School child tracking system

• US 9,576,491 B1
• Filed: 11/18/2015
• Issued: 02/21/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Li Jiang, Tian Wu
• Original Assignee: Li Jiang, Tian Wu
• Inventors: Wu, Tian, Jiang, Li
• Primary Examiner(s): Feild, Joseph
• Assistant Examiner(s): Point, Rufus
• Application Number:
  US14/945,205
• Time in Patent Office: 461 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/343 Calculating itineraries, i.e. routes leading from a starting point to a series of categorical destinations using a global route restraint, round trips, touristic trips travelling salesman problem G06Q10/04; optimisation of routes G06Q10/047
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 17/00 Methods or arrangements for effecting co-operative working between equipments covered by two or more of main groups G06K1/00 - G06K15/00, e.g. automatic card files incorporating conveying and reading operations
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/25 using biometric data, e.g. fingerprints, iris scans or voice recognition
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/19684 Portable terminal, e.g. mobile phone, used for viewing video remotely
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/028 Communication between parent and child units via remote transmission means, e.g. satellite network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/123 indicating the position of vehicles, e.g. scheduled vehicles; Managing passenger vehicles circulating according to a fixed timetable, e.g. buses, trains, tramstransmission of navigation instructions to vehicles G08G1/0968
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/127 to a central station ; Indicators in a central station

Abstract

A system for tracking school buses and school children to enhance the security and safety of schoolchildren and provide real-time information about the location of students and buses to teachers and administrators and parents. The system utilizes GPS components to determine a location of the school buses and biometric scanning technology to determine the identity of the students. The system transmits location and student identity data to a Main Station using a radio network component. Parents and school teacher and administrators can access the data to monitor.

Claims

1. A system for tracking school buses [99] and school children to enhance the safety of the school children and provide real-time information on a location of the school children and school buses [99] to teachers and administrators and parents [120], the system comprising:

a. one or more client microprocessors, each located on a computer-readable medium, whereby the client microprocessors are configured to receive data transmitted by a Main Station microprocessor over a network [113], and whereby the client microprocessors are utilized by one or more teachers and administrators [117] or one or more parents [120];

b. at least one instance of a client software component [116], hosted on a data storage unit and executed by the one or more client microprocessors, whereby the client software component comprises a set of code instructions that enables the teachers and administrators [117] or the parents [120] to track the location of at least one school bus [99] and a school child by communicating with and receiving data from, over the network [113], the Main Station microprocessor located at a Main Station [111];

c. a school bus microprocessor [103] located on the school bus [99], whereby the school bus microprocessor [103] is configured to receive data from a GPS component [100] and a biometric scanning component [104], and transmit said data to the Main Station [111] microprocessor via a radio network component [101]

d. at least one instance of a school bus software component, hosted on and execute by the school bus microprocessor [103] and further located on the school bus [99], whereby the school bus software component comprises a set of code instructions that enables the school bus microprocessor [103] to communicate with and transmit data to the Main Station [111] using the radio network component [101];

e. the radio network component [101] comprising;

i. the Main Station [111] comprising the Main Station microprocessor, wherein the Main Station [111] receives data about the school bus [99] via the radio network component [101] and can re-transmit said data to the client microprocessors over the network [113];

ii. a Main Station software component, hosted on and executed by the Main Station microprocessor, whereby the Main Station software component comprises a set of code instructions that enables the Main Station microprocessor to communicate with and transmit and receive data from the school bus microprocessor [103] via the radio network component [101], and whereby the set of code instructions enables the Main Station microprocessor to communicate with and transmit data to one or more of the client microprocessors over the network [113];

iii. a radio transmitter module [102] located on the school bus, wherein the radio transmitter module [102] is a two-way radio transmitter module; and

iv. a set of repeaters [109,110], wherein the repeaters [109,110] collects data from the two-way radio transmitter module and repeats it to provide greater range of coverage;

whereby the radio network component [101] enables the existence of a radio network which permits the Main Station [111] to transmit to and receive information from the school bus [99],

f. at least one Global Positioning System (“

GPS”

) component [100], operatively connected to the school bus [99] and the school bus microprocessor [103], and located on the school bus [99], whereby the GPS component [100] is configured to transmit real-time geospatial information about the school bus [99] to the Main Station microprocessor; and

g. the biometric scanning component [104], operatively connected to the school bus microprocessor [103] and located on the school bus [99],

whereby the biometric scanning component [104] identifies and tracks the boarding of the school children corresponding to a unique biometric identification (ID) of each of the schoolchildren;

wherein for each school bus [99], when the system is in use, the school bus microprocessor [103] is activated, wherein the biometric ID of each student entering the school bus [99] is scanned using the biometric scanning component [104], wherein the GPS component [100] is activated to allow the system to track the location of the school bus [99], wherein information about the number of and identity of school children on the school bus [99] and the location of the school bus [99] is transmitted from the school bus microprocessor [103] to the Main Station microprocessor via the radio network component [101], which permits the Main Station [111] to transmit and receive information from the school bus [99], wherein said information about the number of and identity of school children on the school bus [99] and the location of the school bus [99] is re-transmitted, over the network [113], from the Main Station microprocessor [111] to one or more of the client microprocessors,

whereby the system, in real-time, generates and tracks information about the location of the school bus [99] and school children for monitoring of said information by teachers and administrators [117] and parents [120] thereby enhancing the security and safety of school children.

2. The system of claim 1, whereby the system further comprises a motion sensor component located on one or more school buses [99] whereby the motion sensor component is configured to direct the school bus microprocessor [103] to send a command, over the radio network [101], to the Main Station [111] microprocessor indicating that the school bus [99] is or is not in motion.

3. The system of claim 2, whereby the system sends an alert to a Main Station [111] when the motion sensor determines that the school bus [99] is not moving.

4. The system of claim 2, whereby the system sends an alert to a Main Station [111] when the motion sensor determines that the school bus [99] has not moved for a period of time.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the period of time is at least five minutes.

6. The system of claim 1, whereby the client software component [116] comprises a mobile application hosted on a cell phone or other mobile device.

7. The system of claim 1, whereby the biometric scanning component [104] and the GPS component [100] are further configured such that when a school child exits the school bus [99], the school child interacts with the biometric scanning component [104] a second time, thereby generating information for the school bus microprocessor [103] for further transmittal to the parent or teacher [117] about when and where the school child exited the school bus.