Transport Climate Control Alerts for Power and Door-Open Events
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Solution Overview
Problem
Transport climate control systems face challenges in efficiently managing energy and maintaining optimal conditions during transit, leading to potential cargo spoilage and increased energy consumption due to suboptimal events such as insufficient power, improper airflow, and prolonged door openings.
Innovation Solution
A system that monitors power availability and demand, operational data, and environmental conditions to detect suboptimal events, providing notifications and corrective actions to drivers through visual and timer-based alerts, optimizing energy use, and minimizing stop times and door openings, while ensuring cargo is maintained within required climate conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the transport climate control system operates continuously to maintain cargo conditions, then cargo safety is improved, but energy consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors power availability, power demand, and operational data to detect suboptimal events. When suboptimal events are detected, the system provides notifications to drivers and automatically implements corrective actions such as adjusting climate control settings or alerting to door openings, thereby maintaining cargo safety while optimizing energy usage based on real-time feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The system detects suboptimal events before they lead to cargo spoilage by monitoring power availability and demand trends. By providing advance notifications to drivers about potential energy depletion or suboptimal operating conditions, the system enables preventive actions to be taken before cargo safety is compromised, reducing the need for continuous high-energy operation.
2Reliability
If the system provides continuous monitoring and notifications, then cargo safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The controller performs multiple functions: monitoring power availability, monitoring power demand, accessing operational data, detecting suboptimal events, generating notifications, and implementing corrective actions. By consolidating these diverse functions into a single controller, the system achieves comprehensive cargo protection without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically monitors its own operational parameters and detects suboptimal events without requiring external intervention. The controller self-manages the detection and notification processes, reducing the need for additional complex monitoring infrastructure while maintaining reliable cargo safety oversight.
3Loss of energy
If the system implements corrective actions for suboptimal events, then energy efficiency is improved, but loss of time occurs due to notifications and driver responses
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides immediate feedback to drivers through notifications when suboptimal events are detected, enabling rapid response to energy efficiency issues. This real-time feedback loop allows drivers to take corrective actions promptly, minimizing energy waste while the automated nature of the notification system ensures consistent and timely responses regardless of driver attention levels.
Data Source
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AI summary
A method for notifying and mitigating a suboptimal event occurring in a transport climate control system that provides climate control to a climate controlled space of a transport unit is provided. The method includes monitoring an amount of power available for powering the transport climate control system, monitoring a power demand from the transport climate control system, and accessing operational data of the transport climate control system and the transport unit. The method also includes a controller determining whether a suboptimal event is detected based on one or more of the monitored amount of power available, the monitored power demand and the accessed operational data. Also, the method includes the controller generating a notification when a suboptimal event is detected, and the controller instructing the generated notification to be displayed on a display.