CONFIGURING AND USING MULTI-DIMENSIONAL ZONES

• US 20090132163A1
• Filed: 01/08/2009
• Published: 05/21/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: WirelessWERX IP LLC (Pueblo Nuevo LLC)
• Original Assignee: Wirelesswerx International, Inc.
• Inventors: Mooney, Patrick, Ashley, James JR.
• Granted Patent: US 8,428,867 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/206
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0045 Transmission from base station to mobile station G01S5/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/243 with built-in antennas

Abstract

A method to define a three-dimensional geographical zone that is utilized with a movable entity having at least one attached transponder is disclosed. The method comprises allowing a user to enter at least one waypoint, and loading at least one waypoint on at least one transponder. In one or more embodiments, a waypoint is defined by a geographical coordinate and a radius. The geographical coordinate is represented by a latitude value, a longitude value, and an elevation value. And, the radius is represented by a distance magnitude. In some embodiments, the method further comprises regulating the movable entity by monitoring, controlling, and/or visualizing the movement, non-movement, or position of the movable entity. The transponder determines whether the transponder is located inside the three-dimensional geographical zone by obtaining global positioning coordinates, and calculating whether or not the global positioning coordinates are located inside at least one waypoint.

Claims

1. A method to define a three-dimensional geographical zone utilized with a movable entity having at least one attached transponder, comprising:

allowing a user to enter at least one waypoint,

wherein the at least one waypoint is defined by a geographical coordinate and a radius,

wherein the geographical coordinate is represented by a latitude value, a longitude value, and an elevation value,

wherein the radius is represented by a distance magnitude; and

loading the at least one waypoint on the at least one transponder.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the area that a waypoint defines is selected from the group consisting of a circle, a cylinder, and a sphere.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the movement of the movable entity.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the non-movement of the movable entity.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the position of the movable entity.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one transponder determines whether the at least one transponder is located inside the three-dimensional geographical zone by:

obtaining global positioning coordinates, and

calculating whether or not the global positioning coordinates are located inside the at least one waypoint.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the shape of the three-dimensional geographical zone is a street route.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the shape of the three-dimensional geographical zone is the shape of a non-geometrical shape.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the moveable entity is controlled and monitored depending on the location of the moveable entity relative to the three-dimensional geographical zone.

10. A method to define a three-dimensional geographical zone utilized with a movable entity having at least one attached transponder, comprising:

allowing a user to enter at least one a geographical coordinate,

wherein the at least one geographical coordinate is represented by a latitude value, a longitude value, and an elevation value; and

loading the at least one geographical coordinate on the at least one transponder.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the movement of the movable entity.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the non-movement of the movable entity.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the position of the movable entity.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the at least one transponder determines whether the at least one transponder is located inside the three-dimensional geographical zone by:

obtaining global positioning coordinates, and

calculating whether or not the global positioning coordinates are located inside the area defined by the at least one geographical coordinate.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the shape of the three-dimensional geographical zone is a street route.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the shape of the three-dimensional geographical zone is the shape of a non-geometrical shape.

17. The method of claim 10, wherein the moveable entity is controlled and monitored depending on the location of the moveable entity relative to the three-dimensional geographical zone.

18. A method to define a three-dimensional geographical zone utilized with a movable entity having at least one attached transponder, comprising:

allowing a user to enter at least one waypoint,

wherein the at least one waypoint is defined by a first geographical coordinate and a radius,

wherein the first geographical coordinate is represented by a latitude value, a longitude value, and an elevation value,

wherein the radius is represented by a distance magnitude;

allowing a user to enter at least one second geographical coordinate,

wherein the at least one second geographical coordinate is represented by a latitude value, a longitude value, and an elevation value;

loading the at least one waypoint on the at least one transponder; and

loading the at least one second geographical coordinate on the at least one transponder.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the area that a waypoint defines is selected from the group consisting of a circle, a cylinder, and a sphere.

20. The method of claim 18, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the movement of the movable entity.

21. The method of claim 18, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the non-movement of the movable entity.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising regulating the movable entity by performing an action that comprises at least one of monitoring, controlling, and visualizing the position of the movable entity.

23. A method to define a three-dimensional geographical zone utilized with a movable entity having at least one attached transponder, comprising:

loading from a computing device to a memory in the transponder a plurality of coordinates;

mapping the coordinates on a pixilated image wherein the assigned pixilated image is configurable; and

forming a contiguous array of pixels that enclose a shape in the pixilated image to form the geographical zone.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the plurality of coordinates are entered by a user of a computer device, and transmitted to the transponder.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein a user enters the plurality of coordinates by selecting points in a map;

and calculating geographical coordinates of each selected point in the map.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein a remote user enters the plurality of coordinates by entering on a computer the longitude, latitude, and elevation.

27. A method to define a three-dimensional geographical zone utilized with a movable entity having at least one attached transponder, comprising:

loading a plurality of coordinates from a computing device to a memory in the transponder, wherein the plurality of coordinates identify a multi-dimensional area;

dividing the multi-dimensional area into a grid;

allowing at least one user to select at least one section from within the grid in order to define a multi-dimensional geographical region; and

associating the at least one section with at least one pixel in a pixilated computer image of the multi-dimensional area such that the pixels selected by the at least one user are identified as being loaded in the multi-dimensional geographical region.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein the multi-dimensional area is divided into a grid of three-dimensional squares or rectangles, and wherein the three-dimensional squares or rectangles of the grid have at least one depth.