Patent ID: 7218215

Claim:
A shipping container for storing cargo, wherein said cargo includes indicia relative to the content of said cargo said shipping container comprising: at least one sensor which senses a predetermined condition of said container, said sensor further including transmitting means for transmitting at least one signal indicative of a sensed condition of said container; a control unit disposed within said container, said control unit including, reading means for reading said cargo indicia, a microprocessor having software for building and maintaining an inventory of said cargo indicia and said at least one sensor signal, at least one rechargeable battery for powering at least said microprocessor; a piezoceramic actuator and a conditioning circuit for producing a suitable charge to said at least one rechargeable battery; memory for storing said inventory, said software further including an encoding means responsive to said at least one sensor signal, wherein said encoding means includes generating at least one alarm signal, and wherein said encoding means further includes generating at least one informational signal responsive to an external query; receiving means for receiving at least one external query, and transmitting means for transmitting said at least one alarm signal and at least one informational signal.