WO2009074066A1

WO2009074066A1 - A system and method for locating and monitoring machine and a device for realizing communication

Info

Publication number: WO2009074066A1
Application number: PCT/CN2008/073222
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gang Yang; Bin He; Kankan Zhang
Original assignee: Caterpillar Inc.
Priority date: 2007-11-30
Filing date: 2008-11-27
Publication date: 2009-06-18
Also published as: CN101453534A

Abstract

A system and method for locating and monitoring machine and a device for realizing communication are disclosed. The method includes: obtaining the current location information of the machine, determining whether the preset condition based on the machine location information is satisfied, sending the communication feedback to the control center when the preset condition is satisfied. Locating the machine and getting back the machine illegally moved or stolen can be realized.

Description

System and method for positioning and monitoring machine and device for realizing communication

Technical field

The present invention relates to systems and methods for providing secure and reliable communication between machines and entities. More specifically, the present invention relates to systems and methods for efficient communication between machines and entities using Global Position System (GPS) and cellular communication systems to prevent unauthorized movement. Background technique

Machines operating at the workplace need to be able to receive and send information with remote entities, such as other machines, remote terminals and remote base stations. This demand is based on a variety of reasons. One reason for this is that multiple machines work in line at the workplace. It is also advantageous to exchange information with the remote base station for work at the work site. Alternatively, the remote base station can be located remotely from the machine's work location. Communication between machines at the same work location or between different work locations, or between the machine and a remote base station is also required.

For example, a satellite network can be used to provide communication between a machine and a remote device. The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based wireless navigation system that can be used to provide highly accurate three-dimensional position information to ground or near-surface receivers. In addition, widespread access and relatively low-cost forms of wireless communication are often used in conjunction with GPS. One of them is the cellular communication system.

The control center can request real-time operational status information for each machine and distribute relevant instructions to the machine through electronic controls installed on the machine. However, in some emerging markets, heavy-duty machines in these markets are mainly leased, and it is important to accurately monitor and control the position of the machine. And the specific mechanism needs to work with the GPS communication system to prevent illegal movement or theft to protect the machine and recover the machine when the theft occurs.

U.S. Patent 6,879,910 (hereinafter referred to as "910 Patent") is licensed to Chikashi Shike Et al., the patent discloses a system and method for remotely monitoring a positioning target. The 910 patent describes a system for displaying the position of a vehicle on a map. However, the 910 patent does not address how the GPS receiver does not work, such as how to track the position of the machine in the power saving mode. In addition, for the rental business, it is very important to know the location information of the machine to prevent illegal movement.

Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system and method for efficient communication between a machine and a remote entity that addresses the problems of the prior art at a lower cost and with high efficiency, enables the positioning of the machine and can recover the machine when the machine is illegally moved or stolen. Summary of the invention

To overcome the above problems, the present invention provides a system and method for locating and monitoring a machine. In one aspect, the invention provides a system for positioning and monitoring a machine. The system includes global positioning systems, mobile communication networks and control centers. The system also includes a global positioning device having a location information module for obtaining machine location information, the global positioning device for determining whether one or more predetermined conditions based on the machine location information are satisfied, and transmitting communication feedback to the control when the predetermined condition is met center.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a machine-mounted global positioning device in communication with a remote entity. The apparatus includes a location module for a transmission module and receiver location information for transmitting and receiving information over a wireless communication system. The apparatus also includes means for generating a signal activated global positioning device in a power save mode, and a processor for processing one or more steps of detecting a current position of the machine in accordance with predetermined conditions.

In another aspect, the present invention provides a method of locating and monitoring a machine. The method includes obtaining machine current location information. It is confirmed whether the predetermined condition of the machine position information is satisfied, and the communication feedback is sent to the control center when the predetermined condition is satisfied. DRAWINGS

The invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments.

1 is an exemplary system diagram in accordance with the present invention.

2 is an exemplary block diagram of a global positioning device mounted on a machine in accordance with the present invention. 3 is an exemplary flow chart of a method in accordance with the present invention. detailed description

FIG. 1 analyzes an exemplary system 100 that includes a machine 60. Machine 60 can be used to implement operations related to a particular industry, such as mining, construction, agriculture, and the like. Other examples include, but are not limited to, specialized machines such as trucks, cranes, earthmoving machinery, mining vehicles, material handling equipment, agricultural machinery, marine vessels, aircraft, and the like. The machine may be driven by an internal combustion engine, an electronic motor or other drive means known to those skilled in the art.

In one embodiment of the invention, system 100 includes a global position location device (GPS device) 70 and a GPS satellite 10 mounted in machine 60 for obtaining location information for a particular target, such as machine 60. The system 100 can also include a mobile communication system 20 for transmitting machine information, such as machine work information, machine location information, or other information that may be needed by the remote control center, as well as receiving information or instructions for controlling the machine 60. Such a mobile communication system 20 can be a Global System for Mobile communication (GSM) network, a GSM-General Packet Radio Service (GSM-GPRS) network, and code division multiple access (Code). Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) network, or other communication network system. The format of the information and/or instructions transmitted in this network can be voice, data or images. In one embodiment, the information transmitted by the mobile communication system 20 may be in a short message format. Obviously, other software application platforms, such as instant messaging software, can be used to transfer information between machine 60 and control center 30 to those of ordinary skill in the art.

As shown in FIG. 1, system 100 also includes a control center 30 and a management center 50. Alternatively, control center 30 and management center 50 may be combined into one remote control center (not shown). The control center 30 can be used to distribute machine information to the management center 50 located at different locations via the Internet platform 40 as shown in FIG. Other network platforms are also available, such as Bluetooth, microwave, point-to-point wireless, point-to-multipoint wireless, multi-point to multi-point wireless, or other platforms that can be used to communicate with multiple components. Additionally, control center 30 is based upon receipt via wireless communication system 20. The machine information can be sent to the machine 60.

The management center 50 can be a workstation of a machine rental company. In emerging market countries, the rental of equipment similar to construction machinery is typical. The management center 50 can track rental fees based on machine working hours.

2 is an exemplary block diagram of a GPS device 70 mounted to machine 60 in accordance with the present invention. The GPS device 70 includes a location information module 204 that obtains machine location information by communicating with a GPS satellite. The GPS device 70 also includes a transmitting module 202 that transfers the required machine information and/or instructions between the machine 60 and the control center 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the GPS device 70 further includes a CPU 210, a memory 206, and an input/output bus 212 for communicating with other components of the machine 60, such as the engine 80.

The CPU 210 is configured to execute machine position information from the position information module 204 and machine operation information from the engine 80 via the input/output bus 212, and receives instructions from the transmission module 202. The CPU 210 can also be used to execute storage of machine information and instructions to a storage device, such as the memory 206. In addition, the CPU 210 can perform analysis of machine information and perform other operations based on the analysis.

Typically, GPS device 70 has a rechargeable battery to provide a source of electrical power. However, when the machine 60 stops working, the battery will not be charged. Therefore, the power saving strategy design will be used for the GPS device to activate the GPS device by putting it into a sleep state or until a specific signal is received.

In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, GPS device 70 includes means for generating a signal to CPU 210, such as timer 208. When the GPS device 70 is in the power saving mode, the transmitting module 202 and the location information module 204 will stop communicating with the outside world. The 208 will send a periodic signal to the CPU 210 to activate the location information module 204. For example, the location information module 204 can transmit the information from the GPS satellite 10 receiver location information to the CPU 210 for storage in the memory 206.

FIG. 3 provides a flow 300 for an exemplary method of analyzing a machine to communicate with a remote entity. In step 310, the GPS device 70 is placed in a power saving mode in which the GPS device 70 can remain in a low power state, such as in a standby or sleep mode. In one embodiment, the location information module 204 may temporarily stop communication with the GPS satellite 10 in this state, or And the transfer module 202 temporarily stops communication with the control center 30.

Once the signal is sent to the CPU 210, i.e., step 320, the GPS device 70 will activate the location information module 204. This signal can be sent from timer 208. If the determination in step 320 is made, if no signal is sent, the GPS device 70 will remain in the power saving mode. In step 340, after the GPS device 70 is activated, the CPU 210 acquires the current data of the machine.

The current data of the machine includes the location information and work information of the machine. For machine location information, it can include machine speed data and geographic data, such as latitude and longitude data. Assume that the nearest geographic data of the machine stored in the GPS device 70 is L1, and the current data is L2, and the current moving distance of the machine can be calculated by using L1 and L2. The process 300 includes a step 350, a predetermined condition determination step. In one embodiment, a comparison step will be performed. If the calculation result satisfies the predetermined condition, as shown in step 360, the CPU 210 will decide to send a communication feedback to the control center 30 via the mobile communication system 20, such as a warning message, a warning signal, an alarm message or Other feedback. Otherwise, the CPU 210 will place the GPS device 70 in the power saving mode. The predetermined condition may be based on the current moving distance of the machine. For example, the threshold D of the machine's moving distance can be preset to 1 km or other values that represent abnormal movement of the machine. Further, the process 300 may further include the step of comparing the current speed of the machine with the predetermined condition, which may indicate whether the machine is being transported from the work site if the current speed is too large.

For example, if the current moving distance of the machine is not greater than the threshold D, the current speed of the machine will be used. If the current speed of the machine is greater than a preset rate, it can be determined that the predetermined condition is met, and the above-described transmission communication feedback step will be performed. If not, the CPU 210 will place the GPS device 70 in the power saving mode. The preset rate may be greater than the maximum value under normal working conditions of the machine.

Although the above description discloses embodiments of machine 60 and system 100, the present invention can be applied to any environment or situation that facilitates the use of a GPS system and a local wireless communication system to process data and control through a GPS device installed in the machine. Central communication. Moreover, although machine 60 has been described as a separate machine in the above description, it can be a plurality of machines, each of which can independently have the features disclosed in accordance with the present invention.

According to one embodiment, the system and method of positioning and controlling a machine of the present invention can effectively position a machine when the GPS device 70 installed in the machine 60 is activated by a signal from a power saving mode. 60, to prevent unauthorized mobile machines. Setting the GPS device 70 to the power saving mode can extend the battery life to avoid loss of machine data when the battery of the GPS device 70 is not charged when the machine is stopped. And the GPS device 70 can request the current location information of the machine through communication of the location information module 204 with the GPS satellite 10.

Prior to reporting the machine status, the CPU 210 operates one or more steps to determine whether the predetermined condition is met based on the machine position information, so that the present invention conserves the communication channel of the mobile communication system 20 and reduces the busy communication of the mobile communication system 20. In addition, the current moving distance of the current and recent geodata computing machines with the machine is executed. The result will be sent to compare with a preset threshold. Normally the machine 60 is moving within a normal range while in operation, but if the current travel distance is greater than the preset threshold, a warning will be sent to allow the machine owner to track the machine.

In addition, it is possible that illegal movement has just occurred in a short period of time, so the current moving distance of the machine may be small, but the speed will be large. The system and method of positioning and monitoring a machine provided by the present invention will compare the current speed of the machine with a preset value. If the current speed is greater than the preset value, this will show that the machine's moving speed is greater than the normal working value, and an illegal movement situation should be considered.

Based on the comparison result, if an illegal move is detected, the communication feedback will be sent to the control center 30. In some high-risk situations, such as renting a machine that is very expensive, the present invention can help the rental service protect the machine. For example, the control center 30 can distribute the stolen information of the machine to the management center 50 at different locations, and the management center can send Command to lock or shut down the machine.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments described above, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

Rights request

A system for locating and monitoring a machine, comprising a global positioning system, a mobile communication system, a control center, and a GPS device including a position information module for acquiring machine position information, wherein:

The GPS device is configured to perform one or more predetermined conditions for determining based on machine location information.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said GPS device is mounted on said machine.

3. The system of claim 1 further comprising a transfer module for transmitting communication feedback generated from said machine to said control center, if it is detected that the machine may be stolen.

4. The system of claim 1 further comprising a module coupled to the GPS device for generating a signal to activate the GPS device.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein said mobile communication network comprises a cellular communication system and the transmitted information can be voice, data or images.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein said GPS device further comprises a comparison module for comparing with a predetermined threshold.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein said comparing module includes a predetermined distance threshold for comparing with a current moving distance of the machine calculated using current and recent historical data of the machine.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein said comparing module further comprises a preset speed threshold for comparing to a current speed of the machine.

9. A method of locating and monitoring a machine, comprising:

Activate the GPS device when a signal is received;

Get the current location information of the machine;

Determining whether a predetermined condition based on machine position information is satisfied;

Send communication feedback to the control center when the conditions are met.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising setting the GPS device to a power save mode when the condition is not met.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising distributing the current state of the machine to the management center.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said machine location information comprises machine geographic data and speed data.

13. The method of claim 9 further comprising the current moving distance of the computing machine based on the current and recent geographic data of the machine.

14. The method of claim 9 further comprising comparing a machine current travel distance to a preset distance threshold.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising comparing the current speed to a preset speed threshold.

16. A GPS device for communicating with a remote entity, comprising a transmitting module for transmitting and receiving information via a wireless communication system, and a location information module for acquiring machine location information, further characterized by:

a signal generator for generating an activated GPS device, and

A processor for determining predetermined conditions based on machine position information.

17. The GPS device of claim 16, further comprising a memory that stores machine work and position information.

18. The GPS device of claim 16, further comprising a comparison module for comparing with a preset threshold.

19. The GPS device of claim 18, wherein the comparison module includes a preset distance threshold for comparison with a current travel distance of the machine calculated using current and recent historical data of the machine.

20. The GPS device of claim 18, wherein the comparison module further comprises a preset speed threshold for comparing to a current speed of the machine.