Patent Application
20070109096
This invention relates generally to tracking devices, and more specifically to a device which attaches to equipment and enables remote monitoring of that equipment.
Currently, at construction sites, among other locations, theft or misuse of heavy mechanical equipment is a significant problem. Additionally, it is difficult to determine usage and depreciation of a specific piece of equipment. The present invention provides a means for resolving these and other problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a tracking and anti-theft-product for bulldozers, tractors, bobcats, and other heavy industrial equipment at construction sites, although the present invention should not be considered as limited exclusively thereto. For example, the present invention can also be applied to rental cars.
A tracking device attached directly to the ignition area of the equipment prevents anyone from turning on the bulldozer without a touch-contact of an electronic card or punching in a code, among other functions. The overall product including customized software in wireless communication with the tracking device gives details about how many hours/day a bulldozer or other heavy equipment was used. These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent as the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention in detail it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the particular arrangement shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation.
Within the present invention, a tracking device attached directly to the ignition area of a unit of heavy equipment, such as a bulldozer, prevents the bulldozer from being started without a touch-contact of an electronic card or punching in a code, among other functions. The tracking system, including customized software in wireless communication with the tracking device, gives details about how many hours/day a bulldozer or other heavy equipment was used. Such information can be useful for equipment rental companies and owners (tax records, equipment depreciation schedules, 500 hour maintenance checkups, etc).
An exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The tracking software can be compiled using any of a variety of web server products, including but not limited to Active Server Page (ASP), Personal Home Page (PHP), or Cold Fusion. Additionally, the tracking software 300 can be compiled to be portable, and thus usable within a company's own Intranet or Virtual Private Network (VPN).
The cellular and/or satellite network 200 can use either GSM, CDMA, or a hybrid of the two, as well as other configurations not explicitly described herein. The tracking device 104 can communicate with the wireless mobile modem 108 corresponding thereto via any of serial, Universal Serial Bus (USB), Ethernet, or other means. Alternatively, the mobile modem 108 can be contained or incorporated entirely or partially within the tracking device 104.
The end-user software 400 could a web browser, although other software implementations are contemplated within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The tracking software 300 can be stored on a cluster or group of servers, to achieve the redundancy that leads to more effective web-hosting with a higher up-time.
As shown in
Data can be sent from the tracking device 104 via, for example, the numeric keypad 120, swipe of card or other mechanism, or proximity-contact through the reader 116. That data will be sent through the network 200 to the group of servers 300, where it is accessible by the end-user software 400 through a secure Internet link. A user can then view when the product or the piece of equipment was started stopped and where it is on total hours on that equipment, as well ignition information for turning it on and off, especially considering a theft problem with this type of equipment.
If a user enters a code, or swipes or proximity-touches a card or other reading mechanism at the tracking device 104, and that card is denied, the equipment will not start. The card acts like a user name and password for a specific unit of equipment. An embodiment of the tracker exists in which no data entry is required on the numeric keypad 120. Instead, the operator only has to put a card near the data reader 116, but need not do any manual data input.
The data reader 116 could be RFID, Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code, cards with magnetic strips, proximity cards, smart chip, USB, Bluetooth, or other implementation. Regardless of how the userlD is entered, if the card or input device is denied, the display 112 of the tracking device 104 can be configured to show “denied”.
As suggested in
The tracking device 104 can also have a rubber mount, a rubber sealing point, and be entirely weather sealed. The buttons for the numeric keypad 120 are also entirely weatherized, and there will be a gasket (not shown) around the display 112. The tracker device 104 is built to military grade, can withstand temperatures of −40 F. to +167 F., as well as a vibration drop of a predetermined distance that is established by military-grade specifications.
The tracker device 104 obviates the need for ignition keys, as it is wired directly to the ignition system of a unit of equipment. Many heavy equipment companies are not rigorous in their manufacturing of ignition keys. Thus, at present, without the present invention, a thief could take an ignition key now that's made by a heavy equipment manufacturer, visit a specific city, and can steal 100 pieces of machinery in an hour. This is partly because most keys for heavy equipment are somewhat standardized, and often fit many units of equipment. It also takes a while for an owner to notice that a piece of equipment has been stolen. The owners don't know where it is, how it's doing it and they can't just put match locks underneath it, then they would have to have 1,000 match locks for all employees, and an identical key would probably work for all of them.
Conversely, the tracking device 104 within the present invention is connected to directly to an ignition system and the battery. The tracking device 104 will have a battery back up. If a user doesn't have an actual card, the numeric buttons within the tracking device 104 can be set up to not do anything, or perhaps only say “denied”. If it's not a registered card or activated card from the present invention, the equipment will not work.
Optimally, the provider of the cellular and or/satellite communications network 200 will have the capability of digital, analog, and GPS all built into a single embodiment of the tracking device 104 and mobile modem 108. This is important because not all cell carriers enable access to GPS coordinates. Accordingly, it is desired to avoid a situation where a communications carrier that has their cell service is completely dead in the area, which can't send and receive the data. That means a user would have to wait to get the unit of heavy equipment, and the tracking device 104 attached thereto, back in the cellular range. The present invention could also conceivably be implemented within a satellite network.
Using the present invention, a customer could say to an equipment rental company that she needs 5 magnetic cards (or other input devices) for each bobcat, for example. The rental company, using the present invention, will program the five cards with the customer's company name and IDs of for example five specific operators. These operators then touch those cards to the equipment. When that happens, the tracking software 300 will check various parameters, as shown in
When a operator attempts to access a unit of equipment, the tracking software 300 will check the company name on the card against information within a payment database that is part of the tracking software 300. Some exemplary test might be: Does this company exist within the database? Next, are they paid up? Next, is this operator still permitted to operate this equipment? Next, has some other entity requested that this equipment be shut down and inaccessible? Other choices could also be included within the tracking software 300 of the present invention. If all factors check out, the tracking software 300 relays a message to the tracking device 104 to enable access and post a message to the display 116 that says “accepted”, or some other words to that effect..
For an operator to access a unit of equipment, the end-user software 400 is not necessary. However, by accessing a back end, database portion of the tracking software 300 through the end-user software 400, a specific company's account information can be pre-entered into, for example, a rental agency's computer systems.
A user could activate a tracker device 104 by, for example, entering a number on the keypad 120, or touching the data reader 116 with a card or other device. The system 100 will then recognize that a specific construction company has an account with a construction equipment rental company, so that will activate that tracker device 104 for a specific period such as one week. Thus, a general contractor with access to any web browser (acting as the end-user software 400) could have the capability to enable specific equipment for pre-determined time periods, and to track that enablement and subsequent usage.
One possible example would be a general contractor needing to run 15 pieces of equipment used by 10 separate sub-contractors. That general contractor would give out 10 cards, where each one of those cards will start each one of those units of equipment.
That general contractor could then view the tracking software 300 and look at their report for a specific time period. If a unit of heavy equipment was damaged on a specific day, that general contractor could query the software to determine all users of that unit on a specific day. In other words, the end-user software 400 would show every sub-contractor who touched their card onto that unit. The general could then collect damages directly from the sub-contractor who damaged the equipment.
On either a rental basis or general contractor basis, an entity using the system 100 of the present invention can sub-lease their own equipment as a way of alleviating their costs. Suppose a backhoe was not in use at a specific time, yet the general contractor was still paying rent. This occurs often at construction sites. Then suppose a subcontractor from a nearby site approaches the general and request use of the backhoe for 2 hours. Using the system 100 of the present invention, the general contractor reduced his rental costs by two hours. Also, if the backhoe comes back with a flat tire or problem, it would be easier to identify the sub-contractor who flattened the tire. In this situation, if the general did not employ the system 100 of the present invention, the general would be responsible for the repair costs with no easy way to identify a responsible party.
Instead, using the present invention, a general contractor can rent her equipment to a subcontractor. This provides a convenient way to manage costs on the job because she could have fifteen different people using her expensive equipment, yet still know exactly how to track it.
Software Interface
Diesel Considerations
Some heavy equipment runs on diesel fuel. Such diesel machines may require special care during the start-up and ignition process, such as diesel's being warmed up prior to starting because of the glow plugs commonly found on diesel equipment. The display 112 within the tracker device 104 could accommodate such machines by having the main menu have an option labeled “Set Up” or similar expression. The tracker device 104 would then allow a user to set a delayed ignition before they start the unit.
Some ignition delays for diesel engines are 10 seconds. The exact delay could vary, depending on temperature and any other relevant factors. Some pieces of diesel equipment also have an “ether” button on them, to dispense a shot of ether prior to ignition. The tracking device 104 could be configured to accommodate this also.
Software Updates
The present invention provides a solution for automatically downloading software updates. It is well-known that the various protocols for electronic communication change often, which means software must be updated often. With the tracking device 104 being located out in the field, on various construction sites, updating the software modules contained therein could be difficult. To reduce this difficulty, there can be two different memory modules within the tracking device 104. The memory first module would store all the information that's actually programmed only to a specific tracker device 104, such as all its user card-contacts.
Meanwhile, the second memory module would be just for the firmware which is loaded on all tracking devices 1041-n (
One well-known problem with software updates is as follows. Within a CISCO™ router, for example, after a firmware update, one can lose all their settings and then have to reprogram the entire router. To avoid this problem, updating the tracker device 104 could involve just adding new data at the bottom to the bottom of a memory module, rather than over-writing it entirely. This way, data integrity can be maintained. Also, it is desired to avoid a scenario of calling a customer and saying “we updated your firmware, but now you must go back out there to the construction site and re-input in your serial number, or your company name, all over again”,
The system 100 of the present invention can be implemented with other valuable mobile objects, not just heavy equipment at construction sites. One such example could be rental cars.
It is anticipated that various changes may be made in the arrangement and operation of the system of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as described in the following claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/715,230, which was filed on Sep. 8, 2005.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60715230 | Sep 2005 | US |
