Systems and methods for locating a tracking device

• US 9,357,348 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2014
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TILE, INC. (Life360 Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: TILE, INC. (Life360 Incorporated)
• Inventors: Evans, Nicholas George, Farley, Michael George
• Primary Examiner(s): Viana Di Prisco, German J
• Application Number:
  US14/167,960
• Publication Number:
  US 20140213301A1
• Time in Patent Office: 853 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/21 for social networking applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 between terminal devices

Abstract

The principles described herein provide methods and systems for locating a tracking device. In particular, one disclosed method includes associating a user with a tracking device, receiving an indication that the tracking device is lost, setting a flag indicating that the tracking device is lost, receiving a location within a proximity of the tracking device from one of a plurality of mobile devices associated with a community of users, and providing the location to the user.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

associating, by a tracking system using at least one processor, a user with a tracking device, the tracking system configured to store a status of the tracking device in a database, the user associated with a mobile device configured to, when communicatively coupled to and located within a threshold proximity of the tracking device, cause the tracking device to emit a sound in response to an input from the user;

receiving, by the tracking system from the mobile device, an indication that the tracking device is lost;

setting, by the tracking system, a flag within the database indicating that the status of tracking device is lost;

receiving, by the tracking system, a location from a second mobile device associated with a second user in response to the second mobile device receiving a signal from the tracking device, the location comprising a location of the second mobile device;

in response to receiving the location, querying, by the tracking system, the database to determine the status of the tracking device; and

in response to the status of the tracking device being lost, providing the location to the mobile device, the mobile device configured to display the location of the second mobile device and an indication of a distance between the second mobile device and the tracking device to the user.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a second location from a third mobile device in response to the third mobile device receiving a signal from the tracking device;

wherein providing the location to the user additionally comprises providing the second location to the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving an indication that the tracking device is lost comprises receiving the indication in a communication from the mobile device in response to a user input from the user.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the second user is unknown to the user.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the location comprises a GPS location received by the second mobile device at a time that the second mobile device receives the signals from the tracking device.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein associating the user with the tracking device comprises linking a user profile associated with the user with a unique identifier associated with the tracking device within the database.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising associating multiple tracking devices with the user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the distance between the second mobile device and the tracking device is determined based on a strength of signal detected by the second mobile device from the tracking device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying the location of the second mobile device to the user comprises displaying an indicator representative of a proximity of the tracking device to the second mobile device, the indicator configured to change in response to a change in the proximity of the tracking device to the second mobile device.

10. A method comprising:

providing, by a mobile device, tracking device information and user information to a tracking system for associating a user associated with the user information with a tracking device associated with the tracking device information, the tracking system configured to store a status of the tracking device in a database, the mobile device configured to, when communicatively coupled to and location within a threshold proximity of the tracking device, cause the tracking device to emit a sound in response to an input from the user;

sending, by the mobile device, a lost indication to the tracking system indicating that the tracking device is lost, the tracking system configured to set a flag within the database indicating that the status of the tracking device is lost; and

in response to a second mobile device associated with a second user receiving a signal from the tracking device providing a location of the second mobile device to the tracking system and to the tracking system determining that the status of the tracking device is lost by querying the database in response to receiving the location, receiving, by the mobile device, a response to the lost indication including the location, the mobile device configured to display the location of the second mobile device and an indication of a distance between the second mobile device and the tracking device to the user.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising determining, before sending the location indication to the tracking system, that the tracking device is not located within a proximity of the mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising notifying a user of the mobile device that the tracking device is not located within a proximity of the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein sending the lost indication to the tracking system is based on the determination that the tracking device is not located within a proximity of the mobile device.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein determining that the tracking device is not located within a proximity of the mobile device comprises detecting a loss in communication with the tracking device.

15. A method comprising:

detecting, by a first mobile device, a signal from a tracking device associated with a second mobile device, the signal identifying the tracking device, the second mobile device configured to, when communicatively coupled to and located within a threshold proximity of the tracking device, cause the tracking device to emit a sound in response to an input from a user of the second mobile device;

in response to detecting the signal, detecting, by the first mobile device, a location of the first mobile device; and

sending the location and an identity of the tracking device to a tracking system, the tracking system configured to store a status of the tracking device in a database and to, in response to receiving the location and the identity, query the database to determine the status of the tracking device;

wherein the tracking system is configured to, in response to determining that the status of the tracking device is lost, provide the location to the second mobile device, the second mobile device configured to display the location of the first mobile device and an indication of a distance between the first mobile device and the tracking device to the user associated with the second mobile device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein sending the location and the identity of the tracking device comprises sending an anonymous communication to the tracking system without an identification of the user.

17. The method of claim 15, further comprising continuously scanning, by the first mobile device, for any tracking device within a proximity of the first mobile device.