Automatic mobile object locator apparatus and method

• US 6,377,210 B1
• Filed: 02/25/2000
• Issued: 04/23/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: GeoTab Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Grey Island Systems, Inc. (Blond Bear Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Moore, I. Andrew
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US09/513,600
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.13, 342/357.09, 342/357.1, 701/208, 701/212
• US Class Current: 342/357.4
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/26 specially adapted for navigation in a road network
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles

Abstract

An automatic mobile object locator apparatus and method provides position information and map data to user terminal equipment through a data communication network, such as the Internet. A GPS receiver in mobile equipment attached to a vehicle obtains global position information of the vehicle which is transmitted through a communication network, including at least a wireless network portion, to a processor unit. The vehicle position information for like vehicles associated with one customer are stored in a customer specific database. Map data and position information are transmitted through the data network between the processor unit and user terminal equipment wherein a selected map and the location of a selected vehicle(s) are coupled and displayed to the user.

Claims

1. A mobile object locator apparatus comprising:

a datacenter;

a plurality of receivers, one receiver mountable on one of a plurality of mobile objects, for receiving global positioning system signals from a global positioning system and calculating the position of the mobile object;

a transmitter in communication with the receiver for transmitting the position information of the mobile object;

a network including a wireless communication portion for receiving the position information from the transmitter and for transmitting the position information to a datacenter;

the datacenter storing the position information in a user specific mobile object location database for all mobile objects of one user;

map data for at least one geographic region stored in a map database;

user terminal equipment; and

a data network coupling the datacenter and the user terminal equipment in data communication, the user terminal equipment accessing the data network to selectively obtain the position information only from the user specific mobile object location database and the map data from the map database, the position information and the map data being transmitted separately through the data network in response to a user request.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the data network is the Internet.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the position information of the mobile object is stored by the datacenter in the user specific mobile object location database at successive time intervals.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the map data is stored in the user terminal equipment after transmission to the user terminal equipment.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the map data is stored in the map database in data communication with the datacenter and the user terminal equipment.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the user terminal equipment includes a display.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising:

a plurality of independently selectable maps of specific geographic regions stored in the map database.

8. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the user terminal equipment displays the map data and position information independent from each other.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the user terminal equipment provides at least one of a map zoom and map centering about a point of interest on the map display.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein the user terminal equipment further comprises:

means for following the path of movement of a selected mobile object on the map display.

11. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the datacenter geographically references at least one location in the map data.

12. A method of automatically locating a mobile object comprising the steps of:

mounting a receiver on each one of a plurality of mobile objects for receiving global positioning system signals from a global positioning system;

calculating the position of the mobile object from the global positioning system signals;

providing a wireless transmitter in data communication with the receiver for transmitting the position information of the mobile object;

communicating the position information to a datacenter;

storing the position information of mobile objects associated with one user in a user specific mobile object location database;

storing map data of at least one geographic area in a map database;

providing data communication between the datacenter and at least one remote user terminal;

providing the user terminal with a selection of one of the map data and the position information in one user specific mobile object location database and transmitting the user terminal selection to the datacenter; and

transmitting the selected one of the map data and the position information from the datacenter to the user terminal.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of transmitting the selected one of the map data and the position information comprises the step of:

transmitting the map data and the position information to the user terminal independent of each other.

14. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of:

transmitting position information to the datacenter at periodic time intervals; and

storing position information for different mobile objects separately in the mobile object location database.

15. The method of claim 12 further comprising the steps of:

converting the position information to pixels corresponding to a map pixel grid; and

overlaying the converted position information on displayed map data at the user terminal.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of:

at the datacenter, querying and transmitting the historical position information of a mobile object over a selected time interval.

17. A method of automatically locating a mobile object comprising the steps of:

mounting a receiver on a mobile object for receiving global positioning system signals from a global positioning system;

calculating the position of the mobile object from the global positioning system signals;

providing a wireless transmitter in data communication with the receiver for transmitting the position information of the mobile object;

communicating the position information to a datacenter;

storing the position information in a user specific mobile object location database;

storing map data of at least one geographic area in a map database;

providing data communication between the datacenter and at least one remote user terminal;

providing the user terminal with a selection of one of the map data and the position information and transmitting the user terminal selection to the datacenter;

transmitting the selected one of the map data and the position information from the datacenter to the user terminal;

geographically referencing the address of at least one location in a selected map displayed on the user terminal;

selecting one mobile object displayed on the user terminal;

dragging the selected mobile object to the location of the geographically referenced address;

returning the selected mobile object to the present mobile object position on the map; and

displaying a line between the position of the selected mobile object and the location of the geographically referenced address.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of:

changing the length of the line as the selected mobile object approaches the geographically referenced address.