Method and system for device tracking

• US 6,833,787 B1
• Filed: 05/09/2000
• Issued: 12/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: ASAP Software Express, Inc. (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ASAP Software Express, Inc. (Dell Technologies Inc.)
• Inventors: Levi, Andrew E.
• Primary Examiner(s): TRIEU, VAN THANH
• Application Number:
  US09/568,082
• Time in Patent Office: 1,687 Days
• Field of Search: 340/539.11, 340/539.13, 340/539.19, 340/539.25, 340/572.1, 340/572.4, 340/573.1, 340/573.3, 340/573.4, 340/568.1, 340/571, 702/182, 702/185, 702/188, 709/206, 709/219, 709/224, 455/450, 455/456, 455/457, 342/357.07
• US Class Current: 340/539.13
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 25/04 operating on the propulsion system, e.g. engine or drive motor
• 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: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/88 Detecting or preventing theft or loss
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1418 Removal detected by failure in electrical connection between the appliance and a control centre, home control panel or a power supply
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0677 Localisation of faults
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0681 Configuration of triggering conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0686 Additional information in the notification, e.g. enhancement of specific meta-data

Abstract

A user contracts for service with an operations center (12) in order to provide monitoring and tracking services for a plurality of devices (30). After contracting for service, the operations center provides an agent (81) for download by a user to one or more of the user'"'"'s devices (14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 630) for which the user has contracted for service. The agent is installed on the devices associated with the user'"'"'s sites and communicates with the operations center. A listening process (710) at the operations center listens for periodically sent beacon packets (640) generated by a monitored device (630). Using location indicators included with the beacon packets and generated by an agent (681) on the monitored device, the operations center provides notifications (712) to a handler regarding the location of the monitored device if the monitored device is reported as stolen. A tracking response (714) may be communicated to the monitored device to take special actions when the device is stolen and to update the agent and other portions of the monitored device.

Claims

1. A device tracking system comprising:

a communications network;

a device to be tracked, the device operable to receive an agent downloaded from the communication network, the agent executing as a software application on the device, the agent being unidirectionally coupled to the communications network and operable to generate a beacon packet according to predetermined criteria, the beacon packet having at least one location indicator therein;

a listener coupled to the communications network and operable to receive the beacon packet and generate a response packet in response to receiving the beacon packet, the response packet operable to control the device; and

a handler operable to act in response to the beacon packet.

2. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the beacon packet comprises an encrypted payload portion having the location indicators therein.

3. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the listener resides at an operations center, the operations center being coupled to the communications network and operable to receive the beacon packet from the listener and to notify the handler in response to the alert.

4. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the operations center further comprises a web site operable to provide a theft reporting user interface.

5. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the location indicator comprises a cellular phone network location.

6. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the location indicator comprises a plurality of computer network addresses associated with the device.

7. The tracking system according to claim 1 wherein the location indicators comprise a probable geographic location of the device.

8. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the unidirectional coupling of the agent to the communications network provides initiation of data transmission only outbound from the agent to the communications network.

9. The tracking system according to claim 1 further comprising a predetermined communications channel used by the operations center to notify the handler and wherein the predetermined communications channel is selected from the group consisting essentially of electronic mail, a pager, a facsimile and a phone call.

10. The tracking system according to claim 1, wherein the response packet is operable to disable the device when the device has been stolen.

11. A method for device tracking comprising the steps of:

receiving a software application at a device downloaded from a communications network;

generating a beacon packet from the software application associated with the device based on predetermined criteria;

communicating the beacon packet over a communications link of the communications network from the software application to a listening process;

determining at least one current location indicator associated with the device;

determining whether the device has moved from a previous location;

providing the location indicators to a handler in response to the beacon packet; and

controlling the device based on the location indicators.

12. The method for device tracking according to claim 11 further including updating a database when the current location indicators indicate a different location from the previous location.

13. The method for device tracking according to claim 11, wherein the location indicators comprise a cellular phone network location.

14. The method for device tracking according to claim 11, wherein controlling the device based on the location indicators comprises changing location dependent capabilities associated with the device.

15. The method for device tracking according to claim 11 further including determining a probable geographic location of the device based on computer network addresses associated with the device.

16. A method for theft tracking comprising the steps of:

receiving a software application at a device downloaded from a communication network generating a beacon packet from the software application associated with the device based on predetermined criteria;

communicating the beacon packet over a communications link of the communication network from the software application to a listening process;

determining whether the device has been stolen;

determining at least one location indicator associated with the device;

providing the location indicator to a handler in response to the beacon packet; and

controlling the device when the device has been stolen.

17. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein the location indicator comprises a cellular phone network location.

18. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein the location indicator comprises a plurality of computer network addresses associated with the device.

19. The method for theft tracking according to claim 18 further including determining a probable geographic location of the device based on the computer network addresses.

20. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16 further including encrypting a payload portion of the beacon packet and wherein the location indicators are stored in the payload portion.

21. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined criteria indicates that the beacon packet is to be generated when the device is activated.

22. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein the predetermined criteria indicates that the beacon packet is to be generated at periodic time intervals.

23. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16 further comprising the steps of:

contracting with the operations center to monitor at least one device associated with an organization;

deploying the software application as a monitoring agent to the device; and

reporting the device as stolen.

24. The method for theft tracking according to claim 23, wherein the contracting step comprises:

providing, by a user associated with the organization, to the operations center site information, the site information identifying a technical administrator and a site administrator;

requesting, by the user, at least one license from the operations center; and

allocating the at least one license to the organization.

25. The method for theft tracking according to claim 23, wherein reporting the device as stolen comprises:

accessing a theft report web site associated with the operations center;

identifying the device as stolen using the web site; and

updating a device table to indicate that the device is stolen.

26. The method for theft tracking according to claim 23, wherein the deploying the monitoring agent comprises:

transmitting the monitoring agent from the operations center to the device, wherein the agent provides only unidirectional communications capabilities and the unidirectional communications capabilities allow initiation of only outbound transmission of information from the device;

installing the agent on the device;

generating, by the agent, a registration trap at the device, the registration trap including an address associated with the device; and

transmitting the registration trap to the operations center.

27. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16 further comprising:

receiving the beacon packet by a listener at the operations center;

validating a device identifier and license identifier associated with the beacon packet at the operations center;

querying a database based on the beacon packet;

adding the beacon packet to an event table; and

dispatching the beacon packet to a notifier.

28. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein unidirectionally communicating the beacon packet comprises communicating only from the device to the operations center.

29. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein controlling the device comprises disabling the device when the device is stolen.

30. The method for theft tracking according to claim 16, wherein controlling the device comprises displaying a non-removable visual indication that the device is stolen.