MOBILE ASSET TRACKING UNIT, SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20110205023A1
• Filed: 04/08/2011
• Published: 08/25/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/13/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Raytheon Blackbird Technologies Incorporated (Rtx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Raytheon Blackbird Technologies Incorporated (Rtx Corporation)
• Inventors: Wise, Louis F., Furey, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 8,144,008 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 340/8.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 1/08 using electric transmission ; transformation of alarm signals to electrical signals from a different medium, e.g. transmission of an electric alarm signal upon detection of an audible alarm signal
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS

Abstract

An asset tracking unit, system, and method. The asset tracking unit, system, and method may include at least one transceiver having communicative connections with at least one SATCOM network and at least one GPS network via at least one antenna, wherein tracking information for at least one asset associated with the at least one transceiver is received from the GPS network and is communicated to the SATCOM network, a first link that provides a multi-code one of the communicative connections between the at least one transceiver and the at least one SATCOM network, and a second link that provides a multi-channel one of the communicative connections between the at least one transceiver and he at least one GPS network. The unit system and method may additionally include at least one remote operations center remote from an asset to be tracked, wherein the asset to be tracked is geographically associated with the central processing unit.

Claims

1-57. -57. (canceled)

58. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to cause a processor to:

receive, via a multi-code SATCOM network, a first plurality of signals from a plurality of asset tracking units indicating a position of each asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units;

display the position of at least one asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units on a display as indicated by a multi-channel GPS signal received at the at least one asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units;

send a manipulation signal to the at least one asset tracking unit via the multi-code SATCOM network.

59. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 58, wherein the at least one asset tracking unit is a first asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units, the code representing instructions to cause the processor to display the position of the first asset tracking unit is executed in response to receiving an identifier associated with a first user, the code further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

display the position of at least a second asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units but not the position of the first asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units in response to receiving an identifier associated with a second user.

60. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 58, wherein the asset is an asset from a plurality of assets, each asset from the plurality of assets being collocated with an asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units, the code further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

receive a second plurality of signals from the plurality of asset tracking units indicating a status of each asset from the plurality of assets; and

display the status of the asset from the plurality of assets on the display.

61. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 58, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

receive a status signal from the at least one asset tracking unit indicating at least one of a location of the asset, an environmental condition surrounding the asset, a vital sign of the asset, or a weight of the asset.

62. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 58, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

receive an input signal associated with an instruction to remotely manipulate an asset collocated with the at least one asset tracking unit from the plurality of asset tracking units, the code representing instructions to cause the processor to send the manipulation signal being executed in response to the input signal.

63. An apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver configured to be collocated with an asset, the transceiver configured to establish a multi-code connection with a multi-code SATCOM network and a multi-channel connection with a multi-channel GPS network, the transceiver configured to receive location information associated with a location of the transceiver via the multi-channel connection, the transceiver configured to send the location information to a computing device via the multi-code connection; and

an event monitor operatively coupled to the transceiver, the event monitor configured to monitor an event associated with the asset, the transceiver configured to receive an indication associated with the event from the event monitor, the transceiver configured to transmit the indication to the computing device via the multi-code connection.

64. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the event monitor is a motion sensor and the indication is associated with a movement of the asset.

65. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the event monitor is a motion sensor and the indication is associated with a movement of the asset, the transceiver configured to activate the multi-code connection in response to receiving the indication.

66. The apparatus of claim 63, further comprising:

a mode switch configured to change a frequency of the multi-code connection.

67. The apparatus of claim 63, further comprising:

a data compression module configured to compress the location information prior to the transceiver sending the location information to the computing device via the multi-code connection.

68. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the event monitor is a periodic timer and the event is an expiration of the periodic timer.

69. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the event monitor is one of a vital sign monitor, a pressure transducer, a damage sensor, a humidity sensor, a radioactivity sensor, a motion sensor, or a heat sensor.

70. The apparatus of claim 63, further comprising:

a data compression module configured to compress the location information prior to the transceiver sending the location information to the computing device via the multi-code connection.

71. The apparatus of claim 63, wherein the transceiver is configured to establish the multi-code connection during a first time period and the multi-channel connection during a second time period mutually exclusive of the first time period.

72. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to cause a processor to:

receive, at a first computing device, tracking information associated with an asset collocated with the first computing device, the tracking information being received via a multi-channel GPS network connection;

receive, at the first computing device, a status indicator associated with the asset;

send, at a first time, a first signal including the tracking information to a second communication device via a multi-code SATCOM network; and

send, at a second time after the first time, a second signal including the status indicator to the second communication device via the multi-code SATCOM network.

73. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, wherein the status indicator includes at least one of an indication of environmental conditions surrounding the asset, an indication of vital signs of the asset, or an indication of a weight of the asset.

74. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, wherein the code representing instructions to cause the processor to send the first signal is configured to be executed in response to an expiration of a periodic timer.

75. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

receive a third signal indicating that the asset has moved a distance greater than a predetermined distance threshold, the code representing instructions to cause the processor to send the first signal configured to be executed in response to receiving the third signal.

76. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

receive a third signal indicating that the asset has moved outside a predetermined area, the code representing instructions to cause the processor to send the first signal configured to be executed in response to receiving the third signal.

77. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

receive, from a mode switch operatively coupled to the first computing device, a third signal;

modify a frequency associated with the multi-code SATCOM network in response to the third signal.

78. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

encrypt the tracking information prior to the first time.

79. The non-transitory processor-readable medium of claim 72, further comprising code representing instructions to cause the processor to:

compress the tracking information prior to the first time.