Shipping container tracking assembly, system, and method of manufacture

A method to modify a shipping container to include a tracking assembly with an externally mounted antenna, the shipping container having walls, a door, a door frame supporting the door, and a frame, the frame comprising a set of posts, a set of top rails, and a set of bottom rails, the frame holding the walls to enclose a contained space, the method comprising:

• mounting a housing of the tracking assembly to the frame of the shipping container within the contained space of the shipping container and adjacent to a wall vent of a first wall of the shipping container, the housing being configured to house one or more electronic components of the tracking assembly;
• mounting an antenna of the tracking assembly to an exterior side of the first wall of the shipping container outside of the shipping container and between an exterior surface of the first wall and an exterior vent cover, the first wall having the wall vent with a ventilation passage therethrough, wherein the ventilation passage provides fluid communication between an interior side of the first wall and the exterior side of the first wall;
• electronically coupling the antenna to at least one of the one or more electronic components through a conductor path;
• and
• wherein the one or more electronic components are at least partially housed within the housing within the shipping container, the one or more electronic components including a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) device, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, and a battery.

A method of manufacturing a shipping container tracking system, the method comprising:

• forming a housing configured to house one or more electronic components of a tracking assembly;
• mounting the housing to a frame of a shipping container within a contained space of the shipping container and adjacent to a wall vent of a first wall, the shipping container having walls including the first wall, a door, a door frame supporting the door, and the frame, the frame comprising a set of posts, a set of top rails, and a set of bottom rails, the frame holding the walls to enclose the contained space;
• mounting an antenna of the tracking assembly to an exterior side of the first wall of the shipping container outside of the shipping container and between an exterior surface of the first wall and an exterior vent cover, the first wall having a wall vent with a ventilation passage therethrough, wherein the ventilation passage provides fluid communication between an interior side of the first wall and the exterior side of the first wall;
• electronically coupling the antenna to at least one of the one or more electronic components;
• and
• wherein the one or more electronic components are at least partially housed within the housing within the shipping container, the one or more electronic components including a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) device, a Global Positioning System (GPS) device, and a battery.