(12)
`
`United States Patent
`Allen, Jr.
`
`(10) Patent N0.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 6,484,035 B2
`Nov. 19, 2002
`
`US006484035B2
`
`(54) APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
`TRIGGERABLE LOCATION REPORTING
`
`(75) Inventor: Alvin c. Allen, Jr., Liberty, TX (US)
`
`(73) Assignee: LunarEYE, Inc., Liberty, TX (US)
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`atent is extended or ad'usted under 35
`p
`5 b b
`d
`1
`U50 1 4( ) Y0 ays-
`
`(21) Appl. N0.: 10/008,893
`_
`(22) Flledi
`
`NOV- 13, 2001
`-
`-
`-
`Pmr Pubhcatlon Data
`US 2002/0042280 A1 Apr. 11, 2002
`
`(65)
`
`Related US. Application Data
`
`(63) Continuation of application No. 09/206,627, ?led on Dec. 7,
`1998~
`
`(51) Int. Cl.7 ........................ .. H04Q 7/20; H04B 7/185;
`G01S 3/02
`
`U-S- Cl- ........... ....... ..
`342/3571’ 342/357'07’ 342/457’ 340/825'49’
`340/988
`_
`(58) Fleld of Search ............................... .. 455/456, 404,
`455/12~1> 13~1> 13~2> 422> 427> 458> 517>
`521; 342/42> 50> 57> 357~06> 357~1> 357~07>
`357.01, 450, 457; 340/5721, 10.1, 825.36,
`82549, 988
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`
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`
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`8/1987 Hannon et al.
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`488/404
`6/1988 Denekamp et al- -
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`5,223,844 A * 6/1993 Manse“ et a1~ ~~~~~~ ~~ 342/35707
`(List Continued on next page)
`
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`
`EP
`EP
`EP
`FR
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`GB
`GB
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`JP
`W0
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`W0
`W0
`W0
`W0
`W0
`W0
`W0
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`W0
`
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`
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`1/1998
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`* 6/2000
`7/2000
`
`........... .. G01S/5/00
`......... .. B60R/26/10
`.. B60R/25/04
`6015/1/02
`H04B/7/26
`GO8B/13/OO
`B60R/25/10
`HO4B/7/26
`6015/5/14
`H04Q/7/38
`.. G06F/17/60
`.. G06F/17/60
`.. G06F/17/60
`.. H04B/7/198
`G01S/5/10
`. G08G/1/127
`H04Q/1/30
`.. B60R/11/02
`H04Q/7/22
`G01S/5/14
`.. H04B/7/185
`~~~~~~~~ ~~ HO4M/11/OO
`
`.......... .. H04Q/7/22
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`cellemetry, httpI//WWW~CeHemetry'com/html/techovervie_
`W.html, “Measurement Alarm Monitoring Remote Control
`Location/GPS”, Technical Overview, Jan. 1999, p. 1.
`cellemetry, http://WWW_Genemetry_com/html/systemdes_h_
`tml, “Measurement AlarM Monitoring Remote Control
`Location/GPS”, System Description, Oct. 1998, pp. 1—3.
`
`(List continued on next page.)
`
`.
`Primary Examiner—Lee Nguyen
`Asslstant Examlner—Rafael PereZ-GutlerreZ
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Baker Botts, L.L.P.
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A triggerable location-reporting apparatus is disclosed. A
`trigger signal from a page receiver triggers a GPS receiver
`to determine the location of the apparatus using GPS signals.
`The resulting GPS signal is transmitted by a telemetry
`transmitter, such as a cellular network telemetry transmitter.
`
`DE
`EP
`
`19733579
`0 242 099
`
`2/1999
`10/1987
`
`......... .. G08B/25/10
`........... .. G01S/5/14
`
`3 Claims, 10 Drawing Sheets
`
`44
`w 34
`
`RS338,
`
`(2,3871%,
`I
`Battery '
`_— _—
`I
`/ Data
`8335,?“
`
`58
`
`to Transmi‘
`
`Power
`
`Pager?"
`
`58
`V
`
`Cellular
`
`TNE'W“:
`
`External
`
`46
`
`4",‘
`
`Trigger _ _ T _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___>
`
`54
`
`6O
`
`35 \T
`
`50
`
`y/n
`
`i- _ _ _ _ __l
`
`Controller
`
`Global
`
`Satellile
`System
`Receiver
`
`Switched
`Power
`
`GPS Data
`
`52
`
`

`
`US 6,484,035 B2
`Page 2
`
`US. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`_
`8/1994 Simms et al. ............. .. 340/990
`5,334,974 A
`3/1995 Gooch ..... ..
`455/456
`5,396,540 A
`5/1995 Blrd ........... ..
`.. 342/357.09
`5,418,537 A
`6/1995 Schuchman et al.
`455/440
`5,422,813 A
`5,479,482 A 12/1995 Grimes ----------- -
`455/556
`5,490,200 A
`2/1996 Snyder et a1- -
`340/7-1
`5,497,149 A
`3/1996 Fast ----------- -
`340/988
`5,515,043 A
`5/1996 Berard et al. ............. .. 340/988
`5,539,810 A
`7/1996 Kennedy, III et a1
`379/8825
`5,544,225 A
`8/1996 Kennedy, III et al- ---- -~ 455/412
`5,546,444 A
`8/1996 Reaeh, Jr- et al
`455/412
`5,555,286 A
`9/1996 Tendler .......... ..
`455/404
`5,572,204 A 11/1996 Timm et al.
`340/988
`5,588,038 A 12/1996 Snyder .... ..
`455/12.1
`5,629,693 A
`5/1997 lanky
`340/988
`5,640,139 A
`6/1997 Egeberg ................... .. 340/426
`5,652,570 A
`7/1997 Lepko?<er ............. .. 340/573.4
`5,673,305 A
`9/1997 ROSS ---------- --
`-- 342/357-07
`
`A 5,736,962 A
`
`5,742,233 A
`5,742,509 A
`
`JOhIlSOIl 618.1. 4/1998 Tendler ...... ..
`
`4/1998 Hoffman et al. ..
`4/1998 Goldberg et al. .
`
`
`. . . . . .. . 342/357.1
`340/573.1
`..... .. 701/211
`
`5/1998 Hertel ................. .. 342/357.07
`5,751,246 A
`6/1998 Branch e161. ............ .. 342/457
`5,760,742 A
`6/1998 Kennedy, 111 et al. .... .. 455/456
`5,771,455 A
`7/1998 Janky et al. .............. .. 342/457
`5,777,580 A
`7/1998 Janky ...... ..
`. 342/3571
`5,786,789 A
`701/207
`8/1998 lanky et al- ---- -
`5,794,174 A
`8/1998 McMillan et al.
`705/400
`5,797,134 A
`9/1998 Simms et al. ............. .. 340/990
`5,808,564 A
`9/1998 MaJmudar ............... .. 307/10.2
`5,811,886 A
`5,825,327 A 10/1998 Krasner ...... ..
`342/357.09
`
`5,826,195 A 10/1998 Westerlage et al. ....... .. 455/456
`5,838,237 A 11/1998 Revell et al. .......... .. 340/573.1
`5,845,203 A 12/1998 LaDue ____ __
`455/414
`5,873,043 A
`2/1999 Comer .... ..
`455/468
`5,898,391 A
`4/1999 Jefferies et al.
`340/988
`5,914,675 A
`6/1999 Tognazzini
`340/989
`5,917,405 A
`6/1999 Joao ........... ..
`340/426
`5,918,172 A
`6/1999 Saunders et al. ......... .. 455/404
`
`7/1999 Escareno et al. ......... .. 340/426
`5,926,086 A
`7/1999 lanky et al
`..... ..
`340/426
`5,929,752 A
`7/1999 Nguyen
`485/440
`5,930,713 A
`8/1999 Golding
`340/995
`5,933,100 A
`8/1999 Tsuria et a1
`____ u 340/426
`5939975 A
`8/1999 Fulton ____ __
`_ 340/825_49
`5,940,004 A
`5,973,618 A 10/1999 E1115 ......................... .. 340/990
`6,054,928 A * 4/2000 Lemelson e161. ..... .. 340/573.4
`6,069,570 A
`5/2000 Herring ............... .. 340/825.49
`6,240,295 B1
`5/2000 Kennedy’ III et aL ____ u 455/456
`6,297,768 B1 * 10/2001 Allen, Jr. ............... .. 342/357.1
`2002/0018014 A1 * 2/2002 Allen, Jr. ..
`342/357.07
`2002/0042280 A1 * 4/2002 Allen, Jr. .................. .. 455/456
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`
`Cellemetry, http://WWW.cellemetry.com/html/glossoryhtml,
`“Measurement AlarM Menlterlng Remote Control Leea
`tion/GPS”, Glossary, 1998, pp. 1—2.
`Motorola, “GT Plus Oncore, GPS Receiver”, Sep. 1, 1998.
`
`
`Motorola, “SL oncore, Motorola, “OnCOI-e, Evaluation ?ts”, Apr' 3, 1998' Receiver”, 3,
`
`
`Motorola, “RF Oncore, GPS Module”, Sep' 1, 1998'
`“
`.
`,,
`Motorola, Oncore, GPS Ch1pSet , Apr. 3, 1998.
`.
`.
`“
`.
`.
`M°t°r°1a>”Sem1C°nduCt°r Techmcal Data’ GPS Dlgltal
`Correlator > 1997,1111 1—10~ _
`Motorola, Sermeenduet Teehnleal Data, “Integrated GPS
`DoWnconverter”, 1997.
`Motorola, “New Chip Enables Paging To Industrial Equip
`ment”, Aug 31, 1998, pp 1_3_
`Motorola, <<M_CORE Processor Architecture”, 1998, p_ 1_
`SAPTRAX,hnpIHWWW'sakmmom/newshtm,nsatqmx
`.
`.
`International Locates Stolen Vehicles by Computer Through
`.
`.
`”
`GPS Satelhte and Cellular Llnk rAug- 1’ 1998’ W 1—2-_
`Standard Communications, “CRM4100 Cellular Radio
`Module for AMPS”, Oct. 8, 1997, pp. 1—7.
`Hassell, Greg, “Cheap insurance comes at a price.” The
`Houston Chronicle, Section C, Nov. 3, 1999.
`
`* cited by examiner
`
`

`
`U.S. Patent
`
`Nov. 19, 2002
`
`Sheet 1 0f 10
`
`US 6,484,035 B2
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`US 6,484,035 B2
`
`1
`APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR
`TRIGGERABLE LOCATION REPORTING
`
`This is a continuation of US. patent application Ser. No.
`09/206,627 ?led Dec. 7, 1998.
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`This invention relates generally to location reporting
`apparatus and methods. More particularly, this invention
`relates to location reporting apparatus and methods that use
`the Global Positioning Satellite System (“GPS”) to ascertain
`an object’s location. Even more particularly, this invention
`relates to location reporting apparatus and methods that are
`triggerable and that report their location derived from GPS
`signals, via telemetry.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`2
`In general, in one aspect, the invention features a trigger
`able location-reporting apparatus comprising a trigger
`signal, a GPS processor coupled to the trigger signal, a
`position signal carrying position information generated by
`the GPS processor in response to the trigger signal, a
`telemetry transmitter coupled to the position signal, and a
`telemetry transmit signal transmitted by the telemetry
`transmitter, the telemetry transmit signal carrying the posi
`tion information.
`Implementations of the invention may include one or
`more of the folloWing. The apparatus may include a poWer
`supply connection, a ?rst sWitchable poWer signal coupled
`to the GPS processor and the poWer supply connection, and
`a second sWitchable poWer signal coupled to the telemetry
`transmitter and the poWer supply connection. The apparatus
`may include a controller con?gured to sWitch on and off the
`?rst sWitchable poWer signal and the second sWitchable
`poWer signal. The apparatus may include a poWer supply
`coupled to the poWer supply connection. The poWer supply
`may comprise a battery, a solar cell or a vehicle battery. The
`page receiver, GPS processor and telemetry transmitter may
`be housed in a housing. The housing may be con?gured to
`be installed in a vehicle. The housing may comprise at least
`a portion of an article of clothing. The housing may be
`con?gured to be installed in an object to be tracked. The
`telemetry transmitter may comprise a cellular telemetry
`transmitter. The telemetry transmitter may comprise a sat
`ellite telemetry transmitter, a cellular telephone, or a radio
`telephone. The trigger signal source may comprise a page
`receiver, the trigger signal activating When the page receiver
`receives a page. The trigger signal source may comprise an
`alarm or a remote control.
`In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
`method for reporting a location for an object comprising
`receiving a page; determining, in response to the page, the
`location of the object using GPS signals; transmitting the
`location of the object via telemetry.
`Implementations of the invention may include one or
`more of the folloWing. The method may include applying
`poWer to a GPS receiver and a cellular telemetry transmitter
`upon receipt of the page, and disconnecting poWer from the
`GPS receiver and the cellular telemetry transmitter upon
`transmission of the location of the object. The method may
`include receiving the transmitted location at a gateWay and
`communicating the transmitted location to a service pro
`vider. The method may include transmitting the location of
`the object via cellular telemetry or via satellite telemetry.
`The method may include determining if the object is moving
`and continuing to transmit the location of the object While it
`is moving. The method may include storing the location of
`the object and transmitting the stored location of the object
`if the ability to determine location ceases.
`In general, in another aspect, the invention features a
`triggerable location-reporting apparatus comprising a
`location-signal generating device and a telemetry transmitter
`coupled to the location-signal generating device. The appa
`ratus may comprise a GPS processor. The apparatus may
`comprise a page receiver and a page signal generated by the
`page receiver and coupled to the GPS processor. The GPS
`processor may generate the location signal in response to the
`page signal. PoWer may be Withheld from the GPS processor
`until the apparatus receives a page. PoWer may be Withheld
`from the telemetry transmitter until the apparatus receives a
`page. The telemetry transmitter may comprise a cellular
`telemetry transmitter or a satellite telemetry transmitter.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Frequently, people use credit to purchase consumer items,
`such as automobiles, televisions or computers. The purchas
`ers take possession of the item and take it to their homes or
`of?ces and put them into use. They are responsible for
`making periodic payments to the creditor, the person or
`entity that eXtended the credit, to pay off the loan. The
`creditor retains a lien on the property and is also knoWn as
`a “lien-holder”.
`In today’s mobile society, people frequently move from
`one location to another. When they move, they typically take
`their possessions, including those possessions covered by a
`lien held by the lien-holder. Sometimes When they move
`they stop making their periodic payments to the lien-holder,
`perhaps believing that they no longer have to make pay
`ments and that the lien-holder Will not be able to locate them.
`Further, some people simply move a possession, such as
`an automobile, covered by a lien, in order to hide it from the
`lien-holder When they stop making payments.
`In either case, the lien-holder is faced With having to
`locate and take possession of the item covered by the lien.
`At times, such a process can be expensive, time consuming,
`and even dangerous, requiring the lien-holder to hire inves
`tigators to locate the debtor and, hopefully, the item covered
`by the lien.
`Stolen items present a similar challenge. In the case of
`automobiles, thieves can steal a car, take it to a “chop shop”,
`or a specially out?tted body shop Where the automobile is
`dismantled into salable parts in just a feW hours. The
`traditional response to an automobile theft is to report the
`theft to the police Who then do their best to ?nd the
`automobile before it is dismantled.
`Other consumer items can be dismantled or otherWise
`placed into an underground market Within just a feW hours
`of their theft. Alternatively, such items can be removed to the
`thief’s home, Where they are hidden from the eyes of the
`police or other investigators.
`Even people are subject to being “stolen”, or kidnapped.
`Again, the traditional response is to report a missing person
`to the police and other laW enforcement agencies Who then
`conduct a search for the missing person.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`Upon receipt of a page or the occurrence of another
`triggering action, the invention determines its location using
`GPS signals and reports the location via cellular or satellite
`telemetry. The telemetry is routed to a service provider,
`Which takes an appropriate action, such as informing the
`lien-holder of the location of the object covered by the lien.
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`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system incorporating one
`embodiment of the invention.
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`FIG. 2 is a block diagram of one embodiment of the
`apparatus according to the invention.
`FIG. 3 is a How chart of the poWer management feature.
`FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the controller.
`FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the formatter.
`FIG. 6 is a representation of the data received from the
`GPS receiver by the data selector.
`FIG. 7 is a representation of the data output from the data
`selector.
`FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the poWer controller.
`FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the
`controller.
`FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system
`incorporating the invention.
`FIG. 11 is a plan draWing of a panic sWitch according to
`the present invention.
`FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an alternative embodiment
`of the present invention.
`FIG. 13 is a perspective draWing of the invention incor
`porated in articles of clothing.
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`DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS
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`An object 10, such as an automobile, contains a trigger
`able location-reporting apparatus 12, as shoWn in FIG. 1.
`The apparatus 12 is most likely hidden someWhere in the
`automobile, and may even be integrated into the body or the
`engine. For example, the apparatus may be integrated into
`the automobile’s Primary Computer Module. The apparatus
`can either be connected to the poWer source associated With
`the object, such as the automobile battery, or it may have a
`self-contained poWer source or sources, as further discussed
`beloW.
`The apparatus 12 receives a page from the paging satellite
`14 preferably initiated by personnel or some automatic
`device located at the service provider 16. The page request
`can be initiated from any source. The service provider 16
`accepts requests from customers to locate objects that have
`been lost, stolen or otherWise hidden. For example, a lien
`holder 18 may request that the service provider 16 locate an
`object for Which the debtor has fallen into default. The
`service provider’s response is to send a page to the apparatus
`12.
`The page need not originate in the paging satellite 14 but
`can originate in any system capable of sending out pages.
`For example, a cellular netWork may be capable of sending
`out pages and could be used instead of the paging satellite
`14. Further, the system need not use a page to communicate
`betWeen the service provider 16 and the apparatus 12 but can
`use any system that alloWs the service provider 16 to
`uniquely address the apparatus 12 via a broadcast signal. For
`example, very loW frequency signals or HF radio signals
`could be used to communicate betWeen the service provider
`16 and the apparatus 12.
`When the apparatus 12 receives the page it determines its
`location and direction of movement by accessing the signals
`of the GPS system 20, Which comprises a plurality of
`satellites 22 broadcasting signals Which can be used to
`determine an object’s location and heading anyWhere on the
`earth. The apparatus 12 then formats the location informa
`tion into a cellular telemetry stream and transmits it via the
`cellular system’s telemetry channels.
`In the AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System) cellular
`system, Which is the analog cellular system used in the
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`United States, each cellular base station has 832 channels.
`The 832 channels are divided among at least tWo competing
`cellular carriers. Each cellular carrier uses 21 of the 416
`channels to carrying control signals. Each control channel
`includes a ForWard Control Channel (FOCC) and a Reverse
`Control Channel (RECC).
`The cellular base station uses the FOCC to send infor
`mation to cellular telephones and the cellular telephones
`send information back to the cellular base station via the
`RECC. The FOCC and RECC are used to establish a cellular
`telephone call through a local sWitch. Once the cellular
`telephone call is established, the call is moved to one of the
`non-control channels and the released control channel is
`made available to establish other cellular telephone calls.
`The cellular base station broadcasts a System Identi?ca
`tion (“SID”) signal, Which identi?es the cellular system to
`cellular telephones receiving it. When a cellular telephone is
`turned on, it compares the SID signal it receives against an
`SID stored Within the telephone, Which identi?es the cellular
`telephone’s home system. If the received SID is not the same
`as the stored SID, the cellular telephone is “roaming” and
`the “roam” indicator on the telephone is illuminated.
`Subsequently, the cellular telephone transmits its identity
`to the cellular base station via the RECC. The RECC
`transmission includes the telephone’s Mobile Identi?cation
`Number (“MIN”), Which is a unique 10-digit number
`(analogous to a telephone number including an area code)
`that is programmed into the cellular telephone. The ?rst six
`digits of the MIN identify the cellular telephone’s home
`system. The RECC also includes an Electronic Serial Num
`ber (“ESN”), a unique 32-bit serial number permanently
`stored in the cellular telephone Which uniquely identi?es the
`cellular telephone. The cellular base station Will receive the
`MIN and ESN through the RECC and determine that the
`MIN does not correspond to a local number. Using the MIN,
`the cellular base station Will determine the home system for
`the cellular telephone and send a validation signal to that
`system. The cellular local sWitches in the United States are
`interconnected through the Intersystem Signaling NetWork,
`IS-41, Which alloWs them to send and receive validation
`information.
`The validation signal, knoWn under IS-41 as a Registra
`tionNoti?cation Invoke (REGNOT) message, includes the
`cellular telephone’s MIN and ESN. The REGNOT message
`also includes the identity of the cellular base station sending
`the message. The cellular telephone’s home system Will
`respond With a RegistrationNoti?cation Return Result
`(regnot) message. In the regnot message, the cellular tele
`phone’s home system Will either indicate that it Will take
`?nancial responsibility for calls made by the cellular tele
`phone or it Will refuse to validate the cellular telephone. If
`validation occurs, a subsequent exchange of messages estab
`lishes the features (such as call forWarding) available to the
`cellular telephone.
`The validation process just described uses the cellular
`system’s control channels. Again, once a cellular telephone
`call is initiated the control channel that Was used to set up the
`call is released for other purposes.
`At least tWo companies, Cellemetry and Microburst, have
`developed systems Which alloW the transmission of infor
`mation from a cellular telephone to a gateWay using the
`validation signals. Cellemetry, for example, connects a Cel
`lemetry Service GateWay to an IS-41 on a local sWitch and
`registers an SID on the IS-41 netWork. Cellemetry radios
`transmit RECC signals to local cellular base stations. The
`local cellular base stations transmit a validation signal to a
`Cellemetry gateWay.
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`In the RECC signal transmitted from the Cellemetry
`radio, the MIN normally transmitted in a RECC signal is
`replaced by a 10-digit equipment identi?cation number,
`identifying a Cellemetry gateWay. The 32-bit ESN normally
`transmitted can be used as a “payload” to transmit informa
`tion from the Cellemetry radio or a device incorporating the
`Cellemetry radio to the Cellemetry gateWay. The Cellemetry
`gateWay strips the payload information from the validation
`signal and sends it to a service provider.
`The Microburst system is similar eXcept that the payload
`is 55 bits instead of 32.
`A similar system is used in digital cellular telephone
`applications such as CDMA and TDMA systems.
`Returning to FIG. 1, upon receipt of the page from page
`satellite 14, the apparatus 12 determines the location and
`direction of movement, if any, of object 10 using the GPS
`signals from the GPS system 20. The apparatus then formats
`the location and movement information into the payload
`portion of a cellular RECC signal and transmits it to a local
`cellular base station 24. The MIN portion of the RECC
`signal may contain a unique MIN or it may be a MIN that
`is common to all triggerable location-reporting apparatus
`serviced by a common service provider. Alternatively, the
`MIN may be different for each of the apparatus.
`The cellular base station 24 determines that the apparatus
`12 is a roamer and passes a validation signal 25 into the
`15-41 system via a local sWitch 26. The common MIN Will
`cause the cellular base station to direct the validation signal
`to a gateWay 28. The gateWay 28 receives the validation
`signal and reads the payload data and provides it to the
`service provider 16. The gateWay may also use the infor
`mation regarding the cellular base station that originated the
`validation signal to determine an approximate location of the
`cellular telephone and pass that information on to the service
`provider 16 as Well. A company such as Cellemetry or
`Microburst may provide the gateWay or it may be provided
`by the service provider 16.
`The gateWay Will preferably respond to the cellular base
`station With a regnot message indicating that the requested
`roamer status has been denied. The cellular base station Will
`then knoW not to try to allocate a voice channel to the
`apparatus. Alternatively, the gateWay Will not respond to the
`cellular base station, Which Will eventually alloW the request
`to eXpire.
`The service provider 16 can noW communicate the loca
`tion of the object 10 to the oWner 30, lien-holder 18, or to
`the police 32.
`A block diagram of the apparatus is shoWn in FIG. 2. A
`page receiver 34 receives poWer through controller 36.
`Preferably, the poWer is passed directly through the control
`ler 36. Alternatively, the poWer may bypass the controller
`entirely and be applied directly to the page receiver 34. A
`battery 38 supplies poWer to the controller 36. Alternatively,
`an eXternal poWer source 40 may supply poWer to the
`controller 36. As still another alternative, the page receiver
`34 may have a pager battery 42 separate from the poWer
`supplied to the remaining electronics in the apparatus 12. A
`separate battery alloWs the page receiver 34 to remain in a
`standby state for a long period of time Without draining the
`poWer supply for the rest of the apparatus.
`When the page receiver 34 receives a page over antenna
`44 that is addressed to the page receiver 34, the page receiver
`34 transmits a “poWer-on” signal 46 to the controller 36. The
`controller 36 then sWitches poWer to a global position
`satellite system receiver 48, Which receives GPS signals via
`antenna 50. The GPS receiver 48 acquires the GPS signals
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`and determines a variety of position data regarding appara
`tus 12. The GPS receiver sends the GPS data 52 to the
`controller 36.
`The controller 36 buffers and reformats the GPS data into
`a form acceptable to a cellular netWork transmitter 54. The
`controller then sWitches poWer to the cellular netWork
`transmitter and sends a “data to transmit” signal 56 to the
`cellular netWork transmitter 54. After the cellular netWork
`transmitter has had an opportunity to format the “data to
`transmit” into the payload section of the RECC signal, the
`cellular netWork transmitter 54 transmits the RECC signal,
`including the GPS payload, via antenna 58. The cellular
`antenna 58 may be combined With the GPS antenna 50. One
`or both of these antennas (or their combination) may com
`prise dielectric and conducting materials embedded in the
`object or attached to it With an adhesive or some other
`attachment mechanism.
`Preferably, the poWer-on signal 46 is provided to the
`controller 36 as the result of a page received by the page
`receiver 34, as discussed above. Alternatively, an eXternal
`trigger 60 may provide the poWer-on indication to the
`controller 36.
`A flow chart of the poWer management provided by the
`controller 36 is illustrated in FIG. 3. The apparatus 12
`receives a page 62. The page receiver Wakes up the con
`troller 64. The controller Wakes up the GPS receiver and
`reads the GPS position information 66. The controller Wakes
`up the cellular netWork transmitter and sends it formatted
`position information 68. The transmitter transmits the MIN
`and the payload to the cellular base station Which forWards
`the data via the RECC transmission to the gateWay. The
`controller then puts the cellular netWork transmitter and GPS
`receiver back to sleep 70. The controller then goes back to
`sleep 72. With this poWer management approach, signi?cant
`poWer is being used only When position information is being
`transmitted over the cellular netWork. The rest of the time
`the only drain on system poWer is the page receiver, Which
`has a very loW poWer requirement When it is Waiting for a
`page. Even this poWer drain can be eliminated by using a
`separate pager battery 42, as shoWn in FIG. 2.
`The controller may store the last location signal it receives
`from the GPS receiver. Consequently, if the apparatus
`receives a subsequent page and the GPS receiver cannot
`perform its function (because, for example, it is shielded
`from GPS satellite signals), the apparatus Will report the
`stored position. The apparatus may also report the amount of
`time that has elapsed since the position information Was
`stored.
`In another embodiment, the apparatus may turn on a
`homing beacon 74 (see FIG. 2) if the GPS receiver is unable
`to perform its function. The homing beacon Will alloW the
`object to be tracked by a receiver tuned to the beacon
`frequency.
`Ablock diagram of the controller is shoWn in FIG. 4. GPS
`data 52 is received by a formatter 76 from the page receiver
`34 Where it is buffered and formatted into a form acceptable
`to the cellular netWork transmitter 54. The formatter 76
`buffers the reformatted signal and then transmits it as a “data
`to transmit” signal 56.
`Ablock diagram of the data formatter is illustrated in FIG.
`5. GPS data 52 is buffered by a buffer 78. A data selector 80
`selects data from the buffered GPS data 52 to be transmitted
`to the cellular netWork transmitter 54. Abuffer and formatter
`82 buffer the selected data and convert it into a format
`acceptable to the cellular netWork transmitter 54. A memory
`84 may be provided to store the last reported position from
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`the GPS receiver. The properly formatted “data to transmit”
`signal 56 is then transmitted to the cellular network trans
`mitter 54.
`An example of the data selector function is illustrated in
`FIGS. 6 and 7. The Motorola® GT Plus OncoreTM GPS
`family of chips produces an digital output signal 86 con
`taining bits representing the latitude, longitude, height,
`velocity, and heading of the apparatus 12 and the current
`time, as shoWn in FIG. 6. Similar products manufactured by
`other companies may be used instead of the Motorola
`product. Preferably, only the bits representing latitude,
`longitude, velocity and heading 88 are included in the data
`to transmit signal 56, as shoWn in FIG. 7. Preferably, the bits
`representing height and current time are discarded (although
`they may be sent in alternative embodiments). Further, it
`may be desirable to change the order that the various
`portions of the information are transmitted. For example, it
`may be desirable to send the heading portion ?rst. The data
`selector selects the data to be transmitted and arranges it into
`the desired order.
`Returning to FIG. 4, the controller also performs a poWer
`management function, as discussed above. U