Systems and methods for managing a cargo transaction

Abstract

Devices, systems, and methods for managing a cargo transaction are disclosed. By transmitting and integrating consignment data and real-time cargo status data including data collected from a GPS-enabled monitoring device to a visual cargo server, a visual cargo data is produced. The visual cargo data is contextualized by integrating with contextual data obtained from one or more contextual servers.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A computer implemented method for managing a cargo transaction, comprising:
 transmitting consignment data to a visual cargo server;   tracking cargo status data of a vehicle transporting the cargo, wherein at least some of the cargo status data comprises data collected from a GPS-enabled monitoring device;   transmitting the cargo status data via a wireless network to the visual cargo server, wherein the visual cargo server integrates the consignment data and the cargo status data to produce virtual cargo data;   transmitting contextual data to the visual cargo server;   providing context to the visual cargo data by integrating the virtual cargo data with the contextual data; and   presenting the contextualized data to a user.   
     
     
         2 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the consignment data comprises originating codes, geo-codes, designation codes, geo-codes of the cargo, departure time of the cargo or expected time of arrival of a cargo. 
     
     
         3 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the consignment data comprises cargo data and cargo identification data. 
     
     
         4 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting real-time environmental data to the visual cargo server. 
     
     
         5 . The computer implemented method of  claim 4 , wherein the real-time environmental data comprises one or more of traffic information, weather information, road condition, or incident information. 
     
     
         6 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the monitoring device is a vehicle mounted device. 
     
     
         7 . The computer implemented method of  claim 6 , further comprising obtaining real-time environmental data collected from one or more sensors disposed on the vehicle. 
     
     
         8 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the cargo status data is transmitted to the visual cargo server via a fleet management server. 
     
     
         9 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the wireless network is a cellular network such as a PSTN, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, WCDMA, HSPA, LTE, or WiMAX network. 
     
     
         10 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , wherein the contextual data are specific to a consignor, consignee or transporter. 
     
     
         11 . The computer implemented method of  claim 1 , further comprising alerting the user based on the visual cargo data. 
     
     
         12 . A computer implemented method of managing a cargo transaction, comprising:
 transmitting consignment data to a visual cargo server;   tracking cargo status data of a vehicle responsible for delivering the cargo, wherein at least some of the cargo status data comprises data collected from a GPS-enabled monitoring device;   transmitting the cargo status data via a wireless network to the visual cargo server, wherein the visual cargo server integrates the consignment data and the cargo status data to produce virtual cargo data;   transmitting the visual cargo data to a contextual server comprising contextual data, wherein the contextual server is configured to provide a context to the virtual cargo data by integrating the virtual cargo data with the contextual data; and   presenting the contextualized visual cargo data to a user.   
     
     
         13 . The computer implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein the consignment data comprises originating geo-codes, designation geo-codes of the cargo, departure time of the cargo or expected time of arrival of the cargo. 
     
     
         14 . The computer implemented method of  claim 12 , wherein the contextual data are specific to a consignor, consignee or transporter. 
     
     
         15 . A system for monitoring a cargo transaction, comprising:
 a visual cargo server for receiving real time location and cargo status information over a wireless communication network;   a monitoring device associated with the cargo, the device comprises:
 a processor for controlling operation of the device; 
 a GPS circuit for receiving GPS data; and 
 a wireless communication modem and antenna in communication with the processor for transmitting GPS location data to the visual cargo server; wherein the visual cargo server is configured to obtain consignment data and integrate said consignment data with the GPS data to produce a visual cargo data and to contextualize said visual cargo data with contextual data. 
   
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 15 , further comprising a contextual server configured to transmit the contextual data to the visual cargo server. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the wireless communication modem and antenna is configured to interface with a cellular network such as a PSTN, GSM, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA, WCDMA, HSPA, LTE, or WiMAX network. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the visual cargo server is configured to transmit the contextualized visual cargo data to one or more end-use devices. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 15 , wherein the consignment data comprises originating geo-codes, designation geo-codes of the cargo, departure time of the cargo or expected time of arrival of the cargo.