Abstract:
A baggage identification and location system is provided with a plurality of baggage tags, a software application, a data center and a plurality of scanners communicably coupled to receive, store, track and maintain the location of the baggage tags ensuing the baggage tags being secured to a piece of luggage. The baggage tags include a first wireless communications module and a second wireless communications module and re further configured with transceivers so as to provide alternate techniques of transmitting location data. Additionally, a GPS module is disposed within the baggage tags. The scanners are deployed along a luggage travel path within an airport and are configured with a communications module that is communicably coupled to the baggage tags. The data center is configured to maintain accounts for users and is further configured to maintain the travel history of each baggage tag registered therewith.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to baggage identity and location tracking, more specifically a system configured to be deployed by the airline industry wherein the system includes a plurality of identity tags secured to luggage bags, a plurality of scanners deployed at airports and a connected data center that is operable to receive, transmit, store and manipulate data regarding luggage being transported by airline carriers. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Millions bottle of people travel by airline every year. In the calendar year of 2015, data indicates that almost 900 million people traveled by air both domestically and internationally. This equates to approximately 400 million pieces of checked baggage accompanying the fliers. Many individuals experience the loss of their luggage either permanently or when it is delayed as a result of the luggage not being placed on the same flight as the traveler. When the luggage is permanently lost, the airline responsible for the loss must reimburse the traveler. Some reports show that the airlines have spent a combined annual total of almost 4 billion dollars in lost baggage reimbursement fees. The cost of the aforementioned lost luggage reimbursement fees is a significant burden to the profitability of the airline industry and remains one of the top dis-satisfiers for airline travelers. 
     One issue with the current baggage system is the lack of the ability to effectively track baggage to a precise location intermediate the conventional checkpoints that exist in the current system. Existing technology leverages barcode scanning to input the checked luggage bag into the system for departure on a scheduled flight. The luggage has placed thereon a paper tag having a barcode that is scanned at initial check-in and additionally scanned prior to loading on a plane. Paper tags can easily become removed and or damaged by either inclement weather on the tarmac or luggage belts and conveyor systems that are used to transport the luggage within an airport facility. Many times an airline traveler will report a lost luggage bag and the airline is unable to determine the location of the luggage bag due to the aforementioned circumstances. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a luggage identification and location system that can provide precise geographic coordinates of the checked luggage and is further operable to provide the traveler&#39;s travel history and contact information. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is the object of the present invention to provide a baggage identification and location system that is configured to provide the whereabouts of a piece of luggage that includes a plurality of baggage tag devices that are releasably secured to luggage bags. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a baggage location tracking and identification system that is operable to provide the location of a piece of baggage that has been checked by an airline passenger wherein the baggage tag devices are housed in a weatherproof housing and include components disposed therein such as but not limited to a power supply, memory card, GPS receiver, RFID module, wireless communications module, audio speaker and a central processing unit. 
     A further object of the present invention is to provide a baggage identification and location system that is configured to provide the whereabouts of a piece of luggage wherein the system of the present invention includes a plurality of scanners that are deployed within airport facilities in locations such as but not limited to check-in counters and cargo processing areas. 
     Still another object of the present invention is to provide a baggage tracking and identification system that is configured to assist an airline and a baggage owner identify a checked bag and provide the location thereof that includes a data center wherein the data center includes sufficient computing devices to provide operation and control of the baggage identification and location system. 
     An additional object of the present invention is to provide a baggage location tracking and identification system that is operable to provide the location of a piece of baggage that has been checked by an airline passenger that further includes a software application on a computing device such as but not limited to a smart phone that is configured to provide a user interface for control of the plurality of baggage tags. 
     Yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a baggage identification and location system that is configured to provide the whereabouts of a piece of luggage wherein the method of operation of the present invention includes assignment and entry of a unique PIN identifier that is associated with each of the plurality of baggage tags. 
     Another object of the present invention is to provide a baggage location tracking and identification system that is operable to provide the location of a piece of baggage that has been checked by an airline passenger wherein method of the present invention includes the step wherein the owner/operator of the baggage identification and location system collects a transactional fee from participating airlines that have deployed and are utilizing the system of the present invention. 
     Still and additional object of the present invention is to provide a baggage tracking and identification system that is configured to assist an airline and a baggage owner identify a checked bag and provide the location thereof wherein the scanners of the present invention deployed at airport facilities further include wireless communication modules that are configured to receive/transmit signals from proximate baggage tag devices of the present invention. 
     To the accomplishment of the above and related objects the present invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Attention is called to the fact that the drawings are illustrative only. Variations are contemplated as being a part of the present invention, limited only by the scope of the claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       A more complete understanding of the present invention may be had by reference to the following Detailed Description and appended claims when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of a baggage tag device of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic diagram of a scanner of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a communications diagram of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 4  is a flowchart of the process of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings submitted herewith, wherein various elements depicted therein are not necessarily drawn to scale and wherein through the views and figures like elements are referenced with identical reference numerals, there is illustrated a baggage identification and location system  100  constructed according to the principles of the present invention. 
     An embodiment of the present invention is discussed herein with reference to the figures submitted herewith. Those skilled in the art will understand that the detailed description herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes and that it is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that alternative embodiments are plausible. By way of example but not by way of limitation, those having skill in the art in light of the present teachings of the present invention will recognize a plurality of alternate and suitable approaches dependent upon the needs of the particular application to implement the functionality of any given detail described herein, beyond that of the particular implementation choices in the embodiment described herein. Various modifications and embodiments are within the scope of the present invention. 
     It is to be further understood that the present invention is not limited to the particular methodology, materials, uses and applications described herein, as these may vary. Furthermore, it is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be noted that as used herein and in the claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is a reference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art. All conjunctions used are to be understood in the most inclusive sense possible. Thus, the word “or” should be understood as having the definition of a logical “or” rather than that of a logical “exclusive or” unless the context clearly necessitates otherwise. Structures described herein are to be understood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures. Language that may be construed to express approximation should be so understood unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
     References to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, “exemplary embodiments”, and the like may indicate that the embodiment(s) of the invention so described may include a particular feature, structure or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure or characteristic. 
     Referring now in particular to  FIG. 1  submitted herewith, the baggage identification and location system  100  includes a plurality of baggage tag devices  10 . The baggage tag devices  10  are include a housing  11  that is manufactured from durable suitable material such as but not limited to plastic. The baggage tag devices  10  are configured to be coupled to a conventional piece of baggage. As further discussed herein the baggage tag devices  10  are coupled to an individual&#39;s baggage and operable to receive and transmit signals to the data center  300  of the present invention in order to track and provide the location thereof. The baggage tag device  10  includes a power supply  12  disposed within the housing  11  that provides the power for the operation thereof. While no particular power source is required, it is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the power source is a lithium ion battery. A central processing unit  13  is disposed within the housing  11  and includes the necessary electronics to store, receive, transmit and manipulate data. The central processing unit  13  controls the discussed functionality of the baggage tag device  10 . The central processing unit  13  is operably coupled to the memory card  14  wherein the memory card  14  is a conventional memory chip and is operable to store data thereon. 
     The baggage tag device  10  includes an RFID chip  15 . The present invention relies on a plurality of communication protocols to ensure that the baggage tag device  10  can be located regardless of location, specifically whether the baggage tag device  10  is within an airport facility or in an outside environment. In order to execute the ability to locate and track the baggage tag device  10  as intended within the scope of the present invention, several types of communication protocols must be employed. The RFID chip  15  is a passive RFID chip that is operable to communicate with the RFID reader module  210  of the scanner  200 . The RFID chip  15  is utilized in areas such as but not limited to baggage receiving and processing areas to provide and subsequently transmit to the data center  300  the current location of the baggage tag device  10 . 
     A GPS receiver  16  is disposed within the housing  11  and is a conventional GPS receiver that is operable to communicate with the GPS satellite network so as to triangulate the geographic coordinates of the baggage tag device  10 . The GPS receiver  16  is utilized to provide the location of the baggage tag device  10  during periods of time when the baggage tag device  10  is in outdoor locations such as but not limited to the tarmac. The GPS receiver  16  is operably coupled to the transceiver  17  wherein the transceiver  17  is configured to transmit the geographic coordinates provided thereto by the GPS receiver  16  to the data center  300  so as to provide an update location of the baggage tag device  10 . The baggage tag device  10  further includes a first wireless module  18  and a second wireless module  19 . The first wireless module  18  is configured as a Bluetooth communications module and is communicably coupled to the communications module  230  disposed within the scanner  200 . The first wireless module  18  provides a means for the scanner  200  to locate a baggage tag device  10  when the scanner  200  is within approximately one hundred and fifty feet of the baggage tag device  10 . As is further discussed herein, scanners  200  are placed throughout an airport facility in order to facilitate the continual location tracking of the baggage tag device  10 . The second wireless module  19  is configured to as a Wi-Fi module and is operable to utilize conventional 802.11 communication protocols to communicate with the communications module  230  disposed within the scanner  200 . The second wireless communications module  19  provides effective communication between the baggage tag device  10  and a scanner  200  within a range of approximately four hundred feet. An audio speaker  20  is disposed within the housing  11  of the baggage tag device  10 . The audio speaker  20  is a conventional audio speaker and is operably coupled to the central processing unit  13 . The audio speaker  20  will emit an audible alarm upon instruction from the central processing unit  13  wherein a signal has been received by the transceiver  17  from the data center  300  to initiate an audio alarm so as to assist in the identification of the location of the baggage tag device  10 . 
     Referring in particular to  FIG. 2  herein, a schematic view of the scanner  200  of the present invention is illustrated therein. The baggage identification and location system  100  deploys a plurality of scanners  200  throughout an airport facility so as to facilitate the initial check-in of a bag having a baggage tag device  10  coupled thereto. Additionally, the plurality of scanners  20  are networked utilizing conventional networking protocols establishing a technique of communicating with and providing the location of a plurality of baggage tag devices  10  that are coupled to bags being transported via an airline. The scanners  200  have a housing  205  that is constructed in various shapes and sizes depending upon the mounting location thereof. By way of example but not limitation, the housing  205  could be constructed to integrally mount with a door frame or be secured to a countertop. The scanners  200  are equipped with a communications module  230  that is constructed and configured to utilize several different communication protocols to establish communication with the baggage tag devices  10 . The communications module  230  is operable to communicate with the first wireless module  18  and second wireless module  19  utilizing the wireless communication protocols previously discussed herein. The scanners  200  further include a RFID module  210  that is operable to read the RFID chip  15  disposed within the baggage tag device  10 . The RFID chip  15  is programmed via the software application as further discussed herein to contain information about the baggage tag device  10  owner such as but not limited to contact information. It is further contemplated within the scope of the present invention that the RFID chip  15  could further be programmed with a unique personal identification number so as to provide a specific identity for the baggage tag device  10 . A transceiver  215  is disposed within the scanner  200 . The transceiver  215  includes the necessary electronics to store, receive transmit and manipulate data signals. The transceiver  215  is operably coupled to the communications module  230  and provides execution of communication protocols required to communicate with the data center  300  and the baggage tag device  10  such as but not limited to Wi-Fi. Ensuing the scanner  200  communicating with a baggage tag device  10 , a data signal is sent to the transceiver  215  wherein the data signal is broadcast via the transceiver  215  to the data center  300  wherein the data is stored. The scanners  200  further include a power supply  220  wherein the power supply  220  is operable to provide the necessary power to the scanner  200  to provide the operation thereof. While no particular type of power supply  220  is required, good results have been achieved utilizing a 120V power supply. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a network schematic of the baggage identification and location system  100  is illustrated therein. The network  305  includes at least one data center  300 . The data center  300  is a conventional data center having a plurality of computers operably coupled to the internet wherein the computers are configured with an operating software that facilitates the operation of the baggage identification and location system  100 . The data center  300  is configured to execute tasks such as but not limited to account establishment, updating and tracking. The data center  300  is communicably coupled via the Internet to the scanners  200 , baggage tag devices  10  and the software application  310 . The software application is a conventional software application that is loaded onto a device such as but not limited to a smartphone and provides a graphical interface for a user of the baggage identification and location system  100  and the ability to provide tasks such as but not limited to programming of the baggage tag devices  10  and travel history for each baggage tag device  10 . The software application  310  is loaded by a user from a website provided by the operator of the baggage identification and location system  100 . The data center  300  includes a database program that contains all of the data pertaining to each of the baggage tag devices  10  registered with the baggage identification and location system  100 . The database program stored on the data center  300  is a relational database and provides the establishment of an account for each user of the baggage identification and location system  100  wherein each baggage tag device  10  associated therewith is associated with an account set up for the owner thereof. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4  herein, the method of utilization of the baggage identification and location system  100  is outlined therein. In step  401  an individual will purchase the baggage identification and location system  100  wherein the purchase thereof provides at least one baggage tag device  10  and access to download the software application from an operator provided website to a device such as but not limited to a smartphone. In step  404 , the user will access the website provider by the operator and download the software application to a suitable computing device. Step  407 , ensuing the loading of the software application onto a computing device, the user will communicably couple the computing device to at least one baggage tag device  10  and establish an account wherein the account is stored in the database of the data center  300 . It is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that step  407  could utilize Bluetooth or other wireless communication protocols as discussed herein to establish communication between the computing device and the baggage tag device  10 . Step  409 , the user will establish an account for subsequent population of data wherein the account is maintained in the relational database stored in the data center  300 . In step  410 , the user will program data such as but not limited to contact information into the baggage tag device  10  utilizing the software application of the present invention. It is contemplated within the scope of the present invention that a user could purchase a plurality of baggage tag devices  10  and the process described herein is applicable to each baggage tag device  10  owned by a user of the baggage identification and location system  100 . In step  413 , a user will establish a unique personal identification number for each baggage tag device  10  wherein the personal identification number is stored on the memory chip  14  of the baggage tag device  10 . Step  416 , a user will input flight information into the software application which is subsequently transferred to the data center  300  and further is associated with one baggage tag device  10 . The flight information is transferred either automatically through a software interface or is manually input into the software application of the present invention. The flight information is further transferred to the data center  300  and stored in the account of the user. In step  419 , the user will arrive to the airport with baggage wherein the baggage has releasably secured thereto the baggage tag device  10 . Step  422 , the user will check-in for the flight for which the user has made a reservation thereon. In step  425 , during the check-in process, an airline employee or similar individual will utilize a scanner  200  to communicate with the baggage tag device  10  so as to obtain the information therefrom regarding the pending flight travel for the user. The pending flight information entered in step  416  that was stored in the memory chip  14  is accessible by the RFID chip  15  wherein the RFID module  210  communicates therewith so as to obtain the flight information. As previously discussed herein, it is contemplated within the scope of the information that the flight information could be stored and subsequently dispatched utilizing alternate communication protocols. Step  427 , the airline, or other entity that executed the scanning of the baggage tag device  10  in step  425  pays a transactional fee for the scanning of the baggage tag device  10 . In step  428 , the owner of the baggage identification and location system  100  collects a fee from the airline, or other entity executing step  425 . 
     Step  431 , the flight data collected in step  425  is verified wherein the data is cross-referenced for accuracy with the flight itinerary of the owner of the baggage tag device  10 . Additionally, in step  431 , subsequent data verification, the baggage tag device  10  scanned is place in active tracking status. In step  434 , the data center  300  receives a signal from the scanner  200  with the information of the scanned baggage tag device  10  confirming that the scanned baggage tag device  10  is in active tracking status. In step  437 , the scanner  200 , first wireless module  18 , second wireless module  19 , GPS module  16  engage as previously discussed herein so as to provide tracking of the baggage tag device  10 . Step  440 , the data center  300  continuously monitors and records the location of the baggage tag device  10 . In step  443 , the location of the baggage tag device  10  is requested. The location request for the baggage tag device  10  can be executed by the user via the software application or can be executed by data center personnel. In step  449 , the data center  300  continuously monitors the location of the baggage tag device  10 . Step  452 , a travel database is established within the account for the user of the baggage tag device  10 . The travel database is initiated during the first use of the baggage tag device  10 . In step  455 , the travel database is recorded and maintained containing the travel history of the baggage tag device  10 . This travel history is provided to various entities such as but not limited to legal authorities and travel agencies. In step  458 , the user will retrieve bag at destination. In step  459 , if the user is unable to locate the bag to which the baggage tag device  10  is secured, the user will utilize the baggage identification and location system  100  as discussed herein to identify the geographic location of the baggage tag device  10 . In step  461 , the user will engage the software application and enter data to establish that the current travel has been completed. Step  464 , the user will enter flight information as was described in step  416  and the subsequently defined process will be repeated. In step  467 , the travel history contained in travel database within the account for a user of the baggage tag device  10  is requested. The travel history can be requested and/or provided to various entities such as legal authorities or entities that are involved in the travel industry wherein the latter is provided so as to offer promotions based on the travel data of the user of the baggage tag device  10 . Additionally, the travel history is provided to health agencies in the event of health crisis such as but not limited to bird flu wherein individuals can be either alerted and/or questioned about a particular health concern as a result of traveling to a particular destination. 
     In the preceding detailed description, reference has been made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. These embodiments, and certain variants thereof, have been described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other suitable embodiments may be utilized and that logical changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. The description may omit certain information known to those skilled in the art. The preceding detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.