ES2428222B1 - System and method for the treatment and control of temperature in refrigerated transport containers - Google Patents

Abstract

System and method for treating and controlling the temperature in refrigerated transport containers (300) comprising connecting at least one device (100) according to claim 1 with at least one container (300), wherein the device (100) automatically detects the type of container to which it has been connected; read the temperature data stored in the memory of the connected container in accordance with its communications protocol; and send the temperature data in plain text file format to a server (200) including the container identifier, temperature reading time and maximum and minimum temperature recorded.

Description

System and method for the treatment and control of temperature in refrigerated transport containers

ͷ The object of the present invention is a system for controlling the temperature of refrigerated containers in real time, being of special application for refrigerated containers intended for sea transport.

State of the art

ͳͲ At present, temperature monitoring is being carried out manually, so it is necessary to have a system that allows to establish at what time of transport of refrigerated products there has been a deviation between the actual temperature in a transport container with the target temperature inside it.

ͳͷ Description of the invention

It is an object of the invention to be able to connect the temperature data that the refrigerated transport containers periodically register to a centralized system that allows to know at all times the temperature of each refrigerated container. In this way the data is obtained in real time.

ʹͲ The solution to this technical problem is an electronic module based on a processor that is configured to read the temperatures recorded by a container and send them to a central server periodically, where a log file is automatically generated for each container.

ʹͶ The equipment is powered by a light rechargeable battery through the serial bus with which the transport container is connected, which provides a high autonomy of several weeks without the possibility of recharging. The consumption of the different components of the system has been optimized in such a way that the autonomy of the device is increased.

͵Ͳ Throughout the description and the claims the word quot; comprehequot; and its variants are not intended to exclude other technical characteristics, additives, components or steps. For those skilled in the art, other objects, advantages and features of the invention will be derived partly from the description and partly from the practice of the invention. The following examples and drawings are provided by way of illustration, and are not intended to restrict the present invention. In addition, the present invention covers all possible combinations of particular embodiments and

͵ͷ preferred here indicated.

Brief description of the figures

A series of drawings that help to better understand the

ͶͲ invention and which expressly relate to an embodiment of said invention that is presented as a non-limiting example of this.

FIG. 1 Shows a schematic view of the system object of the invention.

Ͷͷ Exposure of a detailed embodiment of the invention

As can be seen in the attached figure, the device 100 object of the invention comprises a processor 1 connected to a wireless transmitter-receiver circuit 2, preferably WIFI, with a server 200 for the transmission of the data read from the container 300 As an example, the following table shows

ͷͲ shows the format in which the data downloaded to the central server 200 is displayed:

Container Protocol: Carrier (ML2i)

Container ID: CGMU297249 4

First day of the trip: 09/28/2011

Last day of the trip: 09/29/2011

Last records of Temperature (ºC)

     day time SP SUP

RET

09/28/2011 20:00 -20.0 -21.2

    -19.3

09/28/2011 21:00 -20.0 -20.1

    -20.2

09/28/2011 22:00 -20.0 -20.2

    -19.8

09/28/2011 23:00 -20.0 -20.4

    -18.9

09/29/2011 00:00 -20.0 -19.8

    -18.9

09/29/2011 01:00 -20.0 -19.9

    -18.7

09/29/2011 02:00 -20.0 -19.7

    -19.2

ES 2 428 222 Al

09/29/2011

03:00 -20.0 -20.0     -19.3

09/29/2011

04:00 -20.0 -20.2     -19.4

09/29/2011

05:00 -20.0 -20.5     -19.1

The data that is stored in the file are:  Container manufacturer   Serial number.

ͷ Temperatures: Set Point (SP), Upper (Sup), Lower (Ret).  Date and time to which the temperature corresponds.  Battery Status  Temperature alarm:

o Yellow alarm: if the variation is between 2 and 5 degrees from the SP. ͳͲ o Red alarm: if the variation is greater than 5 degrees from the SP.

The connection with the container 300 is a serial connection through an interface 3, preferably RS232, although other equivalents, such as the RS485 or other serial interfaces are not discarded. Said serial interface 3 is connected to the processor 1 for the interpretation of the data and its transmission. Keep in mind that each

ͳͷ container manufacturer 300 has its own communication protocol. The communication protocols supported by the device 100 are the following:

-

Carrier® (ML, ML2i and ML3 protocols).

-

Thermoking® (Magnum). ʹͲ -Daikin®.

As for the electrical connection, each device comprises a charger 4 and a rechargeable battery 5 through the serial port itself.

ʹͶ Finally, it should be noted that the device 100 is integrated in a housing with IP67 protection.

In short, thanks to the device 100 described here, when connected to container 300, it detects said connection automatically, initiating the appropriate communications protocol. Once communication is established, the downloading of data from the freezer memory begins. These data, in turn, are received and interpreted by the

͵Ͳ processor 1 that sends them wirelessly to the central server 200. Each device 100 independently sends the plain text file data to the server 200.

Finally, the firmware of the device 100 can be updated remotely automatically in the same way. For this, from the server 200 the system administrator can remotely update the software integrated in the devices 100 to introduce improvements or changes in functionality as they are developed. Thus, from the central server 200 it is possible to visualize the behavior and state of the system centrally.

ES 2 428 222 Al

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Claims (2)

1 - Device (100) for the treatment and control of temperature in refrigerated transport containers (300) comprising a wireless transceiver (2); a rechargeable battery (5); a charging circuit (4) of the battery (5); a serial communications interface (3); Y a processor (1); where the device (100) is connected to the container (300) through a serial port connected to the serial communications interface (3) and characterized in that the processor (1) comprises at least one program with a plurality of instructions which when executed by the processor (1) are configured to: read the temperature data from the container memory (300); Y periodically send the data read in plain text file format to an external server (200). 2 - The device (100) according to claim 1 wherein the power is supplied through a serial port. 3 - System for the treatment and control of temperature in refrigerated transport containers (300) characterized in that it comprises a plurality of devices (100) according to claims 12 connected wirelessly with a central server (200). 4 - The system of claim 3 comprising means for updating the program contained in the processor (1) of the devices (100). 5 - Method for treating and controlling the temperature in refrigerated transport containers (300) that is executed in the system of claims 3-4 and comprising the steps of connect at least one device (100) according to claim 1 with at least one container (300), wherein the device (100) automatically detects the type of container to which it has been connected; read the temperature data stored in the memory of the connected container in accordance with its communications protocol; Y send the temperature data in plain text file format to a server (200) including the container identifier, temperature reading time and maximum and minimum temperature recorded. 6 - Computer program product comprising a plurality of instructions that when executed by a processor in a device according to claims 1-2 cause the system of claims 3-4 to execute the method of claim 5. ES 2 428 222 Al SPANISH OFFICE OF THE PATENTS AND BRAND Application no .: 201330960 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 06.26.2013 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: See Additional Sheet RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

56 Documents cited Claims Affected

Y

EP 2096879 A2 (IDENTEC SOLUTIONS AG) 02.09.2009, 1-6

paragraphs 5-8,10-24.41; figures.

Y

US 8334781 B2 (HECK MARK et al.) 18.12.2012, 1-6

column 4, line 40 - column 8, line 40; Figures 2-5.

TO

EP 2393055 A1 (THERMO KING CORP) 07.12.2011, 1-6

paragraphs 14-23; Figures 1-3.

TO

EP 1615461 A1 (THERMO SYSTEM CO LTD) 11.01.2006, 1-6

paragraphs 13-47; figures.

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the art O: refers to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the date of priority submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 21.10.2013

Examiner M. J. Lloris Meseguer Page 1/5

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE CLASSIFICATION OBJECT OF THE APPLICATION H04Q9 / 00 (2006.01) G05D23 / 00 (2006.01) G06F11 / 00 (2006.01) G08C17 / 02 (2006.01) Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) H04Q, G05D, G06F, G08C Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, search terms used) INVENTIONS, EPODOC, WPI  WRITTEN OPINION Date of Written Opinion: 21.10.2013 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-6 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LP11 / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-6 IF NOT

The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the formal and technical examination phase of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986).  Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. WRITTEN OPINION  1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

EP 2096879 A2 (IDENTEC SOLUTIONS AG) 02.09.2009

D02

US 8334781 B2 (HECK MARK et al.) 18.12.2012

D03

EP 2393055 A1 (THERMO KING CORP) 07.12.2011

D04

EP 1615461 A1 (THERMO SYSTEM CO LTD) 11.01.2006

 2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of March 20, on Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement Of all the documents recovered from the prior art, document D01 is considered to be one of the closest to the request being analyzed. The claims of the application are then compared with document D01. Claim 1 Document D01 describes a device (see figure 1) for the treatment and control of the temperature in refrigerated transport containers (1-6) comprising: a wireless transceiver; -a battery (10c, 11c, 12c); -a serial communications interface; and -a processor (10b, 11b, 12b); the device being connected to the container through a serial port (7, 8, 9) connected to the serial communications interface and the processor (10b, 11b, 12b) comprising a program configured to read temperature data from memory of the container and periodically send the read data to an external server (23) (see paragraphs 14, 15 and 19). The invention defined in claim 1 differs from document D01 in that the device battery is rechargeable and the device also comprises a battery charging circuit. This way it is not necessary to replace the battery when is depleted. The objective technical problem thus solving the claim is the need to change the battery when wear out Document D02 describes a device (see figures 4 and 5) for the treatment and control of temperature in containers refrigerated transport comprising: -a wireless transceiver; -a rechargeable battery; -means of charging the battery, such as through a charger, solar energy, vibration or through the connection with the container (see column 8, lines 20-23); -a communications interface to connect to the container (port 40 of the container); Y -a processor that reads the temperature data from the container and periodically sends the read data to a server external (101). Therefore, the objective technical problem mentioned above is solved in document D02. In consequently, claim 1 lacks inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP. Claim 2 Document D02 indicates that power can be supplied through the connection port of the container (see column 8, lines 20-23). Therefore, it can be concluded that, in view of the state of the known art, claim 2 does not meet the requirement of inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP. Claim 3 Claim 3 relates to a system for the treatment and control of temperature in refrigerated transport containers comprising a plurality of devices as described in the preceding claims, wirelessly connected to a central server. Both in document D01 and in document D02 the devices for the treatment and control of the temperature in refrigerated transport containers are connected wirelessly with a central server (23, 101). Therefore, it can be concluded that, in view of the state of the known art, claim 3 does not meet the requirement of inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP.  WRITTEN OPINION Claim 4 The invention defined in claim 4 differs from documents D01 and D02 in that it specifies that the system comprises means for updating the program contained in the processor of the devices. However, this difference is not considered to confer any element of inventive significance with respect to the known state of the art, as for example illustrates document D03 (see paragraph 17), thus not fulfilling the requirement of inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP. Claim 5 Document D01 describes a method for the treatment and control of temperature in refrigerated transport containers comprising the steps of: connecting at least one device (10, 11, 12) with a container (1, 2, 3) , where the device (10, 11, 12) automatically detects the type of container to which it has been connected (see paragraphs 5 and 22); -read the temperature data stored in the memory of the connected container in accordance with its communications protocol; and -send the temperature data, the container identifier and other data to a server (23) (see paragraphs 15 and 19). Claim 5 specifies that among the data that is sent to the server are also the temperature reading time and the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded. Documents D01 or D02 do not specify this specific data, but it is considered one of the possibilities that a person skilled in the art would select to obtain context-related information related to temperature. Accordingly, claim 5 is considered to lack inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP. Claim 6 Claim 6 is related to a computer program comprising a plurality of instructions that when executed by a processor in a device according to claims 1-2 causes the system of claims 3-4 to execute the method of the claim 5. Since claims 1-5 lack inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP, claim 6 also lacks inventive activity according to article 8.1 LP.