Systems, apparatus, and methods for detecting an environmental anomaly and initiating an enhanced automatic response using elements of a wireless node network and using sensor data from ID nodes associated with packages and environmental threshold conditions per package

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11178228-B2
Application number	US-202016939118-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 27, 2020
Priority date	Sep 22, 2018
Publication date	Nov 16, 2021
Grant date	Nov 16, 2021

Abstract

An improved system detects an environmental anomaly in a shipping container and initiates a mediation response through a generated layered alert notification. The system includes sensor-based ID nodes associated with packages within the container, and a command node mounted to the container communicating with the ID nodes and an external transceiver on a vehicle transporting the container. The command node is programmed to detect sensor data from the ID nodes; compare the sensor data to package environmental thresholds in context data related to each ID node; detect the environmental anomaly when the comparison indicates an environmental condition for at least one package exceeds its environmental threshold; responsively generate a layered alert notification identifying a mediation recipient and mediation action, and establishing a mediation response priority based upon the comparison; and transmit the layered alert notification to the transceiver unit to initiate a mediation response related to the mediation action.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An improved monitoring system for detecting an environmental anomaly in a shipping container that maintains a plurality of packages and for reporting a layered alert notification related to the environmental anomaly to an external transceiver associated with a transit vehicle transporting the shipping container, the system comprising:
a plurality of ID nodes disposed within the shipping container, each of the ID nodes being associated with a respective one of the packages maintained within the shipping container, wherein each of the ID nodes comprising
an ID node processing unit,
an ID node memory coupled to the ID node processing unit, the memory maintaining at least an ID node monitoring program code,
at least one environmental sensor configured to generate sensor data related to an environmental condition of the respective package associated with each of the ID nodes,
a wireless radio transceiver coupled to the ID node processing unit, the wireless radio transceiver being configured to access the sensor data generated by the at least one environmental sensor and broadcast the sensor data in response to a report command from the ID node processing unit when the ID node processing unit executes the ID node monitoring program code; and

a command node comprising a mobile master node disposed with the shipping container, the command node further comprising
a command node processing unit,
a command node memory coupled to the command node processing unit, the command node memory maintaining at least command node container management program code and context data related to each of the ID nodes, the context data including at least a plurality of environmental threshold conditions respectively corresponding to each of the packages,
a first communication interface coupled to the command node processing unit, the first communication interface being configured to communicate with each of the ID nodes using a first wireless communication format compatible with the wireless radio transceiver on each of the ID nodes,
a second communication interface coupled to the command node processing unit, the second communication interface being configured to communicate with the external transceiver associated with a transit vehicle using a second wireless communications format;

wherein the command node processing unit is programmatically configured, when executing the command node container management program code, to be operative to
detect the sensor data broadcasted from the ID nodes using the first communication interface,
compare the detected sensor data from each of the ID nodes and the context data related to each of the ID nodes,
detect the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the comparison of the detected sensor data and the context data indicates an environmental condition for at least one of the packages exceeds its respective environmental threshold condition,
generate a layered alert notification related to the environmental anomaly for the shipping container in response to detecting the environmental anomaly, wherein the layered alert notification identifies a targeted mediation recipient, identifies a targeted mediation action, and establishes a mediation response priority based upon the comparison of the received sensor data and the context data, and
cause the second communication interface to transmit the layered alert notification to the transceiver unit to initiate a mediation response related to the targeted mediation action.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the command node processing unit is further programmatically configured to detect the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the comparison of the detected sensor data and the context data indicates a relative change in the environmental condition for the at least one of the packages exceeds its respective environmental threshold condition.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the command node processing unit is further programmatically configured to compare the detected sensor data and the context data further by comparing a relative change in the detected sensor data from at least one of the ID nodes and the context data locally maintained in the command node memory for the at least one of the ID nodes, wherein the at least one of the ID nodes being associated with the at least one of the packages, wherein the environmental threshold condition for the at least one of the packages comprising a threshold relative environmental change condition that when exceeded is indicative of the environmental anomaly for the shipping container; and
wherein the command node processing unit is further programmatically configured to detect the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the comparison of the detected sensor data and the context data indicates the environmental condition for the at least one of the packages associated with the at least one of the ID nodes exceeds the threshold relative environmental change condition.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the ID nodes is further operative to incrementally generate the sensor data over a time period using the environmental sensor on each of the respective ID nodes;
wherein the command node processing unit is further programmatically configured to
monitor the generated sensor data from each of the ID nodes over the time period to identify relative changes in the generated sensor data over the time period,
compare the identified relative changes in the generated sensor data and the context data locally maintained on the command node memory related to those of the ID nodes that are related to the relative changes in the generated sensor data, the context data including at least a plurality of relative environmental threshold conditions respectively corresponding to the packages,
detect the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the comparison of identified relative changes in the generated sensor data and the context data related to those of the ID nodes that correspond to the identified relative changes in the generated sensor data indicates a changed environmental condition for at least one of the packages that exceeds its respective relative environmental threshold condition, and

wherein the mediation response priority is based upon the comparison of the identified relative changes in the generated sensor data and the context data related to those of the ID nodes that correspond to the relative changes in the generated sensor data.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the environmental sensor for a first of the ID nodes comprises a temperature sensor and the environmental sensor for a second of the ID nodes comprises a barometric pressure sensor.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the command node processing unit is further programmatically configured to detect the environmental anomaly when:
(a) the sensor data detected from the first of the ID nodes comprises a temperature value;
(b) the sensor data detected from the second of the ID nodes comprises a barometric pressure value;
(c) the temperature value indicates the environmental condition of a first package associated with the first of the ID nodes exceeds the environmental threshold condition for the first package according to the context data for the first package; and
(d) the barometric pressure value indicates the environmental condition of a second package associated with the second of the ID nodes exceeds the environmental threshold condition for the second package according to the context data for the second package.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the detected environmental anomaly for the shipping container comprises a fire within the shipping container when the temperature value exceeds a temperature thr

Assignees

• Fedex Corp Services Inc

Inventors

• Skaaksrud Ole-Petter

Classifications

• H02J7/80

  including monitoring or indicating arrangements · CPC title

• H02J7/44

  between battery management systems and power sources · CPC title

• H04L41/04

  Network management architectures or arrangements · CPC title

• H04Q2209/823

  where the data is sent when the measured values exceed a threshold, e.g. sending an alarm · CPC title

• H04Q2209/40

  using a wireless architecture · CPC title