Anti-tamper cargo container locator system

• US 7,936,271 B2
• Filed: 11/26/2008
• Issued: 05/03/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/26/2007
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Santa Mionica Semiconductor
• Original Assignee: RoundTrip, LLC
• Inventors: DeRocco, Paul D., Murphy, Kevin C., Karr, Lawrence J.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US12/324,615
• Publication Number:
  US 20090201152A1
• Time in Patent Office: 888 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/539.16, 340/539.17, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/572.7, 340/572.8, 340/10.33, 342/42, 235/375, 235/385, 235/492
• US Class Current: 340/572.4
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 2590/0083 Computer or electronic system, e.g. GPS systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 15/876 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S15/872 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/08 by opening, e.g. of door, of window, of drawer, of shutter, of curtain, of blind
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/14 by lifting or attempted removal of hand-portable articles
• 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 13/2491 Intrusion detection systems, i.e. where the body of an intruder causes the interference with the electromagnetic field

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to location and communication systems that can be utilized for locating cargo containers using tags with a radio communication subsystem in the form of a transponder or micro-transponder. Each cargo container tag (CCT) is capable of communicating with either other cargo container tags or a base-station (BS) locator devices. The tags can be arranged for tracking the opening and closing of doors on individual cargo containers using radio communication methods. Lost cargo container can be located using communications from a base station and the cargo container tags. CCT devices can also detect intrusions and/or tampering with cargo containers, and store a variety of collected data for later retrieval.

Claims

1. A system for detecting intrusion of a cargo container, wherein the cargo container is an enclosed container includes walls, a roof, a floor, and a door, the cargo container sensor system comprising:

a first cargo container tag that is affixed to the cargo container at a first position, the first cargo container tag comprising;

a first pair of antennas

a first radio subsystem block, wherein the first antenna pair of antennas and the first radio subsystem block are arranged in cooperation with one another to facilitate communications; and

a first data log block that is arranged to capture data associated with the first tag; and

a second cargo container tag that is affixed to the cargo container at a second position, the second cargo container tag comprising;

a second pair of antennas;

a second radio subsystem block, wherein the second pair of antennas and the second radio subsystem block are arranged in cooperation with one another to facilitate communications, wherein the first radio subsystem block and the second radio subsystem block are arranged to selectively communicate with one another to detect intrusion of the cargo container based on the selective communication.

2. The system of claim 1, where the first position and the second position each correspond to different locations along the same wall of the cargo container.

3. The system of claim 1, where the first position corresponds to a first wall of the cargo container, and the second position corresponds to a second wall of the cargo container, wherein the first wall and the second wall are different from one another.

4. The system of claim 1, where the first position corresponds to the door of the cargo container, and the second position corresponds to a wall of the cargo container, wherein the first position and the second position change relative to one another when the door to the cargo container is opened or closed.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein a timestamp is logged by at least one of the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag when the status of the door changes from closed to open.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein a timestamp is logged by at least one of the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag when the status of the door changes from open to closed.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the first pair of antennas from the first cargo container tag includes a first antenna that is arranged to facilitate communications outside of the cargo container and a second antenna that is arranged to facilitate communications inside of the cargo container.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the second cargo container tag is configured to detect signals transmitted from both the first antenna and the second antenna of the first cargo container tag, wherein the magnitudes of the transmitted signals from the antenna and the second antenna are evaluated by the second cargo container tag to determine when the door of the cargo container is open.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the second cargo container tag is configured to detect signals transmitted from both the first antenna and the second antenna of the first cargo container tag, wherein the magnitudes of the transmitted signals from the antenna and the second antenna are evaluated by the second cargo container tag to determine when the cargo container is lifted from the ground.

10. The system of claim 1, each cargo container tag further comprising a compass sensor, wherein each compass sensor is arranged to detect modulations in the magnetic field observed at the respective cargo container tag.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the magnetic fields detected by one or more of the compass sensors are different when the door is open and the door is closed.

12. The system of claim 1, each cargo container tag further comprising an environmental sensor configured to detect a potentially hazardous condition for the cargo container.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the environmental sensor comprises one or more of a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a fire sensor, and a dewpoint sensor.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the environmental sensor is a temperature sensor and the potentially hazardous condition comprises one or more of:

a temperature above a high-temperature threshold, a temperature below a low-temperature threshold, and a fire detected.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the environmental sensor is a humidity sensor and the potentially hazardous condition comprises one or more of a humidity below a low-humidity threshold and humidity above a high-humidity threshold.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the first cargo container tag is further arranged to transmit a transmission to the second cargo container tag with the first radio subsystem, receive a reply transmission from the second cargo container tag with the first radio subsystem, determine a distance between the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag based on the round-trip time-of-flight between the transmission and the receipt of the reply transmission, and log the determined distance with the first data log block.

17. The system of claim 16, the base station further comprising a satellite navigation system that is arranged to collaborate with the processing block to determine the absolute location of the cargo container.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the communication signal transmitted from the base station consists of a sequence of encoded transmissions that are encoded with an ID code for one of the cargo container tags, where each sequence is arranged to provide a portion of clock synchronization and calibration information such that the radio subsystem in the corresponding cargo container tag validates the ID code and decodes information from the transmission.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the satellite navigation system comprises one of a GPS system, a Glonass system, or a Galileo system.

20. The system of claim 16, wherein each cargo container tag is arranged to measure a distance to the other cargo container tags in the cargo container, log the distance measurements, and report the distance measurements to the base station upon request.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the distance measurements are collectively evaluated by the base station to identify a set of geographically arranged overlapping circles that include a common point that corresponds to the location of the particular cargo container.

22. The system of claim 20, wherein the distance measurements for each cargo container tag are collected by the base station and stored in an inventory database.

23. The system of claim 20, further comprising a database server that is arranged to manage the inventory database and facilitate communications between the inventory database and an internet protocol (IP) network connection for external monitoring of the inventory system.

24. The system of claim 1, further comprising a base station that comprises:

a third antenna;

a third radio subsystem block, wherein the third antenna and the third radio subsystem block are arranged in cooperation with one another to facilitate communications; and

a processing block that is arranged to coordinate communications between the base station and each of the cargo container tags such that the base station transits a signal to one or more of the cargo container tags, receive reply transmissions from one or more of the cargo container tags, determine a distance between the base station and each cargo container tag based on the round-trip time-of-flight between the transmission and the receipt of each reply transmission.

25. The system of claim 1, wherein the received reply transmission from one or more of the cargo container tags includes data logged by a respective one of the first data log block and the second data log block.

26. The system of claim 1, wherein the received reply transmission from one or more of the cargo container tags includes data logged by a respective one of the first data log block and the second data log block.

27. The system of claim 16, wherein each cargo container tag is arranged to measure specified conditions in the cargo container, log the specified conditions, and report the specified conditions to the base station upon request.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the specified conditions for each cargo container tag are collected by the base station and stored in an inventory database.

29. The system of claim 28, wherein the base station is further arranged to transmit an internet protocol (IP) message when any of the specified conditions reported by the cargo container indicates intrusion, tampering, or motion within the cargo container.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein the transmitted internet protocol message corresponds to one or more of an SMS message, an email message, and a voice message.

31. The system of claim 16, wherein the specified conditions include one or more of:

an environmental condition of the cargo container, a door opening in the cargo container, a door closing in the cargo container, a lifting of the cargo container, a setting down of the cargo container, a hole being cut into the cargo container, motion inside the cargo container, light inside the cargo container, or a mechanical shock of the cargo container.

32. The system of claim 16, wherein the second cargo container tag is arranged to relay communications between the base station and the first cargo container tag.

33. The system of claim 16, wherein the base station device is arranged for communication with an external computing device over an internet protocol (IP) network, wherein a location search request is initiated by the external computing device, processed by the base station, and reported back to the external computing device via the internet protocol (IP) network.

34. The system of claim 1, wherein the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag are configured to analyze the contents of the cargo container in a cargo container analysis mode, wherein the first cargo container tag is configured to transmit a first packet in the cargo container analysis mode, and wherein the second cargo container tag is configured to capture radio signals in the radio signal spectrum corresponding to the first packet in the cargo container analysis mode, normalize the captured radio signals corresponding to the first packet to remove carrier phase rotation and amplitude variation, identify a signature with a complex correlation of the normalized captured radio signals of the first packet, and store the identified signature for the first packet as a baseline signature indicating contents of the cargo container for future comparison.

35. The system of claim 34, wherein the first cargo container tag is further arranged to transmit a second packet subsequent to the first packet in the cargo container analysis mode, and wherein the second cargo container tag is further arranged to capture radio signals in the radio signal spectrum corresponding to the second packet in the cargo analysis mode, normalize the captured radio signals corresponding to the second packet to remove carrier phase rotation and amplitude variation, identify a signature with a complex correlation of the normalized captured radio signals of the second packet, and compare the identified signature for the second packet to the baseline signature to determine a change in the contents of the cargo container.

36. The system of claim 34, wherein a communication protocol used for transmitting packets between the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag in the cargo container analysis mode corresponds to one of a half-ping protocol, a full-ping protocol, an external ping protocol, and a Doppler ping protocol.

37. The system of claim 1, wherein the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag are configured to analyze the contents of the cargo container in a cargo container analysis mode, wherein the first cargo container tag is configured to:

transmit an initial packet in the cargo container analysis mode at a first time,

capture radio signals in the radio signal spectrum corresponding to a subsequent packet in the cargo container analysis mode at a second time that is subsequent to the first time,

determine a distance measurement from the time difference between the first time and the second time when the captured radio signals correspond to a valid measurement, and wherein the second cargo container tag is further configured to;

capture radio signals in the radio signal spectrum corresponding to the first packet in the cargo container analysis mode,

adjust timing and phase of a digitally synthesized carrier frequency based on the captured radio signals from the first packet, and

transmit the subsequent packet in the cargo container analysis mode at the second time with the digitally synthesized carrier frequency as adjusted.

38. The system of claim 37, further comprising a base station that is configured to communicate with each cargo container tag to download the stored Doppler shift measurements, time stamps, and corresponding compass readings to determine a path of travel for the cargo container.

39. The system of claim 1, wherein the first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag are configured to analyze Doppler measurements in a breadcrumb mode, wherein each cargo container tag is configured to:

transmit an initial packet during a first time interval with an external one of the pair of antennas in the breadcrumb mode when the cargo container is stationary;

capture radio signals from the radio signal spectrum during the first time interval, wherein the captured radio signals are associated with a baseline signature for the cargo container;

store the baseline signature for the cargo container with a first time stamp and a first compass reading;

periodically transmit a subsequent packet with the external one of the pair of antennas during second time intervals that are subsequent to the first time interval;

periodically capture radio signals with the external one of the pair of antennas from the radio signal spectrum during the second time intervals, wherein the capture radio signals include one or more of signals corresponding to packets transmitted from the other cargo container tag and a distribution of Doppler shifted signals corresponding to scattered signals resulting from packets transmitted from the other cargo container tag;

evaluate each periodically captured radio signals to identify a distribution of Doppler shift measurements; and

storing each distribution of Doppler shift measurements for the evaluated cargo container with a corresponding time stamp and corresponding compass reading.

40. A method for a base station to track locations and intrusions of cargo containers that are each associated with one or more cargo container tags, the method for the base station comprising:

selecting each cargo containers tag for interrogation, wherein each cargo container tag is associated with a unique identifier;

sending a transmission from the base station to the selected cargo container tag, wherein the transmission is encoded with the unique identifier for the selected cargo container tag;

capturing radio signals from a radio signal spectrum associated with an expected reply from the selected cargo container tag;

evaluating the captured radio signals from the radio signal spectrum to determine if a valid reply transmission was received from the selected cargo container tag;

determining a distance and a direction of the selected cargo container tag relative to the base station when the valid reply transmission is received based on the round-trip time-of-flight between the transmission and the received reply; and

logging the distance and direction of the selected cargo container tag in a database.

41. The method of claim 40, further comprising, identifying an absolute position of the base station, determining a precise location of the selected cargo container tag based on the absolute position of the base station and the distance and direction of the selected cargo container relative to the base station, and logging the precise location of the selected cargo container tag in the database.

42. The method of claim 40, further comprising extracting additional data from the received reply message for the selected cargo container tag.

43. The method of claim 40, wherein the additional data corresponds to data for logging in the database.

44. The method of claim 40, wherein the additional data corresponds to an alarm conditions for the selected cargo container tag.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the alarm condition corresponds to one or more of door open, fire detected, temperature exceeded high-temperature threshold, temperature below low-temperature threshold, water detected in the cargo container, humidity greater than threshold or humidity below threshold.

46. The method of claim 40, wherein the data is associated with either an environmental condition of the cargo container or an intrusion status associated with the cargo container.

47. A method for a cargo container tag to monitor conditions associated with a cargo container and communicate at least some monitored conditions to a base station, the method for the cargo container tag comprising:

periodically activating the cargo container tag from a low power state to an active state, wherein the cargo container tag is assigned to a unique identifier that is internally stored in the cargo container tag;

during the active state;

monitoring a condition associated with the cargo container;

logging the monitored condition;

capturing radio signals in a radio signal spectrum associated with an expected transmission from the base station;

evaluating the captured radio signals to determine if a valid transmission is received for the cargo container tag, wherein the valid transmission is encoded with the unique identifier for the cargo container tag;

when the valid transmission is not received, returning to the low power mode;

when the valid transmission is received;

detecting a carrier phase for the valid transmission to identify a detected carrier phase;

comparing the detected carrier phase to a digitally synthesized carrier signal of the cargo container tag to identify a difference;

adjusting one or more of the carrier phase, carrier frequency and cadence of the digitally synthesized carrier signal in the cargo container tag based on the identified difference;

evaluating the received signals to determine if a valid command is received in the transmission;

processing the valid command when received in the transmission;

transmitting a reply transmission to the base station using the digitally synthesized carrier signal; and

returning to the low power state after the reply transmission is completed.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein processing the valid command comprises determining if a change mode command has been received in the transmission, and selecting a new mode for operation based on parameters received for the change mode command.

49. The method of claim 47, wherein processing the valid command comprises determining if a record signature command has been received in the transmission, and storing a signal profile from a prior capture as a signature for subsequent use.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the signature is associated with one of an door open signature, a door closed signature, a cargo container is elevated above ground signature, a cargo container is on the ground signature, or a cargo container is on a railroad car signature.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein processing the valid command comprises determining if a report data command has been received in the transmission, identifying requested data from the report data command, and encoding the requested data in the reply transmission.

52. The method of claim 47, wherein processing the valid command comprises enabling an anti-theft mode for the cargo container tag when the command indicates to activate the anti-theft mode.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein processing the valid command comprises disabling the anti-theft mode for the cargo container tag when the command indicates to deactivate the anti-theft mode.

54. The method of claim 47, further comprising processing an anti-theft mode for the cargo container tag according to an anti-theft mode process when no valid command is found and the anti-theft mode is active.

55. The method of claim 54, the anti-theft mode process for the cargo container tag comprising evaluating sensory data for the cargo container to generate report data, encoding the report data in a transmission for a paired cargo container tag, and transmitting the report data command to the paired cargo container tag in a transmission.

56. The method of claim 55, the anti-theft mode process for the cargo container tag further comprising capturing radio signals from the radio signal spectrum at a time interval where a reply from the paired cargo container tag is expected, evaluating the captured radio signals from the radio signal spectrum, and determining if a valid reply transmission is detected in the captured radio signals.

57. The method of claim 56, the anti-theft mode process for the cargo container tag further comprising calculating a distance between the cargo container tag and the paired cargo container tag to provide a distance measurement based on the round-trip time of flight between the transmission to the paired cargo container tag and the received reply transmission from the paired cargo container tag, and logging the distance measurement.

58. The method of claim 56, the anti-theft mode process for the cargo container tag further comprising evaluating the valid reply transmission to identify signatures, evaluating the identified signatures to detect events or conditions, and logging one or more of the identified signatures, detected events, or detected conditions.

59. The method of claim 55, the anti-theft mode process for the cargo container tag further comprising detecting a compromised status of the cargo container and reporting the compromised status of the cargo container back to the base station at a next communication.

60. An inventory management system that is arranged for monitoring cargo containers in a predefined area, the system comprising:

a central processing unit that is arranged to process communications received from base station devices over a communication network;

a plurality of base station devices that are each arranged at different locations within the predefined area, wherein each of the plurality of base station devices is arranged for communicating with the central processing unit over the communication network, and also for communicating with cargo container tags located within the predefined area,

wherein a selected one of the base station devices is configured to encode a transmission sequence with a cargo container tag identifier, and

transmit the encoded transmission sequence in a first wireless broadcast; and

wherein each of the plurality of locators is configured to

receive one or more reply transmission sequences after transmission of wireless broadcast is initiated,

correlate each received reply transmission sequence with the cargo container tag identifier to generate a correlation vector for each received transmission sequence,

extract information associated with a cargo container from the received reply transmission sequence, wherein the information includes one or more of an environmental condition of the cargo container,

determine a time of arrival for each corresponding correlation vector, and

forward each time of arrival, corresponding correlation vector, and any extracted information to the central processing unit for processing;

a first cargo container tag that is arranged to receive the wireless transmission sequence, wherein the cargo container tag is associated with a cargo container that is positioned within the predefined area, and arranged to;

receive and capture information from at least a portion of the wireless broadcast;

correlate the captured information with an internally stored reference sequence, wherein the internally stored reference sequence is associated with a designated group;

identify a correlation when the received and captured information correlates with the internally stored reference sequence;

monitor a condition associated with the cargo container;

encode a reply sequence with a cargo container identifier and the monitored condition after a correlation is identified;

determine a precise time interval for transmitting the encoded reply sequence after the correlation is identified; and

transmit the encoded reply sequence in a second wireless broadcast, wherein the transmission of the encoded reply sequence is transmitted at the precisely determined time interval to avoid transmission collisions; and

a second cargo container tag is also associated with the cargo container that is positioned within the predefined area, wherein the second cargo container tag is arranged to monitor a condition within the cargo container, and wherein the second cargo container tag is arranged in communications with the first cargo container tag to communicate the monitored condition.

61. The system of claim 60, wherein the central processing unit is further arranged to time synchronize observations associated with the correlation vectors received from the plurality of base stations.

62. The system of claim 60, wherein the central processing unit is further arranged to perform a best fit location estimate for each responding base station based on the correlation vectors and time of arrivals from each of the plurality of locators associated with the corresponding responding transponder.

63. The system of claim 60, wherein the central processing unit is further arranged to activate an alert for a cargo container when the extracted information from one or more base stations indicates one or more of an unauthorized breach of the cargo container, an unauthorized movement of the cargo container, an unauthorized movement within the cargo container, and an impermissible environmental condition for the cargo container.

64. The system of claim 60, wherein the monitored condition for the cargo container comprises one or more of temperature, humidity, and movement.

65. The system of claim 60, wherein the central processing unit is arranged for interfacing with an external computer system for processing user initiated requests.

66. The system of claim 60, wherein the one or more of first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag is configured to determine if an electronic seal in the cargo container has been breached.

67. The system of claim 60, wherein the one or more of first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag includes a motion sensor.

68. The system of claim 60, wherein the one or more of first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag includes a temperature sensor.

69. The system of claim 60, wherein the one or more of first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag includes a humidity sensor.

70. The system of claim 60, wherein the one or more of first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag includes a compass sensor.

71. The system of claim 70, wherein readings from the compass sensor of each cargo container tag are periodically logged along with a timestamp when a tracking mode is enabled for the respective cargo container tags so that a path of travel for the cargo container tag is approximately recorded.

72. The system of claim 70, wherein Doppler shifts readings between active cargo container tags are periodically logged along with the compass sensor readings and the timestamps for the respective cargo container tags.

73. The system of claim 60, wherein the one or more of first cargo container tag and the second cargo container tag includes a light sensor.