KR20150018911A - Apparatus and method for M2M data communication for container security - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is to provide a machine to machine (M2M) data communications apparatus and a method thereof capable of monitoring the security of a container by transmitting image data of inner container and illumination data with location information and state information of the container to a monitoring server by utilizing M2M data communications technology. The purpose of the present invention is to transmit whether the door of the container is opened illegally or not, to the monitoring server, through M2M data communications with the state information of container sensed in ConTracer which is a container security device by extracting the image data and illumination data inside of the container, mounted inside of the container by being connected to the ConTracer for sensing real time information on the state of the inner side of the container including shock, temperature/humidity information and illegal opening sensing of container door in a wired manner.

Description

Technical Field [0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for M2M data communication for container security,

The present invention relates to a container security system, and more particularly, to an M2M data communication apparatus and method for providing container security by transmitting image data or illumination data in a container together with positional information and status information of the container, .

Safety in the freight industry is very important. Freight forwarders and their customers are constantly concerned about the illegal loss of goods from the shipping containers used to store and transport cargo and shipping containers, rail cars, trailers or products. Freight forwarders and government agencies also monitor illegal immigrants, such as drugs or weapons of mass destruction that are illegally imported into transport containers, that are prohibited or harmful.

As a result, freight forwarders and government agencies can track locks, plastic and metal loop seals and cable seals, bolt seals, safety tapes, and shipping containers as part of every effort to prevent unauthorized access to shipping containers Regularly use safety devices such as safety tags and memory buttons, and temperature monitors.

Most goods shipped worldwide are shipped using an intermodal freight container. A common composite transport cargo container is known as an ISO dry intermodal container. These containers serve to promote international trade because they meet the specific standards, technical or other standards set by the ISO. They are used for container handling equipment, deep sea vessels, railway equipment, over-the-road equipment And encourages the use and development of compatible standardized containers for transport vehicles.

Cargo transportation using such a container is carried out through various stages such as cargo admission, trucking, gate-in, shipment, navigation, down-line, gate-out, truck transportation and unloading. The mechanism for monitoring the safety of the container and its contents during the cargo transportation using the container is becoming a very important issue. For example, it is necessary to build an integrated cargo monitoring network that tracks and monitors the position of containers in real time using e-Seal, which is one example of a container security device. In addition to container sealing function, electronic seal is highly utilized because it can transmit position information via GPS and information about whether container is opened or closed via wireless communication network.

Currently, the requirements of the container security system are as follows.

The United States, which occupies a large part of cargo transportation using containers, requires a container security system strengthened by the SAFE Port Act. Container safety and security regulations such as the CSI (Container Security Initiative) agreement of July 2007 are strengthened have.

In order to satisfy this requirement, it provides container seal history from Songhwaju to Suhwaju, provides history such as temperature / humidity / shock / illuminance detection for container internal status confirmation, real time base passing information, and location tracking information. In addition, customers' requirements are changing from a cost saving aspect to a service aspect such as safe cargo transportation, cargo status / location tracking, and prompt customs clearance.

However, current container security system is difficult to provide the container seal history from Songhwaju to Suhwaju, and there is a limit in providing real - time base passing information and location tracking information. In addition, although the communication environment used for providing the container seal history, the real-time base passing information, and the location tracking information has been rapidly developed, a security system capable of positively utilizing the container sealing history has not been provided.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus and a method for controlling the security of a container by transmitting image data or illumination data, And an object of the present invention is to provide a DMT data communication apparatus and method for monitoring.

Other objects of the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned objects, and other objects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an MTU data communication device for container security, including real time information of container internal conditions including detection of illegal opening and closing of a container door (electronic seal) and ON / The controller detects the image data or illuminance data inside the container by connecting the container with a ConTracer, which is connected to the container by a wired connection, and detects the container state information of the container, ) It transmits data to the control server through the data communication in real time whether the container is illegally opened or closed.

Preferably, the MRTD data communication device is mounted inside the container such that the antenna protrudes from the container rear door to the outside of the container.

Preferably, the DMT data communication device includes a transmission / reception module for providing data transmission / reception through a machine to machine (M2M) data communication with a controller connected to the wired connection, a controller for detecting status information of the container, A GPS receiving module for detecting current position information received from a GPS antenna through a GPS (Global Positioning System), and a wireless communication network for communicating with the wireless communication network via a communication antenna. A general communication module for transmitting image data or illumination data to a control server, and a sensor for detecting the internal state of the container, thereby providing a general-purpose input / output (GPIO) ), A camera module for photographing a container internal image, a camera module An input key for inputting a function setting of the DMT data communication device from the outside, and an input key for inputting the position information of the container , State information, and a memory for storing image data or illumination data inside the container.

Preferably, the transmission / reception module is composed of a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) that performs data communication with the controller in parallel and serial manner.

Preferably, the communication module supports bidirectional communication using CDMA, LTE, WCDMA, WiFi communication. When image data is required, the intra-container image data photographed through the camera module can be transmitted to the control server, And immediately transmits a real-time warning message to the control server at the time of opening and closing.

Preferably, the camera module is configured by an IR camera, and the image processing unit measures a change in brightness (illuminance) of a video image photographed by the camera module and compares the brightness (illumination) .

Preferably, the image processing unit measures the degree of change in illuminance inside the container using an illuminance sensor connected to a general-purpose input / output port (GPIO), compares the degree of illumination change with a preset value, and determines whether the container is illegally opened or closed .

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a container security security system, including a plurality of sensors for detecting a state of a container, An MCU for controlling status information of the container through the plurality of sensors and data communication with the control server, and a GPS receiver for receiving data from the GPS antenna through a GPS (Global Positioning System) A communication module for transmitting the container state information, the position information, and the image data or illumination data in the container to the control server through a wireless communication network through a communication antenna; A camera module for detecting an illuminance detected by an image captured by the camera module or other sensor An input key for inputting a function setting of the DMT data communication device from outside, and an input key for inputting the position information of the container, the state information, and the image data in the container Or a memory for storing illuminance data.

Preferably, the communication module transmits a real-time warning message to the control server immediately upon confirming the container illegal opening and closing through the image processing unit.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for communicating with a container, the method comprising: (A) detecting an illegal opening / closing of a container detected by an opening / closing sensor, a temperature sensor, (B) detecting the current position information of the container and the image information inside the container captured by the camera module through the GPS receiving module, and (C) ) Measuring the degree of change in brightness (illuminance) of the container detected through the image sensor or the image sensor taken by the camera module, and comparing the measured brightness with a predetermined set value; and (D) Generating a warning message indicating that the risk inside the container is detected and immediately delivering the warning message to the control server; and (E) Is smaller than the degree of change in brightness value is set through the communication module according to the time that is previously set is makin comprises the step of delivering the status information, location information of a container in the control server in a wireless communication network.

Preferably, the step (A) receives real-time information of the internal state of the container through an open / close sensor, a temperature sensor, and a humidity sensor included in a ConTracer connected to the wired network.

Preferably, in the step (E), image data or illuminance data in a container is transmitted remotely in real time using bidirectional communication if necessary in a control server.

As described above, the MTU data communication apparatus and method for container security according to the present invention can be applied to a container security system such as a container security system, which includes container status information detected by a ConTracer, Container seals, internal state detection, and real-time cargo location monitoring based on image data or illumination data inside the container.

Accordingly, the monitoring system can check all the information collected during container transportation such as the state of the container, illegal opening / closing, temperature / humidity, impact, and the like, and can confirm statistical data of collected information.

1A to 1C are diagrams showing a configuration of an MTU data communication apparatus for container security according to an embodiment of the present invention
2 is a block diagram showing an internal structure of a DMT data communication apparatus for container security
FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining an MTU data communication method for container security according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It is provided to let you know. Therefore, the embodiments described in the present specification and the configurations shown in the drawings are merely the most preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to represent all of the technical ideas of the present invention. Therefore, various equivalents It should be understood that water and variations may be present.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a configuration of an MTU data communication apparatus for container security according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an internal structure of an MTU data communication apparatus for container security.

1A and 1B, the MTU data communication device 200 is a container security device that detects real-time information of container internal conditions such as detection of illegal opening and closing of a container door (electronic sealing) and ON / And is wired to the ConTracer 100 and mounted inside the container. Then, it detects the container position information and the image data or illuminance data inside the container, and transmits the container information to the control server 100 through the machine to machine (M2M) data communication together with the container status information detected by the controller (ConTracer) In real time.

At this time, the controller (ConTracer) 100 constitutes an opening / closing sensor, a temperature sensor, and a humidity sensor as shown in FIG. 2 and detects the illegal opening / closing (electronic sealing) Real-time information of container internal state is detected.

1A to 1C, before the rear door of the container is closed, the MTU data communication device 200 is disposed between the right and the right wall surfaces of the container rear door so that the antennas 204 and 206 protrude out of the container .

The MTU data communication apparatus 200 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

The MTU data communication apparatus 200 includes a transmission / reception module 201 for providing data transmission / reception through a machine to machine (M2M) data communication with a wired controller 100, a status information detection / An MCU 202 for controlling data communication with the control server 100 and a control server, a GPS receiving module 203 for detecting current position information received by the GPS antenna 204 via a GPS (Global Positioning System) A communication module 205 for transmitting the container state information, the position information, and the image data or illumination data in the container to the control server through the wireless communication network through the communication antenna 206, and other sensors 208 A general port input / output (GPIO) 207 for expanding the sensing function of the multimedia data communication apparatus 200 by adding a general port input / output An image processor 210 for comparing the change value of the image photographed by the camera module 209 with a predetermined set value to detect whether the container is sealed or not, An input key 211 for inputting a function setting, and a memory 212 for storing position information, status information, and image data or illumination data of the container.

The transmission / reception module 201 is composed of a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) that performs data communication with the controller 100 in parallel and serial manner, and generally includes an EIA RS-232, an RS- 422, and RS-485 communication standards.

The communication module 205 supports bi-directional communication using CDMA, LTE, WCDMA, WiFi communication. When image data is required, the internal image data of the container captured through the camera module 209 can be transmitted to the control server Do. In addition, when the container is illegally opened or closed, a real-time warning message is immediately transmitted to the control server.

When the MTU data communication device 200 is installed in a container alone without being connected to the controller 100, various other sensors 208 may be connected to the MTU 200 through a general port input / output (GPIO) May further be extended to detect real-time information of the container internal state sensed by the ConTracer (100).

The camera module 209 is configured by an IR camera and the image processing unit 210 measures a change in brightness of an image captured by the camera module 209 and outputs a preset value of 10 Lux ]). At this time, as a method of measuring the degree of change in brightness, a brightness sensor connected to a general port input / output (GPIO) 207 without using a video image photographed by the camera module 209, It is also possible to measure the degree of change of the illuminance of the light source. On the other hand, if the change in brightness (illuminance) is larger than the set value, the door of the container is opened and it can be judged that the external light enters the container.

The operation of the MTU data communication apparatus for container security according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 denote the same members performing the same function.

3 is a flowchart illustrating an MTU data communication method for container security according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, first, the detection of the illegal opening (electronic sealing) of the container detected through the opening / closing sensor, the temperature sensor, and the humidity sensor included in the ConTracer 100, Real-time information of the state is received (S10).

Then, the current location information of the container and the image information inside the container captured by the camera module 209 are detected through the GPS receiving module 203 (S20). At this time, the DMT data communication apparatus 200 receives the container internal state information sensed by the controller 100 by a wire connection with the controller 100, but includes sensors in the DMT data communication apparatus 200, The container internal state information sensed by the racer 100 may be sensed directly by the MRTD data communication device 200. [

Then, the degree of change in brightness (illuminance) of the image captured by the camera module 209 is measured through the image processor 210 and compared with a predetermined set value (S30). At this time, as a method of measuring the degree of change in brightness, a brightness sensor connected to a general port input / output (GPIO) 207 without using a video image photographed by the camera module 209, It is also possible to measure the degree of change of the illuminance of the light source. For reference, the set value has 10 [Lux].

On the other hand, if the degree of brightness change is larger than the set value, the door of the container is opened, and it can be determined that external light enters the container. If the degree of brightness change is smaller than the set value, it can be determined that the door of the container is not opened.

If the degree of brightness change is greater than the set value, the controller determines that the seal of the container is illegally released, and generates a warning message indicating that the intra-container risk has been detected (S40). The generated warning message is immediately transmitted to the control server to immediately provide illegal opening and closing of the container (S50).

On the other hand, if the comparison result (S30) indicates that the degree of brightness change is less than the set value, it is determined that there is no illegal opening and closing of the container. Information and the image data or illumination data inside the container to the control server (S60). At this time, the image data or illumination data may be transmitted to the control server in real time in some cases, and the control server may be able to remotely receive image data in the container in real time using bidirectional communication, if necessary.

It is detected whether the container is illegally opened or closed through only the mechanical device (sensor) detecting the state of the existing container as described above. It is detected whether the container is illegally opened or closed through the software device through the brightness (illumination) This makes it possible to eliminate an error caused by a mechanical failure due to an external impact or the like.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims.

Claims (14)

(ConTracer), which is a container security device that detects real-time information of container internal conditions including detection of illegal opening and closing of container door (electronic seal) and temperature / humidity and impact, Wherein the control unit detects the image data or the illumination data and sends the container information to the control server in real time whether or not the container is illegally opened or closed by using the machine to machine (M2M) data communication together with the container status information detected by the controller. MRTM data communication device for security. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the MRTD data communication device is mounted inside the container such that the antenna protrudes from the container rear door to the outside of the container. 2. The data communication apparatus according to claim 1,
A transmission / reception module for providing data transmission / reception through a machine to machine (M2M) data communication with a wired connection controller,
An MCU for detecting container status information and controlling data communication with the controller and the control server,
A GPS receiving module for detecting current position information received from a GPS antenna through a GPS,
A communication module for transmitting the container state information, the position information, and the image data or illumination data in the container to the control server through a wireless communication network through a communication antenna,
A general-purpose input / output port (GPIO) that can extend the sensing function of the DMT communication device by adding other sensors for detecting the internal state of the container,
A camera module for photographing a container internal image,
An image processor for detecting whether the container is sealed by comparing a change value of an illuminance detected by an image captured by the camera module or another sensor with a predetermined set value,
An input key for inputting a function setting of the DMT data communication apparatus from the outside,
And a memory for storing position information of the container, status information, and image data or illumination data in the container. The method of claim 3,
And the other sensor is an illuminance sensor. The method of claim 3,
Wherein the transmission / reception module comprises a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) that performs data communication with the controller in parallel and serial manner. The method of claim 3,
The communication module supports bi-directional communication using CDMA, LTE, WCDMA, WiFi communication. When image data is required, it is possible to transmit the internal image data of the container photographed through the camera module to the control server, The real-time warning message is immediately transmitted to the control server. The method of claim 3,
The camera module is composed of an IR camera,
Wherein the image processing unit measures a change in brightness (illuminance) of a video image photographed by the camera module and compares the brightness with a predetermined value to determine illegal opening and closing of the container. The method of claim 3,
The image processing unit measures the degree of change in illuminance inside the container using an illuminance sensor connected to a general-purpose input / output port (GPIO), compares the degree of illumination change with a preset value, and determines whether the container is illegally opened or closed To be used for container security. 9. The method according to claim 7 or 8,
Wherein the controller determines that the door of the container is illegally opened or closed if the change of the brightness (illuminance) is larger than a predetermined set value. A general port input / output (GPIO) port for expanding the sensing function of the TMT data communication device by adding a plurality of sensors for detecting the internal state of the container,
An MCU for detecting state information of the container through the plurality of sensors and controlling data communication with the control server,
A GPS receiving module for detecting current position information received from a GPS antenna through a GPS,
A communication module for transmitting the container state information, the position information, and the image data or illumination data in the container to the control server through a wireless communication network through a communication antenna,
A camera module for photographing a container internal image,
An image processor for detecting whether the container is sealed by comparing a change value of an illuminance detected by an image captured by the camera module or another sensor with a predetermined set value,
An input key for inputting a function setting of the DMT data communication apparatus from the outside,
And a memory for storing position information of the container, status information, and image data or illumination data in the container. 11. The method of claim 10,
Wherein the communication module immediately delivers a real-time warning message to the control server upon confirming the container illegal opening / closing via the image processing unit. (A) receiving real-time information of a container internal state including an open / close detection (electronic seal) of a container detected through an opening / closing sensor, a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor,
(B) detecting the current position information of the container through the GPS receiving module and the image information inside the container taken by the camera module,
(C) measuring a degree of change in brightness (illuminance) of the container detected through the image sensor or the image sensor taken by the camera module, and comparing the measured change with a predetermined set value;
(D) generating a warning message indicating that an intra-container risk has been detected if the degree of brightness change is larger than the set value, and immediately transmitting the warning message to the control server;
(E) transmitting the status information and the position information of the container to the wireless communication network through the communication module to the control server in accordance with the preset time if the degree of brightness change is smaller than the set value as a result of the comparison A method for communicating data in a container. 13. The method of claim 12, wherein step (A)
Real time information of container internal state is received through an open / close sensor, a temperature sensor, and a humidity sensor included in a ConTracer connected by a wired connection. 13. The method of claim 12,
Wherein the control server transmits image data or illumination data in a container in real time to the control server in real time using bidirectional communication if necessary.

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