TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates generally to shipping containers, and in particular to a shipping container comprising at least one load sensor, and a method for notifying an absence of a shipping container.

BACKGROUND

It is estimated that every year approximately ten thousand shipping containers are lost at sea, falling overboard of transport vessels such as ships due to adverse weather conditions. What happens to these containers afterwards is unknown; besides the loss of cargo, dangerous chemical substances may be released in the sea, posing a threat to marine life. Additionally, precious time in distribution ports is spent enumerating the inventory, trying to identify lost containers.

There are several challenges related to tracking of lost containers. One challenge is to obtain real time information about container presence or potential loss without significant delay. And another challenge is the tracking of lost containers. Lost containers may have battery driven GPS systems, but usually it is not activated all the time due to battery reasons.

Therefore, a way to give an immediate notification and/or to activate a shipping container GPS when containers are lost is required.

SUMMARY

An object of the present teachings is to solve or at least alleviate at least one of the above mentioned problems. It enables getting real time information regarding lost containers and knowledge when and where containers were lost.

Various aspects of examples of the invention are set out in the claims.

According to the first aspect of the invention, shipping container is provided comprising at least one load sensor for sensing the presence of an adjacent shipping container and a radio transceiver that is communicatively coupled to the at least one load sensor. The radio transceiver is configured to send a notification in response to detecting, by the at least one load sensor, the absence of said adjacent shipping container.

The at least one load sensor is mounted on an upper surface of the shipping container. Additionally or alternatively at least one load sensor may be mounted on a lower surface of the shipping container.

The shipping container may further comprise a position tracker that is communicatively coupled to the at least one load sensor, and wherein the position tracker is configured to activate in response to the load sensor detecting the absence of said adjacent shipping container.

According to the second aspect of the invention a method is provided for notifying an absence of a shipping container. The method comprises detecting by at least one load sensor, mounted on a shipping container, the absence of an adjacent shipping container. The method further comprises sending by a radio transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one load sensor, a notification, in response to detecting, by the at least one load sensor, the absence of said adjacent shipping container. The method further comprises sending by a radio transceiver attached to a transporter, a second notification in response to receiving said first notification. The second notification comprises an identification of the shipping container that is detected to be absent and position coordinates indicating the position of the transporter. According to the third aspect of the invention, an arrangement is provided comprising at least two shipping containers according to the first aspect of the invention, and a second radio transceiver attached to a transporter transporting said at least two shipping containers. The second radio transceiver is configured to receive the notification from the radio transceiver mounted on the shipping container in response to detecting, by the at least one load sensor, the absence of one shipping container. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of example embodiments of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a shipping container according to an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a shipping container according to another embodiment of the invention.

Figure 3 shows an example of a load sensor.

Figure 4a shows an example of an arrangement according to the invention.

Figure 4b illustrates an example embodiment of the invention.

Figure 4c illustrates another example embodiment of the invention.

Figure 5a illustrates an example method according to the invention.

Figure 5b illustrates a further example of the method according to the invention.

Figure 6 illustrates another example method according to the invention.

Figure 7a illustrates a registration method for use in connection with an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 7b illustrates a deregistration method for use in connection with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example embodiment of the present invention and its potential advantages are understood by referring to Figures 1 through 7b of the drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numbers are used for similar or corresponding elements.

It should be noted that the terms "connected" and "coupled" mean any connection or coupling, either direct or indirect, between two or more elements, and may encompass the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" together. The coupling or connection between the elements can be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. As employed herein two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" together by the use of one or more wires, cables and/or printed electrical connections, as well as by the use of electromagnetic energy, such as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency region, the microwave region and the optical (both visible and invisible) region, as several non-limiting and non- exhaustive examples. In the following description, the term shipping container is used interchangeably with a freight container. For example ISO 668:2013 defines a freight container as an article of transport equipment a) of a permanent character and accordingly strong enough to be suitable for repeated use; b) specially designed to facilitate the carriage of goods by one or more modes of transport, without intermediate reloading; c) fitted with devices permitting its ready handling, particularly its transfer from one mode of transport to another; d) so designed as to be easy to fill and empty; e) having an internal volume of 1 m 3 (35,3ft 3 ) or more. Shipping containers may be moved from one mode of transport to another, e.g., from ship to rail or truck, without unloading and reloading the contents of the shipping container. Thus, the shipping container according to the following description is not limited for use by some specific mode of transport. Therefore, the term transporter could refer to any suitable transport means comprising a vessel or a ship, a cargo aircraft, a vehicle such as a truck, a railroad carriage or a train, to give some examples. However, the shipping container according to the following description does not have to be the ISO standardized container but the term shipping container could refer to any cargo container.

A shipping container according to an embodiment of the invention is equipped with a load sensor, sensing the presence of adjacent shipping containers, and a short-range radio transceiver to notify the transporter, e.g. a vessel, absence of an adjacent shipping container. The shipping container may further have a position sensor, which may be activated when a shipping container is lost. The transporter is equipped with a short-range radio transceiver for receiving notifications from containers, and a long-range radio transceiver for relaying container absence information to authorities. The transporter may further be equipped with a position sensor, which allows for it to report its position to the authorities (i.e. the entity or entities responsible for the transporter's cargo).

Once a shipping container detects, by its load sensor, the absence of other container(s), the transporter is notified about the misplaced and lost shipping containers using onboard communication. The shipping container may also inform the transporter its position coordinates. This way, lost containers are immediately accounted for and their chance of getting found is increased by tracking their last known position. In case the shipping containers have no position sensors, once the transporter detects their absence, it communicates this information to the authorities, together with the position of the transporter upon the time of the shipping container absence discovery.

Figure 1 shows a shipping container according to an embodiment of the invention. The shipping container 1 comprises at least one load sensor 2. In this illustrative example, four load sensors 2 are mounted on an upper surface of the shipping container 1. However, the invention is not limited by the number or placement of the load sensors 2. In some embodiments there may be lower or higher number of load sensors 2 mounted on the shipping container 1. Further, the load sensor(s) 2 may be mounted on other surface than the upper surface of the shipping container 1 and in other places than those shown in Figure 1. For example, there may be only one load sensor 2 mounted at a center of the upper (or lower) surface of the shipping container 1 or one or more load sensors 2 may be mounted only on a lower surface of the shipping container 1.

The shipping container 1 further comprises a radio transceiver 3. The radio transceiver 3 is preferably a low cost, short-range, radio transceiver. It is preferably mounted on a vertical wall of the shipping container 1 but the invention is not limited to this configuration. The radio transceiver 3 may be mounted on any suitable place on the shipping container 1. The radio transceiver 3 is communicative coupled to the load sensors 2.

Figure 2 shows a shipping container according to another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the shipping container 1 comprises further load sensors 2 mounted on a lower surface of the container.

The shipping container 1 may further comprise a position sensor 4a, 4b as shown in Figure 2. It should be noted that the position sensor 4a, 4b may as well be comprised in the shipping container 1 shown in Figure 1 having only upper surface load sensors 2. The position sensor 4a, 4b is configured to receive satellite signals from one or multiple navigation satellite systems. These include for example the American Global Positioning System (GPS), the Russian Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), and the future European system Galileo.

A position sensor may be a position tracker 4a or a positioning receiver 4b. In the following description, the term position tracker is used for a satellite signal receiver that is also capable of transmitting its position coordinates, while the term positioning receiver is used for a satellite signal receiver capable of calculating (and storing) its position coordinates based on the received satellite signal but not transmitting the position coordinate information. The positioning receiver 4b may be communicatively coupled to the radio transceiver 3.

One example of a load sensor is shown in Figure 3. The load sensor of Figure 3 comprises a force plate 5, a spring 6 and a load cell 7. A load cell is a transducer that is used to convert a force into an electrical signal. There are many different types of load cells that operate in different ways. One commonly used load cell is the strain gage (or strain gauge) load cell. As their name implies, strain gage load cells use an array of strain gages to measure the deformation of a structural member and convert it into an electrical signal. Other examples of traditional load cell technologies are piezoelectric elements and variable capacitance.

The load cell 7 is mounted on a surface of the shipping container 1. Stacked containers put pressure on the force plate 5, and the force F applied from the stacked container is converted to an electrical signal on the load cell 7. When the force from the stacked container is less than a defined threshold, the change in the electrical signal emitted from the load cell 7 indicates displacement of the stacked container. The electrical signal emitted by the load cell 7 is transmitted to the radio transceiver 3. When the change in the electrical signal differs from a defined threshold, the radio transceiver 3 sends a notification indicating displacement of a container. For example, when there is no load, i.e. no force applied to the force plate 5, the output of the load cell is very close to 0 volts. In case the voltage decreases close to 0 volts, it is indication that no load is applied to the load cell and thus indicates displacement of a container. Alternatively, an output current of the load cell may be measured. In this case, decrease of the output current below a defined threshold triggers a notification indicating displacement of a container. In another implementation, the load sensors 2 are connected together to form an electrical circuit. When force is applied to the load sensor 2, the electrical circuit is closed and a current flows through the circuit. When the load is removed, so that there is no force applied to the force plate 5, the electrical circuit is open and there is no current flow. In this case, sudden current decrease to zero amperes indicates displacement of a container.

In an alternative implementation, the electrical circuit is open when force is applied to the force plate 5, and removal of the load closes the circuit. In this case, sudden increase in current indicates displacement of a container.

The current flow in the electrical circuit may be measured in the radio transceiver 3. Depending on the implementation, either decrease or increase in the measured current triggers sending the notification that indicates displacement of a container. This implementation, however, has a drawback that a malfunction in one load sensor may trigger an alarm (sending the notification).

In a further alternative, there is a processor connected to all load sensors 2 and to the radio transceiver 3. The processor measures output voltage/current of all load sensors 2. If the measured output voltage/current of only one load sensor 2 changes, it is interpreted as a malfunction of that particular load sensor and no alarm is triggered. In case the measured output voltage/current of all load sensors 2 changes, the processor alarms the radio transceiver 3 to send a notification indicating displacement of a container. It is also possible to use a majority rule, in which case a change in the output of majority, for example three out of four or four out of six, of the load sensors 2 triggers the processor to send an alarm to the radio transceiver 3. It should be noted that the processor may be an integral part of the radio transceiver 3 or a separate component connected to the radio transceiver 3.

Figure 4a shows an example of an arrangement 15 according to an embodiment of the invention. The shipping containers 1 are stacked in rows in a cargo hold of the transporter that is a vessel in this example. Each shipping container 1 comprises four load sensors 2 mounted on the upper surface of the shipping container 1, and a radio transceiver 3. The containers 1 may further comprise a position sensor 4a, 4b and/or further load sensors 2 mounted on the lower surface of the shipping container 1 (not shown in Figure 4a). The vessel comprises a radio transceiver 8 that is preferably a low cost, short-range, radio transceiver. The radio transceiver 8 is capable of communicating with the radio transceivers 3 mounted on the shipping containers 1. The vessel may further comprise a radio transceiver 9 that is a long-range radio transceiver. Examples of a radio transceiver 9 include, but are not limited to, terrestrial GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) transceiver, 3G (third generation) transceiver, LTE (long term evolution) network transceiver or satellite transceiver. The radio transceiver 9 is capable of relaying information from the shipping containers 1, received from the short-range radio 3 (via the short-range radio 8), to a remote destination which includes, but is not limited to, the nearest port authority, the shipping company, the container recipient and/or sender. The radio transceivers 8, 9 may be comprised in a base station on the vessel.

Figure 4b illustrates an embodiment of the invention. The arrangement is similar to that described in connection to Figure 4a. In this example, a shipping container lb is lost during the transportation. When the shipping container lb moves from its position on top of a shipping container la, load sensors 2 mounted on the upper surface of the shipping container la detect absence of the shipping container lb. The detection of the absence of the adjacent shipping container triggers the radio transceiver 3 mounted on the shipping container la to send a notification 10. The notification 10 is received by the radio transceiver 8 attached to the vessel.

The notification 10 is a message comprising an identification of a shipping container. Since the exact placement of the shipping containers at the cargo vessel is known, it is possible to identify the absent shipping container based on identification of the notifying shipping container la. The identification of the shipping container may be for example a media access control address (MAC) of the shipping container. Alternatively it may be any kind of identification that unambiguously identifies the shipping container among all shipping containers at the cargo vessel.

In an embodiment, the shipping containers 1 are capable of communicate with nearby shipping containers 1 using their radio transceivers 3. Therefore, the shipping container la may be aware of the identification of the shipping container lb. In this case, the identification of a shipping container comprised in the notification 10 may be the identification of the shipping container lb that is detected to be absent.

In case the shipping container la comprises a position sensor 4a, 4b, the position coordinates obtained from the position sensor 4a, 4b, may be included in the message 10. The radio transceiver 3 that is communicatively coupled to the position sensor 4a, 4b, retrieves the position coordinates from the position sensor 4a, 4b and includes them into the message 10 before sending it. In this case, the position sensor 4a, 4b may be a positioning receiver 4b not capable to send its position coordinates.

Alternatively, the position coordinates are not included in the message 10 but the radio transceiver 8, attached to the vessel, retrieves the position coordinates from the position sensor 4a, 4b mounted on the shipping container lb based on the identification of the shipping container lb. However, it is possible that the radio transceiver 8 cannot establish a connection to the position sensor 4a, 4b mounted on the shipping container lb for example if the shipping container lb sinks rapidly. In this case, the radio transceiver 8 may retrieve the position coordinates from the position sensor 4a, 4b mounted on the shipping container la that is reporting the absence of the adjacent shipping container. In this case, the position sensor 4a, 4b may be a positioning receiver 4b not capable to send its position coordinates.

In an embodiment, a position tracker 4a of the shipping container la is communicatively coupled to at least one of the load sensors 2 mounted on the shipping container la or to a processor connected to the load sensors 2. Detection of the absence of the adjacent shipping container then activates the position tracker 4a in addition to alarming the radio receiver 3, and the position tracker 4a starts to send its position coordinates. The radio transceiver 8, attached to the vessel, then receives the position coordinates directly from the position tracker 4a.

The term position coordinates should be understood broadly as being spatio-temporal information of the location of the satellite signal receiver. Satellite navigation systems, such as GPS, provide location and time information, and therefore the position coordinates may include time information in addition to geographical coordinates (latitude and longitude). In addition, elevation or altitude information may be included, which information is of more interest in case of land transportation (road or railroad) than maritime transportation.

When the radio transmitter 8 receives the notification 10 from the radio transmitter 3, it may generate an alarm to notify vessel' s personnel about detection of an absence of one or more shipping containers. In addition or alternatively it may transfer the notification 10 to the long- range radio 9 that is configured to send a further notification 12 in response to receiving the notification 10 or information about the notification 10. The further notification may be sent to the nearest port authority, the shipping company, or the container recipient and/or sender.

The notification 12 that is sent by the long-range radio 9 comprises identification of the shipping container lb that is detected to be absent and position coordinates indicating the position of the vessel at the time of detecting the absence of the shipping container lb. These position coordinates are obtained either from the message 10 or from one of the shipping container la or lb as described above. In case the shipping containers 1 do not comprise a position sensor, the position coordinates retrieved from the vessel' s position sensor are used instead. The notification 12 may further comprise the time when the absence of the shipping container lb was detected. Further, it may comprise an identification of the transporter, in this example an identification of the vessel.

Figure 4c illustrates another embodiment of the invention. The arrangement is similar to that described in connection to Figures 4a and 4b. In this example, the shipping containers 1 comprise further load sensors 2 mounted on a lower surface of the shipping container 1. The shipping container la is lost during the transportation. When it moves from its position on top of a shipping container lb, load sensors 2 mounted on the lower surface of the shipping container la detect absence of the shipping container lb. The detection of the absence of the adjacent shipping container triggers the radio transceiver 3 mounted on the shipping container la to send a notification 10 comprising an identification of a shipping container la. The notification 10 is received by the radio transceiver 8 attached to the vessel.

Detection of the absence of the adjacent shipping container by the load sensors 2 mounted on the lower surface of the shipping container la activates the position tracker 4a mounted on the shipping container la and the position tracker 4a starts to send its position coordinates. The position coordinates transmitted by the position tracker 4a are received by the radio transceiver 8 on the vessel as shown by the arrow 14a.

Alternatively the shipping container la comprises a positioning receiver 4b not capable to send its position coordinates. In this case the radio transceiver 3 retrieves the position coordinates from the positioning receiver 4b as shown by the arrow 14b. The retrieved position coordinates are then included in the notification 10. Another alternative is that the radio transceiver 8, attached to the vessel, retrieves the position coordinates from the positioning receiver 4b mounted on the shipping container la based on the identification of the shipping container la.

When the radio transmitter 8 receives the notification 10 from the radio transmitter 3, it may generate an alarm to notify vessel's personnel about detection of an absence of one or more shipping containers or it may transfer the notification 10 to the long-range radio 9. The long- range radio 9 then sends a further notification (a message) 12 in response to receiving the notification 10 or information about the notification 10 as described in connection to Figure 4b.

Figure 5a illustrates an example method for notifying an absence of a shipping container according to the invention. The method is performed by electronics mounted on the shipping container.

In step 100, at least one load sensor mounted on a shipping container detects absence of an adjacent shipping container. In step 102, a radio transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one load sensor sends a notification in response to the detection made in step 100.

The method comprises including an identification of the shipping container in the notification. The identification of the shipping container may comprise a media access control (MAC) address of the short-range radio transceiver 3 mounted on the shipping container.

The method may further comprise step 101a, wherein a position tracker mounted on the shipping container is activated in response to the detection made in step 100, as shown in Figure 5b. Alternatively, the method may further comprise step 101b of retrieving position coordinates of the shipping container from a positioning receiver mounted on the shipping container. The position coordinates retrieved in step 101b are included in the notification before sending it in step 102.

Figure 6 illustrates an example method for notifying an absence of a shipping container according to the invention. The method is performed by a system comprising electronics mounted on a shipping container and electronics attached to a transporter. In step 100, at least one load sensor mounted on a shipping container detects absence of an adjacent shipping container. In step 102, a radio transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one load sensor sends a notification in response to the detection made in step 100.

In step 104, a radio transceiver attached to the transporter receives the notification or information about the notification sent in step 102. In step 106, the radio transceiver sends a notification that comprises an identification of the shipping container that is detected to be absent and position coordinates indicating the position of the transporter.

It should be noted that the notification sent in step 102 may first be received by a short-range radio attached to the transporter. The short-range radio then either forwards the notification or sends information regarding content of the notification towards a long-range radio attached to the transporter. The long-range radio performs sending in step 106.

The notification sent in step 106 may further comprise the time when the absence of the shipping container was detected and/or an identification of the transporter.

At least in some embodiments of the invention, the transporter has to be aware of all shipping containers it is transporting and their exact placement in the cargo. In particular, it has to know an identification that is unique for every container on the transporter, such as media access control (MAC) address of the short-range radio transceiver 3 mounted on each shipping container. Therefore containers register against the transporter upon loading and deregister upon unloading. The registration and deregistration procedure is illustrated in Figures 7a and 7b, respectively. The transporter is able to initiate registration and deregistration. The containers authenticate using the MAC address of the short-range radio communication device, which is unique per radio transceiver. Registration and deregistration involve the transporter's short-range radio transceiver broadcasting messages to the radio channel, in which all radio transceivers mounted on the containers are configured to respond.

As shown in Figure 7a, a registration request 201 is sent from containers to the transporter as soon as they receive the broadcast, i.e. registration message 200. The registration request 201 may contain the MAC address of the radio transceiver mounted on the shipping container. The transporter stores the MAC address of the radio transceiver locally 204 for the duration of the registration period, and acknowledges 207 the registration.

As shown in Figure 7b, a deregistration request 203 is sent from containers to the transporter as soon as they receive the broadcast, i.e. (de)registration message 202. The deregistration request 203 may contain the MAC address of the radio transceiver mounted on the shipping container. The transporter removes the MAC address of the radio transceiver from the local storage 205, and acknowledges 207 the deregistration. Each shipping container's electronics are powered from shipping container's own power source, e.g., a battery with solar charging. Therefore, in addition to registration and deregistration messages, a shipping container may report its battery status to the transporter. Low battery levels might trigger a replacement of the battery at the next port, but also might indicate that the shipping container may not be able to transmit data for long.

Without in any way limiting the scope, interpretation, or application of the claims appearing below, a technical effect of one or more of the example embodiments disclosed herein is that an absence of a shipping container is detected without delay and an alarm notification is sent immediately after detecting the absence. Further technical effect is spatio-temporal awareness of lost containers. Therefore, authorities (e.g. shipping company or the container recipient and/or sender) are able to get real time information regarding lost containers, and it is possible to know exactly when and where containers are lost. Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes example embodiments of the invention, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.