Environmental condition monitoring of a container

• US 7,784,707 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2006
• Issued: 08/31/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: XRS Corporation (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: XRS Corporation (Solera Holdings Incorporated)
• Inventors: Witty, Eric J., Quy, Dennis A., Landrum, Brett A., Thayer, Peter A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Denion; Thomas E
• Assistant Examiner(s): Carton; Michael
• Application Number:
  US11/436,381
• Publication Number:
  US 20070267509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 621/27, 621/29, 621/31, 700/276, 236/51, 236/91.C, 236/94
• US Class Current: 236/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01D 9/007 Data loggers attached to transport containers for perishable products, e.g. food or medicines

Abstract

In an embodiment, the invention is directed to a device including an environmental condition sensor, a light sensor; and a control module. The control module associates a light intensity above a defined threshold with an open-door status of a container. In another embodiment, a device includes an environmental condition sensor, a rewriteable memory that stores environmental condition data from the environmental condition sensor, and a wireless communication module that transmits stored environmental condition data. Embodiments of the invention may be useful to provide techniques for monitoring environmental conditions within a container, such as a refrigerated trailer.

Claims

1. A device comprising:

a temperature sensor;

a light sensor;

a rewriteable memory that stores environmental condition data including temperature data from the temperature sensor and indications of a door status of a container based on a light intensity measured by the light sensor;

a wireless communication module that transmits the stored environmental condition data including temperature data and indications of the door status of the container; and

a control module, wherein the control module reads a current temperature from the temperature sensor and a current light condition from the light sensor at periodic intervals, and at those periodic intervals in which at least one of the current temperature and the current light condition changes since a most-recent previous reading, the control module data records the current temperature and the current light condition as the environmental condition data in the rewriteable memory,

wherein the control module issues an alert when a temperature reading is outside acceptable limits and the door status is a closed-door status, and the control module does not issue the alert when the temperature reading is outside acceptable limits and the door status is an open-door status.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication module includes an external antenna.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a housing securing the temperature sensor and the rewriteable memory; and

an adhesive on an external side of the housing that allows the device to be mounted on an object.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a battery that powers the device.

5. The device of claim 1, wherein the control module records the current temperature by storing a change in temperature since a most-recent previously recorded temperature.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein the control module determines if a network access point is available and transmits the environmental condition data to the network access point.

7. The device of claim 1, wherein the current temperature readings and the current light condition readings are taken at substantially the same time for each of the periodic intervals.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein the device transmits a unique identifier to allow identification of the device.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication module transmits data using a ZigBee wireless standard.

10. A device comprising:

an environmental condition sensor that outputs an environmental condition signal representing an environmental condition measured by the environmental condition sensor;

a light sensor that outputs a light intensity signal representing a light intensity measured by the light sensor; and

a control module that receives the environmental condition signal and the light intensity signal,

wherein the control module associates a light intensity above a defined threshold with an open-door status of a container,

wherein the control module maintains a historical record of the environmental conditions measured by the environmental condition sensor and a door status of the container, and

wherein the door status of the container is based on an evaluation of the light intensity signal received from the light sensor,

wherein the control module issues an alert when a temperature reading is outside acceptable limits and the door status is a closed-door status, and the control module does not issue the alert when the temperature reading is outside acceptable limits and the door status is an open-door status.

11. The device of claim 10, wherein the container is a refrigerated trailer.

12. The device of claim 10, wherein the environmental condition sensor measures temperature.

13. The device of claim 12, further comprising a wireless communication module that transmits temperature measurements from the environmental condition sensor and the door status of the container.

14. The device of claim 10, further comprising a rewriteable memory that stores the historical record of the environmental conditions measured by the environmental condition sensor and the door status of the container.

15. The device of claim 10, wherein the door status of the container in the historical record can be either open-door status or a closed-door status.