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

• US 7,978,076 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2009
• Issued: 07/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Vecima Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Contigo Solutions, Inc.
• Inventors: Fast, Raymond D., Goehring, Robert R., Ng, Kai Loon
• Primary Examiner(s): TWEEL JR, JOHN ALEXANDER
• Application Number:
  US12/434,563
• Publication Number:
  US 20100026495A1
• Time in Patent Office: 802 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/825.72, 340/539.11, 701/213, 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

a plurality of handsets having capabilities for providing indication of the location of the items, in accordance with signals utilized in the location determining technologies of the beacons coupled to the items.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of handsets is a mobile phone.

3. 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;

at least one monitoring station 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 at least one monitoring station monitors the operations of the individual ones of the beacons in accordance with the signals in the individual ones of the wireless location technologies.

4. 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;

at least one monitoring station in operable communication with the plurality of beacons;

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

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

5. 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 interface selected from the group consisting of a system administration portal, a monitoring station portal, a dealer portal, a user portal, and a recovery interface;

a beacon controller interface in operable communication with the input;

a plug-and-play channel in operable communication with the beacon controller interface, the plug-and-play channel configured to identify in the operation request an individual one of a plurality of beacon types and to facilitate monitoring the operation of the specific beacon in accordance with the operation request.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of beacon managers, each designated for a specific beacon type, for monitoring the operation of the specific beacon in accordance the operation request.

7. The system of claim 6, 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.

8. 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 administration 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 are used to determine results of the threshold operation in the beacon controller interface.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the threshold operation monitors the beacon when the tracking function has been terminated.

10. The system of claim 8, 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 both the first and second tracking requests.

11. The system of claim 10, 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.

12. The system of claim 11, 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.

13. The system of claim 12, 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.

14. The system of claim 12, 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.

15. The system of claim 14, 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.

16. The system of claim 14, 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.

17. 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

a handset having capabilities for providing indication of the location of the items, in accordance with signals utilized in the location determining technologies of the beacons coupled to the items.