Automatically changing message transmission modes in a tracking device
AssigneeM2Md Technologies, Inc.
InventorCharles M. Link, II
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A tracking device is configured to monitor a parameter, such as battery state or cellular network signal strength, and cause a component of the tracking device to enter a sleep state when a monitored parameter value satisfies a sleep state criterion. Before entering a sleep state, which may comprise a long-range wireless transceiver being turned off, one or more final messages may be emitted that indicate the location of the tracking device before, or at, entering of the sleep state. While in a sleep state, the tracking device may emit a low power beacon, which may be emitted in different formats at different transmission of the beacon. The different beacons may be emitted according to a configured pattern.
Claims18
A method, comprising:
- monitoring, by a tracking device comprising a processor, a signal value received from a sensor of the tracking device;
- analyzing the signal value with respect to a tracking device parameter criterion corresponding to the monitored signal value to result in an analyzed signal value;
- and
- based on the analyzed signal value being determined not to satisfy the tracking device parameter criterion, causing the tracking device to:
- transmit at least one tracking message via a short-range wireless beacon signal, wherein the at least one tracking message comprises a payload formatted according to one of at least one configured tracking message formats.
A tracking device, comprising:
- a battery;
- a long-range wireless transceiver;
- short-range wireless circuitry;
- and
- a processor configured to:
- periodically monitor an amount of charge remaining in the battery at a configured monitoring period occasion;
- determine a charge value corresponding to each monitoring period occasion;
- determine when the charge value determined at a monitoring period occasion has dropped to a configured battery-saving-mode threshold value;
- turn off the long-range wireless transceiver when the determined charge value has dropped to the configured battery-saving-mode threshold value;
- and
- cause transmitting of signals by the tracking device using the short-range wireless circuitry.
A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processor of a tracking device, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:
- monitoring a tracking device parameter of the tracking device to result in a monitored tracking device parameter metric;
- analyzing the monitored tracking device parameter metric with respect to a tracking device parameter criterion corresponding to the monitored tracking device parameter to result in an analyzed monitored tracking device parameter metric;
- and
- based on the analyzed monitored tracking device parameter metric being determined not to satisfy the tracking device parameter criterion, causing the tracking device to:
- transmit a final message;
- enter a sleep state;
- and
- transmit a low-power signal while in the sleep state.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.