VEHICULAR MOBILE RF TAGS

• US 20090033494A1
• Filed: 07/31/2007
• Published: 02/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Zebra Technologies Corporation)
• Inventors: Malik, Ajay
• Application Number:
  US11/831,329
• Publication Number:
  US 20090033494A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.100
• 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 mobile radio frequency (RF) tag for a motor vehicle includes an antenna. A RF transceiver is coupled to the antenna. A processor compatible with a mobile phone protocol is coupled to the RF transceiver. The processor is configured to receive an activation signal and transmit a tracking signal over a control communications channel of the mobile phone protocol. A power lead is coupled to the processor. The power lead is configured to couple to a voltage supply of the motor vehicle.

Claims

1. A mobile radio frequency (RF) tag for a motor vehicle, comprising:

an antenna;

an RF transceiver coupled to the antenna; and

a processor, compatible with a mobile phone protocol, coupled to the RF transceiver and configured to receive an activation signal and transmit a tracking signal over a control communications channel of the mobile phone protocol; and

a power lead coupled to the processor configured to couple to a voltage supply of the motor vehicle.

2. The tag of claim 1, wherein the voltage supply of the motor vehicle is in electrical communication with a battery of the motor vehicle.

3. The tag of claim 1, further including a memory device coupled to the processor to store identification data.

4. The tag of claim 1, further including a vehicle processor device integrated with the processor into a single chipset.

5. The tag of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive the activation signal and transmit the tracking signal over a voice communications channel of the mobile phone protocol.

6. The tag of claim 1, wherein the mobile phone protocol includes a time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), evolution data optimized (EV-DO), or a third generation (3G) communications protocol.

7. The tag of claim 1, wherein a location of the tag is determined by a base station triangulating the tracking signal.

8. The tag of claim 7, wherein the location is transmitted to a mobile device via the mobile phone protocol.

9. The tag of claim 8, wherein the processor is compatible with an unlicensed short range radio frequency specification for communications with the mobile device.

10. A method for using a mobile radio frequency (RF) tag, comprising:

fixing the tag on a surface of a motor vehicle;

connecting a voltage supply of the motor vehicle to a power lead of the tag;

transmitting an activation signal over a control communications channel of a mobile phone protocol to the tag;

receiving the activation signal by means of an antenna and RF transceiver integrated into the tag;

generating a tracking signal by means of a processor coupled to the RF transceiver and compatible with the mobile phone protocol; and

transmitting the tracking signal over the control communications channel into a mobile phone network.

11. The method of claim 10, further including providing power to the processor via a battery of the motor vehicle in electrical communication with the voltage supply.

12. The method of claim 10, further including transmitting the activation signal and tracking signal over a voice communications channel of the mobile phone protocol.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein transmitting the tracking signal further includes transmitting a signal compliant with a time division multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), evolution data optimized (EV-DO), or a third generation (3G) communications protocol.

14. The method of claim 10, further including receiving the tracking signal by a base station of the mobile phone network.

15. The method of claim 14, further including determining a location of the tag by triangulating between the base station and at least two additional base stations.

16. The method of claim 15, further including transmitting location data to a mobile device via the base station.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein transmitting the location data further includes transmitting the location data with an unlicensed short range radio frequency specification for communications with the mobile device.

18. The method of claim 10, further including storing identification information of the tag in a memory device coupled to the processor.

19. The method of claim 18, further including upon receiving the activation signal, retrieving the identification information from the memory device.

20. The method of claim 19, further including incorporating the identification information into the tracking signal.

21. A vehicular mobile radio frequency (RF) tag, comprising:

an antenna;

an RF transceiver coupled to the antenna for receiving an activation signal over a mobile phone protocol;

a processor coupled to the RF transceiver for processing the activation signal; and

a power lead coupled to the processor.

22. The tag of claim 21, wherein the power lead is coupled to a voltage supply of a motor vehicle.