Method and apparatus for locating mobile units tracking another or within a prescribed geographic boundary

• US 20040246146A1
• Filed: 06/28/2004
• Published: 12/09/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ENOVSYS LLC
• Original Assignee: Mundi Fomukong
• Inventors: Fomukong, Mundi
• Granted Patent: US 7,199,726 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/988
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/102 a signal being sent to a remote location, e.g. a radio signal being transmitted to a police station, a security company or the owner
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/33 of global position, e.g. by providing GPS coordinates
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2556/50 of positioning data, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System] data
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries

Abstract

A mobile location reporting communication system consists of a network of communication sources and targets managed by one or more control stations. In the system, a communication source may request for the location of a mobile communication target from the network. The target conveys its location to the network and that information is provided to the source. In the invention a mobile communication source request for the location of mobile communication targets that are present in a prescribed geographic boundary The network provides to the source only remote targets that are present in the prescribed boundary. Also in the invention, a concealed or clandestine mobile portable target, close to the mobile portable source, may be tracking the source. The source may invoke a method that may the result of mobile targets that have traveled a pre-specified distance with the source while maintaining proximity to the source.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising:

a portable mobile remote unit;

a network of communication units;

means to obtain the location of the portable mobile remote unit;

means to obtain geographic boundary information in order to disclose a global location at the network;

means to provide the location of the portable mobile remote unit to the network upon determination that the portable mobile remote unit is within the geographic boundary obtained at the network;

means to determine and report to the system upon request that, another mobile remote unit has maintained relative proximity to the mobile remote over a period of time.

2. The portable mobile remote according to claim 1, having means to further determine if location disclosure for the remote unit is prohibited at a specific geographic boundary before sending its location to the network.

3. The portable remote unit of claim 1 having means to establish its velocity at the network and having means to further determine that, its velocity is within the network'"'"'s prescribed velocity before divulging its location to the network.

4. A communication system for providing the location of portable mobile remote units, in a geographic region to a wireless consumer requesting that information comprising:

i) means for the wireless consumer to specify and forward to a network, geographic boundary information describing the geographic region where the location of portable mobile remote units are required by the wireless consumer;

ii) means to request that all portable remote units within said geographic boundary (i) establish their location at the network;

iii) means to verify at the network, after said request (ii) that a portable remote unit according to (ii) responded with location information;

iv) means to provide to the wireless consumer the location of a portable mobile remote unit that exist in the geographic boundary defined by the wireless consumer after the verification of (iii).

5. The system of claim 4, the portable mobile remote units able to establish and report their location to other communication units of the system.