Mobile target locator with both RF and cellular communications
OwnerRobert D. Fishinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention herein provides apparatus and method, allowing a user to acquire a target location wherever the target is with a target mobile locator. The target mobile locator includes a RF receiver, a transmitter, a GPS locator and a circuit. After receiving “wake-up” signal from the user, GPS locator and/or transmitter can be activated and the target location is sent back to the user. Prior to receiving the wakeup signal, at least one of the GPS locator and the transmitter are either energy reduced state or off state such that the consumption of the energy is minimized in the locator. Therefore, the locator is active for long periods of time. Optionally, a battery can be recharged using, for example, a solar cell under the sun.
Claims7
A method for a user to obtain a location information from a locator device having a circuit, comprising:
- the user sending an instruction to a radio transmitter to transmit a wake-up signal and a timing information to the locator device;
- the locator device using the wake-up signal to activate the circuit;
- the circuit using the timing information to (i) transition the locator between a reduced power and a full power state, and (ii) activate a cellular transmitter;
- and
- the locator device using the cellular transmitter to transmit the location information to the user.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.