Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g. – Directive – Including a satellite
Reexamination Certificate
2001-01-25
2003-05-27
Blum, Theodore M. (Department: 3662)
Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g.,
Directive
Including a satellite
C342S357490, C342S357490
Reexamination Certificate
active
06570532
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a support-request processing system using GPS data for locating a person requesting a support, and more particularly to such a system using a decentralized Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate a person requesting the support.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A decentralized GPS system such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,119,102 and 5,379,224 has been proposed to reduce search of a person requesting an urgent support for rescue. The system utilizes a GPS terminal to be carried by a person, and a message center which is linked through a radio communication network to the GPS terminal and acts in response to a support-request signal from the person to give a warning message including a position of the person for prompting a suitable support. The GPS terminal is capable of receiving GPS data from GPS satellites and of transmitting the support request signal together with the GPS data to the message center. The GPS data is processed at the message center rather than at the GPS terminal for calculating a position of the GPS terminal so as to eliminate a calculation circuitry from the GPS terminal and to make the GPS terminal compact sufficiently to be portable. Thus decentralized GPS system, however, is still insufficient in that when the person is in a dead-area such as a building where the GPS data from the GPS satellites is not available but the radio communication with the message center is available, the support-request signal can not be accompanied with a true GPS data so that the message center fails to locate the position of the person, making it difficult to rescue the person.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the above insufficiency that the prior GPS system may have in locating the person requesting the support, and also in view of that the person is generally expected to move by vehicle and walk a short distance from the vehicle into buildings or the like area obstructing the GPS satellites, the present invention has been achieved to provide a system which is supplemented with a mobile terminal to be carried by the person separately from a GPS terminal left in the vehicle and receiving the GPS data, thereby enabling to estimate the location of the person around the GPS terminal or the vehicle even when the person is within buildings or a like area where the GPS data from the GPS satellites is not available, which is therefore a primary object of the present invention.
The system in accordance with the present invention includes a GPS terminal capable of receiving the GPS data from GPS satellites and transmits the GPS data to a radio communication network, and a message center which receives the GPS data from the GPS terminal through the radio communication network for processing the GPS data to calculate a position of the GPS terminal. The system additionally includes a mobile terminal provided separately from the GPS terminal to be carried by a person. The mobile terminal is capable of radio communication with the GPS terminal and is provided with a request key which issues a support-request signal upon being activated. The GPS terminal has a transmit means which, in response to the support-request signal, transmits the GPS data to the message center. At least one of the GPS terminal and the mobile terminal has an identification (ID) code which is transmitted through the radio communication network to the message center as a result of that the support-request signal is transmitted to the message center. The message center has a database table which stores a relation between the ID code and personal information about the person so that the message center can relate the position of the GPS terminal to the person giving the support-request signal. Further, the message center has an alarm means which notifies a support-request message including the personal information and the related position of the GPS terminal for prompting a suitable support action for the person requesting the support. Accordingly, even when the person is within the buildings or the like environment where the GPS satellites cannot be reached, the GPS data can be received by the GPS terminal which is located in a nearby position of acquiring the GPS data so that the message center can estimate the location of the person from the detected position of the GPS terminal.
Preferably, the mobile terminal transmits the support-request signal over the radio communication network so that the GPS terminal can be designed to use the radio communication network commonly for communication with the mobile terminal as well as the message center.
In one version of the present invention, the message center has a GPS calling device which, in response to the support-request signal, issues a GPS call signal to the GPS terminal through the radio communication network. The GPS terminal is activated by the GPS call signal to receive the GPS data from the GPS satellites and transmit the GPS data to the message center. Thus, the message center can firstly acknowledge the support-request signal and take over a subsequent procedure of locating the person under a supervision of the message center.
In this connection, the mobile terminal is provided with an ID data transmitting means for transmitting to the message center an identification (ID) data assigned to the mobile terminal The GPS calling device has a discriminating means which verifies the ID data and issues the GPS call signal only when the ID data from the mobile terminal matches one of registered ID data stored in the message center. Thus, the message center can proceed the locating operation only for the verified person, thereby eliminating erroneous locating operation.
Alternatively, in order to avoid the unnecessary locating operation, the message center may be provided with a registration means for registration of a call number assigned to the mobile terminal, and also with a call number verifying means which verifies the call number and causes the GS calling device to issue the GPS call signal only when the call number is registered in the registration means.
The mobile terminal is preferred to have an input means for entering a positional difference data indicating a positional difference between the mobile terminal carried by the person and the GPS terminal attached to, for example, the vehicle. The positional difference data is transmitted to the GPS terminal together with the support-request signal so that the GPS terminal responds to transmit the GPS data together with the positional difference data to the message center, thereby enabling the message center to estimate a location of the person around the GPS terminal in consideration of the positional difference. Thus, the actual position of the person around the GPS terminal can be successfully estimated.
In order to also give a reliable estimation of the person around the GPS terminal, the mobile terminal may be provided with a pedometer which counts the number of footsteps in walking by a person carrying the mobile terminal away from the GPS terminal to obtain a distance between the mobile terminal and the GPS terminal. Thus obtained distance is transmitted along with the support-request signal to the GPS terminal which in turn transmits the distance in addition to the GPS data to the message center in response to the support-request signal so that the message center can estimate a location of the person around the GPS terminal.
Further, the mobile terminal may include a direction detector in addition to a pedometer counting the number of footsteps of the person in walking away from the GPS terminal. The direction detector is provided to detect a direction in which the person walks away from the GPS terminal. The mobile terminal also includes an estimating means for analyzing the number of the footsteps and the direction to give an estimated distance between the GPS terminal and the mobile terminal. The estimated distance is then transmitted together with the support-request signal to the GPS terminal which i
Honda Kazuhiro
Mise Toshiro
Oya Akira
Takehara Kiyotaka
Blum Theodore M.
Matsushita Electric & Works Ltd.
Rader & Fishman & Grauer, PLLC
LandOfFree
Support request processing system using GPS data for... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Support request processing system using GPS data for..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Support request processing system using GPS data for... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3055010