Item location tracking system and method

• US 6,967,576 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2003
• Issued: 11/22/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Dvorak, Joseph L., Hayes, David J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lieu, Julie Bichngoc
• Application Number:
  US10/603,715
• Publication Number:
  US 20040263327A1
• Time in Patent Office: 881 Days
• Field of Search: 340/573.1, 340/568.1, 340/572.1, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/539.1, 340/539.13, 340/539.15, 340/539.11, 340/525.36
• US Class Current: 340/572.1
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1427 with transmitter-receiver for distance detection

Abstract

Disclosed is a system, method, and computer program product for tracking at least one item. The method on a device includes determining a location of the device and determining whether the location of the device is within a predefined area. The method further includes determining whether the at least one item is within a range. If the at least one item is not within the range and if the location of the device is not within the predefined area, the location of the device is stored. If the device is operating in active mode, an alarm is sounded indicating that the at least one item is not within the range.

Claims

1. A device for tracking at least one item, comprising:

a location module for determining a location of a device;

a receiver connected to the device for receiving signals from at least one item;

location information for a predefined area;

a processor for determining whether the location of the device is within the predefined area by comparing the location to the location information for the predefined area and determining whether the at least one item is within a range of the device; and

a storage module for storing the location of the device in response to determining that the at least one item is not within the range and that the location of the device is not within the predefined area.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein the device is any one of a mobile telephone, a mobile pager and a mobile communication system.

3. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

an alarm for indicating that the at least one item is not within the range.

4. The device of claim 2, wherein the device communicates with the at least one item using any one of:

the IEEE 802.15.4 communications standard;

the IEEE 802.11(b) communications standard; and

the Bluetooth communications standard,

and wherein the processor determines whether the at least one item is within a range of the device due to the receiver receiving a signal from the at least one item.

5. A system for tracking items, comprising:

at least one item, each item including;

a unique identifier;

a transmitter for transmitting the unique identifier; and

a coupling element for coupling the item to an object; and

a device including;

a location module for determining a location of the device;

a receiver connected to the device for receiving signals from the at least one item;

location information for a predefined area;

a processor for determining whether the location of the device is within the predefined area by comparing the location to the location information for the predefined area and determining whether the at least one item is within a range of the device; and

a storage module for storing the location of the device in response to determining that the at least one item is not within the range and that the location of the device is not within the predefined area.

6. The system of claim 5, the device further comprising:

an alarm for indicating that the at least one item is not within the range.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the device communicates with the at least one item using any one of:

the IEEE 802.15.4 communications standard;

the IEEE 802.11(b) communications standard; and

the Bluetooth communications standard,

and wherein the processor determines whether the at least one item is within a range of the device due to the receiver receiving a signal from the at least one item.

8. A system for tracking items, comprising;

at least one item, each item including;

a unique identifier;

a transmitter for transmitting the unique identifier; and

a coupling element for coupling the item to an object; and

at least one device, each device including;

a location module for determining a location of the device;

a receiver connected to the device for receiving signals from the at least one item;

location information for a predefined area;

a processor for determining whether the location of the device is within the predefined area by comparing the location to the location information for the predefined area and determining whether the at least one item is within a range of the device; and

a storage module for storing the location of the device in response to determining that the at least one item is not within the range and that the location of the device is not within the predefined area.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the at least one device is any one of a mobile telephone, a mobile pager, a messaging device, and a mobile communication system.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the at least one device further comprises:

an alarm for indicating that the at least one item is not within the range.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor of each of the at least one device, in response to a user request, further retrieves location information from the storage module in at least one of the at least one device, so as to find the last stored location of the at least one item.

12. A method on a device for tracking at least one item, the method comprising:

determining a location of the device;

determining whether the location of the device is within a predefined area by comparing the location to a specification of the predefined area;

determining whether at least one item is within a predetermined range of the device; and

storing, in response to determining that the at least one item is not within the predetermined range and that the location, of the device is not within the predefined area, the location of the device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the device is any one of a mobile telephone, a mobile pager, wireless messaging device, and a mobile communication system.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

performing a notification indicating that the at least one item is not within the range.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

determining whether the current time is within a predefined time period; and

storing, in response to determining that the current time is not within the predefined time period and that the at least one item is not within the predetermined range, the location of the device.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the device communicates with the at least one item using any one of:

the IEEE 802.15.4 communications standard;

the IEEE 802.11(b) communications standard; and

the Bluetooth communications standard,

and wherein the determining whether at least one item is within a predetermined range of the device comprises receiving a signal from the at least one item.

22. The method of claim 14, further comprising determining if the at least one item has not been left in the predefined area, and

wherein performing the notification is performed in response to determining that the at least one item has not been left in the predefined area.

23. The method of claim 14, wherein performing the notification is selectively performed based upon a status indicator.

24. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

retrieving the stored location of the device; and

communicating the location amongst at least one remote device.

17. A method on a device for tracking at least one item, the method comprising:

determining a location of the device;

detecting that the at least one item has come within a range of the device;

determining that the device is moving; and

determining that the at least one item is moving within the range of the device while the device is moving.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining whether the at least one item has moved within the range of the device for a predefined period of time; and

setting a variable, in response to determining that the at least one item has moved within the range of the device for the predefined period of time, indicating that the at least one item is associated to the device.

19. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

determining whether the at least one item has moved within the range of the device while the device has moved a predefined distance; and

setting a variable, in response to determining that the at least one item has moved within the range of the device for the predefined distance, indicating that the at least one item is attached to the device.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein the device is any one of a mobile telephone, a mobile pager and a mobile communication system.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the device communicates with the at least one item using any one of:

the IEEE 802.15.4 communications standard;

the IEEE 802.11(b) communications standard; and

the Bluetooth communications standard,

and wherein the determining that the at least one item has come within a range of the device comprises receiving a signal communicated from the at least one item.