Transport container with remote surveillance capability

A remote server computer configured to receive the second coding of a panel condition signal from a transport container comprising:

• an object location configured to receive a object,
• at least one vacuum insulation panel (VIP), configured to thermally insulate the object location,
• at least one sensor unit assembled with the VIP, the sensor unit configured to provide a panel condition signal that corresponds to a measurement value for at least one physical property of the VIP, wherein the physical property influences temperature of the object,
• at least one short-distance transmitter unit configured to transmit a first coding of the panel condition signal inside the transport container, and
• a long-distance transmitter unit configured to receive the first coding of the panel condition signal from the short-distance transmitter unit and to transmit a second coding of the panel condition signal to a remote server computer for processing the panel condition signal to determine a representation of an operation state of the transport container, wherein the operation state is related to the temperature of the object, and wherein depending on a transmission interval, being the time interval between subsequent transmissions of the second coding of the panel condition signal from the long-distance transmitter unit to the remote server computer, the transmission interval is selected to be one of:
• a periodic transmission with the transmission interval having a predefined duration, or
• a non-period transmission with the transmission interval having a maximum duration,
• the remote server computer comprising a rule module configured to:
• receive the second coding of the panel condition signal in a sequence of samples,
• determine a state value of the operation state of the transport container according to a set of predefined rules, upon receiving a new sample, and
• store representations of that state values;
• wherein the set of predefined rules comprises:
• a first rule to determine that the operation state of the transport container is a normal function state,
• a second rule to determine that the operation state of the transport container is a pre-failure state, upon detecting an occurrence of a VIP event in relation to the VIP, and
• a third rule to identify a time interval from the VIP event until a predefined condition at the an object location is reached, hereinafter an object event and that sets the representation of the state value to a failure state when the time interval has lapsed, wherein the third rule identifies a time interval for a particular transport container depending on a material of the VIP.

A method for operating a transport container configured to transport an object, the method comprising:

• locating the object into an object location inside the transport container, wherein the object location is thermally insulated by a vacuum insulation panel (VIP);
• by a sensor unit that is assembled with the VIP, providing a panel condition signal that corresponds to a measurement value for at least one physical property of the VIP, wherein the physical property influences temperature of the object;
• by a short-distance transmitter unit, transmitting a first coding of the panel condition signal inside the transport container;
• by a long-distance transmitter unit, receiving the first coding of the panel condition signal from the short-distance transmitter unit and transmitting a second coding of the panel condition signal to a remote server computer for processing the panel condition signal to determine a state value of an operation state of the transport container;
• upon determining a pre-failure state of the transport container, providing for corrective action comprising an action selected from one of the following:
• replacing the VIP by a new VIP, and changing the object temperature;
• and
• detecting a material class signal that indicates a material class of the new VIP by interaction between the new VIP and the short-distance transmitter unit, or by interaction between the new VIP and the long-distance transmitter unit.

A computer-implemented method for operating a remote server computer, wherein the remote server computer is configured to receive a coding of a panel condition signal from a transport container that comprises a vacuum insulation panel (VIP) that thermally insulates an object location and wherein the panel condition signal corresponds to a measurement value for at least one physical property of the VIP that influences temperature of an object at the object location, the method comprising:

• receiving a sample of the coding of the panel condition signal;
• determining a state value of an operation state of the transport container according to a set of pre-defined rules,
• with a first rule to determine that the operation state of the transport container is a normal function state,
• with a second rule to determine that the operation state of the transport container is a pre-failure state, upon detecting an occurrence of a VIP event in relation to the VIP,
• with a third rule to identify a time interval from the VIP event until a predefined condition at the object location is reached, and that sets a representation of the state value to a failure state when the time interval has lapsed;
• and
• storing representations of that state values.