Rule based proximity and time based tracking system

• US 20040124977A1
• Filed: 02/28/2003
• Published: 07/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 03/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Peter Biffar
• Original Assignee: Peter Biffar
• Inventors: Biffar, Peter
• Granted Patent: US 7,187,278 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2009/0092 for cargo, freight or shipping containers and applications therefore in general
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

A method and apparatus that automatically tracks, monitors and schedules the shipping of objects through carriers such as delivery trucks, ships, or planes is disclosed. A tracking tag is attached to each shipped object. The tracking tag and transportation system uses such techniques as GPS, cellular technology, and bar coding, and sensors such as those that make temperature, pressure, and noise measurements as sources of tracking information. Logic rules and hierarchical weights are given to each source, for any given condition so that the most accurate tracking is made. Tracking is continuous throughout the object'"'"'s trip. Another set of logic rules is applied to take actions to intervene in the shipping process. For example if it seems the object is off schedule, upgrades or downgrades to the shipping are made. The transportation system can be integrated within a customer'"'"'s company to facilitate easy scheduling, and production management. A user-friendly graphical user interface is available which displays item, time and distance related information.

Claims

1. A method for determining a location of an object, comprising the steps of:

interpreting tracking information;

applying logic rules to include or exclude said information; and

assessing all remaining information to determine said location of said object.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said tracking information comprises any of:

data from wireless technology, environmental data, data using satellite technology, data from the Federal Aviation Association, and scanned bar code data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said wireless technology comprises any of:

GPS and cellular phone technology.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said environmental data comprises any of:

local temperature of object and transportation means, local pressure of object and transportation means, ambient noise level of object and transportation means; and

humidity, inclination/declination, presence or absence of gases or chemicals, acceleration, impact, and altitude.

5. The method of claim 1, said applying step further comprising the step of:

applying hierarchical rules to said tracking information to establish a weight to each source of information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said hierarchical rules state that, when a bar code attached to said object is scanned, then that scanned location information is considered to be substantially 100% accurate.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein accuracy of said scanned location information is time sensitive.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said weight of each source of information is dependent upon accuracy of said source.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

gathering said tracking information with at least one tracking tag.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein multiple tracking tags are used to increase accuracy of said tracking information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said multiple tracking tags are calibrated to account for variances between tracking tag locations.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said variances in said tracking information relate to temperature and noise.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising the step of:

storing said object in a container that is transported, said container having a tracking tag attached to it.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of:

determining whether said object is within said container by comparing said object tracking information with said container tracking information to see if there is a close match.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

checking to see if said object will arrive on schedule.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said checking further comprises the step of:

comparing rate and direction between a tracking tag attached to said object, and a tracking tag attached to a shipping means.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

upgrading a shipping of said object, said object being transported on a schedule from one point to another, if said object will not arrive on schedule.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein said upgrades comprises any of:

moving said object up a class, moving said object to an transportation means, and moving said object to a more reliable transportation means.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

downgrading a shipping of said object, said object being transported on a schedule from one point to another, if said object will arrive on schedule.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said downgrades comprise any of:

moving said object to a lower class, moving said object to a later and cheaper transportation means in a same class, and moving said object to cheaper but less reliable transportation means in said same class.

21. The method of claim 1, wherein said logic rules comprise any of:

excluding carriers who cannot carry said object, excluding tracking information which does not match a weight of other tracking information and concluding whether said object is with a transportation means if said tracking information of said object matches with a tracking information of said transportation means.

22. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

alerting a user of a delay, if said tracking information indicates there will be a delay.

23. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing a system scheduler that can route and track multiple objects, said objects to be scheduled and delivered at the same time.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said system scheduler calculates an estimated time for arrival for said objects, said objects transported by a transportation means.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein said system scheduler stores information regarding said object, said object information including any of:

sender, recipient, item description, and any special handling instructions.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein said system scheduler applies hierarchical rules between objects.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said hierarchical rule prioritizes at least one object over at least one other object.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein said priority comprises the step of:

removing a first object'"'"'s transportation means so a second object can use said transportation means.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein said priority is based on ratings.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein factors for said ratings comprise any of:

length of time as a customer, what percentage of the time the customer pays on time, a customer'"'"'s financial stability and customer volume.

31. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing said tracking information to a shipper, said shipper integrating said tracking information within a shipper'"'"'s production system.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein said integration aids said shipper to schedule production.

33. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

displaying said tracking information through a graphical user interface.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said graphical user interface displays any of:

a map of a route said object takes as it is being transported,

predicted time for arrival at a final destination,

time for arrival at several stops,

distance traveled,

time of trip and

total distance for delivery, item origin, item destination, and item information.

35. An apparatus for determining a location of an object comprising:

a module within said information processing system for interpreting tracking information;

logic rules;

a module within an information processing system for applying said logic rules to include or exclude said information; and

a module within said information processing system for assessing all remaining information to determine said location of said object.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said tracking information comprises any of:

data from wireless technology, environmental data, data using satellite technology, data from the Federal Aviation Association, and scanned bar code data.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein said wireless technology comprises any of:

GPS and cellular phone technology.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein said environmental data comprises any of:

local temperature of object and transportation means, local pressure of object and transportation means, and ambient noise level of object and transportation means; and

humidity, inclination/declination, presence or absence of gases or chemicals, acceleration, impact, and altitude.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for applying hierarchical rules to said tracking information to establish a weight to each source of information.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein said hierarchical rules state that when a bar code attached to said object is scanned, then that scanned location information is considered to be substantially 100% accurate.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein accuracy of said scanned location information is time sensitive.

43. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

at least one tracking tag for gathering said tracking information.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein multiple tracking tags are used to increase accuracy of said tracking information.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein said multiple tracking tags are calibrated to account for variances between tracking tag locations.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein said variances in said tracking information relate to temperature and noise.

47. The apparatus of claim 43, further comprising:

a container for storing said object, said container having a tracking tag attached to it.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for determining whether said object is within said container by comparing said object tracking information with said container tracking information to see if there is a close match.

49. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for checking to see if said object will arrive on schedule.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein said checking further comprises:

comparing rate and direction between a tracking tag attached to said object, and a tracking tag attached to a transport vehicle.

51. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for upgrading a shipping of said object, said object being transported on a schedule from one point to another, if said object will not arrive on schedule.

52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein said upgrades comprise any of:

moving said object up a class, moving said object to an transport vehicle, and moving said object to a more reliable transport vehicle.

53. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for downgrading a shipping of said object, said object being transported on a schedule from one point to another, if said object will arrive on schedule.

54. The apparatus of claim 53, wherein said downgrades comprise any of:

moving said object to a lower class, moving said object to a later and cheaper transport vehicle in a same class, and moving said object to cheaper but less reliable transport vehicle in said same class.

55. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said logic rules comprise any of:

excluding carriers who cannot carry said object, excluding tracking information which does not match a weight of other tracking information and concluding whether said object is with a transport vehicle if said tracking information of said object matches with a tracking information of said transport vehicle.

56. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for alerting a user of a delay, if said tracking information indicates there will be a delay.

57. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a system scheduler that can route and track multiple objects, said objects to be scheduled and delivered at the same time.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein said system scheduler calculates an estimated time for arrival for said objects, said objects transported by a transport vehicle.

59. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein said system scheduler stores information regarding said object, said object information including any of:

sender, recipient, item description, and any special handling instructions.

60. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein said system scheduler applies hierarchical rules between objects.

61. The apparatus of claim 60, wherein said hierarchical rule prioritizes at least one object over at least one other object.

62. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein said priority comprises:

removing a first object'"'"'s transportation means so a second object can use said transport vehicle.

63. The apparatus of claim 61, wherein said priority is based on ratings.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein factors for said ratings comprise any of:

length of time as a customer, what percentage of the time the customer pays on time, a customer'"'"'s financial stability, and customer volume.

65. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a module within said information processing system for providing said tracking information to a shipper, said shipper integrating said tracking information within a shipper'"'"'s production system.

66. The apparatus of claim 65, wherein said integration aids said shipper to schedule production.

67. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

a graphical user interface for displaying said tracking information.

68. The apparatus of claim 67, wherein said graphical user interface displays any of:

a map of a route said object takes as it is being transported, predicted time for arrival at a final destination, time for arrival at several stops, distance traveled, time of trip and total distance for delivery, item origin, item destination, and item information.

42. The apparatus of 39, wherein said weight of each source of information is dependent upon accuracy of said source.

69. A tracking tag for gathering tracking information to determine a location of an object comprising:

a GPS signal receiver;

a cellular radio transmitter and receiver; and

at least one ambient sensor.

70. The tracking tag of claim 69, wherein multiple tracking tags are used to increase accuracy of said tracking information.

71. The tracking tag of claim 70, wherein said multiple tracking tags are calibrated to account for variances between tracking tag locations.

72. The tracking tag of claim 71, wherein said variances in said tracking information relate to temperature, noise, and pressure.

73. The tracking tag of claim 69, further comprising:

a temperature gauge, said temperature gauge able to gather temperature information, said temperature information transmitted through a transmission means.

74. The tracking tag of claim 69, further comprising:

a barometer, said barometer able to gather pressure information, said pressure information transmitted through a transmission means.

75. The tracking tag of claim 69, further comprising:

a noise meter, said noise meter able to gather noise information, said noise information transmitted through a transmission means.

76. A method for using tracking data about a location of an object, comprising the steps of:

collecting tracking data;

providing other information;

establishing a relationship between said data and said other information; and

based on said relation between said tracking data and said related information, taking at least one predetermined action.

77. The method of claim 76, whereas said other information comprises any of:

a schedule, which in turn comprises any of;

a shipping schedule;

a production schedule;

a schedule showing times when an object shipped is needed at a destination; and

third party information.

78. The method of claim 77, wherein with regard to said third party information, once an object package is identified as being on an object transport vehicle, information known about said object transport vehicle, which may optionally include any of actual and/or planned transit information, and expected arrival, is used to calculate an estimated arrival time of said object package.

79. The method of claim 77, where said predetermined action comprises any of the following:

alerting a user that a shipment is any of late, early, or outside of certain preset parameters and/or deviating from a plan;

automatically taking an action which can comprise any of internal steps or external steps, wherein internal steps are performed by a system executing the method of claim 77, and wherein external steps are performed by other linked systems which may include any of;

an automatic, pre-arrival step which is, executed if an expected arrival time is later than a plan time;

moving said object to a higher priority level or service level;

rerouting and/or changing a transportation mode;

selecting transportation providers based on any of their performance, probability, and reliability;

reducing any of priority, route, and transportation mode if arrival is ahead of schedule; and

taking any changes of arrival date into consideration, and a company where a delivery is to be made performing any of;

taking internal steps to adjust their own systems and processes to a new date; and

communicating back to a system executing the method of claim 77 to perform any of rescheduling, negotiating new arrival time, or taking other related actions, which may include any of rescheduling a series of other arrivals or picking up of shipments.

80. The method of claim 77, further comprising the step of:

a linked objects, and if in a supply chain where a first shipment and a at least a second shipment must arrive at a same time, where one of said first and said at least second shipment is determined to be late and said lateness can not be corrected, said other of said first shipment and said at least second shipment can also be delayed, wherein priority is optionally given to another shipment.

81. The method of claim 77, wherein in a supply chain management application, said method further comprising the step of looking at multiple shipments and managing their transportation to a degree such that they all arrive at a correct time.