Enhanced Shipping Container Apparatus having Integrated Fire Suppression and Systems Using the Same for Detecting and Responding to an Environmental Anomaly within the Container

An improved system on a transit vehicle for coordinated mediation action in response to an identified environmental anomaly, the transit vehicle including an external transceiver and shipping a plurality of packages, the system comprising:

• an enhanced shipping container comprising:
• a container base portion that supports at least a portion of the packages, and
• an enclosing structure coupled to the container base portion, the enclosing structure and the container base portion defining an interior storage space for maintaining the portion of the packages, wherein at least a part of the enclosing structure implementing a fire suppression panel having temperature sensitive material on an interior exposed surface of the fire suppression panel, wherein the fire suppression panel internally contains integrated fire suppression material next to the temperature sensitive material on the interior exposed surface, and wherein the temperature sensitive material will fail to contain the integrated fire suppressant material within the fire suppression panel when the temperature sensitive material is exposed to a threshold temperature;
• a plurality of wireless sensor-based ID nodes disposed at different locations within the enhanced shipping container, wherein each of the ID nodes being at a low level of a hierarchical wireless node network and each of the ID nodes being respectively configured and operative to broadcast signals over a first wireless communication path;
• and
• a command node mounted to the enhanced 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,
• a first communication interface coupled to the command node processing unit, the first communication interface being configured to communicate with each of the sensor-based ID nodes over the first wireless communication path,
• 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 the transit vehicle using a second wireless communications path distinct from the first wireless communication path;
• wherein the command node processing unit of the command node is programmatically configured, when executing the command node container management program code, to be operative to
• detect sensor data broadcasted from the sensor-based ID nodes using the first communication interface,
• responsively identify the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the detected sensor data indicates release of the integrated fire suppression material from the fire suppression panel as a first level mediation response,
• generate an alert notification related to the environmental anomaly for the shipping container in response to identifying the environmental anomaly for the shipping container, wherein the alert notification provides at least one from the group comprising identifies a targeted mediation recipient, identifies a targeted mediation action, and establishes a mediation response priority, and
• cause the second communication interface to transmit the alert notification to the external transceiver to initiate a secondary mediation response related to the targeted mediation action.

An improved system on a transit vehicle for coordinated mediation action in response to an identified environmental anomaly, the transit vehicle including an external transceiver and shipping a plurality of packages, the system comprising:

• an enhanced shipping container comprising:
• a container base portion that supports at least a portion of the packages, and
• an enclosing structure coupled to the container base portion, the enclosing structure and the container base portion defining an interior storage space for maintaining the portion of the packages, wherein at least a part of the enclosing structure implementing a fire suppression panel having temperature sensitive material on an interior exposed surface of the fire suppression panel, wherein the fire suppression panel internally contains integrated fire suppression material next to the temperature sensitive material on the interior exposed surface, and wherein the temperature sensitive material will release the integrated fire suppressant material within the fire suppression panel when the temperature sensitive material is exposed to a threshold temperature;
• a plurality of wireless sensor-based ID nodes disposed at different locations within the enhanced shipping container, wherein each of the ID nodes being at a low level of a hierarchical wireless node network and each of the ID nodes being respectively configured and operative to broadcast signals over a first wireless communication path;
• a fire suppression system disposed on the transit vehicle and external to the enhanced shipping container, the fire suppression system comprising
• supplemental fire suppressant material,
• a delivery nozzle that deploys to deliver the supplemental fire suppressant material to within the enhanced shipping container, and
• a fire suppressant pump that activates to cause the supplemental fire suppressant material to flow through the delivery nozzle;
• and
• a command node mounted to the enhanced shipping container, the command node being at a middle level of the hierarchical wireless node network, 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,
• a first communication interface coupled to the command node processing unit, the first communication interface being configured to communicate with each of the sensor-based ID nodes over the first wireless communication path,
• 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 the transit vehicle using a second wireless communications path distinct from the first wireless communication path;
• wherein the command node processing unit of the command node is programmatically configured, when executing the command node container management program code, to be operative to
• detect sensor data broadcasted from the sensor-based ID nodes using the first communication interface,
• responsively identify the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the detected sensor data indicates release of the integrated fire suppression material from the fire suppression panel as a first level mediation response,
• generate an alert notification related to the environmental anomaly for the shipping container in response to identifying the environmental anomaly for the shipping container, wherein the alert notification provides at least one from the group comprising identifies a targeted mediation recipient as the fire suppression system, identifies a targeted mediation action, and establishes a mediation response priority, and
• cause the second communication interface to transmit the alert notification to the external transceiver to activate the fire suppression system to dispense the supplemental fire suppression material as a secondary level mediation response related to the targeted mediation action.

An improved system on a transit vehicle for coordinated mediation action in response to an identified environmental anomaly, the transit vehicle including an external transceiver and shipping a plurality of packages, the system comprising:

• an enhanced shipping container comprising:
• a container base portion that supports at least a portion of the packages, and
• an enclosing structure coupled to the container base portion, the enclosing structure and the container base portion defining an interior storage space for maintaining the portion of the packages, wherein at least a part of the enclosing structure implementing a fire suppression panel having
• temperature sensitive material on an interior exposed surface of the fire suppression panel,
• integrated fire suppression material next to the temperature sensitive material on the interior exposed surface, and
• a support sheet comprised of a fire resistant material,
• wherein the temperature sensitive material will fail to contain the integrated fire suppressant material within the fire suppression panel when the temperature sensitive material is exposed to a threshold temperature, and
• wherein the support sheet assisting with structural integrity of the at least part of the enclosing structure when the temperature sensitive material is exposed to the threshold temperature;
• a plurality of wireless sensor-based ID nodes disposed at different locations within the enhanced shipping container, wherein each of the ID nodes being at a low level of a hierarchical wireless node network and each of the ID nodes being respectively configured and operative to broadcast signals over a first wireless communication path;
• and
• a command node mounted to the enhanced 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,
• a first communication interface coupled to the command node processing unit, the first communication interface being configured to communicate with each of the sensor-based ID nodes over the first wireless communication path,
• 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 the transit vehicle using a second wireless communications path distinct from the first wireless communication path;
• wherein the command node processing unit of the command node is programmatically configured, when executing the command node container management program code, to be operative to
• detect sensor data broadcasted from the sensor-based ID nodes using the first communication interface,
• responsively identify the environmental anomaly for the shipping container when the detected sensor data indicates release of the integrated fire suppression material from the fire suppression panel as a first level mediation response,
• generate an alert notification related to the environmental anomaly for the shipping container in response to identifying the environmental anomaly for the shipping container, wherein the alert notification provides at least one from the group comprising identifies a targeted mediation recipient, identifies a targeted mediation action, and establishes a mediation response priority, and
• cause the second communication interface to transmit the alert notification to the external transceiver to initiate a secondary mediation response related to the targeted mediation action.