US 2021/0264702 A1 · ACTIVE CONTAINER WITH DRONE DATA BRIDGING

Abstract

A system includes an active container with data bridging capabilities that uses short range wireless technology to communicate with nearby devices that have access to other data streams, such as GPS data and internet connectivity. When bridged with a provider, the container may have access to new data streams, or may be able to disable internal devices providing those same data streams to conserve power. In one implementation, an aerial drone is configured to function as a bridge provider to send data from the active container to a remote server during flight. In another implementation, a base station is adapted to receive an aerial drone after flight and is configured to function as a bridge provider to send data from the active container to a remote server after flight.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An active container comprising:

(a) a storage compartment adapted to store materials during transit;
(b) a bridge connection device;
(c) a memory operable to store information associated with transit of the active container;
and
(d) a controller configured to control the operation of the bridge connection device, wherein the controller is further configured to:
(i) establish a connection between the bridge connection device and a bridge provider when the bridge connection device detects that the bridge provider is within connectable range of the bridge connection device,
(ii) receive a set of transit data from the bridge provider via the bridge connection device, wherein the set of transit data originates from a data stream accessible by the bridge provider, and
(iii) store at least a portion of the set of transit data on the memory.

5 more elements

A data bridging system comprising:

(a) an active container comprising a storage compartment adapted to store materials during transit, a bridge connection device, a controller configured to control the operation of the bridge connection device, and a memory configured to store a set of local data associated with the active container, wherein the set of local data comprises a container identifier;
(b) a bridge provider configured to:
(i) receive data from a global positioning data stream and an internet data stream,
(ii) provide data to the active container via the bridge connection device, and
(iii) transmit data received from the active container via the internet data stream;
and
(c) a user device comprising a display, the user device configured to:
(i) receive data from the internet data stream, and
(ii) store the container identifier;
wherein the controller is configured to:
(i) establish a connection between the bridge connection device and the bridge provider when the bridge connection device detects that the bridge provider is within connectable range of the bridge connection device,
(ii) receive a set of location data from the global positioning data stream and store the set of location data on the memory,
(iii) create a container status based upon the set of location data and the set of local data, and
(iv) transmit the container status to the user device based upon the container identifier, wherein the container status is configured to cause the user device to display a location of the active container via the display.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Active container with drone data bridging

Life of this patent

Active container with drone data bridging

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20