US 7057509

US Patent 7057509, titled "Monitoring an object with identification data and tracking data," was filed on June 29, 2004, and issued on June 6, 2006. The original assignee was Hewlett Packard Development Co LP, with current assignees listed as Valtrus Innovations Ltd and Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP. The inventors are Giovanni Gualdi, Cyril Brignone, and Salil Pradhan.

Abstract:
The patent describes a system and method for monitoring an object using both identification data and tracking data. A monitoring apparatus receives identification data from an identification system and tracking data from a tracking system. It includes a merging unit that combines and stores this data for each monitored object to create comprehensive monitoring data.

Plain-Language Overview of Independent Claims:

• Claim 1 (Monitoring Apparatus): This claim describes a physical device for monitoring. It includes two interfaces: one to receive identification data (like a person's name or passport number) from an identification system, and another to receive tracking data (like position or trajectory) from a tracking system. The core of the apparatus is a merging unit that combines and stores these two types of data for each object being monitored. Additionally, it has an analyzer unit that can process this combined monitoring data, specifically by comparing new information about an object with its previously recorded information.

• Claim 7 (Monitoring System): This claim outlines an entire monitoring system. It comprises an identification system that gathers identification data when an object passes through designated "identification gateways" (like checkpoints). It also includes a tracking system that generates tracking data for objects moving within a monitored area. Both of these systems feed into a monitoring unit. This monitoring unit merges and stores the identification and tracking data for each object. A key feature is the monitoring unit's ability to compare current monitoring data for an object with its past monitoring data.

• Claim 14 (Computer-Readable Medium with Data Structure): This claim describes a computer storage medium (e.g., a hard drive or CD-ROM) containing a specific way of organizing data. This data structure holds multiple "monitoring data groups," each linked to a different monitored object. Within each group, there is identification data (collected at an identification gateway) and tracking data (collected within the monitored environment). Crucially, it also includes "merged data" which is derived from comparing new and old monitoring data for a given object.

• Claim 17 (Method of Monitoring an Object): This claim details a step-by-step process for monitoring. It involves generating identification data for objects at identification gateways (using an identification system) and generating tracking data for objects within a monitored environment (using a tracking system). These two types of data are then merged and stored to form comprehensive monitoring data for each object. The method also includes the step of comparing the new monitoring data of an object with its previously recorded monitoring data.

• Claim 24 (Computer-Readable Medium with Computer-Executable Instructions): This claim describes a computer-readable medium that stores software instructions. When a computer runs these instructions, it performs the method described in Claim 17. This includes generating identification data, generating tracking data, merging and storing this data for each monitored object, and comparing new and prior monitoring data content.

Litigation:
As of April 26, 2026, the patent is involved in ongoing litigation. A PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board) case, IPR2026-00262, has been filed and is pending. Additionally, there are two US district court cases filed in the Texas Eastern District Court: 2:25-cv-00323 and 2:25-cv-00080. No dockets specifically concerning US7057509 were found in the 2026 schedule for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.