MOBILE TAG TRACKING SYSTEM

• US 20100102964A1
• Filed: 10/28/2008
• Published: 04/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: STEER, David
• Granted Patent: US 8,217,785 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/572.100
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking

Abstract

A mobile tag tracking system for providing mobile security monitoring is provided. The system includes a communications facility, a communications network coupled to the communications facility, and a mobile tag. The mobile tag is coupled to an item to be monitored. The mobile tag has a processor having a memory and for controlling operation of the mobile tag, a radio communications component coupled to the processor for communicating with the communications facility over the communications network for reporting status messages related to the item, a power supply coupled to the processor for providing power to the mobile tag, security sequence generator coupled to the processor for generating binary sequences, a location tracking component coupled to the processor for determining the location of the mobile tag and providing a location signal to the processor, and a clock coupled to the processor. The mobile tag communicates with the communications facility using randomly scheduled communications each including a status message.

Claims

1. A mobile tag tracking system for providing mobile security monitoring, the system including:

a communications facility;

a communications network coupled to the communications facility; and

a mobile tag coupled to an item to be monitored, the mobile tag having a processor having a memory and for controlling operation of the mobile tag;

a radio communications component coupled to the processor for communicating with the communications facility over the communications network for reporting status messages related to the item;

a power supply coupled to the processor for providing power to the mobile tag;

a security sequence generator coupled to the processor for generating binary sequences;

a location tracking component coupled to the processor for determining the location of the mobile tag and providing a location signal to the processor; and

a clock coupled to the processor,

wherein the mobile tag communicates with the communications facility using randomly scheduled communications each including a status message.

10. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the location tracking component includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and wherein the security sequence generator is selected from the group consisting of a pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) generator, a digital encryption stand (DES) crypto sequence generator, and an advanced encryption standard (AES) crypto sequence generator.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the status message further includes an alarm message for the communications facility from the mobile tag when an alarm condition is detected by the mobile tag.

16. The method according to claim 10, wherein scheduling of the randomly scheduled communications is based on a sequence of random times derived from a pseudo random sequence of binary numbers generated by at least one of a pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) generator, a digital encryption standard (DES) crypto sequence generator, and an advanced encryption standard (AES) crypto sequence generator.

2. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 2, wherein the randomly scheduled communications are based on a sequence of random times derived by the processor from a security sequence of binary numbers generated by the tag and the security centre.

3. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 2, wherein communications facility further queries the status of the mobile tag using randomly scheduled communications.

4. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 2, wherein each status message includes a unique identifier for the communication.

5. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 4, wherein the identifier comprises a sequence of numbers that is incremented for each randomly scheduled communication.

6. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 4, wherein the identifier comprises random numbers jointly developed by the mobile tag and the communications facility, and not outside of the mobile tag tracking system.

7. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 4, wherein the unique identifiers and the randomly scheduled communications are uniquely generated for each journey of the mobile tag.

8. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 4, wherein the status message includes information for identification of the mobile tag and identification of the communications facility, the unique identifier which is unique to each scheduled communication, and at least one condition of the mobile tag and item.

9. The mobile tag tracking system according to claim 4, wherein the unique identifiers and randomly scheduled communications are determined based on at least one of:

(a) a Diffie-Helman key exchange establishing a common secret number between the mobile tag and the communications facility;

(b) a concatenation of random numbers generated by each of the mobile tag and the communications facility;

(c) a concatenation of random numbers generated by each of the mobile tag and the communications facility serving as a seed for the security sequence generator;

(d) a Diffie-Helman key exchange establishing a common secret number between the mobile tag and the communications facility, the common secret number used as an initialization vector and key for a crypto system; and

(e) a concatenation of random numbers generated by each of the mobile tag and the communications facility, the concatenation used as an initialization vector and key for a crypto system.

11. A method for providing a mobile security monitoring system using a communications network to connect a mobile tag coupled to an item with a communications facility, the method including:

monitoring conditions of the mobile tag and the item by the mobile tag; and

sending randomly scheduled communications including status messages to the communications facility from the mobile tag, the status messages including a unique identifier for each randomly scheduled communication.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the status messages further each include information for identification of the mobile tag and information for identification of the communications facility and at least one condition of the mobile tag and the item.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the status messages further include a time of the next randomly scheduled communication.

14. The method according to claim 11, wherein scheduling of the randomly scheduled communications is based on a sequence of random times derived from a pseudo random sequence of binary numbers generated by a security sequence generator.

17. An apparatus for monitoring and reporting at least the location of an item attached to the apparatus, the apparatus comprising:

a processor having a memory and for controlling operation of the apparatus;

a radio communications component coupled to the processor for communicating with a communications facility for reporting the location of the apparatus and the item;

a power supply coupled to the processor for providing power to the apparatus;

a security sequence generator coupled to the processor for generating binary sequences;

a location tracking component coupled to the processor for determining the location of the apparatus and providing a location signal to the processor; and

a clock coupled to the processor.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:

an authentication component coupled to the processor for authenticating the apparatus with a server of the communications facility.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the location tracking component includes a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and wherein the security sequence generator is selected from the group consisting of a pseudo random binary sequence (PRBS) generator, a digital encryption stand (DES) crypto sequence generator, and an advanced encryption standard (AES) crypto sequence generator.

20. The apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising:

a local communications interface coupled to the processor for communicating with external computing devices; and

further interface connections coupled to the processor for communicating with sensors attached to the item.