Tracking of containers

• US 7,652,568 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2006
• Issued: 01/26/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: iDirect UK Limited (Singapore Technologies Engineering Limited)
• Original Assignee: Slieve Mish Inventions Limited
• Inventors: Waugh, Guy, Fitzgerald, Michael, Godley, Michael, Lord, Richard, Young, Christopher
• Primary Examiner(s): BLOUNT, ERIC
• Application Number:
  US11/418,109
• Publication Number:
  US 20060200560A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,362 Days
• Field of Search: 340/538.15, 340/539.13, 340/539.16, 340/539.22, 340/539.23, 340/539.24, 340/539.26, 3405721-5728, 709/224, 705/28
• US Class Current: 340/538.15
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/535 Tracking the activity of the user network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata

Abstract

Monitoring device modules (10) in containers on a ship are polled by a tracking proxy (12). Monitoring data is thus captured, and the proxy 12 can ascertain in real time that the correct group of containers is present. The proxy (12) also transmits higher-value report messages with relatively low bandwidth via a satellite communication system (13) to a gateway (15). The gateway (15) routes the messages on to various systems such as tracking centers. Also, the gateway (15) regularly polls and authenticates the distributed tracking proxies (12) within its group.

Claims

1. A tracking system comprising a tracking proxy, said proxy comprising:

a local area interface for communication with at least one container monitoring device in a wireless local area associated with the proxy,

a processor for receiving monitoring device data and using it to generate a report messages, and

a remote communication interface for loading the report message to a remote host;

the processor inserting geographical location data in the report message;

the processor performing bi-directional communication with a monitoring device;

the processor performing remote configuration of a monitoring device; and

a tracking gateway for receiving report message from the tacking proxy,

the tracking gateway uploading tracking information based on received report messages to a tracking application,

the tracking gateway route the tacking information via multiple redundant routes.

2. The tracking system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the tracking gateway communicates with a plurality of distributed tracking proxies.

3. The tracking system as claimed in claim 1 wherein the tracking gateway communicates with a plurality of distributed tracking proxies;

and wherein the tracking gateway regularly polls the tracking proxies.

4. the tracking system as claimed in claim 3, where the tracking gateway includes an authentication challenge to each proxy, and indicates an error if a challenge is not responded to validly.

5. A tacking system comprising a tracking proxy, said proxy comprising:

a local area interface for communicating with at least one container monitoring device in a wireless local area associated with the proxy,

a processor for receiving monitoring device data and using it to generate a report message, and

a remote communication interface for loading the report message to a remote host;

wherein the processor insert geographical location data in the report messages;

wherein the system comprises a location monitoring device, and the processor determines said location data using input from the location devices; and

the processor dynamically choosing a route for a report message upload according to nature of an included in the report message.