Method and device for describing data transmissions through supplementary data

• US 8,812,650 B2
• Filed: 05/08/2006
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/06/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Original Assignee: Robert Bosch GmbH
• Inventors: Poechmueller, Werner, Pickhard, Friedhelm
• Primary Examiner(s): HOANG, HIEU T
• Application Number:
  US11/430,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20060259808A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,025 Days
• Field of Search: 709/201, 709/202, 709/224, 455/456.1, 701/469
• US Class Current: 709/224
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/389 Keeping log of transactions for guaranteeing non-repudiation of a transaction
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/4016 involving fraud or risk level assessment in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A method for transmitting useful data from a data source to a data sink, the data source being connected to a locating unit, the useful data in the data source being assigned supplementary data derived from information of the locating unit connected to the data source, which are transmitted to the data sink together with the useful data, wherein the received useful data in the data sink are assigned additional supplementary data, which are derived from additional information of a locating unit connected to the data sink. A system for transmitting useful data from a data source to a data sink, the data source being connected to a locating unit and the data source being designed to assign to the useful data supplementary data derived from information of the locating unit connected to the data source and to transmit it to the data sink together with the useful data, wherein the data sink is connected to a locating unit and the data sink is designed to assign to the received useful data additional supplementary data, which are derived from additional information of the locating unit connected to the data sink. When the supplementary data assigned on the source-side and the additional supplementary data assigned on the sink-side are set in relation to each other, information about the data transmission may be obtained therefrom.

Claims

1. A method for transmitting useful data from a data source to a data sink, comprising:

connecting the data source to a locating unit;

at the data source, linking supplementary data to the useful data, the supplementary data derived from information from the locating unit and including one of an item of time information describing a time value at the data source when the useful data is transmitted by the data source or an item of location information describing a location of the data source when the useful data is transmitted by the data source;

at the data source, transmitting the supplementary data to the data sink contemporaneously with the useful data;

at the data sink, linking additional supplementary data to the useful data after receiving the useful data at the data sink, the additional supplementary data being derived from additional information of a second locating unit connected to the data sink and including one of an item of time information describing a time value at the data sink when the useful data is received at the data sink or an item of location information describing a location of the data sink when the useful data is received at the data sink;

at a checking device, receiving the useful data, the supplementary data, and the additional supplementary data from the data sink; and

at the checking device, processing the supplementary data and the additional supplementary data to reconstruct a transmission path that sequentially describes the transmission of the useful data from the data source to the data sink;

wherein the useful data includes non-location and non-time information that is processed at the data sink.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

setting the supplementary data and the additional supplementary data in relation to each other.

15. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the supplementary data is linked when the data source begins transmitting the useful data, and

the additional supplementary data is linked when the data sink receives the useful data and the supplementary data.

17. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein:

the transmitted useful data and the transmitted supplementary data are received by a forwarding unit connected to a third locating unit;

the forwarding unit links a second additional supplementary data derived from information from the third locating unit and including one of an item of time information describing a time value at the forwarding unit when the useful data is transmitted by the forwarding unit or an item of location information describing a location of the forwarding unit when the useful data is transmitted by the forwarding unit; and

the forwarding unit transmits the supplementary data to the data sink together with the useful data, by forwarding the useful data and the supplementary data contemporaneously with the second additional supplementary data to the data sink.

3. A system for transmitting useful data from a data source to a data sink, comprising:

a first locating unit connected to the data source, the data source linking supplementary data to the useful data, the supplementary data derived from information from the first locating unit and including one of an item of time information describing a time value at the data source when the useful data is transmitted by the data source or an item of location information describing a location of the data source when the useful data is transmitted by the data source, and the supplementary data being transmitted to the data sink contemporaneously with the useful data;

a second locating unit connected to the data sink, the data sink linking additional supplementary data to the useful data after receiving the useful data at the data sink, wherein the additional supplementary data is derived from additional information of the second locating unit and includes one of an item of time information describing a time value at the data sink when the useful data is received at the data sink or an item of location information describing a location of the data sink when the useful data is received at the data sink;

a checking device that;

receives the useful data, the supplementary data, and the additional supplementary data from the data sink; and

processes the supplementary data and the additional supplementary data to reconstruct a transmission path that sequentially describes the transmission of the useful data from the data source to the data sink;

wherein the useful data includes non-location and non-time information that is processed at the data sink.

4. The system as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

a device for setting the supplementary data and the additional supplementary data in relation to each other.

5. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein:

a relation corresponds to a time comparison of the supplementary data and the additional supplementary data, and

a run time of the useful information, from a time at which the useful information is transmitted by the data source to a time at which the useful information is received at the data sink, is determined thereby.

6. The system as recited in claim 5, wherein:

a relation corresponds to a location comparison of the supplementary data and the additional supplementary data, and

one of a distance and a run path between the data source and the data sink is determined thereby.

7. The system as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

linking the useful information in each forwarding processing unit with supplementary information generated in a locating unit assigned to the respective forwarding processing unit, on a path from the data source to the data sink via at least one forwarding processing unit, wherein the local path of the useful information is reconstructed by the relation.

8. The system as recited in claim 7, further comprising:

linking the useful information in each forwarding processing unit with supplementary information generated in a locating module assigned to the respective forwarding processing unit, on a path from the data source to the data sink via at least one forwarding processing unit, wherein the temporal processing sequence of the useful information is reconstructed by the relation.

9. The system as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

entering at least a portion of the useful information into the data source with the aid of a changeable memory corresponding to a chip card, which is analyzable by the data source.

10. The system as recited in claim 9, wherein the changeable memory is provided to store the supplementary data transmitted from the data source together with the useful data.

11. The system as recited in claim 10, wherein the changeable memory is a component of one of a personal computer, a mobile telephone, and a personal digital assistant (PDA).

12. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein at least one of the data source and the data sink corresponds to one of a mobile telephone, a personal computer, a laptop computer, a PDA computer, a driver-information system of a motor vehicle, and an automated teller machine.

13. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the locating unit includes one of a satellite receiver corresponding to one of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver and a Galileo receiver, a mobile radio receiver corresponding to one of a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile radio receiver, an inertial sensor system, a digital map, and a map-matching routine.

14. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein the useful data and supplementary data are linked to each other using encryption technology.

16. The system as recited in claim 3, wherein:

the supplementary data is linked when the data source begins transmitting the useful data, and

the additional supplementary data is linked when the data sink receives the useful data and the supplementary data.

18. The system as recited in claim 3, further comprising:

a forwarding unit that receives the transmitted useful data and the transmitted supplementary data, wherein the forwarding unit;

is connected to a third locating unit;

links a second additional supplementary data derived from information from the third locating unit and including one of an item of time information describing a time value at the forwarding unit when the useful data is transmitted by the forwarding unit or an item of location information describing a location of the forwarding unit when the useful data is transmitted by the forwarding unit; and

transmits the supplementary data to the data sink together with the useful data, by forwarding the useful data and the supplementary data contemporaneously with the second additional supplementary data to the data sink.