Safe Zones in Tracking Device Environments

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024257629-A1
Application number	US-202418629610-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 8, 2024
Priority date	Dec 21, 2016
Publication date	Aug 1, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A tracking system determines if a tracking device is located within a safe zone based on whether a set of safe conditions are satisfied. The set of safe conditions includes a geographic boundary or a geographic location and corresponding threshold distance. The set of safe conditions can also include a time window during which a safe zone is active. When a tracking device is within a safe zone (e.g., geographically and temporally), the tracking device is determined to be safe, and notifications associated with the tracking device can be minimized. The safe zones may be user-selected, user-defined, or determined based on data analytics. If a set of safe conditions are not satisfied, the tracking system generates and sends a notification to the user of the tracking device indicating that the tracking device may be lost.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for locating a tracking device of a user, comprising:
receiving, by a tracking system from a mobile device, a location of the tracking device; identifying, by the tracking system, a geographic boundary in which the location of the tracking device is located; in response to determining, by the tracking system, that the geographic boundary corresponds to a safe zone, configuring the tracking device to operate in a first operating mode, wherein the safe zone is only enabled on days of the week that are workdays, and wherein the geographic boundary corresponds to a place of work; and in response to determining, by the tracking system, that the tracking device has crossed the geographic boundary or that the safe zone is disabled, configuring the tracking device to operate in a second operating mode.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined based on a history of behavior of the tracking device.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that the tracking device has crossed the geographic boundary comprises receiving, by the tracking system from a second mobile device, a second location of the tracking device, and wherein the second location is located outside the geographic boundary.

4 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the second mobile device is the mobile device.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined by a threshold distance from a geographic location.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined by a user of the tracking device.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the geographic boundary corresponding to the place of work is selected based on a historical behavior of the tracking device on workdays.

8 . A tracking system for locating a tracking device of a user, comprising:
a processor; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executing instructions that, when executed, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:
receiving, by the tracking system from a mobile device, a location of the tracking device;
identifying, by the tracking system, a geographic boundary in which the location of the tracking device is located;
in response to determining, by the tracking system, that the geographic boundary corresponds to a safe zone, configuring the tracking device to operate in a first operating mode, wherein the safe zone is only enabled on days of the week that are workdays, and wherein the geographic boundary corresponds to a place of work; and
in response to determining, by the tracking system, that the tracking device has crossed the geographic boundary or that the safe zone is disabled, configuring the tracking device to operate in a second operating mode.

9 . The tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined based on a history of behavior of the tracking device.

10 . The tracking system of claim 8 , wherein determining that the tracking device has crossed the geographic boundary comprises receiving, by the tracking system from a second mobile device, a second location of the tracking device, and wherein the second location is located outside the geographic boundary.

11 . The tracking system of claim 10 , wherein the second mobile device is the mobile device.

12 . The tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined by a threshold distance from a geographic location.

13 . The tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined by a user of the tracking device.

14 . The tracking system of claim 8 , wherein the geographic boundary corresponding to the place of work is selected based on a historical behavior of the tracking device on workdays.

15 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable computer instructions that, when executed by a hardware processor of a tracking system, cause the hardware processor to perform steps, comprising:
receiving, by a tracking system from a mobile device, a location of the tracking device; identifying, by the tracking system, a geographic boundary in which the location of the tracking device is located; in response to determining, by the tracking system, that the geographic boundary corresponds to a safe zone, configuring the tracking device to operate in a first operating mode, wherein the safe zone is only enabled on days of the week that are workdays, and wherein the geographic boundary corresponds to a place of work; and in response to determining, by the tracking system, that the tracking device has crossed the geographic boundary or that the safe zone is disabled, configuring the tracking device to operate in a second operating mode.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined based on a history of behavior of the tracking device.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein determining that the tracking device has crossed the geographic boundary comprises receiving, by the tracking system from an additional mobile device, an additional location of the tracking device, and wherein the additional location is located outside the geographic boundary.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17 , wherein the additional mobile device is the mobile device.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined by a threshold distance from a geographic location.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the geographic boundary is defined by a user of the tracking device.

Assignees

• Tile Inc

Inventors

• Doxey Robert
• Puppala Arunkumar
• Patterson Wayne

Classifications

• H04W4/02

  Services making use of location information · CPC title

• G08B25/08

  using communication transmission lines {(G08B13/19658, G08B21/0286, G08B25/016 take precedence)} · CPC title

• G08B21/0288

  Attachment of child unit to child/article · CPC title

• G08B21/0269

  System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS · CPC title

• G08B21/0261

  System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden · CPC title