TRACKING AND THEFT-RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR MOBILE ASSETS

• US 20170142543A1
• Filed: 11/18/2016
• Published: 05/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cambridge Mobile Telematics, Inc., Discovery Limited
• Original Assignee: Cambridge Mobile Telematics, Inc., Discovery Limited
• Inventors: Ossin, Ilan, Balakrishnan, Hari, Girod, Lewis David
• Granted Patent: US 10,015,654 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/32 of vehicle dynamic parameters, e.g. speed or acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

A system for tracking objects includes tracking devices each attached to an object to be tracked and including a short range communications module. A server includes a processor and a memory. A mobile communications device (typically a mobile telephone) includes memory for storing an identification of the mobile device, a long range communication module for communication over a cellular communication network and a short range communications module for receiving short range signals transmitted from tracking devices. The mobile telephone also includes a location determination module to determine the location of the mobile telephone. On receipt of a short range distress signal from a tracking device, a location is obtained from the location module and a signal transmitted to the server including at least the identification of the tracking device, a time of receipt of the short range signal from the tracking device and the determined location of the tracking device when the short range signal was received.

Claims

1. A tracking device including:

a short range wireless communication module;

an accelerometer; and

a controller connected to the wireless communication module and to the accelerometer so that when an object to which the device is connected in use moves, the movement is detected by the accelerometer and in response thereto the controller waits for a period of time to receive an authentication confirmation message from the mobile communications device, if no authentication confirmation message is received within the period of time the controller controls the communication module to periodically transmit distress messages via the short range wireless communications module

2. A tracking device according to claim 1 wherein the short range wireless communication module is a Bluetooth communication module.

3. A tracking device according to claim 1 further including a long range low energy wireless communication module.

4. A tracking device according to claim 3 wherein the long range wireless communication module is a LoRa (Low Energy Long Range) wireless communication module for communication over a LoRa wireless network or a cellular network.

5. A tracking device according to claim 4 wherein the tracking device receives via the long range communication module an activate message from a tracking server and in response thereto the controller activates the short range wireless communication module to transmit periodic distress messages via the short range wireless communications module.

6. A tracking device according to claim 1 wherein the device further includes a memory for storing a unique identifier of the device.

7. A tracking device according to claim 6 wherein the accelerometer measures the acceleration of the tag and thereby of the vehicle and stores acceleration data in the memory and wherein the controller controls the communication module to transmit a sequence of time stamped acceleration data to a mobile communications device.

8. A tracking device according to claim 7 wherein the device also provides driving behaviour data.

9. A system for tracking objects including:

a plurality of tracking devices each attached to an object to be tracked and including a short range communications module;

a server;

a mobile communications device including;

a memory for storing therein an identification of the mobile device;

a long range communication module for communication over a cellular communication network;

a short range communications module for receiving short range signals transmitted from tracking devices, the received signal including at least an identification of the tracking device;

a location determination module to determine the location of the mobile communication device; and

a processor for;

on receipt of a short range distress signal from a tracking device, obtaining a location from the location module; and

transmitting a signal to the server via the long range communication module, the signal including at least the identification of the tracking device, a time of receipt of the short range signal from the tracking device and the determined location of the tracking device when the short range signal was received.

10. A system according to claim 9 wherein the short range communications module is a Bluetooth communication module which receives a Bluetooth distress signal from a tracking device.

11. A system according to claim 9 wherein the mobile communications device is a mobile telephone.

12. A system according to claim 9 wherein the mobile communications device and the server both include a long range communications module which enable the mobile communications device and the server to communicate directly with one another.

13. A system according to claim 9 further including a memory associated with the server, wherein the server further:

receives an authentication request from a mobile communications device, the authentication request including an identification of a tracking device and an identification of the mobile communications device from which the request is received;

accesses the memory to determine if the mobile communications device from which the authentication request is received is an authorised mobile communications device for the tracking device; and

if the mobile communications device is an authorised device then transmitting an authentication message back to the mobile communications device via the long range communication modules.

14. A system according to claim 13 wherein upon receipt of an authentication message, the mobile communication device transmits a cancel message via the short range communication modules to the tracking device to thereby stop the tracking device from transmitting distress messages.