IBEACON COMPATIBLE BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY DEVICE MONITORING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A system comprising:
- an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device configured to periodically broadcast a message at a first period; and
an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device manager configured to;
determine a location of the manager;
store a geographic safe zone;
determine whether the manager is in the geographic safe zone as a function of the determined location of the manager and the stored geographic safe zone;
determine that the device is within range of the manager in response to receiving the message periodically broadcast by the device;
determine that the device is within the geographic safe zone in response to determining that the manager is in the geographic safe zone while the device is determined to be within range of the manager; and
in response to determining that the device and manager are in the geographic safe zone, increasing the period of the broadcast message to a second period such that the message is broadcast less frequently.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device based system for monitoring objects includes a plurality of devices, a plurality of managers, and a manufacturer. Devices are attached to objects or integrated into the objects. The devices may be used for positional tracking only, or may include one or more sensors for measuring or monitoring a characteristic of the object. A device manufacturer commissions the devices with unique majors and minors. Each device is then associated with a device manager, and the device transmits messages to the manager when the device is within range of the manager. The manager determines characteristics of the object as a function of the received messages and a location (e.g., GPS coordinates) of the manager.
14 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device configured to periodically broadcast a message at a first period; and an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device manager configured to; determine a location of the manager; store a geographic safe zone; determine whether the manager is in the geographic safe zone as a function of the determined location of the manager and the stored geographic safe zone; determine that the device is within range of the manager in response to receiving the message periodically broadcast by the device; determine that the device is within the geographic safe zone in response to determining that the manager is in the geographic safe zone while the device is determined to be within range of the manager; and in response to determining that the device and manager are in the geographic safe zone, increasing the period of the broadcast message to a second period such that the message is broadcast less frequently. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system comprising:
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an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device configured to periodically broadcast a message at a first period; and an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device manager configured to; determine a location of the manager; determine that the device is within range of the manager in response to receiving the message periodically broadcast by the device; store a temporary zone when the location of the manager remains within a radius of a central point longer than a first threshold with the device in range of the manager, said temporary zone being the area within the radius of the central point; determining whether the location of the manager is in the temporary zone; and in response to determining that the location of the manager is in the temporary zone and the device is in range, increasing the period of the broadcast message to a second period such that the message is broadcast less frequently. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device configured to periodically broadcast a message comprising a major and a minor; a plurality of iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device managers, each configured to receive the broadcast message from the device, wherein; the device is associated with one manager of the plurality of managers; and the manager is configured to determine when the device is lost and report the lost device by providing the major and the minor of the lost device; an iBeacon compatible Bluetooth low energy device manufacturer configured to; receive the report of the lost device from the manager associated with the lost device; and transmit the major and the minor of the lost device to the plurality of managers; wherein each manager of the plurality of managers is further configured to receive the message broadcast by the lost device and report a location of the manager together with the major and the minor to the manufacturer; and the manufacturer is further configured to provide the manager associated with the lost device with the location of the manager reporting the location of the manager together with the major and the minor associated with the lost device. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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Specification