Patent ID: 8279076

Claim:
An apparatus for monitoring container activity, the apparatus comprising: a housing that can be attached to a container; a processing unit communicatively coupled to a memory device and embedded in the housing; an actuator interface on the housing that is communicatively coupled to the processing unit; an indicator on the housing that is communicatively coupled to the processing unit; an accelerometer communicatively coupled to the processing unit and operative to provide signals to the processing unit when the container to which the housing is attached is moved; the processing unit, in response to instructions read from the memory device is operative to: receive programming data identifying scheduled times at which the container should be accessed; monitor activity based on signals received from the accelerometer; and if activity is not detected proximate to a scheduled time, send an alert signal to the indicator, and wherein the processing unit is operative to receive programming data by: receiving a first actuation of the actuator interface; in response to the first actuation, entering a learning mode for a given period of time; monitor signals from the accelerometer to identify container access activity; for each container access activity, creating a scheduled time that corresponds to the activity time; and exiting the learning mode after the given period of time expires.