Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-05-17
2004-04-06
Black, Thomas G. (Department: 3663)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C379S056200, C455S039000, C455S059000, C455S059000, C455S059000, C455S428000, C455S432300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06718263
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to hardware and software to operate a wireless data network to verify, monitor and document vehicle travel activities and communicate instructions, messages and equipment status.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Business operators, law enforcement, private detectives, parents and many other vehicle owners have reason to record the travel history, stop points, time-at-stop, mileage, speed history, and other related activities of individual vehicles. Computerized data gathering and reporting for a fleet of vehicles would lend itself to time and efficiency savings. For example, a company owned vehicle(s) used by an employee(s) for business and personal use would have some percentage of mileage that is tax deductible. The employee(s) would have to keep detailed records of each activity in order to categorize company versus personal usage. Manual time estimates, error, and trustworthiness can all be issues. The present invention provides a method for vehicle owners to know where their vehicles have been, showing total travel routes, rates of speed, concise mileage reports, stop times to the minute, tax deductible mileage for business use, etc. using today's GPS (Global Positioning System) technology. The invention further provides capability to monitor vehicle performance and operation such as idle speeds, compressor operation, refrigeration temperature, and even plow or grader position.
The Global Positioning System or “GPS” was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense as a worldwide navigation and positioning resource for both military and civilian use. It is based on a constellation of 24 satellites orbiting the earth over 20,000 km in altitude. These satellites act as reference points from which receivers on the ground “triangulate” their position.
By measuring the travel time of signals transmitted from the satellites, a GPS receiver can determine its distance from each satellite. By having distance measurements from four or more different satellites and some advanced mathematical equations known as a “Kalman filter”, the receiver can calculate its latitude, longitude, altitude, speed and course traveled.
To make GPS even more accurate, some additional techniques have been developed. These techniques are known as Differential GPS or “DGPS”. This method of DGPS yields position measurements good to a couple of meters.
Differential GPS works by canceling out some of the natural and man-made errors found within normal GPS measurements. These include clock errors within the satellites, and the delays induced by their travel through the earth's atmosphere. These errors are resolved by introducing differential corrections from a ground based reference station that calculates the corrections needed for the induced errors.
Use of GPS technology is a basis of gathering data for positioning, stops, travel speed, distance between coordinates etc.
The present invention provides integrated software and hardware apparatus to verify approved stops, actual mileage, routes, inventory usage, speed of vehicle recording, and other informational data. The software can be provided for local or wide area networking using client and server computer platforms. Use of wireless mobile unit transmission or direct PC download can be incorporated by the end user(s) depending on scale of operation requirements.
In order to best view the advantages of the present invention a summary of the most relevant prior art follows below.
SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART
U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,610 (2000) to Rothert, et al. discloses a vehicle operation method and apparatus for monitoring usage and condition of a vehicle including mileage, gas used, collision damage, area of operation, time of usage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,141,609 (2000) to Herdeg, et al. discloses a method of collecting a vehicle itinerary determining the length of travel, time of travel, and the routing as in a trip journal and determine who drove the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,572,528 (1996) to Shuen discloses a method to provide continuous, transparent communication between a mobile node and primary, secondary or tertiary networks. Mobile nodes log-in with a home router that assigns a virtual address that does not change throughout the session.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,694,322 (1997) to Westerlage, et al. discloses a method for determining tax of a vehicle. It includes a positioning device operable to determine a plurality of vehicle positions along a route traveled by the vehicle. A memory stores geographic information defining a plurality of taxing regions through which the route of the vehicle passes. The object to determine the tax for the vehicle in at least one taxing region through which the route of the vehicle passes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,748, 148 (1998) to Heiser, et al. discloses a positional information storage and retrieval system and method. It consists of a plurality of receiver/transmitter units and a processor unit. Coordinate information of receiver/transmitter units is received by the positional information unit and used in determining the positional information according to triangulation or other techniques embodied within the positional detection unit. Algorithms embodied within the processor unit generate, update and control access to a database of information relating to locations of the subjects within the operational environment over time.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,461 (1999) to Neher discloses a method utilizing a global positioning and tracking system for locating one of a person and/or item of property.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,916 (2000) to Wood, Jr., and et al. discloses a method and apparatus for a base station or interrogator station to monitor the itinerary of one or more vehicles or other movable assets.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,138,072 (2000) to Nagai discloses a navigation device for use in a vehicle which is capable of determining and displaying a current position of the vehicle on a road map indicated on a display screen via Internet communication means.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,429 (2000) to Crothall, et al. discloses an integrated position determination system and radio transceiver.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,650 (2000) to Schipper, et al. discloses a vehicle location system for monitoring location, speed, and odometer of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,087,965 (2000) to Murphy discloses a calibration means for a vehicle mileage meter or taximeter.
What is needed is a method to integrate collected vehicle mileage, speed, stop, route and time information with software and wide area networking that provides detailed documentation on all vehicle activities including use for tax deductible mileage and/or for reimbursement for vehicle use.
The present invention meets these needs and more. The present invention can provide a color-coded speed history map and driver data entry records for inventory control.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main aspect of the present invention is to provide integrated software and apparatus for local and wide area networking, collection and reporting of data concerning mileage and vehicle use for tax purposes.
Another aspect of the present invention is to combine wireless local area network and a hard-wired wide area network, which communicates with mobile units wirelessly.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a wireless local area network comprised of a base unit connected wirelessly to single or multiple mobile units while being hard-wired to a wide area network. Wherein the base unit either stores or routes packet data downloaded depending on the destination of packet data and based on wide area network connectivity.
Another aspect of the present invention is to allow a specific mobile unit(s) to roam from a pre-assigned base to another base unit(s) area(s) while transmitting/receiving information to/from the specific mobile units assigned base unit.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a wide area network wherein a super router routes packets to the proper base unit where the packet data should ultimately reside.
Another aspect of the present invention is to ve
Glass Paul M.
Hammond Alan L.
Kight Susan M.
McMullen Eddie R.
Wohl Charles M.
Advanced Tracking Technologies, Inc.
Black Thomas G.
Martin Rick
Patent Law Offices of Rick Martin P.C.
To Tuan C
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