Cloud based activity monitor for bicycles with fleet management and rider analytics system

• US 9,194,955 B1
• Filed: 01/16/2014
• Issued: 11/24/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wi-Mm Corporation
• Original Assignee: Wi-Mm Corporation
• Inventors: Fahrner, Kevin, Levitt, Leslie, Echavarria, Pablo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, John Q
• Assistant Examiner(s): Sood, Anshul
• Application Number:
  US14/157,477
• Time in Patent Office: 677 Days
• Field of Search: 701/422, 701/439, 701/482, 701/483, 701/519, 340/427, 340/437
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/16 Anti-theft; Abduction

Abstract

A method for obtaining data and communicating with a bicycle mounted cloud based activity monitor is provided. The method includes accepting into a server a plurality of sensor data and GPS location coordinates from a device attached to a bicycle, wherein the activity monitor communicates data to the cloud server via a wireless coupling. The method further includes writing information relating to sensor, GPS, and alarm functions from the cloud based server into the bike mounted activity tracker via a wireless link.

Claims

1. A method for tracking bicycles, comprising:

receiving, at a server, global positioning system-based position coordinates from a plurality of electronic devices attached to a plurality of bicycles;

tracking, at the server, the plurality of bicycles, based on the global positioning system-based position coordinates;

providing, at the server, access to the tracking, on a basis of hierarchy having at least two user levels, wherein the user levels correspond to a type of tracking data to which a user has access wherein at least one method operation is performed by a processor; and

displaying the tracking data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

registering a plurality of users, grouped according to the hierarchy, wherein the global positioning system-based position coordinates are grouped according to the hierarchy and stored in a memory coupled to the server, in association with the plurality of users.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the providing access to the tracking is via a user interface subjected to authentication of a user; and

at least one of the user interface, or contents thereof, is restricted according to the hierarchy.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

starting trip tracking in response to one of the plurality of electronic devices establishing a coupling to the server, wherein the tracking at the server of the plurality of bicycles includes the trip tracking of one of the plurality of bicycles having the one of the plurality of electronic devices;

receiving location data stored in the one of the plurality of electronic devices, upon resumption of the coupling to the server after a loss of the coupling to the server; and

stopping the trip tracking in response to a request to stop the trip tracking.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

providing, from the server, a mission control website including one or more from a group consisting of;

registration of the plurality of electronic devices, activation of the plurality of electronic devices, management of missions tracked by the plurality of electronic devices and the server, and management of individual systems each based on one of the plurality of electronic devices.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

activating, from the server, an inactive one of the plurality of electronic devices;

searching, from the server, for an active one of the plurality of electronic devices;

deactivating, from the server, one of the plurality of electronic devices; and

providing, from the server, diagnostic information pertaining to a date range and a further one of the plurality of electronic devices.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein tracking of a trip of one of the plurality of bicycles commences with an auto wake up of one of the plurality of electronic devices attached to the one of the plurality of bicycles.

8. A bicycle tracking system, comprising:

a server, configured to couple to one or more networks; and

the server configured to perform actions, including;

receiving, via one or more of the one or more networks, position coordinates from each of a plurality of bike mounted cloud based activity monitor devices associated with bicycles;

sorting the position coordinates into a memory coupled to the server, the sorting according to at least one of;

registrations of the plurality of the devices, and hierarchy of users, wherein the hierarchy of users has at least two user levels wherein the user levels correspond to a type of tracking data to which a user has access; and

displaying the tracking data.

9. The bicycle tracking system of claim 8, wherein the hierarchy of users includes at least one from a group consisting of:

super users, to whom information regarding missions, tenants, the plurality of the devices, and the position coordinates from each of the plurality of the devices, is provided by the server;

global users, to whom information regarding missions of a fleet of bicycles and the devices corresponding thereto is provided by the server;

mission users, to whom information regarding a mission of a mission user and the device corresponding thereto is provided by the server; and

individual system users, to whom information regarding an individual system of an individual system user and the device corresponding thereto is provided by the server.

10. The bicycle tracking system of claim 8, wherein the actions further include:

providing a stolen bicycle recovery system configured to send, based on the position coordinates as pertaining to the stolen bicycle, at least one from a group consisting of;

notification to a user via email, notification to a user via a text message, notification to a crowd-sourced platform, notification to a social media, an alert showing a bicycle location on a map, an alert showing a real-time location of a bicycle, an alert to registered users of the plurality of the devices, an alert to a partner database, an alert to a police database, an alert to a community association, an alert to a neighborhood association, and an alert localized to a geographic area.

11. The bicycle tracking system of claim 8, wherein the actions further include:

generating a fleet map that shows locations of bicycles of a fleet, based on the position coordinates;

generating a mission map that shows a path of a bicycle on a mission, based on the position coordinates; and

generating an individual map that shows one or more paths taken by a bicycle of an individual, based on the position coordinates.

12. The bicycle tracking system of claim 8, wherein the actions further include:

receiving, from each of the plurality of the devices, timestamps of the position coordinates, and sensor data, wherein the timestamps and the sensor data are stored in the memory in accordance with the sorting; and

hosting access to information relating to the position coordinates, the timestamps, and the sensor data, in accordance with the sorting.

13. The bicycle tracking system of claim 8, wherein each device of the plurality of the devices includes a global positioning system (GPS) device.

14. A bicycle management and analytics system, comprising:

a computing device, configured to receive, via a network, position coordinates of a plurality of bicycles, the position coordinates sent via wireless coupling to the network from a plurality of mounted cloud based activity monitor devices of the plurality of bicycles;

a memory, coupled to the computing device; and

the computing device further configured to perform actions, including;

associating the position coordinates with registrations of the plurality of the devices, in the memory;

providing information based on the position coordinates to a plurality of users, based on hierarchy of the plurality of users wherein the hierarchy corresponds to a type of tracking data to which a user has access; and

displaying the tracking data.

15. The bicycle management and analytic system of claim 14, wherein the actions further include:

storing the position coordinates and the registrations of the plurality of the devices in a registry in the memory, wherein each of the registrations includes at least one from a group consisting of;

a username, an email ID (identifier), contact information, a password, an image of a bicycle, and an ID of one of the plurality of the devices.

16. The bicycle management and analytic system of claim 14, wherein the actions further include:

deriving, from the position coordinates, data analytics relating to one or more from a group consisting of;

personal fitness, bicycle traffic patterns, bicycle rider habits, bicycle travel patterns, bicycle riding retail stops, a wireless network signal parameter as a function of the position coordinates, and an environmental condition as a function of the position coordinates; and

bundling at least a subset of the data analytics to one from a group consisting of;

a social fitness aggregation platform, traffic pattern analysis, municipal planning, location-based sales analytics, bicycle and accessories sales analytics, environmental analytics, cellular telephonic network analytics, and wireless local area network analytics.

17. The bicycle management and analytics system of claim 14, wherein the actions further include:

providing a bicycle theft prevention system, including at least one from a group consisting of;

geo-fencing based on the position coordinates, notification including a location of a bicycle to a user in an event of an alarm, and alerts including the location of the bicycle to a plurality of users in an event of an alarm.

18. The bicycle management and analytics system of claim 14, wherein the actions further include:

associating timestamps and sensor data with the registrations of the plurality of the devices, in the memory, wherein the information provided to the plurality of users includes data analytics based on the position coordinates, the timestamps, and the sensor data.

19. The bicycle management and analytics system of claim 14, wherein the wireless coupling to the network is arbitrated by each of the plurality of the devices, which selects from a wireless coupling to a cellular telephonic network and a wireless coupling to a wireless local area network.

20. The bicycle management and analytics system of claim 14, wherein the actions further include:

tracking the plurality of bicycles in one of;

a fleet management system, and a ridesharing system, based on the position coordinates of the plurality of bicycles, wherein the hierarchy of the plurality of users includes a higher level in which the information provided includes information regarding a plurality of missions, and a lower level in which the information provided to a user includes information regarding a single one of the plurality of missions.