Configurable Geofences

• US 20100253508A1
• Filed: 06/14/2010
• Published: 10/07/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 10/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GeoTab Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Webtech Wireless Incorporated (GeoTab Incorporated)
• Inventors: Day, John, Koen, Robert John
• Granted Patent: US 8,766,791 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/539.130
• 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: G01S 19/16 Anti-theft; Abduction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• 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 wireless device for facilitating for GPS-based asset tracking via a wireless communications network and a centralized management system. The wireless device includes dynamically configurable event profiles which allow the wireless device to be dynamically reconfigured and to perform certain actions based on a dynamically configurable combination of received events.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically operating a locator device, comprising the steps of:

a. defining a plurality of events where each of said events represents an operational status of said locator device;

b. defining a plurality of triggers where each of said triggers is a dynamically configurable contemporaneously occurring combination of said events;

c. defining a plurality of event profiles where each of said event profiles is a user-configurable dynamic association between

i. one of said triggers; and

ii. a dynamically configurable set of device commands;

d. responding to a contemporaneously occurring subset of said events by evaluating said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events against said triggers of each of said event profiles;

e. activating one of said event profiles by processing said set of device commands corresponding to said event profile whenever said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events corresponds to said trigger of said event profile;

wherein said set of device commands changes a configuration parameter of said locator device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said set of device commands also causes said locator device to perform an action.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said user-configurable dynamic association is implemented using Boolean logic.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein said user-configurable dynamic association is implemented using any form of combinatorial, sequential or associative logic.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein one of said events represents said locator device being located inside or outside a defined geographical area.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein one of said events represents said locator device successfully receiving location information from GPS satellites.

7. The method of claim 2, wherein said trigger is implemented by a combination of a trigger word and a trigger mask, wherein:

a. said trigger word represents a subset of said events against which said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events is evaluated; and

b. said trigger mask represents which of said subset of events must alone or in concert to activate said event profile which comprises said trigger.

8. The method of claim 2, wherein said responding further includes performing Boolean operations between said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events and said trigger word and said trigger mask which comprise said trigger.

9. A dynamically operable locator device comprising:

a. a definition of a plurality of events where each of said events represents an operational status of said locator device;

b. a definition a plurality of triggers where each of said triggers is a dynamically configurable contemporaneously occurring combination of said events;

c. a definition a plurality of event profiles where each of said event profiles is a user-configurable dynamic association between

i. one of said triggers; and

ii. a dynamically configurable set of device commands;

d. means for responding to a contemporaneously occurring subset of said events by evaluating said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events against said triggers of each of said event profiles;

e. means for activating one of said event profiles by processing said set of device commands corresponding to said event profile whenever said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events corresponds to said trigger of said event profile.

10. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said set of device commands changes a configuration parameter of said dynamically operable locator device.

11. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said set of device commands causes said dynamically operable locator device to perform an action.

12. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said set of device commands causes said dynamically operable locator device to change one or more of said configuration parameters and perform one or more actions.

13. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said user-configurable dynamic association is implemented using Boolean logic.

14. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said user-configurable dynamic association is implemented using any form of combinatorial, sequential or associative logic.

15. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein one of said events represents said dynamically operable locator device being located inside or outside a defined geographical area.

16. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein one of said events represents said dynamically operable locator device successfully receiving location information from GPS satellites.

17. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said trigger is implemented by a combination of a trigger word and a trigger mask, wherein:

a. said trigger word represents a subset of said events against which said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events is evaluated; and

b. said trigger mask represents which of said subset of events must alone or in concert to activate said event profile which comprises said trigger.

18. The dynamically operable locator device of claim 9, wherein said responding further includes performing Boolean operations between said contemporaneously occurring subset of said events and said trigger word and said trigger mask which comprise said trigger.