US 4,818,998 A · Method of and system and apparatus for locating and/or tracking stolen or missing vehicles and the like

Abstract

An improved vehicle or other object-tracking and location system, preferably, though not essentially, of national scope, wherein transponder or transceiver-equipped stolen or missing vehicles or other objects may be located and/or tracked, as by appropriately-equipped police direction/finding tracking vehicles, through homing-in on periodic transponder reply radio transmissions automatically activated by command activation signals broadcast on the same carrier frequency as the transponder reply signals and with encoded vehicle identification information that causes the intended vehicle transponder so to reply, and with provision for modifying the command signals to require an increased rate of periodic transponder reply signal transmission to assist homing-in on the selected vehicle. In a preferred mode of operation, the verification of whether the reportedly missing vehicle is thus transponder-equipped is preferably established by querying the FBI-NCIC computer system, which will provide the said coded vehicle identification information and automatically cause the appropriate sector or area to broadcast said command activation signals.

Claims52

Dependent claims

A method of tracking a computer-registered transponder-equipped vehicle, upon the same being missing, that comprises, checking the registration of such vehicle to determine that it is computer listed as transponder-equipped;

upon affirmative determination of such transponder equipment listing, initiating the broadcasting in an appropriate sector of a radio activation command signal carrying coded identification unique to said vehicle and its transponder;
receiving said command signal at the vehicle transponder, decoding the identification and verifying that the same is the unique code of said vehicle and its transponder, and, if so, causing the transponder to become activated to transmit periodic vehicle reply signals including unique identification;
receiving said periodic vehicle reply signals in a tracking vehicle and locking onto the same;
thereafter, at the request of the tracking vehicle, modifying the said sector radio activation command signals to provide increased-rate command signals to the vehicle transponder;
and responding to the increased-rate command signals at the vehicle transponder to increase the periodicity of the transmitted transponder vehicle signals to facilitate tracking by the tracking vehicle.

2 more elements

A system for tracking computer-registered transponder-equipped vehicles, upon the same being reported missing, having, in combination, means for initiating the broadcasting in an appropriate sector of a radio activation command signal carrying coded identification unique to the missing vehicle and its transponder;

means contained within said missing vehicle transponder for receiving said command signal and for decoding the identification and verifying that the same is the unique code of said missing vehicle and its transponder;
means at the transponder, operable upon such verifying, for thereupon causing the transponder to become activated to transmit periodic vehicle reply signals including unique identification;
tracking vehicle receiving means for receiving periodic vehicle signals and locking onto the same;
means operable at said tracking vehicle for requesting the modifying of the said sector radio activation command signals to provide increased-rate command signals to the vehicle transponder;
and means at said transponder for responding to the increased-rate command signals to increase the periodicity of the transmitted transceiver vehicle reply signals to facilitate tracking by the tracking vehicle.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method of and system and apparatus for locating and/or tracking stolen or missing vehicles and the like

Life of this patent

Method of and system and apparatus for locating and/or tracking stolen or missing vehicles and the like

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims52