Abstract:
A tracking and monitoring device for a shipping container has a body section attachable to an inside surface of the container proximate the door frame such that an end protrudes through a gap in the door frame. Security sensors integrally mounted in the body section are coupled to a CPU for detecting a respective security event. A global position sensor in the body section provides a position signal, and a cellular or satellite modem and a long-range antenna in the body section allow long range communication with a remote monitoring center. Power is provided to the device and associated components via a battery. In order to minimize power consumption, the CPU is normally dormant and a power management controller monitors battery power level and awakens the CPU in response to sensor signals and external interrogation signals or interrupts.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a U.S. national stage application filed under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Patent Application PCT/IL2010/000859, accorded an international filing date of Oct. 20, 2010, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/284,127 filed Dec. 14, 2009, which applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Technical Field 
         [0003]    This invention relates to the management and security of containers such as used for shipping merchandise. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Shipping of merchandise in containers that are sealed, locked and have a security seal, has reduced the amount of merchandise stolen in transit. Three methods are usually used to steal from the containers: breaking the locks and forcing the doors, cutting an opening in the walls of the container or removing the pins that hold the doors hinges in place and removing the doors. 
         [0006]    For certain goods and containers, it is vital to control the conditions inside the container—especially with refrigerated containers (REEFERS), so that the goods reach their final destination in a state fit to be used. In many cases, if the conditions under which the goods are shipped are not to the required standards, their use may be dangerous and even cause death, as in the case of medicines. The parameters that need to be monitored include: temperature of frozen goods, running temperature of cooling units and their mechanical status, internal temperature of the container and if it exceeds the permitted range, percentage of moisture, oxygen and carbon dioxide in the container and is the container connected to a power supply. In some cases it may even be necessary to know the hardware and software versions of temperature control equipment to facilitate updating and maintenance. 
         [0007]    During some stage of the shipment, the container may receive some knocks during loading or unloading or even during overland transportation if, for example, the truck has to brake suddenly. Sometimes the damage is visible, but sometimes the container appears to be fine but the goods inside are damaged. In cases like this, it is important to know who caused the damage and where in order to claim compensation later. 
         [0008]    These factors have increased the demand for some means to track and monitor containers. Any solution to these problems must take the following into account:
   1. Need for electrical power: Since the container has no integral power source, the installed unit must have its own power supply that will last for as long as is needed.   2. Environment: Containers are stacked together and over a large area both in port and on board. This is a harsh environment for good communication signals.   3. Communication: communication presents a number of challenges that have to be addressed: good communication with containers at the bottom of a stack, adequate communication with sensors in the container, communication over long distances (international) and on the ship.   4. Mechanics: the mechanics of the unit inside the container must provide solutions for a number of factors including being waterproof, convenient location where the unit will not be damaged and that will not interfere with the packing and unpacking of the container and situated in a place that makes theft difficult.   5. Simplicity: the unit must be easy and quick to install and remove.   
 
         [0014]    Current approaches can be divided into a number of categories: 
         [0015]    1. Mechanical solutions including sophisticated locks and locking systems. 
         [0016]    2. Electronic solutions including sensors that detect anomalies and broadcast a warning. 
         [0017]    3. Combination of technical and electronic solutions that include a “smart lock”, sensors and a transmitting unit. 
         [0018]    Owing to the need to provide electrical power and communications capabilities, most known approaches utilize RF or RFID frequencies with the solution being a local one only, within the port or between the container and the truck driver. Some hitherto-proposed approaches send a notification to a hand-held computer. For a number of reasons, many of the available solutions do not provide for a built in international communications (GPRS or satellite). Also, many solutions are cumbersome and others are easy to steal or damage. 
         [0019]    WO 06/124377 discloses a security device adapted to sense at least one condition of a container that is programmably armed to implement the securing and transmits information relating to the at least one sensed condition to a location outside the container. A remote arming plug is adapted to be removably coupled to the security device and has a unique identifier to be communicated to the container security device to initiate an arming sequence of the container security device. The remote arming plug is adapted to be applied as an integrated deployable seal to at least one sealing location to physically secure the container. 
         [0020]    US 2004/0100379 discloses a monitoring system for a container and contents that includes a device, a reader, a server, and a software backbone. The device communicates with the reader in order to determine the security and/or location of the container to which the device is attached. The reader transmits the information from the device to the server. The device determines if a security condition has occurred based on at least one sensor located on or in the container. 
         [0021]    The device disclosed in US 2004/0100379 is affixed to the inside surface of a container proximate the door, so that a first end of the device protrudes through door frame near the hinge, while the remainder is secured inside the container. The device includes an antenna, an RF/baseband unit, a microprocessor, a memory, and a door sensor. The device may also include an interface for attachment of additional sensors to monitor various internal conditions of the container such as, for example, temperature, vibration, radioactivity, gas detection, and motion. Any such additional sensors are separate units that are independently coupled to the microprocessor. The antenna allows for data exchange with the reader of information such as, for example, status and control data, may be exchanged. The reader may be configured as a handheld reader, a mobile reader, or a fixed reader. The mobile reader is basically a fixed reader with a GPS interface, typically utilized in mobile installations (e.g., on trucks, trains, or ships using existing GPS, AIS or similar positioning systems) to secure, track, and determine the integrity of the container in a manner similar to that of the hand-held reader. 
         [0022]    In such a system, it is possible to identify a location of the container, either manually using a hand-held reader or when the container passes within communication range of the reader and exchanges data therewith. In other words, the location of the container is determined only as a function of the fixed (or moveable) location of the reader and requires either that the reader be brought into communication range of the container or that the container reaches a location that is in communication range with a reader. This means that if the container gets lost or is stolen and does not pass within range of a reader, there is no way that the container can be tracked. Moreover, the system described in US 2004/0100379 does not report real time events such as fall, tilt, damage, impact and breaking into the container. 
         [0023]    During use of the system described in US 2004/0100379 security events detected by one or more sensors are logged in real time and stored in the memory for subsequent analysis. Only when the data is actually read by the reader, is the data then conveyed via a communications network, which may be Internet- or satellite-based, to a server, which maintains a security record. However, the server remains ignorant of any security events until communication is established between the device and the handheld reader and only at the initiative of a human who carries and operates the hand-held reader. This severely curtails the ability to take evasive action since by the time a security event is logged by the server it may be too late to take evasive or remedial action. 
         [0024]    Real-time event monitoring is well-known per se and there are many vehicle fleet management and tracking systems that employ GPS in combination with GSM or GRSM for the purpose of conveying alerts in real time to a central monitoring system. Reference is made, for example, to US 2008/0125965 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,212,829. However, the conventional approaches adopted by such systems are not directly applicable to shipping containers for a number of reasons. 
         [0025]    First, since shipping containers need to be sea faring, they are subject to hazards not normally encountered by land-based tracking devices. Thus, to be sea-worthy, the sensors and tracking modules must withstand the unique environment and be protected against the salty atmosphere commonly found at sea. 
         [0026]    Secondly, while the vehicle&#39;s battery is used to power land based tracking devices and can hold sufficient charge for the complete duration of the vehicle or of a complete leg of the journey, this is not the case with shipping containers, which can be at sea for many weeks. This means that while rechargeable batteries in tracking devices of land-based vehicles may be constantly recharged, the tracking device of a shipping container must be capable of operating continuously for prolonged periods of time while relying on a self-contained relatively small battery yet without battery replacement or recharging for the entire course of a shipment. 
         [0027]    These requirements have militated against provision of real-time tracking devices for sea-based shipping containers. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY 
       [0028]    One or more embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved monitoring system that is suitable for a sea-worthy shipping container, and which allows continuous and automatic tracking and management of the container in real time during prolonged inland and sea voyages and which is based on a customized self-contained container tracking device. 
         [0029]    According to an embodiment of the disclosure there is a provided a container device for tracking a sea-worthy shipping container, said container device comprising: 
         [0030]    a sealed body section configured for withstanding harsh environments and for attachment to an inside surface of a container proximate a door frame thereof such that a first end of the body section protrudes through a gap in the door frame, 
         [0031]    one or more security sensors integrally mounted in the body section and coupled to a processing unit for detecting a respective security event and which is normally dormant so as to minimize power consumption, 
         [0032]    a global position sensor integrally mounted in the body section and coupled to the processing unit for providing a position signal, 
         [0033]    a cellular or satellite modem integrally mounted in the body section and coupled to the processing unit for providing data communication carrier via long range networks, 
         [0034]    a sealed battery housing within the body section for accommodating a battery for providing power to the container device and to the sensors and the cellular or satellite modem therein, 
         [0035]    a power management controller for monitoring battery power level and being responsive to sensor signals and external interrogation signals or interrupts for awakening the processing unit, and 
         [0036]    an antenna module mounted at the first end of the body section and coupled to the processing unit, said antenna module including at least one long-range antenna for effecting continuous real time tracking and communication with a remote tracking server for informing the tracking server of an instantaneous location in space of the container and any security events. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0037]    In order to understand the disclosure and to see how it may be carried out in practice, embodiments will now be described, by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0038]      FIG. 1  is a pictorial perspective view of a module according to an embodiment of the invention; 
           [0039]      FIGS. 2 and 3  are block diagrams showing schematically a detail of the module shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0040]      FIG. 4  is a pictorial perspective view showing further details of the module; 
           [0041]      FIG. 5  is a pictorial view showing internal details of the module; 
           [0042]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation showing a system for tracking containers containing modules according to the disclosure; and 
           [0043]      FIG. 7  is a map depicting real-time tracking of containers by a remote monitoring center. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0044]      FIGS. 1 to 5  show perspective and schematic views of a container device  10  according to the invention suitable for mounting on an internal wall of a container near the door-hinge. The device  10  comprises a processor module  11  that, in use, is disposed inside the container, a second elongated body section in the form of an arm  12  that is magnetically attached or permanently fixed by screws to the inside doorframe surface of the container and an antenna module  13  that projects out of the container and houses one or more antennas. 
         [0045]    The processor module  11  houses a re-chargeable add-on battery pack  14  for independent power supply to the device  10 . The battery  14  is a rechargeable type with a supplied wall-mounted type charger via a miniature built-in port on the battery housing itself. 
         [0046]    The processor module  11  of the device  10  comprises a CPU  15  (constituting a processing unit) including a memory  16  and to which there are coupled a cellular receiver/transmitter modem  17  suitable for operation in a GSM, HS GSM or CDMA networks, a high-sensitive light sensor  18  for providing an alert signal in response to entry of light into the container and an accelerometer  19  for low-hard impact and fall detection. A power management controller  20  constantly monitors the battery power level and is responsive to sensor signals and/or external interrogation signals or interrupts for awakening the CPU  15  for the required response. 
         [0047]    The arm  12  links the internal and external parts of the module. Typically the arm  12  is formed of ferromagnetic material allowing it to be supported on the inner metal doorframe surface of the container by strong permanent magnets  21 . This obviates the need for fixtures inside the container and simplifies fast installation and removal of the module. A contact sensor  22  in the form of an electronic pushbutton/micro-switch on the inner part of arm  12  is depressed when the device  10  is attached against the inner doorframe surface of the container and is released when the device  10  is removed; thereby signaling if the device  10  is mounted or removed. Alternatively (or additionally) the device  10  may be fixed to the inner doorframe wall of the container using bolts and, to this end, screw-holes  23  are provided. An external surface of the arm  12  supports a door sensor  24  to signal when door is closed or opened, and which may be in the form of an electronic pushbutton/micro-switch that is depressed or released by the door when closed or opened. The arm  12  and compartment  13  are ultrasonically welded to be water resistant and can withstand harsh environments. 
         [0048]    The antenna module  13  is positioned outside of the container and serves as an antenna module for housing a GPS receiver and antenna  25 , a cellular or satellite antenna  26  (constituting a long-range antenna) and a ZigBee antenna  27  (constituting a short-range antenna). The GPS receiver and antenna  25  and the ZigBee antenna  27  are off-the-shelf modules that are fixedly mounted inside the antenna module and connected to the processor  17  by a flexible PCB  28  (see  FIG. 5 ) that runs along and are enclosed by the arm  12 . The antenna module  13  is water resistant and is recessed in a metal groove along the container&#39;s doorframe therefore being less noticeable. The cellular or satellite antenna  26  facilitates long-range communication and is coupled by wires to a communication processor (not shown) that is housed within the processor module  11 . The ZigBee antenna  27  facilitates short-range communication and can receive data from independent sensors installed in the container. It will be appreciated that other forms of communication may also be provided such as long-range GSM, HS GSM, CDMA, or Satellite, mid-range WiMAX or WiFi and short-range RF, RFID, BlueTooth™ allowing communication between multiple devices  10  or between devices  10  and external sensors or other devices. Communication between devices  10  allows a container to be externally monitored even if its long range communication is faulty. In such case, the faulty device can relay the information over the short range network to another device that will forward the information over the long range infrastructure to a remote tracking server. This allows data of all modules within short broadcast range to be backed up. 
         [0049]    The GPS receiver and antenna  25  serves as a location module for providing a real-time signal indicating the container&#39;s location in space. Other Satellite-based protocols may also be used, such as Galileo, Glonass and Ground Cellular Cells (all of which are known in the art). 
         [0050]    Associated with the device  10  are various sensors some of which have already been described. Thus, the contact sensor  22  serves as an installation/mounting sensor incorporated on the inner part of the arm  13  to monitor and signal whether the device  10  is mounted on the doorframe of the container or removed therefrom. The door sensor  24  monitors and signals if the door is open or closed. An operation electronic pushbutton micro-switch  30  on the lower part of the antenna module is manually actuated after installation for initiating a system check to ensure that all components are functioning properly and that there is proper communication between the sensors and the external antennas. The active light sensor  18  monitors the ambient light level in the container and produces an alert upon a prescribed deviation. A temperature sensor  31  likewise monitors the ambient temperature within the container and produces an alert upon a prescribed deviation. Oxygen and CO 2  sensors  32  monitor the ambient oxygen and CO 2  levels in the container and produce alerts upon prescribed deviations. A radioactive sensor  33  monitors the radioactive level in the container and produces an alert upon a prescribed deviation. The accelerometer  19  monitors movement and impact levels of the container and produces an alert upon a prescribed deviation. A humidity sensor  34  monitors the ambient humidity level in the container and produces an alert upon a prescribed deviation. In all cases, the term deviation can be an indication that the measured parameter exceeds or is less than a given threshold. 
         [0051]      FIG. 6  is a schematic representation showing a system  40  for tracking containers  41  each containing a device  10  as described above. For the sake of complete explanation, at least one of the containers  41  is used to transport cold food and includes a refrigeration unit  42 . The system  40  includes a server  43  that is operated by a tracking center (not shown) for monitoring containers in real time. Failure of the refrigeration unit  42  is another example of a security event that must be reported to the server. The refrigeration unit  42  can be remotely operated by the server as well as being monitored and activated by the on-board CPU  15 . Each of the devices  10  includes an antenna module  13  shown schematically in  FIG. 6 , it being recalled that multiple antennas may be provided, each operating over a predetermined range and protocol. The GPS antenna  25  (shown in  FIG. 3 ) communicates with two or more satellites  44 , which convey spatial location to the server  43  via the Internet  45 . 
         [0052]    Logic 
         [0053]    The following logic states apply to the device  10 : 
         [0054]    Passive State—The device  10  is powered. None of the contact sensor  22 , the door sensor  24  and the operation pushbutton is depressed. 
         [0055]    Armed State—All sensors are connected directly to the power management controller  20 . When the device  10  is armed, the power management controller is the only subsystem that is active. The entire system becomes alive upon any one or more of the sensors providing an indication or alert signal to the power management controller. 
         [0056]    Silent Alarm—In this state the power management controller  20  awakens the CPU  15  to recheck on an intercepted signal. If an intercepted signal repeats more than a specified number of times that may be preset by the customer, the power management controller  20  awakens the location and radio modules. Otherwise, all the sensors as well as the power management controller go into a sleep mode. 
         [0057]    Emergency—The system is up and verifies an intercepted signal several times before activating the device  10 , which then sends the location and information on the sensor type waiting for message acknowledgment from the network before shutting down the entire system then switching to an armed state. 
         [0058]    The power management controller  20  is configured so as to cause minimum intervention commensurate with providing real time monitoring and tracking, so that the CPU  15  remains dormant and power consumption is reduced to a minimum. However, in order to provide real time monitoring and tracking, it is nevertheless necessary that the power management controller  20  awaken the CPU  15  periodically and convey the current status to the server  43 . Likewise, the server  43  can itself interrogate the device  10  but this also drains the battery in the device. Consequently, a reasonable balance has to be drawn between obtaining updated location and status of the container and preserving battery power. 
         [0059]    In one embodiment of the disclosure, the time period between interrogations, whether they be remotely initiated by the server  43  or locally by the power management controller  20  may be pre-set and stored either in the memory  16  of the device  10  or in the server  43 . Whenever, the power management controller  20  awakens the CPU  15  it associates with the current status a timestamp that is stored with the status, in the memory  16 . Only when the lapsed time from the most recent timestamp exceeds the preset time interval between interrogations, does the power management controller  20  awaken the CPU  15  for determining a subsequent status of the container. Data conveyed to the server  43  likewise includes a respective timestamp, thus allowing the server to operate in like manner. Obviously, a security event will override this logic. 
         [0060]    The time interval between interrogations may be automatically computed as a function of estimated voyage time, so that for long voyages lasting weeks or months, the time interval between interrogations is reduced (in absolute terms) so as to conserve battery, while for short voyages more frequent interrogations can be permitted. 
         [0061]    User Interface—Application/Software 
         [0062]    The server  43  incorporates a user interface that is accessible via a workstation or computer terminal coupled to the server  43  either directly or remotely and enables an operator to display a specified container on a map in real-time, and send messages and commands to a specified module  10 . For example, the remote operator can cause the module to change transmission intervals or to turn on the refrigeration system  42 , if appropriate. The user interface also allows the operator to generate a variety of informative reports, and to predefine relevant alert messages to be sent to a list of cellular phone recipients. The user interface may be customized geographically to support different languages and different street-level maps depending on geographic location. 
         [0063]    The user interface system provides two interfaces: 
         [0064]    Online software application:—This resides on the server  43  for access by an end user and enables the end user to customize and define various alerts for each event and determine if an alert is to be sent to a mail recipient or one or more cellular subscribers etc. For instance, an event may be initiated only if a container arrives at its destination and the door is opened. Likewise, an event may be initiated if during the transportation of a container its ambient temperature increases and it is more than a specified distance from destination. 
         [0065]    Procedures software application:—This is aimed at emergency events that require immediate response, for instance theft or temperature increase and allows the end user to define in advance the right procedure to be taken upon occurrence of such an event. For instance, if an unauthorized door open event occurs, a police car may be rushed to site to handle the situation. Or if temperature exceeds a preset threshold, a technician may be immediately called to site to handle and fix the problem. 
         [0066]    It is to be noted that event-driven interfaces and event-handling in general are well-known in the art and these features are therefore not described in detail. However, the invention permits event-handling to be implemented in real-time only by virtue of the fact that, unlike hitherto-proposed systems, the containers are tracked in real-time and the instantaneous location of each container is thus known in real-time. This permits not only tracking and monitoring of containers, but also allows event-driven remedial action to be carried out by entities that are external to the container and that are automatically dispatched to the container based on location data provided by the server  43 . 
         [0067]    For example,  FIG. 7  shows a map that permits an operative to see at a glance the location of each tracked container in real-time and to determine whether the container is on schedule. The operator can manually initiate communication with the module in the container so as to check, for example, the temperature, the status of various sensors, CO2 levels and so on. However, the sensors themselves generate signals that are processed either by the external server  43  or by the CPU  15  within the module itself, for establishing events and, upon occurrence of events thus established, for taking action in accordance with procedures preset by the end user. 
         [0068]    The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments. 
         [0069]    These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.