Apparatus and method for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle
First Claim
1. An apparatus for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle, comprising:
- GPS receiver means for receiving radio signals from a Global Positioning System which are indicative of the current ground position of said GPS receiver means, whereby said current ground position is also the ground vehicle'"'"'s current ground position when said GPS receiver means is coupled thereto;
data base means for storing data which is indicative of at least one bounded area of permitted operation for the ground vehicle;
computing means responsive to said GPS receiver means and said data base means, for determining if the current ground position is outside of said at least one bounded area of permitted operation; and
kill switch means responsive to said computing means for disabling the ground vehicle when the current ground position is outside of said at least one bounded area of permitted operation.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle. The apparatus comprises a GPS receiver for receiving radio signals from a Global Positioning System which are indicative of the current ground position coordinates of the GPS receiver and thus, are the current ground position coordinates for the ground vehicle also when the GPS receiver is coupled to the vehicle. The apparatus also includes a data base for storing ground position coordinates which are indicative of at least one bounded area of permitted operation for the ground vehicle. A control unit which is responsive to the GPS receiver and the data base, is provided for comparing the stored ground position coordinates with the current ground position coordinates in order to determine if the ground vehicle is outside of the bounded area of permitted operation. A kill switch mechanism is provided for disabling the ground vehicle when the current ground position of the ground vehicle is outside of the bounded area of permitted operation.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. An apparatus for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle, comprising:
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GPS receiver means for receiving radio signals from a Global Positioning System which are indicative of the current ground position of said GPS receiver means, whereby said current ground position is also the ground vehicle'"'"'s current ground position when said GPS receiver means is coupled thereto; data base means for storing data which is indicative of at least one bounded area of permitted operation for the ground vehicle; computing means responsive to said GPS receiver means and said data base means, for determining if the current ground position is outside of said at least one bounded area of permitted operation; and kill switch means responsive to said computing means for disabling the ground vehicle when the current ground position is outside of said at least one bounded area of permitted operation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle using a Global Positioning System, comprising the steps of:
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locating the current ground position of said ground vehicle using radio signals transmitted by said Global Positioning System which are received by GPS receiver means associated with said ground vehicle, whereby said transmitted radio signals are indicative of the current ground position of said ground vehicle; determining whether the current ground position of said ground vehicle is outside of a predetermined bounded area of permitted operation; and disabling said ground vehicle when the current ground position is outside of said predetermined bounded area of permitted operation. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for monitoring and bounding the path of a ground vehicle, comprising:
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a GPS receiver for receiving radio signals from a Global Positioning System which are indicative of the current ground position coordinates of said GPS receiver, whereby said current ground position coordinates are also the ground vehicle'"'"'s current ground position coordinates when said GPS receiver is coupled thereto; data base means for storing ground position coordinates which are indicative of at least one bounded area of permitted operation for the ground vehicle; computing means responsive to said GPS receiver and said data base means, which compares said stored ground position coordinates with the current ground position coordinates in order to determine if the ground vehicle is outside of said at least one bounded area of permitted operation; and kill switch means responsive to said computing means for disabling the ground vehicle when the current ground position of the ground vehicle is outside of said at least one bounded area of permitted operation.
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Specification