Systems and methods for wireless object tracking

• US 8,058,988 B1
• Filed: 09/22/2008
• Issued: 11/15/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Original Assignee: United Services Automobile Association
• Inventors: Oakes, Charles Lee III, Medina, Reynaldo III
• Primary Examiner(s): La; Anh V
• Application Number:
  US12/234,933
• Time in Patent Office: 1,149 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.13, 340/539.15, 340/539.1, 340/573.1, 340/571, 340/568.1, 340/686.1, 340/686.6
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0238 adding new units to the system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/025 System arrangements wherein the alarm criteria uses absence of reply signal after an elapsed time
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/028 Communication between parent and child units via remote transmission means, e.g. satellite network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/24 Reminder alarms, e.g. anti-loss alarms

Abstract

A system for object tracking may comprise at least one subsystem that couples an electronic signal emitting and receiving device to an object to be tracked, at least one subsystem that assigns an identifier to the object, at least one subsystem that registers the identifier of the object with a second object, and at least one subsystem that establishes electronic communication between the object to be tracked and the second object via the electronic signal emitting and receiving device. Also a system for object tracking may comprise at least one subsystem that detects at a first object an electronic signal from a second object, and at least one subsystem that emits an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object.

Claims

1. A system for object tracking comprising:

at least one subsystem that detects at a first object an electronic signal from a second object;

at least one subsystem that emits an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object, wherein the electronic alert beacon comprises information including current and past location information about said first object and a time when said first object was determined to be out of range of the second object; and

at least one subsystem that transmits the information from the electronic alert beacon to a user.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object when the first object no longer detects the electronic signal from the second object.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object when a distance between the first object and second object is over a predetermined threshold, said distance indicated by either received global positioning system data or received triangulation system data.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

at least one subsystem that detects at a first object an electronic signal from at least one object in addition to the second object; and

at least one subsystem that emits an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of both the second object and the at least one object in addition to the second object.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising at least one subsystem that emits the electronic alert beacon on multiple channels including one or more of the following channels:

cellular network, Wi-Fi network, BlueTooth®

network, short range radio channels long range radio channels, RFID channel, infrared channel, sonic channel, ultrasonic channel, global positioning system (GPS) network, optical signal channel, laser signal channel.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the electronic alert beacon comprises time information about the first object with respect to when the first object went out of range of the second object.

7. A method for object tracking comprising:

detecting at a first object an electronic signal from a second object;

emitting an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object, wherein the electronic alert beacon comprises information including current and past location information about said first object and a time when said first object was determined to be out of range of the second object; and

transmitting the information from the electronic alert beacon to a user.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object when the first object no longer detects the electronic signal from the second object.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object when a distance between the first object and second object is over a predetermined threshold, said distance indicated by either received global positioning system data or received triangulation system data.

10. The method of claim 7 further comprising:

detecting at a first object an electronic signal from at least one object in addition to the second object; and

emitting an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of both the second object and the at least one object in addition to the second object.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the electronic alert beacon is emitted on multiple channels including one or more of the following channels:

cellular network, Wi-Fi network, BlueTooth®

network, short range radio channels long range radio channels, RFID channel, infrared channel, some channel, ultrasonic channel, global positioning system (UPS) network, optical signal channel, laser signal channel.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the electronic alert beacon comprises time information about the first object with respect to when the first object went out of range of the second object.

13. A computer readable medium for object tracking comprising computer readable instructions for:

detecting at a first object an electronic signal from a second object;

emitting an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object, wherein the electronic alert beacon comprises information including current and past location information about said first object and a time when said first object was determined to be out of range of the second object; and

transmitting the information from the electronic alert beacon to a user.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object when the first object no longer detects the electronic signal from the second object.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein said first object is determined to be out of range of the second object when a distance between the first object and second object is over a predetermined threshold, said distance indicated by either received global positioning system data or received triangulation system data.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 13 further comprising computer readable instructions for:

detecting at a first object an electronic signal from at least one object in addition to the second object; and

emitting an electronic alert beacon from the first object when said first object is determined to be out of range of both the second object and the at least one object in addition to the second object.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 13 further comprising computer readable instructions for emitting the electronic alert beacon on multiple channels including one or more of the following channels:

cellular network, Wi-Fi network, BlueTooth®

network, short range radio channels long range radio channels, RED channel, infrared channel, sonic channel, ultrasonic channel, global positioning system (GPS) network, optical signal channel, laser signal channel.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the electronic alert beacon comprises time information about the first object with respect to when the first object went out of range of the second object.