Wireless location determining device
First Claim
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1. A communication system for determining geographical location of roaming objects in a vicinity of a plurality of communication devices, comprising:
- a) a communication network, consisting of at least said plurality of communication devices, said plurality of communication devices configured to communicate with other communication devices over said communication network, and establishing a short range wireless communication with other wireless devices in the vicinity of said plurality of communication devices, said communication network is configured for obtaining the geographical location of said plurality of communication devices and transmitting data representing said geographical location to a destination, over said communication network;
b) a wireless tag, attached to each of said roaming objects, being a wireless device, in which a unique data is stored, said tag is configured for communicating with said plurality of communication devices via said short range and transmitting said unique data to said destination through said plurality of communication devices and over said communication network,wherein said tag comprises;
a) a short-range wireless transceiver for communicating with said plurality of communication devices being in the vicinity of said tag;
b) a memory for storing the unique data; and
c) a control circuitry for controlling the communication between said tag and said communication device; and
c) a control center being linked to said destination, for receiving said unique data from said tag and for using said unique data and the location of the plurality of communication devices, through which said unique data is transmitted, for determining and displaying the geographical location of said tag, wherein the control center communicates with the plurality of communication devices for the presence of tags in their vicinity, according to at least one of the following parameters;
a tag'"'"'s identification;
time at which said unique data is transmitted;
a geographical region;
identification of said plurality of communication devices and a trigger signal generated at the tag or input to the tag.
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Abstract
The present invention discloses a system and a method to locate moving objects, such as people, pets and vehicles, over a wide area, by attaching small wireless devices, such as Bluetooth transceivers, to said objects and determining the location of said devices. The location of said wireless devices is determined by achieving ad-hoc short range wireless connectivity between said devices and communication devices such as Bluetooth enabled mobile phones that pass by, where said latter communication devices can be located by other means, such as GPS or network-based techniques.
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Citations
68 Claims
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1. A communication system for determining geographical location of roaming objects in a vicinity of a plurality of communication devices, comprising:
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a) a communication network, consisting of at least said plurality of communication devices, said plurality of communication devices configured to communicate with other communication devices over said communication network, and establishing a short range wireless communication with other wireless devices in the vicinity of said plurality of communication devices, said communication network is configured for obtaining the geographical location of said plurality of communication devices and transmitting data representing said geographical location to a destination, over said communication network; b) a wireless tag, attached to each of said roaming objects, being a wireless device, in which a unique data is stored, said tag is configured for communicating with said plurality of communication devices via said short range and transmitting said unique data to said destination through said plurality of communication devices and over said communication network, wherein said tag comprises; a) a short-range wireless transceiver for communicating with said plurality of communication devices being in the vicinity of said tag; b) a memory for storing the unique data; and c) a control circuitry for controlling the communication between said tag and said communication device; and c) a control center being linked to said destination, for receiving said unique data from said tag and for using said unique data and the location of the plurality of communication devices, through which said unique data is transmitted, for determining and displaying the geographical location of said tag, wherein the control center communicates with the plurality of communication devices for the presence of tags in their vicinity, according to at least one of the following parameters;
a tag'"'"'s identification;
time at which said unique data is transmitted;
a geographical region;
identification of said plurality of communication devices and a trigger signal generated at the tag or input to the tag. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A communication system comprising:
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a communication device including; a first processor configured to determine a location of the communication device; and a first transceiver operatively coupled to the first processor and configured to establish a short range wireless communication link with a tag; and transmit the location of the communication device and identity data corresponding to the tag to a control center; the tag, wherein the tag is associated with a roaming object, and further wherein the tag includes; a second processor; a short-range wireless transceiver operatively coupled to the second processor and configured to communicate with the communication device; a memory operatively coupled to the second processor and configured to store the identity data corresponding to the tag; and control circuitry operatively coupled to the second processor and configured to control communication between the tag and the communication device; and the control center, wherein the control center is configured to; communicate with the communication device to determine whether the communication device is in range of the tag, wherein the determination is based at least in part on the identity data corresponding to the tag; and determine, if the communication device is in range of the tag, a geographical location of the tag based at least in part on the location of the communication device. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 54)
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34. A tag comprising:
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control circuitry configured to activate an active mode in response to a trigger signal; a transceiver operatively coupled to the control circuitry and configured to, in response to activation of the active mode, transmit identity data associated with the tag or an object to which the tag is attached to a cellular telephone in a vicinity of the tag, wherein, in response to receipt of the identity data, the cellular telephone is configured to determine a location of the cellular telephone and provide the location and the identity data to a control center, and further wherein the identity data is transmitted to the cellular telephone through one or more short-range wireless signals; and a memory operatively coupled to the control circuitry and configured to store the identity data. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 55)
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38. A communication device comprising:
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a transceiver configured to receive a request to locate a tag from a control center, wherein the request originates from the control center and includes identity data corresponding to the tag; and a processor operatively coupled to the transceiver and configured to establish, in response to the request, a short range wireless communication link with the tag if the tag is in range of the communication device; determine a location of the communication device; and cause the transceiver to provide the location of the communication device to the control center if the tag is in range of the communication device. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42)
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43. A method comprising:
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receiving identity data at a third communication device from a first communication device, wherein the identity data is associated with a tag or an object to which the tag is attached, and further wherein the identity data originates from the tag and is transmitted from the tag to the first communication device in response to a trigger signal; receiving, at the third communication device, a location of the first communication device from the first communication device; determining, at the third communication device, a geographic location of the tag based at least in part on the identity data and the location; and providing the geographic location of the tag to a second communication device from the third communication device for use by the second communication device in locating the tag. - View Dependent Claims (44, 45, 46)
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47. A method comprising:
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receiving a request to locate a tag from a control center, wherein the request originates from the control center and includes identity data corresponding to the tag; establishing, in response to the request, a short range wireless communication link with the tag if the tag is in range of a communication device; determining a location of the communication device; and providing the location of the communication device to the control center if the tag is in range of the communication device. - View Dependent Claims (48, 49, 50)
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51. A method comprising:
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activating an active mode in response to a trigger signal at a tag; establishing, in response to activation of the active mode, a short-range communication link with a communication device in a vicinity of the tag; and transmitting identity data associated with the tag to the communication device, wherein, in response to receipt of the identity data, the communication device is configured to determine a location of the communication device and provide the location and the identity data to a control center. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 56)
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57. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising instructions for:
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receiving identity data at a third communication device from a first communication device, wherein the identity data is associated with a tag or an object to which the tag is attached, and further wherein the identity data originates from the tag and is transmitted from the tag to the first communication device in response to a trigger signal; receiving, at the third communication device, a location of the first communication device from the first communication device; determining, at the third communication device, a geographic location of the tag based at least in part on the identity data and the location; and providing the geographic location of the tag to a second communication device from the third communication device for use by the second communication device in locating the tag. - View Dependent Claims (58, 59, 60)
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61. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising instructions for:
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receiving a request to locate a tag from a control center, wherein the request originates from the control center and includes identity data corresponding to the tag; establishing, in response to the request, a short range wireless communication link with the tag if the tag is in range of a communication device; determining a location of the communication device; and providing the location of the communication device to the control center if the tag is in range of the communication device. - View Dependent Claims (62, 63, 64)
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65. A tangible, non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising instructions for:
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activating an active mode in response to a trigger signal at a tag; establishing, in response to activation of the active mode, a short-range communication link with a communication device in a vicinity of the tag; and transmitting identity data associated with the tag to the communication device, wherein, in response to receipt of the identity data, the communication device is configured to determine a location of the communication device and provide the location and the identity data to a control center. - View Dependent Claims (66, 67, 68)
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Specification