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Location, communication and tracking systems

  • US 7,737,861 B2
  • Filed: 06/19/2002
  • Issued: 06/15/2010
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/19/2001
  • Status: Expired due to Fees
First Claim
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1. A personal location system configured to determine an approximate location of all Bluetooth capable transponder devices within a facility at any given time, and a precise location of a particular Bluetooth transponder device at that time, the system comprising:

  • a database configured to store the approximate location of all Bluetooth capable transponder devices within a facility at any given time, and the precise location of a particular Bluetooth transponder device at that time;

    a plurality of personal transponder devices, each personal transponder device associated in use with a person;

    a plurality of Bluetooth signal transceiver devices at fixed locations within the facility, the transceiver devices being spaced apart from one another, each of the transceiver devices having a range greater than the spacing between the transceiver devices and less than an area of the facility, each of the transceiver devices having a processor and memory to store and transmit information, each of the transceiver devices being connected with at least one server configured to process information from each transceiver, and storing information in the database of the location of the transceiver reporting the detection of a particular one of said plurality of transponder devices within range of that transceiver and date/time stamp of the transmission of data relating to that detected transponder device;

    each personal transponder device being configured to receive and respond to a scan inquiry from one or more of the transceiver devices, each transponder device having a unique 48 bit address stored in the transponder device,each transceiver device being configured to send the scan inquiry to all transponders within range at periodic intervals, and storing information on the unique 48 bit address of each transponder device detected within range, and checking for a change of state of the information previously stored in a respective memory, when a transceiver detects a change of state information that a transponder enters or leaves the coverage range of that transceiver, the transceiver transmits that change of state information with a date/time stamp to the server for an analysis and storage in the database,the server being configured to calculate and store in the database the approximate location of all of said transponders at any given time based on the number and location of transceivers detecting the presence of said transponders within their range by the unique 48 bit address of each particular transponder within range of those transceivers, and when the precise location of one or more transponders is required then looking up the location of the nearest transceivers to a particular transponder and forming a communication connection with that transceiver and using a triangulation algorithm based on returned signal strength data to determine the precise location of said one or more transponders.

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