Method, apparatus and system for exchanging map information

• US 10,091,608 B2
• Filed: 06/25/2012
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/25/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Lipman, Justin, Colby, Robert A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Brandt, Christopher M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gao, Jing
• Application Number:
  US13/997,515
• Publication Number:
  US 20140364139A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,290 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/51 Discovery or management thereof, e.g. service location protocol [SLP] or web services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/06 Selective distribution of broadcast services, e.g. multimedia broadcast multicast service [MBMS]; Services to user groups; One-way selective calling services

Abstract

Methods and mechanisms for exchanging map information in a wireless communication. In an embodiment, map information to represent at least a portion of a map is advertised by a first communication device communication independent of any request for the map information being received in a data session or a voice session. In another embodiment, a second communication device receives the wireless communication and generates a representation of the map based on the advertised map information.

Claims

1. A communication device comprising:

a wireless interface to receive wireless communication from a second communication device, wherein the wireless communication includes a data packet; and

map extraction logic including circuitry configured to identify that one of a management frame of the data packet and a control frame of the data packet includes map information advertised by the second communication device, the map information representing at least a portion of a map describing at least man-made structures and natural features with respect to each other within a geographic region, wherein the map information further describes respective functionality of multiple devices included in the geographic region, wherein the map information is provided to the communication device independent of any request for the map information being sent form the communication device to the second communication device in a data session or a voice session, wherein the one of the management frame and the control frame is compatible with a packet format of a communication protocol which distinguishes a data frame type of the packet format from a management frame type of the packet format or from a control frame type of the packet format; and

mapper logic coupled to the map extraction logic, the mapper logic including circuitry configured to generate a representation of the map based on the map information.

2. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication is a broadcast communication.

3. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the wireless communication includes a beacon message for discovery of the second communication device.

4. The communication device of claim 1, wherein the wireless interface further to receive a second wireless communication from the second communication device, wherein the map extraction logic further to identify that the second wireless communication includes second map information advertised by the second communication device, the second map information representing a second portion of the map, and wherein the mapper logic to generate the representation of the map further based on the second map information.

5. A method at a first communication device, the method comprising:

receiving a wireless communication from a second communication device, wherein the wireless communication includes a data packet;

identifying that one of a management frame of the data packet and a control frame of the data packet includes map information advertised by the second communication device, the map information representing at least a portion of a map describing at least man-made structures and natural features with respect to each other within a geographic region, wherein the map information further describes respective functionality of multiple devices included in the geographic region, wherein the map information is provided to the first communication device independent of any request for the map information being sent from the first communication device to the second communication device in a data session or a voice session, wherein the one of the management frame and the control frame is compatible with a packet format of a communication protocol which distinguishes a data frame type of the packet format from a management frame type of the packet format or from a control frame type of the packet format; and

generating a representation of the map based on the map information.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the wireless communication is a broadcast communication.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the wireless communication includes a beacon message for discovery of the second communication device.

8. The method of claim 5, the method further comprising periodically advertising the map information.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a second wireless communication from the second communication device;

identifying that the second wireless communication includes second map information advertised by the second communication device, the second map information representing a second portion of the map; and

wherein the generating the representation of the map is further based on the second map information.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon instructions, which, when executed by a first communication device, cause the first communication device to perform a method comprising:

receiving a wireless communication from a second communication device, wherein the wireless communication includes a data packet;

identifying that one of a management frame of the data packet and a control frame of the data packet includes map information advertised by the second communication device, the map information representing at least a portion of a map describing at least man-made structures and natural features with respect to each other within a geographic region, wherein the map information further describes respective functionality of multiple devices included in the geographic region, wherein the map information is provided to the first communication device independent of any request for the map information being sent from the first communication device to the second communication device in a data session or a voice session, wherein the one of the management frame and the control frame is compatible with a packet format of a communication protocol which distinguishes a data frame type of the packet format from a management frame type of the packet format or from a control frame type of the packet format; and

generating a representation of the map based on the map information.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication is a broadcast communication.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the wireless communication includes a beacon message for discovery of the second communication device.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the method further comprising periodically advertising of the map information.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, the method further comprising:

receiving a second wireless communication from the second communication device;

identifying that the second wireless communication includes second map information advertised by the second communication device, the second map information representing a second portion of the map; and

wherein the generating the representation of the map is further based on the second map information.

15. A communication device comprising:

a storage to acquire a map describing at least man-made structures and natural features with respect to each other within a geographic region; and

frame generation logic including circuitry coupled to the storage, the frame generation logic to advertise map information to represent at least a portion of the map, including the frame generation logic to send from the communication device a wireless communication including a data packet, wherein one of a management frame of the data packet and a control frame of the data packet includes the map information, wherein the map information representing at least a portion of the map describing the at least man-made structures and natural features with respect to each other within the geographic region, wherein the map information further describes respective functionality of multiple devices included in the geographic region, wherein the frame generation logic to advertise the map information independent of any request for the map information received by the communication device in a data session or a voice session, wherein one of the management frame and the control frame is compatible with a packet format of a communication protocol which distinguishes a data frame type of the packet format from a management frame type of the packet format or from a control frame type of the packet format;

wherein a representation of the map is generated based on the map information.

16. The communication device of claim 15, wherein the wireless communication is a broadcast communication.

17. The communication device of claim 15, wherein the frame generation logic to send a beacon message for discovery of the communication device, and wherein the frame generation logic to advertise the map information comprises the frame generation logic to include the map information in the beacon message.

18. The communication device of claim 15, wherein the storage to acquire the map is independent of any request for the map information received by the communication device in a data session or a voice session.

19. The communication device of claim 15, wherein the frame generation logic to periodically advertise the map information.

20. The communication device of claim 15, wherein the frame generation logic to advertise the map information to represent a first portion of the map, and wherein the frame generation logic further to advertise second map information to represent a second portion of the map, including the frame generation logic to send the second map information form the communication device in a second wireless communication.