Vehicle tracking system using smart-phone as active transponder

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12505322-B2
Application number	US-202318497686-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2023
Priority date	Dec 6, 2019
Publication date	Dec 23, 2025
Grant date	Dec 23, 2025

Abstract

A system combining readers for RFID transponders and Bluetooth® devices for automated roadway tolling and monitoring is described. Because of the ubiquity of Bluetooth® devices, filtering methods are described to narrow received Bluetooth® signals to a particular monitored traffic lane and to further associate the Bluetooth® signal with a registered RFID toll tag in a vehicle. Signal strength of the Bluetooth® signal at each of a plurality of receiver antennas may be used to identify the location of the Bluetooth® device that emitted the signal.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A system for monitoring of vehicles, comprising:
a plurality of radio frequency identification (RFID) antennas respectively associated with portions of a roadway; a plurality of Bluetooth® antennas, a corresponding one of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas being located in proximity with each RFID antenna of the plurality of RFID antennas; and a controller configured to transmit a Bluetooth® advertisement via at least one Bluetooth® antenna of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas in response to receiving an RFID signal from an RFID transponder located in a vehicle by an RFID antenna of the plurality of RFID antennas.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to;
compare signal strengths of Bluetooth® signals received by the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas; and to associate, with the vehicle, a Bluetooth® signal having a highest signal strength at a Bluetooth® antenna of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas located in closest proximity to the RFID antennas.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the signal strength comparison is limited to Bluetooth® signals having been received at all of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas.

4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the controller is further configured to compare identification data included in the Bluetooth® signals with Bluetooth® device identification data previously associated with the RFID transponder.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a Bluetooth® signal as coming from the vehicle if in response to the identification data in the Bluetooth® signal being previously associated with the RFID transponder.

6 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the controller is further configured to determine a Bluetooth® signal as not coming from the vehicle in response to the identification data in the Bluetooth® signal not being previously associated with the RFID transponder.

7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein, in response to determining that the Bluetooth® signal as not coming from the vehicle, the controller is further configured to conditionally associate the Bluetooth® signal with the RFID transponder.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas are mounted above the roadway.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas are mounted at one or both sides of the roadway.

10 . A method for processing Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) and Bluetooth® signals received at a monitoring site, the monitoring site including a plurality of RFID antennas and a plurality of Bluetooth® antennas, each of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas being associated with a respective one of the plurality of RFID antennas, the method comprising:
detecting an RFID transponder signal at an RFID antenna of the plurality of RFID antennas;
transmitting, in response to detection of the RFID transponder signal, an advertisement via one or more of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas; and
receiving, at one or more of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas and in response to the advertisement, one or more response signals from one or more Bluetooth® devices, each of the one or more response signals including identification (ID) information uniquely associated with a respective one of the one or more Bluetooth® devices.

11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising: eliminating, from further analysis, ID information associated with each signal of the one or more response signals not received by all of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas.

12 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising: for remaining ID information, comparing signal strengths of each corresponding signal of the received one or more response signals.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising: determining a Bluetooth® ID from the remaining ID information associated with a response signal of the one or more response signals having a highest signal strength at a Bluetooth® antenna of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas located in closest proximity to the RFID antenna.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
comparing the determined Bluetooth® ID with data associated with the RFID transponder signal; and determining that a Bluetooth® device corresponding to the determined Bluetooth® ID is located in a vehicle in proximity to the monitoring site in response to the Bluetooth® ID being included in the data associated with the RFID transponder.

15 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
comparing the determined Bluetooth® ID with data associated with the RFID transponder; and in response to the Bluetooth® ID not being included in the data associated with the RFID transponder: determining that a Bluetooth® device corresponding to the determined Bluetooth® ID is not located in a vehicle in proximity to the monitoring site, and conditionally associating the Bluetooth® ID with the RFID transponder.

16 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising associating an RFID transponder having generated the RFID transponder signal with a Bluetooth® device of the one or more Bluetooth® devices based on a detection of a Bluetooth® signal from the Bluetooth® device by a Bluetooth® antenna, of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas, corresponding to the RFID antenna.

17 . The method of claim 16 , wherein the detection of the Bluetooth® signal comprises determining that the Bluetooth® signal has a highest signal strength of signals received by the Bluetooth® antenna.

18 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising determining, based on the one or more response signals from the one or more Bluetooth® devices, a lane of travel on a roadway by the one or more Bluetooth® devices.

19 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising:
determining ID information associated with each signal, of the one or more response signals, received by all of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas; and analyzing signal strengths of each corresponding signal of the received one or more response signals associated with the determined ID information to determine whether a Bluetooth® device of the one or more of the Bluetooth® devices is associated with a RFID transponder having generated the detected RFID transponder signal.

20 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of RFID antennas and each corresponding one of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas is associated with a respective lane of travel of the roadway.

21 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the controller is further configured to:
associate a Bluetooth® signal with the vehicle based on reception of the Bluetooth® signal by a Bluetooth® antenna of the plurality of Bluetooth® antennas located in closest proximity to the RFID antenna; and associate a Bluetooth® device having generated the Bluetooth® signal with the RFID transponder based on identification data included in the Bluetooth® signal and Bluetooth® device identification data previously associated with the RFID transponder.

22 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the association of the Bluetooth® signal with the vehicle is further based on a signal strength of the Bluetooth® signal.

23 . The system of claim 21 , wherein the association of the Bluetooth® signal with the vehicle is further based on the Bluetooth® signal having a highest signal strength of one or more Bluetooth® signals received by the Bluetooth® antenna.

24 . At least one non-transitory

Assignees

• Amtech Systems Llc

Inventors

• Gravelle Kelly
• Elson John Todd
• Lantz Greg
• Melville Michael
• Hamel Paul

Classifications

• H04W4/80

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• G08G1/017 Primary

  identifying vehicles (G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence) · CPC title

• E01F9/30

  Arrangements interacting with transmitters or receivers otherwise than by visible means, e.g. using radar reflectors or radio transmitters (E01F11/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G06K7/10425 Primary

  the interrogation device being arranged for interrogation of record carriers passing by the interrogation device · CPC title