Abstract:
A monitoring and tracking system utilizing the Internet to maintain a website database. The website database will include a listing or graphical representation of the location of one or more data-emitting devices and the identity or location of the data-receiving devices. By accessing an website database, a subscriber can view the present and/or past location of a monitored subject. The system can also incorporate an alarm feature that activates when a monitored subject enters a prohibited area, leaves a specified area, or fails to receive a transmission at a specified time. A camera may be associated with the data-receiving device transmitting an associated image to the website.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    A monitoring and tracing system, and a method for performing monitoring and tracking.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    A number of situations call for the capability of a person to locate and track individuals from a remote location. These situations include location and tracking for: (1) private recreational activities such as tracking of golfers and golf carts on a golf course, (2) private individual concerns such as the locating children and pets in a local area, or (3) governmental needs such as monitoring the whereabouts of prisoners or parolees. Prior art remote location and tracking systems have been limited by the constraints of a land-based telephone system or required a Global Positioning satellite infrastructure. Using some of the technological innovations supported by the Internet and wireless communication technology (or similar technologies), a new system and method for monitoring and tracking is possible that would provide significant benefits over the known art technologies.  
           [0003]    Remote Location and Detection Systems  
           [0004]    Prior art methods of monitoring and location detection have employed various systems and methods. For instance, U.S. Pat No. 6,169,484 to Schuchman discloses a personal location system that has a service center, which is contacted over a land-based telephone link. In Schuchman, a broadcast signal is transmitted to a receiver device on a land-based telephone line, and the receiver must make a communication to a manned service center. The service center receives the information from the land-based telephone call and responds appropriately to location and tracking inquiries.  
           [0005]    U.S. Pat No. 5,363,425 to Sohale also discloses a locator system for locating individuals or equipment on an in-building telephone network. The invention uses the land-based phone system of a building to track an individual or equipment based upon the location of an identification badge. Telephone calls on the land-based system can be forwarded to an individual based upon the detected location of that individual.  
           [0006]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,072,396 to Gaukel discloses a more advanced electronic monitoring system using the Global Positioning System (“GPS”) satellites. The location and detection of equipment is determined through the use of satellite signals and a GPS location scheme. Overall, these prior art systems are believed to possess significant limitations that are overcome by the present invention.  
           [0007]    The Internet  
           [0008]    The Internet, like so many other recent developments, grew from research originally performed for the United States Department of Defense. In the 1960s, Defense Department officials began to notice that the military was accumulating a large collection of computer systems—some of which were connected to open computer networks and others that were connected to closed computer networks. Computers on the Defense Department&#39;s open computer networks, however, could not communicate with the military&#39;s closed network computers.  
           [0009]    Defense Department officials requested that a system be built to permit communication between these different computer networks. The Defense Department recognized, however, that a single centralized system would be vulnerable to missile attacks or sabotage. Accordingly, the Defense Department required that the interface system be decentralized so that no critical services would be concentrated in vulnerable failure points. In order to achieve these goals, the Defense Department established a decentralized standard protocol for communication between network computers.  
           [0010]    A few years later, the National Science Foundation (NSF) wanted to connect network computers at various research institutions across the country. The Defense Department&#39;s interface system communication protocol was called the Internet Protocol (IP) standard. The NSF adopted the Defense Department&#39;s protocol for communication, and this combination of research computer networks would eventually evolve into the Internet.  
           [0011]    The IP standard, as subsequently adopted by the NSF, now supports communications between computers and networks on the Internet. The IP standard identifies the types of services to be provided to users, and specifies the mechanisms needed to support these services. The IP standard also describes the upper and lower system interfaces, defines the services to be provided on these interfaces, and outlines the execution environment for services needed in the system.  
           [0012]    A transmission protocol, called the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), was also developed to provide connection-oriented, end-to-end data transmission between packet-switched computer networks. The combination of the TCP protocol with IP (TCP/IP) forms a system or suite of protocols for data transfer and communication between computers on the Internet. The TCP/IP standard has become mandatory for use in all packet switching networks that connect computers across network or sub-network boundaries. Protocols similar to the TCP protocol can be used to control end-to-end communications.  
           [0013]    TCP/IP and its related protocols form a standardized system for defining how IP based data packets should be processed, transmitted, and received on the Internet. Wireless and wired communications systems are increasingly integrating packet data transfer technology into their systems based on the TCP/IP protocols. The Internet and various packet-based communication systems, however, do not presently support a comprehensive and readily accessible system for monitoring and tracking objects and/or individuals. Accordingly, there is believed to be a need for remote location and detection system that has a user accessible database.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0014]    The invention is a system and method for monitoring and tracking a subject or object within a local vicinity. The subject being monitored wears a data-emitting device that emits a low-power radio signal with an address uniquely identifying the data-emitting device. A data-receiving device located in the local vicinity of the data-emitting device receives the low-power radio signal and transmits information regarding the location of the data-emitting device to a database. The database is linked to the data-receiving device, and the database supports a user-accessible website.  
           [0015]    The present invention uses the advances achieved from wireless communication technology and the Internet, or any similar type of communications network, as a backbone for the transmission and retrieval of location information. When a subscriber accesses the user accessible website, the website will display the present location of the monitored subject, the location of the monitored subject over a period of time, and at times, the image of the monitored subject in the local vicinity. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    The objects and features of the invention will become more readily understood from the following detailed description and appended claims when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like elements and in which:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 is a representation for the present monitoring and tracking system with a direct connection to the Internet;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 is a general Type-Length-Data extension format used in the TCP/IP protocol;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 is general representation of an Internet data packet used in the TCP/IP protocol;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 a representation of the present monitoring and tracking system with a connection to a centralized monitoring computer; and  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 is a representation of the present monitoring and tracking system with a monitoring camera system. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention with a user  301  having a Data Emitting Device (DED)  305 . The DED  305  is linked via a wireless communication signal  307  to a Data Receiving Device (DRD)  310 . DRD  310  has sufficient computational power to transmit and receive messages, and DRD  310  is coupled to the Internet  340  via communication link  320 . A Monitoring Website Server Computer (MWS)  350  is coupled to the Internet  340  via communication link  352 , and a user computer  330  is shown coupled through communication link  332 .  
         [0023]    The DED  305  periodically emits a low-power Address Identifying Signal (AIS) that is transmitted over wireless communication link  307 . The time interval for AIS transmission is variable as specified by the system, but the recommended interval between transmissions is between five and fifteen minutes. In an alternative embodiment, the AIS transmission may also be transmitted in response to an initiating signal from the DRD  310  or other initiating device.  
         [0024]    The AIS is received through communication link  307  by DRD  310  for processing. The AIS transmission includes address information for the DED  305 , and the DRD  310  combines the DED  305  address information from AIS with other information, including the DRD  310  location and time, to form an information packet.  
         [0025]    The packet structure shown in FIG. 2 is a general format base information used in the present invention. The base information is in Type-Length-Data (TLD) format. The Type variable  110  (designated by “T”) occupies the first 8 bits of the general extension, the Length variable  120  (designated by “L”) occupies the next 8 bits of the general extension, and the Data variable  130  (designated by “D”) occupies the remaining bits in the general extension based upon the data content (type and length). The Type variable  110  indicates the particular type of packet found therein, and the Length variable  120  indicates the length in bytes of the data field within the extension. The Data field  130  may be zero or more bytes in length, and sets forth the applicable data that is being transmitted.  
         [0026]    For information packet  200  transmissions from the DRD  310  to MWS  350 , an information data packet  200  is routed using an appended IP destination address of the MWS  350  as shown in FIG. 3. In FIG. 1, the DRD  310  receives the AIS on communication link  307  from the DED  305 . The DRD  310  then sends an information packet  200  with the address of the DED  305  and identifying information of the DRD  310  to the MWS  350 . The address of the DED  305  and identifying information of the DRD  310  are located within the data packet data element  130 .  
         [0027]    The DRD  310  identifier can be a specific address identifying number, a street address, a name for the location, user name, or some other specific location designation. The IP Address  210  is appended onto the base information  220 . The IP Address  210  contains a source (DRD  310 ) and destination (MWS  350 ) addresses in accordance with the established protocols. The base information  220  consists of a type variable  230 , length variable  240 , and data variable  250  format described above in FIG. 2. Using the appended IP addressing  210 , information packets are routed from the DRD  310  along communication line  320  to the Internet  340 , and then from the Internet  340  to MWS  350  via communication links  352 . Alternatively, the MWS  350  can be coupled directly to the DRD  310  without an intermediate communication link through the Internet  340 .  
         [0028]    The MWS  350  receives, processes, and stores the information in the information packet  200  on an organized website database. The website database will include historical location information such as the present and past location of the DED  305  in relation to the DRD  310  over a predetermined time period. Present and historical location information for other DEDs and DRDs can also be maintained on the website database. The website database will also maintain times and duration periods of presence or absence of DED  305  from the local vicinity serviced by the DRD  310 . Alternatively, the user computer  330  may be directly coupled to the MWS  350  without an intermediate communication link through the Internet  340 .  
         [0029]    A subscriber using the monitoring and tracking system will use computer  330  to communicate with the MWS  350 . The subscriber can log onto the website database located at the MWS  350  in order to access location information maintained on the website database on MWS  350 . When the user computer is coupled to the MWS  350  website database, the website will indicate the present and past location of the DED  305  relative to the vicinity of the DRD  310 .  
         [0030]    The subscriber can issue an inquiry to the website database regarding single monitored subject  301  using DED  305 . The NWS  350  will communicate with the subscriber&#39;s computer  330  by sending information on the requested subject  301 . In the preferred embodiment, the website database on MWS  350  can provide the subscriber with the current or last location of a designated monitored subject  301  using DED  305 , the time of the last data transmission from the DED  305 , and a listing of all the locations and time entries for the monitored subject  301  over a subscriber specified period (e.g. 12 hours, 24 hours, etc.). The website could also show a map of these locations where the DED is or has been found for a predetermined time period.  
         [0031]    While only one DED and DRD are shown in FIG. 1, any number of DEDs can be used to monitor multiple subjects and any number of DRDs can be used in the system to extend the local vicinity coverage of the monitoring and tracking system. Each DRD can have a direct connection to the Internet  340 . When accessing the monitoring database, the subscriber can request location information on multiple DEDs or an entire group of DEDs.  
         [0032]    [0032]FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment where a plurality of DRDs are linked to a monitoring computers  420 . In this embodiment, the DED  405  associated with the individual  401  is coupled to DRD  410  by wireless link  407 . The DED  405  is capable of transmitting an AIS to DRD  410  on the system or any other DRD on the system. While only one DED is shown in FIG. 4, any number of DEDs can be used to monitor multiple subjects in the local vicinity covered by DRD 1    410  and its companion DRDs.  
         [0033]    Each DRD can have a direct connection to the Internet  340 . DRD 1    410  is coupled to computer 1    420  via communication link  413 , DRD 2    411  is coupled to computer 1    420  via communication link  416 , and DRD 3    412  is coupled to computer 1    420  via communication link  417 . Computer 1    420  is coupled to the Internet  440  via communication link  415 , and a MWS  450  is linked to the Internet  440  via communication link  451 . A user computer 2    430  can be coupled to the MWS  450  via communication link  432  to the Internet  440  and then communication link  451  to MWS  450 .  
         [0034]    In FIG. 4, the monitored subject  401  has a DED  405  that emits a periodic AIS on the wireless communication link  407 . The time interval for AIS transmission is variable as specified by the system, but the recommended interval between transmissions is between five and fifteen minutes. In an alternative embodiment, the AIS transmission may also be transmitted in response to an initiating signal from the DRD  410  or other initiating device.  
         [0035]    DRD 1    410  receives the AIS on communication link  407  and processes the identification and address information on the AIS. The AIS transmission includes address information for the DED  405 , and the DRD  410  combines the DED  405  address information from AIS with other information, including the DRD  410  address location and time, to form an information packet  200  as described in FIG. 3. After forming this information packet  200 , the DRD 1    410  transmits the information packet  200  to the monitoring computer 1    420  by communication link  413 .  
         [0036]    The DRDs that are connected to the monitoring computer 1    420  include DRD 1    410 , DRD 2    411 , and DRD 3    412 . The monitoring computers 1    420  can process the information packet  200  as received from each DRD on the local network. New source and destination addressing information will need to be appended to the information packet  200  before the monitoring computer 1    420  can transmit the information packet  200  to the MWS  450 . After receipt of the information packet  200 , the monitoring computer 1    420  transmits the information packet  200  to MWS  450 . The monitoring computer 1    420  transmits the information packet  200  by communication link  415  to the Internet  440  and the packet is transmitted to the MWS  450  via communication link  451  to MWS  451 .  
         [0037]    A website database as previously described is maintained on the MWS  450  for posting current and historical location information. A subscriber can access the website database using the computer 2    430 . The computer 2    430  establishes a connection with the website by logging onto the MWS  450  website database, and then transmitting a request inquiry to the website database. The log-on request and request inquiry are transmitted on communication link  431  through the Internet  440 , and then to MWS  450  on communication link  451 . The MWS  450  responds to the computer 2    430  with responsive location and tracking information.  
         [0038]    As described in the present invention, the AIS signal may be transmitted in response to an initiation or inquiry signal. This inquiry signal can be issued to determine if a particular DED is in the vicinity of a particular DRD. If not located at a particular DRD, a wider broadcast of an initiation or inquiry signal can be transmitted to all DRDs in a broader region. If not located from this broadcast, all DRDs in the system can receive an initiation or inquiry signal to determine the location of the DED. Such broadcast inquiry signals can also be issued periodically with respect to all DRDs on the system as a means to address and update the entire system with respect to the locations of all DEDs. This broadcast inquiry could originate from the MWS  450 , the computer 2    430 , or the computer 1    420 . The broadcast inquiry could also be issued as an autonomous feature of the DRDs on the system. The location functionality could even be an overlay to a local pager or cellular telephone system, where a message is transmitted from the DEDs to a cellular base station unit.  
         [0039]    [0039]FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention with a camera system  570  coupled to DRD  510  via communication link  575 . The DRD  510  is coupled to the Internet  520  via communication link  520 , and an MWS  550  is connected to the Internet  540  by communication link  540 . A user computer  530  is connected to the Internet  540  by communication link  532 .  
         [0040]    In this embodiment, the DED  505  worn by individual  501  transmits an AIS to DRD  510  over wireless signal  507 . DRD  510  has a direct connection to the Internet  540  via communication link  520 . The present embodiment can also be used with the monitoring computer embodiment shown in FIG. 4.  
         [0041]    DRD  510  is linked to a camera system  570  that includes a camera  572  that can be set up in either a fixed position or to “pan” a location. The camera  572  could pan a location continuously as part of a visual recording system  570 , the camera  572  could be fixed, or the camera  572  could respond to movement command inputs over communication link  575  from DRD  510 . The camera system  570  could also take a single image or take serial digital images over a predetermined period of time. In this embodiment, an image obtained by the camera system  570  would be transmitted to DRD  510  via by communication link  575 .  
         [0042]    In FIG. 5, the DRD  510  would receive the visual data from the camera system  570 . DRD  510  would process the visual data for transmission to the MWS  550 . The information packet  200  would be prepared as described above with the visual data received from the camera system  572  or the address, location and time data received from the DED  505 . The information packet  200  would be transmitted to the Internet  540  over communication link  520 , and the information packet  200  would then be transmitted over communication link  552  to the MWS  550 .  
         [0043]    The information packet  200  received by MWS  550  would be processed and maintained on the website database supported by MWS  550 . The website database, as described above, would be assessable to users of the computer  520  through the communication link  532  to the Internet  540  and communication link  552  to the MWS  550 . In this manner, a website database offers a video image of the monitored subject  501  at the location covered by DRD  510  to system users. The DEDs and DRDs described in the prior embodiments can be used in this embodiment as well.  
         [0044]    With respect to another alternative embodiment, all the prior systems could incorporate an alarm or notification system where the DRD last associated with a DED would notify the MWS or monitoring computer upon the loss of communication with a DED. DEDs could also be assigned regions of acceptable and unacceptable DRD vicinities, and if communication with the DED is lost or the DED is located in an unacceptable vicinity, an alarm may be activated to alert the proper personnel of the situation. The alarm situation may necessitate immediate action, or simply necessitate a recording of each violation of acceptable vicinity location or loss of communication with the DED.  
         [0045]    The invention can be used in numerous applications where a subscriber wishes to monitor one or more subjects or objects. In one application, the present invention could be set up in a neighborhood (e.g. school, community center, neighbors, shops, mall, etc.) to monitor children. Parents could access the monitoring website and determine where their child is or has been. In another application, the present invention could be used at a day care center to monitor location of children and initiate an alarm if the child is abducted or wanders away from the facility. A similar application could be used in a nursing home for elderly residents.  
         [0046]    The device could also be used in large warehouses or other workplaces to locate and track employees or equipment (e.g. forklifts). Golf courses could also use the system to track golf parties or carts along the course. Another application of the present invention could include a prison setting where each inmate has an assigned DED, and the invention could initiate an alarm if an inmate attempts to enter an unauthorized area or leaves an authorized area without permission. The alarm could initiate a locking command to secure exits from a vicinity. Similarly, in another embodiment, the invention could be used in a home to monitor parolees. If the parolee leaves the home or an authorized area, the system could send an alert to a monitoring computer or sound an alarm. A camera could also be used to monitor the parolee&#39;s activities.  
         [0047]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with respect to preferred embodiments, it will be readily understood that minor changes in the details of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.