`
`(12) United States Patent
`Martucci et al.
`
`(10) Patent No.:
`(45) Date of Patent:
`
`US 7,760,137 B2
`*Jul. 20, 2010
`
`(54) PORTABLE POSITION DETERMINING
`DEVICE
`(75) Inventors: Jennifer Martucci, Muttontown, NY
`(US); Eugene F. Fowler, Richardson,
`TX (US); Joseph C. McAlexander,
`Murphy, TX (US)
`(73) Assignee: Pfizer, Inc., New York, NY (US)
`(*) Notice:
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 300 days.
`-
`-
`-
`-
`-
`This patent is Subject to a terminal dis-
`claimer.
`
`(21) Appl. No.: 11/789,053
`(22) Filed:
`Apr. 23, 2007
`(65)
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2008/OO55154 A1
`Mar. 6, 2008
`Related U.S. Application Data
`(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 1 1/063,254,
`filed on Feb. 22, 2005, now Pat. No. 7,209,075, which
`is a continuation of application No. 10/361,802, filed
`O Feb. 10, 2003, now Pat. No. 6,859,171, which is a
`continuation of application No. 09/862.569, filed O
`May. 22, 2001, now Pat. No. 6,518,919, which is a
`continuation of application No. 09/362,789, filed on
`Jul. 28, 1999, now Pat. No. 6,236,358.
`(60) Provisional application No. 60/140,040, filed on Jun.
`18, 1999
`s
`(51) Int. Cl.
`GOIS I/O
`GOIS I/02
`
`(2006.01)
`(2006.01)
`
`
`
`(52) U.S. Cl. .............................. 342/357.1; 342/357.06:
`342/357.08; 342/357.09
`(58) Field of Classification Search ............ 342/357.01,
`342.57.063579, 35. 357.13,457,
`342/463: 701/213, 215; 455/426.1, 435.1,
`455/456.1
`See application file for complete search history.
`
`(56)
`
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`5,982.281 A 1 1/1999 Layson, Jr.
`6,518,919 B1* 2/2003 Durst et al. ............ 342,357. O7
`6,859,171 B2* 2/2005 Durst et al. ....
`... 342,357.1
`7.209,075 B2 * 4/2007 Durst et al. .............. 342,357.1
`2001/0022558 Al
`9/2001 Karr, Jr. et al.
`
`* cited by examiner
`Primary Examiner Dao L. Phan
`(74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm Scully, Scott, Murphy &
`Presser, P.C.
`
`(57)
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`A position determining device is disclosed comprising a sat
`ellite navigation receiver for automatically providing com
`puted position information, when the device has changed its
`position relative to a predetermined location, to a paging
`transmitter for transmission to a paging receiver for readout
`of the computed position information. The readout may be in
`the form of coordinates and may be accompanied by a mes
`sage or alarm. The device may be configured as a portable unit
`of Small size and economical manufacture.
`
`8 Claims, 19 Drawing Sheets
`
`ACQUIRE
`COORONATES
`229
`
`LOCATOR
`BEYOND
`IT
`
`Y
`
`250
`
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 1 of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`TWO-WAY
`PAGENG
`SYSTEM
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`GLOBAL
`POSITONING
`SATELLITE
`SYSTEM
`
`50
`
`OBJECT
`LOCATOR
`
`42
`
`TWO-WAY
`PAGING
`ANTENNA
`
`
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 2 of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`
`
`36
`
`45
`
`40
`
`FIC 3C
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 3 of 19
`
`US 7,760,137 B2
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`PAGNC
`TRANSMITTER
`ENABLE DATA
`
`GPS
`RECEIVER
`DATA
`ENABLE
`
`
`
`CONTROLLER
`
`106
`
`
`
`
`
`ENABLE MEMORY | BATTERY
`Y
`Y
`SIGNAL 2-2 68
`70
`DETECTOR
`V
`O
`
`- - - - - - - - - -
`
`FIC 4
`
`\
`42
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`SIGNAL
`DETECTOR
`
`
`
`OBJECT
`LOCAOR
`
`42
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 4 of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`
`
`QUERY FROM
`BASE?
`
`ACQUIRE
`COORDNATES
`
`LOCATOR
`BEYOND LIMIT
`t
`
`202
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`is
`
`RECEIVED
`t
`
`
`
`Y
`
`2O6
`
`GPS ACQURES
`COORDNATES
`
`208
`
`
`
`210
`
`STORE
`COORDINATES
`
`
`
`TRANSMT
`COORDINATES
`212
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 5 Of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`OBJECT
`-- LOCATOR
`308
`
`514
`
`312
`
`42
`
`302
`1.
`
`524
`
`528
`
`530
`
`
`
`FIC. 8
`
`350
`
`- 42
`
`OBE
`366
`
`-1
`308
`306
`304-N
`PAGING
`RECEIVER
`
`
`
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 6 of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`FIC. 1 O
`
`BASEPAGES
`OBJECT LOCATOR
`
`-4.04
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`ACQUIRE NEW
`R
`COORDINATES
`
`STORE NEW
`COORDNATES
`
`416
`
`
`
`
`
`ENABLE
`GPS RECEIVER
`
`412
`
`-406
`
`OBJECT LOCATOR
`CHECKS MEMORY
`408
`COORDINATES
`IN MEMORY?
`
`
`
`
`
`40
`
`COORDNATES
`CURRENT
`Y
`FETCH
`COORONATES
`
`TRANSMT
`COORONATES
`TO BASE
`424
`
`BASE RECEIVES
`COORDINATES
`
`426
`
`420
`
`422
`
`BASE DISPLAYS
`COORDNATE
`DATA
`
`
`
`428
`
`LAST PAGE
`ATTEMPT
`
`
`
`
`
`DSABLE GPS
`RECEIVER
`
`418
`
`END
`
`430
`
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 7 Of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`
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`
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`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`GLOBAL
`POSITONING
`SATELLITE
`SYSTEM
`
`OBJECT
`LOCATOR
`
`OBJECT
`- LOCATOR
`308 312 514
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`42
`
`303
`A1
`
`J24 326 328
`
`350
`
`DATA
`DISPLAY
`
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 8 of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
`
`FIC. 1 2 B
`
`OBJECT LOCATOR
`
`42
`
`
`
`304
`
`
`
`PROCESSOR
`558
`
`REGISTER
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`42
`
`ENABLE GPS
`RECEIVER
`
`A 3
`
`OBJECT
`LOCATOR BATTERY
`TEST OK?
`
`
`
`
`
`OBJECT
`OCATOR RANGE
`THRESHOLD OK
`"
`N
`FETCH OUT-OF
`RANGE EYE
`
`45
`
`RANSIT ALARM
`BYTES TO BASE
`
`47
`
`
`
`FETCH LOW
`BATERY
`TEST BYTE
`
`4.09
`
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 9 of 19
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`US 7,760,137 B2
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 10 of 19
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`U.S. Patent
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 12 of 19
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 13 Of 19
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`Sheet 14 of 19
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`Jul. 20, 2010
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`1.
`PORTABLE POSITION DETERMINING
`DEVICE
`
`US 7,760,137 B2
`
`CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED
`APPLICATIONS
`
`The present application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S.
`patent application Ser. No. 11/063,254, filed Feb. 22, 2005
`now U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,075 and entitled MOBILE OBJECT
`LOCATOR, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser.
`No. 10/361,802 filed Feb. 10, 2003 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,859,
`171 and entitled “MOBILE OBJECT LOCATOR, which is a
`continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/862,569 filed
`May 22, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,518,919 and entitled
`“MOBILE OBJECT LOCATOR, which is a continuation of
`U.S. application Ser. No. 09/362,789 filed Jul. 28, 1999 now
`U.S. Pat. No. 6,236,358 and entitled “MOBILE OBJECT
`LOCATOR,” which claims the benefit of the filing date of
`U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/140,040, which was
`filed on Jun. 18, 1999. The contents of U.S. application Ser.
`No. 11/063,254, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/361,802, U.S.
`application Ser. No. 09/862,569, U.S. application Ser. No.
`09/362,789, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/140,
`040 are incorporated by reference as part of this application.
`
`TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present disclosure pertains generally to electronic per
`Sonal locating devices for determining the location or position
`of a mobile object, human or animal, and more particularly, a
`device for determining the location or position of a mobile
`object, human or animal by utilizing the capabilities of two
`way paging systems or other wireless communication means
`and global positioning satellite systems.
`
`10
`
`15
`
`25
`
`30
`
`35
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`45
`
`50
`
`Tracking the location of an individual or an object or even
`an animal such as a domesticated animal or a pet that can
`move in unknown directions over a considerable range of
`40
`territory has been a concern for a number of years. A number
`of systems have been proposed which employ existing wire
`less communication capabilities but which tend to be cum
`bersome, bulky, expensive or all of the above. With the advent
`of global positioning satellite system (GPS) services, it has
`been possible to provide relatively inexpensive location sys
`tems for determining the location of a moving object. These
`have typically been utilized on trucks to provide location
`information for companies that have large fleets of trucks in
`use at any one particular time. The position of an individual
`truck is determined by the coincident reception of signals
`from at least three of the GPS satellites by a satellite receiver,
`which position can then be stored or can be transmitted to a
`central receiving station via Some sort of wireless link. More
`over, the wireless link can be a two-way communication link
`55
`wherein the positioning information is only transmitted in
`response to receiving a request. However, the global position
`ing system (GPS) has some disadvantages in that it is rela
`tively slow in acquiring the location data and it is strongly
`dependent upon the target object being in an open area where
`it is in a line of sight position relative to at least three GPS
`satellites. A further disadvantage, particularly in a small, por
`table unit, is that the GPS receiver that must be included in a
`locating device requires the use of Substantial electrical
`energy during the period in which the location information is
`being acquired and developed from the GPS system. Further,
`a small portable object locator, in addition to minimizing the
`
`60
`
`65
`
`2
`use of electrical power while being subject to less than ideal
`orientations to enable quick and efficient location by the GPS
`system, must also be very simple and easy to use.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`The object locator described in the present disclosure and
`claimed herein comprises the steps of attaching a mobile
`communications unit having at least one antenna coupled
`thereto to the mobile object; accessing transmissions of a
`GPS system from the mobile communications unit to obtain
`location coordinates of the mobile communications unit;
`communicating the location coordinates from the mobile
`communication unit via a paging network or other wireless
`communications network, e.g., digital cellular network (e.g.,
`Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Code
`Division Multiple Access (CDMA), General Packet Radio
`Services (GPRS), or third generation (3G) communications
`protocols), Radio Frequency (RF)-based or satellite-based
`mobile phone network, or local area or wide area network
`(e.g., the Internet), alone or in combination, to a base station;
`and outputting the location coordinates in human readable,
`audible or otherwise recognizable form for a customer or
`aSSet-OWner.
`In one aspect of the present disclosure a mobile object
`locator is mounted on or integrated within a collar or harness
`or similar worn article along with at least one antenna for
`receiving GPS signals and communicating with a base sta
`tion. The mobile object locator may be worn or otherwise
`carried by a human to be tracked or located, whereas the
`mobile object locator mounted or integrated within a collar or
`harness or similar worn article is placed around the body or
`neck of the animal or object to be tracked or located.
`Preferably, the mobile object locator is of such small form
`factor that it may be embedded or integrated within a wear
`able article, e.g., an article of clothing, a watch, wrist-band, an
`arm-band, a belt or wasteband, wrist or ankle bracelet, neck
`less, watch or, as an attachment to a key chain, for example
`In another aspect of the present disclosure a GPS receiver
`in the mobile object locator is activated and the GPS location
`coordinate data processed to determine the location (e.g.,
`latitude and longitude) of the mobile object, human or animal
`wearing or carrying the mobile object locator.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure the mobile
`object locator communicates with a base station via a paging
`network or other wireless communications network Such as:
`digital cellular communications network or, other RF-based,
`satellite-based or Internet-based communications network,
`alone or in combination, to process a request for location
`information and the return transmission containing the loca
`tion information in answer to the request.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure the coordinate
`data obtained from the GPS system may be translated to
`human readable form in the base station or paging network or
`other wireless communications network whether a digital
`cellular communications network or other RF-based, satel
`lite-based or Internet-based communications network, alone
`or in combination, following transmission from the mobile
`object locator.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure the coordinate
`data obtained from the GPS system is translated in the mobile
`object locator prior to transmission to the paging network or
`other wireless communications network Such as: digital cel
`lular communications network or base station from the
`mobile object locator, whereby the GPS-enabled devices
`transmit latitude and longitude, which are mapped by device
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`firmware to city and street addresses and used to track and
`monitor Subscriber location and movement.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure the mobile
`object locator communicates with the base station via any
`Suitable wireless communications network Such as: digital
`cellular, RF-based or satellite-based communications net
`work, whereby translation of the coordinate data obtained
`from the GPS system may be performed before or after its
`transmission to the base station.
`In another aspect of the invention, the mobile object locator
`communicates directly with a user's access device compris
`ing a cell phone, or a computer via the wireless cellular
`communications network possibly in conjunction with a data
`communications network (Internet). Thus, a user may initiate
`location queries to the mobile object locator directly from the
`user's access device, and receive alarms or location responses
`at the user's access device.
`Such communications may be made via audio, video, fax,
`email, instant message, text message, Short Message Service
`(SMS) message, internet protocol, Voice, Voicemail, vibra
`tion or may stimulate at least one of the five senses. The alert
`may be communicated via one of the following means of
`communication: SMS, fax, email, instant message, internet
`protocol, voice, voicemail, GPRS, CDMA, WAP protocol,
`internet or text.
`In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the output of
`the location information may be provided in text, spoken or
`graphic forms, via a loudspeaker or a display as may be
`selectable by the user.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure, the object loca
`tor system may plot the location information on a map or
`permit the user to manually plot the location information or
`identify the location of the mobile object locator from the
`location information message.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure, the output of the
`location information may be forwarded from the base station
`or paging or other wireless communications network Such as:
`digital cellular communications network or, other RF-based,
`satellite-based or Internet-based communications network,
`alone or in combination, or other intermediate station to
`another remote station.
`In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, other infor
`mation may be associated with and transmitted with or in
`conjunction with the output of a location information includ
`ing the time the location data was acquired, the status of the
`mobile object locator, the condition of the battery in the
`mobile object locator, whether the mobile object locator is
`within a pre-determined range or has passed a boundary or
`electronic fence, or the annunciation of an alarm condition.
`In another aspect of the present disclosure, the mobile
`object locator System may automatically determine the loca
`tion information, transmit it to the base station or dial up a
`user location to report the location information.
`And in yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the
`mobile object locator may transmit the location information
`to a monitoring service and either store the location informa
`tion for later retrieval or report the location information on
`receipt to the user.
`In yet a further aspect of the invention, a server device
`associated with a monitoring service is provided that operates
`in a mobile object locator “tracking mode for receiving
`location updates that a user (customer) does not want. The
`server acts as an intermediary and information store that can
`be accessed by a user on demand, and as a generator of the
`alarms and map information.
`In another aspect of the invention, the mobile object locator
`includes functionality for providing storage of a human or
`
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`4
`animal's medical records, and, is provided with remote health
`monitoring and diagnostic capabilities and capabilities for
`compliance monitoring.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
`
`For a more complete understanding of the present inven
`tion and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the
`following description taken in conjunction with the accom
`panying Drawings in which:
`FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of an object locator
`system of the present disclosure.
`FIG. 2 illustrates a pictorial example of an object locator
`according to the present disclosure;
`FIGS. 3a-3c illustrate a pictorial drawing of an object
`locator Supported by a collar according to the present disclo
`Sure;
`FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of the object locator of
`the present disclosure;
`FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the object
`locator generally;
`FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the object
`locator Subject to an additional external control;
`FIG. 7 illustrates a pictorial drawing of a range dependent
`enablement system used to provide external control for the
`object locator;
`FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of a base station that may
`be used with the object locator of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an alternate embodi
`ment of a base station that may be used with the object locator
`of the present disclosure;
`FIG.10 illustrates a flowchart of the operation of the object
`locator system of the present disclosure in obtaining location
`data via two-way paging;
`FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an alternative
`embodiment of an object locator System of the present dis
`closure;
`FIG. 12a illustrates a block diagram of an alternative
`embodiment of a base station according to the present disclo
`Sure;
`FIG.12b illustrates a block diagram of another alternative
`embodiment of a base station according to the present disclo
`Sure;
`FIG. 13 illustrates an expanded portion of the flowchart of
`FIG. 10 showing an alternative embodiment of the operation
`of the object locator system of the present disclosure;
`FIG. 14 illustrates one embodiment of a backend system
`including a customer wireless cellphone interface, customer
`web interface and tracking server components;
`FIG. 15 depicts a further embodiment of a back-end infra
`structure 600 that can be used in conjunction with the present
`invention;
`FIG. 16 depicts an example web interface display pre
`sented to a subscriber device that shows various features
`accessible via the base station;
`FIG. 17 depicts an example web interface display that
`enables Subscribers to set up the tracking/geo-fence monitor
`ing and alarm configurations via their fixed or mobile web
`browser device in accordance with one embodiment of the
`present invention;
`FIG. 18 shows an example screen display interface provid
`ing functionality for setting alarms in accordance with one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 19 depicts an interface to provide current fence
`assignment information and enabling a Subscriber to config
`ure a fence in accordance with one embodiment of the present
`invention;
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`FIGS. 20A-20C depict example screen interfaces that that
`will enable a user to specify a fence boundary, preview it, and
`modify its location, respectively in accordance with one
`embodiment of the present invention;
`FIG. 21 depicts an example display in which a subscriber
`may assign a contact for receiving an alarm message in accor
`dance with one embodiment of the present invention; and
`FIG.22 depicts an example display having entry fields that
`will enable a user to specify a contact for receiving an alarm
`generated by the back-end system.
`
`DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
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`A further satellite system that may be used for tracking
`animals and pets according to the invention is the Baidu
`satellite system recently launched by the Chinese govern
`ment. In some embodiments, the mobile object locator device
`can receive signals from multiple systems (e.g., Glomass and
`GPS) for improved navigation.
`In operation, object locator 42 is intended to be carried or
`attached to an individual, an object or an animal to be located
`or tracked by the object locator system of the present disclo
`sure. A user enters the system from the base station 18 by
`dialing the telephone number address corresponding to the
`object locator 42, which functions as a paging transceiver, for
`example, on telephone set 24. The telephone number address
`may also be dialed from wireless telephone set 25 and trans
`mitted via RF channel 31. The DTMF signal then travels
`along path 22 to input 20 of base station 18 where it is
`converted to a paging transmit signal and transmitted from
`antenna 15 along transmit path 14 to the two-way paging
`system 12. The two-way paging system 12 relays the paging
`message via transmit path 32 to the antenna 36 coupled to the
`object locator 42. As will be described in more detail herein
`below, the object locator 42 processes the request for location
`information transmitted by base station 18, obtains location
`information from the global positioning satellite system 50
`and transmits a response containing the location information
`from antenna 36 along path 34 to the two-way paging system
`12 which, in turn, relays the location information signal along
`path 16 to antenna 15 of the base station 18 for processing and
`display on display 30. This relay of the location information
`may occur automatically or in response to a specific inquiry.
`Alternatively, wireless paths 14 and 16 along with antenna 15
`may instead each comprise a standard telephone connection
`to a central office. Thus, a paging center may dial the phone
`number of the base station to deliver the location information.
`Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a pictorial
`drawing of an object locator 42 as it may be typically config
`ured with a two-way paging antenna 36 and a GPS receive
`antenna 48. The two-way paging antenna 36 is coupled to
`object locator 42 along cable 38 to an input 40 on the object
`locator 42. Similarly, the GPS receive antenna 48 is coupled
`along a cable 46 to an input 44 on the object locator 42. The
`two-way paging antenna 36 shown in FIG. 2 is intended to
`represent the fact that this antenna in the object locator 42 is
`typically of the type found with two-way paging equipment.
`Such an antenna is typically mounted internal to the pager
`unit itself and is thereby necessarily of very small dimension.
`However, there may be applications of the object locator 42 of
`the present disclosure which may be optimized by the use of
`an external antenna such as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the illus
`tration of the two-way paging antenna 36 in FIG. 2 is not
`intended to be limiting, but merely illustrative. The GPS
`receive antenna 48 is conventionally referred to as a “patch
`antenna' because of its flat, thin, rectangular shaped design.
`Typically such a patch antenna is intended to be disposed on
`an upward, relatively level surface in order to expose it to
`receive the relatively weak signals transmitted by the global
`positioning satellite system from the satellites arrayed in the
`GPS system. The illustration in FIG. 2 thus demonstrates that
`both of the antennae used in the system may be positioned for
`optimal reception and transmission and connected to the
`object locator 42 using the flexible cables 38 and 46 respec
`tively for the two-way paging antennae 36 and the GPS
`receive antenna 48.
`Referring now to FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c, there is illustrated a
`pictorial drawing of an object locator 42 mounted on the
`lower side of a collar 45. Such a collar 45 is configured for
`Supporting an object locator 42 around the body or neck of an
`
`Referring now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated a system block
`diagram of the object locator of the present disclosure. In FIG.
`1, the object locator system 10 includes a two-way paging
`system 12, a global positioning satellite system 50 and the
`object locator 42. The two-way paging system 12 is a con
`ventional paging system that is well known in the art, for
`example, such as illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No.
`5,423,056 issued Jun. 6, 1995 to Lindquist, et al. and entitled
`ADAPTIVE CELLULAR PAGING SYSTEM, which patent
`is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. The two
`way paging system 12 interacts with a base station 18 over a
`transmit path 14 and a receive path 16. The base station 18
`may include a telephone, pager, and the like or may have an
`input 20 for receiving a dialed-in telephone number from
`telephone set 24 along communications path 22 or from wire
`less telephone set 25 over communications path 31. Base
`station 18 may, in other embodiments, be a paging service
`center in the two-way paging system 12 or a monitoring
`service coupled with the two-way paging system 12, instead
`of a separate operational point of entry for the user to interact
`with the object locator system 10 of the present disclosure. In
`general, the input 20 is responsive to dual tone multi-fre
`quency (DTMF) tones transmitted by telephone set 24 or
`wireless 20 telephone set 25. Base station 18 further has an
`output 26 from which location data to be displayed travels
`along path 28 to display 30. Display 30 may be configured to
`display location information in any of several forms, for
`example, text, figures, graphics, or numbers. In an alternative
`embodiment, the two-way paging system 12 may be substi
`tuted with a direct RF link or other wireless communication
`channel. The two-way paging system 12 is shown in the
`illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure to represent
`functionally the concepts of the present disclosure.
`Continuing with FIG. 1, the object locator system 10 of the
`present disclosure includes an object locator 42. In one of its
`operational modes, as a two-way paging transceiver, object
`locator 42 includes an input 40 coupled to an antenna36 along
`cable 38 for receiving signals transmitted by two-way paging
`system 12 along path32 and for transmitting paging signals to
`the two-way paging system 12 along path 34. The object
`locator 42 also includes an input 44 for receiving from a
`global positioning satellite (GPS) system 50 location infor
`mation signals along path 52 to be intercepted by antenna 48
`and conducted to the object locator 42 along path 46 to input
`44. The global positioning satellite system 50 is of a conven
`tional design well known in the art, an example of which is
`described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,726,660 issued Mar. 10, 1998 to
`60
`Purdy, et al. and entitled PERSONAL DATA COLLECTION
`AND RECORDING SYSTEM, which patentis hereby incor
`porated by reference herein in its entirety. Alternatively, loca
`tion information signals may be received from the Glasnoss
`satellite system currently in use by Russia by the use of a
`receiving system configured for Such reception, or using the
`European Galileo satellite system.
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`animal which is intended to be tracked or located by the object
`locator 10 of the present disclosure. It will be observed that
`the GPS antenna 48 is attached to the collar diametrically
`opposite the position of the object locator. This is intentional
`as will be described hereinbelow. The object locator is
`coupled to the GPS antenna 48 through a cable 46 which
`connects to the input 44 of the object locator 42. This arrange
`ment is illustrated in FIG.3a and may be more clearly shown
`by looking at the cross section A-A illustrated in FIG. 3b. In
`Section A-A', a side view of the object locator mounted on a
`collar is shown wherein collar 45 supports the object locator
`42 at its lower point and supports the GPS antenna 48 at its
`diametrically opposite upper point. As before, the GPS
`antenna 48 is coupled through cable 46 to input 44 of the
`object locator 42. Similarly, a side view identified by cross
`section B-B' in FIG.3c shows the opposite side of the collar
`mounted object locator 42 assembly. In Section B-B' there is
`shown the collar 45 which supports the object locator 42 at its
`lower end and the patch antenna or GPS antenna 48 at its
`diametrically opposite upper end. Also shown in the Section
`B-B' is a representation of the two-way paging antenna 36
`which is coupled to input 40 of the object locator 42. It will be
`appreciated that many configurations are possible for arrang
`ing or attaching the object locator and its antennae to the
`collar 45, including consolidating the locator and antenna as
`a unit locatably mounted on or in the collar or, alternatively
`wherein the locator and antenna is distributively arranged on
`or in the collar. However, it will also be appreciated that the
`greater mass of the object locator 42 relative to the mass of the
`GPS antenna 48 and the fact that they are mounted on dia
`metrically opposite sides of the collar 45 enables the object
`locator 42 to always remain in the lowest possible position
`and the GPS receiving antenna to always remain in the high
`est possible position to optimize the reception from the GPS
`satellite system 50. Not shown in FIGS. 3a-3c is the mecha
`35
`nism such as a clasp or buckle arrangement whereby the
`collar 45 may be opened and closed to secure the collar
`around the neck or body of the animal to be tracked or located.
`Again, many configurations are possible and will be apparent
`to those skilled in the art.
`It should be understood that, in a preferred embodiment,
`the mobile object locator is of such small form factor that it
`may be embedded or integrated withina wearable article, e.g.,
`an article of clothing, a watch, wrist-band, an arm-band, a belt
`or wasteband, wrist or ankle bracelet, neckless, watch or, as
`an attachment to a key chain, for example. Thus, the mobile
`object locator may be discretely, unobtrusively or secretly
`carried by children, pets, or the elderly. Furthermore, the
`mobile object locator of such small form factor includes a
`water resistant and wa