MONITORING AND TRACKING OF TROLLEYS AND OTHER TRANSPORTING UNITS
First Claim
1. A method of tracking and monitoring a plurality of transporting units comprising:
- (i) each of said transporting units is provided with a respective monitoring device mounted thereto, each of said monitoring devices having a unique ID associated therewith, each of said monitoring devices capable of sending data along with said unique ID using wireless communication;
(ii) a plurality of spaced apart reader devices are each capable of receiving data sent by said monitoring devices;
(iii) sending said data acquired by said reader devices to a data server, along with a unique address associated with each reader device; and
(iv) receiving said data sent by said data server and storing same in a database; and
wherein said monitoring devices are communicating with the reader devices via a local area network, and the reader devices and the data server are communicating via a TCP/IP connection, and said data server using a returned signal strength interface (RSSI) for identifying the position of said transporting units.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system for monitoring and tracking transporting units. The system utilizes a monitoring device fitted to a transporting unit to collect data pertaining to the transporting unit and transferring the data along with a unique ID for monitoring device it to a reader device for a particular geographical area. Each reader device for a geographical area transfers data collected for a plurality of monitoring devices in its geographical area to a centralized server. The server stores the data in a database. The data server uses algorithms to calculate positions of transporting units, load managing for the reader devices, boundary crossing occurrences by a transporting unit, triggering alarm and/or locking wheels for the transporting unit when the device is out-of-range or stolen, and for searching the transporting unit. A user can view the data stored, data computed via. Algorithms and alerts are generated by the data server.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A method of tracking and monitoring a plurality of transporting units comprising:
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(i) each of said transporting units is provided with a respective monitoring device mounted thereto, each of said monitoring devices having a unique ID associated therewith, each of said monitoring devices capable of sending data along with said unique ID using wireless communication; (ii) a plurality of spaced apart reader devices are each capable of receiving data sent by said monitoring devices; (iii) sending said data acquired by said reader devices to a data server, along with a unique address associated with each reader device; and (iv) receiving said data sent by said data server and storing same in a database; and wherein said monitoring devices are communicating with the reader devices via a local area network, and the reader devices and the data server are communicating via a TCP/IP connection, and said data server using a returned signal strength interface (RSSI) for identifying the position of said transporting units. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of tracking and monitoring a plurality of shopping trolleys in a retail environment, said method comprising:
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providing each shopping trolley with a monitoring device mounted thereto, each said monitoring device having a unique ID associated therewith, and each of said monitoring devices capable of sending data along with said unique ID using wireless communication, and for receiving signal commands; having a plurality of spaced apart reader devices disposed at various locations within said retail environment, each reader device capable of receiving data sent by said monitoring devices, and sending signal commands to said monitoring devices; sending said data acquired by said reader devices to a data server, along with a unique address associated with each reader device; receiving said data sent by said data server and storing same in a database; and wherein said monitoring devices are communicating with the reader devices via a local area network, and the reader devices and the data server are communicating via a TCP/IP connection, and said data server using a returned signal strength interface (RSSI) for identifying the position of said transporting units. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A system for monitoring and tracking of a plurality of transporting units comprising:
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a monitoring device mounted on each of said transporting units, each monitoring device being operably connected to at least one transporting unit condition-sensor for sensing a condition of said transporting unit; and each said monitoring device operably connected to a communicator for sending data acquired from said condition sensor; a plurality of spaced apart readers devices for receiving said data sent from said monitoring devices, and acquiring the information of returned signal strength for each monitoring device;
said reading devices wirelessly communicating with said monitoring devices via a personal area network; and
sending said data received by said reader devices;and a data server for receiving said data sent by said reader devices, said data server communicating with said reader devices via, a TCP/IP connection;
said data server comprising a first functional unit to implement an algorithm for identifying transporting-unit positioning using returned signal strength interface (RSSI). - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification