Hybrid monitoring of location of a site confinee

• US 5,892,454 A
• Filed: 10/21/1996
• Issued: 04/06/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 12/21/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Janky, James M., Schipper, John F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Horabik, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Beaulieu, Yonel
• Application Number:
  US08/734,721
• Time in Patent Office: 897 Days
• Field of Search: 340/825.37, 340/825.49, 340/870.01, 340/539, 340/572, 340/573, 340/825.54, 379/38, 342/357, 342/450
• US Class Current: 340/573.4
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/28 the pass enabling tracking or indicating presence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/22 responsive to presence or absence of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/245 Reminder of hygiene compliance policies, e.g. of washing hands

Abstract

Method and apparatus for monitoring present location of a person ("confinee") who is to be confined to a designated site, which site can have a diameter as small as a few meters or as large as several kilometers. The present location of the confinee is checked at selected time intervals with time periods ranging from one second to thousands of seconds, as desired. The confinee wears a location-determining ("LD") unit that receives electromagnetic signals that contain information allowing determination of the present location of the LD unit, and thus of the confinee, from three or more non-collinear outdoor LD signal sources and from three or more non-collinear indoor LD signal sources. The indoor LD signal sources may be radiowave transmitters. The outdoor LD signal sources may be transmitters for a Loran, Omega, Decca, Tacan, JTIDS Relnav or PLRS or similar ground-based system, or transmitters for a satellite positioning system, such as GPS or GLONASS. The relative phases or transmission times for the signals from each indoor LD signal source are determined and provided for the LD unit. The present location or change location of the LD unit is determined and compared with the permitted site location coordinates at a sequence of selected times to determine if the confinee is present at the site at such times. The LD unit issues an alarm signal if the confinee is not on the site and has not arranged beforehand to leave the permitted site for a selected time interval. The permitted site can be redefined, for a selected time interval, to include the first permitted site, a second permitted site and a corridor extending between the first and second permitted sites for a selected time interval, after which the permitted site can be changed again to include only the first or the second permitted site or a portion thereof. This allows the confinee to temporarily leave the original permitted site to seek medical attention or to attend to other needs, or to be moved permanently to the second site.! The permitted site can be redefined at any time and for any subsequent time interval. One or more exclusion sites can be designated where the confinee is not permitted to go at any time.!

Claims

1. A method for monitoring the location of a site confinee with reference to a permitted site that has at least one structure on the site, the method comprising the steps of:

designating a site, having a curve of arbitrary shape as a site boundary and having at least one structure thereon, as a permitted site;

positioning a location determination (LD) unit on the body of a site confinee to determine the location of the LD unit from receipt of electromagnetic signals at the LD unit;

receiving outdoor LD signals at the LD unit from each of a first set of at least three outdoor LD signal sources, whose locations are known with high accuracy and are spaced apart from each other outside the structure, where each outdoor LD signal has an indicium that identifies the source of the signal;

receiving indoor LD signals at the LD unit from each of a first set of at least three outdoor LD signal sources, whose locations are known with high accuracy and are spaced apart from each other inside the structure, where each indoor LD signal has an indicium that identifies the source of the signal;

selecting a preferred set of LD signals from the first set of LD signals and the second set of LD signals, by applying at least one of a selected signal strength criterion and a selected signal quality criterion to the first set and to the second set of LD signals, and using the preferred set of LD signals to determine the location of the LD unit;

for each of a selected sequence of interrogation times, determining the present location of the LD unit, and determining whether the LD unit is within the permitted site at each such interrogation time; and

communicating at least one of (i) a selected alarm signal and (ii) information on a recent location of the LD unit, when at least one of a selected group of conditions is present, where the selected group of conditions includes at least one of (A) the condition that the present location of the LD unit is not within the permitted site for at least one of the interrogation times, and the confinee has not made arrangements beforehand to leave the permitted site and to travel in a region not within the permitted site and (B) the condition that the LD unit receives a selected location interrogation signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of receiving said second set of said LD signals comprises the steps of:

generating and transmitting each of said second set of said LD signals as a radiowave signal having a selected frequency that is no greater than about 100 kHz; and

recieving said second set of said LD signals at said LD unit.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein said step of determining said present location of said LD unit by using said second set of LD signals comprises the steps of:

determining the relative phases of each of said second set of LD signals received at said LD unit; and

estimating the location of said LD unit from the relative phases and from said known locations of said indoor LD signal sources.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said step of determining said relative phases of said second set of said LD signals comprises the steps of:

receiving each of said indoor LD signals at a signal monitor whose location, within or adjacent to said building, is known with high accuracy; and

determining said relative phases from the phase of at least one of said indoor LD signals received at the signal monitor and from the location of said indoor LD signal source of said one indoor LD signal relative to the location of the signal monitor.

5. The method of claim 2, further comprising the steps of:

providing each of said first set of said LD signals with a different radiowave frequency; and

using as said indicium that identifies said source of said indoor LD signal a measure of the radiowave frequency of said indoor LD signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of determining whether said LD unit is within said permitted site comprises the step of providing said LD unit with an electronically sensible map of a selected geographic region that indicates the range of location coordinates of said permitted site or of said boundary of said permitted site.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of selecting said preferred set of LD signals comprises the steps of:

determining and applying a measure of signal strength for said first set of LD signals received at said LD unit;

determining and applying a measure of signal strength for said second set of LD signals received at said LD unit; and

choosing said first set of said LD signals, or said second set of said LD signals, to determine said location of said LD unit according as the measure of signal strength for said first set of said LD signals is greater than, or is less than, the measure of signal strength for said second set of said LD signals.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein selecting said preferred set of LD signals further comprises the steps of:

determining a signal strength, SS(k;

out) (k=1, 2, . . . , N(out)), for each of a selected number, N(out), of said outdoor LD signals received at said LD unit, and determining an average, SS(avg;

out), of the signal strengths SS(k;

out);

determining a signal strength, SS(k;

in) (k=1, 2, . . . , N(in)), for each of a selected number, N(in), of said indoor LD signals received at said LD unit, and determining an average, SS(avg;

in), of the signal strengths SS(k;

in);

computing a first ratio, SS(avg;

out)/SS(min;

out), and a second ratio, SS(avg;

in)/SS(min;

in), where SS(min;

out) and SS(min;

in) are selected values of signal strength for said outdoor LD signals and for said indoor LD signals, respectively;

choosing said outdoor LD signals as said preferred set of LD signals if the first ratio is greater than the second ratio and N(out) is at least as large as a selected number, N(min;

out), for said outdoor LD signals; and

choosing said indoor LD signals as said preferred set of LD signals if the second ratio is greater than the first ratio and N(in) is at least as large as a selected number, N(min;

in), for said indoor LD signals.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

choosing said average, SS(avg;

out), for said N(out) outdoor LD signals from the class of signal strength averages consisting of ##EQU5## choosing said average, SS(avg;

in), for said N(in) indoor LD signals from the class of signal strength averages consisting of ##EQU6##

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of selecting said preferred set of LD signals comprises the steps of:

determining and applying a measure of signal quality for said first set of LD signals received at said LD unit;

determining and applying a measure of signal quality for said second set of LD signals received at said LD unit; and

choosing said first set of said LD signals, or said second set of said LD signals, to determine said location of said LD unit according as the measure of signal quality for said first set of said LD signals is greater than, or is less than, the measure of signal quality for said second set of said LD signals.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein selecting said preferred set of LD signals further comprises the steps of:

determining a measure of signal quality, SQ(k;

out) (k=1, 2, . . . , N(out)), for each of a selected number, N(out), of said outdoor LD signals received at said LD unit, and determining an average, SQ(avg;

out), of the signal qualities SQ(k;

out);

determining a measure of signal quality, SQ(k;

in) (k=1, 2, . . . , N(in)), for each of a selected number, N(in), of said indoor LD signals received at said LD unit, and determining an average, SQ(avg;

in), of the signal qualities SQ(k;

in);

computing a first ratio, SQ(avg;

out)/SQ(min;

out), and a second ratio, SQ(avg;

in)/SQ(min;

in), where SQ(min;

out) and SQ(min;

in) are selected values of signal quality for said outdoor LD signals and for said indoor LD signals, respectively;

choosing said outdoor LD signals as said preferred set of LD signals if the first ratio is greater than the second ratio and N(out) is at least as large as a selected number, N(min;

out), for said outdoor LD signals; and

choosing said indoor LD signals as said preferred set of LD signals if the second ratio is greater than the first ratio and N(in) is at least as large as a selected number, N(min;

in), for said indoor LD signals.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

choosing said average, SS(avg;

out), for said N(out) outdoor LD signals from the class of signal strength averages consisting of ##EQU7## choosing said average, SS(avg;

in), for said N(in) indoor LD signals from the class of signal strength averages consisting of ##EQU8##

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

selecting a second site, which has a second site boundary of arbitrary shape and is spaced apart from said first permitted site, and selecting a selected corridor region that extends between and is connected to said permitted site and the second site;

redefining, for a first selected time interval t1≦

t≦

t2(t2≦

t1), a second permitted site; and

redefining, for a second selected time interval t3≦

t≦

t4(t2≦

t3≦

t4), a third permitted site to include at least one said first permitted site and the second site.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

selecting a second site, which has a second site boundary of arbitrary shape and is spaced apart from said first permitted site, as an exclusion site where said confinee is not permitted to go;

determining, at a selected sequence of interrogation times, whether said LD unit is within the exclusion site at each such interrogation time; and

communicating an alarm signal if said LD unit location is within the exclusion site.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of causing said LD unit to deliver to said confinee'"'"'s body a chemical that temporarily disables said confinee, when said present location of said LD unit is determined to be within said exclusion site.

16. method of claim 1, wherein said step of positioning said LD unit on said body of said site confinee further comprises the step of providing an attachment mechanism for attaching said LD unit to said confinee'"'"'s body so that said LD unit cannot be removed or interfered with except by special locking mechanism means.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said step of positioning said LD unit on said body of said site confinee further comprises the step of transmitting a second selected alarm signal whenever said LD unit senses that an attempt is being made to remove or interfere with operation of said LD unit.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of choosing signal sources for said outdoor LD signals from a class of LD signal systems consisting of a Loran system, an FM subcarrier system, a Global Positioning System and a Global Orbiting Navigational Satellite System.