Communications: electrical – Condition responsive indicating system – Specific condition
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-27
2004-01-06
Hofsass, Jeffery (Department: 2632)
Communications: electrical
Condition responsive indicating system
Specific condition
C340S572100, C340S573100, C340S572800, C340S693500, C340S506000, C340S870030
Reexamination Certificate
active
06674368
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to tracking the geographic position of assets. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically tracking the position of a monitored person, and selectively providing that information to an authorized user.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Recent advances in electronic positioning systems have made it possible to determine the geographic location of assets with great precision. Furthermore, advances in wireless communications technology have made it possible to transmit such positioning information from monitored assets to centrally located monitoring stations in real time.
Electronic positioning systems, used in combination with wireless communication technologies are useful in tracking the location of assets, such as goods in transit. Such systems are also useful in connection with monitoring the location of criminal offenders on parole or work release. However, such systems have generally required the use of monitoring personnel at a central control station to ensure that relevant positioning information is provided to authorized consumers of that information. In addition, such systems have been capable of receiving position information only at predetermined times, or in response to a request for positioning information generated by the central monitoring station. Still other systems allow position information to be transmitted to the central monitoring station when a predetermined geographical boundary has been crossed. However, these systems require that a relatively large amount of geographical information be stored in the remote unit. Furthermore, information regarding the position of a tracked asset is seen by human operators at the central control station. Accordingly, the privacy of the information is not maintained.
As an example of previous attempts to provide a locator device for tracking criminal offenders, U.S. Pat. No. 5,461,390 to Hoshen describes a system that includes a remotely located device having a wireless transceiver and a location determination device. In operation, a centrally located system causes a polling signal to be sent periodically to the remote device. In response to the polling signal, the locator device determines its spatial coordinates and transmits a message back to the centrally located station that includes position information. Authorities may be alerted if the remote device is not in an approved location. The system disclosed by Hoshen does not allow the remote device to determine when location information is passed to the centrally located system.
As an example of another attempt that has been made to provide a system for monitoring the location of individuals, U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,396 to Gaukel discloses a system in which positioning information is returned to a central tracking station at predetermined time intervals. The central control tracking station allows operators at the station to review the geographic location of a person being tracked. The system further provides for transmitting position information to consumers of the information at predetermined intervals. The remote unit continuously monitors its location, and immediately transmits a signal indicating that an exclusion zone has been entered or that the remote unit has been tampered with. However, there is no provision of a completely automated central control station, nor is there disclosure of a remote unit capable of storing and/or transmitting position information aperiodically according to factors other than or in addition to the position of the unit at a particular moment in time and tampering with the unit.
As an example of still another attempt to incorporate the tracking device and the proximity detector into a common ankle mounted device, U.S. Pat. No. 6,014,080 to Layson describes a system requiring a matched filtering GPS receiver and a field programmable gate array. The system disclosed by Layson requires a specialized GPS receiver and special hardware. The system proposed by Layson also requires a wireless link to provide “almanac data every hour.”
For the above-stated reasons, it would be advantageous to provide an improved method and apparatus for providing position information concerning a tracked person or object. In particular, it would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that allows for positioning information to be transmitted to authorized users, without the need for monitoring of that information by personnel located at a central monitoring station. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus that allowed for the transmission of position or other information when such information is particularly relevant, rather than at predetermined intervals. It would additionally be advantageous to provide such information after weighing a variety of factors having to do with the relevance of such information. It would also be advantageous to provide a method and apparatus for passive tracking that can achieve the required low power operation at a reduced cost by using a standard aided GPS receiver, standard hardware design techniques, and that did not require a wireless link. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to provide such a method and apparatus that can be implemented at an acceptable cost, that allows for the efficient tracking of a large of number of persons or objects, and that it is reliable in operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the present invention, a system for tracking the location of persons or assets is provided. The disclosed system generally includes a remote tag, a central monitoring station, and a user interface. In general, the remote tag provides positioning information to the central monitoring station aperiodically. The information received from the remote tag is processed by the central monitoring station, without requiring human intervention. The information received from the remote tag may be provided to an authorized user in near real time, or may be stored for later review by the authorized user.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the times at which positioning information is transmitted from the remote tag to the central monitoring station are determined upon consideration of a variety of factors. These factors are designed to allow the remote tag to consider the relevance of the position information on hand. For example, if a large amount of information is stored in the remote tag, a relatively large distance has been traveled since information was last transmitted, a relatively large period of time has elapsed since the last transmission, the battery status is low, whether a particular communication channel is available, movement of the remote tag toward a restriction or exclusion zone boundary, and a high status level assigned to the person or object being tracked, may all favor transmission of information. If such factors, alone or in combination, do not favor immediate transmission, the transmission of information may be deferred.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, an authorized user may be provided with position information concerning a tracked person or object in near real time. Notification of the authorized user may be accomplished using a variety of methods. For instance, where the positioning information to be transmitted is of low priority, that information may be provided using a communication method that is relatively unobtrusive to the authorized user. For instance, such information may be transmitted as part of an e-mail message. Higher priority information may be communicated by telephone or facsimile. Information may also be provided by paging the authorized user. In addition, where, for example, the positioning information is determined to be of very high priority, it may be transmitted to both an authorized user and another person associated with the authorized user, such as a supervisor. The levels, methods of contact, and identities of contact personnel can all be selected by the authorized user.
According to one embodimen
Hawkins Dale K.
Kight Robert D.
Sandrin Terrence J.
Continental Divide Robotics, Inc.
Hofsass Jeffery
Previl Daniel
Sheridan & Ross P.C.
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