Abstract:
An apparatus includes a monitoring system having first and second portions adapted to be supported on a mobile arrangement that includes a container. The first portion has structure for monitoring a selected aspect of the container, and for transmitting from the first portion to the second portion a first wireless communication that includes first information relating to the selected aspect. The second portion has structure for broadcasting from the second portion to a remote location a second wireless communication that includes second information based on the first information.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates in general to mobile containers and, more particularly, to techniques for monitoring mobile containers.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     Many different types of mobile containers are used for transporting and shipping a wide variety of items. One example of a mobile container is a truck with an enclosed portion that serves as the container. Persons assisting with the transport of a mobile container, such as the driver of a truck, are not always trusted agents.  
         [0003]     Accordingly, there are situations where it is desirable to be able to generate prompt notice if tampering occurs while a mobile container is in transit. As one example, a truck or some other mobile container may be transporting an authorized shipment of military weapons. Given the global threat of terrorism, it is desirable that notice be promptly provided to a central location if there is any tampering and/or theft in regard to the container or its cargo.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0004]     One of the broader forms of the invention involves: supporting first and second portions of a monitoring system on a mobile arrangement that includes a container; monitoring a selected aspect of the container with the first portion; transmitting a first wireless communication from the first portion to the second portion, the first wireless communication including first information relating to the selected aspect of the container; and broadcasting a second wireless communication from the second portion to a remote location, the second wireless communication including second information that is based on the first information.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0005]     A better understanding of the present invention will be realized from the detailed description that follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0006]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic side view of an apparatus having a satellite, a truck that serves as a mobile arrangement, and a monitoring system that includes two antennas mounted on the truck.  
         [0007]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic side view of the satellite and part of the truck of  FIG. 1 , in an enlarged scale.  
         [0008]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic rear view showing a trailer that is part of the truck, along with several radio frequency identification tags that are mounted on the trailer.  
         [0009]      FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic fragmentary rear view showing a portion of  FIG. 3  in a substantially enlarged scale.  
         [0010]      FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic fragmentary sectional top view taken along the section line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic fragmentary perspective view of one of the tags and part of the trailer, in a substantially enlarged scale.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]      FIG. 1  is a diagrammatic side view of an apparatus  10 , the apparatus  10  having a satellite  16 , a truck  11  that serves as a mobile arrangement, and a monitoring system that includes antennas  21  and  22  mounted on the truck  11 . In the disclosed embodiment, the truck  11  is a tractor-trailer combination of a known type, and in particular includes a tractor  26  and a trailer  27  that are pivotally coupled to each other. The trailer  27  includes an enclosed portion that serves as a container for items that are being transported by the truck  11 . Although the mobile arrangement in the disclosed embodiment is a truck  11 , it would alternatively be possible to use some other form of mobile arrangement.  
         [0013]     In addition to the antennas  21  and  22 , the monitoring system has other structure that is not visible in  FIG. 1 . For example, the monitoring system includes one or more radio frequency identification (RFID) tags that are mounted on the trailer  27  within a region  36  at the rear end thereof. These RFID tags are discussed in more detail later. Although the disclosed embodiment has these tags located in the region  36 , they could alternatively be positioned at any other desired location on the truck  11 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a diagrammatic side view of the satellite  16  and the tractor  26  of  FIG. 1 , in an enlarged scale. The antenna  21  of the monitoring system is fixedly mounted on top of a cab of the tractor  26 , so as to be approximately centered between the sides of the cab. Turning to the antenna  22 , only one antenna  22  is visible in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , but the monitoring system actually includes two of the antennas  22 . More specifically, the two antennas  22  are fixedly mounted at laterally spaced locations on top of the cab of the tractor  26 , with each antenna  22  disposed near a respective side of the cab. Thus, one of the antennas  22  is visible in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , and the other is behind it.  
         [0015]     In the disclosed embodiment, the antennas  21  and  22  are mounted on top of the cab of the tractor  26 . However, it would alternatively be possible to mount the antennas at any other suitable location on the truck  11 . For example, the two antennas  22  could each be mounted on a respective front fender of the tractor  26 , or on a respective side mirror thereof. As another alternative, some or all of the external antennas  21  and  22  could be replaced with internal antennas disposed within the cab of the tractor  26 .  
         [0016]     In addition to the antennas  21  and  22 , the monitoring system includes a transceiver  46  and a reader  47  that are disposed within the cab of the tractor  26 . The transceiver  46  is operatively coupled to the antenna  21 . The transceiver  46  uses the antenna  21  to transmit wireless signals to the satellite  16 , and to receive wireless signals from the satellite  16 , as indicated diagrammatically at  51 . Although the disclosed embodiment has the transceiver  46  and the antenna  21  configured to communicate with the satellite  16 , it would alternatively be possible for the transceiver  46  and antenna  21  to be configured for wireless communication with some other type of system, such as a cellular telephone network. Further, the transceiver  46  could include a global positioning system (GPS) device that receives GPS signals from GPS satellites, and that calculates the location of the apparatus  10 . The GPS device would then supply the location information to the transceiver  46 , which in turn can include this location information in the wireless signals  51 .  
         [0017]     The reader  47  is an RFID reader of a known type. With reference to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the reader  47  is coupled to each of the antennas  22 , and uses them to transmit wireless signals to and receive wireless signals from the tags within the region  36 , as indicated diagrammatically at  53 .  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a diagrammatic rear view of the truck  11  of  FIG. 1 , and in particular shows the rear of the trailer  27 . The trailer  27  includes two doors  71  and  72  that are each supported for pivotal movement about a respective vertical axis by several hinges, two of the hinges being identified by reference numerals  73  and  74 . In  FIG. 3 , the doors  71  and  72  are each shown in a closed position, and can each be pivoted outwardly from this closed position to an open position that is not shown in the drawings. Each of the doors  71  and  72  can be releasably locked in its closed position by a respective locking mechanism  77  or  78 .  
         [0019]     As mentioned above in association with  FIG. 1 , the monitoring system includes a plurality of RFID tags that are disposed within the region  36 .  FIG. 3  shows that, in the disclosed embodiment, the monitoring system has three RFID tags  101 ,  102  and  103  that are disposed within the region  36 . The tags  101 - 103  are devices of a type that is known in the art. They are therefore described only briefly below, to an extent that facilitates an understanding of the present invention.  
         [0020]     In this regard,  FIG. 4  is a diagrammatic fragmentary rear view showing a portion of  FIG. 3  in a substantially enlarged scale, including the tag  101 .  FIG. 5  is a diagrammatic fragmentary sectional top view taken along the section line  5 - 5  in  FIG. 4 . As best seen in  FIG. 5 , the tag  101  includes a C-shaped clamp  111  that grips an edge portion of the door  71 . In particular, the clamp  111  has two spaced legs that are disposed on opposite sides of the door  71 , and has a bight that extends from one leg to the other through a gap between the doors  71  and  72 . A flexible weather seal  110  made of rubber or a similar material is disposed on the inner edge of the door  72 , and engages the bight of the clamp  11 .  
         [0021]     The tag  101  has a housing  112  on the outer leg of the clamp  111 . The housing  112  contains a not-illustrated antenna, through which the tag  101  can send and receive wireless signals. The tag  101  has a further housing  113  disposed on the inner leg of the clamp  111 . The housing  113  contains not-illustrated circuitry that is coupled by not-illustrated wires to the antenna within the housing  112 . The circuitry includes not-illustrated sensors that monitor various characteristics within the container portion of the trailer  27 . In the disclosed embodiment, these sensors include a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, and also a photocell that can detect visible light. A door engaging part  116  is pivotally supported on the housing  113 , and is biased by a spring to engage the inner side of the door  72  when the doors  71  and  72  are in their closed positions. If the door  72  is opened, the part  116  will be moved by the spring, and the circuitry within the housing  113  will detect this movement. In addition to or in place of the sensors discussed above, the tag  101  could have a pressure sensor, a moisture sensor, a radiation sensor for detecting radioactive emissions, a gas sensor for detecting hazardous or poisonous gases (such as hydrogen cyanide or phosgene), an RF sensor that can monitor an RF signal for changes indicative of unauthorized intrusion, or any other desired type of sensor.  
         [0022]     From the foregoing discussion, it will be recognized that are different ways in which the circuitry within the housing  113  can detect a situation where either of the doors  71  and  72  is opened. For example, the circuitry can detect visible light that enters when either door is open, and can detect movement of the part  116  when a door opens. The circuitry can then use the antenna within the housing  112  to transmit a wireless signal that indicates one or both of the doors  71  and  72  have been opened. The circuitry within the housing  113  can also detect a condition where the temperature or humidity within the container portion of the trailer  27  is above or below a selected limit, and can transmit a wireless signal identifying the particular condition that has been detected.  
         [0023]     In the disclosed embodiment, the tags  102  and  103  are effectively identical. Therefore, to avoid redundancy, only the tag  103  is discussed here.  FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic fragmentary perspective view of the tag  103  and part of the trailer  27 , in a substantially enlarged scale. The trailer  27  has a door frame  141 , and the tag  103  has a C-shaped clamp  142  that grips the door frame  141 . In particular, the C-shaped clamp  142  has two spaced legs that are coupled by a bight  142 . A pressure switch  143  is provided on the bight  142 . When the door  72  ( FIG. 3 ) is in its closed position, an edge of the door engages and activates the pressure switch  143 , so that the tag  103  knows the door  72  is in its closed position. The tag  103  has two housings  146  and  147  that are provided at the outer ends of the respective legs of the clamp  142 . The housing  146  has a patch antenna  148  on an exterior surface thereof. The housing  147  contains electronic circuitry of the tag  103 , including several sensors such as a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, a photocell and/or some other type of sensor. The circuitry within the housing  148  is electrically coupled by not-illustrated wires to the pressure switch  143  and the antenna  148 .  
         [0024]     The operation of the tag  103  is generally similar to the operation of the tag  101 . Therefore, since the operation of the tag  101  has already been briefly described above, the operation of the tag  103  is not separately described here in detail.  
         [0025]     When the truck  11  of  FIG. 1  is in transit, the monitoring system operates in the following manner. The reader  47  periodically transmits a wireless interrogation signal  53  through the two antennas  22 , for example at points in time that are separated by intervals of N seconds. Any RFID tags that are present on the truck  11  will respond to this interrogation signal, including the tags  101 ,  102  and  103 . Each such tag will transmit back at  53  a wireless response that contains certain status information, as well as a code that uniquely identifies that particular tag. The status information will indicate whether the tag has detected any problem regarding any of the various different aspects of the container that the tag is monitoring.  
         [0026]     For example, each of the tags  101 - 103  will indicate whether it detected that a door  71  or  72  of the trailer has been opened, whether it detected an abnormal temperature condition, whether it detected an abnormal humidity condition, and so forth. Consequently, if there has been an unauthorized entry into the trailer  27 , at least one of the tags  101 - 103  will be reporting information that reflects this. In addition, the tags  101 - 103  each have a degree of capability to detect a situation where someone tampers with the tag itself. Consequently, if any of the tags  101 - 103  determines that someone tampered with it, the tag will report this in one of the wireless signals  53  that it sends to the reader  47 .  
         [0027]     The two spaced antennas  22  help to reduce the likelihood that a wireless signal traveling in either direction between the reader  47  and the tags  101 - 103  will not be properly received. For example, the tag  102  is on one side of the truck  11 , and may communicate more readily with the antenna  22  on the same side of the truck than with the other antenna  22 . Similarly, the tag  103  is located on the opposite side of the truck  11 , and may communicate more readily with the antenna  22  on the same side of the truck than with the other antenna  22 . Further, the tag  101  is centered in the back of the truck  11 , and use of the two spaced antennas  22  may facilitate the transmission of wireless communications to and from the tag  101 , for example when the truck is turning a corner.  
         [0028]     As explained above, the tags  101 - 103  receive and then reply to a periodic wireless interrogation signal sent by the reader  47 . In addition, if any of the tags  101 - 103  detects an abnormal event, the tag immediately transmits a wireless signal that contains the unique code of the tag and that identifies the event, without waiting for the next interrogation signal. Later, when the next interrogation signal is received, the tag will send a reply that identifies the detected event.  
         [0029]     The reader  47  takes the information received from the tags  101 - 103 , and uses the transceiver  46  and the antenna  21  to transmit wireless signals  51  containing this information to a location remote from the truck  11 , and in particular to the satellite  16 . The satellite  16  then transmits a wireless signal that relays this information to a central system at some other location remote from the truck  11 . The central system will then be aware of whether or not everything is normal with the truck  11 , and in particular will know if some abnormal event has been detected by the monitoring system on the truck  11 .  
         [0030]     As a further possibility, items being transported in the trailer  27  may have not-illustrated RFID tags thereon that transmit wireless signals, and one or more of the tags  101 - 103  may have the capability to receive these wireless signals. After these wireless signals are received by one or more of the tags  101 ,  102  or  103 , the information can be used to generate inventory information or a manifest list that identifies the items present in the trailer  27 . In one approach, the tag  101 ,  102  or  103  generates the inventory information, and can save that information in its own memory and/or pass the information on to the central system through the wireless signals  51  and the satellite  16 . Where the inventory information is passed on to the central system, the tag may maintain a duplicate copy of that information in its memory, or may maintain only an identifier that can be used to look up the inventory information in a database of the central system. In the latter case, a person would need not only the identifier but also an authenticated link to the central system in order to access the inventory information stored in the central system.  
         [0031]     Although one selected embodiment has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be understood that a variety of substitutions and alterations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, as defined by the following claims.