Review this prior art and click on the thumbs up (or down) to indicate whether this submission should be forwarded to IP Australia.
If you login then you can add an annotation by typing in the box at the bottom of the screen to comment on the relevance of the prior art to the claims of the patent application.
| Summary / Description | Abstract: Systems, devices, methods, and programs disclosed herein provide a solution for monitoring and tracking assets by utilizing wireless communications. A representative system for monitoring assets includes a remote monitoring station (RMS) and a network of identification (ID) tags. Each ID tag is coupled to an asset and is configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags in the network within a predetermined proximity. Each tag is also configured to relay communications from other ID tags so that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags. |
| Type of Prior Art | Issued Patents - US |
| Country | United States of America |
| Patent/Application # | 6972682 |
| Kind Code | United States (US) - United STATES Patent - A |
| Patentee Name | Lareau, Neil William; Wagner, Ronald Earl; Baggerman, Robert W.; Welch, Gisele; Georgia Tech Research Corporation |
| Relevant Pages, Columns, or Lines | Abstract, Col. 2 Line 59 - Col |
| URL | http://www.freepatentsonline.co... |
| Filing Date | December 20, 2002 |
| Additional Information | |
| Notes | Prior art suggested by Dirk Husemann, IBM, and submitted by Diane Willis. |
Excerpt Col. 3 Line 1-33: Another embodiment of the present invention may be construed as a wireless ID tag coupled to an asset to be tracked, wherein the wireless ID tag is one of a network of ID tags configured to communicate with an RMS. The wireless ID tag includes a portable power supply and a transceiver configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags within a predetermined proximity. The determined proximity is a function of the power supplied by the portable power supply. The wireless ID tag also includes memory configured to store information about the asset upon which the ID tag is coupled. The memory is further configured to store logic for various algorithms. The wireless ID tag also includes a processor for executing the logic for the various algorithms stored in memory. One of the various algorithms comprises relaying communications from other ID tags such that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags.Still another embodiment may be construed as a system for monitoring assets across a supply chain. The system includes a plurality of wireless radio frequency (RF) ID tags each coupled to an asset to be monitored. Each wireless RF ID tag includes means for communicating with other wireless RF ID tags within a predetermined proximity such that a plurality of networks of wireless RF ID tags are formed across the supply chain. Each network comprises those wireless RF ID tags within proximity of each other. The system also includes a plurality of RMSs positioned across the supply chain, wherein each RMS includes means for communicating with any network of the plurality of networks that is within proximity of the RMS. The system also includes a central monitoring station (CMS) that includes means for communicating with the plurality of RMSs. |
A rail car tracking system (10) comprising: rail car location equipment (12) mounted to a rail car (22), the equipment (12) including a transmitter (26) for transmitting rail car location data to a remote receiver (21) and further including an electronically readable tag (33) attached to the rail car (22) for identifying the rail car (22) to a wayside tag reader (36); and locomotive communication equipment (42) mounted in a locomotive (38) and adapted for communication with the rail car location equipment (12) when the rail car (22) and locomotive (38) are coupled into a common train, the locomotive communication equipment (42) being operative to identify the coupled rail car (22) and including a transmitter (48) for transmitting data to the remote receiver (21), the data including rail car data so that the required data transmission from the rail car transmission equipment (26) is reduced.
| Relevance | See the Excerpt and the Abstract. Wireless tag ID in the prior art equates to rail car location equipment in the application. RMS (remote monitoring station) in the prior art equates to remote receiver in the application. |
The rail car tracking system of claim 1 and including a LAN (40) for data transmission between the rail car (22) and the locomotive (38).
| Relevance | From the Abstract: 'A representative system for monitoring assets includes a remote monitoring station (RMS) and a network of identification (ID) tags. Each ID tag is coupled to an asset and is configured to wirelessly communicate with other ID tags in the network within a predetermined proximity. Each tag is also configured to relay communications from other ID tags so that a communication path is established between the RMS and any ID tag in the network, either directly or via other ID tags. ' The 'remote monitoring station (RMS) and a network of identification (ID) tags' in the prior art equates to, in this application, the LAN between the locomotive (the RMS in the prior art) and the rail car (one of the ID tags in the network of identification tags. |
The rail car tracking system of claim 2 and including a plurality of status sensors (32) coupled to the rail car, each of the sensors (32) providing data to the car location equipment transmitter (26) for transmission via the LAN (40) to the locomotive transmitter (42).
| Relevance | See Claim 1. |
The rail car system of claim 3 and including locomotive systems monitoring equipment (44) coupled in communication with the locomotive communication equipment (42) for transmitting locomotive data to the remote receiver (21).
| Relevance | See Claim 1. |
A method for tracking a rail car (22) having an on-board communication system (12) including a location determining system (24,33) and a transceiver (26) for receiving and transmitting rail car data, the system including a processor (28) responsive to an executable program for enabling operation of the transceiver (26) to transmit rail car data during a reporting event, the method comprising providing a remotely addressable software database accessible by the executable program for establishing a reporting event in response to at least one of a selected time, a change in geographical location, an extended time in a geographical location, an approach to a specified geographical location, a coupling/decoupling of the rail car with a particular locomotive and a command to report.
| Relevance | See Claim 1. |
United States