An enhanced shipping container apparatus that maintains packages is described having integrated fire suppression. The apparatus has a container base supporting the packages, multiple container walls coupled to the container base, and a container top coupled to each of the container walls. A fire suppression panel is integrated as part of one or more of the walls and top portion, and has a support sheet of fire resistant material; an interior exposed sheet of temperature sensitive material; a sealed boundary connecting the support sheet and interior exposed sheet on peripheral edges (where the sealed boundary, support sheet and interior exposed sheet define a holding cavity), and integrated fire suppression material in the holding cavity. The temperature sensitive material of the interior exposed sheet releases the integrated fire suppressant material from within the holding cavity when the temperature sensitive material of the interior exposed sheet is exposed to a threshold temperature.

A system and method in a building or vehicle for an actuator operation in response to a sensor according to a control logic, the system comprising a router or a gateway communicating with a device associated with the sensor and a device associated with the actuator over in-building or in-vehicle networks, and an external Internet-connected control server associated with the control logic implementing a PID closed linear control loop and communicating with the router over external network for controlling the in-building or in-vehicle phenomenon. The sensor may be a microphone or a camera, and the system may include voice or image processing as part of the control logic. A redundancy is used by using multiple sensors or actuators, or by using multiple data paths over the building or vehicle internal or external communication. The networks may be wired or wireless, and may be BAN, PAN, LAN, WAN, or home networks.

A wheel includes a boss, a rim, and a web. The rim includes a tread and a flange. A center of the rim in the axial direction of the wheel is disposed closer to the flange in the axial direction than a center of the boss in the axial direction is. The web has a plate-thickness center line that has a linear shape when the wheel is viewed in its longitudinal section. When an angle that the plate-thickness center line forms with the axial direction is denoted by α, a distance in the axial direction from a side face of the rim to an outer end of the plate-thickness center line is denoted by Pw, a length of the rim in the axial direction is denoted by Wr, and Pw/Wr is denoted by L, the wheel satisfies the expression L ≥ 0.0223α-1.363. Where, the angle α is 90° or less.

An improved system detects an environmental anomaly in a shipping container and initiates a mediation response through a generated layered alert notification. The system includes sensor-based ID nodes associated with packages within the container, and a command node mounted to the container communicating with the ID nodes and an external transceiver on a vehicle transporting the container. The command node is programmed to detect sensor data from the ID nodes; compare the sensor data to package environmental thresholds in context data related to each ID node; detect the environmental anomaly when the comparison indicates an environmental condition for at least one package exceeds its environmental threshold; responsively generate a layered alert notification identifying a mediation recipient and mediation action, and establishing a mediation response priority based upon the comparison; and transmit the layered alert notification to the transceiver unit to initiate a mediation response related to the mediation action.

Systems and methods are described for detecting and initiating a response to an environmental anomaly in a shipping container. Generally, a system includes two sets of ID nodes within and outside the container and a command node mounted to the container. The command node is specially adapted to monitor the different sets of ID nodes for unanticipated non-broadcasting according to communication profiles for respective ID nodes in each set and detect an unresponsive group of ID nodes and what set of ID nodes the unresponsive ones are in. The command node identifies the anomaly when the number of unresponsive ID nodes exceeds a threshold setting, automatically generates an alert notification on the anomaly with an alert level setting based upon whether the unresponsive ID nodes are in the first and/or second set of ID nodes, and initiates a mediation response by transmitting the notification to the transit vehicle transceiver.

A system and method in a building or vehicle for an actuator operation in response to a sensor according to a control logic, the system comprising a router or a gateway communicating with a device associated with the sensor and a device associated with the actuator over in-building or in-vehicle networks, and an external Internet-connected control server associated with the control logic implementing a PID closed linear control loop and communicating with the router over external network for controlling the in-building or in-vehicle phenomenon. The sensor may be a microphone or a camera, and the system may include voice or image processing as part of the control logic. A redundancy is used by using multiple sensors or actuators, or by using multiple data paths over the building or vehicle internal or external communication. The networks may be wired or wireless, and may be BAN, PAN, LAN, WAN, or home networks.

An improved system detects an environmental anomaly in a shipping container and initiates a mediation response through a generated layered alert notification. The system includes sensor-based ID nodes associated with packages within the container, and a command node mounted to the container communicating with the ID nodes and an external transceiver on a vehicle transporting the container. The command node is programmed to detect sensor data from the ID nodes; compare the sensor data to package environmental thresholds in context data related to each ID node; detect the environmental anomaly when the comparison indicates an environmental condition for at least one package exceeds its environmental threshold; responsively generate a layered alert notification identifying a mediation recipient and mediation action, and establishing a mediation response priority based upon the comparison; and transmit the layered alert notification to the transceiver unit to initiate a mediation response related to the mediation action.

A system for detecting and verifying an environmental anomaly within a shipping container (transported on a transit vehicle having an external transceiver) has wireless sensor-based ID nodes at different locations within the container and multiple command nodes mounted to the container. A first command node is programmatically configured to be operative to detect the sensor data broadcasted from the ID nodes; responsively identify the anomaly based upon the sensor data detected by that command node; and transmit a validation request to another command node. The other command node is configured to be operative to also detect the sensor data broadcasted from the ID nodes; receive the validation request from the first command node; verify the anomaly in response to the validation request and based upon the sensor data detected by the second command node; and broadcast a verification message based upon whether the anomaly for the shipping container is verified.

A hybrid vehicle has an internal combustion engine and an electric drive, each with a cooling circuit with a heat transfer medium and a cooler. A pre-heating circuit is provided between the cooling circuits and it is thermally coupled to the cooling circuit of the electric drive via heat coupling element as a shared component, for a controlled heat exchange between the heat transfer media of the two cooling circuits. The pre-heating circuit has an electrical auxiliary heater, which is connected to the heat coupling element in series, such that the heat transfer medium of the first cooling circuit likewise flows through the electrical auxiliary heater. The electrical auxiliary heater is arranged and designed such that heat generated by the electrical auxiliary heater can be transferred, where necessary, into at least one of the two cooling circuits.

An electro-pneumatic control system for braking, an emergency pressure monitoring and control unit providing weight signals, an emergency braking request signal, actual pressure signals, and provides emergency braking request signals, an emergency pressure module generating an emergency braking pressure, a braking control unit providing control signal pairs to generate corresponding braking pressures as a function of a service braking request signal or the emergency braking pressure request signal dependent upon whether the emergency braking request signal indicates an emergency braking request, and an emergency switching device comprising contact pairs which allow the connection of the control signal pairs from the braking control unit to the braking pressure generating modules when closed and prevent this connection of the control signal pairs when open.