Methods, systems and apparatuses of emergency vehicle locating and the disruption thereof

• US 8,774,837 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2012
• Issued: 07/08/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John Anthony Wright
• Original Assignee: John Anthony Wright
• Inventors: Wright, John Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): PHU, SANH D
• Application Number:
  US13/460,760
• Publication Number:
  US 20120302287A1
• Time in Patent Office: 799 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.3, 455/404.2, 455/404.1, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/457, 705/16
• US Class Current: 455/456.3
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/0965 responding to signals from another vehicle, e.g. emergency vehicle

Abstract

A system for determining the location of at least one vehicle, the at least on vehicle emitting a detectable signal. The system comprising at least one mobile or stationary detection device that detects the signal emitted by the at least one vehicle. A server with operational software for tracking and locating the at least one vehicle emitting a detectable signal, and a user interface device for interfacing with the network for providing location information on the at least one vehicle.

Claims

1. A server for determining a location information of a vehicle emitting a radio frequency (“

RF”

) signal, the server comprising;

a. a network connection to receive a plurality of signal measurement information from a plurality of detection devices that detect a radio signal emitted by the vehicle;

b. a processor that determines the location information using a calculation methodology based on information selected from the group consisting of

i. a received signal strength indicator of the plurality of signal measurement information at the server,

ii. a time differences of arrival the plurality of signal measurement information at the server,

iii. an angle of arrival of the plurality of signal measurement information at the server, and

iv. times of arrival of the plurality of signal measurement information at the server, wherein the location information is transmitted to a user interface via the network connection; and

c. an RF sensor, wherein the RF sensor further comprises;

i. a first RF antenna,

ii. a second RF antenna, wherein the first RF antenna detects a different frequency than the second RF antenna,

iii. an RF switch to switch between the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna,

iv. a preselection filter to prevent overload by electromagnetic energy in an RF spectrum at the first and second RF antennas,

v. an RF tuner to down-convert the radio signal from a radio frequency signal to an intermediate frequency (“

IF”

) signal,

vi. an analog digital converter to convert the IF signal to a digital format;

v. a digital signal processor to decimate the IF signal for wider RF signal spans and for identification and measurement of other signals of interest located in the RF spectrum;

viii. a global positioning system (“

UPS”

) block to generate timing signals to synchronize measurement of additional signals from additional sensors at additional locations, and

ix. a capture memory buffer to store a plurality of signal measurement information.

2. The station of claim 1, further comprising a radio peripheral, the radio peripheral comprising a radio transceiver configured to recognize, filter, and dissect a radio network traffic.

3. A user interface for alerting a user of a location of a vehicle, comprising:

a. a network connection to receive a location information from a server, wherein the location information is of a vehicle emitting a radio signal determined by processing a plurality of signal measurement information collected by a plurality of detection devices and sent to the server via the network connection;

b. a processor configured to execute a software application to generate an alert indicating the location of the vehicle, and

c. an RF sensor, wherein the RF sensor further comprises;

i. a first RF antenna,

ii. a second RF antenna, wherein the first RF antenna detects a different frequency than the second RF antenna,

iii. an RF switch to switch between the first RF antenna and the second RF antenna,

iv. a preselection filter to prevent overload by electromagnetic energy in an RF spectrum at the first and second RF antennas,

v. an RF tuner to down-covert the radio signal from a radio frequency signal to an intermediate frequency (“

IF”

) signal,

vi. an analog digital converter to convert the IF signal to a digital format,

vii. a digital signal processor to decimate the IF signal for wider RF signal spans and for identification and measurement of other signals of interest located in the RF spectrum,

viii. a global positioning system (“

GPS”

) block to generate timing signals to synchronize measurement of additional signals from additional sensors at additional locations, and

ix. a capture memory buffer to store a plurality of signal measurement information.

4. The user interface of claim 3, further comprising a signal detection indicator to generate an alert when the vehicle is within a pre-determined radius of the user interface.