SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IMPROVED COMMUNICATION BANDWIDTH UTILIZATION WHEN MONITORING LOCATION INFORMATION

• US 20090117921A1
• Filed: 06/20/2008
• Published: 05/07/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LBT IP II LLC (Location Based Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Location Based Technologies, Inc.
• Inventors: Scalisi, Joseph F., Beydler, Michael L., Mejia, Desiree, Morse, David M., Anderson, Roger B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,224,355 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/457
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9537 Spatial or temporal dependent retrieval, e.g. spatiotemporal queries
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/028 Communication between parent and child units via remote transmission means, e.g. satellite network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters

Abstract

A personalized format webpage is generated to monitor location information. A graphical mapping module is disclosed to provide mapping tiles from multiple mapping service providers in response to user request for location information of a tracking device associated with an object or an individual. A wizard menu enables the user to reorient an initial request for mapping tiles in a different layout or view format without requiring additional access to a mapping service provider website. Alert messages associated with the tracking device are generated in accordance with selected alert zones. Dashboard management tools may be included or associated with a software file readily accessible and functionally equipped to interpret user requests for mapping reorientation and zoom capabilities.

Claims

1. A method to provide location information on a webpage for a user in a personalized user format comprising:

providing user access to a location management dashboard module in response to detection of a successful user logon, the location management dashboard module comprising a listing of one or more groups of tracking devices the user is capable of monitoring;

providing an graphical mapping module comprising menu options in the personalized user format, the menu options comprising one or more tile mapping controls as part a wizard menu enabling user to reposition graphical mapping tiles initially requested by the user on at least one tracking device of the listing of one or more groups of tracking devices, whereby the user repositions graphical mapping tiles received as part of the initial request without re-accessing a mapping service provider website;

providing an alert message associated with the at least one tracking device in response to detection of the successful user login;

providing a request signal to obtain location coordinates of the at least one tracking device of the listing of one or more groups of tracking devices;

providing by the at least one tracking device a first reply signal that comprises a first identification code to identify the at least one tracking device; and

displaying the location coordinates of the at least one tracking device to the user in response to the request signal.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of:

providing a second tracking device from the listing of the one or more groups of tracking devices, the second tracking device having a second transceiver to receive the first reply signal, compare the first identification code to a stored identification code, and communicate to a monitoring station a second reply signal that comprises the location coordinates of the at least one tracking device in part responsive to verification of the first identification code.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the menu options of the at least one tracking device comprises selectable icons to graphically represent on a map an object or individual;

and wherein the graphical mapping tiles are chosen for the selectable icons in accordance with an algorithm stored in a mapping service provider look-up table to allocate graphical mapping requests between one or more graphical mapping service providers in accordance with at least one of cost or user response time or user credit available among the one or more graphical mapping service providers.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the graphical mapping tiles are chosen in accordance with an algorithm stored in a mapping service provider look-up table to minimize system bandwidth of graphical mapping requests among one or more graphical mapping service providers.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the graphical mapping tiles are chosen in accordance with information stored in the graphical mapping module to custom choose graphical mapping tiles from the one or more graphical mapping service providers in accordance with legacy information of the one or more graphical mapping service providers having a maximum number of user requested mapping details.

6. An expanded cellular communication system interface comprising:

a user dashboard interface module configured to monitor a group of tracking devices in accordance with user selected coverage zones;

wherein the user selected coverage zones comprise regions associated with one or more mapping areas determined to be at least one of an alert on enter and an alert on exit;

an alert module configured to generate an alert message in accordance with detecting a breach condition of one or more of the user selected coverage zones; and

an identification module configured to be user selectable to remotely set control variables of an individual or an object associated with a tracking device of the group of tracking devices to partially establish conditions determining if the breach condition of one or more of the user selected coverage zones occurred; and

a graphical tile mapping module capable of accessing user requested graphical mapping tiles from multiple graphical mapping service providers in accordance with entries in a stored look-up mapping service provider table as to having historically quickest response time based on at least one of variables including time of day or current available Internet Bandwidth and compiling the graphical mapping tiles and user wizard controls from the user dashboard interface module to realize a graphical tile mapping reorientation function that does not require reaccessing the multiple graphical mapping service providers during a user mapping reorientation request.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the alert module provides the alert message upon a user successfully logon to the user dashboard interface module, and wherein upon the user successfully logon, a downloaded module provides user flexibility of mapping reorientation and panning about a previously defined mapping area without requesting any Internet communication or requiring addition inputs from the multiple graphical mapping service providers.

8. The system of claim 6, further comprising an icon module that provides graphical representations of the group of tracking devices;

wherein the icon module provides capability of selecting the tracking device to monitor and provide location coordinate information of the tracking device by another device of the group of tracking devices upon detection of no response by a monitoring system of the location coordinates of the tracking device during a specified period.

9. The system of claim 6, further comprising a battery management module capable of powering-down the tracking device for a specified period in response to a tracking device monitoring system not detecting the location coordinates of the tracking device.

10. The system of claim 6, further comprising a battery management module capable of powering-on the tracking device for a specified period in response to a monitoring station previously powering-down the tracking device in response to the monitoring system not detecting location coordinates of the tracking device.

11. A coverage zone module to monitor location coordinates comprising:

a tile mapping module to process a user request for location coordinate information and provide multiple graphical mapping tiles from a mapping tile service provider responsive to the user request;

wherein the multiple graphical mapping tiles are rotatable and reorientable without the need to re-establish connection after an initial request with the mapping tile service provider;

at least two user selectable coverage zones to locate a tracking device;

a user wizard interface to draw the at least two user selectable zones on a mapping display; and

an alert system to automatically poll location coordinates of the tracking device at designated periods and to provide an alert in response to a proximal distance of the location coordinates position to the at least two user selectable zones;

wherein the alert communicates a user defined message responsive to the proximal distance of the tracking device within or from the at least two user selectable coverage zones.

12. The module of claim 11, wherein the tile mapping module compiles controls associated with the user wizard interface and the location coordinates of the tracking devices.

13. The module of claim 11, wherein the alert system communicates information between a battery management module and the coverage zone module in response to a battery management module detection of a low battery condition of the tracking device.

14. The module of claim 11, wherein the at least two user selectable zones are programmable by a user and in part responsive to updates in a database;

and wherein user reorientation and pan mapping commands are locally generated and performed using a SWF file loaded onto an user'"'"'s Internet Browser.

15. The module of claim 11, further comprising an acknowledgement system to periodically check if a recipient designated in a contact book successfully communicates an acknowledgement of the alert and to resend the alert to the recipient designed in the contact book upon detection of no acknowledgment of the alert.

16. The module of claim 15, wherein the acknowledgement system chooses another recipient from the contact book in response to detection of no acknowledgement of the alert by the recipient designated in the contact book.

17. The module of claim 16, wherein the acknowledgement system chooses another recipient from the contact book in an order designated by at least one of a user and a system administrator of a remotely located monitoring control station;

and wherein the module graphically updates information associated with one or more velocity directional icons of the tracking device.

18. The module of claim 11, further comprising a smart interactive service to reduce a number of keystrokes required to setup or modify attributes associated with the at least two user selectable coverage zones.

19. The module of claim 11, further comprising an acknowledgement system to automatically alert a user of status information of the tracking device upon successful logon.

20. The module of claim 11, wherein the at least user selectable coverage zones comprise at least two overlapping coverage regions of at least one of an alert on enter zone and at least one of an alert on exit zone;

wherein a relative location coordinate error margin between the alert on enter zone and the alert on exit zone prevents a false alert being generated and communicated to a user.

21. The module of claim 11, wherein the at least two user selectable coverage zones comprise graphical icons of tracking devices of a group of tracking devices that a user has monitoring permission;

and wherein at least one tracking device in the at least two user selectable coverage zones being responsive to communicate its location coordinates and relative location coordinates from the tracking device to a location monitoring station in response to the tracking device failing to respond to multiple location coordinate requests communicated during a specified interval.

22. A location and tracking webpage interface comprising:

a management menu to provide graphical icons of objects or individuals associated with a tracking device;

a zone menu;

an alert menu to provide alert information associated with one or more coverage zones selected utilizing a wizard menu;

wherein the wizard menu comprises part of the zone menu; and

wherein the alert information is responsive to a location request; and

a graphical tile mapping module to process a user request for location coordinate information and provide multiple graphical mapping tiles from a mapping tile service provider responsive to the user request;

wherein the multiple graphical mapping tiles are rotatable and reorientable without the need to re-establish connection with the graphical tile mapping service provider.

23. The interface of claim 22, wherein the zone menu comprises user selectable overlapping coverage zones to provide a mapping intersection area of an alert on enter and an alert on exit and an alert on enter or exit and a graphical velocity indicator to indicate speed and relative directional information of the tracking device relative to landmarks or street addresses on a mapping area.

24. The interface of claim 22, wherein the zone menu comprises overlapping user coverage zones and the graphical title mapping module chooses mapping tiles in accordance with an algorithm that chooses graphical mapping tiles from multiple tile providers to achieve best mapping resolution and to minimize communication requirements from at least one graphical mapping tile provider based at last partially on the user request.

25. The interface of claim 22, wherein the graphical tile mapping module comprises a file downloaded locally on a user'"'"'s computer.

26. The interface of claim 25, wherein the graphical tile mapping module comprises a flash application to access at least one of multiple mapping service providers, dashboard management module, and location coordinate information.