# US 9,082,097 B1 · Systems and methods for monitoring location of a vehicle or freight carried by a vehicle

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- Number: US 9,082,097 B1
- Document ID: US9082097B1
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B1
- Application number: 14/661,766
- Filed: 2015-03-18
- Granted: 2015-07-14
- Earliest claimed: 2012-03-26
- Assignees: MacroPoint, LLC
- Applicants: MacroPoint LLC
- Inventors: Bennett H. Adelson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9082097B1

## CPC

- G06Q 10/0833: Tracking
- G01S 19/13: Receivers
- G01S 19/46: the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
- G06Q 10/0631: Resource planning, allocation, distributing or scheduling for enterprises or organisations
- G06Q 10/08: Logistics, e.g. warehousing, loading or distribution; Inventory or stock management
- G08G 1/13: the indicator being in the form of a map
- G08G 1/20: {Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles}
- G08G 1/205: {Indicating the location of the monitored vehicles as destination, e.g. accidents, stolen, rental}
- G06Q: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})

## Abstract

Monitoring location of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle includes receiving a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle, correlating the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to a communications device, transmitting a request for location information of the communications device to a location information provider, receiving an indication that a user of the communications device consented to transmission of location information, receiving the location information of the communications device from the location information provider, correlating the location information of the communications device to the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based on the correlation of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device, and transmitting the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for a machine or group of machines to monitor location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving a location request signal including data representing a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle;
correlating, by a CPU, the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to a communications device;
transmitting a location information request signal including data representing a request for location information of the communications device to a location information provider;
receiving a signal including data that indicates consent to transmission of location information of the communications device;
receiving a location information signal including data representing the location information of the communications device from the location information provider;
correlating, by the CPU or a second CPU, the location information of the communications device to the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on the correlation of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device; and
transmitting a location signal including data representing the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle, the location signal configured to cause a representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on a remote device.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the correlating the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device includes at least one of correlating a vehicle reference number or a freight reference number, respectively, to the communications device.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the location information provider corresponds to at least one of:
a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device,
a third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device, and
a party that has access to the location information of the communications device but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the location information of the communications device is originally obtained using a method including at least one of:
a technique utilizing a global position system (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the communications device, or
a technique other than a technique utilizing a global position system (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the communications device.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the location signal is configured to cause display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on a remote device's user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as a) latitude and longitude coordinates, b) city/state, or c) a map that includes a mark indicating the location of the vehicle on the map.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes transmitting the location signal to one or more of:
a freight service provider,
a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, and
a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the location information signal is also the signal including data that indicates consent to transmission of the location information.

### Claim 8

A method for a machine or group of machines to monitor location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving from a location information provider a location information signal including data representing location information of a communications device that originated from a device other than the communications device itself, wherein the data representing the location information of the communications device indicates consent to transmission of location information of the communications device;
correlating, by a CPU, the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device;
receiving a location request signal including data representing a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle;
correlating, by the CPU or another CPU, the location information from the location information provider that originated from the device other than the communications device itself to the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on the correlation of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device; and
transmitting a location signal including data representing the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle, the location signal configured to cause the display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on a remote device's user interface.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the correlating the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device includes at least one of correlating a vehicle reference number or a freight reference number, respectively, to the communications device.

### Claim 10 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the location information provider corresponds to at least one of:
a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device,
a third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device, and
a party that has access to the location information of the communications device but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the location information of the communications device is originally obtained using a method including at least one of:
a technique utilizing a global position system (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the communications device, or
a technique other than a technique utilizing a global position system (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the communications device.

### Claim 12 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes at least one of:
exposing an application programming interface (API) from which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted, or
interfacing with an exposed application programming interface (API) through which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes transmitting the location signal to one or more of:
a freight service provider,
a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, and
a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the location signal is configured to cause the display of the visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on the remote device's user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as a) latitude and longitude coordinates, b) city/state, or c) a map that includes a mark indicating the location of the vehicle on the map.

### Claim 15

A machine or group of machines embodying a system for monitoring location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, the system comprising:
a communications interface in the machine or group of machines configured to communicate electronic signals including:
a location request signal including data representing a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle; and
a correlation logic in the machine or group of machines configured to correlate, by a CPU, the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to a communications device,
wherein
the communications interface is further configured to communicate:
a location information request signal including data representing a request for location information of the communications device to a location information provider;
a signal including data that indicates that a user of the communications device consented to transmission of location information;
a location information signal from the location information provider including data representing location information of the communications device that originated from a device other than the communications device itself; and
the correlation logic is further configured to correlate the location information from the location information provider that originated from the device other than the communications device itself to the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on the correlation of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device; and
the communications interface is further configured to communicate a location signal including data representing the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle, the location signal configured to cause a representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the correlation logic correlates the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device by correlating a vehicle reference number or a freight reference number, respectively, to the communications device.

### Claim 17 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the location information provider corresponds to at least one of:
a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device,
a third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device, and
a party that has access to the location information of the communications device but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the communications interface transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes at least one of the communications interface:
exposing an application programming interface (API) from which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted, or
interfacing with an exposed application programming interface (API) through which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted.

### Claim 19 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the communications interface transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes the communications interface transmitting the location signal to one or more of:
a freight service provider,
a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, and
a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the location information signal is also the signal including data that indicates that the user of the communications device consented to transmission of the location information.

### Claim 21 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the location signal is configured to cause display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on a remote device's user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as a) latitude and longitude coordinates, b) city/state, or c) a map that includes a mark indicating the location of the vehicle on the map.

### Claim 22

A method for a machine or group of machines to monitor location of at least one of a vehicle or freight carried by the vehicle, the method comprising:
receiving from a location information provider a location information signal including data representing location information of a communications device that originated from the communications device itself, wherein the data representing the location information of the communications device indicates consent to transmission of location information of the communications device;
correlating, by a CPU, the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device;
receiving a location request signal including data representing a request for information regarding the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle;
correlating, by the CPU or another CPU, the location information from the location information provider that originated from a device other than the communications device itself to the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle based at least in part on the correlation of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device; and
transmitting a location signal including data representing the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle, the location signal configured to cause the display of a visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on a remote device's user interface.

### Claim 23 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, wherein the correlating the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle to the communications device includes at least one of correlating a vehicle reference number or a freight reference number, respectively, to the communications device.

### Claim 24 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, wherein the location information provider corresponds to at least one of:
a wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device,
a third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider providing wireless service to the communications device, and
a party that has access to the location information of the communications device but is other than the wireless service provider or the third party that obtains the location information of the communications device from the wireless service provider.

### Claim 25 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, wherein the location information of the communications device is originally obtained using a method including a technique utilizing a global position system (GPS) satellite receiver that forms part of the communications device.

### Claim 26 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, wherein the transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes at least one of:
exposing an application programming interface (API) from which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted, or
interfacing with an exposed application programming interface (API) through which the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle is transmitted.

### Claim 27 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, wherein the transmitting the location signal including data representing the location of the at least one of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle includes transmitting the location signal to one or more of:
a freight service provider,
a party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services, and
a party that provides location information services to the freight service provider or to the party to whom the freight service provider provides freight services.

### Claim 28 (depends on 22)

The method of claim 22, wherein the location signal is configured to cause the display of the visual representation of the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle on the remote device's user interface by displaying the location of the vehicle or the freight carried by the vehicle as a) latitude and longitude coordinates, b) city/state, or c) a map that includes a mark indicating the location of the vehicle on the map.