US 12,353,944 B2
Screening action for indicating status of equipment
Anthony P. Bull, Sussex (GB)
Assigned to Triumph Controls, LLC, North Wales, PA (US)
Filed by Triumph Controls, LLC, North Wales, PA (US)
Filed on May 22, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/200,340.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/345,205, filed on May 24, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0385566 A1, Nov. 30, 2023
Int. Cl. G06K 7/10 (2006.01); G06K 19/07 (2006.01)
CPC G06K 7/10366 (2013.01) [G06K 19/0723 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A smart screening system for identifying the open or closed state of a cargo restraint mechanism configured to hold cargo in a vehicle, the system comprising:
an RFID tag integral with or attached to the cargo restraint mechanism and configured to send and receive signals;
a screen integral with or mounted on the cargo restraint mechanism so that the screen blocks the signals to and from the RFID tag when the cargo restraint mechanism is in either the open or closed state and allows the signals to and from the RFID tag when the cargo restraint mechanism is in the other state,
wherein the screen has two halves: a back screen located between the RFID tag and the cargo restraint mechanism and a front screen which covers the RFID tag so that the RFID tag is sandwiched between the front screen and the back screen when the cargo restraint mechanism is in one but not the other of its open and closed states;
an interrogator configured to send the signals to the RFID tag, to receive the signals from the RFID tag, to ascertain whether the RFID tag is blocked by the screen, and to generate an indicator of whether the cargo restraint mechanism is in the open or closed state; and
a computer configured to receive the indicator from the interrogator and provide a readout identifying the state of the cargo restraint mechanism,
wherein the likelihood of shift of the cargo is minimized and the safety of both the cargo and the vehicle holding the cargo is enhanced.