Patent Description:
Typically, cold chain distribution systems are used to transport and distribute perishable goods and environmentally sensitive goods (herein referred to as perishable goods) that may be susceptible to temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors. Perishable goods may include but are not limited to fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, eggs, dairy, seed, flowers, meat, poultry, fish, ice, and pharmaceuticals. Advantageously, cold chain distribution systems allow perishable goods to be effectively transported and distributed without damage or other undesirable effects.

Refrigerated trucks and trailers are commonly used to transport perishable goods in a cold chain distribution system. A transport refrigeration system is mounted to the truck or to the trailer in operative association with a cargo space defined within the truck or trailer for maintaining a controlled temperature environment within the cargo space.

Conventionally, transport refrigeration systems used in connection with refrigerated trucks and refrigerated trailers include a transport refrigeration unit having a refrigerant compressor, a condenser with one or more associated condenser fans, an expansion device, and an evaporator with one or more associated evaporator fans, which are connected via appropriate refrigerant lines in a closed refrigerant flow circuit. Air or an air/ gas mixture is drawn from the interior volume of the cargo space by means of the evaporator fan(s) associated with the evaporator, passed through the airside of the evaporator in heat exchange relationship with refrigerant whereby the refrigerant absorbs heat from the air, thereby cooling the air. The cooled air is then supplied back to the cargo space.

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned with the origin of the product they are purchasing, as well as details regarding the journey the product took. This concept is often referred to as farm-to-fork. It is often difficult to track the entire journey of a single product from farm-to-fork as it may change hands several times along the route. Improved systems, particularly improved tracking and prediction systems would provide benefits to the industry.

<CIT> discloses a system for managing perishables in a supply chain which seeks to provide improved real-time sensed inputs integration and communication as applicable to logistics of perishable items.

<NPL>" discloses a method for improving the efficiency of a Monitoring System for Frozen and Chilled Aquatic Products (MS-FCAP) using sparse sampling, data reconstruction and self-life prediction.

Viewed from a first aspect, the present invention provides a system for monitoring perishable goods within a distribution chain including a transport refrigeration system, the system comprising: a sensor for monitoring parameters associated with the perishable goods in the transport refrigeration system; a storage device to store the parameters associated with the perishable goods, the storage device storing historical parameters for other goods, at least one of the parameters being received from the transport refrigeration system; and a parameter management system coupled to the storage device; characterized in that the parameter management system includes a predictive module to determine parameters that are missing in response to the sensor being unavailable, detect trends in the parameters, and determine predicted parameters which are probable values to fill in gaps of the missing parameters based on the trends and the historical parameters; and a meshing module to determine output parameters by combining the predicted parameters and the parameters.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the output parameters are accessible via a user device.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the output parameters are sent to a user device.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the output parameters are configured as at least one of a map displaying time-based locations of the perishable goods along with the output parameters at the time-based locations and a data table of output parameters.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include the parameters include at least one of temperature, pressure, vibration, humidity, and light exposure.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the parameters include at least one time-based location of the perishable goods.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the parameters include weather data experienced by the perishable goods.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the parameters include quality inspections of the perishable goods.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the system may include that the parameters include manually entered data.

Viewed from a second aspect, the present invention provides a method of monitoring perishable goods within a distribution chain including a transport refrigeration system, the method comprising: monitoring, using a sensor, parameters associated with the perishable goods in the transport refrigeration system; storing, using a storage device, the parameters associated with the perishable goods, the storage device storing historical parameters for other goods, at least one of the parameters being received from the transport refrigeration system; analyzing, using a parameter management system, the parameters, the parameter management system coupled to the storage device; characterised in that the parameter management system includes: a predictive module to determine parameters that are missing in response to the sensor being unavailable, detect trends in the parameters, and determine predicted parameters which are probable values to fill in gaps of the missing parameters based on the trends and the historical parameters; and a meshing module to determine output parameters by combining the predicted parameters and the parameters.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include accessing the output parameters via a user device.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include receiving the output parameters via a user device.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include displaying the output parameters as at least one of a map showing time-based locations of the perishable goods along with the output parameters at the time-based locations and a data table of output parameters.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include that the parameters include at least one of temperature, pressure, vibration, humidity, and light exposure.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include that the parameters include at least one time-based location of the perishable good.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include that the parameters include weather data experienced by the perishable goods.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include that the parameters include quality inspections of the perishable goods.

In addition to one or more of the features described above, further embodiments of the method may include that the parameters include manually entered data.

Other aspects, features, and techniques of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

The subject matter which is regarded as the disclosure is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification.

Referring now to the drawings, <FIG> illustrates a schematic view of a system <NUM> for monitoring parameters for use in a cold chain distribution system. <FIG> illustrates a schematic view of a cold chain distribution system <NUM>. Typically, transport refrigeration systems <NUM> are used to transport and distribute perishable goods and environmentally sensitive goods (herein referred to as perishable goods <NUM>). In the illustrated embodiment, a transport refrigeration system <NUM> includes an environmentally controlled container <NUM>, a transport refrigeration unit <NUM> and perishable goods <NUM>. The container <NUM> may be pulled by a tractor <NUM>. It is understood that embodiments described herein may be applied to shipping containers that are shipped by rail, sea, or any other suitable container, without use of a tractor <NUM>. The container <NUM> may define an interior compartment <NUM>. It is also understood that embodiments described herein may be applied to shipping goods that are not perishable.

In the illustrated embodiment, the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> is associated with a container <NUM> to provide desired environmental parameters, such as, for example temperature, pressure, humidity, carbon dioxide, ethylene, ozone, light exposure, vibration exposure, and other conditions to the interior compartment <NUM>. In further embodiments, the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> is a refrigeration system capable of providing a desired temperature and humidity range. The perishable goods <NUM> may include but are not limited to fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, eggs, dairy, seed, flowers, meat, poultry, fish, ice, blood, pharmaceuticals, or any other suitable cargo requiring cold chain transport.

In the invention, the transport refrigeration system <NUM> includes sensors <NUM>. The sensors <NUM> may be utilized to monitor parameters <NUM> internal and external to the container <NUM>. The parameters <NUM> monitored by the sensors <NUM> may include but are not limited to temperature, pressure, humidity, carbon dioxide, ethylene, ozone, light exposure, vibrations, and other conditions in the interior compartment <NUM>. Accordingly, suitable sensors <NUM> are utilized to monitor the desired parameters. Advantageously, sensors <NUM> may be selected for certain applications depending on the type of perishable goods <NUM> to be monitored and the corresponding environmental sensitivities. In an embodiment, temperatures are monitored. As seen in <FIG>, the sensors <NUM> may be placed directly on the perishable goods <NUM>.

Further, as in the illustrated embodiment, sensors <NUM> may be used to monitor various parameters <NUM> of the transport refrigeration system <NUM>. These sensors <NUM> may be placed in a variety of locations including but not limited to on the transport refrigeration unit <NUM>, on a door <NUM> of the container <NUM> and throughout the interior compartment <NUM>. The sensors <NUM> may be placed directly within the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> to monitor the performance of the transport refrigeration unit <NUM>. Individual components internal to the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> may also be monitored by sensors <NUM> to detect performance aspects, such as, for example usage cycles, duration, temperatures and pressure of individual components. As seen, the sensors <NUM> may also be placed on the door <NUM> of the container <NUM> to monitor the position of the door <NUM>. Whether the door <NUM> is open or closed affects both the temperature of the container <NUM> and the perishable goods <NUM>. For instance, in hot weather, an open door <NUM> will allow cooled air to escape from the container <NUM>, causing the temperature of the interior compartment <NUM> to rise, thus affecting the temperature of the perishable goods <NUM>. Additionally, a global positioning system (GPS) location may also be detected by the sensors <NUM>. The GPS location may help in providing time-based location information for the perishable goods <NUM> that will help in tracking the travel route and other parameters <NUM> along that route. For instance, the GPS location may also help in providing information from other data sources <NUM> regarding weather <NUM> experienced by the container <NUM> along the travel route. The local weather <NUM> affects the temperature of the container <NUM> and thus may affect the temperature of the perishable goods <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the transport refrigeration system <NUM> may further include, a controller <NUM> configured to log a plurality of readings from the sensors <NUM>, known as parameters <NUM>, at a selected sampling rate. The controller <NUM> may be enclosed within the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> or separate from the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> as illustrated. The parameters <NUM> may further be augmented with time, location stamps or other relevant information. The controller <NUM> may also include a processor (not shown) and an associated memory (not shown). The processor may be but is not limited to a single-processor or multi-processor system of any of a wide array of possible architectures, including field programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP) or graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware arranged homogenously or heterogeneously. The memory may be but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium.

In an illustrated embodiment, the transport refrigeration system <NUM> may include a communication module <NUM> in operative communication with the controller <NUM> and in wireless operative communication with a network <NUM>. The communication module <NUM> is configured to transmit the parameters <NUM> to the network <NUM> via wireless communication. The wireless communication may be, but is not limited to, radio, microwave, cellular, satellite, or another wireless communication method. The network <NUM> may be but is not limited to satellite networks, cellular networks, cloud computing network, wide area network, or another type of wireless network. The communication module <NUM> may include a short range interface, wherein the short range interface includes at least one of: a wired interface, an optical interface, and a short range wireless interface.

Parameters <NUM> may also be provided by other data sources <NUM>, as illustrated in <FIG>. These other data sources <NUM> may be collected at any point throughout the cold chain distribution system <NUM>, which as illustrated in <FIG> may include harvest <NUM>, packing <NUM>, storage prior to transport <NUM>, transport to distribution center <NUM>, distribution center <NUM>, transport to display <NUM>, storage prior to display <NUM>, display <NUM> and consumer <NUM>. These stages are provided for illustrative purposes and a distribution chain may include fewer stages or additional stages, such as, for example a cleaning stage, a processing stage, and additional transportation stages. The other data sources <NUM> may include, but are not limited to, weather <NUM>, quality inspections <NUM>, inventory scans <NUM>, and manually entered data <NUM>. The weather <NUM>, as discussed above, has an effect on the operation of the transport refrigeration unit <NUM> by influencing the temperature of the container <NUM> during transport (e.g., <NUM> and <NUM>) but the weather <NUM> also has other influences on the transport refrigeration unit <NUM>. For instance, the weather <NUM> prior to and at harvest <NUM> may have an impact on the quality of the perishable goods <NUM>, which may be interesting for a consumer. Moreover, quality inspections <NUM>, similar to the weather <NUM>, may reveal data of the perishable goods <NUM> relevant to the consumer. For instance, a particular batch of strawberries may have the required sugar content desired by the consumer. Quality inspections <NUM> may be done by a machine or a human being. Quality inspections <NUM> performed by a machine may be accomplished using a variety of techniques including but not limited to optical, odor, soundwave, infrared, or physical probe.

Further inventory scans <NUM>, may also reveal parameters <NUM> about the perishable goods <NUM> interesting to the consumer and may help in tracking the perishable goods <NUM>. For instance, the inventory scan <NUM> may reveal the time, day, truck the perishable goods arrived on, which may help pinpoint their source. While the system <NUM> includes sensors <NUM> to aid in automation, often times the need for manual data entry is unavoidable. The manually entered data <NUM> may be input via a variety of devices including but not limited to a cellular phone, tablet, laptop, smartwatch, a desktop computer or any other similar data input device.

Parameters <NUM> collected throughout each stage of the cold chain distribution system <NUM> may include environment conditions experienced by the perishable goods <NUM> such as, for example, temperature, pressure, humidity, carbon dioxide, ethylene, ozone, vibrations, light exposure, weather, time and location. For instance, strawberries may have experienced an excessive shock or were kept at <NUM> (<NUM>°F) during transport. Parameters <NUM> may further include attributes of the perishable goods <NUM> such as, for example, temperature, weight, size, sugar content, maturity, grade, ripeness, labeling, and packaging. For instance, strawberries may be packaged in <NUM> pound clamshells, be a certain weight or grade, be organic, and have certain packaging or labels on the clamshells. Parameters <NUM> may also include information regarding the operation of the environmental control unit <NUM>, as discussed above. The parameters <NUM> may further be augmented with time, location stamps or other relevant information.

In the invention, the system <NUM> further includes a storage device <NUM> to store parameters <NUM> associated with the goods of a distribution chain. At least one of the parameters <NUM> is received from the transport refrigeration system. As shown, the storage device <NUM> also stores historical parameters <NUM>. The storage device <NUM> may be but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium.

The system <NUM> further includes a parameter management system <NUM>. As shown, the parameter management system <NUM> includes a predictive module <NUM> and a meshing module <NUM>. The parameter management system <NUM> may also include a processor (not shown) and an associated memory (not shown). The processor may be but is not limited to a single-processor or multi-processor system of any of a wide array of possible architectures, including field programmable gate array (FPGA), central processing unit (CPU), application specific integrated circuits (ASIC), digital signal processor (DSP) or graphics processing unit (GPU) hardware arranged homogenously or heterogeneously. The memory may be but is not limited to a random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), or other electronic, optical, magnetic or any other computer readable medium. The predictive module <NUM> and the meshing module <NUM> may be implemented in software as applications executed by the processor of parameter management system <NUM>.

The predictive module <NUM> determines predicted parameters of the perishable goods <NUM> in response to parameters <NUM> that are missing. The predictive module <NUM> detects trends in the parameters <NUM>, to predict probable values to fill in the gaps of missing parameters <NUM>. Along some instances of the cold chain distribution system <NUM>, sensors <NUM> may not be available; however if the perishable goods <NUM> are scanned in during an inventory scan <NUM>, information collected from the inventory scan <NUM>, such as the time, date, and truck that carried the perishable goods <NUM>, may help the predictive module <NUM> determine missing parameters <NUM>. Further, if <NUM>% of the time the historical parameters <NUM> say that a truck arriving at <NUM>:<NUM> pm on a Tuesday is coming from Farmer Joe's in California carrying strawberries, then the predictive module <NUM> will use that information to fill in missing parameters <NUM> regarding that delivery.

The meshing module <NUM> determines output parameters <NUM> by combining the predicted parameters and the parameters <NUM>. The output parameters <NUM> are the parameters <NUM> that have been recorded on the storage device <NUM> combined with the predicted parameters filling in the gaps at selected times and locations along the cold chain distribution system <NUM>. The meshing module <NUM> may create a full data set of output parameters <NUM> detailing the journey of the perishable goods <NUM> from harvest <NUM> to consumer <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A system (<NUM>) for monitoring perishable goods (<NUM>) within a distribution chain including a transport refrigeration system (<NUM>), the system comprising:
sensors (<NUM>) for monitoring parameters (<NUM>) associated with the perishable goods in the transport refrigeration system (<NUM>);
a storage device (<NUM>) to store the parameters (<NUM>) associated with the perishable goods, the storage device storing historical parameters (<NUM>) for other goods, at least one of the parameters (<NUM>) being received from the transport refrigeration system; and
a parameter management system (<NUM>) coupled to the storage device;
characterised in that the parameter management system includes
a predictive module (<NUM>) to determine parameters (<NUM>) that are missing in response to the sensors (<NUM>) being unavailable, detect trends in the parameters, and determine predicted parameters which are probable values to fill in gaps of the missing parameters based on the trends and the historical parameters; and
a meshing module (<NUM>) to determine output parameters (<NUM>) by combining the predicted parameters and the parameters (<NUM>).