INTELLIGENT CONTAINER

• US 20060290491A1
• Filed: 06/22/2006
• Published: 12/28/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CMC World Tracking System LLC
• Original Assignee: Custom Metalcraft Incorporated
• Inventors: Higgins, Scott, Amschler, Jason, Redmond, John, Wagner, Ron
• Granted Patent: US 7,978,067 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.26
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management

Abstract

A system for remotely identifying, tracking, and monitoring transported goods includes a sensing and communications device (14) embedded in a shipping container (2). The sensing and communications device (14) includes onboard sensors (58,60,62) and wirelessly communicates with external sensors (24,26) to receive environmental and structural condition data. The device (14) communicates the data via either an RF interface (52,54) or a cellular telephone system interface (48,50) to a remote monitoring station (68). The remote monitoring station (68) analyzes the data, presents the data to a user, and enables the user to program the device (14).

Claims

1. A system for monitoring conditions of an object, the system comprising:

a first sensor for sensing a first condition and generating first condition data;

an identification component for storing identification data;

a first wireless interface for communicating according to a first wireless protocol;

a second wireless interface for communicating according to a second wireless protocol; and

a controller for selecting the first wireless protocol or the second wireless protocol as a preferred protocol, and for communicating the first condition data and the identification data via the preferred wireless protocol.

2. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first interface communicates via a radio frequency signal.

3. The system as set forth in claim 2, wherein the radio frequency signal is chosen from the group consisting of 433.92 MHz, 902 MHz to 928 MHz, and 2.4 GHz.

4. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first wireless protocol is a radio frequency identification protocol.

5. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the second wireless interface communicates according to a cellular telephone system protocol.

6. The system as set forth in claim 5, wherein the cellular telephone system protocol is chosen from the group consisting of analog, digital, third generation, and general packet radio service.

7. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the object is a container comprising a container housing, wherein the first sensor, the identification component, the first interface, the second interface, and the controller are contained within a cavity that is integral with the container housing.

8. The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the cavity is sealed by a removable cap, wherein the cap is metal and is an antenna for at least one of the first interface and the second interface.

9. The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the cavity is sealed by a removable cap, wherein the cap is made of a material that permits wireless communications to pass therethrough.

10. The system as set forth in claim 7, further comprising a second sensor for sensing a second condition, wherein the second sensor is associated with the container and is not contained within the cavity, and wherein the controller receives the second condition data from the second sensor via a wireless communication means, and communicates the second condition data via the preferred wireless protocol.

11. The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the container is an open-top liquid storage container.

12. The system as set forth in claim 7, wherein the container is a sealable liquid storage container with a capacity of from about one-hundred gallons to about six-hundred gallons.

13. The system as set forth in claim 12, wherein the container is a metal intermediate bulk container.

14. The system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a location determining component for generating location data, wherein the controller communicates the location data via the preferred wireless protocol.

15. The system as set forth in claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a fill sensor for generating data indicating an amount of contents of the container.

16. The system as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a satellite communications modem for enabling the controller to communicate via a satellite communications protocol.

17. A method of remotely monitoring conditions of a container and presenting the conditions to a user, the method comprising:

sensing a first condition associated with the container and generating first condition data;

associating identification data with the container;

selecting a preferred communications protocol from a first wireless protocol and a second wireless protocol; and

communicating the first condition data and the identification data to a remote monitoring station via the preferred wireless protocol.

18. The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the first wireless protocol is a radio frequency identification protocol.

19. The method as set forth in claim 18, wherein the first wireless protocol communicates via a radio frequency signal chosen from the group consisting of 433.92 MHz, 902 MHz to 928 MHz, and 2.4 GHz.

20. The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the second wireless protocol is a cellular telephone communications protocol.

21. The method as set forth in claim 20, wherein the cellular telephone system protocol is chosen from the group consisting of analog, digital, third generation, and general packet radio service.

22. The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein the first wireless protocol is for direct communications with devices associated with other containers.

23. The method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising receiving identification data from an identification component and communicating the identification data via the preferred wireless protocol.

24. The method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising receiving location data from a location determining component and communicating the identification data via the preferred wireless protocol.

25. The method as set forth in claim 17, further comprising:

establishing a network of intelligent containers by identifying a plurality of containers and associating each container with a network node; and

receiving condition data and identification data from each network node, wherein a first network node communicates condition data and identification data received from a second network node to the remote monitoring station.

26. A system for monitoring conditions of a container, the system comprising:

a container housing;

a first sensor for sensing a first condition and generating first condition data;

a second sensor for sensing a second condition and generating second condition data;

a global positioning system receiver for generating location data;

an identification component for storing identification data;

a first wireless interface for communicating with an interface associated with another container and for communicating directly with a remote monitoring station;

a second wireless interface for communicating via a cellular telephone system protocol; and

a controller for determining a preferred interface for communicating with the remote monitoring station, wherein the first interface is preferred if communications with the remote monitoring station are available via the first interface, and wherein the second interface is preferred if communications with the remote monitoring station are not available via the first interface, and for communicating the first condition data, the second condition data, the identification data, and the location data to the remote monitoring station via the preferred wireless medium,

wherein the first sensor, the global positioning system receiver, the identification component, the first wireless interface, the second wireless interface, and the controller are contained within a sealable cavity that is integral with the container housing.

27. The system as set forth in claim 26, wherein the first wireless interface communicates according to a radio frequency identification protocol.

28. The system as set forth in claim 27, wherein the first wireless interface communicates via a radio frequency signal chosen from the group consisting of 433.92 MHz, 902 MHz to 928 MHz, and 2.4 GHz.

29. The system as set forth in claim 26, wherein the cellular telephone system protocol is chosen from the group consisting of analog, digital, third generation, and general packet radio service.

30. The system as set forth in claim 26, wherein the container is a sealable liquid storage container with a capacity of from about one-hundred gallons to about six-hundred gallons.

31. The system as set forth in claim 30, wherein the container is a stackable intermediate bulk container.

32. The system as set forth in claim 26, wherein the cavity is sealed by a metal cap that is an antenna for at least one of the first and second interfaces.

33. The system as set forth in claim 26, further comprising a communications modem for receiving data from the controller and communicating the data via a second wireless protocol.

34. The system as set forth in claim 33, wherein the communications modem is a satellite modem and communicates with the controller via a wireless medium.

35. A computer program for enabling a remote monitoring system, at least a portion of the program being stored on a computer-usable medium, the computer program comprising:

a code segment for receiving data relating to a plurality of remote containers, wherein the data includes condition data and identification data;

a code segment for communicating operating instructions to each of the remote containers;

a code segment for comparing the condition data of each container with a threshold level associated with the container'"'"'s identification data, and generating an alert if the condition data indicates a condition has exceeded a threshold level; and

a code segment for communicating the alert to a user via a user-selected communication means.

36. The computer program as set forth in claim 35, further comprising a code segment for enabling the user to select the threshold level for each container, wherein the selected amount is communicated to each container in the operating instructions.

37. The computer program as set forth in claim 35, wherein the condition data indicates at least a level of contents of each container.

38. The computer program as set forth in claim 37, further comprising a code segment for presenting the amount of container contents to the user, wherein the amount indicates the total amount of contents in all of the containers.

39. The program as set forth in claim 35, wherein the user-selected means is chosen from the group consisting of a web-page, a cell phone, a facsimile machine, and a pager.