second communication adapter associated with a second shipping container; and

a central database to receive said at least one shipping container sensor data;

wherein said central database verifies a content of said first shipping container by processing said national security condition of said first shipping container against a shipping manifest database.

2. A shipping container tracking system, comprising:

at least one shipping container sensor adapted to be attached to a first shipping container to sense at least one of a condition of said first shipping container and a condition of at least one item within said first shipping container;

a shipping container communication adapter to adaptively communicate with a second shipping container; and

a line of intermediary communications buoys placed at sea at appropriate locations to at least one of test said container tracking system functionality and to detect anomalies at a safe distance from port facilities.

3. A method of distributing data obtained from sensors adaptively attached to a shipping container comprising:

establishing a network connection between a first shipping container and a second shipping container;

transmitting sensor data from said first shipping container to said second shipping container if said sensor attached to said first shipping container detects a hazard and said first shipping container is unable to transmit its sensor data to at least one of an off ship transmission path and a shipboard system; and

at least one of testing and detecting a container tracking system functionality and anomalies at a safe distance from port facilities by a line of intermediary communications buoys placed at sea at appropriate locations.