Power preservation in GPS-equipped tracking devices
AssigneeTile, Inc.
InventorGuilherme de Barros Chapiewski
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Power can be preserved in a tracking device equipped with a GPS receiver and a transceiver by evaluating the proximity of the tracking device to a mobile device and enabling the GPS receiver and transceiver only in the event that the tracking device is out of the range of the mobile device. Once enabled, the location of the tracking device can be determined based on location information received from the GPS receiver. The determined location can be provided to a tracking system associated with the tracking device. The tracking system can then inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location. Once the tracking device has been found, the GPS receiver and the transceiver can be disabled to save additional power.
Claims20
A method for preserving battery power in a tracking device configured to operate in a lost device mode and omprising a first transceiver and a second transceiver, comprising:
- when the tracking device is configured to operate in a lost device mode:
- enabling, by the tracking device, the first transceiver and the second transceiver;
- determining, by the tracking device, a location of the tracking device;
- transmitting, by the tracking device, the determined location of the tracking device via the first transceiver to a tracking system configured to inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location;
- and
- in response to determining that the tracking device has been found, configuring the tracking device to operate in a power preservation mode by disabling the first transceiver such that the tracking device periodically transmits beacon signals for receipt by a device within a communicative range of the tracking device via the second transceiver, the device configured to provide location information representative of the tracking device to the tracking server.
A tracking device, comprising:
- a hardware processor;
- and
- a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by the hardware processor, cause the hardware processor to perform steps comprising:
- when the tracking device is configured to operate in a lost device mode:
- enabling a first transceiver and a second transceiver of the tracking device;
- determining a location of the tracking device;
- transmitting the determined location of the tracking device via the first transceiver to a tracking system configured to inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location;
- and
- in response to determining that the tracking device has been found, configuring the tracking device to operate in a power preservation mode by disabling the first transceiver such that the tracking device periodically transmits beacon signals for receipt by a device within a communicative range of the tracking device via the second transceiver, the device configured to provide location information representative of the tracking device to the tracking server.
A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform steps comprising:
- when the tracking device is configured to operate in a lost device mode:
- enabling a first transceiver and a second transceiver of the tracking device;
- determining a location of the tracking device;
- transmitting the determined location of the tracking device via the first transceiver to a tracking system configured to inform an owner of the tracking device of the determined location;
- and
- in response to determining that the tracking device has been found, configuring the tracking device to operate in a power preservation mode by disabling the first transceiver such that the tracking device periodically transmits beacon signals for receipt by a device within a communicative range of the tracking device via the second transceiver, the device configured to provide location information representative of the tracking device to the tracking server.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.