Systems and methods for providing security at a vehicle yard

• US 8,698,625 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2012
• Issued: 04/15/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: U.S. Security Associates Holding Corp. (Allied Universal Manager LLC)
• Original Assignee: US Security Associates Incorporated (Allied Universal Manager LLC)
• Inventors: Schneider, Charles R., Boylan, James P. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): SYED, NABIL H
• Application Number:
  US13/424,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20120176242A1
• Time in Patent Office: 757 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 340/539.3, 340/573.1, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/438, 340/439, 340/442, 340/447, 340/453, 340/576, 702/33, 702/61, 702/83, 702/187, 702/108, 702/122
• US Class Current: 340/540
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/0428 Safety, monitoring G05B19/0423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/24015 Monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2612 Data acquisition interface
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/2628 Door, window

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing security at a vehicle yard are provided. A communicator may collect data associated with a plurality of vehicles or trailers during completion of a guard tour, and a processing station may receive the collected data from the communicator. The processing station may compare the collected data to expected data in order to generate one or more instructions that are returned to the communicator. The one or more instructions may include an instruction to collect additional data associated with a vehicle or trailer.

Claims

1. A communicator for use in a guard tour, the communicator comprising:

at least one scanning device configured to collect information associated with a plurality of vehicles or trailers during completion of a guard tour;

at least one network interface configured to (i) communicate at least a portion of the collected information to a remote processing station via a network, and (ii) receive an instruction associated with an identified exception based at least in part on the at least a portion of collected information; and

at least one processor configured to (i) direct a guard to utilize the at least one scanning device to collect information associated with the plurality of vehicles or trailers, wherein the information comprises a first number of manual openings, a second number of emergency openings, and a third number of automatic openings of a gate associated with a site at which the plurality of vehicles or trailers is parked, (ii) compare a first total comprising the first number, the second number, and the third number to a second total of a number of openings of the gate, (iii) identify the exception when the first total does not equal the second total, (iv) prompt the guard to collect additional information based at least in part on the instruction, and (v) direct the at least one network interface to communicate the collected information and the collected additional information to the remote processing station.

2. The communicator of claim 1, wherein the guard is prompted to collect one of (i) a temperature of a refrigerated trailer or (ii) an amount of fuel remaining in a fuel tank associated with a trailer.

3. The communicator of claim 1, wherein the instruction comprises a first instruction, wherein the at least one network interface is further configured to receive a second instruction from the remote processing station based upon an evaluation of at least one of the information or the additional information, the second instruction associated with the identified exception, and

wherein the at least one processor is further configured to output at least one of the first instruction or the second instruction for presentation to the guard.

4. The communicator of claim 1, wherein the identified exception comprises one of (i) an exception associated with a missing vehicle or a missing trailer or (ii) an exception associated with a missed guard tour point.

5. The communicator of claim 3, wherein the second instruction comprises one of (i) an instruction to visit a missed guard tour point or (ii) an instruction to search for a missing vehicle or a missing trailer.

18. The communicator of claim 1, wherein the collected additional information comprises at least one of a planned arrival time of the plurality of vehicles or trailers, a planned departure time of the plurality of vehicles or trailers, or information associated with a bill of lading for the plurality of vehicles or trailers.

6. A system, comprising:

a communicator configured to collect data associated with a plurality of vehicles or trailers during completion of a guard tour; and

a processing station configured to (i) receive the collected data from the communicator, wherein the collected data comprises a first number of manual openings, a second number of emergency openings, and a third number of automatic openings of a gate associated with a site at which the plurality of vehicles or trailers is parked, (ii) compare a first total comprising the first number, the second number, and the third number to a second total of a number of openings of the gate, (iii) identify at least one exception when the first total does not equal the second total, (iv) generate one or more instructions based at least in part on the identified at least one exception to be returned to the communicator, the one or more instructions comprising an instruction to collect additional data associated with a vehicle or trailer, and (v) communicate the generated one or more instructions to the communicator.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the instruction to collect additional information comprises one of (i) an instruction to collect a temperature of a refrigerated trailer or (ii) an instruction to collect an amount of fuel remaining in a fuel tank associated with a trailer.

8. The system of claim 6, wherein the communicator and the processing station communicate in real-time via a cellular network.

9. The system of claim 6, wherein the identified at least one exception comprises one of (i) an exception associated with a missing vehicle or a missing trailer or (ii) an exception associated with a missed guard tour point.

10. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more instructions further comprise one of (i) an instruction to visit a missed guard tour point or (ii) an instruction to search for a missing vehicle or a missing trailer.

11. The system of claim 6, wherein the communicator comprises a first communicator associated with a first guard, and

wherein the processing station is further configured to communicate an alert associated with the identified at least one exception to a second communicator associated with a second guard.

19. The system of claim 6, wherein the instruction comprises a first instruction, and wherein the processing station is further configured to:

receive the additional data; and

communicate a second instruction based on an evaluation of the additional data to a gate actuator, the second instruction causing the gate actuator to open the gate.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a processing station from a communicator carried by a guard during a guard tour, data collected by the communicator and associated with a plurality of vehicles or trailers evaluated during completion of the guard tour, wherein the collected data comprises a first number of manual openings, a second number of emergency openings, and a third number of automatic openings of a gate associated with a site at which the plurality of vehicles or trailers is parked;

determining, by the processing station, at least one exception based at least in part on a comparison of a first total comprising the first number, the second number, and the third number to a second total of a number of openings of the gate;

generating, by the processing station, one or more instructions based at least in part on the identified at least one exception to be returned to the communicator, the one or more instructions comprising an instruction to collect additional data associated with a vehicle or trailer; and

communicating, by the processing station to the communicator, the generated one or more instructions.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the instruction to collect additional information comprises one of (i) an instruction to collect a temperature of a refrigerated trailer or (ii) an instruction to collect an amount of fuel remaining in a fuel tank associated with a trailer.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the communicator and the processing station communicate in real-time via a cellular network.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the identified at least one exception comprises one of (i) an exception associated with a missing vehicle or a missing trailer or (ii) an exception associated with a missed guard tour point.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the one or more instructions further comprises one of (i) an instruction to visit a missed guard tour point or (ii) an instruction to search for a missing vehicle or a missing trailer.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the communicator comprises a first communicator associated with a first guard, and further comprising:

communicating, by the processing station, an alert associated with the identified at least one exception to a second communicator associated with a second guard.

20. The method of claim 12, wherein the instruction comprises a first instruction, and wherein the method further comprises:

receiving, by the processing station, the additional data;

communicating, by the processing station, a second instruction based on an evaluation of the additional data to a gate actuator that causes the gate actuator to open the gate.