Travel tracker network system
First Claim
1. A method for monitoring a fleet of mobile vehicles, wherein each mobile vehicle has an electronic system used to track a location of the mobile vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
- a. providing an on-board mobile vehicle location sensor and data communication module, wherein the module has an on-board unique identifier;
b. providing a first base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module to receive data from the mobile vehicle data communication module and send data to a super router, and the first base unit having a registry of mobile vehicles assigned to itself;
c. providing a second base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module to receive data from a mobile vehicle assigned to it and send data to the super router;
d. providing the super router with a program to store and compare a plurality of base unit identifiers and a relationship of mobile vehicle identifiers assigned to each base unit; and
e. providing an algorithm in the super router to permit a mobile vehicle to execute a roam from the first to the second base unit, the algorithm providing a storage of data relative to the roam in the super router.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention utilizes a combination of local area networks and hard-wired wide area networks which communicate with mobile units wirelessly. An alternate embodiment uses a hard wired communication from a mobile unit to a base computer. The wireless local area network is comprised of a base computer unit connected wirelessly to single or multiple mobile units while also being connected to a hard-wired wide area network (such as the internet). The base unit either stores or routes packet data to a wide area network super router that, in turn, routes packets to the base unit computer where the packet data should ultimately reside. The present invention utilizes integrated software and hardware apparatus to identify, track and report tax-deductible vehicle travel routes including actual mileage, stops and routes driven.
116 Citations
43 Claims
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1. A method for monitoring a fleet of mobile vehicles, wherein each mobile vehicle has an electronic system used to track a location of the mobile vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. providing an on-board mobile vehicle location sensor and data communication module, wherein the module has an on-board unique identifier;
b. providing a first base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module to receive data from the mobile vehicle data communication module and send data to a super router, and the first base unit having a registry of mobile vehicles assigned to itself;
c. providing a second base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module to receive data from a mobile vehicle assigned to it and send data to the super router;
d. providing the super router with a program to store and compare a plurality of base unit identifiers and a relationship of mobile vehicle identifiers assigned to each base unit; and
e. providing an algorithm in the super router to permit a mobile vehicle to execute a roam from the first to the second base unit, the algorithm providing a storage of data relative to the roam in the super router. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method for collecting GPS data for a plurality of fleets of vehicles, each vehicle having an on-board processor, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. installing in a vehicle an electronic system having a GPS and a communication subsystem;
b. said GPS and communication subsystem further comprising an on-board unique identifier;
c. collecting GPS coordinate data via the electronic system and transferring said GPS coordinate data to a first base computer;
d. assigning the first base computer to a first client, and creating a registry of subsystems assigned to the first base computer;
e. repeating steps a-d for a second client and assigning a second base computer to the second client;
f. creating a super-router having a communications module to send and receive data among the first and the second base computer;
g. creating a registry in the super router of all subsystems identifier'"'"'s and a predetermined relationship to each base computer;
h. moving a roaming vehicle having a subsystem from the first geographic region to the second geographic region;
i. transmitting data from the roaming vehicle'"'"'s subsystem to the second base computer;
j. recognizing in the second base computer that the data received from the roaming vehicle subsystem belongs elsewhere;
k. using the super-router, transferring the data to an appropriate base computer. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
a. monitoring and storing a route including stops of the vehicle;
b. comparing said stops to a table of pre-authorized stops; and
c. reporting a distance traveled between a first and a second pre-authorized stop.
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8. The method of claim 7, wherein at least one pre-authorized stop is a tax deductible stop.
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9. The method of claim 7, wherein the step of comparing said stops further comprises inputting user data which selects valid versus invalid stops between a first and a second pre-authorized stop.
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10. The method of claim 7, further comprising the step of inputting user data and selecting valid and invalid legs of the route.
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11. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of inputting user data and selecting valid and invalid legs of the route for tax purposes.
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12. The method of claim 11 further comprising a step of computing a tax deductible total distance for the route.
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13. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of inputting and calculating inventory data related to the route.
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14. The method of claim 13 further comprising the step of comparing inventory data between a first and a second vehicle.
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15. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of reporting data showing a time of stops versus a time of transit.
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16. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of reporting stops designated as customers.
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17. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of collecting an employee identity.
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18. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of collecting a vehicle identity.
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19. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of collecting data from a plurality of vehicles.
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20. The method of claim 12 further comprising the step of presenting a graphical depiction of the route superimposed on a map.
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21. The method of claim 20 further comprising the step of using colors for coding and displaying a colored route history where changing colors represents changing speeds.
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22. A method of claim 12 further comprising the step of using a time originating from the vehicle location subsystem to record employee time worked data.
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23. A system for collecting GPS data for a plurality of fleets of vehicles, each vehicle having an on-board processor, the system comprising:
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a. means for installing in a vehicle an electronic system having a GPS and a communication subsystem;
b. said GPS and communication subsystem further comprising an on-board unique identifier functioning to identify itself when communicating data to a receiving computer;
c. means for collecting GPS coordinate data via the electronic system and means for transferring said GPS coordinate data to a first base computer;
d. means for assigning the first base computer to a first geographic region, and means for creating a registry of subsystems assigned to the first base computer;
e. means for creating a second geographic region and assigning a second base computer to the second geographic region;
f. means for creating a super-router having a communications module to send and receive data among the first and the second and x number of base computers;
g. means for creating a registry in the super router of all subsystems identifier'"'"'s and a predetermined relationship to each base computer;
h. means for the second base computer to receive data from a roaming vehicle assigned to the first base computer, and means for the second base computer to pass said data to the first base computer;
i. means for transmitting data from the roaming vehicle'"'"'s subsystem to the second base computer;
j. means for recognizing in the second base computer that the data received from the roaming vehicle subsystem belongs elsewhere; and
k. means for using the super-router to transfer the data to an appropriate base computer. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
a. means for monitoring and storing a route including stops of the vehicle;
b. means for comparing said stops to a table of pre-authorized stops; and
c. means for reporting a distance traveled between a first and a second pre-authorized stop.
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25. The system of claim 24, wherein the table of pre-authorized stops includes at least one tax deductible stop.
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26. The system of claim 24, further comprising means for comparing said stops and means for inputting user data which selects valid versus invalid stops between a first and a second pre-authorized stops.
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27. The system of claim 26, wherein the first and the second pre-authorized stops are for tax purposes.
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28. The system of claim 26, further comprising means for selecting valid and invalid legs of the route for tax purposes.
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29. The system of claim 28, further comprising means for computing a total pre-authorized distance for the route.
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30. The system of claim 29, wherein the pre-authorized distance is for tax purposes.
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31. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for inputting and calculating inventory data related to the route.
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32. The system of claim 31 further comprising means for comparing inventory data between a first and a second vehicle.
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33. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for reporting data showing a time of stops versus a time of transit.
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34. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for reporting stops designated as customers.
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35. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for collecting an employee identity.
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36. The system of claim 29 further comprising the step of collecting a vehicle identity.
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37. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for collecting data from a plurality of vehicles.
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38. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for presenting a graphical depiction of the route superimposed on a map.
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39. The system of claim 29 further comprising:
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a. means for monitoring and storing a route in incremental time segments;
b. means for calculating a vehicle speed for each time segment;
c. means for coding a range of speeds; and
d. means for displaying a graphic depiction of a speed history using the coding.
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40. The system of claim 39 further comprising means for using colors as the coding and displaying a colored route history where changing colors represents changing speeds.
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41. The system of claim 29 further comprising means for using a time originating from the vehicle location subsystem to record employee time worked data.
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42. A system for monitoring data for a plurality of fleet mobile vehicles, the system comprising:
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a. means for providing an on-board mobile vehicle location sensor and data communication module functioning to transmit or receive data, wherein the module has an on-board unique identifier;
b. means for providing a first base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module functioning to receive data from the mobile vehicle data communication module and send data to a super router, and the first base unit having a registry of mobile vehicles assigned to itself;
c. means for providing a second base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module functioning to receive data from a mobile vehicle assigned to it and send data to the super router;
d. means for providing the super router functioning to maintain data regarding the system with a program to store and compare a plurality of base unit identifiers and a relationship of mobile vehicle identifiers assigned to each base unit; and
e. means for providing an algorithm in the super router functioning to permit a mobile vehicle to execute a roam from the first to the second base unit, the algorithm providing a storage of data relative to the roam in the super router.
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43. A method for monitoring a fleet of mobile vehicles, wherein each mobile vehicle has an electronic system used to track a location of the mobile vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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a. providing an on-board mobile vehicle location sensor and data communication module, wherein the module has an on-board unique identifier;
b. providing a first base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module to receive data from the mobile vehicle data communication module and send data to a super router, and the first base unit having a registry of mobile vehicles assigned to itself;
c. providing a second base unit having a unique identifier and having a data communication module to receive data from a mobile vehicle assigned to it and send data to the super router;
d. providing the super router with a program to store and compare a plurality of base unit identifiers and a relationship of mobile vehicle identifiers assigned to each base unit;
e. providing an algorithm in the super router to permit a mobile vehicle to execute a roam from the first to the second base unit, the algorithm providing a storage of data relative to the roam in the super router; and
f. providing integrated software to allow an end user to generate data reports as specified by the end user.
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Specification