G.P.S. management system

• US 7,272,493 B1
• Filed: 12/10/2001
• Issued: 09/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Bellsouth Intellectual Property Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ingman, R. T. Mitchell, Hamrick, Marvin R.
• Primary Examiner(s): To, Tuan C
• Application Number:
  US10/006,655
• Time in Patent Office: 2,108 Days
• Field of Search: 701/213, 701/50, 701/209, 701/201, 701/204, 701/208, 701/207, 701/214, 701/210, 340/989, 340/5.5, 340/994, 340/825.36, 340/825.49, 340/988, 340/993, 340/571, 340/992, 342/357, 342/457, 342/357.12, 342/357.07, 455/434
• US Class Current: 701/207
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/16 Anti-theft; Abduction
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 7/00 Methods or arrangements for processing data by operating upon the order or content of the data handled logic circuits H03K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 5/008 communicating information to a remotely located station transmission systems for measured values G08C
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/001 Alarm cancelling procedures or alarm forwarding decisions, e.g. based on absence of alarm confirmation
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/002 Generating a prealarm to the central station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/005 Alarm destination chosen according to a hierarchy of available destinations, e.g. if hospital does not answer send to police station
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/006 Alarm destination chosen according to type of event, e.g. in case of fire phone the fire service, in case of medical emergency phone the ambulance
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/016 Personal emergency signalling and security systems emergency non-personal manually actuated alarm activators G08B25/12
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/207 with respect to certain areas, e.g. forbidden or allowed areas with possible alerting when inside or outside boundaries
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/00 Connection management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/903 Radio telemetry
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/904 Telephone telemetry

Abstract

A management system using Global Positioning System receivers for tracking remote units from a central office and quickly and conveniently determining if those remote units have varied from a set of predetermined parameters of operation. The system also includes provisions that allows information to be sent from the remote units to the central office and vice versa. The system also has safety features that promote the rapid dispatch of law enforcement personnel when requests for emergency assistance have been made from the remote units.

Claims

1. A vehicle monitoring system to monitor information of a vehicle traveling to plural different predetermined destinations within a region, comprising:

a receiver in the vehicle for receiving vehicle information;

a processor in the vehicle in communication with the receiver in the vehicle;

the processor programmed to collect the vehicle information relating to a predefined parameter and used for determining an exception based on a comparison with the parameter;

wherein the predefined parameter comprises the plural different predetermined destinations for the vehicle and the exception comprises a state wherein the vehicle is outside the region encompassing the plural different predetermined destinations for the vehicle;

a wireless communication unit responsive to the processor and transmitting the collected vehicle information to a location remote from the vehicle so as to process occurrences of the exception and report the exceptions occurring for the vehicle during a predetermined time; and

wherein the region comprises a predetermined co-location distance between the vehicle and at least one other vehicle monitored by the system, and the exception further comprises a state wherein the vehicle is within the co-location distance for more than a predetermined minimum duration.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the exception comprises a state wherein the vehicle remains stationary for more than a defined duration while within the co-location distance at the same time as the at least one other vehicle.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the exception is noted for all the co-located vehicles when the vehicle remains stationary for more than the defined duration while within the co-location distance at the same time as the at least one other vehicle.

4. A vehicle monitoring system, comprising:

a receiver for receiving vehicle information including the location of the vehicle;

a processor in communication with the receiver,

the processor programmed to collect information relating to the length of time the vehicle remains stationary at a certain location for comparing the length of time the vehicle remains stationary at the certain location to a predetermined unauthorized stationary time at the certain location, and for determining an exception if the stationary time of the vehicle is greater than the predetermined unauthorized stationary time; and

a wireless communication unit transmitting the vehicle information, and each exception, to a central location for monitoring; and

wherein

the processor is programmed to compare the vehicle location to a predetermined location and, if the processor determines that the length of time the vehicle remains idle at the predetermined location is greater than an unauthorized location-specific idle time for the predetermined location but less than the predetermined unauthorized stationary time, to note an exception based on the predetermined location-specific idle time at the predetermined location.