Phillips launches two essential cargo protection products

Phillips Connect announced the release of SmartLock trailer protection products.

We are talking about SmartLock Gladhand and SmartLock Door.

The company shared the news at the fall meeting of The Technology & Maintenance Council and at the American Trucking Association’s Transportation Technology Exhibition.

According to the company, both locks are activated or deactivated by a digital authentication command via the Bluetooth LE communication interface.

Bluetooth LE operates in the 2.4 GHz band and is in sleep mode until a connection is established.

SmartLock Gladhand is designed for any equipment requiring a manually operated pneumatic connection or a coupling device between truck and trailer.

The locking pin that prevents air from entering the hands, can only be activated or deactivated with a digital command. It is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery and doesn`t require an external electrical connection.

“We can set it up over the air,” said Jim Epler, executive vice president of Phillips Connect. “Everyone will have their own application for this.”

SmartLock Door is an autonomous device that can be installed in five minutes.

This is a “second door” that is attached to the trailer door and can be unlocked using a digital command by the fleet manager or set to automatically unlock when entering the yard.

But the company noted that neither the SmartLock Gladhand nor the SmartLock Door are designed to provide anti-theft protection.

“If a door sensor detects that a door is open when it should be locked, it will trigger an alarm and a camera (inside the trailer) will be displayed on demand,” said Rob Phillips, founder and CEO of Phillips Connect.

Phillips has been already installing its equipment on 10 000 new trailers for various fleets.

“I think the next step for some other trailer manufacturers will be to make them standard. There are many fleets saying they don’t need all this “fancy stuff.” They just need to know where their trailers are,” Phillips said. “The reality is that they will need these innovative products, but they don’t know it yet.”