Low power remote asset monitoring

• US 6,919,803 B2
• Filed: 06/09/2003
• Issued: 07/19/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2002
• Status: Expired

• Current Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intelligent Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Breed, David S.
• Primary Examiner(s): GOINS, DAVETTA WOODS
• Application Number:
  US10/457,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20030227382A1
• Time in Patent Office: 771 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/426.19, 340/540, 340/541, 340/989, 340/539.13, 340/539.26, 340/10.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/572.1, 340/572.3, 340/572.4, 340/568.1, 342/457, 342/42, 342/44, 342/46, 705/22, 235/385, 701/1
• US Class Current: 340/539.14
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/2462 Asset location systems combined with EAS inventory, tracking, logistic G06Q10/00; entrance control systems G07C9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/248 EAS system combined with another detection technology, e.g. dual EAS and video or other presence detection system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/023 Power management, e.g. system sleep and wake up provisions
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0286 Tampering or removal detection of the child unit from child or article
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/181 due to failing power supply

Abstract

Arrangement for monitoring an asset including an interior sensor system arranged on the asset to obtain information about contents in the interior of the asset, a location determining system arranged on the asset to monitor the location of the asset and a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to the interior sensor system and the location determining system. The communication system operatively transmits the information about the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the asset to a remote facility. The interior sensor system may include at least one wave transmitter arranged to transmit waves into the interior of the asset and at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves from the interior of the asset. A processor may be provided to compare waves received by the wave receiver(s) at different times or analyze the waves received by the wave receiver(s).

Claims

1. An asset including an arrangement for monitoring the asset and an interior of the asset, comprising:

an interior sensor system arranged on the asset, said interior sensor system being arranged to obtain information about contents in the interior of the asset different than the location of the asset and the contents thereof;

a location determining system arranged on the asset, said location determining system being arranged to monitor the location of the asset; and

a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to said interior sensor system and said location determining system, said communication system being arranged to transmit the information about the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the asset to a remote facility,

said interior sensor system comprising at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves from the interior of the asset and a processor arranged to compare waves received by said at least one wave receiver at different times and obtain information about the contents in the interior of the asset based on the comparison of the waves received by said at least one wave receiver at different times.

2. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system further comprises at least one wave transmitter arranged to transmit waves into the interior of the asset.

3. The asset of claim 2, further comprising

a door;

and

a door status sensor arranged to detect when said door is closed, said interior sensor system being coupled to said door status sensor and arranged to cause said at least one wave receiver to receive waves from the interior of the asset only when said door status sensor detects when said door is closed after having been opened.

4. The asset of claim 3, wherein said at least one wave transmitter is coupled to said door status sensor and arranged to transmit waves into the interior of the asset only when said door status sensor detects when said door is closed after having been opened.

5. The asset of claim 2, further comprising

at least one light-detecting sensor arranged to detect any change in light in the interior of the asset, said at least one light-detecting sensor being arranged to cause said at least one wave transmitter to transmit waves into the interior of the asset only when a change in light is detected.

6. The asset of claim 2, wherein said processor is arranged to compensate for thermal gradients in the interior of the asset.

7. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system is arranged to determine the presence of objects in the interior of the asset.

8. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises at least one imager arranged to obtain images of the interior of the asset.

9. The asset of claim 8, wherein said interior sensor system further comprises a processor embodying a trained pattern recognition system for obtaining information about the contents of the images obtained by said at least one imager.

10. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system is arranged to detect motion within the interior of the asset relative to the asset.

11. The asset of claim 10, further comprising an inertial device coupled to said interior sensor system and arranged to detect movement of the asset, said interior sensor system receiving information about movement of the asset and analyzing the movement of the asset in conjunction with the detected motion within the interior of the asset relative to the asset to ascertain whether the detected motion is caused by the movement of the asset or by independent movement of the contents in the interior of the asset.

12. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises at least one chemical sensor.

13. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises a sensor selected from a group consisting of a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a carbon dioxide sensor, a humidity sensor, a hydrocarbon sensor, a narcotics sensor, a mercury vapor sensor, a radioactivity sensor, a microphone, an electromagnetic wave sensor, electric or magnetic field sensor and a light sensor.

14. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises an initiation device for periodically initiating said interior sensor system to obtain information about the contents in the interior of the asset, said initiation device being arranged to cause said at least one wave receiver to receive waves from the interior of the asset at periodic intervals.

15. The asset of claim 14, further comprising a wakeup sensor system for detecting the occurrence of an internal or external event, or the absence of an event for a time period, requiring a change in the frequency of monitoring of the interior of the asset, said initiation device being coupled to said wakeup sensor system and being arranged to change the rate at which it initiates said interior sensor system to obtain information about the contents in the interior of the asset in response to the detected occurrence of an internal or external event by said wakeup sensor system.

16. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a motion or vibration detection system arranged to detect motion or vibration of the asset or a part thereof, said interior sensor system being coupled to said motion or vibration detection system and being arranged to detect information about the contents of the interior of the asset by causing said at least one wave receiver to receive waves from the interior of the asset only after the asset or a part thereof is determined to have moved from a stationary position or vibrated.

17. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a wakeup sensor system for detecting the occurrence of an internal or external event relating to the condition or location of the asset, said communication system being coupled to said wakeup sensor system and being arranged to transmit a signal relating to the detected occurrence of an internal or external event.

18. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a memory unit for storing data relating to the location of the asset and the contents in the interior of the asset.

19. The asset of claim 18, further comprising:

a door; and

a door status sensor arranged to detect when said door is closed.

20. The asset of claim 19, wherein said memory unit is arranged to store data relating to the opening and closing of the door in conjunction with the location of the asset and the contents in the interior of the asset.

21. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a motion sensor arranged on the asset for monitoring motion of the asset or a part thereof.

22. The asset of claim 21, further comprising an alarm or warning system coupled to said motion sensor and which is activated when said motion sensor detects dangerous motion of the asset.

23. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises at least one weight sensor for measuring the weight of the contents of the asset or the distribution of weight in the interior of the asset.

24. The asset of claim 1, further comprising at least one environment sensor arranged on the asset to measure a property of the environment in which the asset is situated.

25. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises a radio frequency transmitter and receiver unit arranged to transmit signals into the interior of the asset and receive signals from RFID or SAW devices present in the interior of the asset.

26. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises an optical barcode reader arranged to transmit light into the interior of the asset and receive light reflected from any barcodes present on objects in the interior of the asset.

27. The asset of claim 1, further comprising an exterior monitoring system for monitoring the area in the vicinity of the asset.

28. The asset of claim 27, wherein said exterior monitoring system comprises a sensor selected from a group consisting of an ultrasound sensor, an imager such as a camera both with and without illumination including visual, infrared or ultraviolet imagers, scanners, other types of sensors which sense other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum, capacitive sensors, electric or magnetic field sensors, and chemical sensors.

29. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system utilizes a trained pattern recognition technique.

30. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system comprises at least one sensor having a diagnostic capability.

31. The asset of claim 1, wherein said interior sensor system, said location determining system and said communication system have low power requirements.

32. The asset of claim 1, further comprising a battery coupled to said interior sensor system, said location determining system and said communication system for providing power to said interior sensor system, said location determining system and said communication system when needed.

33. The asset of claim 32, wherein said battery is rechargeable.

54. The asset of claim 1, further comprising an event monitoring sensor coupled to said processor for monitoring an event related to the asset, said processor being arranged to cause said at least one wave receiver to receive waves from the interior of the asset only when said event monitoring sensor detects occurrence of the event.

34. An arrangement for monitoring an asset, comprising:

a location determining system adapted to be arranged on the asset, said location determining system being arranged to monitor the location of the asset;

at least one environment sensor adapted to be arranged on the asset, said at least one environment sensor being arranged to obtain information about the environment in which the asset is located different than the location of the asset;

a communication system adapted to be arranged on the asset and coupled to said at least one environment sensor and said location determining system, said communication system being arranged to transmit the information about the location of the asset and the environment in which the asset is located to a remote facility,

said at least one environment sensor comprising at least one wave receiver arranged to receive waves from an area in a vicinity of the asset and a processor arranged to analyze waves received by said at least one wave receiver and obtain information about the environment in which the asset is located based on the waves received by said at least one wave receiver.

35. A method for monitoring movable assets and contents in the assets;

comprising the steps of;

assigning a unique identification code to each asset;

determining the location of each asset;

assigning an event to initiate a determination of at least one property or characteristic of the contents of each asset, the at least one property or characteristic being different than the location of the asset;

detecting the event;

determining the at least one property or characteristic of the contents of each asset only after detection of the event assigned to that asset; and

after detection of the event and the determination of the at least one property of characteristic of the contents of the asset, transmitting the location of each asset along with the determined at least one property or characteristic of the contents of the asset to a data processing facility to form a database of information about the use of the assets or to retransmit the data to another location.

36. The method of claim 35, wherein the step of determining at least one property or characteristic of the contents of each asset comprises the step of determining the weight of the contents of the asset and/or determining the weight distribution of the contents of the asset.

37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of determining the weight of an asset and/or determining the weight distribution of an asset utilizing the determined weight of the contents of the asset and/or the determined weight distribution of the contents of the asset and the known weight and weight distribution of the asset without contents.

38. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

arranging at least one sensor on each asset to determine a condition of the environment in the vicinity of the asset; and

transmitting the condition of the environment in the vicinity of the assets to the data processing and facility for inclusion in the database or retransmission to another location.

39. The method of claim 38, further comprising the step of constructing the at least one sensor to measure or detect at least one of the exposure of the asset to excessive heat, exposure of the asset to excessive cold, vibrations of the asset, exposure of the asset to water and exposure of the asset to hazardous material.

40. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

arranging at least one sensor on each asset to determine a condition of the environment of the interior of the asset; and

transmitting the condition of the environment of the interior of the assets to the data processing facility for inclusion in the database or retransmission.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising the step of constructing the at least one sensor to measure or detect at least one of the presence of excessive heat in the interior of the asset, the presence of excessive cold in the interior of the asset, vibrations of the asset, the presence of water in the interior of the asset and the presence of hazardous material in the interior of the asset.

42. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

providing a responsive identification tag on individual cargo items at least when present in one of the assets;

arranging an initiation and reception device on each asset to cause the identification tag on each cargo item in the asset to generate a responsive signal containing data on the cargo item when initiated by the initiation and reception device;

periodically initiating the initiation and reception device;

receiving the responsive signals from the cargo items after initiation of the initiation and reception device to thereby obtain information about the identification of the cargo items; and

transmitting information about the identification of the cargo items to the data processing facility for inclusion in the database or retransmission.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset to pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset; and

generating an alert upon the detection of differences between the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset and the pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset.

44. The method of claim 35, further comprising the step of providing a memory unit on each asset and storing the information about the location of each asset along with the at least one property or characteristic of the contents of the asset in the memory unit.

45. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

providing an optically readable identification code on individual cargo items at least when present in one of the assets;

arranging an initiation and reception device on each asset to cause the identification code on each cargo items in the asset to provide a responsive pattern of light containing data on the cargo item when initiated by the initiation and reception device;

periodically initiating the initiation and reception device when the cargo items are in a position to direct light to the identification code on the cargo item;

receiving the responsive patterns of light from the cargo items after initiation of the initiation and reception device to thereby obtain information about the identification of the cargo items; and

transmitting information about the identification of the cargo items to the data processing facility.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising the steps of:

comparing the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset to pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset; and

generating an alert upon the detection of differences between the information about the identification of the cargo items received from each asset and the pre-determined information about the identification of the cargo items in that asset.

47. The method of claim 35, wherein each asset has at least one door, further comprising the steps of:

detecting openings and/or closing of the at least one door of each asset; and

transmitting the information about the openings and closings of the at least one door to the data processing facility.

48. The method of claim 35, wherein each asset has at least one door, the assigned event being openings or closings of the at least one door.

49. The method of claim 35, further comprising the steps of:

obtaining information about an implement or individual moving the asset; and

transmitting the information about the implement or individual moving the asset to the data processing facility.

50. A method for monitoring movable assets and contents in the assets;

comprising the steps of;

mounting a replaceable cell phone or PDA having a location providing function and a low duty cycle to the asset;

determining the location of the asset;

determining information about the contents of the asset other than the location of the asset, said information determining step comprising the steps of arranging at least one wave receiver on the asset in a position to receive waves from the interior of the asset and comparing waves received by the at least one wave receiver at different times such that the information about the contents of the asset are obtained based on the comparison of the waves received by the at least one wave receiver at different times;

enabling communications between the cell phone or PDA and the asset to enable the cell phone or PDA to obtain the determined location of the asset and the determined information about the contents of the asset; and

establishing a communications channel between the cell phone or PDA and a location remote from the asset to enable the information about the asset and its contents to be transmitted to the remote location.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the cell phone or PDA obtains an identification number from the asset.

52. The method of claim 50, further comprising the step of coupling the cell phone or PA to a battery fixed to the asset.

53. The method of claim 50, wherein a cell phone is mounted to the asset, the cell phone having a sound-receiving component, further comprising the step of providing a pattern recognition system in the cell phone to recognize events relating to the asset based on sounds received by the sound-receiving component.

55. An asset including an arrangement for monitoring the asset and an interior of the asset, comprising:

an interior sensor system arranged on the asset, said interior sensor system being arranged to obtain information about contents in the interior of the asset different than the location of the asset and the contents thereof, said interior sensing system including at least one sensor arranged to periodically determine a property or characteristic of the contents in the interior of the asset, an event monitoring sensor arranged to monitor an event related to the asset and a processor coupled to said at least one sensor and said event monitoring sensor and arranged to cause said at least one sensor to determine the property or characteristic of the contents in the interior of the asset only when said event monitoring sensor detects occurrence of the event;

a location determining system arranged on the asset, said location determining system being arranged to monitor the location of the asset; and

a communication system arranged on the asset and coupled to said interior sensor system and said location determining system, said communication system being arranged to transmit the information about the contents in the interior of the asset and the location of the asset to a remote facility.