SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MONITORING ASSETS, OBJECTS, PEOPLE AND ANIMALS UTILIZING IMPULSE RADIO

• US 20020030596A1
• Filed: 09/27/1999
• Published: 03/14/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Humatics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Time Domain Corporation (Humatics Corporation)
• Inventors: FULLERTON, LARRY, FINN, JAMES S., PAYMENT, TIMOTHY T., RICHARDS, JAMES L.
• Granted Patent: US 6,512,455 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/71632 Signal aspects H04B1/7172 and H04B1/7176 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7183 Synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/719 Interference-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/6908 using time hopping

Abstract

An asset, object, person or animal monitoring system and associated method for monitoring assets, objects, people or animals utilizing impulse radio techniques. The asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of the present invention can vary the duty cycles of the impulse radio transmitters, by both manual and automatic means, to adapt to varied requirements.

Claims

1. An impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system, comprising:

impulse radio transmitter means associated with an obj ect for transmitting information relating to said object; and

impulse radio receiver means for receiving impulse transmissions from said impulse radio transmitter containing information relating to said object.

2. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising monitor means in communication with said impulse receiver for monitoring information relating to said asset, object, person or animal

3. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 2, further comprising a communications means for establishing a first communications link between said at asset, object, person or animal monitor and a central station.

4. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor associated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal operably connected with a sensor interface, said sensor interface in communication with said at least one impulse radio transmitter.

5. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 11,wherein said impulse radio transmitter is activated by manual means.

6. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless impulse radio activating means attached to the perimeter of an entrance to a structure wherein said asset, object, person or animal is contained and wherein passing of said impulse radio transmitter means within a given proximity to said wireless impulse radio activating means initiates the transmission of said impulse radio transmitter.

7. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said impulse radio transmitters vary the duty cycle transmissions in response to shipping and storing duration and monitoring requirements.

8. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 6, wherein said wireless activating means activates said impulse radio transmitters and automatically sets their duty cycles.

9. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 6, further comprising a cross correlation means for correlating said impulse radio transmitters and said asset, object, person or animal.

10. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 9, wherein said cross correlation means comprises:

a bar code scanning means;

a bar code associated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal;

a bar code associated with said at least one impulse radio transmitter,

wherein said bar code relates to said impulse radio transmitter serial number; and

a communication means for communicating to a processor with a memory means information received by said bar code scanning means, said processor and memory thereby recording which impulse radio transmitter means is associated with which of said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

11. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 10, wherein said at least one sensor is adapted to provide a predetermined type of sensory signal, and wherein said communications means is adapted to transmit information related to the sensory signal to the central station via a first communications link.

12. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 11, wherein said asset, object, person or animal monitor is adapted to transmit a warning signal via said first communications link to said central station in response to receipt of predetermined types of sensory signals by a controller.

13. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 12, wherein said communications means also establishes a second communications link between said asset, object, person or animal monitor and an operator interface, and wherein said asset, object, person or animal monitor is adapted to transmit a warning signal via the second communications link to the operator interface in response to receipt of predetermined types of sensory signals by said asset, object, person or animal monitor.

14. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 12, wherein said communications means further comprises a communications receiver associated with said asset, object, people or animal monitor for receiving signals from said central station and wherein said asset, object, people or animal monitor in response to said received signals from said central station communicates to said wireless switch activating means a new duty cycle for said at least one impulse radio transmitter and wherein said wireless switch activating means directs said at least one impulse radio transmitter to change its transmission duty cycle.

15. An asset, object, person or animal monitor according to claim 1, wherein said asset, object, people or animal monitor further comprises position determining means, operably connected to said controller, for determining the position of said structure based upon externally supplied location data.

16. An asset, object, person or animal monitor according to claim 15 wherein said position determining means comprises a receiver for receiving signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites which provide location data from which the position of said structure is determined.

17. An asset, object, person or animal monitor according to claim 6, further comprising at least one additional structure, wherein said asset, object, person or animal monitor is in communication with at least one slave monitor associated with said at least one additional structure, said at least one slave monitor comprising at least one impulse radio receiver for receiving impulse transmissions from a second impulse radio transmitter associated with said at least one additional structure located in said at least one additional structure for transmitting information relating to said at least one additional asset, object, person or animal.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising the step of incorporating a sensor onto said at least one asset, object, person or animal and interfacing said sensor with said at least one impulse radio transmitter for transmission to said at least one impulse radio receiver.

21. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising the step of remotely activating said at least one impulse radio transmitter.

22. The method as recited in claim 19, further comprising the step of correlating said at least one impulse radio transmitter and said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

23. The method as recited in claim 22, wherein said step of correlating said at least one impulse radio transmitter and said at least one asset, object, person or animal comprises the steps of:

placing a bar code on said at least one transmitter wherein said bar code corresponds to a pre-assigned serial number that will be transmitted during all transmissions of said at least one impulse radio transmitter;

placing a bar code on said asset, object, person or animal;

scanning said bar code on said at least one transmitter and communicating the information to a processor with a memory;

processing in said processor with memory said information from said bar code on said at least one impulse radio transmitter and processing in said processor with memory said information from said bar code on said at least one asset, object, person or animal; and

obtaining from said processed information the correlation of said at least one impulse radio transmitter and said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

25. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 24, further comprising a wireless impulse radio activating means attached to the perimeter of an entrance to said structure wherein said asset, object, person or animal is contained and wherein passing of said at least one impulse radio transmitter within a given proximity to said wireless impulse radio activating means initiates the transmission of said impulse radio transmitter.

26. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 24 further comprising a cross correlation means for correlating said impulse radio transmitters and said asset, object, person or animal.

27. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 26, wherein said cross correlation means comprises:

a bar code scanning means;

a bar code associated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal;

a bar code associated with said at least one impulse radio transmitter,

wherein said bar code relates to said impulse radio transmitter serial number; and

a communication means for communicating to a processor with a memory means information received by said bar code scanning means, said processor and memory thereby recording which impulse radio transmitter is associated with which of said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

18. A method of monitoring an asset, object, person or animal comprising the steps of:

transmitting a signal from an impulse radio transmitter, said signal containing information relating to an asset, object, person or animal being monitored; and

receiving said signal from said impulse radio transmitter containing said information.

19. The method of monitoring an asset, object, person or animal of step 18, further comprising the step of reporting said information relating to said asset, object, person or animal.

24. An impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system, comprising:

at least one structure for holding at least one asset, object, person or animal;

at least one impulse radio transmitter associated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal located within said structure for transmitting information relating to said at least one asset, object, person or animal;

a sensor means associated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal operably connected with a sensor interface, said sensor interface in communication with said at least one impulse radio transmitter;

impulse radio receiver means for receiving impulse transmissions from said impulse radio transmitter; and

monitor means in communication with said impulse receiver for monitoring information relating to said asset, object, person or animal.

28. In an impulse radio system having at least one impulse radio transmitter, at least one impulse radio receiver, at least one structure with at least one asset, object, person or animal therein, a method for monitoring said at least one asset, object, person or animal comprising the steps of:

connecting said at least one impulse radio transmitter with said at least asset, object, person or animal;

incorporating a sensor onto said at least one asset, object, person or animal and interfacing said sensor with said at least one impulse radio transmitter for transmission to said at least one impulse radio receiver;

transmitting by said at least one impulse radio transmitter wherein said transmission contains information relating to said at least one asset, object, person or animal; and

receiving said transmission by said at least one receiver; and

reporting said information relating to said at least one asset, object, person or animal.