Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Navigation – Employing position determining equipment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-24
2001-07-17
Chin, Gary (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Navigation
Employing position determining equipment
C342S357490, C342S357490, C342S457000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263280
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for determining position and, more particularly, to a method and system for locating and tracking the global position of a remote unit worn by a user.
The Global Positioning System (GPS), a network of approximately twenty-four satellites and twelve ground stations, has long been utilized as an aid to navigation. A typical GPS receiver unit can determine its global position by receiving position and velocity data from three or more GPS satellites and including doppler shift measurements in the calculations. More recently, GPS technology has been utilized in search and rescue applications.
The problem of notifying a rescue team of the position of a distress signal was recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,993 to Brickell. The '993 patent proposes transmitting a single approximate position to a single rescue team who then attempts a rescue. Although assumably effective in operation, the broad range of agencies, emergency personnel, and persons associated with the person initiating the distress signal are not simultaneously or quickly notified. Such notification is particularly necessary and desirable in the case of a child who is lost, injured, or abducted.
Another significant problem with present GPS systems is maintaining the power supply of the remote signaling unit. Although U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,598 attempts to solve this problem by enabling the remote unit to signal its position for short periods of time, the system requires a central station to repetitively solicit the remote signal.
It is therefore desirable to have a system and method having a remote unit which upon user activation receives and transmits global position data ultimately to a computer network database server which displays the geographic position and associated personal information at a globally accessible network location. It is also desirable to have a remote unit which only receives and transmits signals at predetermined times following activation so as to conserve battery power.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed toward a method and system for locating and tracking the geographic position of a remote unit worn or carried by a user. Upon manual activation by a user, a receiver within the remote unit receives global position signals from global position system satellites and then transmits the signals to a central control center via a satellite along with a unique code associated with the remote unit. Using the position signals, the control center determines the geographic position of the remote unit and relays this position to a wide-area computer network database server system. The geographic position is then displayed at a network location, such as an Internet world-wide-web site, so that a search can be initiated and monitored by persons having access to the network location. The remote unit includes an interval timer which inhibits the receiving and transmitting of signals except after predetermined intervals of time so as to conserve the battery power of the remote unit. Each additional reception and transmission of geographic position signals results in updated position data being displayed at the network location so that the present position of the remote unit can be monitored by all persons with access to the network location.
It is therefore a general object of the invention to provide a method and system for locating and tracking the geographic position of a user using the Global Positioning System.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, having a remote unit which can receive and transmit GPS position signals upon activation by a user.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, which can transmit a unique code associated with the remote unit.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, which receives and transmits signals only at predetermined timed intervals.
A further object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, wherein the remote unit is in the form of a watch.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, which determines the geographic position of the remote unit according to the geographic position signals.
A particular object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, which can display the geographic position and other related information at a wide-area computer network location.
Another object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, in which network transmissions are in the form of encrypted digital signals.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a method and system, as aforesaid, which can automatically transmit electronic mail messages to persons associated with the remote unit.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention.
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Chin Gary
Ream Dale J.
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