Method for maintaining a shipping container manifest

• US 8,319,640 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2008
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: N7 Systems, LLC
• Original Assignee: N7 Systems, LLC
• Inventors: McGinnis, John, Rader, Michael E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Bugg, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wang, Jack K
• Application Number:
  US12/253,053
• Publication Number:
  US 20090102653A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,503 Days
• Field of Search: 340/571, 340/551, 340/572.3, 705/28, 367/135
• US Class Current: 340/571
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 2047/0097 including means for monitoring voltage, e.g. for indicating low battery state
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 45/06 Electric alarm locks E05B45/005 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: E05B 83/10 Rotary bars
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/31 Hasps
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 292/51 Seal bolts

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.

Claims

1. A method for maintaining a manifest for a shipping container, comprising the steps of:

in a processor remote from said shipping container, reducing said manifest to digital form and storing it in a non-transitory memory in said processor;

attaching a latch monitor to the outside of said shipping container;

coupling said latch monitor to a latching mechanism of said shipping container;

establishing a radio communication link from said processor remote from said shipping container to a transceiver in said latch monitor attached to said shipping container;

transmitting said manifest from said remote processor to said transceiver in said latch monitor for storage in a non-transitory memory segment therein; and

providing for transmitting said manifest from said latch monitor upon receipt of a command transmitted from a remote processor to said latch monitor.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising, after the step of reducing, the step of:

including in said latch monitor an electrical circuitry having a processor, a non-volatile memory, and a transceiver coupled to an antenna.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said including step further comprises the step of:

coupling said latch monitor to a latching mechanism of said shipping container via a wireless latch disturbance sensor.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said coupling step comprises:

attaching a magnet to a movable component of said latch mechanism; and

attaching a magnetic sensor to a stationary component of said latch mechanism.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of:

coupling said latch monitor including said electrical circuitry and a wireless latch disturbance sensor to a latch mechanism of said shipping container.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said coupling step further comprises the step of:

configuring said wireless disturbance sensor as a magnetic field sensor.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said configuring step comprises the steps of:

attaching a magnet to a movable component of said latch mechanism; and

attaching a magnetic sensor to a stationary component of said latch mechanism.

8. A method for maximizing battery life in a latch monitor for a shipping container latch mechanism, comprising the steps of:

connecting the output of said battery to a switchmode, low current regulator loaded by a supercapacitor;

coupling each loading circuit in said latch monitor requiring current to the output of said supercapacitor through a low-loss switch;

controlling said low-loss switch of each said circuit according to the need for operating current by said circuit; and

operating signal analysis tasks performed in one or more of said circuits independently of signal reception tasks, after storing received signals for subsequent analysis.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

causing selected ones of each of said circuits to enter a dormant mode when it does not require said operating current.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the step of:

monitoring battery output voltage as a prelude to initiating power conservation processes.