System architecture and communications for an asset management system

• US 7,171,381 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2003
• Issued: 01/30/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Id Systems Incorporated (PowerFleet, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Id Systems Incorporated (PowerFleet, Inc.)
• Inventors: Hecker, Yaron, Ehrman, Michael L., Jagid, Jeffrey M., Pimentel, Leonard, Ehrman, Kenneth S., Pinzon, Joseph M.
• Primary Examiner(s): GORT, ELAINE L
• Application Number:
  US10/426,164
• Publication Number:
  US 20040015419A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 701/35, 701/36, 701/213, 701/202, 701/209, 701/33, 705/28, 340/904
• US Class Current: 705/28
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06312 Adjustment or analysis of established resource schedule, e.g. resource or task levelling, or dynamic rescheduling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/203 Inventory monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: G07B 15/00 Arrangements or apparatus for collecting fares, tolls or entrance fees at one or more control points handling coins or valuable papers, e.g. banknotes, G07D; apparatus for vending or hiring articles or services activated by coins, credit cards, paper currency or the like G07F7/00, G07F17/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 17/00 Arrangements for transmitting signals characterised by the use of a wireless electrical link
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 2201/50 Receiving or transmitting feedback, e.g. replies, status updates, acknowledgements, from the controlled devices
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/083 using passwords cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication using a predetermined code H04L9/3226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/102 Entity profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/04 specially adapted for terminals or networks with limited capabilities; specially adapted for terminal portability
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/125 involving control of end-device applications over a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/76 Group identity
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/245 : from a network towards a terminal

Abstract

A robust wireless communications system operable to provide communications for mobile wireless devices. The wireless communications system generally includes a management computing system, wireless infrastructure, and mobile wireless devices. The wireless infrastructure includes wireless infrastructure devices having processing and storage capability. Similarly, the mobile wireless devices include processing and storage capability. Communication links between the management computing system and wireless infrastructure, and wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless devices are utilized to downlink and uplink data. In operation, data generated at the management computing system may be downloaded to the wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless devices sequentially without active simultaneous communication links. Similarly, data generated at the mobile wireless devices may be uploaded to the wireless infrastructure and management computing system without active simultaneous communication links. Because the wireless infrastructure and mobile wireless devices are intelligent, decisions may be made independent of a communication link existing with the management computing system.

Claims

1. An asset management system for managing assets, said asset management system comprising:

means for generating data associated with an asset;

means for storing the data associated with the asset at the asset;

means for applying at least one identifier to the data to form a dataset;

means for transmitting the dataset from the asset to a wireless infrastructure via a first communication link;

means for storing the dataset at the wireless infrastructure;

means for transmitting the dataset to a central location via a second communication link independent of the first communication link being simultaneously established; and

an asset management unit installed on the asset for;

determining whether the asset is out of communication range for the wireless infrastructure;

determining that the asset has returned to the communication range of the wireless infrastructure;

instructing the means for transmitting to transmit the dataset to the wireless infrastructure when it is determined that the asset has returned to within the communication range of the wireless infrastructure;

identifying actions to be performed on the mobile asset;

notifying the central location of the actions to be performed on the mobile asset;

notifying the central location when all of the actions to be performed have been completed.

2. The asset management system according to claim 1, wherein the asset is mobile and battery powered.

3. The asset management system according to claim 1, wherein said means for storing the dataset at the wireless infrastructure stores the dataset while the second communication link is not established.

4. The asset management system according to claim 3, wherein said means for transmitting the dataset from the asset to the wireless infrastructure via the first communication link is operable independent of the second communication link being simultaneously established.

5. The asset management system according to claim 1, further comprising means for generating the at least one identifier, wherein the at least one identifier is generated temporally relative to other identifiers generated in association with other data associated with the asset.

6. The asset management system according to claim 1, further comprising means for overwriting the dataset at the asset.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the dataset includes data representative of the final fuel level of the asset and mileage traveled by the asset since the asset left the communication range of the wireless infrastructure.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the asset management unit notifies the central location if it needs additional fuel.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the dataset represents data captured before the asset returned to communication range of the wireless infrastructure.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the asset management unit transmits the dataset to the wireless infrastructure without receiving a data request from the wireless infrastructure.

11. A system for managing information of an asset tracking system, said system comprising:

means for receiving data associated with an asset by an asset communicator;

means for applying an identifier to the data;

means for storing the identifier and data as dataset at the asset communicator,

means for transmitting the dataset to a wireless infrastructure substantially real-time if a wireless communication link is established with the wireless infrastructure, otherwise, said means for transmitting the dataset is operable to transmit the dataset to the wireless infrastructure in response to a wireless communication link becoming established; and

an asset management unit installed on the asset for;

determining whether the asset is out of communication range for the wireless infrastructure;

determining that the asset has returned to the communication range of the wireless infrastructure;

instructing the means for transmitting to transmit the dataset to the wireless infrastructure when it is determined that the asset has returned to within the communication range of the wireless infrastructure;

identifying actions to be performed on the mobile asset;

notifying the central location of the actions to be performed on the mobile asset;

notifying the central location when all of the actions to be performed have been completed.

12. The system according to claim 11, further comprising means for receiving an acknowledgement indicative of the dataset being received by the wireless infrastructure.

13. The system according to claim 12, further comprising means for discontinuing transmission of the dataset in response to said means for receiving the acknowledgement.

14. The system according to claim 11, further comprising

means for storing the dataset within the wireless infrastructure.

15. The system according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for transmitting the dataset substantially real-time from the wireless infrastructure to a computing system if a communication link is established between the wireless infrastructure and the computing system, said means for transmitting the dataset from the wireless infrastructure to the computing system further operable to transmit the dataset from the wireless infrastructure to the computing system in response to the communication link between the wireless infrastructure and the computing system becoming established.

16. The system according to claim 11, further comprising:

means for altering communications in response to a degradation of the communication link.