Granted Patent B2

US 12,618,937 · App. 18/897,338 · Granted May 5, 2026

Inventors: Norman Shaw (Banbury, GB); John Pragnell (Banbury, GB)

Assignee: EXACTTRAK LIMITED

G01S5/0294G01P13/00G01S5/02585

Abstract

Claims (49)

1 . A tracking device for tracking an asset at a facility, the tracking device comprising:

a communication interface configured to communicate with at least one beacon in proximity to the tracking device;

an altitude sensor; and

wherein the tracking device is configured to:

receive, via the communication interface, at least one signal from the at least one beacon;

receive, via the altitude sensor, altitude information; and

wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit, for use in tracking the asset at the facility, information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information,

wherein the tracking device is configured to determine whether the asset is outside a predetermined range using the at least one signal and the altitude information, and

wherein the tracking device is configured to receive an update message for updating a security policy; and wherein which components of the asset are activated or deactivated is dictated by the security policy.

2 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signal comprises at least one of: (a) a beacon identifier, (b) a signal strength of the received at least one signal, and (c) time of flight between the tracking device and the at least one beacon.

3 . The tracking device of claim 2 , wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit the information when:

(i) the signal strength of the received at least one signal is greater than a signal strength threshold; and/or

(ii) the time of flight is greater than a time-of-flight threshold.

4 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device is configured to determine location information based on the at least one signal from the at least one beacon and the altitude information, and wherein the information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information transmitted by the tracking device comprises the determined location information.

5 . The tracking device of claim 4 , wherein determining the location information comprises comparing the received signal and altitude information to one or more of:

a virtual plan of the facility; and

an expected or stored value.

6 . The tracking device of claim 4 , further comprising a memory configured to store one or more values of the location information;

wherein the tracking device is configured to:

(i) transmit one or more stored values of the location information stored in the memory; and/or

(ii) detect a change in location of the asset at the facility by comparing the determined location information to the one or more stored values.

7 . The tracking device of claim 1 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the asset is outside a predetermined range based on the at least one signal and the altitude information,

triggering one or more of:

an alert action;

a memory wipe action;

a self-destruct action; and/or

deactivating the asset.

8 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device further comprises a motion detector comprising an accelerometer and/or a magnetometer, wherein the motion detector is configured to detect a change in location of the tracking device.

9 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit the received signal and/or the altitude information in response to detecting a change in location that is greater than a threshold amount.

10 . The tracking device of claim 1 , wherein the tracking device is configured to receive the at least one signal via a first network; and

wherein the tracking device is configured to transmit the information based on the at least one signal and the altitude information on a second network, that is different to the first network, and/or on the first network.

11 . The tracking device of claim 10 , wherein the first network comprises a short-range communication network; and

wherein the second network comprises a long-range communication network.

12 . A method of tracking an asset at a facility, the method comprising:

obtaining at least one signal from at least one beacon in proximity to a tracking device coupled to the asset;

obtaining altitude information of the asset;

determining location information of the asset based on the at least one signal and the altitude information;

determining, by the tracking device, whether the asset is outside a predetermined range using the at least one signal and the altitude information; and

further comprising receiving, at the tracking device, an update message for updating a security policy; and wherein which components of the asset are activated or deactivated is dictated by the security policy.

13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:

in response to determining that the asset is outside a predetermined range, triggering one or more of:

an alert action;

a memory wipe action;

a self-destruct action; and/or

deactivating the asset.

14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising receiving, at the tracking device, a wake-up message to send information in response to a user request.

15 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising determining that the asset and/or the tracking device has been tampered with and sending an alert.

16 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, perform the method of claim 12 .

Assignments (1)

Priority Claims (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (34)