Vehicle mounted device and a method for transmitting vehicle position data to a network-based server

Abstract

A vehicle mounted device is configured to transmit vehicle position data to a network-based server using a wireless communication system. The device includes first and second processing modules carried by a vehicle. The first module receives positioning signals and processes the signals into vehicle position data representing date and time, and the position, velocity and direction of travel of the vehicle. The second module stores the signals and communicates the signals to a network-based server using a wireless communications system. The signals are storable on-board the device during periods that the device is out of range of the wireless communication system for later transmission to the network-based server.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A vehicle mounted device configured to transmit real time vehicle position data from said device to a network-based server for fleet management purposes using a wireless communication system in communication with said network-based server and with said device, comprising:
 a first processing module carried by a vehicle for computing real time vehicle position data reflecting real time geographic location of said vehicle, said first processing module including a positioning system receiver for receiving position signals from at least one source remote from said vehicle and for processing said position signals into said real time vehicle position data representing the date, time, and position of said vehicle;   a second processing module for storing said real time vehicle position data and for controlling transmission of said real time vehicle position data to said network-based server, said second processing module including data storage means for storing said real time vehicle position data, wireless communication system connecting means for transmitting data to said wireless communication system, and control means for controlling transmission of said real time vehicle position data to said network-based server, said control means being configured to:
 receive said real time vehicle position data from said first processing module, 
 establish a wireless connection to said network-based server for a predetermined period of duration, 
 detect the establishment of a wireless connection, 
 transmit said real time vehicle position data to said network-based server during periods when said connection is established, 
 store said real time vehicle position data in said data storage means when said connection is not established, 
 reestablish said wireless connection to said network-based server following any period that said wireless connection is broken, and 
 retrieve said stored real time vehicle position data from said data storage means following reestablishment of said wireless connection, and thereafter transmit said stored real time vehicle position data to said network-based server, 
 said wireless communication system connecting means including a short-range wireless chipset and built-in antenna housed within said second processing module and a wireless telephone having a compatible short-range wireless chipset and antenna housed within said wireless telephone, wherein said short-range wireless chipset is configured for wireless communication between said second processing module and said wireless telephone and wherein said wireless telephone is configured for wireless communication with said wireless communication system; 
   a power supply means for powering said first processing module and said second processing module;   a first conductor means connected to said power supply means and to said second processing module, said first conductor means being configured to transmit power from said power supply means to said second processing module; and   a second conductor means connected to said first processing module and to said second processing module, said second conductor means being configured to transmit said vehicle position data from said first processing module to said second processing module and being further configured to transmit power from said second processing module to said first processing module;   whereby said vehicle mounted device, in conjunction with said network-based server, enables any one or more of a plurality of fleet managers to simultaneously access said network-based server via a network service provider and thereafter monitor the current and historical real time vehicle position data corresponding to a fleet of vehicles designated to be monitored by a corresponding one of said any one or more of a plurality of fleet managers.   
     
     
       2. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 1  further including event sensor means attached to said vehicle, wherein said second processing module further includes at least one sensory input connected to said control means, said at least one sensory input being connected to said event sensor means for detecting the occurrence of an event involving the vehicle and transmitting information regarding said event to said sensory input, said event sensor means being positioned on said vehicle. 
     
     
       3. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 2 , wherein said first conductor means has a first power cable, and wherein said second conductor means has a data bus and a second power cable. 
     
     
       4. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 3 , wherein said control means is selected from the group consisting of a microcontroller, a microprocessor and an ASIC device, wherein said data storage means is an electrically erasable programmable memory, wherein said positioning system receiver is a global positioning system (“GPS”) receiver, and wherein said at least one source remote from said vehicle is a plurality of GPS satellites. 
     
     
       5. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 4 , wherein said wireless communication system is selected from the group consisting of wireless LAN/WAN, AMPS, Satellite, iDEN™, TDMA, CDMA, CDPD and GSM infrastructures. 
     
     
       6. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 5 , wherein said control means is further configured to initialize all memory and data ports and said storage means upon start-up of said vehicle mounted device, enable of interrupts and check for the presence and functionality of all hardware and operational modes of said vehicle mounted device, load operational setup parameters stored in said storage means and check for the presence of real time vehicle position data stored in said storage means. 
     
     
       7. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 6 , wherein said network-based server is a computer and wherein said network is either the Internet network or Intranet network. 
     
     
       8. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 7 , wherein said first module is positioned within a first housing, wherein said second module is positioned within a second housing, and wherein said power supply means is selected from the group consisting of a plug configured for insertion into a vehicle cigarette lighter, a wire connected to a fuse panel terminal, a wire connected to a vehicle storage battery, and a battery. 
     
     
       9. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 8 , further including receiving means for receiving incoming signals transmitted by said network-based server, said incoming signals including any one or more of ICMP ping messages, configuration messages, or poll messages. 
     
     
       10. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 9  wherein said control means is further configured to update said setup parameters in response to receiving a configuration message, wherein said control means is further configured to immediately transmit said vehicle position data to said network-based server in response to receiving a poll message. 
     
     
       11. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 10 , wherein said control means is further configured to transmit said vehicle position data to said network-based server at predetermined intervals, said intervals being selected from the group consisting of distance intervals and time intervals. 
     
     
       12. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 11 , wherein said control means is further configured to transmit said vehicle position data to said network-based server upon the occurrence of predetermined triggers, said triggers being selected from the group consisting of speed triggers, vehicle start triggers, vehicle stop triggers and sensory input triggers. 
     
     
       13. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 12 , wherein said control means is further configured to establish a wireless connection to said network based server for predetermined time intervals. 
     
     
       14. The vehicle mounted device of  claim 1 , wherein said control means is further configured to add an identification code, that uniquely identifies the vehicle mounted device, to said vehicle position data and to transmit said identification code along with said vehicle position data. 
     
     
       15. A method for transmitting vehicle position data to a network-based server for fleet management purposes using a vehicle position locating device carried by a vehicle located remotely from said server and a wireless communication system in communication with both said network-based server and said device, said method comprising the steps:
 establishing a wireless connection between the vehicle position locating device and the network-based server located remote from said vehicle position locating device;   receiving position signals by said vehicle position locating device from at least one source remote from said vehicle and processing said position signals into vehicle position data representing date and time, and the position, velocity and direction of travel of said vehicle;   detecting whether said wireless connection is established;   transmitting said vehicle position data to said network-based server during periods when said wireless connection is established;   storing said vehicle position data to a storage device when said wireless connection is not established;   reestablishing said wireless connection following any period that said wireless connection is broken; and   retrieving said stored vehicle position data from said storage device following reestablishment of said wireless connection, and thereafter transmitting said stored vehicle position data to said network-based server;   whereby said vehicle mounted device, in conjunction with said network-based server, enables any one or more of a plurality of fleet managers to simultaneously access said network-based server via a network service provider and thereafter monitor the current and historical real time vehicle position data corresponding to a fleet of vehicles designated to be monitored by a corresponding one of said any one or more of a plurality of fleet managers;   wherein said vehicle position locating device comprises:
 a first processing module carried by a vehicle for computing real time vehicle position data reflecting real time geographic location of said vehicle, said first processing module including a positioning system receiver for receiving position signals from at least one source remote from said vehicle and for processing said position signals into said real time vehicle position data representing the date, time, and position of said vehicle; 
 a second processing module for storing said real time vehicle position data and for controlling transmission of said real time vehicle position data to said network-based server, said second processing module including data storage means for storing said real time vehicle position data, wireless communication system connecting means for transmitting data to said wireless communication system, and control means for controlling transmission of said real time vehicle position data to said network-based server, said control means being configured to:
 receive said real time vehicle position data from said first processing module, 
 establish a wireless connection to said network-based server for a predetermined period of duration, 
 detect the establishment of a wireless connection, 
 transmit said real time vehicle position data to said network-based server during periods when said connection is established, 
 store said real time vehicle position data in said data storage means when said connection is not established, 
 reestablish said wireless connection to said network-based server following any period that said wireless connection is broken, and 
 retrieve said stored real time vehicle position data from said data storage means following reestablishment of said wireless connection, and thereafter transmit said stored real time vehicle position data to said network-based server, 
 
 said wireless communication system connecting means including a short-range wireless chipset and built-in antenna housed within said second processing module and a wireless telephone having a compatible short-range wireless chipset and antenna housed within said wireless telephone, wherein said short-range wireless chipset is configured for wireless communication between said second processing module and said wireless telephone and wherein said wireless telephone is configured for wireless communication with said wireless communication system; 
   a power supply means for powering said first processing module and said second processing module;   a first conductor means connected to said power supply means and to said second processing module, said first conductor means being configured to transmit power from said power supply means to said second processing module; and   a second conductor means connected to said first processing module and to said second processing module, said second conductor means being configured to transmit said vehicle position data from said first processing module to said second processing module and being further configured to transmit power from said second processing module to said first processing module.   
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 15 , wherein said at least one source is a plurality of GPS satellites. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 16 , wherein said network-based server is a computer and wherein said network is the Internet. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 15 , wherein said method further includes addition of an identification code, that uniquely identifies the vehicle mounted device, to said vehicle position data and to transmit said identification code along with said vehicle position data. 
     
     
       19. A system for tracking the location of objects comprising:
 a network-based server connected to a network;   a device carried by the object and configured to transmit real time data, the device including:
 a first processing module to compute said real time data reflecting a real time geographic location of said object, said first processing module including a positioning system receiver to receive position signals from at least one remote source and to process said position signals into said real time data representing the position of said object at a select time, and 
 a second processing module in communication with said first processing module and configured to receive and to store said real time data and to control transmission of said real time data to said network-based server, said second processing module including
 a data storage device to receive and store said real time data, 
 a transceiver connected to a communication system to transmit said real time data, and 
 a controller to control transmission of said real time data to said network-based server, said controller being configured to control receipt of said real time data from said first processing module, cause a wireless connection to said network-based server to be established for a set period of duration, detect establishment of said wireless connection, cause said communication system transceiver to transmit said real time data to said network-based server during periods when said wireless connection is established, cause said data storage device to store said real time data in said data storage device when said wireless connection is not established, cause reestablishment of said wireless connection to said wireless communication system transceiver following any period that said wireless connection is not established, and cause said stored real time data to be retrieved from said data storage device following reestablishment of said wireless connection, and thereafter cause said communication system transceiver to transmit said stored real time data to said network-based server; and 
 
   a power supply for supplying power via a first conductor connected to said second processing module and from said second processing module via a second conductor connected to said first processing module; and   said network-based server being connected to a network and said network-based server being configured to supply a configuration message via said network and said transceiver to said second processing module and to said controller to change the interval at which said real time data is transmitted from the device to said network-based server.    
     
     
       20. The system of claim 19, wherein the controller transmits said real time data to said network-based server during periods when said object travels for at least one of a set time period and a set distance.  
     
     
       21. The system of claim 19, further including an event sensor attached to said object, wherein said second processing module further includes at least one sensory input connected to said controller, said at least one sensory input being connected to said event sensor for detecting the occurrence of an event involving said object and transmitting information regarding said event to said sensory input.  
     
     
       22. The system of claim 19, wherein said controller is selected from the group consisting of a microcontroller, a microprocessor and an ASIC device, wherein said data storage device is an electrically erasable programmable memory, wherein said positioning system receiver is a global positioning system receiver, and wherein said at least one source remote from said object is a plurality of global positioning system satellites.  
     
     
       23. The system of claim 19, wherein said wireless communication system is configured to receive incoming signals transmitted by said network-based server, and wherein said incoming signals include at least one of ICMP ping messages, configuration messages, or poll messages.  
     
     
       24. The system of claim 19, wherein said controller is further configured to update setup parameters in response to receiving a configuration message, wherein said controller is further configured to immediately transmit said real time data to said network-based server in response to receiving a poll message.  
     
     
       25. The system of claim 19, wherein said controller is further configured to transmit said real time data to said network-based server upon the occurrence of predetermined triggers, said triggers including at least one of a speed trigger, an object start trigger, an object stop trigger and a sensory input trigger.  
     
     
       26. The system of claim 19, wherein said controller is further configured to add an identification code that uniquely identifies the device to said real time data and to transmit said identification code along with said real time data.  
     
     
       27. The device of claim 19, further comprising a wireless connection between said second processing module and said first processing module for transmitting said real time data.  
     
     
       28. The device of claim 19, further comprising a wired communication channel coupled to said first processing module and said second processing module for transmitting said real time data and being further configured to transmit power from said second processing module to said first processing module.