Method And Device For Tracing Objects And Detecting Change In Configuration Of Objects
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method of detecting a change in the configuration of an object, comprising:
- forming an antenna from at least a portion of said object or providing an antenna closely electrically coupled to said object;
receiving remote radio transmissions with a radio receiver using said antenna; and
detecting a change in the configuration of said object by monitoring the signal strength of the radio transmissions received from said antenna.
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Abstract
A change in the configuration of an object is detected by an antenna from at least a portion of the object or providing an antenna closely electrically coupled to said object, receiving remote radio transmissions with a radio receiver using said antenna, and detecting a change in the configuration of said object by monitoring the signal strength of the radio transmissions received from the antenna. The same antenna can also be used to determine the path traced by the object by receiving the remote radio transmissions and comparing them with known spectra.
22 Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method of detecting a change in the configuration of an object, comprising:
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forming an antenna from at least a portion of said object or providing an antenna closely electrically coupled to said object; receiving remote radio transmissions with a radio receiver using said antenna; and detecting a change in the configuration of said object by monitoring the signal strength of the radio transmissions received from said antenna. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4, 5, 7, 8)
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3. (canceled)
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6. (canceled)
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9. A method of determining the position of an object, comprising:
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receiving radio transmissions from a plurality of transmitters; deriving the position of the object from the signal strengths of received radio transmissions; and wherein the radio transmissions are received on an antenna constituted at least in part by the body of the object. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 44, 46)
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13. (canceled)
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17. An object monitoring apparatus, comprising:
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a tag having an antenna input for receiving radio transmissions from an antenna and circuitry for detecting changes in signal strength of the received radio transmissions; and an antenna adapted to be closely electrically coupled to said object or comprise at least a portion of said object whereby changes in configuration of the object can be detected from changes in signal strength of the received radio transmissions. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29)
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22. An object tracing tag, comprising:
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an antenna input for receiving radio transmissions from an antenna; a device for deriving the position of the object from received radio transmissions; and wherein the antenna is constituted at least in part by the body of the object. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27)
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30. A method of detecting the breach in integrity of a metallic enclosure, comprising:
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mounting a miniature antenna on the ceiling of the container; connecting a monitoring tag for monitoring RF energy leaking into said metallic enclosure from an external source, and detecting a breach in the integrity of said container from change in said RF energy leaking into said enclosure. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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32. A method as claimed in claim, wherein the object is networked with other objects, and the status of the object is transmitted to other nearby objects.
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33. (canceled)
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34. A method of monitoring a vehicle, comprising:
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fitting the vehicle with a tag capable of determining the position of the vehicle by trilateration of radio transmissions; storing position data of the vehicle at intervals in memory; and retrieving the position data of the vehicle to determine the route taken by the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. (canceled)
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41. A method of determining the position of an object, comprising:
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receiving radio transmissions from a plurality of transmitters; monitoring the position of the object with a satellite-based navigation system; and deriving the position of the object from the signal strengths of received radio transmissions, the satellite-based navigation system, or a combination of the two. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43)
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45. A method as claimed claim, wherein a satellite-based navigation system is monitored to provide an accurate time reference.
Specification