System and method for optimizing power consumption of container tracking devices through mesh networks
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsJean-Francois Mermet, Bernard Pucci
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system of tracking transcontinental shipping containers, which is optimized to conserve the power consumption of tracking devices attached to the containers, is disclosed. The system uses short-range transceiving devices to form a mesh network that includes the tracking devices and a processing device coupled to the shipping vessel, thereby enabling the tracking devices to communicate and update their status without using a long-range or satellite communications adaptors.
Claims7
A system for monitoring containers, logically coupled to respective tracking devices, transported in a transport vessel from a geographically located source location to a geographically located destination location, comprising:
- a mesh network located on said transport vessel, formed at a predetermined time from a plurality of first short-range transceiving devices, each coupled to a respective tracking device;
- a satellite navigation system receiver located on said transport vessel and obtaining location information of said transport vessel;
- and
- a processing device, coupled to said transport vessel and said satellite navigation system receiver, said processing device including a second short-range radio transceiving device adapted to communicate with said mesh network via at least one of the first short-range radio transceiving devices, said processing device transmitting a sleep mode duration message, based on said obtained geographic location of said transport vessel and including a sleep mode duration command, to disable said mesh network according to the transmitted sleep mode duration.
A method for conserving power in a tracking device coupled to a container on a transport vessel, comprising:
- building, at a predetermined time, a mesh communications network including said tracking device and other tracking devices coupled to other containers stored in said transport vessel, within range of a short-range communications transceiver coupled to the tracking device;
- receiving, through the mesh communications network, a command from a processing device, fixedly coupled to said transport vessel, where the command includes at least one of a sleep command and a wake command;
- disabling the short-range communications transceiver and all wireless communication modules coupled to the tracking device upon receiving the sleep command, where the sleep command includes a wake-up time;
- otherwise
- enabling operation of all wireless communication modules coupled to the tracking device.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.