Systems and/or methods of data acquisition from a transceiver
Systems and/or Methods are disclosed for acquiring data from a transceiver responsive to one or more signals that are received at the transceiver from one or more devices. In one embodiment, a transceiver is configured to transmit a signal responsive to having received a first signal from a first device, wherein the signal that is transmitted by the transceiver is configured to trigger a second device to transmit a second signal. The transceiver is further configured to transmit data responsive to having received the second signal that is transmitted by the second device. In other embodiments, a transceiver is configured to receive a signal from a first device over frequencies of a predetermined frequency band that the first device is authorized to use, to receive a signal from a second device over frequencies of the predetermined frequency band and to transmit data responsive to having received both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device. The transceiver is further configured to require that both the signal from the first device and the signal from the second device be received at the transceiver before the data is transmitted. Analogous methods are also disclosed.
Latest Odyssey Wireless, Inc. Patents:
The present application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/620,122, filed Nov. 17, 2009, entitled Systems and/or Methods of Data Acquisition From a Transceiver, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,665,068, which itself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/855,332, filed Sep. 14, 2007, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,642,897, which itself is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/506,365, filed Sep. 2, 2004, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,286,040, which itself is a 35 U.S.C. §371 national phase application of PCT International Application No. PCT/US03/07770, having an international filing date of Mar. 13, 2003, which itself claims the benefit of U.S. provisional Application No. 60/364,303, filed Mar. 14, 2002, entitled A Cooperative Vehicular Identification System, the disclosures of all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. The above PCT International Application was published in the English language and has International Publication No. WO 03/096128 A2.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONViolations of motor vehicle laws, such as speeding laws, may become an increasing concern as highways become more crowded with ever increasing numbers of vehicles. Electronic systems for monitoring vehicles are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,917 to Carrender et al., entitled Electronic Tag Including RF Modem for Monitoring Motor Vehicle Performance With Filtering; U.S. Pat. No. 6,124,810 to Segal et al., entitled Method and Apparatus for Automatic Event Detection in a Wireless Communication System; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,223,125 to Hall, entitled Collision Avoidance System.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONCooperative Vehicular Identification Systems and Methods, capable of monitoring and recording vehicular law violations, with the assistance and cooperation of the vehicles in violation, are disclosed. In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, real-time information from vehicular sensors is communicated to a Central Processing Unit (CPU). Strategically located Interrogator devices, on roads/highways, at intersections, in and around school zones, integrated with traffic lights, etc., issue inquiries/interrogations to passing-by vehicles. Vehicles proximate to such Interrogators respond with unique identifying information and with parameter lists provided by their vehicular sensors. In some embodiments, each Interrogator inquiry provides data, including the lawful parameter limits (i.e. speed limit) associated with its location. In response to having successfully decoded an inquiry, and in response to the state of its vehicular sensors, a vehicular Transponder may transmit information to the specific Interrogator that has issued an inquiry. The Interrogator then relays relevant identifying information to the CPU for further processing.
Cooperative Vehicular Identification Systems and Methods according to some embodiments of the invention, hereinafter referred to as CVIS, may also provide a public service to motorists by delivering real-time road-specific reports relating to traffic, accidents, weather conditions, etc. In other embodiments, CVIS may further provide a service to motorists by delivering store-and-forward messages (e-mail) to and from their vehicles. In other embodiments, CVIS may also serve as a “mobile yellow pages” providing selective, area-specific information relevant to leisure, shopping, and/or entertainment activities, in response to motorist initiated inquiries. Some embodiments may also provide distress assistance to motorists. Toll collections may be handled very effectively, and some embodiments may even be configured to tell you where to find a parking spot as you approach a parking area.
CVIS can pay for itself very quickly with the dollars of vehicular law violators. Significant new revenue may be generated for State and Local authorities since many or every violator can be apprehended electronically. CVIS may derive additional revenues from services provided to commerce and/or individuals, or may chose to offer (at least some) of its services free of charge as a public service to the community.
Significant business potential exists for industry that may engage in the development, manufacturing, deployment, maintenance, and upgrades to CVIS. In the United States alone, more than 15 Million (lightweight) new cars are sold each year, and there are more that 200 Million such vehicles already in operation. There are also more than 40 Million fleet vehicles US-wide. For all of these vehicles to be CVIS compliant, according to some embodiments of the invention, each one may be equipped with a Transponder. The number of Interrogators that could be deployed US-wide could exceed tens of thousands.
Following the successful deployment of CVIS in the United States, deployment in other countries may follow.
Besides detecting violations such as speeding, some embodiments of CVIS will also be able to detect events such as not having stopped at a red light and/or a stop sign, and will be able to search, locate, and track a vehicle, in response to law enforcement commands, throughout a city and/or throughout the entire country.
Embodiments of CVIS described hereinbelow can potentially benefit society in significant ways. Some embodiments of CVIS may:
-
- (1) Save lives (many lives).
- (2) Reduce significantly the number of vehicular accidents, minor and major, and the associated injuries, suffering, and expense/loss in productivity.
- (3) Stabilize and even reduce car insurance premiums (as a consequence of (1) & (2) above).
- (4) Instill a heightened awareness of lawful driving behavior to the public at-large (thus re-enforcing (1) through (3) above).
- (5) Be a strong anti-theft deterrent.
- (6) Offer emergency/distress assistance to motorists.
- (7) Offer real-time, road-specific, information to motorists as well as other more general information, for leisure and recreational activities, including personal messaging.
A focus of CVIS is on strengthening vehicular law enforcement and mitigating irresponsible driving behavior, thus improving safety for pedestrians and drivers alike. Deployment of CVIS can make vehicular law enforcement automatic, efficient, non-discriminatory, quick, non-intrusive, and/or transparent to the violator and law enforcement agency alike. While being an instrument of beneficial social engineering, embodiments of CVIS also can generate significant new revenues for state/county law-enforcement agencies and can thus pay for itself with the dollars of those who violate the Law. Embodiments of CVIS may thus be envisioned as a selective tax imposed only on vehicular law violators. Other embodiments of CVIS, however, may also generate revenue by delivering area-specific commercial, leisure, and/or recreational information to motorists' vehicles. That is, some embodiments of CVIS can be a “mobile yellow pages” for restaurants, cinemas, stores/malls, promotions, etc, as well as a system for delivering store-and-forward personal messages and/or e-mail to people in transit.
To those who will criticize CVIS as being a “Big Brother is Watching” type of a system, we offer this simple response: Driving on public roads and highways is a necessity of modern life, and is an activity conducted daily by an overwhelming majority of the adult population. Driving on public roads and highways, therefore, is an activity that impacts almost all people daily, either directly or indirectly. Because of its broad reaching affects on society, driving must be conducted responsibly and within the guidelines set forth by Law. According to some embodiments of CVIS, while a driver's activities remain lawful, “Big Brother” is blind. Only when a motorist's actions violate the Law, only then do Big Brother's eyes open to take notice.
We have all witnessed the reckless driver who routinely violates the posted speed limit. We have repeatedly witnessed the careless driver who goes through stop signs without first making a complete stop. We have even seen those who go through red lights in their eagerness to get to their destinations a few minutes earlier. Many drivers still do not wear seat belts and many more execute turns without bothering to indicate their intentions. All these vehicular law violations, and many more, would be noticeable and recordable by some embodiments of CVIS. Each event associated with a violation would be recorded at a central processing unit and would also be tagged with the registered identity of the vehicle involved, the time-of-day of occurrence, and position coordinates of occurrence.
2. ElementsThe present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many alternate forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Accordingly, while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and will herein be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intent to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
An element of some embodiments of CVIS is the Transponder-Interrogator pair of
As is illustrated in
An Interrogator, as shown in
Two groups of embodiments that can be used to detect violations of vehicular law are described below. Following a reading of this section, it will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that a number of combinations and variations on the embodiments discussed hereinbelow are possible. Even though this is recognized, we do not attempt to be exhaustive; rather, we chose to be comprehensive and thorough, focusing on two specific embodiments, so that the scope and spirit of the disclosure can be conveyed fully and unambiguously to one of ordinary skill in the art.
3.1 First Embodiments The Independent InterrogatorIn accordance with first embodiments (the independent Interrogator concept) Interrogators are positioned at predetermined locations, along the sides of highways and roads, and are configured to transmit an interrogation periodically, say once every 0.5 seconds.3 Vehicle Transponders proximate to such Interrogators (i.e. within listening range) may be triggered to provide a response. Even when an interrogation is reliably received (error free) by a vehicle Transponder, said vehicle Transponder may or may-not be triggered to respond. In some embodiments, the decision to respond may depend on the type of interrogation message received, requesting a conditional or an unconditional response. In other embodiments, the decision of a Transponder to respond may also depend on whether or not said Transponder has already responded to the particular Interrogator, within a predetermined elapsed time interval. By suppressing subsequent Transponder responses to the same Interrogator (over a predetermined time interval) some embodiments of the invention may eliminate many redundant Transponder responses (that otherwise may be transmitted) thus reducing the probability of response collisions. 3 In some embodiments, independent Interrogators of the type described in this section may also be installed in law-enforcement vehicles.
As has already been noted, an interrogation may request a conditional or an unconditional Transponder response. Subject to the conditional interrogation, the Transponder will respond if it is in violation of some aspect of the Law. For example, if the driver is not wearing his/her seat belt, and/or if the vehicle has not passed inspection within the time limit allowed, and/or if the speed limit is being violated. Furthermore, if the vehicle has been subjected to unauthorized usage (has been stolen, as determined by the vehicular sensors), and/or if the vehicle has been reported stolen,4 a Transponder response will also be issued. 4 How the vehicle knows that it has been stolen (other than detecting unauthorized usage with its own sensors) will be discussed later.
In some embodiments, each interrogation, whether it is of the conditional or unconditional type, relays a unique Interrogator identifier (ID), a measure of the physical coordinates of the Interrogator, the Time of Day (ToD), the lawful speed limit, and may also relay additional broadcast information that may be relevant to motorists proximate to the Interrogator site.
In some embodiments, should the Transponder decide to respond, the response will include the vehicle's unique identification number, the ToD, position coordinates, the lawful speed limit (as relayed to the Transponder by the Interrogator); the vehicle's actual speed, red light & stop sign flag status (the significance of which will be discussed in detail later); the driver's seat belt status (ON/OFF); inspection status; theft status; and/or driver's distress status (see
In other embodiments, if a Transponder decides to send a response to an interrogation because there is some aspect of the law that has been violated, the response will also be stored locally within the Transponder. In addition to keeping a local copy of its response, the Transponder may also store a digital image and/or other characteristic of the driver.6 Given that the Transponder's response is received reliably by the Interrogator (as determined, for example, by a CRC field and/or other error checking) the Interrogator will copy said Transponder response in memory and will send a confirmation to the issuing Transponder (see
In other embodiments, in the case of an unconditional interrogation, the vehicle is obliged to respond whether it is in violation of the law or not. No permanent record is kept by the Transponder (per the above discussion) unless the vehicle happens to be in violation of some aspect of the law. This mode of Transponder response, to the unconditional interrogation, may be used in places where the authorities desire to gather statistics on parameters such as the number of vehicles passing by a particular location at different times of the day, the distribution of speed at that location, the types of vehicles (private cars, taxis, trucks, etc.) passing by that location, etc. . . . As with the Transponder response to a conditional interrogation, here too, a confirmation by the Interrogator is sent to each responding Transponder in some embodiments. This may be done to silence the Transponder from responding to subsequent interrogations that may be received from the same Interrogator over a predetermined time interval.
3.2 The Concept of Notificators Second Embodiments—The Dependent InterrogatorIn accordance with second embodiments of the invention, the Interrogator does not transmit unless it is triggered by a near-by Transponder whose associated vehicle is in violation of some aspect of the law, or in distress, or needs to receive or transmit information. Some embodiments, may work as follows: Each road containing Interrogators also contains other devices referred to as Notificators. A Notificator is a transmit-only device that relays information to near-by (passing-by) vehicles. The Notificator does not receive information from vehicles, only transmits to them. In some embodiments, the Notificator, however, can be configured to communicate bi-directionally with the CPU. The Notificator will periodically transmit its coordinates, ToD, and the lawful (posted) speed limit for its location, and may also be enabled to transmit other information such as road conditions, traffic reports, accident reports, weather bulletins, etc. In other embodiments, the Notificator may also be configured to transmit a “you have been stolen” message which would be aimed at specific vehicles that have been reported stolen.7 7 Imagine a very sophisticated thief who manages to steal a vehicle without triggering any of the unauthorized use (theft) sensors of the vehicle. When the owner of said stolen vehicle becomes aware of the fact and notifies the authorities, the authorities can command all Notificators in the area (via the CPU) to start transmitting the “you have been stolen” message, accompanied by the stolen vehicle's unique ID. When the stolen vehicle's Transponder receives the notification, it will identify itself as stolen at the next Interrogator site (together with position coordinates) thus notifying the authorities of its whereabouts.
We return now to describe how Interrogators may be triggered to interrogate in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. When a Transponder has received information from a Notificator and said Transponder decides that, based on the received information, it is engaged in some unlawful activity, the Transponder begins to periodically broadcast a message. The Transponder broadcasts (at say frequency fi) its unique vehicle ID and the Notificator's coordinates, pseudo-randomly changing the carrier frequency fi from broadcast to broadcast. The Transponder broadcasts and then listens; broadcasts and then listens; in a time division duplex fashion, both broadcasting and listening at fi. Each Interrogator listens to all possible Transponder broadcast frequencies fi (i=1, 2, . . . , L−1, L). Hence, when an Interrogator hears a Transponder's broadcast, the Interrogator responds by interrogating the specific Transponder whose broadcast it has just heard. The interrogation is transmitted at carrier frequency fi, while the Transponder is still listening at fi.
Embodiments of an Interrogator packet format are illustrated in
According to some embodiments, one reason for including the Notificator's coordinates in the Transponder's broadcast message, is to reduce or preclude the possibility of having vehicles wrongly accused of violating the speed limit. One can imagine, for example, a vehicle on a highway violating the speed limit by going 75 mph while the posted speed limit is 55 mph. Let's assume that said vehicle is broadcasting, and imagine a location where the highway and a city road come very close together. Furthermore, let's assume that, due to an engineering oversight or other reason, an Interrogator situated on the city road (at the point where the city road and the highway come close to each other) can hear broadcasts of vehicle Transponders traveling on the highway. By deciphering the broadcast message, and reading the Notificator's coordinates, the road Interrogator can ignore all highway vehicle broadcasts (even though some aspect of the law has been violated) since the Notificator's coordinates make it clear that said broadcasts relate to vehicles on an other road/highway and, hence, will be handled by Interrogators on said other road/highway. Similarly, if due to some improper installation/calibration of a Notificator or other reason, its radiated signals are heard by Transponders on roads/highways other than the intended one, Interrogators on said “other than the intended one” route will ignore any broadcasts initiated by said Transponders. Failure to correlate between the Notificator's “coordinates”, as relayed by the Transponder's broadcast, and those of the listening Interrogator, can inhibit triggering the Interrogator to interrogate8. 8 It should be understood that the term “coordinates” is used throughout this document in a very liberal sense. In some embodiments, the term coordinates is not used with geometrical rigor to specify a precise point in space; rather, it is used to specify a particular road/highway and in some cases a specific location on said road/highway (e.g. route 495 between exits 50 and 51). It is envisaged that Notificators and Interrogators belonging to the same road/highway will be positioned close to each other (may even be co-located, or even physically integrated onto one assembly). As such, the “coordinates” relayed by a Transponder broadcast should always correlate, at least with regard to the specified road/highway, with the coordinates of an Interrogator hearing the broadcast. In other embodiments, precise geometrical coordinates may be used.
In some embodiments, Notificators frequency-hop from one notification message to the next in order to comply with regulatory requirements of the unlicensed-frequency Instrumentation, Scientific and Medical (ISM) band. Each notification message is repeated at each transponder listening frequency fi; i=1, 2, . . . , L. Preferably, the L repeats of each notification should occur over a short period of time (e.g., within 500 ms or less). In some embodiments, transponders do not have any timing or frequency-hop pattern information relative to Notificators. A Transponder simply tunes its receiver to a frequency, randomly selected from the set {fi; i=1, 2, . . . , L}, and listens.
3.2.1 Special Purpose Notificators at Stop Lights
Special Purpose Notificators may be strategically positioned in the proximity of traffic lights. Such Notificators may contain lists of reported stolen vehicles (as relayed to them by the CPU) and may broadcast such lists periodically. The placement of Notificators in the proximity of traffic lights can offer advantages to the system. As a traffic light turns red, most vehicles (even those in the possession of thieves) stop. The (relatively long) time interval over which vehicles remain stationary at traffic lights allows the Notificator to transmit a significantly longer stolen vehicles list than it could otherwise be able to. As a result, the probability that a stolen vehicle will hear the message “you have been stolen”, as relayed to it, for example, via a broadcast of its unique vehicle ID, is increased. Once a stolen vehicle receives the notification that it has been stolen, its “theft status” flag is raised, thus triggering the vehicle to start broadcasting, as already discussed, in accordance with the second embodiments.
The frame format configuration for this relatively long message may be as shown on
At the beginning of the “stolen vehicles list” notification message and intermittently thereafter, the message segment may be repeated on all Transponder listening frequencies in order to get all proximate Transponders to track the message (to follow the frequency-hopping pattern)10. By doing so, all Transponders in the vicinity of the Special Purpose Notificator can receive a message segment which reveals the value of the next hop frequency at which the message is to be continued. 10 As will be described later, when the Special Purpose Notificator is co-located with Traffic Light State Notificators, this may not be necessary.
4. Time-Frequency Plan First EmbodimentsIn some embodiments, an Interrogator sequentially transmits its interrogation on all possible frequencies (f1 through fL) that Transponders may be listening to.
In some embodiments, all Transponder responses that are received error free by the relevant Interrogator are acknowledged via a confirmation to the issuing Transponder. As illustrated on
Note that the frequencies f1, f2, . . . , fL need not represent contiguous values or values that are monotonically increasing. Furthermore, the Time Division Duplex Multiplexing (TDDM) approach, regarding the Interrogator/Transponder exchange, as discussed above and illustrated on
As has been stated earlier, in accordance with the second embodiments, shortly after a Transponder is triggered by a Notificator to start broadcasting, said Transponder pseudo-randomly selects a frequency from the set {fi; i=1, 2, . . . , L} and begins to transmit identifying information over said frequency. The Transponder broadcast burst is transmitted periodically (for example, once every 500 msec) until an Interrogator is triggered to interrogate. As illustrated in
In accordance with the second embodiments, it has already been stated that the Transponder, once triggered to start broadcasting, pseudo-randomly (and in some embodiments, uniformly and with no bias over the available frequency set) changes transmit/receive frequency once per broadcast interval (at least once about every 500 msec). When the Transponder is not in the broadcast mode, it randomly (and in some embodiments uniformly) selects a frequency from the set {fi; i=1, 2, . . . , L} to listen to. The Transponder stays at the chosen frequency, and continues to listen for Notificator messages until a Notificator message and some violation of the law and/or a distress state and/or the Transponder's desire to transmit or receive information, triggers said Transponder once again into the broadcast mode.
In accordance with the first embodiments, each Transponder can be configured so that in response to each received interrogation confirmation message the Transponder hops pseudo-randomly (and preferably uniformly) to a new frequency fi. Consequently, even if all Transponders at the time of manufacturing and/or installation are initialized to a common receive/transmit frequency f0, : f0∈{f1, f2, . . . , fL}, offenders would soon be randomized. Alternative embodiments may entail assigning, in a pseudo-random fashion, at the time of manufacturing and/or installation, a receive/transmit frequency to each Transponder, which the Transponder then maintains ad infinitum. Variations of the two embodiments may also be used.
7. The Traffic Light Notificator SetWe have already described how embodiments of CVIS may be used to identify and record various driving violations such as exceeding of the speed limit, the driver not having engaged the seat belt mechanism, operating a vehicle with expired inspection status, driving a stolen vehicle, etc. We have also described how embodiments of CVIS can serve as a safety net for drivers in distress and how embodiments of CVIS can provide other services and information to motorists. In this section, we describe other embodiments of CVIS—the ability of embodiments of CVIS to detect traffic light and stop sign violations. Not honoring a traffic light (i.e., not stopping at a red light) may be one of the most dangerous behavior patterns that a driver can engage in.
As noted earlier, according to some embodiments of the present invention, a vehicle approaching Traffic Light Set A will first encounter the Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator. The Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator informs the vehicle that it is about to enter the listening range of a possible plurality of Traffic Light Sets, but it is only to listen and pay attention to transmissions (notifications) originating from Notificators of Traffic Light Set A. The Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator also informs the vehicle of the Transponder listening frequencies corresponding to Traffic Light Set A (chosen so as to maintain orthogonality between the transmissions of the plurality of Notificator sets corresponding to a plurality of Traffic Light Sets that may be proximate at an intersection). The Approaching Traffic Light Set A Notificator transmits its notification periodically (say once every 500 msec) repeating said notification on all Transponder listening frequencies within the repetition interval (within the 500 msec). An illustrative packet format for the Approaching Traffic Light Set Notificator is shown in
In some embodiments, each Traffic Light State Notificator periodically transmits a notification informing Transponders of its associated Traffic Light Assembly state. The Traffic Light State Notificator receives information regarding the state of its corresponding Traffic Light Assembly, for example, from the corresponding Traffic Light Assembly itself (see
Frequency coordination between the Stolen Vehicles List Notificator and the Traffic Light State Notificator(s) associated with a particular Traffic Light Set, such as the Traffic Light Set shown on
In accordance with some embodiments of the invention as illustrated in
In some embodiments, the Interrogators following a Traffic Light Set can be of either type—Independent or Dependent. First, assume that Interrogators of the Independent type follow Traffic Light Sets. If a vehicle travels straight-ahead past a Traffic Light Set, and upon interrogation presents a Red Traffic Light State response (within the Traffic Light Assembly S field; see
In accordance with the second embodiments, and in addition to all other embodiments already discussed with respect to said second embodiments, Transponders may be configured such as a non-zero vehicular velocity in conjunction with straight-ahead motion and a Red Traffic Light State from a corresponding (straight-ahead) Traffic Light Assembly will trigger Transponder broadcasts. Transponders may also be configured so that vehicular motion in conjunction with having made a left turn and a Red Traffic Light State from the corresponding left turn Traffic Light Assembly will also trigger Transponder broadcasts, etc. . . .
The notion of having associated a Traffic Light State Notificator with each Traffic Light Assembly (see
In some embodiments, the CPU may ascertain, in substantially real time, the current traffic state (over a geographic area) from a plurality of Interrogators. In response to the current traffic state, the desired traffic state, and the state of a plurality of Traffic Light Assemblies, the CPU may execute an optimization algorithm (e.g., Kalman-based) to determine the optimum set of parameters for said plurality of Traffic Light Assemblies so as to optimally bring about the desired traffic state. Optimal and (nearly) real-time adaptive feedback control of the traffic state may thus be performed by the CPU.
8. The Stop Sign NotificatorIn accordance with these embodiments, a Transponder is notified by a Notificator that it is approaching a stop sign (or that it has just passed by a stop sign). As such, the vehicle associated with the notified Transponder is expected to execute (or to have executed) a complete stop at the stop sign. Thus, in response to such a notification, the vehicle's velocity is examined over a time interval (±τ) about the notification. If a zero velocity reading is found, the vehicle has obeyed the letter of the Law and has stopped at the stop sign; if not, the vehicle is in violation. If the vehicle has not made a complete stop, other questions such as did the vehicle slow down, and if yes by how much, may be asked.
9. The “HHTL” and the “HHTR”The Hand-Held Transponder Loader (HHTL) and the Hand-Held Transponder Retriever (HHTR) are devices that input and output, respectively, information to/from the Transponder according to some embodiments of the present invention. The exchange of information between a HHTL and a Transponder or a HHTR and a Transponder preferably takes place wirelessly. The HHTL may be, for example, used by an Inspection Station to update the contents of a particular Transponder following an inspection of the vehicle associated with said Transponder. The HHTL may also be used to load into a Transponder a plurality of images, each reflecting characteristics of an authorized driver, so that in the event of a violation, correlations between the driver's “image” and the a priori stored images may be performed locally (within the Transponder). These embodiments can reduce or minimize the amount of data that would need to be relayed to the CPU. The HHTL may also be used by the Motor Vehicles Department to periodically load data into Transponders.
In some embodiments, the HHTR may be a portable device that may be used to (wirelessly) extract the records of drivers from Transponders. Law enforcement officials and insurance company agents, for example, may be users of HHTRs. The HHTR may also be equipped with means to delete Transponder records in response to specific input instruction.
10. Other Embodiments 10.1 Ensembles of Shipping Containers/Transportable VehiclesAccording to other embodiments of the invention, shipping containers, or any other ensemble of transportable vehicles, may be equipped with Transponders. Each Transponder may be configured to accept inputs from one or more sensors of a container/transportable vehicle unit, relating to, for example, the contents of the container/transportable vehicle unit, its environmental state, whether the unit has been opened (and when) since it left a particular origin, etc. . . . , and may keep a record of such sensory inputs. At a particular destination (a loading/unloading dock) an Interrogator may be used to survey the ensemble of such container/transportable vehicle units.
In order to conserve battery life (if the Transponder of a container/transportable vehicle unit is operating on battery power) the Transponder may be configured to have a sleep mode whereby it may, for example, sleep for 1 sec., and then wake-up to listen and take sensor readings for 10 msec. If during the listening interval the Transponder detects a “presence signal” of an Interrogator, the Transponder may remain awake in order to read the interrogation message content and respond with unique identifying information. The Transponder may also relay to the Interrogator the contents of its record (a measure of its sensory inputs). Following the Transponder's response to the interrogation, and following a confirmation of reception sent to the Transponder by the Interrogator, the Transponder may return to its sleep mode cycle (i.e., sleeping for 1 sec. and awaking-up for 10 msec. to listen and take sensor readings). Any subsequent detections of the Interrogator's presence signal by the Transponder may be ignored by a Transponder that has already responded and has received confirmation that its response has been received. The time interval for which the subsequent detections of the Interrogator's presence signal may be ignored (by a Transponder that has responded and has received confirmation) may be a priori determined and stored within the Transponder, may be chosen by the Transponder, or may be dictated by the Interrogator's interrogation message. The Interrogator's presence signal may be a direct-sequence-spread and/or frequency-hopping waveform (or even a simple CW) whose parameter values are a priori known to the Transponder. Thus, each time the Transponder wakes-up, acquisition of the Interrogator's presence signal is attempted. If the presence signal is acquired, the Transponder remains awake in order to receive and process an Interrogation.
To reduce or minimize the probability of Transponder response collisions (particularly in areas where there may be a large ensemble of container/transportable vehicle units equipped with Transponders) the Interrogator may selectively command (via the interrogation message) a subset of the ensemble of container/transportable vehicle unit Transponders to respond. Thus, sequentially, subset-by-subset, the entire ensemble of Transponders may be interrogated to respond.
An ensemble of container/transportable vehicle units that may be en-route (on a barge, railroad cart, airplane, or a truck) may also be subject to the same interrogation process described above. In this case, however, a special purpose Interrogator device may be used. The special purpose Interrogator device may be permanently installed on the barge, railroad cart, airplane, or truck. The special purpose Interrogator device may contain an Interrogator (as specified above) in conjunction with a Transponder. The Interrogator component of the special purpose Interrogator device may be configured to interrogate the ensemble of container/transportable vehicle units, as described earlier, and thus gather a summary of their state. This summary may then be relayed to the Transponder component of the special purpose Interrogator device. Thus, as the barge, railroad cart, airplane, or truck that is transporting the ensemble of container/transportable vehicle units passes by an Interrogator (of the type that has been described for usage on the side of roads and/or highways) information reflecting the state of the container/transportable vehicle units ensemble that is en-route may be relayed to a CVIS CPU. The ability to interrogate and ascertain the state of the container/transportable vehicle units ensemble, as it travels from a point of origin to a point of destination, may offer significant Home Land Security benefits.
10.2 Activation/De-Activation of CVISIn some embodiments of the invention, every vehicle may be CVIS equipped (may have a built-in Transponder). However, in other embodiments, not every vehicle's Transponder may be activated. A vehicle's Transponder may be activated voluntarily by the owner of the vehicle or, in the event that it isn't, a vehicle's Transponder may be activated by a Government authority. For example, an automobile insurance company may offer an insurance premium discount with CVIS activation of a vehicle. Thus, some people may choose to have their vehicles CVIS activated. A vehicle that is not CVIS activated and is involved in a number of accidents/traffic violations, may be ordered by the authorities to become CVIS activated.
CVIS may be activated in a vehicle in response to an interrogation message. In some embodiments, the Transponder of a vehicle that is not CVIS activated continues to receive interrogations, it simply does not respond. As such, the vehicle's Transponder may receive an interrogation specifying the vehicle's unique ID and ordering the vehicle to become CVIS active. Thus, from that time on, the Transponder of the vehicle will configure itself in a CVIS active mode and will begin responding to interrogations. This covert mode of CVIS activation may be used by the authorities where there is probable cause (as is the case with legal wire-tapping) to gather information on suspect behavior. A vehicle that has been CVIS activated by the above technique may become CVIS deactivated in response to an interrogation ordering the vehicle's Transponder back into a CVIS dormant mode.
10.3 Anti-Spoofing Embodiments of CVISA jamming device may be used in the vicinity of a CVIS Transponder to prevent the Transponder from deciphering interrogations and/or notifications and thus prevent the Transponder from ever responding to interrogations. The jamming device may be configured to jam the entire band over which the Transponder is configured to receive information from Interrogators and/or Notificators. In order to defeat this threat, the following embodiment may be used:
Since a Transponder knows the frequency that its receiver is tuned to, the Transponder's transmitter may be tuned to the same frequency to transmit an a priori known (to the Transponder receiver) message. In this mode, the transmitter of the Transponder may use a radiating element that is sufficiently apart (spatially) from the Transponder's receiving antenna element (one antenna element may be situated near the front of the vehicle while the other may be positioned near the rear of the vehicle). If the a priori known message that is transmitted by the Transponder's transmitter is not received reliably by the Transponder's receiver (while all other Transponder diagnostics are showing no malfunction) a warning signal/message/alarm may instruct the vehicle's operator to disable the jamming device. If the effect of the jamming device persists for more than a predetermined time interval (following the warning signal/message/alarm) then the vehicle's engine may, for example, stop.
In other embodiments, given the relatively low-cost nature of the Transponder, large-scale redundancy may be provided. Each vehicle may contain a plurality of Transponders, all networked together wirelessly (or otherwise) so that if one fails, the next can provide the necessary functions. The plurality of Transponder chip-sets may be situated in different areas of a vehicle so as to make it difficult to identify and disable. Transponder chip-sets may also be integrated with other electronic functions of a vehicle such that the Transponder assumes an amorphous (or distributed) nature, thus making it difficult for someone to identify, isolate, and disable, without also causing harm to other vehicular electronics.
10.4 Integration of GPS Signal-Processing & Satellite/Terrestrial Transceiver Units with the CVIS TransponderA vehicle may be equipped with GPS signal processing means and with a satellite/terrestrial transceiver capable of communicating directly with a CVIS CPU. Thus, a vehicle may attain a measure of its position from GPS signal processing. Furthermore, a vehicle may be interrogated via a terrestrial wireless system (cellular, PCS, or other) or via a satellite system. In response to such an interrogation, the vehicle may ascertain a measure of its position from processing of GPS signals and may relay directly to a CPU, via the satellite/terrestrial transceiver unit, information responsive to the interrogation.
10.5 Use of CVIS by Emergency Vehicles to Control Traffic SignalsFire trucks, Police vehicles, ambulances, and other authorized vehicles may be equipped with Transponders capable of controlling the traffic signals at intersections along their path. A Transponder of an authorized vehicle may receive, from an Approaching Traffic Light Set Notificator, information regarding an approaching Traffic Light Set. The Transponder of the authorized vehicle may then use this information to command the Traffic Light Set in its path to turn green while all other Traffic Light Sets that may exist at the same intersection are commanded to turn red.
This embodiment of CVIS may provide significant additional safety to motorists, passengers of vehicles, and pedestrians that may be in the vicinity of an emergency vehicle while the emergency vehicle is pursuing its objective at high speed. A hearing impaired person, for example, who may not hear the sirens of an approaching emergency vehicle, may respond to the altered state of traffic signals. Similarly, a vehicle packed with teenagers, with their stereo blasting away at maximum setting, may not hear the sirens of an approaching emergency vehicle but may respond to the altered state of traffic signals.
In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed embodiments of the invention and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A method of acquiring data from an entity;, the method comprising:
- configuring the entity to wirelessly transmit information using frequencies of a predetermined frequency band responsive to receiving at the entity a first signal from a first device;
- wirelessly transmitting the information from the entity using the frequencies of the predetermined frequency band responsive to said configuring and responsive to said wirelessly receiving at the entity the a first signal from the a first device that is external to the entity and at a distance from the entity;
- triggering a second device that is external to the entity and at a distance from the entity and is also external to the first device and at a distance from the first device to wirelessly transmit a second signal responsive to said wirelessly transmitting the information from the entity; and
- wirelessly transmitting data from the entity responsive to wirelessly receiving at the entity the second signal from the second device.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said transmitting the information by the entity and/or said transmitting data by the entity comprises:
- using by the entity a frequency that is provided by the first signal and/or second signal.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
- configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with wirelessly communicating between the entity and the first device and wirelessly communicating between the entity and the second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band;
- configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with the first device using frequencies of a cellular frequency band;
- configuring the entity to wirelessly receive receiving at the entity information from the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band and to and wirelessly relay the relaying information that the entity receives from the first device to the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and
- configuring the entity to wirelessly receive receiving at the entity information from the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and to and wirelessly relay the relaying information that the entity receives from the second device to the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;
- wherein the entity is transportable and/or mobile.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with wirelessly communicating between the entity and the second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band comprises:
- receiving an activation a message at the entity from the first device; and
- configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with wirelessly communicating between the entity and the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band responsive to said receiving an activation a message at the entity from the first device.
5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:
- refraining by the entity from wirelessly communicating with the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring absent having received at the entity the activation message from the first device.
6. A transceiver comprising:
- a system that is configured to wirelessly transmit information using frequencies of a predetermined frequency band responsive to having received a first signal from h first device; perform operations comprising:
- wherein the system is further configured to trigger a second device to transmit a second signal responsive to the system having received the first signal from the first device; and
- wherein the system is further configured to transmit data responsive to having received the second signal that is transmitted by the second device
- wirelessly transmitting information responsive to wirelessly receiving a first signal from a first device that is external to the system and at a distance from the system;
- triggering a second device that is external to the system and at a distance from the system and is also external to the first device and at a distance from the first device to wirelessly transmit a second signal responsive to said wirelessly transmitting the information; and
- wirelessly transmitting data responsive to receiving at the system the second signal from the second device.
7. The transceiver according to claim 6, wherein the system is configured to wirelessly transmit the information and/or the data by using a frequency that is provided by the first signal and/or second signal.
8. The transceiver according to claim 6, wherein the system is further configured to operations further comprises:
- wirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band;
- wirelessly communicate with the first device using frequencies of a cellular frequency band;
- wirelessly receive information from the first device over frequencies of the cellular frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is received from the first device to the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and
- wirelessly receive information from the second device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is received from the second device to the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;
- wirelessly communicating between the system and the first device and wirelessly communicating between the system and the second device;
- wirelessly receiving at the system information from the first device and wirelessly relaying information that the system receives from the first device to the second device; and
- wirelessly receiving at the system information from the second device and wirelessly relaying information that the system receives from the second device to the first device;
- wherein the transceiver is transportable and/or mobile.
9. The transceiver according to claim 8, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive an activation message from the first device for the purpose of configuring the system of the transceiver to wirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band operations further comprise:
- wirelessly receiving a message at the system from the first device; and
- wirelessly communicating between the system and the second device responsive to said wirelessly receiving a message at the system from the first device.
10. The transceiver according to claim 9, wherein the system is further configured to refrain from wirelessly communicating with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring having received the activation message from the first device operations further comprise:
- refraining by the system from wirelessly communicating with the second device absent having received at the system the message from the first device.
11. A wireless communications method comprising:
- receiving a first signal at an entity from a first device over a short-range wireless link;
- transmitting data from the entity to a second device over a long-range link responsive to having received the first signal at the entity from the first device over the short-range wireless link;
- receiving a second signal at the entity from the second device over the long-range link; and
- exchanging data between the entity and the first device over the short-range wireless link, while refraining from exchanging data between the entity and the second device over the long-range link, responsive to having received the second signal at the entity from the second device over the long-range link.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the long-range link comprises a wireless link and wherein transmitting data from the entity to the second device over the long-range link comprises transmitting data using frequencies of a licensed band.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein transmitting data using frequencies of a licensed band comprises transmitting data using frequencies of a cellular, PCS, microwave and/or satellite band of frequencies.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein transmitting data from the entity to the first device over the short-range wireless link comprises transmitting data using frequencies of an unlicensed band.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein transmitting data using frequencies of an unlicensed band comprises transmitting data using ISM band frequencies.
16. The method of claim 11, wherein the entity is mobile.
17. A transceiver comprising:
- a system that is configured to receive a first signal from a first device over a short-range wireless link; to transmit data to a second device over a long-range link responsive to having received the first signal from the first device over the short-range wireless link; and to receive a second signal from the second device over the long-range link;
- wherein the system is further configured to exchange data with the first device over the short-range wireless link, and to refrain from exchanging data with the second device over the long-range link, responsive to having received the second signal from the second device over the long-range link.
18. The transceiver according to claim 17, wherein the long-range link comprises a wireless link and wherein the system is configured to transmit data to the second device over the long-range link using frequencies of a licensed band.
19. The transceiver according to claim 18, wherein the frequencies of the licensed band comprise frequencies of a cellular, PCS, microwave and/or satellite band of frequencies.
20. The transceiver according to claim 17, wherein the system is configured to transmit data to the first device over the short-range wireless link using frequencies of an unlicensed band.
21. The transceiver according to claim 20, wherein the frequencies of the unlicensed band comprise ISM band frequencies.
22. The transceiver according to claim 17, wherein the transceiver is mobile.
23. A communications method comprising:
- configuring an entity to wirelessly communicate with a first device using frequencies of a cellular frequency band;
- configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band;
- configuring the entity to wirelessly receive information from the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that the entity receives from the first device to the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and
- configuring the entity to wirelessly receive information from the second device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that the entity receives from the second device to the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;
- wherein the entity is transportable and/or mobile; and
- wherein said configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band comprises:
- wirelessly receiving an activation message at the entity from the first device;
- configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band responsive to said wirelessly receiving an activation message at the entity from the first device; and
- refraining by the entity from wirelessly communicating with the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring having received at the entity the activation message from the first device.
24. A transceiver comprising a system that is configured to:
- wirelessly communicate with a first device using frequencies of a cellular frequency band;
- wirelessly communicate with a second device using frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band;
- wirelessly receive information from the first device over frequencies of the cellular frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is received from the first device to the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and
- wirelessly receive information from the second device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is received from the second device to the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band;
- wherein the system is further configured to wirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band responsive to having received an activation message from the first device;
- wherein the system is further configured to refrain from wirelessly communicating with the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring having received the activation message from the first device; and
- wherein the transceiver is transportable and/or mobile.
25. A method of acquiring data from an entity, the method comprising:
- configuring the entity to wirelessly transmit information using frequencies of a predetermined frequency band responsive to receiving at the entity a first signal from a first device;
- transmitting the information from the entity using the frequencies of the predetermined frequency band responsive to said configuring and responsive to said receiving at the entity the first signal from the first device;
- triggering a second device to transmit a second signal responsive to said transmitting the information from the entity; and
- transmitting data from the entity responsive to receiving at the entity the second signal from the second device;
- wherein the predetermined frequency band comprises frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band;
- wherein said receiving at the entity a first signal from a first device comprises receiving at the entity the first signal from the first device over frequencies of a cellular frequency band; and
- wherein the entity is transportable and/or mobile.
26. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:
- configuring the entity to wirelessly receive information from the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that the entity receives from the first device to the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and
- configuring the entity to wirelessly receive information from the second device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and to wirelessly relay the information that the entity receives from the second device to the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band.
27. The method according to claim 25, further comprising:
- wirelessly receiving an activation message at the entity from the first device; and
- configuring the entity to wirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band responsive to said wirelessly receiving an activation message at the entity from the first device.
28. The method according to claim 27, further comprising:
- refraining by the entity from wirelessly communicating with the second device by using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring having received at the entity the activation message from the first device.
29. A transceiver comprising:
- a system that is configured to:
- wirelessly transmit information using frequencies of a predetermined frequency band responsive to having received a first signal from a first device;
- wherein the system is further configured to trigger a second device to transmit a second signal responsive to the system having received the first signal from the first device; and
- wherein the system is further configured to transmit data responsive to having received the second signal that is transmitted by the second device;
- wherein the system is configured to receive the first signal from the first device over frequencies of a cellular frequency band and to receive the second signal from the second device over frequencies of an unlicensed frequency band;
- wherein the transceiver is transportable and/or mobile.
30. The transceiver according to claim 29, wherein the system is further configured to:
- wirelessly receive information from the first device over frequencies of the cellular frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is received from the first device to the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band; and
- wirelessly receive information from the second device over frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band and wirelessly relay the information that is received from the second device to the first device using frequencies of the cellular frequency band.
31. The transceiver according to claim 29, wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive an activation message from the first device for the purpose of configuring the system of the transceiver to wirelessly communicate with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band.
32. The transceiver according to claim 31, wherein the system is further configured to refrain from wirelessly communicating with the second device using frequencies of the unlicensed frequency band barring having received the activation message from the first device.
33. A method of acquiring data from an entity, the method comprising:
- wirelessly receiving at the entity a first signal from a first device that is external to the entity, in motion relative to the entity and at a distance from the entity; the first signal comprising an identity and a spatial coordinate;
- responsive to said wirelessly receiving at the entity the first signal from the first device, triggering the entity to wirelessly transmit a second signal intended for the first device so that only the first device will respond upon wirelessly receiving said second signal and will transmit a third signal for the entity so that only the entity will respond upon wirelessly receiving said third signal; and
- responding by the entity responsive to wirelessly receiving at the entity said third signal.
34. The method according to claim 33, wherein the second signal also comprises an identity and a spatial coordinate.
35. The method according to claim 33, further comprising:
- ascertaining, in substantially real time, a traffic state associated with moving vehicles; and
- altering said traffic state.
36. The method according to claim 33, wherein said first signal is received at the entity at a first frequency, the second signal is transmitted by the entity at a second frequency that differs from the first frequency; and wherein the third signal is received by the entity at the second frequency.
37. The method according to claim 33, wherein said first signal is received at the entity at a first frequency, the second signal is transmitted by the entity at the first frequency; and wherein the third signal is received by the entity at the first frequency.
38. A system that is configured to perform operations comprising:
- wirelessly receiving a first signal from a first device that is external to the system, in motion relative to the system and at a distance from the system; the first signal comprising an identity and a spatial coordinate;
- responsive to said wirelessly receiving the first signal from the first device, triggering the system to wirelessly transmit a second signal intended for the first device so that only the first device will respond upon wirelessly receiving said second signal and will transmit a third signal for the system so that only the system will respond upon wirelessly receiving said third signal; and
- responding by the system responsive to wirelessly receiving at the system said third signal.
39. The system according to claim 38, wherein the second signal also comprises an identity and a spatial coordinate.
40. The system according to claim 38, wherein said operations further comprise:
- ascertaining, in substantially real time, a traffic state associated with moving vehicles; and
- altering said traffic state.
41. The system according to claim 38, wherein said first signal is received at the system at a first frequency, the second signal is transmitted by the system at a second frequency that differs from the first frequency; and wherein the third signal is received by the system at the second frequency.
42. The system according to claim 38, wherein said first signal is received at the system at a first frequency, the second signal is transmitted by the system at the first frequency; and wherein the third signal is received by the system at the first frequency.
43. A method of acquiring data, the method comprising:
- responsive to wirelessly receiving a first signal, wirelessly transmitting a first transmission to a first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device; and then
- refraining, over a predetermined time interval following said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device, from transmitting a second transmission to the first device, even though said transmitting the second transmission to the first device would have taken place absent said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and absent having conveyed said first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device.
44. The method according to claim 43, further comprising:
- wirelessly receiving a second signal responsive to said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device; said second signal comprising a confirmation that said wirelessly transmitting a first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device has occurred.
45. A system that is configured to perform operations comprising:
- responsive to wirelessly receiving a first signal, wirelessly transmitting a first transmission to a first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device; and
- responsive to said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device, refraining over a predetermined time interval following said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device, from transmitting a second transmission to the first device, even though said transmitting the second transmission to the first device would have taken place absent said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device.
46. The system according to claim 45, wherein the operations further comprise:
- wirelessly receiving a second signal responsive to said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device; said second signal comprising a confirmation that said wirelessly transmitting a first transmission to the first device and conveying first data via said wirelessly transmitting the first transmission to the first device has occurred.
47. A method of acquiring data from a transponder by using an interrogator, the method comprising:
- wirelessly transmitting and receiving by the interrogator using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly transmitting, by the interrogator, a plurality of interrogations comprising a periodic sequence of interrogations and a time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- responsive to wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator a first interrogation of said plurality of interrogations, wirelessly receiving by the interrogator a data packet from the transponder, wherein the data packet comprises an identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field, wherein wirelessly receiving the data packet comprises: wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder; following wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder; and following wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder, wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said CRC field;
- processing by the interrogator said identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder;
- processing by the interrogator said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder; and
- processing by the interrogator said CRC field;
- wherein the interrogator is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the transponder and while the interrogator is positioned at a predetermined location proximate to a highway.
48. The method according to claim 47, further comprising:
- following said wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said data packet, and prior to wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator a second interrogation, of said periodic sequence of interrogations, that follows said first interrogation, wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator data to the transponder.
49. A method of providing data by a transponder to an interrogator, the method comprising:
- wirelessly receiving and transmitting by the transponder using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly receiving by the transponder, a plurality of interrogations from the interrogator comprising a periodic sequence of interrogations and a time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- triggering the transponder, responsive to receiving an interrogation of said plurality of interrogations, to wirelessly transmit a data packet, the data packet comprising an identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, followed by information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and then, followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field; and
- wirelessly transmitting by the transponder the identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, followed by wirelessly transmitting by the transponder said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and then, followed by wirelessly transmitting by the transponder said CRC field;
- wherein the transponder is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the interrogator and while the transponder is positioned in a motor vehicle.
50. A method of acquiring data from a transponder by using an interrogator, the method comprising:
- wirelessly transmitting and receiving by the interrogator using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly transmitting and receiving by the transponder using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator, a plurality of interrogations comprising a periodic sequence of interrogations and a time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- wirelessly receiving by the transponder, the plurality of interrogations from the interrogator comprising the periodic sequence of interrogations and the time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- triggering by a first interrogation, of said periodic sequence of interrogations, the transponder to wirelessly transmit a signal so that said signal that is transmitted wirelessly by the transponder is received wirelessly by the interrogator;
- wirelessly transmitting by the transponder said signal comprising a data packet, the data packet comprising an identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, followed by information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and then, followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field; and
- wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said signal transmitted by the transponder comprising said data packet;
- wherein the interrogator is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the transponder and while the interrogator is positioned at a predetermined location proximate to a highway; and
- wherein the transponder is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the interrogator and while the transponder is positioned in a motor vehicle.
51. The method according to claim 50, further comprising:
- following wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said signal transmitted by the transponder comprising said data packet, and prior to a second interrogation of said periodic sequence of interrogations that follows said first interrogation, wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator data to the transponder.
52. A system of acquiring data from a transponder by using an interrogator, the system comprising the interrogator and the transponder and configured to perform operations comprising:
- wirelessly transmitting and receiving by the interrogator using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly transmitting, by the interrogator, a plurality of interrogations comprising a periodic sequence of interrogations and a time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- responsive to wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator a first interrogation of said plurality of interrogations, wirelessly receiving by the interrogator a data packet from the transponder, wherein the data packet comprises an identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field, wherein wirelessly receiving by the interrogator the data packet comprises:
- wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder;
- following said wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder; and
- following wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder, wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said CRC field;
- processing by the interrogator said identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder;
- processing by the interrogator said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder; and
- processing by the interrogator said CRC field;
- wherein the interrogator is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the transponder and while the interrogator is positioned at a predetermined location proximate to a highway.
53. The system according to claim 52, wherein the operations further comprise:
- following said wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said data packet, and prior to wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator a second interrogation, of said periodic sequence of interrogations, that follows said first interrogation, wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator data to the transponder.
54. A system of providing data by a transponder to an interrogator, the system comprising the interrogator and the transponder and configured to perform operations comprising:
- wirelessly receiving and transmitting by the transponder using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly receiving by the transponder, a plurality of interrogations from the interrogator comprising a periodic sequence of interrogations and a time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- triggering the transponder, by an interrogation of said plurality of interrogations, to wirelessly transmit a data packet, the data packet comprising an identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, followed by information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and then, followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field; and
- wirelessly transmitting by the transponder, the identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, followed by wirelessly transmitting by the transponder said information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and then, followed by wirelessly transmitting by the transponder said CRC field;
- wherein the transponder is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the interrogator and while the transponder is positioned in a motor vehicle.
55. A system of acquiring data from a transponder by using an interrogator, the system comprising the interrogator and the transponder and configured to perform operations comprising:
- wirelessly transmitting and receiving by the interrogator using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly transmitting and receiving by the transponder using a Time Division Duplex Multiplexing approach;
- wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator, a plurality of interrogations comprising a periodic sequence of interrogations and a time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- wirelessly receiving by the transponder, the plurality of interrogations from the interrogator comprising the periodic sequence of interrogations and the time separation between successive interrogations of less than 0.5 seconds;
- triggering by a first interrogation, of said periodic sequence of interrogations, the transponder to wirelessly transmit a signal so that said signal that is transmitted wirelessly by the transponder is received wirelessly by the interrogator;
- transmitting by the transponder said signal wirelessly comprising a data packet, the data packet comprising an identification field that is uniquely associated with the transponder, followed by information that is provided to the transponder via a wireless transmission thereto from a device external to the transponder and then, followed by a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) field; and
- wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said signal transmitted by the transponder comprising said data packet;
- wherein the interrogator is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the transponder and while the interrogator is positioned at a predetermined location proximate to a highway; and
- wherein the transponder is configured to perform operations while being in motion relative to the interrogator and while the transponder is positioned in a motor vehicle.
56. The system according to claim 55, wherein the operations further comprise:
- following wirelessly receiving by the interrogator said signal transmitted by the transponder comprising said data packet, and prior to a second interrogation of said periodic sequence of interrogations that follows said first interrogation, wirelessly transmitting by the interrogator data to the transponder.
3824469 | July 1974 | Ristenbatt |
4591823 | May 27, 1986 | Horvat |
4768220 | August 30, 1988 | Yoshihara et al. |
5014052 | May 7, 1991 | Obeck |
5067147 | November 19, 1991 | Lee |
5093924 | March 3, 1992 | Toshiyuki et al. |
5194846 | March 16, 1993 | Lee et al. |
5243598 | September 7, 1993 | Lee |
5289183 | February 22, 1994 | Hassett et al. |
5309503 | May 3, 1994 | Bruckert et al. |
5349631 | September 20, 1994 | Lee |
5483666 | January 9, 1996 | Yamada et al. |
5491469 | February 13, 1996 | Schwendeman |
5550536 | August 27, 1996 | Flaxl |
5565858 | October 15, 1996 | Guthrie |
5608723 | March 4, 1997 | Felsenstein |
5621412 | April 15, 1997 | Sharpe et al. |
5625672 | April 29, 1997 | Yamada |
5732360 | March 24, 1998 | Jarett et al. |
5737705 | April 7, 1998 | Ruppel et al. |
5771454 | June 23, 1998 | Ohsawa |
5787346 | July 28, 1998 | Iseyama |
5794151 | August 11, 1998 | McDonald et al. |
5812522 | September 22, 1998 | Lee et al. |
5822698 | October 13, 1998 | Tang et al. |
5828963 | October 27, 1998 | Grandhi et al. |
5870392 | February 9, 1999 | Ann |
5898384 | April 27, 1999 | Alt et al. |
5898683 | April 27, 1999 | Matsumoto et al. |
5915219 | June 22, 1999 | Pöyhönen |
5920818 | July 6, 1999 | Frodigh et al. |
5924030 | July 13, 1999 | Rautiola et al. |
5960351 | September 28, 1999 | Przelomiec |
5960352 | September 28, 1999 | Cherpantier |
5963129 | October 5, 1999 | Warner |
5963848 | October 5, 1999 | D' Avello |
5978117 | November 2, 1999 | Koonen |
6023459 | February 8, 2000 | Clark et al. |
6032046 | February 29, 2000 | Nakano |
6052595 | April 18, 2000 | Schellinger et al. |
6107917 | August 22, 2000 | Carrender et al. |
6112152 | August 29, 2000 | Tuttle |
6124810 | September 26, 2000 | Segal et al. |
6127928 | October 3, 2000 | Issacman et al. |
6219539 | April 17, 2001 | Basu et al. |
6223125 | April 24, 2001 | Hall |
6246954 | June 12, 2001 | Berstis et al. |
6314299 | November 6, 2001 | Schreib et al. |
6317598 | November 13, 2001 | Wiesen et al. |
6326903 | December 4, 2001 | Gross et al. |
6381231 | April 30, 2002 | Silventoinen et al. |
6396417 | May 28, 2002 | Lee |
6404751 | June 11, 2002 | Roark et al. |
6418317 | July 9, 2002 | Cuffaro et al. |
6442473 | August 27, 2002 | Berstis et al. |
6463279 | October 8, 2002 | Sherman et al. |
6512752 | January 28, 2003 | H'mimy et al. |
6535544 | March 18, 2003 | Partyka |
6538563 | March 25, 2003 | Heng |
6570487 | May 27, 2003 | Steeves |
6606033 | August 12, 2003 | Crocker et al. |
6631268 | October 7, 2003 | Lilja |
6653946 | November 25, 2003 | Hassett |
6674966 | January 6, 2004 | Koonen |
6704546 | March 9, 2004 | Lucidarme et al. |
6747558 | June 8, 2004 | Thorne et al. |
6864784 | March 8, 2005 | Loeb |
6901057 | May 31, 2005 | Rune et al. |
6975667 | December 13, 2005 | Mattisson et al. |
6975865 | December 13, 2005 | Väisänen |
6980838 | December 27, 2005 | Hiben et al. |
6985090 | January 10, 2006 | Ebner et al. |
6990348 | January 24, 2006 | Benveniste |
7026935 | April 11, 2006 | Diorio et al. |
7044387 | May 16, 2006 | Becker et al. |
7095719 | August 22, 2006 | Wilhelmsson et al. |
7099675 | August 29, 2006 | Keutmann et al. |
7133680 | November 7, 2006 | Crisan |
7245602 | July 17, 2007 | Skubic et al. |
7257426 | August 14, 2007 | Witkowski et al. |
7283037 | October 16, 2007 | Diorio et al. |
7286040 | October 23, 2007 | Karabinis |
7307964 | December 11, 2007 | Nakai et al. |
7328004 | February 5, 2008 | Wolters et al. |
7605842 | October 20, 2009 | Wilsey et al. |
7642897 | January 5, 2010 | Karabinis |
7792484 | September 7, 2010 | Andreason |
8665068 | March 4, 2014 | Karabinis |
20010002906 | June 7, 2001 | Rune |
20010002908 | June 7, 2001 | Rune et al. |
20010016499 | August 23, 2001 | Hamabe |
20010049284 | December 6, 2001 | Liu et al. |
20020059612 | May 16, 2002 | Kita |
20020065099 | May 30, 2002 | Bjorndahl |
20030016143 | January 23, 2003 | Ghazarian |
20030060159 | March 27, 2003 | Brynielsson |
20040248573 | December 9, 2004 | Wandel |
20070137514 | June 21, 2007 | Kumar |
20160054140 | February 25, 2016 | Breed |
43 41 813 | June 1995 | DE |
1 090 800 | April 2001 | EP |
1 090 800 | April 2001 | EP |
1 241 632 | September 2002 | EP |
1 255 374 | November 2002 | EP |
2 649 517 | January 1991 | FR |
WO 99/53446 | October 1999 | WO |
WO 01/50435 | July 2001 | WO |
WO 01/58181 | August 2001 | WO |
WO 01/58181 | August 2001 | WO |
- Federal Aviation Administration, “Surveillance Vision Plan, Revision 2”, United States Department of Transportation AND-440, Jul. 1, 1996, pp. 1-77.
- Communication with Supplementary European Search Report, EP 03 75 0021, Aug. 31, 2006.
- International Search Report, PCT/US03/07770,Jul. 2, 2004.
- Brickhouse et al., “Urban In-Building Cellular Frequency Reuse”, IEEE Global Telecommunications Conference, vol. 2 Nov. 1996, pp. 1192-1196.
- Cover, “Broadcast Channels”, IEEE Trans on Info. Theory, vol. 18, No. 1, Jan. 1972, pp. 2-14.
- Drucker, “Development and Application of a Cellular Repeater”, Proc. IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, Jun. 1988, pp. 321-325.
- Finean, “Satellite Access in FPLMTS”, PhD Thesis Review and Contents, University of Surrey Centre for Satellite Engineering Research, downloaded May 15, 2012 from rfinean.tripod.com/PhD/.
- Finean, Satellite Channel Assignment, Chapter 7 from PhD Thesis “Satellite Access in FPLMTS”, University of Surrey Centre for Satellite Engineering Research, 1996, pp. 79-115.
- Galda et al., “A Low Complexity Transmitter Structure for OFDM-FDMA Uplink Systems” IEEE 55th Vehicular Technology Conference, 2002, vol. 4, May 2002, pp. 1737-1741.
- Gallager, “A Perspective on Multi-Access Channels”, IEEE Trans. on Info. Theory, vol. 31, No. 2, Mar. 1985, pp. 124-142.
- Iyer et al., “Intelligent Networking for Digital Cellular System and the Wireless World”, Proc. IEEE Globecom, vol. 1, Dec. 1990, pp. 475-479.
- MacKenzie et al., “Game Theory and the Design of Self-Configuring, Adaptive Wireless Networks”, IEEE Communications Magazine, Nov. 2001, pp. 126-131.
- Murray et al., “Adaptive Radio Resource Management for GSM/GPRS Networks”, ISCC, Cork Ireland, Nov. 27, 2001, 6 pp.
- Quinn, “The Cell Enhancer”, Proc. IEEE Vehicular Technology Conference, vol. 36, May 1986, pp. 77-83.
- Silventoinen et al., “Analysis of a New Channel Access Method for Home Base Station”, 5th IEEE International Conference on Universal Personal Communications, Nokia Res. Center, Helsinki, Sep. 29-Oct. 2, 1996, pp. 930-935.
- Stocker, “Small-Cell Mobile Phone Systems”, IEEE Trans. on Vehicular Technology, vol. 33, No. 4, Nov. 1984, pp. 269-275.
- Walser, “Feasible Cellular Frequency Assignment Using Constraint Programming Abstractions”, Proceedings of the Workshop on Constraint Programming Applications, Aug. 1996, 10 pp.
- Wyner, Shannon-Theoretic Approach to a Gaussian Cellular Multiple-Access Channel, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, vol. 40, No. 6, Nov. 1994, pp. 1713-1727.
- USPTO Patent Full-Text and Image Database, Patent Database Search Results: ACLM/“unlicensed frequency band” in US Patent Collection, retrieved Dec. 10, 2014 from http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fne . . .
- Federal Communications Commission, “Access Spectrum” retrieved Dec. 12, 2014 from http://www.fcc.gov/encyclopedia/accessing-spectrum, 2 pp.
- Motorola, White Paper: “Licensed Versus Unlicensed Wireless”, retrieved Dec. 12, 2014 from http://www.winncom.com/images/stories/Motorola_Licensed_Versus_Unlicensed_Wireless_WP.pdf, 6 pp.
- TechTarget, “What's the difference between licensed and unlicensed wireless?”, retrieved Dec. 12, 2014 from http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/answer/Whats-the-difference-between-licensed-and-unlicensed-wireless, 6 pp.
- Tetz, “Radio Frequencies and Wireless Networks”, retrieved Dec. 12, 2014 from http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/radio-frequencies-and-wireless-networks.html, 3 pp.
Type: Grant
Filed: Feb 28, 2017
Date of Patent: May 28, 2019
Assignee: Odyssey Wireless, Inc. (Cary, NC)
Inventor: Peter D. Karabinis (Cary, NC)
Primary Examiner: Ovidio Escalante
Application Number: 15/444,486
International Classification: G06K 7/01 (20060101); G08G 1/0967 (20060101); G01D 21/00 (20060101); G08G 1/017 (20060101); G08G 1/01 (20060101); H04W 24/00 (20090101); G08G 1/00 (20060101);