Security monitoring and tracking system

• US 4,651,157 A
• Filed: 05/07/1985
• Issued: 03/17/1987
• Est. Priority Date: 05/07/1985
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Harris Corporation (L3Harris Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: METSS Corporation
• Inventors: Gray, Donald R., Gendler, Robert L., Green, Lawrence R. III, Carrott, John A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAIN, DAVID C
• Application Number:
  US06/731,280
• Time in Patent Office: 679 Days
• Field of Search: 343/457, 343/450, 343/451, 343/453, 343/389, 340/539, 340/63
• US Class Current: 342/457
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2325/304 Boats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/00 Fittings or systems for preventing or indicating unauthorised use or theft of vehicles locks for vehicles E05B77/00-E05B85/00
• 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: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 9/00 Traffic control systems for craft where the kind of craft is irrelevant or unspecified

Abstract

A method and apparatus for positively indicating the position of a land-based vehicle, a marine vessel or an aircraft, utilizing a security system provided in the secured mode of transportation monitored by a central station. Navigational information transmitted by LORAN-C transmitters or satellite transmitters are received and then retransmitted to the central station which determines the exact latitude/longitude coordinates of the secured mode of transportation. The secured mode of transportation also includes a security panel for monitoring the condition of various parameters. An interface is connected to the security panel and the navigational receiver for coordinating the transmission of information relating to the conditions monitored by the security panel as well as the information received by the navigational receiver before they are sent to a radio for transmission to the central station.

Claims

1. A method of determining the latitude/longitude coordinate of a mode of transportation, including the steps of:

providing a receiver on said mode of transportation for receiving pulses generated by a navigational tracking system having at least two transmitting stations;

receving the pulses generated by the navigational tracking system on said mode of transportation;

transmitting time-delay data based upon said pulses to a central station in communication with a fixed antenna from said mode of transportation; and

calculating the latitude/longitude coordinate of said mode of transportation at said central station based upon the time delay data received by said central station.

2. The method of determining the exact latitude/longitude coordinates of a mode of transportation in accordance with claim 1 further including the steps of:

determining the latitude/longitude coordinate of said fixed antenna utilized to receive the time delay data generated by said mode of transportation and received by said central station;

providing a receiver on said antenna for directly receiving the pulses generated by the navigational tracking system;

computing the latitude/longitude coordinates of said antenna utilizing the pulses directly received from the navigational tracking system;

comparing the latitude/longitude coordinates of said antenna compiled in said determining step with the latitude/longitude coordinates of said antenna compiled utilizing the pulses directly transmitted by said navigational tracking system to said antenna;

developing compensated data based upon the information generated by said comparing step; and

recomputing the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transporation based upon the generated compensated data.

15. The method of determining the latitude/longitude coordinates of a mode of transportation in accordance with claim 1 further including the steps of:

monitoring a plurality of conditions on said mode of transportation; and

transmitting security signals from said mode of transportation to said central station, said security signals generated by said monitoring step.

3. A security monitoring system for protecting a mode of transporation comprising:

a security means provided on said mode of transportation for monitoring a plurality of conditions on said mode of transporation, said security means provided with a memory unit;

a receiver means connected to said security means for receiving pulses generated by a navigational tracking system provided with at least two transmitters, said memory unit storing time delay data based upon said received pulses;

a receiving and transmitting radio connected to said security means and said receiver means;

a central station provided at a position remote from said mode of transportation for monitoring the information generated by said security means and determining the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the time delay data received by said receiver means and transmitted to said central station by said radio.

4. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said security means includes a security panel for monitoring a first set of parameters and secured zones, and an interface for monitoring a second set of parameters, said security panel generating a series of first signals based upon the condition of said first set of parameters and secured zones and said interface generating a series of second signals based upon the condition of said second set of parameters, both said first and second signals sent to said receiving and transmitting radio for transmission to said central station.

5. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 4 wherein said security panel further includes an input panel for initiating the operation of said security monitoring system.

6. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 5 wherein said input panel further includes a means for determining the status of said secured zones and bypassing the arming of one of said zones if said zone is monitoring a faulty sensor.

7. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 3 further including a fixed antenna in communication with said central station for receiving first signals transmitted by said radio and directly receiving the navigational pulses generated by the navigational tracking system, said antenna sending said first signals and said directly received pulses to said central station, and transmitting second signals generated by said central station to said radio.

8. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 7 wherein said central station includes a computer utilizing the pulses directly received by said fixed antenna to determine the accuracy of the navigational pulses received by said receiving and transmitting means provided on said mode of transportation, said computer providing compensating latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the information provided in said first signals transmitted by said radio and the navigational pulses directly received by said fixed antenna.

9. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 8 wherein said computer includes a monitor for displaying the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation.

10. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 9 wherein said computer includes a means for monitoring said security means provided in said mode of transportation, said monitoring means responsive to a first series of first signals generated by said security means and said computer responsive to a series of second signals generated by said security means.

11. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 3 wherein said security means includes a memory means and a means for performing computations, said security means utilizing the pulses received by said receiving means generated by the navigational tracking system to determine a first latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation, storing said first latitude/longitude coordinates in said memory, continually utilizing the incoming pulses received by said receiving means to determine subsequent latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation and comparing said subsequent latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation with said first latitude/longitude coordinates;

wherein said security means determines whether said mode of transportation has been moved at least a predetermined distance.

12. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 11 wherein said security means generates a signal transmitted to said central station if said mode of transportation has been moved at least a predetermined distance.

13. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 4, wherein said first series of signals is analog and said second series of signals is digital.

14. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 10 wherein said first series of signals is analog and said second series of signals is digital.

16. A system for deetermining the latitude/longitude coordinates of a mode of transportation based upon signals initially generated by a navigational tracking system having at least two transmitting stations comprising:

a central station in communication with an antenna having known latitude/longitude coordinates, said antenna receiving pulses generated by the navigational tracking system;

a receiver on said mode of transportation for receiving pulses generated by the navigational tracking system;

a memory device in direct communication with said receiver for storing the pulses received by said mode of transportation and generated by the navigational tracking system;

a transmitter in direct communication with said memory device for transmitting time-delay data stored in said memory device to said antenna of said central station; and

first means provided at said central station for calculating the latitude/longitude coordinates of the mode of transportation based upon the time delay data received by said central station.

17. The system for determining the latitude/longitude coordinates of a mode of transportation in accordance with claim 16 further including:

second means provided at said central station for calculating the latitude/longitude coordinates of said antenna utilizing the pulses directly received from the navigational tracking system;

comparing and compensating means provided at said central station in communication with said second means for comparing the known latitude/longitude coordinates of said antenna with the latitude/longitude coordinates calculated by said second means, and developing compensated data based upon the known latitude/longitude coordinates of said antenna compared to the latitude/longitude coordinates calculated by said second means; and

third means provided at said central station and in communication with said first means and said comparing and compensating means for recomputing the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the compensated data developed by said comparing and compensating means.

18. A security monitoring system for protecting a mode of transportation comprising:

a security means provided on said mode of transportation for monitoring a plurality of conditions on said mode of transportation;

a receiver means connected to said security means for receiving pulses generated by a navigational tracking system provided with at least two transmitters;

a receiving and transmitting radio connected to said security means and said receiver means;

a central station provided at a position remote from said mode of transportation for monitoring the information generated by said security means and determining the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the information received by said receiver means and transmitted to said central station by said radio; and

a fixed antenna in communication with said central station for receiving first signals transmitted by said radio and directly receiving the navigational pulses generated by the navigational tracking system, said antenna sending said first signals and said directly received pulses to said central station, and transmitting second signals generated by said central station to said radio.

19. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said security means includes a security panel for monitoring a first set of parameters and secured zones, and an interface for monitoring a second set of parameters, said security panel generating a series of first signals based upon the condition of said first set of parameters and secured zones and said interface generating a series of second signals based upon the condition of said second set of parameters, both said first and second signals sent to said receiving and transmitting radio for transmission to said central station.

20. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 19 wherein said security panel further includes an input panel for initiating the operation of said security monitoring system.

21. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 20 wherein said input panel furtheer includes a means for determining the status of said secured zones and bypassing the arming of one of said zones if said zone is monitoring a faulty sensor.

22. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said central station includes a computer utilizing the pulses directly received by said fixed antenna to determine the accuracy of the navigational pulses received by said receiving and transmitting means provided on said mode of transportation, said computer providing compensating latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the information provided in said first signals transmitted by said radio and the navigational pulses directly received by said fixed antenna.

23. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 22 wherein said computer includes a monitor for displaying the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation.

24. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 23 wherein said computer includes a means for monitoring said security means provided in said mode of transportation, said monitoring means responsive to a first series of first signals generated by said security means and said computer responsive to a series of second signals generated by said security means.

25. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 18 wherein said security means includes a memory means and a means for performing computations, said security means utilizing the pulses received by said receiving means generated by the navigational tracking system to determine a first latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation, storing said first latitude/longitude coordinates in said memory, continually utilizing the incoming pulses received by said receiving means to determine subsequent latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation and comparing said subsequent latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation with said first latitude/longitude coordinates;

wherein said security means determines whether said mode of transportation has been moved at least a predetermined distance.

26. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 25 wherein said security means generates a signal transmitted to said central station if said mode of transportation has been moved at least a predetermined distance.

27. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 19, wherein said first series of signals is analog and said second series of signals is digital.

28. The security monitoring system in accordance with claim 24 wherein said first series of signals is analog and said second series of signals is digital.

29. A security monitoring system for protecting a mode of transportation comprising:

a security means provided on said mode of transportation for monitoring a plurality of conditions on said mode of transportation;

a receiver means connected to said security means for receiving pulses generated by a navigational tracking system provided with at least two transmitters;

a receiving and transmitting radio connected to said security means and said receiver means;

a central station provided at a position remote from said mode of transportation for monitoring the information generated by said security means and determining the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the information received by said receiver means and transmitted to said central station by said radio;

a fixed antenna in communication with said central station for receiving first signals transmitted by said radio and directly receiving the navigational pulses generated by the navigational tracking system, said antenna sending said first signals and said directly received pulses to said central station, and transmitting second signals generated by said central station to said radio;

a computer provided in said central station which utilizes the pulse directly received by said fixed antenna to determine the accuracy of the navigational pulses received by said receiving and transmitting means provided on said mode of transportation, said computer providing compensating latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation based upon the information provided in said first signals transmitted by said radio and the navigational pulses directly received by said fixed antenna; and

display monitor in communication with said computer for displaying the latitude/longitude coordinates of said mode of transportation on a geographical map.