US6512465B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vehicle tracker including stationary time determination and associated methods
Assignee: Omega Patents LLC
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Filing: 2001-05-17
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Granted: 2003-01-28
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Expires: 2021-05-17
Abstract
Abstract A vehicle tracking system includes a vehicle tracking unit and a monitoring station communicating therewith. The vehicle tracking unit may include a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller. The controller may determine the vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period. For example, the predetermined time may be less than about three minutes which filters out stops in normal traffic, but which will keep track of stops where the driver likely leaves the vehicle. Accordingly, only the important information necessary to track the vehicle need be stored and/or transmitted thereby reducing the system costs.
Inventors
- 👤 Kenneth E. Flick
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 21:00
CPC Classifications
G; G08; G08G; G08G1/00; G08G1/20; B; B60; B60R; B60R25/00; B60R25/01; B60R25/04; B60R25/10; B60R25/102; B60R25/104; B60R25/30; B60R25/33; G07; G07C; G07C5/00; G07C5/008; B60R2325/00; B60R2325/20; B60R2325/202; B60R2325/205; B60W; B60W2556/00; B60W2556/45; B60W2556/50
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 40
Claim 1
Independent Claim
85 words
A vehicle tracking system comprising: a vehicle tracking unit and a monitoring station communicating therewith; said vehicle tracking unit comprising a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device to determine and send vehicle position information to said monitoring station; said controller determining the vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
85 words
A vehicle tracking system comprising: a vehicle tracking unit and a monitoring station communicating therewith; said vehicle tracking unit comprising a vehicle position determining device, a wireless communications device, and a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device to determine and send vehicle position information to said monitoring station; said controller determining the vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
42 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said controller cooperates with said wireless transmission device to send the vehicle position information to said monitoring station based upon each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 2 wherein said monitoring station associates a time with each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
43 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said controller cooperates with said wireless transmission device to send the vehicle position information to said monitoring station for a plurality of occurrences of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 4 wherein said controller associates a time with each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
21 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said controller comprises a memory for storing the vehicle position information therein.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
41 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 6 wherein said controller downloads the vehicle position information from said memory to said monitoring station based upon at least one of predetermined schedule, a predetermined event, and a predetermined percentage of memory usage.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
18 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein the predetermined period is greater than about three minutes.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said vehicle position determining device comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
19 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said wireless communications device comprises a cellular telephone communications device.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 10 wherein said cellular telephone communications device communicates over a cellular control channel.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 1 wherein said monitoring station comprises a user interface.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
16 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 12 wherein said user interface comprises an Internet interface.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
17 words
A vehicle tracking system according to claim 12 wherein said user interface comprises a telephone network interface.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
80 words
A vehicle tracking unit for communicating with a monitoring station, the vehicle tracking unit comprising: a vehicle position determining device; a wireless communications device; and a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device to determine and send vehicle position information to the monitoring station; said controller determining the vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
80 words
A vehicle tracking unit for communicating with a monitoring station, the vehicle tracking unit comprising: a vehicle position determining device; a wireless communications device; and a controller cooperating with said wireless communications device and said vehicle position determining device to determine and send vehicle position information to the monitoring station; said controller determining the vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
42 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein said controller cooperates with said wireless transmission device to send the vehicle position information to the monitoring station based upon each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
43 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein said controller cooperates with said wireless transmission device to send the vehicle position information to the monitoring station for a plurality of occurrences of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 17 wherein said controller associates a time with each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
21 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein said controller comprises a memory for storing the vehicle position information therein.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
42 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 19 wherein said controller downloads the vehicle position information from said memory to the monitoring station based upon at least one of a predetermined schedule, a predetermined event, and a predetermined percentage of memory usage.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
18 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein the predetermined period is greater than about three minutes.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
21 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein said vehicle position determining device comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
19 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein said wireless communications device comprises a cellular telephone communications device.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
20 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 23 wherein said cellular telephone communications device communicates over a cellular control channel.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
16 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 15 wherein said monitoring station comprises a user interface.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
16 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 25 wherein said user interface comprises an Internet interface.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
17 words
A vehicle tracking unit according to claim 25 wherein said user interface comprises a telephone network interface.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for operating a vehicle tracking unit comprising a vehicle position determining device, and a wireless communications device, the method comprising: determining vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period; and sending the vehicle position information to a monitoring station.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for operating a vehicle tracking unit comprising a vehicle position determining device, and a wireless communications device, the method comprising: determining vehicle position information including a vehicle location and an associated stationary period for each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than a predetermined period; and sending the vehicle position information to a monitoring station.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method according to claim 28 wherein the vehicle position information is sent to a monitoring station based upon each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
29 words
A method according to claim 28 wherein the vehicle position information is sent for a plurality of occurrences of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 30 further comprising associating a time with each occurrence of the vehicle remaining stationary for greater than the predetermined period.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 28 wherein the vehicle tracking unit further comprises a memory for storing the vehicle position information therein.
Claim 36
Dependent Claim
40 words
A method according to claim 32 wherein sending comprises downloading the vehicle position information from the memory to the monitoring station based upon at least one of a predetermined schedule, a predetermined event, and a predetermined percentage of memory usage.
Claim 37
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 28 wherein the predetermined period is greater than about three minutes.
Claim 38
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 28 wherein the vehicle position determining device comprises a Global Positioning System (GPS) device.
Claim 39
Dependent Claim
17 words
A method according to claim 28 wherein the wireless communications device comprises a cellular telephone communications device.
Claim 40
Dependent Claim
18 words
A method according to claim 36 wherein the cellular telephone communications device communicates over a cellular control channel.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-01-27 | 2006-07-29 | 2007-01-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-01-27 | 2010-07-29 | 2011-01-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-01-27 | 2014-07-29 | 2015-01-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |