METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR SECURING CHATTELS

• US 20140009290A1
• Filed: 09/13/2013
• Published: 01/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: eProvenance LLC
• Original Assignee: eProvenance LLC
• Inventors: Vogt, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 9,368,007 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/568.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/02 Mechanical actuation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/14 Short messaging services, e.g. short message services [SMS] or unstructured supplementary service data [USSD]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/183 Processing at user equipment or user record carrier

Abstract

Systems and methods of securing chattels are provided. Motion of a first container can be measured by a sensor over an interval of time and compared to motion of a second container. A relative difference between the motion of the first container and the motion of the second container over the interval of time can be calculated by a data processing circuit. A determination can be made by the data processing circuit that the relative difference in motion of the containers exceeds a predetermined threshold. An alert that the threshold has been exceeded can be transmitted by a transmitting circuit to a remote server. A SIM card and a modem can be associated with a container. Information corresponding to the location and identification of the SIM card can be received by the modem. The location and identification information can be transmitted by the modem to a remote server.

Claims

1. A method of determining that a relative difference in motion of at least two containers in a shipment exceeds a predetermined threshold, the method comprising:

measuring, by a computing device fixed to a first container, motion of the first container over an interval of time;

receiving, by the computing device, information corresponding to motion of a second container over the interval of time;

calculating, by the computing device, a relative difference between the motion of the first container and the motion of the second container over the interval of time;

determining that the calculated relative difference in motion of the containers exceeds a predetermined threshold; and

transmitting, by the computing device to a remote server, information corresponding to an alert that the calculated difference exceeds the predetermined threshold, responsive to the determination.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of iterating the measuring, receiving, calculating, determining, and transmitting steps one or more times during shipment.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising the step of receiving, by the computing device, information corresponding to a number of iterations to be performed during shipment.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of measuring, by the computing device, a temperature inside the first container, and transmitting, by the computing device to a remote server, information corresponding to the temperature inside the first container.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the measuring step comprises measuring the acceleration of the first container over the interval of time.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the computing device, a value specifying duration of the interval of time.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving step further comprises receiving, by the computing device, information corresponding to the motion of a plurality of containers over the interval of time.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of storing, in a memory element, information corresponding to the determination that the calculated relative difference in motion of the containers exceeds the predetermined threshold.

9. A system for detecting that a relative difference in motion of at least two containers in a shipment exceeds a predetermined threshold, the system comprising:

a sensor measuring motion of a first container over an interval of time;

a receiving circuit receiving information corresponding to motion of a second container over the interval of time;

a data processing circuit;

calculating a relative difference between the motion of the first container and the motion of the second container over the interval of time; and

determining that the relative difference in motion of the containers exceeds a predetermined threshold, based on the calculated relative difference in motion of the containers; and

a transmitting circuit transmitting to a remote server information corresponding to an alert that the calculated difference exceeds the predetermined threshold, responsive to the determination.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the sensor is an accelerometer.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the receiving circuit receives information corresponding to motion of a plurality of containers.

12. The system of claim 9, further comprising a memory element storing information corresponding to the determination that the calculated relative difference in motion of the containers exceeds the predetermined threshold.

13. The system of claim 9, further comprising a second sensor measuring a temperature inside the first container.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the transmitting circuit transmits to a remote server information corresponding to the temperature inside the first container.

15. A method for determining a location of a container by tracking the location of a subscriber identity module (SIM) card associated with the container, the method comprising:

receiving, by a modem associated with the container and in communication with the SIM card, information corresponding to the location of the SIM card;

retrieving, by the modem, information from the SIM card identifying the SIM card; and

transmitting, by the modem, the location and identification information of the SIM card to a remote server via short message service (SMS).

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising calculating the location of the SIM card using cellular tower triangulation.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising determining the location of the container from a cellular tower identifier associated with the SIM card.

18. The method of claim 15, further comprising calculating the location of the SIM card using a global positioning system.

19. The method of claim 15, further comprising the step of iterating the receiving, retrieving, and transmitting steps one or more times during shipment of the container.

20. The method of claim 19, further comprising receiving, by a memory element, a number of iterations to be performed during shipment.

21. A system for determining the location of a container, the system comprising:

a SIM card associated with the container, the SIM card storing information identifying the SIM card;

a modem associated with the container and in communication with the SIM card, the modem;

receiving information corresponding to the location of the SIM card;

retrieving the information identifying the SIM card; and

transmitting the location and identification information to a remote server via short message service (SMS).

22. The system of claim 21, further comprising a memory element storing the identification information of the SIM card.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising a global positioning system (GPS) processor in communication with the modem, the GPS processor acquiring location information from GPS satellites.

24. The system of claim 21, further comprising a cellular baseband processor in communication with the modem, the cellular baseband processor acquiring location information from cellular towers.