Machine or group of machines for monitoring location of a vehicle or freight carried by a vehicle

• US 9,429,659 B1
• Filed: 01/04/2016
• Issued: 08/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MacroPoint LLP
• Original Assignee: MacroPoint LLP
• Inventors: Adelson, Bennett H.
• Primary Examiner(s): RUSHING, MARK S
• Application Number:
  US14/987,707
• Time in Patent Office: 239 Days
• Field of Search: 340988-994, 348/116
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0631 Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08 Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/13 the indicator being in the form of a map
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/20 Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/205 Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental

Abstract

A machine or group of machines for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle includes a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives location information of a mobile device, the mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver programmed to receive data sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver and transmit the location information.

Claims

1. A machine or group of machines for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, comprising:

a mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a display, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver programmed to receive data sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver and transmit the location information;

a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver, and the central processing unit programmed to;

receive a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle;

request location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from a location information provider;

receive a signal that indicates that consent was given to transmission of location information;

receive from the location information provider location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver originated from a device other than the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver itself; and

estimate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver; and

communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause a representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle.

2. A machine or group of machines for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, comprising:

a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives location information of a mobile device, the mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver programmed to receive data sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver and transmit the location information, the central processing unit programmed to;

receive a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle;

request location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from a location information provider;

receive a signal that indicates that consent was given to transmission of location information;

receive from the location information provider location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver originated from a device other than the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver itself; and

estimate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver; and

communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause a representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle.

3. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on a vehicle reference number or a freight reference number associated with the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

4. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the location information provider corresponds to at least one of:

a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver,

a third party that obtains the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver, and

a party that has access to the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from the wireless service provider.

5. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by one of:

exposing an application programming interface (API) from which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is obtained, or

interfacing with an exposed application programming interface (API) through which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted.

6. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to a device associated with one of:

a freight service provider,

a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, and

a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

7. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the central processing unit receiving from the location information provider location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is the signal that indicates that consent was given to transmission of location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

8. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by causing display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on a remote device'"'"'s user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as a) latitude and longitude coordinates, b) city/state, or c) a map that includes a mark indicating the location of the vehicle on the map.

9. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained using a method including a technique utilizing the GPS receiver that forms part of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

10. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained using a method including a technique other than a technique utilizing the GPS receiver that forms part of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

11. The machine or group of machines of claim 2, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained through techniques including at least one:

triangulation between radio towers,

obtaining a range of locations corresponding to a transmission range of a single radio tower,

advance forward link trilateration (AFLT),

observed time difference (OTD), and

Cell-ID (CID).

12. A machine or group of machines for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, comprising:

a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives location information of a mobile device, the mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver programmed to receive data sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver and transmit the location information, the central processing unit programmed to;

determine whether consent was given to transmit location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver;

estimate the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based on the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver;

receive a request for information regarding the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle;

request location information of the mobile device comprising a GPS receiver from a location information provider corresponding to a device other than the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver;

receive from the location information provider the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver; and

communicate the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause a representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by a remote device.

13. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the location information provider corresponds to at least one of:

a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver,

a third party that obtains the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver, and

a party that has access to the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from the wireless service provider.

14. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained using a method including a technique utilizing a global position machine or group of machines (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

15. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained using a method including a technique other than a technique utilizing a global position machine or group of machines (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

16. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained through techniques including at least one:

triangulation between radio towers,

obtaining a range of locations corresponding to a transmission range of a single radio tower,

advance forward link trilateration (AFLT),

observed time difference (OTD), and

Cell-ID (CID).

17. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by one of:

exposing an application programming interface (API) from which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is obtained, or

interfacing with an exposed application programming interface (API) through which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted.

18. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the request for information regarding the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is received from a device associated with:

a freight service provider,

a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, or

a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

19. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by causing display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on the remote device'"'"'s user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as latitude and longitude coordinates.

20. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by causing display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on the remote device'"'"'s user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as city/state.

21. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to cause the representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by causing display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on the remote device'"'"'s user interface by displaying a map that includes a mark indicating the location of the vehicle on the map.

22. The machine or group of machines of claim 12, wherein the central processing unit receiving from the location information provider location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver serves to determine whether consent was given to transmit location information of a mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

23. A machine or group of machines for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, the machine or group of machines comprising:

a server comprising a central processing unit, a memory, a clock, and a server communication transceiver that receives location information of a mobile device, the mobile device comprising a GPS receiver, a microprocessor and a wireless communication transceiver coupled to the GPS receiver, the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver programmed to receive data sent by a plurality of GPS satellites, calculate location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver and transmit the location information, the central processing unit programmed to;

receive a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle, and

request location information of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle from a location information provider;

receive an indication that consent to transmission of location information has been given; and

receive location information of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle from the location information provider;

estimate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle from the location information received from the location information provider;

communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle.

24. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the location of the vehicle or the freight carried is estimated based on a vehicle reference number or a freight reference number associated with the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

25. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the location information provider corresponds to a device associated with at least one of:

a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver,

a third party that obtains the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver, and

a party that has access to the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver from the wireless service provider.

26. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle by one of:

exposing an application programming interface (API) from which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is obtained, or

interfacing with an exposed application programming interface (API) through which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted.

27. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the central processing unit is programmed to communicate the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to one or more of:

a freight service provider,

a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, and

a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

28. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the central processing unit receiving from the location information provider location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is the indication that consent to transmission of location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver has been given.

29. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained using a method including a technique utilizing the GPS receiver that forms part of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.

30. The machine or group of machines of claim 23, wherein the location information of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver is originally obtained using a method including a technique other than a technique utilizing the GPS receiver that forms part of the mobile device comprising the GPS receiver.