US-12626210-B2 - System and method for tracking assets

US12626210B2US 12626210 B2US12626210 B2US 12626210B2US-12626210-B2

Abstract

A method is disclosed for tracking the location of an object. The method includes assigning a unique identifier for a first communication device, associating the first communication device with an object, associating the first communication device with a destination device, and storing the unique identifier in a location server. The method also includes periodically receiving, from second communication devices, a respective message comprising the unique identifier, associating the periodic location of the respective second communication device with the first communication device, receiving, at the location server, data comprising spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements, identifying an event as satisfying a rule associated with the object and destination device using the received data elements, and responsive to the identified event, and based on the rule associated with the object and destination device, transmitting a message to one or more of the destination device and a delivery mechanism carrying the object.

Inventors

Dennis William Groseclose

Assignees

TRANSVOYANT INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20221118

Claims (20)

1 . A method of tracking the location of an object, comprising: storing a unique identifier associated with a first communication device in a location server, wherein the first communication device does not have the capability to determine its location; periodically receiving, from at least one of a plurality of second communication devices, a message comprising the unique identifier of the first communication device and a real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices; associating, with the first communication device, the respective real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices in each periodically received message; receiving, at the location server, data comprising spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements from a plurality of sources; identifying an event as satisfying a rule associated with an object associated with the first communication device and a destination device of an intended recipient of the object using the received spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements; and responsive to the identified event, and based on the rule associated with the object and the destination device, transmitting a message to one or more of the destination device and a delivery mechanism carrying the object.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of identifying an event further comprises: determining spatial, temporal, or contextual data elements of the received data that are a candidate for the rule associated with the object and the destination device; respectively indexing the candidate spatial, temporal, or contextual data elements in memory as a function of the rule associated with the object and the destination device; and identifying the event as satisfying the rule associated with the object and the destination device using the respectively indexed candidate spatial, temporal, or contextual data elements.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitted message is to direct the destination device to a real-time location of the object.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmitted message is to direct the delivery mechanism carrying the object to a real-time location of the destination device.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the object is one of an individual package or an individual product.
6 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: assigning the unique identifier for the first communication device; associating the first communication device with the object; and associating the first communication device with the destination device.
7 . A location server for tracking the location of an object, comprising: a receiver configured to receive data indicating a projected travel path for an object and data comprising spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements, wherein the object is associated with a first communication device configured to periodically transmit a message including a unique identifier; a rules/decision engine module configured to determine, based on two or more of the received spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements, the availability of a plurality of second communication devices in the vicinity of the projected travel path for the object; and a transmitter configured to transmit, as a function of the determined availability of the plurality of second communication devices in the vicinity of the projected travel path for the object, a command to modify a transmission attribute of the first communication device, wherein the first communication device does not have the capability to determine its location.
8 . The location server of claim 7 , wherein the location server is configured to associate the first communication device with a destination device of an intended recipient of the object.
9 . The location server of claim 7 , wherein the command to modify the transmission attribute comprises a command to modify the transmission periodicity of the first communication device.
10 . The location server of claim 7 , wherein the command to modify the transmission attribute comprises a command to modify the transmission power of the first communication device.
11 . The location server of claim 7 , wherein the rules/decision engine module of the location server is further configured to: determine each rule of a plurality of rules for which the received spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements is a candidate; for the determined rules for which the received spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements is a candidate, respectively index the candidate spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements in memory as a function of the determined rules; identify an event as satisfying at least one of the determined rules using the respectively indexed candidate spatial, temporal, and contextual data elements; and wherein the transmitter of the location server is further configured to transmit a command based on the identified event.
12 . The location server of claim 11 , wherein the command based on the identified event is to one or more of: modify the transmission power of the first communication device; modify the transmission periodicity of the first communication device; display an incentive message on a display of one or more of the second communication devices; modify the projected travel path of the object; direct the first communication device to go into a sleep mode; direct the first communication device to wake up from a sleep mode; direct one or more additional resources to assist in tracking the first communication device; adjust the granularity of location information transmitted by one or more of the second communication devices; direct a delivery mechanism carrying the object to a real-time location of a destination device of an intended recipient of the object; and direct the destination device of the intended recipient of the object to the real-time location of the object.
13 . The location server of claim 10 , wherein the command to modify the transmission power of the first communication device comprises a command to direct the first communication device to go into a sleep mode.
14 . The location server of claim 10 , wherein the command to modify the transmission power of the first communication device comprises a command to direct the first communication device to wake up from a sleep mode and to transmit the message including the unique identifier at a selected transmission power.
15 . The location server of claim 7 , wherein the location server is configured to: receive, from at least one of the second communication devices, a message comprising the unique identifier of the first communication device; associate the location of the at least one second communication device with the first communication device; store the associated location of the first communication device; receive a request for the location of the object; and in response to the request, provide the unique identifier and the associated location of the first communication device.
16 . The location server of claim 15 , wherein the received message does not include identification information for the at least one second communication device.
17 . A location server for tracking the location of an object, comprising: a receiver configured to: periodically receive, from at least one of a plurality of second communication devices, a message including a respective unique identifier of each of a plurality of first communication devices in a proximity cluster and a real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices, wherein each of the plurality of first communication devices is associated with a respective object of a plurality of objects; and periodically receive a request for the location of at least one of the plurality of objects; a memory configured to store the unique identifiers of the plurality of first communication devices in the proximity cluster, a respective identifier for each object associated with a respective first communication device of the plurality of first communication devices in the proximity cluster, and the respective real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices in each periodically received message; a processor configured to associate the respective real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices in each periodically received message with the plurality of first communication devices in the proximity cluster; and a transmitter configured to transmit, in response to each one of the periodically received requests, the respective real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices in the most recent of the periodically received messages.
18 . The location server of claim 17 , wherein the location server further comprises a rules/decision engine module comprising the processor, wherein the rules/decision engine module is further configured to determine the availability of the plurality of second communication devices in the vicinity of the projected travel path for the plurality of objects.
19 . The location server of claim 17 , wherein the transmitter is further configured to transmit, in response to each one of the periodically received requests, at least one of the respective identifier for the at least one object and the respective unique identifier of the respective first communication device associated with the at least one object.
20 . The location server of claim 17 , wherein one of the plurality of first communication devices is a proximity cluster leader of the proximity cluster, and wherein the location server is associated with a database configured to store a record containing the unique identifier of the proximity cluster leader, the unique identifiers of the first communication devices in the proximity cluster, and the respective real-time location of the at least one of the plurality of second communication devices in each periodically received message.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/097,666, filed on Nov. 13, 2020, which is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/653,142, filed on Jul. 18, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,860,965, issued on Dec. 8, 2020, which claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/363,667, filed on Jul. 18, 2016, the entirety of which are herein incorporated by reference. FIELD The present disclosure is generally directed to the tracking of assets. More specifically, the present application is directed to a low duty cycle transmitter for providing a unique identifier (“ID”) which can be received by a communication device. The communication device can be unaffiliated with the transmitter, but can send (e.g. broadcast) the unique ID along with location information associated with the communication device. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART There is an increasing need to track assets. The tracked assets may be, for example, a shipping container, a rail car, a shipping box, or each item in a shipping box. For examples, some importers may wish to track their products that are placed in a shipping container at a foreign port for shipment to the U.S. The shipping container may be placed on a ship with thousands of other containers for delivery to a U.S. port. The shipping container may be removed from the ship and placed on, for example, a railway car for delivery to a distribution center. At the distribution center, the shipping container may sit for days outside of a warehouse prior to a delivery, and may be placed on a truck trailer or rail car for delivery to its final destination. At the distribution center, individual packages from the container may be dispersed throughout a warehouse, moved periodically within the warehouse by workers using, for example, forklifts, cranes, etc., and may be stored for days in various intra-warehouse locations prior to delivery. The individual packages from the container may be placed on different modes of transport (e.g. truck trailer, rail car, etc.) for delivery from a distribution center to a retail store. At the retail store, the individual packages, or the individual products (e.g. merchandise such as a television, clothing, etc.) of the individual packages, may be stocked by retail store employees in various locations (e.g. floors, shelves) within the store, and may be stored in various intra-store locations prior to purchase by a retail customer. Upon purchase of an individual package, or an individual product of an individual package by a retail customer, the respective package or product may be placed in, for example, a customer shipping package for delivery (e.g. in a mail truck) from the retail store to the customer's home or, for example, in a retail store bag for the customer's transport to his/her home. Along the way, it is desirable for the owner of the merchandise in the shipping container to track the location of the container, the individual packages in the container, the individual products in the individual packages, or the individual products in a customer shipping package, for logistical management reasons or to optimally and continuously match supply to demand, and/or match cargo to conveyance, in real-time, and/or to ensure timely and accurate delivery of customer purchased merchandise. In some cases, it is desirable that a downstream owner (e.g. a retail store company), who is not the owner of the merchandise when it is being transported in a shipping container (e.g. over ocean, air, rail, or truck), or stored in a warehouse in individual packages, but will own the merchandise when it purchases the individual packages (or products in the individual packages) from an upstream supplier or when such packages or products are delivered by an upstream supplier, to track the location of the container, individual packages, or individual products, to optimally and continuously match supply to demand, and/or match cargo to conveyance, in real-time. For example, by tracking the shipping container as it traverses the ocean, it can be determined whether the container will arrive in accordance with its scheduled arrival at the U.S. port. If the container is delayed, such as, for example, if the ship is delayed, or if the container is stuck in a port (e.g. in customs), it may be necessary to arrange for alternative rail, or truck, or air transport for the container. Likewise, by tracking the location of the container, the individual packages in the container, the individual products in the individual packages, or the individual products in a customer shipping package along each step and mode of the transport, it can facilitate the planning and movement of the tracked assets. Additionally, by matching and/or reconciling, the dynamic container, package, merchandise, and conveyance (e.g. air, rail, truck, ocean mode