US 12,459,643 B2
System and method for monitoring cargo during transportation
Timothy W. Anstey, Seattle, WA (US); Lawrence Dean Hettick, Snohomish, WA (US); Kevin S. Callahan, Shoreline, WA (US); Kyle Mclaren Hadley, Kirkland, WA (US); Christopher John Padilla-Diffoot, Mountlake Terrace, WA (US); Thomas Edwin Garabedian, Bothell, WA (US); and Aaliah Oladumni Amosu, Waldorf, MD (US)
Assigned to THE BOEING COMPANY, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Chicago, IL (US)
Filed on Aug. 9, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/883,906.
Prior Publication US 2024/0051662 A1, Feb. 15, 2024
Int. Cl. B64D 9/00 (2006.01); H04W 4/35 (2018.01)
CPC B64D 9/00 (2013.01) [H04W 4/35 (2018.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system to monitor cargo in a cargo hold of a vehicle, the system comprising:
a communication network connected to a control unit and comprising wireless access points configured to be spaced apart in the cargo hold of the vehicle;
first sensors configured to be positioned in the cargo hold and second sensors configured to be attached to cargo packages of the cargo and to sense an environmental condition of the cargo hold, the sensors further configured to wirelessly transmit signals indicative of the environmental condition to one or more of the wireless access points;
the control unit connected to the communication network and comprising processing circuitry, the control unit configured to:
receive the signals from just the first sensors through the wireless communication network;
based on the signals from the first sensors, determine cargo data comprising:
a location of the cargo within the cargo hold;
the environmental condition of a large area of the cargo hold;
compare the environmental condition of the large area against a predetermined threshold;
in response to the environmental condition of the large area exceeding the predetermined threshold, determine the environmental condition at individual ones of the cargo packages based on the signals from the second sensors that are attached to the cargo packages located within the large area of the cargo hold;
compare the environmental condition that is based on the second sensors with the predetermined threshold; and
in response to the environmental condition based on the second sensors exceeding the predetermined threshold, change an operational setting and adjust the environmental condition in the cargo hold.