Apparatus and method for tracking the location and position of an individual using an accelerometer

• US 20040132461A1
• Filed: 07/24/2003
• Published: 07/08/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Duncan
• Original Assignee: Charles Duncan
• Inventors: Duncan, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 7,110,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3889 Transmission of selected map data, e.g. depending on route
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/767 Responders; Transponders teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying using reflecting targets or active targets F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/49 whereby the further system is an inertial position system, e.g. loosely-coupled
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/12 by co-ordinating position lines of different shape, e.g. hyperbolic, circular, elliptical or radial
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/003 Transmission of data between radar, sonar or lidar systems and remote stations
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 2011/02 related to amusement parks
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0258 System arrangements wherein both parent and child units can emit and receive
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0263 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the direction in which child or item is located
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0266 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact distance between parent and child or surveyor and item
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0277 Communication between units on a local network, e.g. Bluetooth, piconet, zigbee, Wireless Personal Area Networks [WPAN]
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0283 via a telephone network, e.g. cellular GSM
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/27 for locating or positioning the transmitter

Abstract

The present invention generally relates to electronic position and location tracking of various items. More particularly, the present invention is useful for tracking of an individual'"'"'s position and location. Data is received from both an external position locating apparatus and an accelerometer and is converted into both position and direction of travel information.

Claims

1. A locating system for tracking the movement of an item comprising:

a mobile target sized for attachment to an item to be tracked, said mobile target comprising a first accelerometer, a first external position locating transceiver, a first processing element and a first radio frequency (RF) transceiver, and

a mobile monitor, said mobile monitor including a second processing element and a second RF transceiver,

2. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first accelerometer is capable of recording acceleration along a plurality of axes.

3. The locating system of claim 2, wherein said first accelerometer is a temperature compensated gas-thermal accelerometer.

4. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said mobile monitor contains a second accelerometer, said second accelerometer being a multi-axial accelerometer.

5. The locating system of claim 4, wherein the second accelerometer comprises a temperature compensated gas-thermal accelerometer.

6. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first external position locating transceiver comprises a GPS receiver.

7. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first external position locating transceiver comprises a device capable of bi-directional RF communication between said mobile target and said mobile monitor.

8. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first processing element is capable of calculating an initial velocity of the item to be tracked using a plurality of external positioning signal data points received by said first external position locating transceiver.

9. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first RF transceiver element is capable of communicating with the relay element using cellular network selected from the group consisting of AMPS, CDPD, GSM and CDMA network protocols.

10. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first RF transceiver further comprises a first plurality of embedded antenna elements, said antenna elements being capable of communication with an RF relay element.

11. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said second RF transceiver further comprises a second plurality of embedded antenna elements, wherein said antenna elements are capable of communicating with an RF relay element.

12. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first external position locating transceiver further comprises a listening circuit, said listening circuit being capable of determining if an external positioning signal is present.

13. The locating system of claim 12, wherein said listening circuit is capable of communicating the status of the external positioning circuit signal to said first processing element.

14. The locating system of claim 1, wherein said first processing element is capable of calculating a plurality of velocity vectors representing instantaneous velocity of an item to be tracked along multiple axes using accelerometer data recorded along said multiple axes.

15. The locating system of claim 14, wherein said first processing element is capable of calculating the position of a mobile monitor device relative to an item to be tracked utilizing initial velocity data and velocity vector data from the first accelerometer.

16. The locating system of claim 1 further comprising one or more RF relay elements, said relay element capable of communicating with said first and second RF transceiver elements wherein the relative distance and direction of the mobile target device may be transmitted to the mobile monitor device.

17. A method for determining the position of a target item to be tracked, comprising the steps of:

recording a plurality of initial positions at selected times of the item to be tracked derived from a signal from an external position locating transceiver at selected times,

calculating an initial position and velocity from said plurality of positions and times,

obtaining accelerometer data along each axis from a multi-axis accelerometer, and

calculating the current position of the target item to be tracked from said initial position and velocity and said accelerometer data.