Receiving information pertaining to a construction project

• US 8,004,397 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2007
• Issued: 08/23/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/05/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Forrest, Mark, Maynard, Kurt
• Primary Examiner(s): POPE, DARYL C
• Application Number:
  US11/801,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20080084333A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,569 Days
• Field of Search: 340/506, 340/505, 340/568.1, 340/539.1, 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/825.36, 340/825.49
• US Class Current: 340/539.1
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/08 Construction
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 3/00 Registering or indicating the condition or the working of machines or other apparatus, other than vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/08 Registering or indicating performance data other than driving, working, idle, or waiting time, with or without registering driving, working, idle or waiting time
• 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: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences

Abstract

A mountable reporting source comprising a controller coupled with an interrogating component configured for automatically receiving an identifier which is unique to an asset. A position determining component coupled with the controller is configured for determining a geographic location of the mountable reporting source. A merge asset information enabling communications component is coupled with the controller and is configured for transmitting a message conveying the identifier, the geographic location and a first portion of information about the asset. The mountable reporting source is associated with the asset based on the characteristics of the asset and the objectives of the construction project. An asset management system is enabled to merge the first portion of information about the asset reported by the mountable reporting source with a second portion of information about the asset reported by another reporting source.

Claims

1. A mountable reporting source comprising:

a controller;

an interrogating component coupled with the controller configured for automatically receiving an identifier which is unique to an asset, wherein the asset is a construction asset involved in a construction project;

a position determining component coupled with the controller and configured for determining a geographic location of the mountable reporting source; and

a merge asset information enabling communications component coupled with the controller and configured for transmitting to an asset management system a message conveying the identifier, the geographic location and a first portion of information about the asset,

wherein the mountable reporting source is selected, from among a plurality of different types of reporting sources, to be associated with the asset based on the characteristics of the asset and the objectives of the construction project in which the asset is involved and wherein the asset management system is enabled to merge the first portion of information about the asset reported by the mountable reporting source with a second portion of information about the asset reported by another reporting source.

2. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, further comprising a motion detector configured for detecting when the asset is being moved for the purpose of saving power.

3. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, wherein the mountable reporting source does not require power from the asset.

4. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, wherein the merge asset information enabling communications component uses short message service (SMS) to communicate the first portion of information about the asset.

5. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, wherein unused portions of communications channels are used to communicate the first portion of information about the asset.

6. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, further comprising memory wherein the first portion of the information about the asset can be temporarily stored in the memory and later transmitted by the merge asset information enabling communications component.

7. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, wherein the characteristics of the asset are selected from a group consisting of cost of the asset, mobility of the asset, amount of information that is communicated about the asset, ability of the asset to provide power to the mountable reporting source, size of the asset, accuracy of location information that can be provided for the asset, and timeliness of providing information about the asset.

8. The mountable reporting source of claim 1, wherein the objectives of the construction project are selected from a group consisting of:

how the asset will be used for a construction project, the amount of information that the asset management system would want to receive in order to manage the asset, the timeliness that the asset management system would want the asset information in order to manage the asset, the accuracy of the location of the asset that the asset management system would want in order to manage the asset, and the relative cost of the mountable reporting source in comparison the relative cost of the asset.

9. A method for receiving information pertaining to a construction project, the method comprising:

associating different types of reporting sources with different assets based on characteristics of the assets and objectives of the construction project, wherein said assets are construction assets involved in the construction project;

using asset information receivers for receiving information about the assets from the different types of reporting sources, wherein the asset information receivers correspond to capabilities of the reporting sources and wherein two or more reporting sources are enabled to provide information about a particular asset; and

in an asset management system, merging a first portion of information about an asset reported by a mountable reporting source of said different types of reporting sources with a second portion of information about the asset reported by another reporting source of said different types of reporting sources.

10. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the associating of the different types of reporting sources with different assets based on the characteristics of the assets and the objectives of the construction project further comprises:

associating different types of reporting sources that are selected from a group consisting of permanently mounted devices, asset mountable/detachable devices, portable computing devices, hand held devices, smart phones and mobile phones.

11. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the associating of the different types of reporting sources with different assets based on the characteristics of the assets and the objectives of the construction project further comprises:

associating the different types of the reporting sources with the different assets based on the characteristics selected from a group consisting of cost of the asset, mobility of the asset, amount of information that is communicated about the asset, ability of the asset to provide power to the mountable reporting source, size of the asset, accuracy of location information that can be provided for the asset, and timeliness of providing information about the asset.

12. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the associating of the different types of reporting sources with different assets based on the characteristics of the assets and the objectives of the construction project further comprises:

associating the different types of the reporting sources with the different assets based on the relative cost of the mountable reporting source in comparison the relative cost of the asset.

13. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the using of the asset information receivers further comprises:

using an asset information receiver selected from a data collector and an asset information receiver associated with an asset management system.

14. The method as recited in claim 9, wherein the using of the asset information receivers for receiving the information about the assets from the reporting sources, wherein the asset information receivers correspond to the characteristics of the reporting sources further comprises:

using the asset information receivers for receiving the information about the assets from the reporting sources, wherein the asset information receivers correspond to the characteristics of the reporting sources and wherein the characteristics are selected from a group consisting of active reporting and passive reporting.

15. An asset management system comprising:

a first reporting source configured to provide a first portion of information about an asset, wherein said asset is a construction asset;

a second reporting source configured to provide a second portion of information about the asset, wherein the first and the second reporting sources are different types of reporting sources associated with different assets based on the characteristics of the assets and the objectives of a construction project in which the assets are involved; and

an asset information receiver configured to receive the first portion of information and the second portion of information and populate a database with the first portion of information and the second portion of information.

16. The asset management system of claim 15, further comprising:

a motion detector configured for detecting when the asset is being moved for the purpose of saving power.

17. The asset management system of claim 15, wherein short message service (SMS) to communicate the information about the asset.

18. The asset management system of claim 15, wherein unused portions of communications channels are used to communicate the information about the asset.

19. The asset management system of claim 15, wherein the characteristics of the asset are selected from a group consisting of:

cost of the asset, mobility of the asset, amount of information that is communicated about the asset, ability of the asset to provide power to the mountable reporting source, size of the asset, accuracy of location information that can be provided for the asset, and timeliness of providing information about the asset.

20. The asset management system of claim 15, wherein the objectives of the construction project includes the relative cost of the mountable reporting source in comparison the relative cost of the asset.

21. The asset management system of claim 15, wherein the first reporting source is capable of active reporting.

22. The asset management system of claim 15, wherein the second reporting source is capable of passive reporting.