Vehicle tracker including missed call feature and related methods
First Claim
1. A vehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehicle battery and comprising:
- a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device to send vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon receiving an activation signal via a communications network;
said controller selectively causing the vehicle tracking unit to be in a low power mode to conserve power, said controller cooperating with said wireless communications device to intermittently awaken the vehicle tracking unit from the low power mode to poll the communications network to thereby determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle tracking unit may include a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller. The controller may cooperate with the vehicle position determining device and the wireless communications device to send vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon receiving an activation signal via a communications network. Furthermore, the controller may selectively cause the vehicle tracking unit to be in a low power mode to conserve power. Also, the controller may cooperate with the wireless communications device to intermittently awaken the vehicle tracking unit from the low power mode to poll the communications network to thereby determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit.
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Citations
57 Claims
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1. A vehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehicle battery and comprising:
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a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device to send vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon receiving an activation signal via a communications network;
said controller selectively causing the vehicle tracking unit to be in a low power mode to conserve power, said controller cooperating with said wireless communications device to intermittently awaken the vehicle tracking unit from the low power mode to poll the communications network to thereby determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
determining when the communications network is out of range;
determining when the communications network is back in range after being out of range; and
polling the communications network when back in range to determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit while the communications network was out of range.
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14. The vehicle tracking unit according to claim 1 wherein said wireless communications device comprises a receiver, and wherein said controller causes said receiver to be turned off when the vehicle tracking unit is in the low power mode.
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15. The vehicle tracking unit according to claim 1 wherein the vehicle tracking unit is awakened from the low power mode at intervals in a range of about 12 to 48 hours.
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16. The vehicle tracking unit according to claim 1 wherein said vehicle position determining device comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
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17. A vehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehicle ignition switch, the vehicle tracking unit comprising:
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a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device to send vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon receiving an activation signal via a communications network, the activation signal being stored as at least one missed call by the communications network;
said controller selectively causing the vehicle tracking unit to be in a low power mode to conserve power based upon the vehicle ignition switch being in an off position, said controller cooperating with said wireless communications device to intermittently awaken the vehicle tracking unit from the low power mode to poll the communications network to thereby determine whether the at least one missed call has been stored by the communications network. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28)
determining when the communications network is out of range;
determining when the communications network is back in range after being out of range; and
polling the communications network when back in range to determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit while the communications network was out of range.
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26. The vehicle tracking unit according to claim 17 wherein said wireless communications device comprises a receiver, and wherein said controller causes said receiver to be turned off when the vehicle tracking unit is in the low power mode.
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27. The vehicle tracking unit according to claim 17 wherein the vehicle tracking unit is awakened from the low power mode at intervals in a range of about 12 to 48 hours.
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28. The vehicle tracking unit according to claim 17 wherein said vehicle position determining device comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
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29. A vehicle tracking unit for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehicle battery and comprising:
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a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with said vehicle position determining device and said wireless communications device to send vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon receiving an activation signal via a communications network;
said controller cooperating with said wireless communications device for determining when the communications network is out of range, determining when the communications network is back in range after being out of range, and polling the communications network when back in range to determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit while the communications network was out of range. - View Dependent Claims (30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A vehicle tracking method for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehicle tracking unit, the method comprising:
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selectively causing the vehicle tracking unit to be in a low power mode to conserve power;
intermittently awakening the vehicle tracking unit from the low power mode to poll a communications network to determine whether an activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit via the communications network; and
sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon receiving the activation signal. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
determine when the communications network is out of range;
determine when the communications network is back in range after being out of range; and
poll the communications network when back in range to determine whether the activation signal was directed to the vehicle tracking unit while the communications network was out of range.
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51. A vehicle tracking method for a vehicle of a type comprising a vehicle tracking unit responsive to an activation signal from a communications network, the method comprising:
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determining when the communications network is out of range;
determining when the communications network is back in range after being out of range;
polling the communications network when back in range to determine whether the activation signal has been directed to the vehicle tracking unit while the communications network was out of range; and
sending vehicle position information to a monitoring station based upon determining the activation signal was directed to the vehicle tracking unit while the communications network was out of range. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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Specification