Vehicle tracking unit with fault condition diagnosis and related methods
First Claim
1. A vehicle tracking unit comprising:
- a vehicle position determining device;
a wireless communications device; and
a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device for sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station;
said controller also for monitoring operation of the vehicle, determining a fault condition of at least one of said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device based upon a failure thereof over a predetermined pattern of vehicle operation, storing the fault condition, and permitting retrieval of the stored fault condition.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle tracking unit may include a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller. The controller may cooperate with the wireless communications device and the vehicle position determining device for sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station. The controller may also monitor operation of the vehicle, determine a fault condition of at least one of the vehicle position determining device and the wireless communications device based upon a failure thereof over a predetermined pattern of vehicle operation, store the fault condition, and permit retrieval of the stored fault condition.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A vehicle tracking unit comprising:
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a vehicle position determining device;
a wireless communications device; and
a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device for sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station;
said controller also for monitoring operation of the vehicle, determining a fault condition of at least one of said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device based upon a failure thereof over a predetermined pattern of vehicle operation, storing the fault condition, and permitting retrieval of the stored fault condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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15. A vehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising an ignition, the vehicle tracking unit comprising:
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a vehicle position determining device;
a wireless communications device; and
a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device for sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station;
said controller also for monitoring the ignition to determine operation of the vehicle, determining a fault condition of at least one of said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device based upon a failure thereof over a predetermined pattern of vehicle operation, storing the fault condition, and permitting retrieval of the stored fault condition based upon selective operation of the ignition.
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28. A method for diagnosing fault conditions in a vehicle tracking unit in a vehicle and comprising a vehicle position determining device and a wireless communications device, the method comprising:
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monitoring operation of the vehicle;
determining a fault condition of at least one of the vehicle position determining device and the wireless communications device based upon a failure thereof over a predetermined pattern of vehicle operation;
storing the fault condition; and
permitting retrieval of the stored fault condition.
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Specification