Abstract:
A mobile asset tracking system receives telemetry information from any number of mobile assets (e.g., railcars, truck trailers, intermodal cargo containers, etc.) transporting hazardous or non-hazardous materials. Location data is obtained through GPS satellite locks and is transmitted via a cellular module to a central database for processing. Business rules in the software of the system trigger proactive alert communications to subscribers through common communication protocols such as email, SMS text, and pagers. Personal Computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA&#39;s), cell phones or other common communication devices widely available to consumers may be utilized for receipt of alerts. Subscribers may be defined as manufacturers of materials, consignees who receive materials, transporters of materials (e.g. railroads, trucking companies, etc.) and communities such as county, state and/or federal emergency management personnel. GIS mapping software is utilized for geographical display of assets to authorized subscribers.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/800,333, filed May 15, 2006. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for tracking mobile assets. In particular, the invention relates to systems and methods for tracking mobile assets such as railcars, truck-trailers and intermodal freight containers transporting hazardous or non-hazardous materials. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many types of materials are shipped via rail and truck from manufacturer to user, requiring large fleets of railcars, trucks and cargo containers. Those materials include hazardous materials such as chemicals, which raises safety and environmental concerns. Therefore, a system that can prevent hazardous material incidents by tracking shipments from sender to receiver and reporting real-time position and alert information via web mapping software is highly desirable for material manufacturers, shippers and the communities through which the shipments pass. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a mobile asset tracking system receives telemetry information from any number of mobile assets (e.g., rail cars, truck trailers, intermodal cargo containers, etc.) transporting hazardous or non-hazardous materials. Location data is preferably obtained through Global Positioning System (“GPS”) satellite locks and is transmitted wirelessly, e.g., via a cellular module, to a central monitoring system with a database for storing and processing the data. Business rules in the software of the monitoring system trigger proactive alert communications to subscribers through common communication protocols such as email, SMS text, and pagers. Personal computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA&#39;s), cell phones or other common communication devices widely available to consumers may be utilized for receipt of alerts. Subscribers may include manufacturers of materials, manufacturers and other consignees who receive materials, transporters of materials (e.g., railroads, trucking companies, etc.) and communities such as county, state and/or federal emergency management personnel. Geographic Information System (“GIS”) mapping software is utilized for geographical display of assets to authorized subscribers. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a mobile asset tracking system comprises a plurality of tracking units, each being adapted for mounting to a mobile asset of a system subscriber, and a monitoring system. The tracking unit includes a position location device, at least one communication device for telemetry data transmission, a battery, a processor and a firmware program for enabling communication between the position location device and the communication device and for controlling a communication interval of the communication device with the monitoring system and a position lock interval of the position location device. The monitoring system includes a port listener for receiving telemetry data from the communication devices of the tracking units, the telemetry data including the position of the mobile asset as determined by the position location device; a database for receiving and storing telemetry data from the port listener; a database rules engine for deriving asset and shipment cargo information from the telemetry data in the database and generating alerts based on the asset information and defined rules; an interface program for interacting with the database rules engine and sending alerts to the system subscriber; and a graphical user interface (GUI) which may be accessed by the system subscriber via a secure internet connection. 
     In another aspect, the monitoring system of the invention has a system architecture including at least one central server for storing application programs, subscriber master data and configurations for the subscriber; a database management system (DBMS) utilizing a relational database; Internet Information Services (IIS) for allowing the subscriber to access the system through Web-enabled applications, and Graphical Information System (GIS) mapping software for graphical display of the subscriber&#39;s mobile asset being tracked. 
     In another aspect, the invention provides a method for tracking mobile assets containing hazardous chemical cargo and includes (i) providing a series of software business rules to monitor the characteristics of the hazardous chemical cargo; (ii) providing a graphical user interface having a series of screens for entry of hazardous chemical cargo data; and (iii) providing a series of alerts triggered by application of the business rules against the hazardous chemical cargo data. 
     In yet another aspect, the invention provides a method for tracking mobile assets containing hazardous chemical cargo includes (i) providing a series of software business rules to monitor logistics data; (ii) providing a graphical user interface having a series of screens for entry of logistics data; and (iii) providing a series of alerts triggered by application of the business rules against the logistics data. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram of the system of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of the material workflow targeted by the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a flowchart of the work process for installing and associating a mobile tracking device to a mobile asset. 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of the work process for entering shipment data into the system. 
         FIG. 5  is a block diagram showing the design of the central database of the system. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the system of the invention includes any number of mobile tracking devices  2 . A mobile tracking device  2  is affixed to a mobile asset such as a railcar, truck trailer, intermodal cargo container, etc., and tracks the position of the mobile asset. Tracking device  2  has a protective outer encasement for housing of electronic components. The outer encasement may be made of any suitable material such as high-impact plastic or metal. Magnets or other attachment means are affixed to the encasement for attaching the encasement to the mobile asset. For example, a magnetic mount consisting of a steel plate with four industrial strength magnets affixed to the steel plate via stainless steel bolts may be used. 
     The encasement and attachment means may be specially adapted for the type of mobile asset with which the device will be used. For example, a device to be used with a rail tank car may be curved to conform to the cylindrical profile of the tank. A water-resistant internal enclosure of plastic or another suitable material may be provided to protect the internal electronic components, with access points in the internal case for antenna connection and power cable feeds. 
     The system operator pre-assigns a unique device ID code to each tracking unit  2 . A label with the unique device ID code (and optionally, a barcode) is affixed on the outside of each mobile tracking device enclosure. 
     The internal electronic components include a GPS positioning module with antenna (such as an EM-406 SiRFIII GPS Engine Board from USGlobalsat, Inc.), a satellite or cellular communication module with antenna for data communications (such as a Model GM862-Quad cellular module from Telit Communications S.p.A.), firmware for control of the GPS and satellite/cellular components, a flash memory for storage of the firmware including device configuration data, and a power coupling for connection to a power supply. The GPS module may be provided with a lithium battery to maintain its operation if the main power supply is interrupted. Preferably, all of these components are mounted on a main circuit board, e.g., an “Uber” board (such as an LPC-U2138 from Spark Fun Electronics of Boulder, Colo.) for integration of all components. Preferably, the flash memory can be remotely “reflashed” to install new or updated firmware. 
     Either an internal or external power supply may be utilized for tracking device  2 . The internal power supply may be of either of two configurations, either a disposable battery of a suitable type and configuration to power the mobile tracking device  2 ; or, preferably, a re-chargeable battery that is recharged by solar cells mounted on the exterior of the outer protective encasement. In the latter case, a float charger is provided to prevent overcharging of the battery by the solar cells. In the case of an external power supply, a power cable from the main circuit board is fed through a water-tight opening in the outer encasement, connecting to the mobile asset&#39;s internal power supply. 
     The firmware preferably includes a power management component that monitors the battery voltage. If the voltage drops below a pre-set level, the power management component will disable operation of the communication device while maintaining power to the position location device for obtaining position locks, until the solar panel has recharged the battery to a nominal power threshold. Once the solar panel has recharged the battery to an acceptable voltage level, the original communication interval is restored. 
     Mobile tracking device  2  transmits location data based on configurable parameters for: (1) a timeframe in which the GPS module activates and achieves a location lock from satellites, and (2) a timeframe in which the cellular module activates and transmits all location data from the GPS module&#39;s stored location data. Location data is stored internally in a circular file awaiting transmission by the mobile tracking device&#39;s cellular module. Once the cellular module completes data transmission the circular file is cleared and awaits the next set of GPS data lock information from the internal GPS module. Both the GPS lock interval or frequency and the cellular transmit interval or frequency may be remotely changed. 
     Preferably, the GPS module employs the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) which provides additional accuracy, integrity and availability. The WAAS specification states that it provides a position accuracy of 7.6 meters or better at least 95% of the time, but actual performance has been shown to be even better. Even more preferably, the system provides a further enhancement of the GPS/WAAS system by transmitting multiple position fixes in one transmission, discarding the outliers in the data, and averaging the remaining data. For example, the GPS module may take 40 position lock reads and transmit the last ten to the monitoring system (WAAS requires approximately 30 locks for acceptable accuracy). The system discards anomalies and outliers, takes the remaining data readings and averages them (or applies other appropriate statistical techniques) to arrive at a final position. Using this approach has been shown to yield a position reading that is accurate to within 10 feet or less. 
     Each mobile tracking device  2  transmits data to a central monitoring system  4  through commonly used cellular or satellite data transmission technologies  6 . Monitoring system  4  has a central server  8  which has a continuous running process (referenced as a TCP/IP port listener  10 ) that listens for data communications from tracking devices  2  in the environment. Once port listener  10  receives a mobile tracking device&#39;s information a separate process is initiated on central server  8  to process all location data transmitted by mobile tracking device  2 , placing the data into the system&#39;s database. 
     The software of the inventive system is preferably a combination of off-the-shelf Geographic Information System (“GIS”) software and custom-designed program code designed to receive and process location data from remote tracking devices  2 . Architecturally, monitoring system  4  consists of the hardware and software components shown in  FIG. 1 . Central server  8  provides storage of all data and application programs, and includes a database server with a database management system  12 , such as Microsoft SQL Server; a device parameter GPRS server  14  for remotely controlling the GPS lock interval and cellular communication interval (transmission frequency) of tracking devices  2 ; a Web server  16 , e.g., Internet Information Services (“IIS”) that allow subscribers  18  to access the system through Web enabled services, via a wide area network (WAN)  20  such as the Internet; and one or more application servers  22  running various applications, including GIS mapping software, such as Manifold System software available from CDA International Ltd. or Google Enterprise API mapping solution. 
     The GIS mapping software provides rendering of tracked mobile assets on a map on a subscriber&#39;s display via two different methods. In a first method, the software associates a mobile tracking device  2  with subscriber  18  who owns the mobile asset to which the mobile tracking device  2  is attached. The mobile asset may be a railcar, truck trailer, automobile, intermodal cargo container, etc. Once associated, tracking device  2  is linked to that subscriber  18  until the association is broken. Once tracking device  2  is associated with the subscriber  18 , only that subscriber  18  can request that the devices be rendered on a map. Once the asset(s) are rendered on a map, the subscriber can “hover” the computer mouse over an asset on the screen for a display of key asset information, which may be displayed in a pop-up window on the user&#39;s screen. This information may include, inter alia, chemical type, hazard class, loaded weight, or any number of configurable characteristics of the asset or the shipment cargo. 
     In a second method, community (local, state and/or federal) authorities such as emergency management personnel that have an interest in hazardous chemicals or other shipments of interest which pass through or near the community become subscribers to the system. This subscriber base will not own the mobile asset, but will have a geo-fence defined that encompasses a boundary of interest. This boundary may be defined as, e.g., a county, series of contiguous counties, state, and/or region. Once a mobile asset of interest “breaks” the subscriber&#39;s geo-fence, that subscriber and/or subscriber&#39;s delegate(s) will be proactively alerted by the software. The subscriber will then access the software and request map rendering of the asset(s) within their defined geo-fence. The software also alerts a subscriber that has a defined geo-fence that an asset of interest is due to enter their geo-fence. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the system and method of the invention can track and monitor material throughout its entire workflow, e.g., from a supplier to a distributor to an end customer, each of whom may be a subscriber to the system. Supplier  24  may be, for example, a chemical manufacturer. Chemical material is first shipped via railcar  26   a  or truck trailer  28   a  to a distributor  30 . From there, the chemical material may be shipped to a consignee, who may be the end customer  32 , such as a chemical purchaser. Again, shipment may be via railcar  26   b  or truck trailer  28   b . Although not shown in  FIG. 2 , communities along the routes between the manufacturer  24  and distributor  30 , and between distributor  30  and customer  32 , may also monitor the position and status of the railcar  26  or truck trailer  28  while within their defined geo-fence, as described above. 
     An important aspect of the design of the software of the invention lies in its business rules. Business rules monitor all mobile asset location data and proactively determine if an alert should be generated. The system is especially useful for tracking shipments of hazardous chemicals, but is not by design limited to tracking only hazardous chemicals. The system preferably utilizes industry standards for hazardous chemical identification. These identification methods are the chemical&#39;s United Nations ID number (“UNID number”) and/or Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number (“CAS Number”), and the Hazard Class for the chemical as defined by the U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Table (CFR Part 49). 
     Representative business rules are defined below, and their respective functions listed: 
     Inhibitor Date Check/Alert. Certain chemicals contain an inhibitor to prevent premature polymerization; however, the inhibitor itself has a defined life span. A business rule is provided to monitor the inhibitor expiry date and alert the subscriber at predefined intervals as the inhibitor approaches expiration. 
     Alerts based on population density. The application is designed to send alerts to subscribers if a mobile asset (e.g. railcar) containing a selected hazard class of material, or other cargo of interest, enters or is about to enter a geographic area having a certain population density, e.g., a High Threat Urban Area (“HTUA”) as defined by the United States Department of Homeland Security. 
     Alerts based on mobile asset in relation to schools or other facilities. The application is designed to send alerts when a mobile asset (e.g. railcar) containing a selected hazard class of material, or other cargo of interest, is within a certain distance of a school, hospital, or other facility. 
     Special alerts for “Extremely Hazardous Substances.” There are approximately 300 materials designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Extremely Hazardous Substances, which form a subset of the table of hazardous materials listed in the CFR Part 49 table. The application has specific business rules to monitor and alert subscribers of chemicals labeled as Extremely Hazardous Substances. 
     Special alerts for “Toxic Inhalation Hazard” (TIH) or “Poisonous Inhalation Hazard” (PIH) class materials. There are ten TIH materials (gases and volatile liquids) which present an extremely high risk of fatality resulting from a catastrophic release. The application has specific business rules to monitor and alert subscribers of chemicals labeled as TIH or PIH. Of course, business rules can be defined for any other hazard classifications. 
     Special alerts for non-movement of the mobile asset. The system continuously compares the location position of each mobile asset and alerts the subscriber if the asset has not moved a measurable distance in a pre-determined amount of time. This time frame is configurable within the software application. 
     Alerts for failure of the tracking device to transmit data. The application continuously compares the latest date-time of each mobile tracking device&#39;s transmission and alerts the associated subscriber and the system operator if the unit has not successfully transmitted for a pre-determined amount of time. This time frame is configurable within the software application. 
     The foregoing examples of business rules are merely illustrative as core rules for the system. Other business rules may be defined as needed for various subscribers, cargoes, etc. 
     The application software is designed to handle multiple subscriber bases, including, but not limited to, manufacturers of hazardous chemicals or other material, manufacturers or other consignees who receive hazardous chemicals or other material, railroads, trucking companies, and communities. Communities are broadly defined as local, state, and/or federal Emergency Management Agency personnel or other community personnel interested in mobile assets with cargo of interest entering their defined geo-fence. 
     The application software is also designed to handle batch processes for receipt and processing of location data. Logic built into the batch processes determines if a specific alert condition(s) exists and a notification should be sent to the affected subscriber base. 
     In addition, the software has the ability to define and manage parent-child relationships for businesses such as corporations. For example, Global Corporation “A” may have multiple manufacturing facilities “B”, “C”, etc . . . . Global Corporation “A” can see assets for all its child corporations (“B”, “C”, etc) but the child corporations can only see their own assets. 
     An alert table allows subscribers to choose the alert condition they are interested in, and allows the subscribers to configure the frequency at which the alert should be sent. An alert configuration screen provides a capability for a subscriber to send a notification from their computing device (computer, PDA, cell phone, etc) back to the system database requesting suppression of the subscriber&#39;s specific alert. The alert configuration screen also allows a subscriber to enter multiple subscribers to receive alerts, to select from a pick list the alerts each subscriber will receive, and to select from a pick list of alert frequency parameters for each selected alert. 
     An alert escalation scheme is preferably provided. For example, a preconfigured alert escalation will occur for TIH cargo if the alert is not addressed by an alarm recipient within a preset time. An example escalation path may be 1) Manufacturer, 2) Railroad carrier, and 3) Local Emergency Management personnel in the locale where the load in question currently resides. 
     A back-end functionality component is also provided to automatically reset alert frequencies to the appropriate setting based on a cargo&#39;s UNID or CAS number, and associated Hazardous Material classification. This is required to protect all parties from receiving alerts deemed to be outside of needed alert frequencies initially set by the user when a device is moved from one railcar to another, or a different shipment is being transported within the same container that is now deemed hazardous. 
     The system provides a graphical user interface with a series of screens for data entry. A device association screen allows linking a specific tracking device  2  to a subscriber  18 . A shipment entry screen permits entry of shipment information including, but not limited to, load type, UNID number or CAS number (if chemical), expiry date of cargo or inhibitor (if applicable), weight of load, shipment destination, expected shipment arrival date, asset type (railcar, truck, automobile, etc.), etc. Auto-retirement of a shipment when the asset is within a pre-determined distance of the ship to location is also provided. For example, when a mobile asset is within one mile of the ship to location, an auto-retirement process may be initiated that will stop alerts from being sent to the subscriber. 
     An example of the process of installing a tracking device  2 , associating it with a mobile asset, and entering shipment data will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , a railcar owner receives delivery of a mobile tracking device after an order is fulfilled by the system operator. The railcar owner may be, e.g., either a chemical manufacturer or a railroad. The railcar owner installs the mobile tracking device on a railcar, e.g., by using a magnet mount or strapping mechanism. An authorized subscriber logs in to the system via web server  16  and the GUI, and enters his Subscriber ID and a password. The system recognizes the subscriber ID and the subscriber&#39;s name and ID are displayed. The subscriber railcar owner enters the railcar ID for the installed mobile tracking device. Tracking Device IDs, which are pre-assigned by the system operator, are displayed. The Device ID is provided on a label affixed on the outside of each mobile tracking device enclosure by the system operator. Previously associated railcars will be displayed with their associated device. 
     The process for entering shipment data is illustrated in  FIG. 4 . An authorized user logs in, and his Subscriber ID and name are displayed. Only those railcars with installed mobile tracking devices  2  are displayed. The shipment date on the screen defaults to &lt;TODAY&gt;. The railcar owner enters the UNID number or CAS number for the material (e.g., 2055, Styrene Monomer, stabilized). The corresponding product name and hazard class are retrieved from the database, and the user is asked to confirm that the data is correct. The railcar owner enters the quantity of material being shipped (e.g., 186,000 gallons; the unit of measure can be weight or volume). The railcar owner enters any special conditions that may exist for this material (e.g., inhibitor to prevent polymerization; expiry date is entered) and contact information. The railcar owner enters consignee information, e.g., Manufacturer ABC, address, including zip code. This information is geo-coded by the system to establish the “Retire Shipment” business rule. The railcar owner enters expected delivery date. 
     The retirement process operates by making a determination of shipment delivery to its destination. The GIS software determines the latitude/longitude of the destination, takes the current latitude/longitude of the mobile asset, compares the two latitude/longitude readings, and applies a mathematical formula to determine the distance the mobile asset is from the destination. If the distance is within a pre-defined threshold, the system automatically retires the asset from the tracking system. If the system erroneously retires a shipment prematurely, the subscriber can reverse the “Retire Shipment” indication and internal logistics data will indicate that the shipment has not been delivered. 
     As an alternative to manual data entry via the data entry screens, the system may provide an interface with a subscriber&#39;s logistics system, so that a subscriber may simply export shipment data from its existing logistics system and upload it to the monitoring system. A standard template may be provided so that the subscriber&#39;s data can be readily imported into the database of the monitoring system. This provides compatibility with logistics systems widely used by manufacturers and shippers, such as applications available from SAP AG and other vendors, and eliminates the need to manually re-enter the data via the data entry screens. 
     The system performs several functions to assure the continuous and proper operation of each tracking device  2 . For example, the system monitors battery voltage levels for those mobile tracking devices utilizing a battery for internal power. The application regularly monitors the operating temperature of each mobile tracking device and alerts the system operator based on out-of-tolerance limits. 
     The GIS mapping software provides rendering of the real-time location and historical route of a subscriber&#39;s mobile asset of interest on a map on a display. Off-the-shelf information for streets, roads, and other data points of interest is utilized by the system. The GIS software provides a visual change of the mobile asset icon, e.g., its color, denoting the status of the mobile asset as either on its delivery trip to deliver cargo or on its return trip after having delivered its cargo. Geofence configurations set by the subscriber are also displayed on the map. 
     The system provides the ability to “hover” with the computer mouse over a mobile asset rendered on a map and receive unique information about the asset, which may be displayed in a pop-up window. This information includes, but is not limited to, asset type (railcar, truck, etc), mobile tracking device ID, shipper&#39;s name, shipper&#39;s address, load information (chemical, etc), hazard class (if a chemical), loaded weight, load expiry (if applicable), asset position (latitude and longitude) with date and time stamp closest street intersection, mobile asset speed and heading (derived from the GPS location information), rail track owner, milepost number, temperature, battery voltage, etc. 
     The subscriber may select which mobile assets to display by material, hazard category, etc. Preferably, the system provides the subscriber with display options such as “Show all TIH.” 
     The system can also provide other useful and convenient functions. For example, the database may provide the ability to search, display and print Material Data Safety Sheets (MSDSs) for chemical materials for use by shippers, first responders and others. The database preferably contains a table of product codes and a table of UNID and/or CAS numbers for subscriber association to a cargo; this information is preferably available in pick lists on the data entry screens to facilitate shipment data entry by a subscriber. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a representative example of the overall database design of central server  8  capable of handling all of the types of data required for operation of the system as described. 
     The foregoing is intended to represent one embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit in any way the scope of the invention. Additional modifications and enhancements to the invention may be apparent to those of skill in the art.