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Claims  |
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What is claimed is:
1. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting supervising personnel responsible for said object, said security
system determining the geographic position of said object using position
signals transmitted by a geographic positioning system, comprising
a terminal, and
an object beacon;
said object beacon including
a geographic position determining device attached to said object including
a microprocessor and a memory for storing programs to be executed by said
microprocessor,
first receiving means for receiving said position signals from transmitters
of said geographic positioning system,
a wireless communication port connected to a receiver and a transmitter for
transmitting alert messages and receiving first data,
said first data including confirmation data and deactivation data,
a wired connection port for transferring said programs and second data from
said terminal to said memory;
said second data including allowed geographic position data defining at
least one allowed geographical area for said object predetermined by said
supervising personnel and defining all areas outside said at least one
allowed geographical area as disallowed geographical areas for said
object, and data identifying said object to be protected; said second data
remaining unmodified when said terminal is not connected to said wired
connection port;
said programs including
a first program for determining an actual geographic position of said
object using said position signals received by said first receiving means
and supplied to said microprocessor,
a second program including a first subprogram for comparing said so
determined actual geographic position with said allowed geographic
position data and generating a first alert message if said actual position
does not match said allowed position data, said second program repeating
said alert message until said receiver receives said deactivation data;
a first timer for periodically executing said first program,
a second timer for repetitively executing said second program;
said terminal for generating said programs and transferring said programs
via said wired connection port of said object beacon to said memory, and
for receiving said alert messages via said wireless communication port,
said terminal being locally independent of said object beacon when
monitoring said geographic position determining device and including means
for generating and transmitting messages to said supervising personnel
upon receiving an alert message from said object beacon.
2. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1
wherein said position signals are received from global position
satellites.
3. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said position signals are received from LORAN or GLONASS position
transmitters.
4. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said object is a person.
5. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said second data include data defining a plurality of allowed
zones for said object.
6. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said second data include data defining a plurality of allowed
geographical areas for said object and at least one disallowed area inside
at least one of said allowed geographical areas.
7. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said second data include data defining a plurality of temporary
allowed geographical areas for said object and timing data defining times
of allowance for said temporary allowed geographical areas.
8. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said second data include data defining a plurality of temporary
allowed geographical areas and disallowed areas for said object and timing
data defining times of allowance and disallowance for said temporary
geographical areas.
9. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said object beacon further includes a second receiving means for
receiving position signals from a local transmitter of a global
positioning system; and wherein said position determining device uses said
second receiving means if said first receiving means does not provide said
position signals.
10. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further comprising
power supply means including a battery and a recharge terminal for
recharging said battery with a charge voltage of a predetermined type and
voltage, and
sensing means for determining type and voltage of an applied voltage and
issuing an alert signal if said applied voltage is not of said
predetermined type and voltage;
said second program further including a second subprogram for generating a
second alert message if said sensing means issues said alert signal.
11. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further including
an alarm terminal and an alarm button connected to said alarm terminal,
said alarm terminal issuing a first alarm signal if said alarm button is
operated, and a second alarm signal if said connection between said alarm
terminal and said alarm button is interrupted;
said second program further including a subprogram for generating a third
alert message if said alarm button is operated.
12. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further including
a tamper-proof lock for attaching said device to said object, said lock
issuing a third alarm signal if said lock is defective,
said second program further including a subprogram for generating a fourth
alert message if said lock issues said third alarm signal.
13. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon being attached to said object by mechanical fastening
means,
said object beacon further including an anti-tampering circuit for checking
integrity of said mechanical fastening means.
14. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 13,
wherein said mechanical fastening means include electrical sensing means
for indicating changes in conductivity,
said anti-tampering circuit issuing an alert signal if said electrical
sensing means indicate a change in conductivity of said mechanical
fastening means.
15. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further includes an audible alarm device activatable by
said micro-processor upon receiving a command included in said first data
or executing one of said stored programs.
16. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
wherein said object beacon further includes a voice synthesizer for
providing acoustical messages of said stored programs to be transmitted
via said wireless communication port.
17. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further includes a microphone for collecting audible
information,
said microphone being activatable by said micro-processor upon receiving a
command included in said first data or executing one of said stored
programs,
said collected audible information being processed by said micro-processor
under control of one of said stored programs.
18. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further includes a microphone for collecting audible
information,
said microphone being activatable by said micro-processor upon receiving a
command included in said first data or executing one of said stored
programs,
said collected information being transmitted via said wireless
communication port.
19. A security system for protecting and locating an object, and for
alerting personnel responsible for said object, as claimed in claim 1,
said object beacon further includes an alphanumeric message display for
displaying information,
said information being provided by said micro-processor upon receiving a
command included in said first data or executing one of said stored
programs. |
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Claims |
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Description |
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a systems for locating persons or objects
at predetermined times and under predefined emergency situations in
allowed and disallowed areas.
Recent incidences showed how easy it is to abduct a person, and how
difficult it is to trace the whereabouts of an abducted person. In some of
the incidences the abducted person was not even aware of being abducted
until the person was already moved to a place far away from the location
of abduction. There is often no possibility for the abducted person to
give a warning.
At present there is no security system that can prevent well planned
abductions. The lack of safeguards is significant in child care cases.
Rather than providing increased security by severe restrictions of
movement the device of the present invention improves security by
determining the location of the person and matching the determined
location with listed allowed locations. The allowed locations may be time
dependent.
Locating systems presently used monitor the distance between the object
device and a reference location device by monitoring the signals exchanged
between the object device and the reference location device. As soon as
the object comes closer to the reference point, or separates from the
reference point by more than a predetermined space, an alarm is issued.
Such a system provides for an alarm on/off situation but cannot assist in
locating the object which is outside an allowed area.
The system of the present invention provides a method of protecting
individuals by allowing them to "wear" a device that locates its own
position independent of a monitoring terminal and will transmit that
information to the monitoring terminal when activated. Activation of the
device can be done manually, by pressing a button, or can happen
automatically if the wearer is leaving a predefined zone. Anti-tampering
circuitry is provided that activates if removal or destruction of the
device is attempted.
The same technology can also be applied to detect theft of vehicles and
other mobile or stationary valuable property. The fact that the protected
person or item can be tracked will allow a rapid rescue or recovery.
Recent advances in navigation, communication, and computer technologies
combined provide for the breakthrough. Existing infrastructures such as
the navigation network, the mobile communications network, and emergency
and security services are used.
Most homes and businesses today are protected by fairly elaborate security
systems. The technologies include infrared and ultrasonic motion detectors
and video surveillance systems. Some systems are wired to monitoring
services or patrolled by guards for around-the-clock protection. These
systems cost thousands of dollars to install and security services add
more to the cost every month. New technologies are continually developed,
however, crime is still increasing. The present invention overcomes these
and other deficiencies in a new approach using global position information
for locating a person or an object to be protected. In the following
specification the device attached to the person or object to be protected
is called a `beacon` to underscore one of its most important functions:
send out a message identifying itself and its position.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide for a security system in which
the object to be observed carries a beacon of a positioning system.
It is another object of this invention to provide for a security system in
which the location of an object is determined by the beacon attached to
the object.
It is another object of the invention to provide for a security system in
which the beacon attached to an object broadcasts its position based on
inputs from a positioning system.
It is another object of this invention to provide for a security system in
which the beacon attached to an object determines its position relative to
allowed and forbidden areas.
It is another object of this invention to provide for a security system in
which the beacon attached to the object issues alert signals if it
determines to be in a disallowed area.
It is another object of this invention to provide for a security system in
which the allowed and disallowed areas are defined to change with time.
It is another object of this invention to provide for a security system.
SHORT DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the components of the global security
system.
FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the functional components of the
security beacon.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting the operational cycle of the security
beacon.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting the generational cycle of the beacon in
active mode.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an arrangement for using the present invention
in an otherwise communicationwise inaccessible construction.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
A The Person Protection System
The object protection system of the present invention comprises two major
components: a security beacon and a programming/monitoring terminal. The
security beacon, the beacon, contains a Global Positioning System (GPS)
receiver. This receiver determines its own location from information it
receives from satellites. The security beacon also contains a cellular
telephone designed to transmit and receive data. The GPS receiver and the
cellular data transceiver are both controlled by a microprocessor. Several
anti-tampering circuits, a manually operated call button and an optional
audible or vibration alarm devices can be contained within the beacon. All
of these electronics are contained in a single compact enclosure and
battery powered, preferably using rechargeable batteries. The enclosure is
made of materials such as reinforced plastic and epoxy resin that are
designed to allow electromagnetic radiation to pass yet provide a rugged
and waterproof enclosure.
The security beacon is attached to a person and is fitted in such a way
that it can not be removed except with a key. Various housing
configurations allow it to be worn under clothing, clamped around an
ankle, worn on the chest or back, and is secured by sever-resistant
straps. It can also be worn on the shoulders surrounding the neck, because
the neck opening is smaller than the person's head, so it can not be
removed. A call button for initiating communication with the monitoring
terminal can either be part of the beacon or it may be contained in a
separate housing connected to the beacon.
There are three interconnect ports on the beacon; a battery charging
terminal, a call button interface, and a programmer interface. Only the
battery charging port is accessible while the beacon is locked onto the
wearer or object.
The call button may be a separate unit that is connected via a tiny wire to
the security beacon. It consists of a housing with a button which is
shrouded to guard against accidental depressing. The call button unit may
be combined with an LCD read-out screen and a vibrating silent alarm.
The monitoring/programming terminal is essentially a computer containing a
telephone modem. The terminal is used for several functions:
to create and download programs into the security beacon,
to allow supervising personnel to "answer" a call from the beacon and
receive and display all information transmitted from the beacon,
to monitor a phone line for information sent from the beacon,
to create and send messages to the beacon,
to call the beacon to request information, and
to store a sequence of events during an emergency call and to retrieve
diagnostic information from the beacon,
to send control commands to the beacon, once it is activated, such as turn
on alarm, microphones, redirect the call etc.,
to deactivate the beacon when the incident is over.
Zone programs are created in the terminal by displaying on the terminal
screen a detailed local map and zooming in on the area of interest. Using
cursor controls, a series of coordinates are defined which enclose a
perimeter. The area inside the perimeter is a zone which can be named and
stored in the terminal's memory. A zone can be defined as an allowed area
or as a disallowed/forbidden area. A zone program can be downloaded to the
beacon very quickly via the programmer interface.
In monitoring mode the terminal is connected to a telephone outlet and a
normal phone. The phone can be used normally but it is desirable to have
call waiting, call forward and conference call features on the subject
phone line. These will ensure that a call from the beacon can be dealt
with under all circumstances. The supervising personnel can alternately
send a command to the beacon during an emergency call to cause the beacon
to terminate its initial call and place another call to an alternate
number such as 911.
The monitoring terminal will recognize a call from the beacon and, if
unanswered, will forward the call. Generally the terminal will be set to
911 or a commercial security service number as the call forward
destination. Any number can be chosen for beacon call forwarding.
Telephone calls which are not originated by the beacon will be ignored by
the terminal so these can be forwarded independently, using the regular
telephone system.
The security beacon can be used in the following applications:
Protecting persons against violence and abduction;
Issue of warning notices if a person to be protected leaves a protected
zone or enters a forbidden zone;
House arrest and restraining order enforcement.
The beacon to be worn by the person to be protected is to be programmed by
connecting it to the monitoring/programming terminal. The personal data of
the wearer are stored in the beacon memory. A series of zone programs are
downloaded from the terminal. These zone programs contain data defining
the areas in which the wearer may be and those areas which the wearer is
not to enter. Zone programs may include time limited restraints. Once
loaded, zone programs are maintained as long as the beacon batteries
retain their charge or are being recharged.
Timing information can be correlated to each zone to define when the person
may be in each zone. For child protection purposes a zone program such as
"SCHOOL" will define the area in which the child is expected to be on
weekdays for a period of time in the morning and again in the afternoon.
"PLAYGROUND" might define where the child goes during the lunch break, in
such a case a time period between 12:00 to l:00 pm would be attached to
the PLAYGROUND zone program. The area between home and the child's school,
along the route normally traveled, would be invoked for an earlier period
of time in the morning and again later in the afternoon. Zones and times
may overlap to provide flexibility in the child's schedule. Forbidden
zones may be dangerous areas located within an area in which the wearer
normally would be allowed to be. A forbidden area may be a lake in a park
through which the child may walk before and after school. If the message
receiving option is used, a warning can be printed automatically from the
beacon to its message screen, and/or one of the alarms used, to alert the
wearer that a zone boundary had been violated. If the allowed zone is
returned to within a specified time, an emergency transmission will be
avoided
In general, the zone programs are to be set-up for the regular daily living
environment of the wearer. Zone programs differ from person to person and
differ in their application of protecting, observing and restricting a
person.
Once such a string of programs is loaded into the beacon, a multi-digit
security code is loaded. This code will ensure that only the supervising
person can access the beacon remotely. To ensure secrecy, the code may be
changed any time the terminal is connected to the beacon. It should be
known only to the person supervising the wearer of the beacon.
If use of the call button is desired, it must be connected to the beacon
before locking it on to the wearer.
Once the preparations are completed the beacon can be disconnected from the
terminal, fitted onto the wearer and locked in place. The call button unit
is attached at a convenient and unsuspicious location to the skin or to
clothing of the wearer. The terminal remains connected to the home phone
line and is set to monitoring mode.
The prepared system is ready to provide security and supervision for the
wearer on four different levels:
1) Emergency Call Button Activation
If the wearer perceives danger or requires emergency attention of any kind,
a push of the call button activates the beacon which sends information to
the monitoring terminal. The terminal produces a distinctive alarm tone
indicating an emergency situation. When answered, the terminal begins to
display several pieces of information, the most important of which is the
wearer's identification and location. Other information may include the
current time as well as the time at which the last accurate position of
the wearer was known. When the emergency call button is operated the
beacon immediately begins to determine its present location. It
continuously updates and transmits this information to the terminal. It
may also transmit any speed, elevation and direction in which the wearer
is moving. The monitoring terminal has the ability to display the received
position information as text coordinates and simultaneously as a spot on
its on-screen map to provide user friendly information.
Receiving this information will allow the supervising personnel to plan an
appropriate course of action to provide assistance for the wearer. A phone
call to 911 or a commercial security service would get professional
attention to the wearer as quickly as possible. The wearer's position
information could be relayed to the authorities over the phone to allow
them to locate and assist the wearer.
The call could alternately be forwarded to a mobile monitoring terminal
which would allow the supervising personnel to drive to the assistance of
the wearer while receiving updated position information.
A mobile terminal is the preferred primary terminal. It consists of a
cellular phone, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, and a computer
with keypad to allow beacon programming. It can display on its screen a
map layout, and it has the capability for automatic scaling of the map to
display simultaneously its own position and the position of the beacon on
the same map.
Automatic scaling of the displayed map and determination of the position of
the mobile terminal on the map provides for easy tracking of a person or
object wearing the beacon, even while the terminal and the beacon are
moving. Automatic scaling and position determination of the mobile
terminal and the beacon eliminate the need for interpretation of map
coordinates and manual control of scaling and panning of the displayed
map. Tracking of a security beacon with a mobile terminal can be as
accurate as absolute positioning is using differential GPS. If both the
beacon and the mobile terminal use the same GPS receiver, they will both
receive and interpret the same signals of the GPS with the same
inaccuracies and error parameters. A mobile terminal can therefore track
to, at worst, 10 meters from the beacon without requiring differential
GPS.
Differential GPS is based on the idea that if a GPS receiver is in a known,
fixed location, it can calculate the inaccuracy with which the GPS signal
is received. Because the GPS satellites are so high up, the inaccuracy of
all receivers in a fairly large area will be nearly the same. The
differential fixed receiver can thus transmit a message to all other
receivers in the area telling them what correction factor to use to
improve their accuracy. There are a large number of differential GPS
stations in North-America. Most differential signals are transmitted along
with commercial radio station signals. If the tracked beacon is equipped
with an additional signal generator, such as an audible, ultrasonic or
radio frequency signal generator the signal generator can be activated
from the mobile terminal to enable the searching person to positively
identify the beacon at short distance.
Using the beacon call button, it will be possible to encode the emergency
call for various circumstances. A single push of the button may send a
"general emergency" signal, while pushing the button more than once in
sequence could be linked to a "medical emergency". At the terminal,
operators can distinguish between different types of emergencies and take
appropriate action.
The terminal of the system can also be programmed to automatically direct a
call from the beacon to 911 or a commercial security service if the call
to the supervising personnel is unanswered, the line is busy, or even
under all circumstances. This will require that the security service have
monitoring terminals connected to their phone lines and/or have mobile
terminals.
2) Automatic emergency call if abducted
The personal security beacon determines its location periodically while in
use. It switches from a periodic mode to a continuous mode when an
emergency status is activated, e.g. by operating the emergency button or
leaving an allowed zone, or tampering with any one of the built-in safety
features. If the beacon finds its location to be outside an allowed zone,
designated by the corresponding time, it will automatically perform a
routine to verify its location. If a zone violation is confirmed, the
beacon will activate itself to emergency status, transmitting position
information to the monitoring terminal. It may be programmed to alert the
wearer first and allow the wearer to return to the required or allowed
zone, thus avoiding activation of an emergency status. The warning is
printed to the call button's message screen and the vibrating alarm and/or
audible alarm is activated to alert the wearer.
This automatic mode of activation provides protection in case a wearer is
unable to operate the call button. Such a situation may arise due to
various circumstances such as:
1) The abductor forcibly prevents the wearer from using the call button.
2) The wearer is lured into abduction, rather than forced, and so does not
consider it an emergency situation.
3) The wearer becomes lost or disoriented and wanders out of the allowed
zone.
4) The wearer does not fully understand use of the call button so the
supervising personnel chooses not to attach it to the beacon.
The beacon will also be automatically activated to emergency status if it
detects tampering such as: Force applied to the locking mechanism,
severing of the retaining straps, attempted removal from the user, or
damage to the call button or its interconnecting wires.
Consideration and definition of allowable zones and corresponding times has
to be done with care because if the wearer strays from the allowed zone
the beacon will automatically call the terminal. Under certain
circumstances it can be advantageous to rely solely on activation by the
call button.
Once activated, the beacon remains in emergency mode until the correct
action is taken to deactivate the emergency status.
3) Message receiver
The call button unit or the beacon itself can be equipped with an LCD
screen option for displaying short messages from the terminal. The
supervising personnel can compose messages using the terminal and then
call the beacon using its call number. Transmission of a message may be
secured by a multi digit security code. If so, the supervising personnel
must enter the code matching the one most recently programmed into the
beacon. The message received by the beacon will be displayed on the call
button unit's LCD screen. A vibrating indicator silently may alert the
wearer to the incoming message. Display of a message may be time limited.
Supervising personnel can use this feature to send the wearer messages such
as: CALL HOME, COME HOME NOW, etc.
Direct communication from the beacon to the terminal can be disallowed or
may not be available on some configurations to prevent the possibility of
an abductor forcing the wearer to issue an "all is well" message.
4) Position polling
Any time supervising personnel is curious or concerned as to the
whereabouts of the wearer, a call can be placed from the terminal to the
beacon to poll it for location information. This is done by typing, on the
terminal, the beacon's call number followed by the current multi digit
security code and a position request command. The beacon will respond by
transmitting its current position information to the terminal. There is no
indication to the wearer that position information has been requested.
Position information from the beacon will be accurate enough to find the
vicinity of the wearer within less than 100 meters.
B Other Applications
Police and security officers may wear a personal security beacon so that
assistance can be called instantly, whenever it is required, without
accessing their communication radios and describing their location. This
is especially useful if the person is "on the move", if silence is
required, or the person is injured or is about to lose consciousness.
The Person Protector System can be used to assist law enforcement officials
in providing protection to other persons. A personal security beacon can
be locked to a threatened person. The key may be kept by the officials.
The corresponding terminal would also be monitored by the officials. Call
button activation would generally be used to report danger, however, a
series of zone programs could be used if abduction or kidnapping of the
protected person is suspected.
In these cases battery recharging will be required while the beacon is
being worn because the wearer will be unable to remove it. The beacon
detects when charging is taking place, and is programmable for a
particular battery charging schedule. If charging does not take place when
required, the beacon will automatically transmit that information to the
monitoring terminal. Activation will also occur any time a low battery
charge condition is detected. With this information provided by the
beacon, and use of the position polling feature available, any violation
or malfunction can be detected remotely, by the authorities, and dealt
with accordingly.
Enforcement of house arrest and restraining order enforcement could be
handled with the system of the present invention much more accurately than
present systems provide. The ankle-bracelet type electronic beacons
presently used in house-arrest cases detect only that the ankle bracelet
is in the vicinity of the assigned receiver beacon. These ankle-bracelet
beacons provide virtually no means for tracking the wearer outside the
range of the assigned receiver beacon. The present invention provides for
means for defining allowable zones, and times during which an allowable
zone may be occupied, zones disallowed at all times, as well as recharge
schedules. This information is programmed into the beacon by law
enforcement officials. The beacon is then locked to the person and
monitored by the officials.
Enforcement of restraining orders relating to maintaining a set distance
between two persons can be done in two ways assuming both the persons are
equipped with appropriate equipment.
1) The person or object to be protected has an encoding signal transmitter.
The person under restraining order wears a beacon with an additional
receiver tuned to and enabled to decode the signal generated by the
protective transmitter. Any time the person under restraining order comes
within range of the protective transmitter, the beacon is activated and
appropriate action can be taken by the supervising person at the alarm
receiving terminal.
2) Both the threatened person and the threatening person are required to
wear a beacon of the present invention. A terminal for monitoring each
beacon would be maintained by a supervising authority. Each beacon would
be programmed to "phone" the other beacon at alternating intervals and
request its position. If the positions of the two beacons were found to be
too close together, a warning message would be sent to each wearer
indicating that a potential violation had occurred. If greater separation
distance was not provided within a predetermined time limit, both beacons
would be triggered into emergency mode allowing the supervising authority
to track one or both the parties.
C Object Protection System
Technology similar to the Person Protector System can be used to detect, as
well as to trace or track, stolen vehicles without the need to chase them.
The Object Protector System consists of two elements, a security beacon and
a Remote Control. Monitoring terminal and call button unit are optional.
The beacon is attached to the object, e.g. a motor vehicle, in a secure and
hidden location. The Remote Control is kept by the owner or operator and
consists of a tiny, low power, signal transmitter with a multi button
keypad. The transmitted signal may be a radio signal, an acoustical
signal, or an optical signal.
Required programming for the security beacon is minimal and can be done by
interconnecting it to the remote control via an interface cable.
Programming can be accomplished also via a monitoring/programming
terminal.
Automatic Activation if Stolen:
When for example the motor vehicle is parked, the beacon automatically
stores its location in memory. Before the vehicle is moved the beacon must
receive a transmitted signal containing a preprogrammed security code. The
code is transmitted by pushing the correct sequence of buttons on the
Remote Control.
The security code can be changed, as often as desired, by interconnecting
the security beacon and the remote control via the interface cable. Beacon
programming is done via direct connection, rather than transmission, to
prevent reception of the code by unauthorized persons.
While the vehicle is parked, the beacon periodically determines and records
its position. If the vehicle is started, without having received the
security code transmission, it will automatically activate to emergency
status. If the vehicle is moved, even without being started, the beacon
will also become activated.
When activated, the beacon will call a preprogrammed phone number such as
911 or a commercial security service. When the call is answered the beacon
will first transmit a "stolen vehicle" message, including the license
plate number, and the owner's name and phone number. It will then begin
transmitting the vehicle's position, speed and direction of travel. This
information will be continuously updated and transmitted until the vehicle
is recovered. The beacon can only be deactivated when it receives the
required security code transmission.
This system will allow law enforcement officials to track the stolen
vehicle, even while it is moving, | | |
