System and method for monitoring assets, objects, people and animals utilizing impulse radio

• US 6,512,455 B2
• Filed: 09/27/1999
• Issued: 01/28/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/27/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Humatics Corporation
• Original Assignee: Time Domain Corporation (Humatics Corporation)
• Inventors: Payment, Timothy T., Richards, James L., Fullerton, Larry W., Finn, James S.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/407,106
• Publication Number:
  US 20020030596A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,219 Days
• Field of Search: 340/568.1, 340/568.5, 340/568.6, 340/571, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/573.1, 340/573.3, 340/573.4, 340/573.7, 340/991, 340/992, 340/825.41, 340/825.49, 340/825.54, 340/10.4, 340/10.41, 342/28, 342/33
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/71632 Signal aspects H04B1/7172 and H04B1/7176 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/7183 Synchronisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/719 Interference-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2001/6908 using time hopping

Abstract

An asset, object, person or animal monitoring system and associated method for monitoring assets, objects, people or animals utilizing impulse radio techniques. The asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of the present invention can vary the duty cycles of the impulse radio transmitters, by both manual and automatic means, to adapt to varied requirements.

Claims

1. An impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system, comprising:

an ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter for periodically transmitting impulse radio signals during transmission intervals wherein the transmission intervals are spaced apart in accordance with a selectable duty cycle, said impulse radio signals containing information relating to said asset, object, person or animal; and

an ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio receiver for receiving said impulse radio signals by locking onto one of said impulse radio signals during one of said transmission intervals.

2. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a monitor in communication with said impulse radio receiver for monitoring the information relating to said asset, object, person or animal.

3. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 2, further comprising a central station in communication with said monitor for displaying the information related to said asset, object, person or animal.

4. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising at least one sensor associated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal operably connected with a sensor interface, said sensor interface in communication with said impulse radio transmitter.

5. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said impulse radio transmitter is activated by manual means.

6. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, further comprising a wireless carrier wave-less impulse radio activator attached to a perimeter of an entrance to a structure wherein said asset, object, person or animal is contained and wherein passing of said impulse radio transmitter within a given proximity to said wireless impulse radio activator initiates the impulse radio signals from said impulse radio transmitter.

7. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 6, wherein said wireless impulse radio activator activates said impulse radio transmitter and automatically sets the duty cycle of said impulse radio transmitter.

8. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 6, wherein said impulse radio transmitter is cross-correlated with said asset, object, person or animal.

9. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 8, further comprising a bar code scanner used to cross-correlate said impulse radio transmitter with said asset, object, person or animal.

10. The asset, object, person or animal monitor system according to claim 6, further comprising a positioning device for determining the position of said structure based upon externally supplied location data.

11. The asset, object, person or animal monitor system according to claim 10 wherein said position determining device comprises a receiver for receiving signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites which provide location data from which the position of said structure is determined.

12. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 1, wherein said impulse radio transmitter varies the duty cycle of the impulse radio signals in response to shipping and storing duration and monitoring requirements.

13. A method of monitoring an asset, object, person or animal comprising the steps of:

periodically transmitting, from an ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter, an impulse radio signal during a transmission interval determined in accordance with a selectable duty cycle, said impulse radio signal containing information relating to an asset, object, person or animal;

receiving said impulse radio signal from said impulse radio transmitter by locking onto said impulse radio signal during said transmission interval; and

monitoring the information relating to said asset, object, person or animal.

14. The method of monitoring an asset, object, person or animal of step 13, further comprising the step of reporting said information relating to said asset, object, person or animal.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising the step of incorporating a sensor onto said asset, object, person or animal and interfacing said sensor with said impulse radio transmitter.

16. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising the step of remotely activating said impulse radio transmitter.

17. The method as recited in claim 14, further comprising the step of correlating said impulse radio transmitter and said asset, object, person or animal.

18. The method as recited in claim 17, said step of correlating said impulse radio transmitter and said asset, object, person or animal further includes using a bar code scanner.

19. An impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system, comprising:

at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter, each impulse radio transmitter capable of periodically transmitting impulse radio signals during transmission intervals wherein the transmission intervals are spaced apart in accordance with a selectable duty cycle, each impulse radio signal includes a train of time-spaced pulses indicative of information relating to an associated asset, object, person or animal;

a sensor associated with each asset, object, person or animal operably connected with a sensor interface, said sensor interface in communication with said impulse radio transmitter;

an ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio receiver for receiving said impulse radio signals by locking onto one of said impulse radio signals during one of said transmission intervals by adjusting the timing of a train of template signal pulses generated by said impulse radio receiver such that the timing of the train of template signal pulses is substantially coincident with the timing of the train of time-spaced pulses of said one of the impulse radio signals; and

a monitor in communication with said impulse radio receiver for monitoring the information relating to each asset, object, person or animal.

20. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 19, further comprising a wireless carrier-waveless impulse radio activator attached to a perimeter of an entrance to a structure wherein each asset, object, person or animal is contained and wherein passing of said at least one impulse radio transmitter within a given proximity to said impulse radio activator initiates the transmission of said impulse radio signals from said at least one impulse radio transmitter.

21. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 19, wherein said at least one impulse radio transmitter is cross-correlated with said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

22. The impulse radio asset, object, person or animal monitoring system of claim 21, further comprising a bar code scanner used to cross-correlate said at least one impulse radio transmitter with said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

23. In an impulse radio system having at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter, at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio receiver, at least one structure with at least one asset, object, person or animal therein, a method for monitoring said at least one asset, object, person or animal comprising the steps of:

connecting said at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter to said at least one asset, object, person or animal;

incorporating a sensor onto said at least one asset, object, person or animal and interfacing said sensor with said at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter;

periodically transmitting from said at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitter an impulse radio signal during a transmission interval determined in accordance with a selectable duty cycle, said impulse radio signal includes a train of time-spaced pulses indicative of information relating to said at least one asset, object, person or animal; and

receiving said impulse radio signal transmission using said at least one ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio receiver by locking onto said impulse radio signal during said transmission interval by adjusting the timing of a train of template signal pulses generated by said impulse radio receiver such that the timing of the train of template signal pulses is substantially coincident with the timing of the train of time-spaced pulses of said impulse radio signal; and

reporting said information relating to said at least one asset, object, person or animal.

24. A system for monitoring a plurality of assets, objects, persons or animals located in a vehicle, said system comprising:

a plurality of ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio transmitters, each impulse radio transmitter is attached to one of the assets, objects, persons or animals and each impulse radio transmitter is capable of periodically transmitting impulse radio signals during transmission intervals wherein the transmission intervals are spaced apart in accordance with a selectable duty cycle, each impulse radio signal includes a train of time-spaced pulses indicative of information relating to said attached asset, object, person or animal;

an ultra wideband carrier wave-less impulse radio receiver, located in said vehicle, for receiving the impulse radio signals from said plurality of impulse radio transmitters by locking onto one of said impulse radio signals during one of said transmission intervals by adjusting the timing of a train of template signal pulses generated by said impulse radio receiver such that the timing of the train of template signal pulses is substantially coincident with the timing of the train of time-spaced pulses of said one of the impulse radio signals;

a monitor, located in said vehicle, in communication with said impulse radio receiver for monitoring the information relating to each asset, object, person or animal; and

a remote central station in communication with said monitor for monitoring the information relating to said vehicle and each asset, object, person or animal located within said vehicle.

25. The system of claim 24, further comprising an operator interface, located in said vehicle, in communication with said monitor for monitoring information relating to each asset, object, person or animal located within said vehicle.

26. The system of claim 24, further comprising a wireless carrier-waveless impulse radio activator attached to an entrance of said vehicle wherein each asset, object, person or animal is contained and wherein passing of each impulse radio transmitter within a given proximity to said impulse radio activator initiates the transmission of said impulse radio signals from that impulse radio transmitter.

27. The system of claim 24, wherein a bar code system is used to cross-correlate each impulse radio transmitter with each asset, object person or animal.

28. The system of claim 24, further comprising a plurality of sensors, each sensor is associated with each asset, object, person or animal and interfaced with each impulse radio transmitter.

29. The system of claim 24, further comprising a position determination system including a receiver for receiving signals from a plurality of global positioning satellites which provide location data from which a position of said vehicle is determined.