CHECKPOINT SYSTEM AND PROCESS

• US 20150050950A1
• Filed: 08/12/2014
• Published: 02/19/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Case Global, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Case Global, Inc.
• Inventors: Alon, Moshe, Gal, Uri
• Granted Patent: US 9,813,851 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings

Abstract

A checkpoint system includes a plurality of checkpoint tags, each checkpoint tag located at a different checkpoint location. Each checkpoint tag has a storage device storing a checkpoint tag identification code. The system includes at least one mobile processor device that reads the checkpoint tags when the mobile processor device is brought within a predefined vicinity of the checkpoint location, and obtains location information corresponding to the location of the mobile processor device when the mobile processor device reads a checkpoint tag. The mobile processor device is configured to transmit data corresponding to the checkpoint tag identification code, location information and other information over the communication network to a backend or other processor device, in accordance with rule-base processes.

Claims

1. A checkpoint system comprising:

a plurality of checkpoint tags, each checkpoint tag configured to be located at a different checkpoint location relative to each other checkpoint tag, each checkpoint tag having a storage device storing data corresponding to a checkpoint tag identification code;

at least one software application in a mobile processor device that configures the mobile processor device to read each checkpoint tag when the mobile processor device is brought within a predefined vicinity of the checkpoint location, and to obtain location information corresponding to the location of the mobile processor device when the mobile processor device reads a checkpoint tag.

2. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile processor device reads each checkpoint tag wirelessly.

3. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, wherein each checkpoint tag has a passive storage medium that stores the data corresponding to the checkpoint tag identification code.

4. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 3, wherein passive storage medium comprises a magnetic storage device.

5. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, wherein the mobile processor device includes GPS electronics that provides the location information.

6. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, wherein the location information is compared with a predefined location of the read checkpoint tag to determine if the location information corresponds to the predefined location of the read checkpoint tag.

7. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor to receive and display a checkpoint schedule, the checkpoint schedule defining at least one of the checkpoint locations.

8. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 7, wherein the checkpoint schedule further defines at least one time or time period associated with each checkpoint location in the schedule, where the at least one time or time period corresponds to a time or time period in which a person with the mobile processor device is scheduled to be present at the associated checkpoint location.

9. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 7, wherein the mobile processor device is associated with a designated person having a personnel identification code, and wherein the schedule is associated with the personnel identification code.

10. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 9, further comprising:

an identification tag associated with the designated person, the identification tag having a storage medium that stores the personnel identification code;

wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to read the personnel identification code from the storage medium on the identification tag and either identify the schedule associated with the personnel identification code or transmit the personnel identification code to a further processor device that identifies the schedule associated with the personnel identification code.

11. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, wherein

the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to selectively write data to one or more of the checkpoint tags;

and

each checkpoint tag has at least one storage medium that stores the data corresponding to the checkpoint tag identification code and additional information written by the mobile processor device.

12. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1 wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to transmit data over a communication network to at least one other processor device, in response to the mobile processor device reading one of the checkpoint tags.

13. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 12, wherein the data transmitted over the communication network corresponds to at least one of:

(a) the checkpoint tag identification code of the one checkpoint tag, (b) the location information, (c) a personnel identification code assigned to a person associated with the mobile processor device, (d) sensor data obtained from one or more sensors on the mobile processor device, (e) time information corresponding to a time at which the checkpoint tag is read, and (f) user-input data obtained through at least one user-input device on the mobile processor device.

14. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

at least one backend or other processor device configured to receive and store information over a communication network;

wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to transmit data over the communication network to the at least one backend or other processor device; and

wherein the data transmitted over the communication network corresponds to at least one of;

(a) the checkpoint tag identification code of the one checkpoint tag, (b) the location information, (c) a personnel identification code assigned to a person associated with the mobile processor device, (d) sensor data obtained from one or more sensors on the mobile processor device, (e) time information corresponding to a time at which the checkpoint tag is read, and (f) user-input data obtained through at least one user-input device on the mobile processor device.

15. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1 wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to transmit data over a communication network to at least one other processor device, in response to the mobile processor device reading one of the checkpoint tags at a time or within a time period for that checkpoint tag specified in the schedule assigned to the person with the mobile processor device.

16. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1 wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to transmit data over a communication network to at least one other processor device, in response to the mobile processor device failing to read one of the checkpoint tags at a time or within a time period for that checkpoint tag specified in the schedule assigned to the person with the mobile processor device.

17. A checkpoint system as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

at least one backend or other processor device configured to process time and attendance information,

wherein the at least one software application further configures the mobile processor device to transmit data over a communication network to at least one backend or other processor device, in response to the mobile processor device receiving input corresponding to a work start time and/or a work stop time for a person associated with the mobile processor device;

wherein the at least one backend or other processor device is configured to employ the data as part of the time and attendance information.

18. A checkpoint process comprising:

locating a plurality of checkpoint tags at a plurality of different checkpoint locations, each checkpoint tag having a storage device storing data corresponding to a checkpoint tag identification code; and

configuring each mobile processor device of a plurality of mobile processor devices to read each checkpoint tag when the mobile processor device is brought within a predefined vicinity of the checkpoint location in which the checkpoint tag is located, and to obtain location information corresponding to the location of the mobile processor device when the mobile processor device reads a checkpoint tag.

19. A process as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

associating the plurality of mobile processor devices with a corresponding plurality of personnel;

assigning a checkpoint schedule to each of the personnel, the checkpoint schedule defining at least one of the checkpoint locations.

20. A process as recited in claim 19, wherein the checkpoint schedule further defines at least one time or time period associated with each checkpoint location in the schedule, where the at least one time or time period corresponds to a time or time period in which the personnel to whom the schedule is assigned is scheduled to be present at the associated checkpoint location.

21. A process as recited in claim 19, further comprising:

assigning a different personnel identification code to each of the personnel;

wherein assigning the checkpoint schedule comprises associating a different checkpoint schedule with each different personnel identification code.

22. A process as recited in claim 21, further comprising:

associating a different identification tag with each different one of the personnel;

storing the personnel identification code assigned to the personnel on storage media in the identification tags associated with that personnel;

configuring the mobile processor devices to read the personnel identification codes from the storage media on the identification tags and either identify the schedules associated with the personnel identification codes or transmit the personnel identification codes to a further processor device that identifies the schedules associated with the personnel identification codes.

23. A process as recited in claim 18, further comprising:

transmitting data from at least one of the mobile processor devices over the communication network to at least one backend or other processor device, in response to the at least one mobile processor device reading one of the checkpoint tags;

wherein the data transmitted over the communication network corresponds to at least one of;

(a) the checkpoint tag identification code of the one checkpoint tag, (b) the location information, (c) a personnel identification code assigned to a person associated with the at least one mobile processor device, (d) sensor data obtained from one or more sensors on the at least one mobile processor device, (e) time information corresponding to a time at which the checkpoint tag is read, and (f) user-input data obtained through a user-input device on the at least one mobile processor device.

24. A process as recited in claim 18, further comprising transmitting data from one of the mobile processor devices over a communication network to at least one other processor device, in response to the mobile processor device reading one of the checkpoint tags at a time or within a time period for that checkpoint tag specified in a schedule assigned to the person with the mobile processor device.

25. A process as recited in claim 18, further comprising transmitting data from one of the mobile processor devices over a communication network to at least one other processor device, in response to the mobile processor device failing to read one of the checkpoint tags at a time or within a time period for that checkpoint tag specified in a schedule assigned to the person with the mobile processor device.

26. A checkpoint system comprising:

a plurality of checkpoint tags, each checkpoint tag located at a different checkpoint location relative to each other checkpoint tag, each checkpoint tag having a storage device storing data corresponding to a checkpoint tag identification code;

at least one backend or other processor device configured to receive and store information over a communication network;

at least one mobile processor device configured to read each checkpoint tag when the mobile processor device is brought within a predefined vicinity of the checkpoint location, and to obtain location information corresponding to the location of the mobile processor device when the mobile processor device reads a checkpoint tag; and

wherein the mobile processor device is configured to transmit data over the communication network to the at least one backend or other processor device; and

wherein the data transmitted over the communication network corresponds to at least one of;

(a) the checkpoint tag identification code of the one checkpoint tag, (b) the location information, (c) a personnel identification code assigned to a person associated with the mobile processor device, (d) sensor data obtained from one or more sensors on the mobile processor device, (e) time information corresponding to a time at which the checkpoint tag is read, and (f) user-input data obtained through at least one user-input device on the mobile processor device.