Portable data acquisition and management system and associated device and method

• US 7,868,753 B2
• Filed: 03/20/2007
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: United Parcel Service Of America Incorporated (United Parcel Service Incorporated)
• Inventors: Jenkins, Rhesa, Thyagarjan, Prabhakar, Cutler, Mike, Klouda, Pamela, Olsen, John, Graham, Craig, Kerr, Mike, Horton, Mark, Snader, David, Shamel, Mike, Hock, Jonathan
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US11/688,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20070285227A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,393 Days
• Field of Search: 340/505, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/568.1, 340/572.1, 340/988, 340/989, 705/28, 705/22, 235/375
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1626 with a single-body enclosure integrating a flat display, e.g. Personal Digital Assistants [PDAs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1632 External expansion units, e.g. docking stations
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1656 Details related to functional adaptations of the enclosure, e.g. to provide protection against EMI, shock, water, or to host detachable peripherals like a mouse or removable expansions units like PCMCIA cards, or to provide access to internal components for maintenance or to removable storage supports like CDs or DVDs, or to mechanically mount accessories mounting of accessories to a computer display G06F1/1607; display hoods G06F1/1603; cooling arrangements for portable computers G06F1/203
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1664 Arrangements for ergonomically adjusting the disposition of keys of the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1696 the I/O peripheral being a printing or scanning device
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1698 the I/O peripheral being a sending/receiving arrangement to establish a cordless communication link, e.g. radio or infrared link, integrated cellular phone details of antennas disposed inside a computer H01Q1/2266
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/3203 Power management, i.e. event-based initiation of a power-saving mode
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations

Abstract

A system for manipulating data is provided. Such a system comprises a host system, a discrete portable data acquisition device for collecting the data, at least one of a wireless wide area network (WWAN) data radio, a wireless local area network (WLAN) data radio, and a wireless personal area network (WPAN) data radio operably engaged with the portable data acquisition device and configured to at least one of transmit the data to the host system, communicate with a peripheral device, and receive data, and a memory operably engaged with the portable data acquisition device for storing the data, the memory comprising a FLASH memory module, a DRAM memory module, and an NVDRAM memory module. Associated systems, devices, and methods are also provided.

Claims

1. A method of delivering an item to a desired location, said method comprising:

loading location information associated with the desired location into a data acquisition device having an immediate location, wherein the location information comprises GPS data associated with the desired location;

receiving an indication that the item is about to be delivered;

determining GPS data associated with the immediate location, upon receipt of the indication;

comparing the GPS data associated with the immediate location with the GPS data associated with the desired location; and

delivering the item when the GPS data associated with the immediate location substantially corresponds to the GPS data associated with the desired location.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information comprises a latitude and a longitude associated with the desired location.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

generating an alert where the GPS data associated with the immediate location does not substantially correspond with the GPS data associated with the desired location.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the location information further comprises a destination address associated with the desired location, said method further comprising:

determining, in response to the alert, whether the destination address corresponds with the immediate location; and

modifying the GPS data associated with the desired location, upon a determination that the destination address corresponds with the immediate location.

5. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

transmitting the modified GPS data associated with the desired location to a host system for universally updating data associated with the desired location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the location information further comprises a destination address associated with the desired location, said method further comprising:

if the GPS data associated with the immediate location substantially corresponds with the GPS data associated with the desired location, determining an actual address associated with the immediate location;

comparing the actual address with the destination address; and

if the actual address does not correspond with the destination address, storing the destination address as an alias of the actual address, and the actual address as an alias of the destination address.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising:

linking supplemental data to the destination address, wherein the supplemental data is selected from the group consisting of census data, zip code+4 data, revenue data, injury data, accident data, theft data, damage data, maintenance data, special request data, preference data, and combinations thereof.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining, upon loading of the location information into the portable data acquisition device, GPS data associated with the immediate location; and

determining a route between the immediate location and the desired location.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

tracing a route between the immediate location, at the time the location information was loaded into the portable data acquisition device, and the desired location as the item is delivered to the desired location.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the portable data acquisition device comprises at least one of a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) data radio or a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) data radio configured to receive the location information from a carrier server, said method further comprising:

determining, upon delivery of the item, actual GPS data associated with the immediate location, said actual GPS data comprising a time of delivery and a physical location of delivery; and

directing at least one of the time of delivery or the physical location of the delivery to the carrier server via at least one of the WLAN data radio or the WWAN data radio.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein loading location information comprises capturing the location information from an identifier associated with the item.

12. A data acquisition device, comprising:

a GPS sensor configured to determine a GPS position of a location, comprising a latitude and a longitude of the location; and

a processor configured to receive location data for a destination address, the location data having a latitude and a longitude associated with the destination address, the processor being further configured to compare the GPS position of the location to the location data associated with the destination address, and to provide an alert if the comparison exceeds a selected threshold.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to verify that the location corresponds to the destination address and, if the GPS position of the location does not substantially correspond to the location data associated with the destination address, modify the location data associated with the destination address to the GPS position of the location.

14. The device of claim 12 wherein the processor is further configured to receive an actual address of the location if the actual GPS position of the location corresponds to the location data associated with the destination address.

15. The device of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured to direct that the actual address be saved as an alias of the destination address if the actual address does not correspond to the destination address.

16. The device of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured to direct that the destination address be saved as an alias of the actual address if the destination address does not correspond to the actual address.

17. The device of claim 12 wherein the location data for the destination address further comprises a route between an original address and the destination address, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine a GPS position of an instant location along the route and to determine the time of the GPS position determination for the instant location.

18. A system for collecting delivery data, the delivery data including at least one of time study statistics or work measurement statistics, associated with a driver of a delivery vehicle for a carrier, said system comprising:

a data acquisition device including a GPS sensor configured to determine GPS data;

at least one sensor operably engaged with the delivery vehicle and configured to sense the data acquisition device being within a proximity to at least one of the delivery vehicle or a selected location, said sensor further configured to determine particular data based at least in part on when the data acquisition device is within proximity to at least one of the delivery vehicle or the selected location; and

an application residing on the data acquisition device, the application being configured to selectively direct, in real time, reception and recordation of the GPS data from the GPS sensor and reception and recordation of the particular data from the at least one sensor.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the at least one sensor is further configured to determine a time at which the data acquisition device is within proximity to at least one of the delivery vehicle, a selected location, or the at least one sensor.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the application is further configured to direct at least one of the GPS data or the particular data to the carrier, said system further comprising:

a controller operably engaged with the delivery vehicle, the controller being configured to at least one of receive an instruction from the carrier and perform an operation in response thereto or receive a query from the carrier and determine and provide a reply thereto.

21. A system for delivering an item to a desired location, said system comprising:

a portable data acquisition device configured to receive location information associated with a desired location;

a host system configured to provide the location information associated with the desired location to the portable data acquisition device;

a GPS sensor operably engaged with the portable data acquisition device, said GPS sensor configured to determine GPS data associated with an immediate location; and

a processor operably engaged with the portable data acquisition device said processor configured to compare the location information associated with the desired location to the GPS data associated with the immediate location, and to generate a notification in response to the comparison;

wherein the portable data acquisition device is further configured to receive an indication that the item is about to be delivered, and wherein, upon receipt of the indication, if the GPS data associated with the immediate location does not substantially correspond with the location information associated with the desired location, the processor is further configured to generate an alert.

22. The system of claim 21 further comprising:

a central database accessible by the portable data acquisition device, said central database comprising location information associated with a plurality of desired delivery locations, said location information comprising GPS data and a destination address associated with respective desired delivery locations.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein, in response to the alert, if it is determined that the immediate location substantially corresponds with the desired location, the portable data acquisition device is configured to replace at least part of the location information associated with the desired location in the central database with the GPS data associated with the immediate location.

24. The system of claim 22, wherein the location information received by the portable data acquisition device comprises a destination address and GPS data associated with the desired location, said system further comprising:

an alias database comprising one or more aliases corresponding with respective destination addresses of the central database, wherein if the GPS data associated with the immediate location substantially corresponds with the GPS data associated with the desired location, the processor is further configured to determine an actual address associated with the immediate location, to compare the actual address with the destination address associated with the desired location, and, if the actual address does not correspond with the destination address, to store the actual address as an alias of the destination address in the alias database.