Three-body vehicle-based object tracking and notification systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9984571-B2
Application number	US-201715455310-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 10, 2017
Priority date	Mar 14, 2016
Publication date	May 29, 2018
Grant date	May 29, 2018

Abstract

A system implemented at a user structure, to monitor a tracked object using a three-body arrangement including the user, a tracked object, and a controlling apparatus. The system has a data storage device including user-presence module code causing a processor to determine, based on wireless sensing, whether the user has entered a first space having a boundary external to the user structure, or has left the space. Object-presence module code causes the processor to determine, based on tracked-object-presence data, whether the tracked object is within a second space. And the storage device includes alert-module code to, in response to determining that, depending on the embodiment, (i) the user entered or exited the first space and (ii) the tracked object is or is not present within the second space, initiate provision of a system-user alert communication to indicate that the tracked object is not present within the second sensed space.

First claim

What is claimed:

1. A system, for implementation at a user structure, in which a system user is at times positioned to monitor presence of a tracked object using a three-body arrangement including the system user, a tracked object, and a system controlling apparatus, the system comprising:
a hardware-based processing unit of the system controlling apparatus; and
a data storage device, of the system controlling apparatus, comprising:
a user-presence module comprising code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, causes the processing unit to determine, based on wireless sensing, whether the system user has entered a first sensed space having a boundary external to the user structure;
an object-presence module comprising code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, causes the processing unit to determine, based on tracked-object-presence data, whether the tracked object is present within a second sensed space; and
an alert module comprising code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, causes the processing unit to, in response to determining that (i) the system user entered the first sensed space and (ii) the tracked object is present within the second sensed space, initiate provision of a system-user alert communication to indicate that the tracked object is present within the second sensed space or is not with the user.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein:
the data storage device comprises an exception module having code that, when executed, causes the hardware-based processing unit to determine whether an exception condition is satisfied; and
the exception condition is satisfied if the processing unit, executing the user-presence module code, determines that the system user or the user structure is positioned at a pre-determined exception location.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein at least one of (i) providing the system-user alert communication and (ii) determining, based on the wireless sensing, whether the system user has entered the first sensed space, is performed only if the exception condition is not satisfied.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the user-presence module, when executed, determines, based on the wireless sensing, whether the system user has entered the first sensed space.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless sensing includes biometric functions for use in determining whether a person entering the first sensed space is the system user.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the system is a vehicle system and the user structure is a transportation vehicle.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the presence module code, when executed, causes the hardware-based processing unit to determine whether the tracked object is present within the second sensed space in response to determining that the system user approached and entered the first sensed space external to the user structure.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the first sensed space and the second sensed space are generally coextensive.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the tracked object is a wireless communication device configured specifically to be part of or connected to at least one of:
a system-user medicine container;
a system-user badge, pass, or identification; and
a user satchel or other container.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein the presence module is configured to cause the hardware-based processing unit to receive the tracked-object-presence data from a short-range or near-field-communications wireless device.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the system-user alert communication is provided by way of a transportation vehicle component.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein providing the system-user alert communication comprises at least one of:
actuating a sound actuator associated with the user structure;
illuminating lights associated with the user structure;
providing an audible message by way of a user-structure speaker;
providing a textual or otherwise visual message by way of a user-structure display;
sending a text message to a text address associated with the system user; and
sending an email message to an email address associated with the system user.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the wireless sensing is performed by a presence-detection device, a motion-detection device, or a proximity-detection device.

14. A system, for implementation at a user structure, in which a system user is at times positioned to monitor presence of a tracked object using a three-body arrangement including the system user, a tracked object, and a system controlling apparatus, the system comprising:
a hardware-based processing unit of the system controlling apparatus; and
a data storage device, of the system controlling apparatus, comprising:
a user-presence module comprising code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, causes the processing unit to determine, based on wireless sensing, whether the system user has moved from within a first sensed space to outside of the first sensed space, the first sensed space having a boundary external to the user structure;
an object-presence module comprising code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, causes the processing unit to determine, based on tracked-object-presence data, whether the tracked object is present within a second sensed space; and
an alert module comprising code that, when executed by the hardware-based processing unit, causes the processing unit to, in response to determining that (i) the user has moved to outside of the first sensed space bounded external to the user structure and (ii) the tracked object is present within the second sensed space, initiate provision of a system-user alert communication to indicate the tracked object is present within the second sensed space.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein:
the data storage device comprises an exception module having code that, when executed, causes the hardware-based processing unit to determine whether an exception condition is satisfied; and
the exception condition is satisfied if the system determines that the system user or user structure is positioned at a pre-determined exception location.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein the alert communication is only provided if the exception condition is not satisfied.

17. The system of claim 15 wherein the processor, executing the user-presence module, determines whether the system user has moved from within the first sensed space to outside of the first sensed space only if the exception communication is not satisfied.

18. The system of claim 14 wherein the user structure is a transportation vehicle.

19. The system of claim 14 wherein the second sensed space has a boundary at the user structure.

20. The system of claim 14 wherein the object-presence module code, when executed, determines whether the tracked object is present within the second sensed space in response to determining that the system user exited, or is not present in, the first space external to the user structure.

21. A system, for use in monitoring presence of a tracked object, in relation to multiple user structures, using a three-body object-tracking arrangement including a system user, a tracked object, and a respective user structure of the multiple user structures, the system comprising:
a storage device comprising three-body object-tracking code (i) including an object-tracking user profile having the three-body object-tracking arrangement and (ii) configured to:

Assignees

• Gm Gobal Tech Operations Llc
• Gm Global Tech Operations Llc

Inventors

• Sachdev Anil K
• Thompson Nathan F
• Bika Anil Singh
• Gangumalla Aravind
• Wang Jenne-Tai

Classifications

• G06K9/00771

  Physics · mapped topic

• G08G1/127 Primary

  to a central station {; Indicators in a central station} · CPC title

• H04L67/00

  Network arrangements or protocols for supporting network services or applications (user-to-user messaging H04L51/00; network arrangements, protocols or services for supporting real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/00) · CPC title

• H04W4/02

  Services making use of location information · CPC title

• G08B19/00

  Alarms responsive to two or more different undesired or abnormal conditions, e.g. burglary and fire, abnormal temperature and abnormal rate of flow · CPC title