Tracking device operation in safety-classified zone

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11533582-B2
Application number	US-202017137174-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 29, 2020
Priority date	Aug 16, 2017
Publication date	Dec 20, 2022
Grant date	Dec 20, 2022

Abstract

Tracking devices can be associated with safe zones, smart zones, and high risk zones. Safe zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the safe zone is lower than outside the safe zone. High risk zones correspond to regions where a likelihood that a tracking device is lost within the high risk zone is higher than outside the high risk zone. Smart zones correspond to an expected tracking device, mobile device, or user behavior. Home areas are geographic regions in which a user resides, and travel areas are geographic regions in which a user does not reside. A tracking device can be configured to operate in a mode selected based on a presence of the tracking device within a safe zone, a smart zone, a high risk zone, a home area, or a travel area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for locating a tracking device, comprising:
determining, by a central tracking system, that a user of the tracking device is located within a geographic boundary of a first geographic region;
querying, by the central tracking system, a database tracking, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, historical disconnections from and reconnections to mobile devices by tracking devices within the geographic region to determine an average disconnection-to-reconnection time for tracking devices within the geographic region; and
providing, by the central tracking system, an instruction to a mobile device of the user to configure the tracking device to operate in a tracking device configuration mode selected based on the average disconnection-to-reconnection time, the mobile device configured to, in response to receiving the instruction, configure the tracking device to operate in the tracking device configuration mode.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein a home of the user is located within the first geographic region.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first geographic region comprises a city, town, or neighborhood in which the user lives.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first geographic region is defined by the user.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device configuration mode comprises a signal transmission rate.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device configuration mode comprises a signal transmission power.

7. The method of claim 1 , the tracking device configuration mode comprises a default configuration mode based on a type of the first geographic region.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform steps comprising:
determining, by a central tracking system, that a user of the tracking device is located within a geographic boundary of a first geographic region;
querying, by the central tracking system, a database tracking, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, historical disconnections from and reconnections to mobile devices by tracking devices within the geographic region to determine an average disconnection-to-reconnection time for tracking devices within the geographic region; and
providing, by the central tracking system, an instruction to a mobile device of the user to configure the tracking device to operate in a tracking device configuration mode selected based on the average disconnection-to-reconnection time, the mobile device configured to, in response to receiving the instruction, configure the tracking device to operate in the tracking device configuration mode.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein a home of the user is located within the first geographic region.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the first geographic region comprises a city, town, or neighborhood in which the user lives.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the first geographic region is defined by the user.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the tracking device configuration mode comprises a signal transmission rate.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , wherein the tracking device configuration mode comprises a signal transmission power.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 8 , the tracking device configuration mode comprises a default configuration mode based on a type of the first geographic region.

15. A system for locating a tracking device, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed, cause steps to be performed by the system comprising:
determining, by a central tracking system, that a user of the tracking device is located within a geographic boundary of a first geographic region;
querying, by the central tracking system, a database tracking, for each of a plurality of geographic regions, historical disconnections from and reconnections to mobile devices by tracking devices within the geographic region to determine an average disconnection-to-reconnection time for tracking devices within the geographic region; and
providing, by the central tracking system, an instruction to a mobile device of the user to configure the tracking device to operate in a tracking device configuration mode selected based on the average disconnection-to-reconnection time, the mobile device configured to, in response to receiving the instruction, configure the tracking device to operate in the tracking device configuration mode; and

a hardware processor configured to execute the instructions.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein a home of the user is located within the first geographic region.

17. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first geographic region comprises a city, town, or neighborhood in which the user lives.

18. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first geographic region is defined by the user.

19. The system of claim 15 , wherein the tracking device configuration mode comprises a signal transmission rate or a signal transmission power.

20. The system of claim 15 , the tracking device configuration mode comprises a default configuration mode based on a type of the first geographic region.

Assignees

• Tile Inc

Inventors

• Puppala Arunkumar
• Cheng Liuyin
• Patterson Wayne

Classifications

• G01S5/0295

  Proximity-based methods, e.g. position inferred from reception of particular signals · CPC title

• G01S2205/01

  specially adapted for specific applications · CPC title

• G01S2205/05

  Anti-theft or abduction · CPC title

• G01S5/01

  Determining conditions which influence positioning, e.g. radio environment, state of motion or energy consumption · CPC title

• H04W4/00

  Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor · CPC title