Locator system

A method for providing location of a portable locator device, comprising the steps of:

• at the portable locator device:
• providing power from a power source to components of the locator device;
• receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites;
• determining positional data of the locator device based on the received signals;
• transmitting the positional data through a wireless communication network to a server at a periodic transmission rate;
• determining a relative positional change by comparing currently calculated positional data with previously calculated positional data;
• increasing the periodic transmission rate when the relative positional change increases;
• and
• decreasing the periodic transmission rate when the relative positional change decreases;
• and
• at the server:
• receiving a request from a client for the positional data of the locator device;
• and
• providing the positional data to the client in response to the request,
• wherein the server does not query the locator device in response to the request from the client.

A portable locator device comprising a GPS receiver, a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the GPS receiver, a wireless communication interface coupled to the CPU, and a power source operable to provide power to the GPS receiver, the CPU, and the wireless communication interface, the locator device configured to:

• use the GPS receiver to receive signals from a plurality of GPS satellites;
• determine positional data based on the received signals;
• use the wireless communication interface to transmit, at a periodic transmission rate, the positional data to a server computer configured to provide the positional data to a client;
• determine a relative positional change by comparing currently calculated positional data with previously calculated positional data;
• increase the periodic transmission rate when the relative positional change increases;
• and
• decrease the periodic transmission rate when the relative positional change decreases;
• wherein the portable locator device provides the positional data to the server without receiving a query from the server for the positional data.

A computer server for providing location of a portable locator device, comprising:

• one or more computers configured to:
• at a periodic rate, receive positional data of the locator device through a wireless communication network, wherein the positional data is based on signals from a plurality of GPS satellites, the periodic rate increasing when a relative positional change of the locator device increases and the periodic rate decreasing when the relative positional change of the locator device decreases, the relative positional change determined by comparing currently calculated positional data of the locator device with previously calculated positional data of the locator device;
• receive a request from a client for the positional data of the locator device;
• and
• provide the positional data to the client in response to the request,
• wherein the one or more computers provide the positional data to the client without having to query the locator device.

A locator system comprising:

• a locator device including a GPS receiver, a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the GPS receiver, a wireless communication interface operable to communicate with a server computer, and a power source operable to provide power to the GPS receiver, the CPU, and the wireless communication interface, the locator device configured to:
• use the GPS receiver to receive signals from a plurality of GPS satellites;
• determine positional data of the locator device based on the received signals;
• and
• use the wireless communication interface to transmit the positional data to the server when the locator device travels a specified distance from a previous position;
• and
• a computer software program configured to:
• execute on the server computer,
• receive the positional data,
• receive a request from a client for the positional data of the locator device, and
• provide the positional data to the client in response to the request from the client,
• wherein the server does not query the locator device for its positional data in response to the request from the client.

A method for providing location of a portable locator device, comprising the steps of:

• at the portable locator device:
• providing power from a power source to components of the locator device;
• receiving signals from a plurality of GPS satellites;
• determining positional data of the locator device based on the received signals;
• and
• transmitting the positional data through a wireless communication network to a server when the locator device travels a specified distance from a previous position;
• and
• at the server:
• receiving a request from a client for the positional data of the locator device;
• and
• providing the positional data to the client in response to the request,
• wherein the server does not query the locator device for its positional data in response to the request from the client.

A portable locator device comprising a GPS receiver, a central processing unit (CPU) coupled to the GPS receiver, a wireless communication interface coupled to the CPU, and a power source operable to provide power to the GPS receiver, the CPU, and the wireless communication interface, the locator device configured to:

• use the GPS receiver to receive signals from a plurality of GPS satellites;
• determine positional data based on the received signals;
• use the wireless communication interface to transmit, when the locator device travels a specified distance from a previous position, the positional data to a server computer configured to provide the positional data to a client;
• wherein the portable locator device provides the positional data to the server without receiving a query from the server for the positional data.

A computer server for providing location of a portable locator device, comprising:

• one or more computers configured to:
• receive positional data of the locator device through a wireless communication network when the locator device travels a specified distance from a previous position, wherein the positional data is based on signals from a plurality of GPS satellites;
• receive a request from a client for the positional data of the locator device;
• and
• provide the positional data to the client in response to the request,
• wherein the one or more computers provide the positional data to the client without having to query the locator device.