VWGoA - Ex. 1005
`Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., Petitioner
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`1
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`
`U.S. Patent
`
`June 29, 1993
`
`W Sheet 2 of 20
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`. 5,223,844
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`F/G. 24
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`TO FIG. 23
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`VOICE DATA
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`MOBILE UNIT F
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`TO FIG. 2B
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`3
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 3 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`FROM FIG. 2A
`
`
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`BATTERY
`
`RELAY
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`VEHICLE
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`295
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`295
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`——>
`
`FROM FIG. EA
`
`CONTROLLER
`
`F/G‘. 25
`
`4
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 4 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`344
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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 5 of 20
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`. 5,223,844
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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 7 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993-
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`Sheet 8 of 20
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`_ 5,223,844
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`SEQUENCE
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`I 200 I202
` VALID
`A P
` DIAL CONTROL
`CENTER
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`DATA
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`F/G: 7
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`9
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`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 9 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`
`
`READ LOCATION
`AND DATA
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`DIAL CONTROL
`CENTER
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`10
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 10 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`I330
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`CARRIER
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`NO
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`11
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`11
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 11 of 20
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`1 5,223,844 '
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`I404
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`HANGUP
`COMMAND
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`REQUEST?
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`KEYPAD
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`EXECUTE
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`F/G‘. 9
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`12
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`12
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 12 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`2|O4
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`GO
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`PAGE
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`TRANSFER NEXT
`PENDING
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`13
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`13
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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 13 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`‘
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`ANSWER CALL
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`2|40
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`GO TO
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`PREVIOUS
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`PAGE
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`14
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`U.S. Patent
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`.
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`June 29,1993
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`Sheet 14 of 20
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`9 5,223,844
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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 16 of 20
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`5,223,844
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`17
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`

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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 17 of 20
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`‘ 5,223,844
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`

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`US. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
`
`Sheet 19 of 20
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`U.S. Patent
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`June 29, 1993
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`Sheet 20 of 20
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`

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`1
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`5,223,844
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`VEHICLE TRACKING AND SECURITY SYSTEM
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`1. Field of the Invention
`The present invention relates to systems for monitor-
`ing vehicles. More specifically, the invention relates to
`a multi-featured system for monitoring the status of
`vehicles, detecting certain alarm conditions, monitoring
`the location of vehicles, and providing a variety of
`communication and control functions relating to the
`vehicles.
`2. Related Art
`
`The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that a
`vehicle theft occurs somewhere in the United States
`every 20 seconds. The National Auto Theft Bureau
`(NATB) estimates that one of every 42 vehicles in the
`United States is stolen or broken into, or has parts,
`contents, or accessories stolen, resulting in an estimated
`loss of over $9 billion per year. Law enforcement offi-
`cials concede that theft of the vehicle and its contents is
`one of the easiest crimes to commit, and one of the most
`difficult to prevent and solve. Authorities estimate that
`an experienced auto thief can break into almost any
`vehicle in as little as six seconds, regardless of whether
`or not it has an alarm system. On average, fewer than
`one in five of the vehicles stolen in the United States is
`recovered and the thief prosecuted. Clearly, known
`alarm systems do not stop determined, experienced
`motor vehicle thieves.
`Various anti-theft devices are known in the art. The
`
`simplest devices take the form of physical restraints,
`such as door locks, steering wheel bars, or wheel locks.
`More sophisticated systems involve passive alarms that
`activate automatically when the driver leaves the car.
`More recently, electronic homing devices have been
`developed that can track a vehicle, but only after it is
`reported stolen. After the vehicle is discovered to be
`stolen and reported to police, the police are able to
`track and capture the thief, provided the vehicle owner
`and the police have both invested in special communi-
`cations devices. In addition to being useful only after
`the vehicle is reported stolen, these systems are useful
`only in the geographical areas where the corresponding
`police receivers are located. Moreover, these systems
`are in some cases prohibitively expensive.
`Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a
`cost-effective automatic vehicle theft detection device
`which immediately alerts the police to the theft, allow-
`ing them to track the vehicle over a wide geographic
`area.
`
`On a related matter, breakdowns, accidents, and med-
`ical and other emergencies in a motor vehicle may arise.
`Clearly, it is desirable to be able to quickly and conve-
`niently report the emergency occurrence and request
`appropriate assistance. For example, it is desirable to
`contact a wrecker, ambulance, fire truck, or police as
`needed, and indicate the exact location where assistance
`is needed. The presence of citizens band radios or cellu-
`lar telephones has increased, but these systems suffer
`from shortcomings such as the inability to accurately
`relay the vehicle’s position.
`Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a
`system which can quickly summon appropriate vehicles
`such as a wrecker, ambulance, fire truck, or police, and
`reliably and accurately communicate the location
`where the assistance is needed.
`
`l0
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`2
`On still another related issue, companies such as cou-
`rier services and freight hauling firms have always had
`a need for tracking the vehicles in their fleets. By track-
`ing the fleet vehicles, a dispatcher knows which vehicle
`is the most appropriate one to send to a next location,
`thus improving overall fleet efficiency. It is desirable to
`provide information on the status of each vehicle in the
`fleet, such as whether it is moving, parked, or disabled.
`This comprehensive information allows the dispatcher
`to use an existing fleet to its greatest advantage, thereby
`providing better service to the company’s customers.
`Unfortunately, known fleet monitoring systems have
`often involved two-way voice communications depend-
`ing on the dispatcher’s communication with a large
`number of drivers, resulting in less than optimum effi-
`ciency and reliability.
`Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a fleet
`tracking system which provides a dispatcher with con-
`tinuously updated comprehensive information about the
`variety of vehicles in a fleet.
`The present invention provides a vehicle tracking
`and security system which overcomes the shortcomings
`of the known systems.
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention provides a vehicle tracking
`and security system which provides round-the-clock
`vehicle security, allowing immediate response in case of
`vehicle theft, an accident, vehicle breakdown, or other
`emergency.
`Guardian and tracking functions are provided
`through Mobile Units which are preferably installed in
`hidden locations in vehicles to be monitored. The M0-
`bile Units communicate with a Control Center in at
`least one-way, and preferably two-way, communica-
`tion. Preferably, the Mobile Unit provides vehicle theft
`and intrusion protection using a in-vehicle alarm and
`security system linked to the Control Center by a trans-
`ceiver in the Mobile Unit. Also, a keypad or other
`human interface device is provided in the vehicle, al-
`lowing a vehicle driver or occupant to signal the Con-
`trol Center that a particular type of assistance is needed.
`The vehicle’s location may be automatically transmitted
`to the Control Center along with any automatic or
`manual request, the location being precisely determin-
`able anywhere in the world. In this manner, the present
`invention provides continuous monitoring of a large
`number of vehicles for a broad range of status and emer-
`gency conditions over a virtually unlimited geographic
`area, also allowing manual communication of requests
`for assistance to that specific location. Advantageously,
`the system is implemented using existing location-detec-
`tion systems and conventional commercial or police
`communications equipment.
`According to a first aspect of the invention, there is
`provided a mobile unit for a vehicle monitoring system,
`the mobile unit having an input unit responsive to an
`event or condition associated with the vehicle, and
`providing information describing the event or condi-
`tion. The mobile unit also has a satellite receiver (prefer-
`ably GPS), responsive to navigation signals transmitted
`by a satellite navigation system, and providing informa-
`tion describing the vehicle’s location based on the navi-
`gation signals. Also, the mobile unit has a mobile unit
`controller, responsive to the input unit and the satellite
`receiver, the mobile unit controller including a cellular
`telephone transmitter for transmitting information onto
`a cellular telephone communications link, the informa-
`
`22
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`5,223,844
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`3
`tion transmitted on the cellular telephone communica-
`tions link including both (1) the information describing
`the event or condition and (2) the information describ-
`ing the vehicle’s location, the mobile unit controller
`automatically inserting the information describing the
`vehicle’s location into the information transmitted onto
`the cellular telephone communications link.
`According to another aspect of the invention, there is
`provided a mobile unit for a vehicle monitoring system,
`the mobile unit having a vehicle alarm system, respon-
`sive to an alarm event or alarm condition associated
`with the vehicle, and providing information describing
`the alarm event or alarm condition. The mobile unit also
`has a satellite receiver, responsive to navigation signals
`transmitted by a satellite navigation system, and provid-
`ing information describing the vehicle’s location based
`on the navigation signals. The mobile unit also has a
`mobile unit controller, responsive to the vehicle alarm
`system and the satellite receiver, the mobile unit con-
`troller transmitting information onto a communications
`link, the information transmitted on the communica-
`tions link including both (1) the information describing
`the alarm event or alarm condition and (2) the informa-
`tion describing the vehicle’s location, the mobile unit
`controller automatically inserting the information de-
`scribing the vehicle’s location into the information
`transmitted onto the communications link.
`
`The invention further provides a mobile unit for a
`vehicle monitoring system, the mobile unit having an
`input unit, responsive to an event or condition associ-
`ated with the vehicle, and providing information de-
`scribing the event or condition, and a location unit
`providing information describing the vehicle’s location.
`The mobile unit also has a cellular telephone transmitter
`including means for determining whether or not the
`transmitter is in range of a cellular telephone network,
`and transmitting information onto a cellular telephone
`communications link when the transmitter is in range of
`a cellular telephone network. The mobile unit has a
`mobile unit controller, responsive to the input unit and
`the location unit. The mobile unit controller has a stor-
`age device. the storage device including a storage area
`for storing both (1) the information describing the event
`or condition and (2) the information describing the
`vehicle’s location in association with each other; and a
`processor, interacting with the cellular telephone trans-
`mitter and controlling the storage device. The proces-
`sor performs the functions of i) storing in the storage
`device (1) the information describing the event or con-
`dition and (2) the information describing the vehicle’s
`location in association with each other, when the trans-
`mitter is not in range of a cellular telephone network;
`and ii) retrieving from the storage device (1) the infor-
`mation describing the event or condition and (2) the
`information describing the vehicle’s location in associa-
`tion with each other, when the transmitter is in range of
`a cellular telephone network.
`The invention also provides a mobile unit for a vehi-
`cle monitoring system, the mobile unit having an opera-
`tor input device having a number of inputs characteriz-
`ing approximately four distinct predetermined mes-
`sages, the operator input device providing information
`describing a chosen message when one or more inputs
`relating to the chosen message are activated by an oper-
`ator. The mobile unit also has a satellite receiver, re-
`sponsive to navigation signals transmitted by a satellite
`navigation system, and providing information describ-
`ing the vehicle’s location based on the navigation sig-
`
`4
`nals. The mobile unit also has a mobile unit controller,
`responsive to the operator input device and the satellite
`receiver, the mobile unit controller transmitting infor-
`mation onto a communications link, the information
`transmitted on the communications link including both
`(1) the information describing the chosen message and
`(2) the information describing the vehicle’s location, the
`mobile unit controller automatically inserting the infor-
`mation describing the vehicle’s location into the infor-
`mation transmitted onto the communications link.
`The invention also provides a control center for a
`vehicle monitoring system having mobile units mounted
`in respective vehicles and a communications link be-
`tween the mobile units and the control center. The
`
`control center has a control center display portion in-
`cluding one or more display screens displaying one or
`more maps with symbols of vehicles sending messages
`to the control center; and real-time display software
`allowing the symbols of the vehicles sending messages
`to be displayed substantially in real-time. The control
`center also has at least about eight communications
`interface devices coupled to the communications link,
`receiving sporadically-timed messages from the mobile
`units, and outputting the messages. The control center
`also has a control center buffer portion coupled to the
`control center display portion, the buffer portion re-
`sponsive to the messages output by the communications
`interface devices. The buffer portion includes means for
`examining the messages received, means for generating
`individual responses to the messages received from
`respective vehicle mobile units based on the examina-
`tion of the messages, the means for generating individ-
`ual responses being coupled to the communications link
`and to the control center display portion, and means for
`providing to the control center display portion certain
`messages that have passed the examination, the mes-
`sages allowing the real-time display software to display
`the symbols of the vehicles sending the messages that
`have passed the examination.
`The invention also .provides a vehicle monitoring
`system having an ambulatory operator input device
`adapted for an operator to carry away from a vehicle,
`the ambulatory operator input device providing infor-
`mation describing a message when activated by the
`operator. The monitoring system also has a mobile unit
`adapted for attachment to a vehicle. The mobile unit
`includes a local receiver including means to communi-
`cate with the ambulatory operator input device, the
`local receiver receiving the message when activated by
`the operator; a location unit providing information de-
`scribing the vehicle’s location; and a mobile unit con-
`troller, responsive to the local receiver and the location
`unit, the mobile unit controller transmitting information
`onto a communications link, the information transmit-
`ted on the communications link including both (1) the
`message and (2) the information describing the vehicle’s
`location, the mobile unit controller automatically insert-
`ing the information describing the vehicle’s location
`into the infonnation transmitted onto the communica-
`tions link.
`The invention also provides a control center for a
`vehicle monitoring system having a plurality of mobile
`units mounted in respective vehicles and a communica-
`tions link between the mobile units and the control
`center. The control center includes a control center
`display portion,
`including display screens displaying
`one or more maps with symbols of vehicles sending
`messages to the control center. The control center also
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`has a satellite reference receiver, responsive to naviga-
`tion signals transmitted by a satellite navigation system,
`and providing information describing the control cen-
`ter’s location based on the navigation signals. The con-
`trol center has a control center communications con-
`troller, the control center communications controller
`being responsive to messages received from the mobile
`units and coupled to the control center display portion
`and to the satellite receiver. The communications con-
`
`troller includes means for extracting from the messages
`received vehicle position information that is derived
`from vehicle position information provided by a mobile
`unit satellite receiver receiving navigation signals trans-
`mitted by the satellite navigation system; means for
`adjusting the vehicle position information in accor-
`dance with a drift error correction term derived from
`the navigation signals, to provide adjusted vehicle posi-
`tion information; and means for providing to the control
`center display portion the adjusted vehicle position
`information s that the control center display portion
`displays the symbols of the vehicles on the one or more
`maps in accordance with the drift error correction term.
`Other objects, features, and advantages of the present
`invention will become apparent on reading the follow-
`ing Detailed Description in conjunction with the ac-
`companying drawing figures.
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`The invention is better understood by reading the
`following Detailed Description of the Preferred Em-
`bodiments with reference to the accompanying drawing
`figures, in which like reference numerals refer to like
`elements throughout, and in which:
`FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of the preferred
`vehicle tracking and security system according to the
`present invention.
`FIG. 2A and 2B constitute a block diagram which
`schematically illustrates further details of the preferred
`Mobile Unit of FIG. 1. FIG. 2A and 2B are collectively
`referred to herein as “FIG. 2.”
`FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating components of a pre-
`ferred Mobile Unit as including various sensing, power,
`and data input devices.
`FIG. 4 is a perspective drawing of a vehicle using the
`elements of FIG. 3.
`FIG. 5 illustrates a preferred keypad for use with the
`preferred Mobile Unit.
`FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the
`preferred Mobile Unit in Idle Mode.
`FIG. 7 is a flow chart of the operation of the pre-
`ferred Mobile Unit in Assist Mode.
`FIGS. 8A and 8B are flow charts illustrating opera-
`tion of the preferred Mobile Unit in Alann Mode.
`FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating operation of the
`preferred Mobile Unit in Telephone Mode.
`FIGS. 10A and 10B are flow charts illustrating oper-
`ation of the preferred Control Center.
`FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary “General Area Cov-
`erage Map” as it might be displayed to a Control Center
`operator.
`12 illustrates an exemplary COMMAND
`FIG.
`MENU for the preferred communications controller in
`the Control Center.
`FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary display controller
`CONTROL MENU superimposed on a map, as dis-
`played to the Control Center operator.
`FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary MOTORIST AS-
`SISTANCE SERVICES menu superimposed on a
`
`6
`map, as displayed to the Control Center operator after
`being accessed from the CONTROL MENU of FIG.
`13.
`FIG. 15 illustrates an exemplary CALL STATUS
`menu superimposed on a map, as displayed to the Con-
`trol Center operator after being accessed via the CON-
`TROL MENU of FIG. 13.
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`FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary vehicle CALL HIS-
`TORY superimposed on a map, as displayed to the
`Control Center operator after being accessed via FIG.
`15.
`
`FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary CALL CONTROL
`menu, superimposed on a map, as displayed to the Con-
`trol Center operator after being accessed via FIG. 15
`
`DETAILED. DESCRIPTION OF THE
`PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
`
`In describing preferred embodiments of the present
`invention illustrated in the drawings, specific terminol-
`ogy is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the
`invention is not intended to be limited to the specific
`terminology so selected, and it is to be understood that
`each specific element includes all technical equivalents
`which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a simi-
`lar purpose.
`the invention is a multi-featured
`Stated generally,
`electronic tracking and security system ,which includes
`devices that calculate a vehicle’s position, detect local
`events, and calculate a system response based on
`weighted variables. Based on the calculated response,
`the system notifies the vehicle occupants. In certain
`circumstances, the system notifies a Control Center via
`a preferably two-way communication channel, to allow
`the Control Center to respond appropriately such as by _
`summoning emergency vehicles or remotely control-
`ling the vehicle in some way. Provision of a two-way
`communication system allows the Control Center to
`positively verify the message which was sent by the
`vehicle.
`
`The preferred embodiment of the present invention
`provides computerized graphic maps which display
`vehicle locations using information ultimately derived
`from the existing Global Positioning System (GPS),
`thereby providing a highly accurate, real-time vehicle
`tracking system. The preferred system provides an inte-
`grated location system, communication network, map-
`ping system, and dispatch capability. The system is
`especially suitable for use in fleet vehicle management,
`vehicle theft deterrent, stolen vehicle tracking, railroad
`car tracking, cargo location, and so forth. The system
`may be customized to a particular user’s needs and, due
`to the preferred embodiment’s use of the GPS, may be
`installed and used virtually anywhere in the world.
`Referring to FIG. 1, the invention involves a set of
`“Mobile Units” 100A-100E which are provided on
`respective vehicles 102A-102E that are to be moni-
`tored, protected, or tracked. A communications link
`110 is provided between the Mobile Units (hereinafter
`collectively indicated 100) and a “Control Center” 150
`which is manned by one or more trained operators 152.
`The Mobile Unit may automatically detect certain sta-
`tus and alarm conditions, or a driver or passenger in the
`vehicle may manually request certain assistance, both of
`which actions may be immediately communicated to
`the Control Center along with automatically generated
`GPS_-derived positioning data. The Control Center
`operator may take action as appropriate, including dis-
`patching of emergency vehicles 160, 162, 164, 166, 168,
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`commanding the appropriate Mobile Unit 100 to repeat-
`edly transmit position data, or ignoring the Mobile
`Unit’s communication. Certain functions may be either
`automated or manually controlled by the Control Cen-
`ter operator, such as whether the vehicle horn is
`sounded in response to an unexpected motion sensor
`activation indicating theft of the vehicle.
`In particular, the vehicles may include a conventional
`passenger automobile 102A, a set of fleet vehicles 102B,
`102C, 102D (such as buses or other mass transit vehi-
`cles, courier vehicles, delivery vehicles, utility vehicles,
`sanitation trucks, armored cars, police cars, rental cars,
`and so forth), as well as a train 102E. The communica-
`tions link 110 is preferably implemented as a conven-
`tional cellular telephone link, but of course need not be
`so limited. The Control Center 150 may appropriately
`summon help in the form of police 160, a fire truck 162,
`an ambulance 164, a wrecker 166, or other appropriate
`help, generally indicated as element 168. Each Mobile
`Unit 100 preferably includes means for determining the
`present location of the vehicle 102 in which it is in-
`stalled. Preferably, this means for determining the loca-
`tion is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, not
`only for its accuracy but because the location informa-
`tion transmitted from GPS satellites is provided free of
`cost.
`
`As readily appreciated by those skilled in the art, the
`GPS was developed by the U.S. Department of Defense
`and placed into service in the l980’s. The GPS includes
`a constellation of radio-navigation satellites which con-
`stantly transmit precise timing and location information
`to substantially the entire surface of the earth. The GPS
`receiver in the Mobile Unit is preferably implemented
`using a multi-channel GPS receiver so as to acquire
`many (for example, five) transmissions from a corre-
`sponding plurality of GPS satellites simultaneously.
`This allows the Mobile Unit to determine the location
`of the vehicle (within approximately 20 meters), veloc-
`ity (to within 0.1 mph), and direction of motion, for
`possible transmission to the Control Center 150. Vari-
`ous GPS satellites are schematically illustraied at 120A,
`120B. The Control Center 150 is equipped with a refer-
`ence GPS receiver 154 to provide selectable real-time
`error correction of the measurements of the locations of
`the vehicles, using differential GPS techniques.
`The reference GPS receiver 154 allows for real-time
`correction of GPS errors. By determining “drift” in the
`GPS signals, the output of the reference GPS receiver
`effectively provides a correction factor which may be
`subtracted from the position data transmitted by the
`vehicles. Preferably, a time history of the GPS “drift” is
`stored in the communications controller, so that any
`information stored in a Mobile Unit but transmitted at a
`later time may be properly correlated with earlier
`“drift” information for correction. According to a pre-
`ferred embodiment, the drift correction algorithm may
`be switched on and off by the communications control-
`ler operator, so as to cause the incoming measurements
`to be corrected, or not corrected, based on operator
`choice.
`
`The present invention preferably use a simple “differ-
`ence GPS” adjustment, in contrast to the known “dif-
`ferential GPS” correction which is more costly and
`complex. The reference GPS receiver may be of the
`same, economical type used in the mobile units, in con-
`trast to the costly units used in differential GPS systems.
`The Control Center difference GPS adjustment
`in-
`volves subtraction of the drift in the (known) location of
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`the Control Center from location information transmit-
`ted by the mobile units. This unidirectional data flow is
`in contrast to differential GPS systems which derive
`and transmit a correction factor to the mobile unit,
`which mobile unit then applies the correction factor
`before transmitting back a corrected location.
`The Control Center 150 includes a communication
`controller 170 and a display controller 180, there being
`a suitable conventional interface 190 therebetween. For
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`example, the interface 190 may be a local area network
`(LAN) interface, having one or more terminals 192
`allowing control center operator 152 to enter informa-
`tion into the controllers. Terminals 192 are understood
`to include any of a variety of input devices such as a
`keyboard, mouse, trackball, or other user interfaces.
`The preferred Control Center includes a plurality of
`modems 172A .
`.
`. l72H disposed between the commu-
`nications link 110 and the communications controller.
`In the illustrated embodiment, the modems 172A .
`.
`.
`l72H provide an interface between conventional tele-
`phone lines and a communications controller processor
`within communications controller 170.
`The communications controller 170 serves as a buffer
`
`between the Mobile Units 100 and the display controller
`180. Data passing through the communications control-
`ler 170, as well as general communications status infor-
`mation, is displayed on a communications display 174.
`The display controller 180 is provided with a plurality,
`preferably four, mapping displays 182A, 182B, 182C,
`and 182D. The mapping displays, collectively referred
`to as element 182, display information regarding the
`vehicles in a graphic manner, such as on pre-existing
`digitized maps of arbitrarily large geographical areas.
`Based on information displayed on mapping displays
`182, or noted on the communications display 174, the
`Control Center operator 152 may contact the police
`160, fire department 162, ambulance 164, wrecker 168,
`or other suitable emergency vehicle 168, on a dispatch
`means 176. The dispatch means 176 may be an ordinary
`telephone for manual dialling by a human operator, or it
`may be any other suitable means of rapidly communi-
`cating with the emergency services. For example, any
`conventional means for automatically dialling a pre-
`programmed telephone number may be used, with the
`communications controller providing the order to call a
`given number. More elaborate embodiments involve
`message delivery systems to communicate particular
`messages to the telephone number thus called,
`thus
`bypassing the human operator if the system designer so
`desires. Thus, the dispatch means 176 may be connected
`to the communications controller 170 so that, under
`controlled circumstances, the emergency services may
`be summoned automatically, without intervention of
`the Control Center operator 152. However,
`in most
`practical embodiments, it is preferred that the display
`controller 180 simply provide information on a mapping
`display 182B, 182C or 182D, so that the operator may
`exercise human judgment before an emergency service
`is called.
`The structure of the preferred embodiment of the
`Mobile Unit
`is described below, with reference to
`FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5. Operation of the Mobile Units in
`conjunction with the Control Center is explained with
`reference to FIGS. 6-9. Operation of the Control Cen-
`ter in conjunction wi