Method and apparatus for fleet management of equipment
First Claim
1. A system for managing a fleet of rental equipment, each of the rental equipment of the fleet of rental equipment being subject to a rental agreement that represents a duration and/or a geographical limitation for the rental equipment, the system comprising:
- a tracking device for coupling with each of the rental equipment, the tracking device comprising;
a flexible, waterproof outer enclosure having one or more solar panels for converting solar energy to electricity for the tracking device, the flexible, waterproof outer enclosure further including a coupling feature that releasably couples and conforms the tracking device to an outer surface of the rental equipment;
a rigid inner enclosure housed by the flexible, waterproof outer enclosure and under the one or more solar panels; and
a global positioning system (GPS) device embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels;
a transceiver embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels, the transceiver for receiving and transmitting signals to and from a communication network;
a plurality of message buttons adjacent to the one or more solar panels, each message button being associated with a distinct message and configured to, when depressed, cause a message logic circuitry to generate the distinct message for transmission via the transceiver;
logic circuitry embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels, the logic circuitry receiving GPS data from the GPS device and sending the GPS data to the transceiver for transmitting by the transceiver to the communication network, the logic circuitry including the message logic circuitry; and
a server system executing a fleet management application, the server system receiving the GPS data from the tracking device coupled to the rental equipment via the communication network, and processing the GPS data to generate a set of analytical information representing geographical data associated with the rental equipment during the duration of the rental agreement.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for tracking rental equipment such as fleet watercraft is disclosed. The system and method includes a communication system and a waterproof and weatherproof GPS tracking device that is easily attached to each watercraft and integrated into the communication system. The communication system further includes a client application running on a client computing tracking device. The client application can receive GPS tracking data from the GPS tracking device, interpret the data in various beneficial ways, and graphically display the interpreted data.
34 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A system for managing a fleet of rental equipment, each of the rental equipment of the fleet of rental equipment being subject to a rental agreement that represents a duration and/or a geographical limitation for the rental equipment, the system comprising:
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a tracking device for coupling with each of the rental equipment, the tracking device comprising; a flexible, waterproof outer enclosure having one or more solar panels for converting solar energy to electricity for the tracking device, the flexible, waterproof outer enclosure further including a coupling feature that releasably couples and conforms the tracking device to an outer surface of the rental equipment; a rigid inner enclosure housed by the flexible, waterproof outer enclosure and under the one or more solar panels; and a global positioning system (GPS) device embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels; a transceiver embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels, the transceiver for receiving and transmitting signals to and from a communication network; a plurality of message buttons adjacent to the one or more solar panels, each message button being associated with a distinct message and configured to, when depressed, cause a message logic circuitry to generate the distinct message for transmission via the transceiver; logic circuitry embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels, the logic circuitry receiving GPS data from the GPS device and sending the GPS data to the transceiver for transmitting by the transceiver to the communication network, the logic circuitry including the message logic circuitry; and a server system executing a fleet management application, the server system receiving the GPS data from the tracking device coupled to the rental equipment via the communication network, and processing the GPS data to generate a set of analytical information representing geographical data associated with the rental equipment during the duration of the rental agreement. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of managing a fleet of rental equipment, each of the rental equipment of the fleet of rental equipment being subject to a rental agreement that represents a duration and/or a geographical limitation for the rental equipment, the method comprising:
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associating a tracking device with each of the rental equipment, the tracking device comprising; a flexible, waterproof outer enclosure having one or more solar panels for converting solar energy to electricity for the tracking device, the flexible, waterproof outer enclosure further including a coupling feature that releasably couples and conforms the tracking device to an outer surface of the rental equipment; a rigid inner enclosure housed by the flexible, waterproof outer enclosure; and a global positioning system (GPS) device embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels; a transceiver embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels, the transceiver for receiving and transmitting signals to and from a communication network; a plurality of message buttons adjacent to the one or more solar panels, each message button being associated with a distinct message and configured to, when depressed, cause a message logic circuitry to generate the distinct message for transmission via the transceiver; and logic circuitry embedded in the rigid inner enclosure and being powered by electricity from the one or more solar panels, the logic circuitry receiving GPS data from the GPS device and sending the GPS data to the transceiver for transmitting by the transceiver to the communication network, the logic circuitry including the message logic circuitry; receiving, by a server system, the GPS data from the tracking device coupled to the rental equipment via the communication network; and processing, by the server system, the GPS data to generate a set of analytical information representing geographical data associated with the rental equipment during the duration of the rental agreement. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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Specification