System and method for lot based processing and tracking in a container security system using wireless communications
First Claim
1. A system and method for providing the monitoring and tracking a plurality of containers organized in groups or lots comprising:
- a short range wireless communications device associated with each container, each short range wireless communication device including a transmitter element and a complementary receiver element;
at least a long range communications device communications device associated with each container;
a position determination element;
a control element which dynamically tracks and reports certain groups or lots of containers.
11 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for tracking a plurality of shipping containers which are designated as a specific group or lot is provided. The system may use the receiver range of a short range wireless communications device to track containers among themselves, or alternatively use a global positioning device in conjunction with a long range satellite or cellular communications device to report position back to a central monitoring station which utilizes a centralized method for tracking the container lots. An alarm condition is generated if any given container gets separated from the group or lot.
38 Citations
11 Claims
-
1. A system and method for providing the monitoring and tracking a plurality of containers organized in groups or lots comprising:
-
a short range wireless communications device associated with each container, each short range wireless communication device including a transmitter element and a complementary receiver element;
at least a long range communications device communications device associated with each container;
a position determination element;
a control element which dynamically tracks and reports certain groups or lots of containers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A method for using a short range wireless communications device for dynamic tracking of a plurality of containers organized into a group or lot using a short range wireless communications device associated with each container, the method comprising:
-
for any given lot of containers, initially programming each container with a unique container address and lot designation;
for any given lot of containers, initially programming each container with a preset table comprising all of the container addresses within a given lot designation;
querying each container for the container address and lot designation within the proximity of each short range receiver;
collecting reports back from neighboring containers, the reports indicating the container address and lot number of the neighboring containers;
comparing container addresses and lot designations against the preset table and determining if any containers are absent;
in the event of an absent container, reporting an alarm condition back to a central monitoring station. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
-
11. A method for using a position determination device for dynamic tracking of a plurality of containers organized into a group or lot using a short range wireless communications device associated with each container, the method comprising:
-
for any given lot of containers, initially programming each container with a unique container address and lot designation;
initially storing a unique table comprising all of the container addresses within a given lot designation in a database in a central monitoring station;
for each container, transmitting the container address, lot designation, and container location back to a central monitoring station using a long range communications device;
at the central monitoring station, for each container comparing location, container address, and lot designations against the preset table and determining if any containers are physically located at a distance greater than a predetermined value from all other containers;
in the event that one or more of the containers are located at a distance greater than a predetermined value from all other containers, reporting an alarm condition.
-
Specification