US 11,678,141 B2
Hybrid cellular Bluetooth tracking devices, methods and systems
Daniel J. Daoura, Renton, WA (US); Robert Aldridge, Renton, WA (US); Johnathan Charles Miller, Renton, WA (US); and Nicholas R. Pearson-Franks, Sammanish, WA (US)
Filed by PB Inc., Issaquah, WA (US)
Filed on Nov. 17, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/950,666.
Application 16/950,666 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/575,315, filed on Sep. 18, 2019, granted, now 11,184,858.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/114,464, filed on Nov. 16, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/936,588, filed on Nov. 17, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/732,945, filed on Sep. 18, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0152976 A1, May 20, 2021
Int. Cl. H04W 4/80 (2018.01); H04W 4/029 (2018.01); H04W 24/08 (2009.01); H04W 52/02 (2009.01); H04W 88/16 (2009.01)
CPC H04W 4/029 (2018.02) [H04W 4/80 (2018.02); H04W 24/08 (2013.01); H04W 52/0235 (2013.01); H04W 88/16 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A radiotag wearable by a pet in need of location monitoring, comprising a housing with a processor, associated logic circuitry, a cellular modem, a Bluetooth modem, battery, and computer-executable instructions stored in a computer-readable memory that,
when executed by the processor, cause the radiotag to generate signals for:
(a) controlling the cellular modem to operate in a sleep mode or a wake mode and to default to the sleep mode;
(b) determining, that a Bluetooth radio signal quality of connection between the Bluetooth modem and a paired smartphone operated by the owner of the pet is less than a threshold level of quality, has become intermittent, or is undetectable and lost;
(c) transitioning the cellular modem from the sleep mode to the wake mode in response to a determination that the Bluetooth radio signal quality of connection has become undetectable or lost; and
(d) in response to a determination that the Bluetooth radio signal quality of connection has become undetectable or lost, causing the cellular modem to connect to a cellular network, to determine from the cellular network a current location of the radiotag, and to report the location to a second remote device; wherein a second remote device is a cloud host configured to administer radiotag locating, tracking and notifying services for a community of owners of radiotags worn by pets.