System for, and method of, monitoring the movement of mobile items

• US 7,528,723 B2
• Filed: 02/04/2008
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vecima Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Contigo Systems, Inc. (Vecima Networks Incorporated)
• Inventors: Fast, Raymond D., Goehring, Robert R., Ng, Kai Loon
• Primary Examiner(s): TWEEL JR, JOHN ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US12/025,681
• Publication Number:
  US 20080167896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 456 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/825.72, 340/539.11, 701/231, 701/214, 342/357.01, 342/357.02
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/006 for emergency situations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/008 using a mobile telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0018 Transmission from mobile station to base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0263 by combining or switching between positions derived from two or more separate positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0227 System arrangements with a plurality of child units
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0272 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect exact location of child or item using triangulation other than GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0275 Electronic Article Surveillance [EAS] tag technology used for parent or child unit, e.g. same transmission technology, magnetic tag, RF tag, RFID
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0291 Housing and user interface of child unit
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A system monitors parameters (e.g., speed, position, threshold boundaries) of mobile items attached to beacons and produces signals indicating these parameters. The system also monitors non-mobile parameters (e.g., battery life, door locks, windows) in the items. Different technologies (e.g., wireless) are provided for communicating between the beacons and a beacon controller interface. Different technologies are provided for locating and indicating item positions. The beacons and the interface provide for new beacons to be added to the system with different characteristics than the existing beacons for monitoring the operation of new beacons without affecting the operation of existing beacons. The system includes resellers, retailers, users and subscribers in a flexible relationship to enhance the ease in the system operation. Beacons can perform more than one function (e.g. tracking, threshold monitoring) simultaneously. Scenarios for the beacons can be created and monitored. Recovery personnel can intervene to resolve crises.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring the operations, including location indication, of a plurality of mobile items, comprising:

a plurality of beacons each having individual location determining technologies distinguishing it from the location determining technologies of the other beacons, each of the beacons being coupled to an individual one of the items for movement with the items; and

means for providing indication to users of the status of the items, including location determination, in accordance with signals utilized in the location determining technologies of the beacons coupled to the items.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the means for providing for the indication users of the system of the status of the items, including location determination, includes a plurality of monitoring stations in operable communication with the plurality of beacons.

3. A system for monitoring the operations, including location indications, of a mobile item, comprising:

a beacon operatively coupled to the item,

a user interface for inputting first instructions for the beacon from a first user to monitor the operations of the beacon in accordance with the first instructions and also for inputting second instructions for the beacon from a second user to monitor the operations of the beacon in accordance with the second instructions;

a processor in operable communication with the beacons and the user interface, the processor programmed to providing a ranking of priority of the monitoring of the beacon, to adjust the monitoring on the basis of the priority, to send only the highest priority to the beacon to monitor its operation, and to provide indications of the operations of the item, including indication of location, to the first and second users.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the first instructions are intended to cause a different operation of the beacon than the second instructions, and wherein the second instructions have a higher priority than the first instructions and wherein the status of the item, including indication of location, is provided to each user according to the desired monitoring that each user has indicated for the beacon.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein a beacon controller interface is provided between the users and the beacon to provide the highest priority monitoring to the beacon and to provide indications of the status of the item, including the indication of location, to each user according to each user'"'"'s instructions for the beacon.

6. A system for monitoring the operations, including indications of locations, of a pair of mobile items, comprising:

a user interface for inputting desired operations and for viewing status indications;

first and second beacons respectively associated with first and second items, each beacon being responsive to different monitoring instructions than the other beacon;

a first beacon manager for the first beacon to create monitoring instructions for the first beacon based on indications from the first user of the desired operations;

a second beacon manager for the second beacon to create monitoring instructions for the second beacon based on indications from the second user of the desired operations;

means for providing indications of the operation of the first item, including indications of location, to the first user according to the first user'"'"'s desired operations for the first beacon; and

means for providing indications of the operation of the second item, including indications of location, to the second user according to the second user'"'"'s desired operations for the second beacon.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the first beacon manager and the first beacon are operably connected by a first wireless network to provide a communication between the first beacon manager and the first beacon and wherein the second beacon manager and the second beacon are operably connected by a second wireless network to provide a communication between the second beacon manager and the second beacon, and wherein the first wireless network comprises different communications technology than the second wireless network.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the user interface also independently provides parameters for monitoring the operations, including location indications, of the first beacon and for monitoring the status, including location, of the second beacon, and also provides indications to the users when the operations of the first item exceed the parameters for the first item, and provides indications to the users when the operations of the second item exceed the parameters for the second item.

9. A system for monitoring the operations, including location indicators, of a plurality of mobile items, comprising:

a plurality of beacons each movable with an individual one of the items, each of the beacons being responsive to signals in an individual ones of a plurality of wireless location technologies;

a plurality of monitoring stations in operable communication with the plurality of beacons;

a receiver in each of the beacons for receiving signals in the individual ones of the wireless location technologies; and

wherein the monitoring stations monitor the operations of the individual ones of the beacons in accordance with the signals in the individual ones of the wireless location technologies.

10. A system for monitoring the movements of a plurality of mobile items, comprising:

a plurality of beacons each movable with an individual one of the items, each of the beacons being responsive to signals in an individual one of a plurality of wireless communication technologies;

a plurality of monitoring stations in operable communication with the plurality of beacons;

a receiver in each of the plurality of beacons for receiving in each of the beacons of signals in an individual one of the wireless communication technologies; and

wherein the monitoring stations monitor the locations of the individual ones of the beacons in accordance with the signals delivered via the individual ones of the wireless communication technologies.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein a plurality of wholesalers each operate an individual one of the plurality of monitoring stations, and, for each of the wholesalers, designating a plurality of retailers, each enabled an individual one of the wholesalers to provide mobile monitoring services, and for each of the retailers, designating a plurality of users, each enabled by an individual one of the retailers for using the mobile monitoring services, and wherein a plurality of the beacons are associated with an individual one of the items and with an individual one of the users for indicating to the associated users the operations, including indications of location, of the associated one of the items.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the system includes a mobile monitoring system, and wherein a plurality of direct resellers are each enabled by the mobile monitoring system, and where a plurality of users are designated by an individual one of the direct resellers for using the mobile monitoring services, and each of the plurality of beacons are each associated with an individual one of the items and with an individual one of the users for indicating to the associated users the status, including indications of location, of the associated one of the items.

13. The system of claim 10 further comprising a user interface as an individual one of a system management portal, a monitoring station portal, a dealer portal, a user portal and a recovery interface;

providing a beacon manager for at least one of the plurality of beacons, the beacon manager including a plug-and-play channel; and

communication means disposed between the user interface and the beacon via the plug-and-play channel and the beacon manager to provide for the monitoring of the beacon'"'"'s operation in accordance with instructions from the user, and to provide for communications from the beacon to the user of the operations of the beacon.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising a device selected from the group consisting of a system management portal, a dealer portal monitoring station portal, a user portal and a recovery interface;

a beacon controller interface,

communications means operably connecting a user and the beacon controller;

an interface for providing instructions from the user to the beacon controller interface for the monitoring of the beacon'"'"'s operation and to provide for communications of the operation of the beacon to the beacon controller interface in accordance with the instructions from the user; and

communications means operably connecting the beacon controller interface and the beacon to provide for the monitoring of the beacon'"'"'s operation in accordance with instructions provided to the beacon controller interface from the user and to indicate the operation of the beacon to the beacon controller interface.

15. A system for monitoring the operations, including location indications, of a plurality of mobile items, comprising:

an input for inputting an operation function request from a user operating a selective one of a user interface as a system administration portal, a monitoring station portal, a dealer, a user portal, and a recovery interface;

a beacon controller interface in operably communication with the input, the beacon controller having a plug-and-play channel;

a plurality of beacon managers, each designated for a specific beacon type; and

wherein the plug-and-play channel identifies in the operation request an individual one of a plurality of beacon types and an individual one of the beacon managers for monitoring the operation of the specific beacon type, and wherein the individual one of the beacon managers monitors the operation of the specific beacon in accordance with the operation request from the user.

16. The system of claim 15, further comprising a wireless network selected from a plurality of wireless networks for transmitting the operation request from the individual one of the beacon managers to the specific beacon.

17. A system for monitoring the status, including location indications, of a plurality of mobile items, comprising:

a beacon operatively coupled to an item for movement with the item, the beacon having a tracking function and a threshold operation for the item;

first and second user interfaces selected from the group consisting of a system management portal, a monitoring station portal, a dealer portal, a user portal and a recovery interface;

a beacon controller interface; and

wherein the tracking function has priority over the threshold operation in controlling the operation of the beacon, and wherein the results obtained from the tracking function in the beacon to be used to determine results of the threshold operation in the beacon controller interface.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the threshold operation monitors the beacon when the tracking function has been terminated.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the beacon has a buffering state when the tracking function and threshold operation have been terminated.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein a first tracking request is provided to the beacon, and a second tracking request is provided to the beacon different from the first, and

wherein the beacon controller interface provides a priority to a particular one of the first and second tracking requests with the greater duration of tracking yet to be performed, and wherein the particular operation is selected in the beacon controller interface and sent to the beacon, and the beacon determines the operation of the item with the selected operation, and the beacon provides results of the selected tracking function to fulfill the both the first and second tracking requests.

21. The system of claim 20, wherein the beacon controller interface provides a determination as to whether to instruct the beacon to perform an additional operation after the particular one of the tracking operations has been performed.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the beacon converts its operation to a buffering state after the tracking functions have been performed.

23. The system of claim 20, wherein a priority to a particular one of the first and second tracking function requests is provided in the beacon controller interface and only that particular function that has the highest priority is sent to the beacon, and wherein the beacon performs the request selected by the beacon controller interface, and

wherein the beacon controller interface receives the operations provided by the beacon providing the particular function.

24. The system of claim 23, wherein the beacon receives a request from the beacon controller interface to carry out the lower priority function if it is still active after the higher priority function has been completed or terminated.

25. The system of claim 23, wherein the beacon also has a buffering state that the beacon enters if all requests for beacon operations have been completed or terminated.

26. The system of claim 23, wherein the beacon controller interface is configured to provide a priority to a particular one of a plurality of function requests received in the beacon controller, and the beacon controller interface is also configured to allow for selecting that particular requests that has the highest priority and sending it to the beacon for the beacon to carry out the function in accordance with the selected request, and wherein the beacon controller interface receives the data representative of the functions provided by the beacon due to carrying out the selected request, and wherein the beacon controller interface is also configured to perform further operations using the data provided by the beacon to satisfy the requests having a lower priority.

27. The system of claim 26, wherein the requested function that is most capable of being used to perform operations that will satisfy the requests is selected in the beacon controller interface.

28. The system of claim 26, wherein the beacon user interface is configured to determine if there is any threshold monitoring operation requested, and when there is a threshold operation to be performed, the beacon user interface causes a request in the beacon controller interface to be generated and sent to the beacon to perform the threshold operation;

and

wherein the beacon user interface is also configured to determine if there is any tracking operation requested, and when there is a tracking operation to be performed, the beacon user interface causes a tracking request to be generated in the beacon controller interface and sent to the beacon to perform the tracking operation; and

wherein the monitoring provided by the beacon in the tracking operation is received in the beacon controller interface, and the beacon user interface performs further operations to satisfy the requests, except threshold monitoring requests, and wherein upon the beacon detecting any breach of a threshold it is monitoring, the beacon sends a threshold breach report to the beacon controller interface.

29. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determination, of mobile items, comprising:

a beacon that is capable of operating in only one mode at a time,

a system in communication with the beacon in which access is provided by a plurality of users simultaneously, the system providing for the introduction to the beacon of a request from a first one of the users to interrupt a threshold monitoring operation, the system determining if the beacon has received a tracking request from second one of the users, and, if the answer is yes, removing any request for the operation of the beacon in the threshold monitoring operation of the first mobile item, the system also determining if the beacon has any request for threshold monitoring operations at the end of the tracking operation, and, if the answer is yes, providing a request to the beacon to activate the beacon for providing the threshold monitoring operation, and if the answer is no to the question of whether the beacon has any other threshold monitoring operations currently in effect, providing for an operation of the beacon in the buffering state.

30. The system of claim 29, wherein if the beacon is not in the tracking state, determining if the beacon is performing any other threshold monitoring operation, and if the answer to the determination is yes, providing for the activation of threshold monitoring by the beacon, and if the answer to the determination of the performance by the beacon of any threshold monitoring operations is no, providing for the beacon to perform a buffering operation.

31. A method of providing for monitoring the movement of first and second mobile items, comprising:

a user interface for each user of a plurality of users to input desired operations and view status indications, the user interfaces being the same for each user,

first and second beacons respectively associated with the first and second mobile items, each beacon being responsive to different monitoring instructions than the other beacon, each beacon being capable of performing both a threshold monitoring and a tracking instruction set at the same time,

a first beacon manager associated with the first beacon for providing monitoring operations for the first beacon based on indications from the first user of the desired operations,

a second beacon manager associated with the second beacon to provide monitoring operations for the second beacon based on indications from the second user of the desired operations, and

means providing indications of the operations of the first item, including indications of location, to the first user according to the first user'"'"'s desired operations for the first beacon, and

means for providing indications of the status of the second item, including indication of location, to the second user according to the second user'"'"'s desired operations for the second beacon.

32. A method as set forth in claim 31, further comprising:

a processor in the beacon controller interface programmed for determining if there is any threshold monitoring operation requested for the first beacon by any of the users, and when there is a threshold operation to be performed by the first beacon, generating a request in the beacon controller interface for the first beacon and sending it to the first beacon to perform the threshold operation, and for determining if there is any tracking operation requested for the first beacon by any of the users, and when there is a tracking operation to be performed by the first beacon, generating a tracking request in the beacon controller interface for the first beacon and sending it to the first beacon to perform the tracking operation;

wherein the beacon controller interface receives the operations provided by the first beacon from the tracking operation, and the processor, using the operations provided by the first beacon to perform further operations in the beacon controller interface to satisfy the requests, except threshold monitoring requests, of the users,

upon the first beacon detecting any breach of a threshold it is monitoring sending the threshold breach report to the beacon controller interface,

using the breach report from the first beacon to satisfy the requests of any users requesting threshold monitoring operations of the first item, and

determining if there is any threshold monitoring operation requested for the second beacon by any of the users, and

when there is a threshold operation to be performed by the second beacon, generating a request in the beacon controller interface for the second beacon and sending it to the second beacon to perform the threshold operation, and

determining if there is any tracking operation requested for the second beacon by any of the users, and

when there is a tracking operation to be performed by the second beacon, generating a tracking request in the beacon controller interface for the second beacon and sending it to the second beacon to perform the tracking operation, and

receiving in the beacon controller interface the operations provided by the second beacon from the tracking operation, and

using the results provided by the second beacon to perform further operations in the beacon controller interface to satisfy the requests, except threshold monitoring requests, of the users, and

upon the second beacon detecting any breach of a threshold it is monitoring, sending the threshold breach report to the beacon controller interface,

using the breach report from the second beacon to satisfy the requests of any users requesting threshold monitoring operations of the second item.

33. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determination, of a mobile item, comprising:

a beacon for monitoring the movements of the mobile item,

a beacon controller interface configured to receive a tracking request of the mobile item for a continuous time period between first and second times, a threshold monitoring request of the mobile item for a second time period between the first and second times in the first time period, and a speed monitoring request of the mobile item for a third time period after the second time period, the third time period starting in the first time period after the end of the second time period and continuing to a time past the end of the first time period, the beacon controller interface

applying the tracking request to the beacon in the first time period between the first and second times and for a disregard of the request of the mobile item to providing for a threshold monitoring of the mobile item in the second time period, and

for a disregard of the request of the mobile item in the period of time common to the first and the third time periods, providing for changes in the operation of the beacon controller interface in the second time period in accordance with the tracking of the mobile item in the second time period, and

providing for monitoring the speed of the mobile item in the beacon controller interface during the period common to the first time period, in accordance with the tracking operation of the mobile item in this common monitoring period, and

providing for monitoring the speed of the mobile item by the beacon, in the third time period after the end of the first time period.

34. A system for building a scenario for use by an assigned beacon in monitoring the operation, including location determinations, of a mobile item, comprising:

a processor programmed to perform the steps of;

selecting the mobile item with the assign beacon attached to the mobile item,

determining whether the scenario is to be selected from a previously saved scenario or whether a new scenario is to be created,

selecting a previously saved scenario if the determination is made that a previously saved scenario is to be selected, creating a new scenario if the decision is made to create a new scenario, and

as a first step in creating a new scenario, selecting a trigger mechanism from a plurality of trigger mechanisms,

as a next step, determining whether a schedule is to be selected from a plurality of previously saved schedules or whether a new schedule is to be created,

selecting one of the plurality of previously saved schedules when the determination is made to select one of the previously saved schedules,

creating the new schedule when the decision is made to create a new schedule,

as a next step, selecting one of a plurality of previously saved notification entities or defining a new notification entity when a decision is made to define a new notification entity,

as a next step, selecting one of a plurality of previously saved notification methods or defining a new notification method when a decision is made to define a new notification method,

as a next step, selecting one of a plurality of previously saved messages or defining a new message when a decision is made to define a new message,

as a next step, activating the selected or defined schedule, as a next step, commanding the beacon at the scheduled time to monitor the mobile item to which the beacon is attached.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein

the new scenario is saved and wherein

the new schedule is saved and wherein

the new notification scheme is saved.

36. A system for building a scenario for use by an assigned beacon in monitoring the operation, including location determinations of a mobile item, comprising:

a processor programmed to carry out the steps of;

selecting the mobile item with the assigned beacon attached to the mobile item,

selecting a previously saved scenario or creating a new scenario, the creation of the new scenario consisting of the following steps;

selecting a previously saved trigger mechanism,

selecting a previously saved schedule or defining a new schedule,

selecting a previously saved notification scheme or creating a new notification scheme,

selecting one of a plurality of entities;

selecting one of a plurality of notification methods, and

selecting one of a plurality of messages.

37. The system of claim 36, wherein the processor is also programmed to carry out the steps of:

activating the selected or defined schedule, and

triggering the assigned beacon commands at the times defined by the activated schedule.

38. The system of claim 36, wherein the processor is also programmed to carry out the steps of:

saving the schedule when the schedule is defined, and

saving the notification scheme when the notification scheme is defined.

39. A system for monitoring and processing a scenario for a beacon, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

receiving a trigger report from a beacon controller interface for the beacon,

determining whether an account status for the beacon is active,

disregarding the trigger report if the account status for the beacon is not active, and

when the account status of the beacon is active, determining if there are any active scheduled scenarios associated with the trigger for the beacon, and

when the answer to the previous determination is yes, monitoring the operation of the beacon in accordance with the active scheduled scenario associated with the trigger for the beacon, and

again reviewing trigger reports from the beacon controller interface for the beacon when the account status for the beacon is not active, when there are no active scheduled scenarios for the beacon or when the operation of the beacon has been monitored in accordance with the active scheduled scenario associated with the trigger for the beacon.

40. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operations of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

setting an appropriate presentation dependent upon a type of device being used to operate a user interface in operable communication with the processor,

providing for a login with a user identification and a user password when an account status of the user is active,

providing for a login of the user to the system when the identification and the password of the user are correct,

when the user has been logged into the system, determining the level of authorized access for the user dependent upon the user type, and

providing for the users to manage the beacon inventories of different types of beacons and to manage the operations to be performed by the managed beacon inventories.

41. A system for monitoring the status, including location determination, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

providing for a login of each user with a user identification and a user password when an account status of the user is active,

providing for a login of the user to the system when the identification and password of the user are correct,

when the user has been logged into the system, managing beacon inventory by assigning beacons to wholesalers and retailers,

when the user has been logged into the system assigning wholesale service plans to the beacons of the wholesalers and retailers, and

when the user has been logged into the system, managing retail subscriber service plans by assigning different subscriber service plans to specific wholesalers and retailers.

42. The system of claim 41, wherein the processor is also programmed for:

when the user has been logged into the system, determining the level of authorized access for the user dependent upon the user type, and

when each user has been logged into the system providing for the user to manage beacon inventories of different types of beacons dependent upon the operations to be performed by the different types of the beacons in the managed beacon inventories.

43. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

providing for a login of each user into the system when an identification and a password of the user are correct,

when each user has been logged into the system, determining a level of the authorized access of the user into the system dependent upon a user type, and

when each user has been logged into the system, providing for the user to manage beacon types by adding new types of beacons into the system and assigning features to the beacon and setting defaults to the beacons in the system if the user has been authorized to manage these beacon operations,

when each user has been logged into the system and has been authorized to perform the operations individual to the beacons, managing the beacon inventory by assigning beacons to individual ones of wholesalers, retailers and direct resellers.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein the processor is also programmed for:

assigning wholesale service plans to individual ones of the wholesalers,

assigning retail service plans to individual ones of the retailers, and

assigning direct subscriber service plans to individual ones of the direct subscribers.

45. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

setting appropriate presentation styles for types of devices being used to operate user interfaces,

logging in the users in accordance with the users'"'"' identifications and passwords,

determining that the users'"'"' account status is active,

determining that the users'"'"' identifications and passwords are correct,

determining a level of the users'"'"' access into the system dependent upon the type of user accessing into the system,

adding, updating and deleting the users in the system, by assigning individual ones of the beacons to individual ones of the user, and

initializing the operations of the assigned beacons.

46. A system for monitoring the operations including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operations of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

assigning access levels to users dependent upon types of users,

adding, updating and deleting the users in the system,

assigning portals to the users in the system, and

assigning passwords to the users to provide for access by the users to the assigned portals.

47. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, including the steps of:

a system administrator for managing and viewing a plurality of beacons forming a beacon inventory, the system administrator configured to;

initialize the operation of the beacons by originating commands for the beacons,

to test the beacons,

to assign access levels to the users dependent upon the types of users, and

to assign beacons to individual ones of the users.

48. The system of claim 47, wherein the system administrator is also configured to request a beacon controller interface to initialize the beacons and test the beacons.

49. The system of claim 47, wherein the system administrator is configured to request the beacon controller interface to monitor the operation including the location determination, of the beacons.

50. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determination, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a beacon controller interface for introducing incidents to an incident queue by a beacon controller interface, and for authorizing operators to manage incidents, and for providing for the acceptance by the authorized operators to manage the incidents, and for providing for the viewing of the incident queue by the authorized operator.

51. The system of claim 50, wherein the incidents may be introduced to the incident queue by the authorized operator.

52. The system of claim 51, wherein the authorized operators initialize incidents with individual ones of the beacons by requesting features of the beacons from the beacon controller interface wherein one of the beacon features is the location of the beacon.

53. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

assigning access levels to system users dependent upon types of system users,

cooperating with an operating manager to manage the system users including adding, updating and deleting the system users,

providing passwords for the users to enter the users'"'"' portals,

cooperating with the operating manager to manage user accounts, including adding, updating and deleting the users, without accessing the users'"'"' portals, and

cooperating with the operating manager to override the password and access one of the user'"'"'s portals under particular circumstances including when there is an emergency.

54. The system of claim 53, wherein the operating manager overrides the password of the one of the users and accesses the user'"'"'s portal when there is a panic situation.

55. A method of monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

an incident queue for receiving incidents from a beacon controller interface, the incident queue including an indication of whether the incidents are being currently managed by an operating manager,

a processor programmed to access the incident queue and to interface with the operating manager to access the incident if an operating manager has been assigned and to allow an operating manager to accept the incident after the operating manager has been assigned the incident, and to resolve the incident when management of the incident by the operating manager is no longer required.

56. The system of claim 55, wherein the processor is also programmed to enable a recovery interface to locate mobile items listed in the incidents in the incident queue, and to provide a unique incident identification for that particular incident, corresponding to an access code for access, using the recovery interface, to that particular incident, and to discontinue access to the system via the recovery interface when that particular incident has been resolved.

57. The system of claim 55, wherein the operating manager constitutes a first operating manager, the first operating manager transferring an assigned incident back into the incident queue, and a second operating manager for accepting and managing the incident transferred back to the incident queue by the first operating manager.

58. The system of claim 57, wherein

the first operating manager transfers the incident to the incident queue when the first operating manager wishes to transfer the incident to the second operating manager and wherein

the second operating manager accepts and manages the incident after the first operating manager transfers the incident to the incident queue.

59. A method as set forth in claim 55, wherein

instead of providing incidents in an incident queue from a beacon controller interface, incidents are manually initiated into the incident queue by an authorized operator.

60. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determination, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processor programmed for;

receiving an incident alert from a beacon controller interface,

determining whether an incident should be indicated in an incident queue of an integrated automation system for a particular one of the beacons,

if the answer is no, disregarding a notification of the incident,

if the answer is yes, determining the type of automation system to be notified by matching the particular one of the beacons to a particular one of the automation systems,

configuring a protocol based upon the type of automation system to be notified and the type of network to interface with the automation system, and

sending the incident notification to the automation system'"'"'s incident queue based upon the configured protocol.

61. A method of monitoring the operation, including location determinations of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a beacon controller interface for requesting the operations of beacons and for providing operation data to the beacon, the beacon operations including tracking operations, monitoring the locations of the beacons and including the operations of non-tracking components in the beacons, and also for managing scenarios including creating scenarios and having the scenarios monitored.

62. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a processing system programmed and configured for;

providing a login with a user'"'"'s identification and a user'"'"'s password when it is determined that the user'"'"'s monitoring status is active, the user'"'"'s account status is active and the user'"'"'s identification and password are correct,

managing user types including adding, updating and deleting users and assigning access levels to the users dependent upon the types of users,

creating and managing scenarios, and

managing beacons including tracking the beacons and including managing the operation of non-tracking components in the beacons.

63. The system of claim 62, wherein the processor is also programmed and configured for:

requesting beacon operations data from a beacon controller interface, and

transferring the beacon operations data from the beacon controller interface to the beacons.

64. A method as set forth in claim 62, wherein the processor is also programmed and configured for:

managing profiles including names, addresses and login information of the users,

reviewing account information and usage activity, and

managing supervisors and guardians responsible for the assets and personnel within the users'"'"' accounts.

65. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of a mobile item in accordance with the operation of a beacon attached to the mobile item, comprising:

a recovery interface,

a unique incident identification and password to be used to access the recovery interface during a specific incident,

a display in the recovery interface of the locations of a device on which the recovery interface is being operated and of a beacon involved in the incident, dependent upon whether the device being used to access the recovery interface is equipped with a locatable device equivalent to a beacon.

66. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a monitoring system,

a beacon controller interface as a module of the monitoring system, and

communication means for communicating between the monitoring system and the beacon controller interface to perform individual ones of the following operations;

(a) locating the beacons, (b) tracking the beacons, (c) monitoring thresholds measured by the beacons, (d) provide monitoring of auxiliary devices connected to the beacons, and (e) reporting the status of all parameters measured by the beacons.

67. The system of claim 66, further comprising:

a plug-and-play channel between the beacon controller interface and a beacon manager as an abstraction to provide for the plugging of a new beacon manager into the beacon controller interface without modifying the beacon controller interface or beacon managers already in the system even when the new beacon manager manages a new beacon having characteristics different from the characteristic of beacon already in the monitoring system.

68. The system of claim 66, wherein the beacon controller interface has characteristics to integrate new beacon types into the beacon controller interface without adversely affecting the operation of the beacon controller interface with respect to beacons previously integrated into the beacon controller interface.

69. The system of claim 66, wherein the beacon controller interface has a characteristic to integrate the features and operations of new beacon types into the control system without adversely affecting the operation of any components in the monitoring system.

70. The system of claim 66, wherein the beacon controller interface has characteristics to integrate new beacon types into the beacon controller interface without adversely affecting the operation of the beacon controller interface with respect to beacon types previously integrated into the beacon controller interface.

71. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determinations, of mobile items in accordance with the operation of beacons attached to the mobile items, comprising:

a monitoring system for monitoring beacons, the monitoring system having a beacon controller interface with characteristics compatible with existing types of beacons and with new types of beacons, the beacons having pluralities of operations including tracking operations and threshold monitoring operations and including different communications networks and different location technologies,

beacon managers for operating the existing types of beacons, the beacon managers being operative to provide changes in the locations of the existing beacons in accordance with instructions from the beacon controller interface and to indicate changes in locations of the beacons to the beacon managers, and

a plug-and-play channel disposed between the beacon controller interface and the beacon managers, the plug and play channel having characteristics for isolating each beacon manager from other beacon managers to provide for the operation of the types of beacons by the beacon controller interface without interfering with the operation of the existing beacons by the beacon controller interface when the new types of beacons are added to the monitoring system.

72. The system of claim 71, wherein the plug-and-play channel between the beacon controller interface and the beacon manager is an abstraction to provide for the plugging of new beacon managers into the beacon controller interface without modifying the beacon managers or the beacon controller interface already in the monitoring system even when the new beacon managers manage new beacons having characteristics different from the characteristics of beacons already in the monitoring system.

73. The system of claim 71, wherein the beacon controller interface has characteristics to integrate new beacon types into the beacon controller interface without adversely affecting the operation of the beacon controller interference with respect to beacons previously integrated into the beacon controller interface.

74. The system of claim 71, wherein the plug-and-play channel disposed between the beacon controller interface and the beacon manager has at least one characteristic to provide for the plugging of new beacon managers into the beacon controller interface without modifying the beacon managers or the beacon controller interface already in the monitoring system even when the new beacon manager interfaces with new beacon types having characteristics different from the characteristics of beacons already in the system.

75. The system of claim 71, wherein the beacon controller interface has characteristics to integrate new beacon types into the beacon controller interface without adversely affecting the operation of the beacon controller interface with respect to beacons previously integrated into the beacon controller interface.

76. The system of claim 71, wherein the communication networks and technologies between the beacons and the beacon managers are wireless technologies individual to the beacons with which the beacon managers are associated, thereby to provide for beacons providing different wireless technologies to be incorporated into the monitoring system without affecting the operation of the monitoring system or the beacons already in the monitoring system.

77. The system of claim 71, wherein the plug-and-play channel is disposed between the beacon controller interface and the beacon managers to provide for communications between the beacons and the beacon managers by wireless technologies individual to the beacons with which the beacon managers are associated, thereby to provide for beacons incorporating different wireless technologies to be incorporated into the monitoring without affecting the operation of the monitoring system.

78. A system for monitoring the operation, including location determinations, of mobile items, comprising:

a plurality of beacons with individual types of wireless technology for communication with the beacons, the beacons being capable of providing operations, including location technologies, individual to the beacons, the beacons being coupled to the mobile items for indicating the location of the mobile items,

a monitoring system including a beacon controller interface with characteristics compatible with the existing and new types of beacons,

beacon managers for operating the existing types of beacons, and capable of operating the new types of beacons, to determine the locations of the beacons and communicate such locations to the beacon controller interface, and

a plug-and-play channel disposed between the beacon controller interface and the beacon managers to provide communications between the beacon controller interface and the beacon managers without interfering with the operation of the existing beacons by the beacon controller interface when new types of beacons are added to the monitoring system.

79. The system of claim 78, wherein the plug-and-play channel provides for wireless communications between the beacon managers and the beacons for new beacons by wireless technologies different from the wireless technologies providing for communications between the beacon managers and the beacons for existing beacons, without affecting the operation of the monitoring system.

80. The system of claim 78, wherein the plug-and-play channel is operative to isolate the beacon controller interface from the beacon managers to provide for the introduction of the new types of beacons into the monitoring system without affecting the operation of the existing components, including the existing beacons and the beacon controller interface, in the monitoring system.

81. The system of claim 78, wherein the plug-and-play channel provides technologies for indicating the locations of new beacons different from the existing beacons without affecting the operation of the existing beacons in the monitoring system.

82. A system for monitoring the operations, including location determinations, of a plurality of mobile items, comprising:

a plurality of beacons each movable with an individual one of a plurality of mobile items, each of the beacons being responsive to signals in an individual one of a plurality of wireless location technologies, and

receivers in each of the beacons for receiving f signals via an individual one of the wireless location technologies, and

a plurality of portals providing for monitoring operations, including location determinations, of the individual ones of the beacons in accordance with the signals via the individual ones of the wireless location technologies.

83. A system for monitoring the operation of mobile items, comprising:

a system administration module,

a reseller/dealer portal configured to receive indications from the system administration module,

an incident handling module capable of receiving indications from the reseller/dealer portal,

a recovery interface configured to receive indications from the incident handling module, and

a beacon controller interface in operable communication with each of the incident handling module and the recovery interface module.

84. The system of claim 83, wherein requests and replies are communicated between the beacon controller interface and a first beacon manager, and wherein requests and replies are communicated between the beacon controller interface and each of second and third beacon managers, the second beacon manager monitoring a tracking operation and the third beacon manager monitoring a threshold operation.

85. The system of claim 84, further comprising:

a residential/commercial subscriber portal configured to communicate indications to a scenario builder module and a scenario monitor, the scenario builder module also configured to communicate indications to the scenario monitor, and the scenario monitor is configured to exchange requests and replies with the beacon controller interface.

86. The system of claim 84, further comprising a residential/commercial subscriber portal configured to communicate indications to a scenario builder module and a scenario monitor, the scenario builder module is configured to communicate indications to the scenario monitor and the scenario monitor and the beacon controller interface are configured to exchange requests and replies.