Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
  • G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
  • G01S19/01—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
  • G01S19/13—Receivers
  • G01S19/14—Receivers specially adapted for specific applications
  • G01S19/16—Anti-theft; Abduction
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
  • G01S13/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of radio waves, e.g. radar systems; Analogous systems using reflection or reradiation of waves whose nature or wavelength is irrelevant or unspecified
  • G01S13/87—Combinations of radar systems, e.g. primary radar and secondary radar
  • G01S13/878—Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
  • G01S5/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
  • G01S5/0009—Transmission of position information to remote stations
  • G01S5/0018—Transmission from mobile station to base station
  • G01S5/0027—Transmission from mobile station to base station of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
  • G01S19/00—Satellite radio beacon positioning systems; Determining position, velocity or attitude using signals transmitted by such systems
  • G01S19/38—Determining a navigation solution using signals transmitted by a satellite radio beacon positioning system
  • G01S19/39—Determining a navigation solution using signals transmitted by a satellite radio beacon positioning system the satellite radio beacon positioning system transmitting time-stamped messages, e.g. GPS [Global Positioning System], GLONASS [Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System] or GALILEO
  • G01S19/42—Determining position
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
  • G01S2205/00—Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more direction or position line determinations; Position-fixing by co-ordinating two or more distance determinations
  • G01S2205/001—Transmission of position information to remote stations
  • G01S2205/008—Transmission of position information to remote stations using a mobile telephone network

Definitions

• the invention relates to a mobile locating system particularly suitable for locating children.
• Locating systems are known in various embodiments.
• an object-locating system for locating objects such as, e.g., a vehicle.
• GSM Global System for Mobile communications
• a child however, often does not know when it is being looked for by its parents, so that the parents will often try in vain to locate the child.
• Another drawback is the need of a central emergency station. In such a system, the parents who want to locate a child should first contact the emergency station and are not capable of directly verifying themselves where the child is.
• a mobile locating system of the type described above is characterised by at least one mobile search device, at least one mobile responder device, a communication network which at least enables communication from the search device to the responder device for activating the responder device from the search device , and a positioning system for generating positional signals relating to the position of the responder device and transmitting the positional signals to an exchange of the communication network provided with a geographic information system, which is arranged for transmitting to the search device the positional information obtained from the positional signals by way of the communication network.
• FIG. 1 schematically shows a first exemplary embodiment of a mobile locating system according to the invention
• FIG. 2 schematically shows a second exemplary embodiment of a mobile locating system according to the invention
• figures 3 to 5 inclusive schematically show, in the form of block diagrams, several exemplary embodiments of a locating system according to the invention
• FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of a mobile search system for use in a locating system according to the invention.
• FIG. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of a locating system according to the invention.
• the locating system was originally designed for, and is also described below with respect to, locating lost children or, e.g., locating children who, although they were not lost, are still located outside the field of vision of the parents or supervisors or the like, the locating system may also be applicable in other situations. There may be thought of, e.g., application to persons having health problems, or the mentally disabled, but also of application for specific pets.
• the locating system shown in FIG. 1 comprises at least one search device 1 for a parent or supervisor 2, at least one responder device 3 for a child 4, a communication network 5 and a positioning system 6.
• a parent 2 desires to know where the child 4 is, the parent activates the mobile search system 1.
• LCD Liquid-crystal Display
• the search device is arranged to transmit, after activation, a search signal which is picked up by any of the receiver antennae 7 of the communication network 5, and is broadcast by way of an exchange 8 of the communication network 5 and a transmitter antenna 9 connected thereto, as schematically indicated by arrows 10, 11.
• the search signal should contain a predetermined code which may be recognised by the responder device of the sought child, so that only said responder device reacts to the search signal.
• the network 5 may also contain fixed lines which may extend between, e.g., the exchange and the antennae, or between the exchange and possible sub-exchanges .
• the communication network may be an existing network for mobile telephony such as, e.g., the GSM network.
• the responder device 3 is arranged to react to the search signal of the associated search device 1. After receiving a correctly encoded search signal, the responder device activates a receiver for positional signals built into the responder device.
• GPS Global Positioning System
• the responder device transmits to the exchange 8 the positional signals received by way of an antenna 7 of the communication network, as schematically indicated by arrows 14, 15.
• the exchange 8 is provided with a geographic information system 16 which determines the location of the responder device from the positional signals 16. Said location is then transmitted back, by way of the exchange 8 and the antenna 9, to the search device 1, as schematically shown by an arrow 17.
• the search device may be arranged to receive and process positional signals, so that in the search device it may be determined, from the difference between the position of the parent and the position of the child, in which direction and at which distance from the search device the sought child is .
• the latter may be determined in the exchange, which is then capable of transmitting the information in question to the search device .
• an earthbound navigational network having a number of radio beacons .
• the radius of such a network is geographically limited to a specific area, e.g., an amusement park, or a nature reserve or the Dutch territory.
• Such an earthbound navigational network may be more accurate than the GPS system.
• GIS Geographic Information System
• the use of the GSM network or a similar public wireless telephony system is obvious if the search signal is transmitted by way of the GSM network or a similar network as well.
• FIG. 2 schematically shows a second exemplary embodiment of a locating system according to the invention.
• FIG. 2 comprises a kind of "pager" network for two-way communication, it being possible to advantageously make partial use of the existing semaphone network, of which an exchange 20 and an antenna 21 are schematically shown.
• the exchange is provided with a GIS system 22.
• a second network whose antennae 23 are shown.
• the shown locating system operates as follows.
• the parent 1 operates the search device 2 to track a child 4 wearing a responder device 3.
• the search device then broadcasts a signal 19 which is picked up by one of the antennae 23.
• Said signals are transmitted to the exchange by way of the second network, as schematically indicated by an arrow 25.
• said signals are broadcast by the semaphone network and picked up by the responder device 3 , as schematically shown by an arrow 24.
• the responder device is activated by said signals to broadcast a reply signal which is picked up at various points by antennae 23, as symbolised by arrows 26.
• the antennae 23 transmit said received signals to the exchange by way of connections 27.
• the GIS system of the exchange calculates the position of the child, and the positional information obtained in this manner is once again transmitted to the search device by way of the semaphone network, as indicated by an arrow 28.
• the signal transmitted by the responder device may at the same time serve both for positioning and for possible communication.
• FIG. 3, 4 and 5 schematically show, in the form of block diagrams, three examples of locating systems according to the invention, set up using the GSM network and an earthbound navigational system (FIG. 3), a mobile data network having a GPS system (FIG. 4) and a semaphone network supplemented by a network to be newly installed having earthbound antennae for positioning (FIG. 5).
• the system shown in FIG. 3 comprises a position detection system 29 having radio beacons 30, synchronised by a clock 31.
• the radio beacons may be received both by the search device 1 and by the responder device 3 using receiver sections 32 and 33, respectively.
• the search device has controls such as buttons 34 and a display screen 35, an energy source such as a battery 36, a GSM transmitter section 37, memory means 38 and 39, a GSM receiver section 40 and a mathematical processor 41 which drives the display screen by way of the memory 39. Furthermore, in this example there is still provided a compass device 42.
• the responder device 3 is set up more simply and has a supply source 44, a GSM receiver section 45, a GSM transmitter section 46, a mathematical processor 47 and memory means 48.
• the exchange 8 receives signals from the GSM transmitter section 37 of the search device 1 and from the GSM transmitter section 46 of the responder device 3. Furthermore, the exchange in operation passes on the signals received.
• the exchange comprises a code data base 49, in which the various address codes of at least the responder devices are stored.
• the exchange comprises a GIS system 50.
• FIG. 4 schematically shows, in the form of a block diagram, a locating system according to the invention which is constructed using a mobile data network and which makes use of the GPS system.
• GPS satellites 51 which communicate with a GPS receiver 52 in the search device and with a GPS receiver 53 in the responder device.
• radio transmitter sections 54 and 55 and radio modems 56 and 57 available in the search device and the responder device.
• FIG. 5 schematically shows, in the form of a block diagram, an example of a locating system according to the invention which makes use of a semaphone network and a new network 60 having radio receivers 61 and a network exchange 62 which is, or is not, wirelessly coupled to, or is part of, the exchange 20 of FIG. 2.
• the radio receivers 61 are coupled to the antennae 23 of FIG. 2.
• the exchange 20 now contains, in addition to a code data base 49 and a GIS information system 50, yet another network data base 63 for positioning based on signals received from the radio receivers 61 by way of the network exchange 62.
• the search device 1 and the responder device 3 now each comprise a transmitter section 64, 65 for broadcasting signals to the receivers 61 of the network 60.
• both devices each comprise a semaphone receiver section 66, 67 for receiving signals which are transmitted by the exchange 20 by way of the semaphone network.
• FIG. 6 schematically shows an example of a practical embodiment of a search device 1 for a locating system according to the invention.
• the device shown has a hand-holdable handle part 70 and a display part 71 provided with a display screen 72, e.g., an LCD screen.
• the display screen is preferably illuminated, so that it is capable of being read in the dark as well.
• buttons serve to switch the device on/off, to select the child to be sought in the event that more children are provided with a responder device.
• the screen is arranged to show the required information alphanumerically and graphically. This may be, e.g., a street name in combination with a number indicating the distance to the responder device and possibly a directional arrow. It is also basically possible to indicate the route to be followed, e.g., first road to the left, second road to the right, or to display a plan onscreen on which the positions of the search device and the responder device are displayed.
• the batteries may be accomodated as indicated with dotted lines at 76, and possibly a part of the required electronic circuitry.
• the responder device preferably has a shape attractive to the child and is provided with attachment means facilitating a good 7 fixation, e.g., to the wrist or arm of the child, or around the middle or to the clothing.
• the responder device preferably has an on/off switch which is placed in such a position that for the child it is difficult to reach.
• the button may be located, e.g., on the surface of the device resting against the body or the clothing of the child when in use.
• the device should of course be as resistant as possible to all sorts of environmental influences, shocks and impacts, water etc.

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=19766786

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (14)

Citations (8)

• 1998
  • 1998-03-20 NL NL1008662A patent/NL1008662C2/nl not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1999
  • 1999-03-18 WO PCT/IB1999/000713 patent/WO1999049331A1/nl active Application Filing
  • 1999-03-18 AU AU30502/99A patent/AU3050299A/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (8)

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