Description:FIELD OF INVENTION

[001] The present invention relates to the field of location monitoring/tracking devices. Particularly, the present invention relates to a band for location tracking and delivery confirmation and a method of tracking delivery. More particularly, the band enables effective delivery/retrieval of shipment to the user via field executive of any e-commerce platform.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] Conventionally, many of the various categories of goods, purchased and used by household consumers, by businesses and by other customers were been supplied mainly through a relatively linear fashion, in which manufacturers and other suppliers of finished goods, components, and other items handed off items to shipping companies, freight forwarders and the like, who delivered them to warehouses for temporary storage, to retailers, where customers purchased them, or directly to customer locations. However, now E-commerce platform undertook various sales and marketing activities. E-commerce (electronic commerce) provides electronic buying or selling of products on online services over the Internet. E-commerce is driven by the technological advances of the semiconductor industry, and is the largest sector of the electronics industry. E-commerce encourages and meet demand of customers by supplying them the shipment or retrieving the shipment via Field executives.

[003] Field Executives provide shipment deliveries/retrieval directly from the Delivery Hubs without any stoppages in between. However, it has been observed that some of the Field Executives usually are unable to deliver or retrieve the shipment on time as they halt/stop to an unknown location or unknown period of time.

[004] This leads to risk of shipments being left unattended without any intimation or record in the system, which can lead to malpractices and tampering of shipments while they are out for delivery.

[005] Further, in the present scenario delivery confirmation for ecommerce platforms is provided through OTP sent on the customer’s mobile number. However, this sometimes due to network issue the customer is unable to retrieve the OTP from their mobile.

[006] In view of the above problems associated with the state of the art, there is a need to provide a location tracking band that monitors/tracks the movement and location of the wearer and a method thereof.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

[007] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a location tracking band that monitors/tracks the movement and location of the wearer and a method thereof.

[008] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a real time GPS tracking of the Field Executives vehicles using a wearable device, to identify any unusual activity.

[009] Yet another objective is to monitor the real time location of Field Executive in providing more precise delivery alerts to the customer.

[0010] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a multilevel delivery or return pickup confirmation by means of the Bluetooth (Ble) or NFC modules in the tracker band worn by the delivery executive and the customer's smartphone, thereby reducing the dependability on the OTPs which are shared by the customers for delivery confirmation/shipment retrieval.

[0011] Other objectives and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, the aspects of the present invention are disclosed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] The present invention relates to a location tracking band that monitors/tracks the movement and location of the wearer and a method thereof. The location tracking band may be implemented as an appropriate sort of wearable, portable, or mobile device with the ability to monitor and/or provide wearer activities. The location tracking band is utilized to continuously monitor the location of the field executives in order to reduce the risk of shipments being left unattended or without any notification or record in the system, which can lead to malpractices and tampering with shipments while they are out for delivery.

[0013] The location tracking band comprises: a battery unit; a communication unit to receive information via one or more of external computing devices; a location determining unit to receive navigational signals from the satellites to calculate of the location tracking band; a memory unit configured to store the user’s location data intermittently; a sim card module to transmit the geographical coordinates to the remote server; an ABS plastic enclosure to encapsulate all the electronic components; a silicon band to enable wearability of the location tracking band; and a processor configured to: determine the location of the location tracking band wearer to alert the customer; track the location information over a predetermined period of time; bluetooth connectivity with the user’s computing device for determining the delivery/retrieval of shipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0014] A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when taken in conjunction with the detailed description thereof and in which:

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates the isometric view of the location tracking band of the present invention; and

[0016] Figure 2 illustrates the flowchart depicting the working of the location tracking band of the present invention.

[0017] Reference Numerals of the components is disclosed herein:
S.No. Components Reference Numerals
1. Band 100
2. Battery Unit 101
3. Communication Unit 102
4. Location Determining Unit 103
5. Memory Unit 104
6. Processor 105
7. Sim Card Module 106
8. ABS Plastic Enclosure 107
9. Silicon Band 108

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The following description describes various features and functions of the disclosed system and method with reference to the accompanying figure. In the figure, similar symbols identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative aspects described herein are not meant to be limiting. It may be readily understood that certain aspects of the disclosed system and method can be arranged and combined in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are contemplated herein.

[0019] Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions are omitted for clarity and conciseness.

[0020] Features that are described and/or illustrated with respect to one embodiment may be used in the same way or in a similar way in one or more other embodiments and/or in combination with or instead of the features of the other embodiments.

[0021] The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the invention. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the invention.

[0022] The term “location tracking band”, “band”, and “band for location tracking and delivery confirmation” herein may be interchangeably used.

[0023] It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise

[0024] It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof. The equations used in the specification are only for computation purpose.

[0025] Figure 1 illustrates a location tracking band in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, the band may work in accordance with one or more of external computing devices, which may be configured to communicate with one another to provide user interaction and exchange of data via any suitable number of wired and/or wireless links. External computing devices for example may be implemented as a mobile computing device (e.g., smartphone, tablet, laptop, phablet, netbook, notebook, wearable computing device, smart glasses, a smart watch, etc.), or any other suitable type of computing device capable of wireless communication using Bluetooth or Near Field Communication .

[0026] The location tracking band may be implemented as any suitable type of portable, mobile, and/or wearable device configured to provide the wearer location coordinates in accordance with the embodiments described herein.

[0027] In an embodiment, location tracking band may include a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) module configured to identify the real time location coordinates of the wearer, these location coordinates are further transmitted to the remote servers through the Internet Connection provided by Mobile SIM Card Unit.

[0028] A battery unit configured to provide power supply to the components of the location tracking band; a communication units with Bluetooth and NFC compatibility configured to receive any suitable type of information via an external computing devices; a small memory unit configured to store the user’s location data intermittently before transmission; a software user interface configured on the remote servers to process the location coordinates received from the location tracking band. The software user interface generates alerts for the customers, based on the location information captured over a predetermined period of time. The location tracking band may include additional elements such as, serial ports, interconnects, USB ports etc., which are not described herein for purposes of brevity.

[0029] The components of the location tracking band are discussed herein in detail:

[0030] (a) Communication unit (102): A communication unit (102) may be configured to support any suitable number and/or type of communication protocols to facilitate communications between location tracking band and an external computing device. The communication protocols may be a Near Field Communication (Radio Frequency based) and/or Bluetooth Low Energy (Ble) unit configured to receive any suitable type of information from a computing device. The communication unit (102) may be implemented with any suitable combination of hardware and/or software to facilitate this functionality. The communication unit (102) may be implemented with any number of wireless transceivers, ports and antennas. Once the location tracking band is in the pairing range of the computing device, the software module installed in the computing device shall notify the customer to pair with the location tracking band via the Ble unit and/or receive the NFC Token to establish that the shipment is delivered.

[0031] (b) Location determining unit (103): A location determining unit (103) may be a satellite navigation receiver that works with a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) module such as the global positioning system (GPS) module used throughout the world as per the location of the wearer of the location tracking band. The location determining unit (103) and a processor (105) are operable to receive navigational signals from the satellites via the location determining unit (103) and to calculate positions of the location tracking band as a function of the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates. The location determining component may include one or more processors, controllers, or other remote or external computing devices to determine location and other geographic information without the processor or it may utilize the components of the processor. Thus, the processor (105) and location determining component may be combined or be separate or otherwise discrete elements.

[0032] The location determining unit (103) may include an antenna unit to assist in receiving the satellite signals. In an exemplary embodiment, the antenna may be a patch antenna, a linear antenna, or any other type of antenna that can be used with navigational devices. The antenna may be mounted directly on or in the GNSS and Bluetooth module mounting board or may be mounted external to the housing.

[0033] Although embodiments of the location tracking band may include a satellite navigation receiver, however other location-determining technology may also be used. For example, cellular towers or any customized transmitting radio frequency towers can be used instead of satellites.

[0034] (c) Processor (105): A processor (105) may be implemented as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an embedded processor (105), a central processing unit associated with location tracking band, etc. It is configured to communicate/operate in conjunction with the GNSS module, to collect and transmit the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to the remote servers via the SIM card module (106) available in the tracking device. This information is further processed by the remote servers to determine the location of the location tracking band wearer and used to generate alerts for the customers for precise time of delivery; the location information is transmitted over predetermined intervals of time. In another embodiment where a module with integrated GSM, GPRS & GPS compatibility is used then a remote server can be used to execute the AT commands for fetching the coordinates of tracking band wearer.

[0035] (d) Memory Unit (104): A memory unit (104) may be a computer-readable non-transitory storage device that may include any suitable combination of volatile (e.g., a random access memory (RAM), or non-volatile memory (e.g., battery-backed RAM, FLASH, etc.). The memory unit (104) may be configured to store instructions executable on processor (105) illustrated in figure 2 and further discussed below. These instructions may include machine readable instructions that, on executed by the processor (105) performs various functions as described herein. The memory unit (104) may include a module to determine and store location of the wearer of the location tracking band.

[0036] (e) Battery Unit (101): A battery unit (101) is configured to provide power supply to the components of the location tracking band. The devices come with both rechargeable & non-rechargeable battery options that have a life of approximately 10-14 days.

[0037] (f) Sim Card Module (106): A SIM card module (106) is configured within the location tracking band to transmit the geographical coordinates to the remote server for processing the information and use it further to send alerts to the customers on expected delivery time.

[0038] (g) Silicon Band (108) and ABS Plastic Enclosure (107): In an embodiment of the present invention the location tracking band shall have an ABS plastic casing or housing which encapsulates all the electronic components. The ABS plastic enclosure (107) consists of the base and a sliding cover which provides IP55 level protection class. This ABS plastic enclosure (107) is further placed into a soft silicon band (108) to make the band wearable and for fastening on the wrist of the field executive.

[0039] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a band for location tracking and delivery confirmation, comprises an ABS plastic enclosure (107) for housing: (a) a battery unit (101) that is configured to provide power supply to electric components of the location tracking band; (b) a communication unit (102) comprising a NFC module and/ or a bluetooth low energy (Ble) unit is configured to connect with an external computing device of a customer; (c) a location determining unit (103) comprising a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and/ or GPS module; (d) a processor (105) operably connected to the location determining unit (103) to calculate latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the location tracking band; (e) a SIM card module (106) configured to collect and transmit the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to a remote server; (f) a memory unit (104) configured to store a field executive location data intermittently before transmission. The band further comprises of a receiving cavity configured at bottom of the wearable band to house the ABS plastic enclosure (107). The remote server connected to the band is wirelessly connected to the external computing device. The computing device is installed with a software user interface. The software user interface configured on the remote server process the location coordinates received from the location tracking band, which is further accessible by the external computing device. The band is provided with a cut-out at the bottom to house an antenna unit. The antenna unit is operably coupled to the location determining unit to receive navigational signals from a plurality of satellites, and transmit the signal data to the location determining unit.

[0040] In an embodiment, the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) module configured to identify the real time location coordinates of the wearer, and send location coordinates alert to the computing device of the customer.

[0041] The method for working of the location tracking band for delivery of the shipment of includes the following steps:
i. Handing over the delivery bag with plurality of packages to a field executive in delivery hub;
ii. Fastening the wearable location tracking band on the field executive wrist and linking with remote servers or external computing devices;
iii. Monitoring the field executive presence in the delivery hub using the Bluetooth beacon at the delivery hub and triggering a signal as soon as the field executive leaves the delivery hub.
iv. Confirming the location of the field executive via the location determining unit (103) of the location tracking band;
v. Alerting the customer as per the real time location of the Field Executive (via. location tracking band) to be ready for shipment delivery;
vi. Scanning the package using the scanner by the field executive and sending a message alert from the remote server, in turn triggering the customer’s software module for connecting with location tracking band via bluetooth to confirm of the package and / or sharing the token via NFC.
vii. Registering the shipment as delivered on the Remote server system once the confirmation is done through the Customers Software module after pairing to the location tracker band via bluetooth and / or on receipt of NFC token
viii. Returning of the field executive at the destination hub; and
ix. Retrieving the location tracker band and initializing charging of the band battery unit (101).

[0042] The method for working the location tracking band for returning the shipment of includes the following steps:
i. repeating steps (i) to (iv);
ii. alerting the customer as per the real time location of the location tracking band wearer to be ready for returning the shipment;
iii. confirming the high value package pick up via bluetooth and OTP;
iv. confirming the return via bluetooth of the field executive;
v. registering the shipment as picked up;
vi. returning of the field executive at the destination hub; and
vii. retrieving the location tracker band and initializing charging of the band via the battery unit (101).

[0043] The advantages of the present invention are discussed herein:
● The Location tracking band is handed over to the Field Executive (FE) while he comes to the Delivery Hub for effective tracking of field executive vehicle movement via GNSS Module and A-GPS in the band.
● As customers shall confirm delivery by connecting to the FE device (Bluetooth compatible GPS device) and confirm delivery on the customer's and FE’s application module thereby, eliminating the discrepancy in receiving or handing the shipment.
● The NFC module present in the tracker band worn by the delivery executive enables second level of delivery confirmation from the customer's smartphone, thereby reducing the use of OTPs which are shared by the customers for delivery confirmation or used as a 3 level verification for high value items. Since the OTPs are very widely exploited by the FEs, these GPS Devices are brought back to the Delivery Hubs to be charged and provided to FE’s for the next day.
● Location tracking band wearer’s motion data may be acquired from the band to optimize the delivery time by improvising the routes taken.
● Advance intimations are provided to the customers if there is a delay from the committed delivery/pickup time.

[0044] While this invention has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but, on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the scope of the appended claims.
, Claims:WE CLAIM:

1. A band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation, comprising:
i. an ABS plastic enclosure (107) for housing:
a. a battery unit (101) configured to provide power supply to electric components of the location tracking band;
b. a communication unit (102) comprising a NFC module and/ or a bluetooth low energy (Ble) unit is configured to connect with an external computing device of a customer;
c. a location determining unit (103) comprising a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and/ or GPS module;
d. a processor (105) operably connected to the location determining unit (103) to calculate latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the location tracking band;
e. a SIM card module (106) configured to collect and transmit the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to a remote server;
f. a memory unit (104) configured to store a field executive location data intermittently before transmission;
ii. a receiving cavity configured at bottom of the wearable band to house the ABS plastic enclosure (107);
iii. the remote server is wirelessly connected to the external computing device;
iv. a software user interface configured on the remote server process the location coordinates received from the location tracking band (100);
v. an antenna unit operably coupled to the location determining unit is installed on a cut-out provided at bottom of the wearable band;
wherein,
the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) module configured to identify the real time location coordinates of the wearer, and send location coordinates alert to the computing device of the customer;
the processor (105) communicates/operates in conjunction with the GNSS module, so as to collect and transmit the latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates to the remote servers via the SIM card module (106) that is configured to be accessible by the external communication device;
the location determining unit (103) operable to receive navigational signals from a plurality of satellites via the antenna unit;
once the location tracking band is in pairing range of the computing device of the customer, the software module installed in the computing device notifies the customer to pair with the band via the Ble unit and/or receive the NFC Token to establish delivery of shipment.

2. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the external computing device of is wirelessly connected to the remote server.

3. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication unit (102) is configured to provide communication between the location tracking band and the external computing device.

4. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the software user interface generates alerts for the customers, based on the location information captured over a predetermined period of time.

5. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication unit (102) may be a near field communication unit.

6. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein ABS plastic enclosure (107) consists of the base and a sliding cover providing IP55 level protection class.

7. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the location tracking band is a portable, mobile, and/or wearable device.

8. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the silicon band (108) encases ABS plastic enclosure (107) for protection.

9. The band (100) for location tracking and delivery confirmation as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ABS plastic enclosure (107) is placed into a soft silicon band (108) to make the band wearable on wrist of the field executive.

10. The system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the antenna unit coupled to the location determining unit receives navigational signals from the plurality of satellites, and transmits signal data to the location determining unit.

11. The method of tracking the field executive location via the location tracking band (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the steps for receiving the package comprises:

i. handing over the delivery bag with plurality of packages to a field executive in delivery hub;
ii. fastening the wearable location tracking band on the field executive wrist and linking with remote servers or external computing devices;
iii. monitoring the field executive presence in the delivery hub using the Bluetooth beacon at the delivery hub and triggering a signal as soon as the field executive leaves the delivery hub.
iv. confirming the location of the field executive via the location determining unit (103) of the location tracking band;
v. alerting the customer as per the real time location of the Field Executive (via. location tracking band) to be ready for shipment delivery;
vi. scanning the package using the scanner by the field executive and sending a message alert from the remote server, in turn triggering the customer’s software module for connecting with location tracking band via bluetooth to confirm of the package and / or sharing the token via NFC.
vii. registering the shipment as delivered on the Remote server system once the confirmation is done through the Customers Software module after pairing to the location tracker band via bluetooth and / or on receipt of NFC token
viii. returning of the field executive at the destination hub; and
ix. retrieving the location tracker band and initializing charging of the band battery unit (101).

12. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the delivery may be alternatively confirmed via OTP sent for delivery confirmation to the customer.

13. The method as claimed in claim 10, wherein the steps for returning the shipment comprises:
i. repeating steps (i) to (iv);
ii. alerting the customer as per the real time location of the location tracking band wearer to be ready for returning the shipment;
iii. confirming the high value package pick up via bluetooth;
iv. confirming the return via bluetooth of the field executive;
v. registering the shipment as picked up;
vi. returning of the field executive at the destination hub; and
vii. retrieving the location tracker band and initializing charging of the band via the battery unit (101).

14. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein in validation of package pickup via field executive provides re-scheduling of return of package from the customer.