Information management and processing in a wireless network
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- defining, by an absolute location, one or more geographical regions in which one or more fixed resources are located;
defining a location of each of the one or more fixed resources within a geographical region, the location of each fixed resource being a relative location that is defined relative to the absolute location of the geographical region in which the fixed resource is located; and
storing the relative location of each fixed resource in a hierarchical directory structure having one or more levels corresponding to the one or more geographical regions, the relative location of each fixed resource being stored in the directory level corresponding to the geographical region from which the relative location of the fixed resource is derived.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods, systems and data structure for storing and managing information in a wireless network are described wherein fixed resources in the system are stored in a database in a hierarchical directory structure according to the location of each fixed resource. Each level of the directory structure represents a geographical area in which a fixed resource is located. The lowest level of the directory structure represents the location of the smallest geographical area in which a fixed resource is located, and the highest level of the directory structure represents the location of the largest geographical region in which the fixed resource is located.
Each geographical region is stored in absolute (longitude, latitude, altitude) coordinates. Each fixed resource is stored in relative (x meters, y meters) coordinates identifying the location of the fixed resource relative to a geographical region.
A mobile user submits a query for the location of the nearest fixed resource having certain properties. The system determines the location of the mobile user and then searches the database for the requested fixed resource that is nearest to the mobile user. When the fixed resource is identified, data regarding its location is transmitted to the mobile user. In addition, specific directions as to how to get to the location of the fixed resource from the location of the mobile user may be provided.
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Citations
46 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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defining, by an absolute location, one or more geographical regions in which one or more fixed resources are located;
defining a location of each of the one or more fixed resources within a geographical region, the location of each fixed resource being a relative location that is defined relative to the absolute location of the geographical region in which the fixed resource is located; and
storing the relative location of each fixed resource in a hierarchical directory structure having one or more levels corresponding to the one or more geographical regions, the relative location of each fixed resource being stored in the directory level corresponding to the geographical region from which the relative location of the fixed resource is derived. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for searching for a location of a nearest fixed resource in a wireless network having one or more fixed resources, the method comprising:
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receiving a request at a network server from a computing unit for a location of a nearest fixed resource;
determining a location of the computing unit;
searching a hierarchical directory structure containing fixed resource objects for a match with the requested fixed resource, each fixed resource object being stored in the hierarchical directory structure according to a location of each fixed resource;
determining which fixed resource object has a location that is nearest to the computing unit; and
transmitting data regarding the location of the nearest fixed resource to the computing unit. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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17. A method of storing fixed resource information about one or more fixed resources of a wireless network in one or more computer-readable media, the method comprising:
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naming a fixed resource object with an object name that denotes a location of a fixed resource represented by the object, the fixed resource object including properties of the fixed resource; and
storing the fixed resource object according to the object name in a hierarchical directory structure in one or more computer-readable media, the hierarchical directory structure having multiple levels, each level representing a geographical region in which the fixed resource is located.
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24. A location-aware computer program, comprising:
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a location subsystem to determine a location of a user within at least one geographical area;
a resource database having records that each contain information about a resource, including a location of the resource, each record being ordered according to the location of the resource represented by the record; and
a query processor that receives a query from the user for a resource that is nearest to the user and returns a location of a resource that is nearest to the user.
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30. A wireless network system, comprising:
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one or more servers having non-volatile memory;
at least one mobile computer located within multiple geographical areas covered by the wireless network system;
at least one fixed resource located within the geographical areas, the geographical areas each having an absolute location, the fixed resource having a relative location that is relative to the absolute location of a geographical area in which the fixed resource is located;
a location subsystem to determine the relative location of a mobile computer within a geographical area; and
a resource database stored in the memory of at least one of the servers, the resource database being organized in a directory tree structure having multiple levels where each of the levels corresponds to a geographical area covered by the wireless network, a highest level corresponding to a largest geographical area and a lowest level corresponding to a smallest geographical area, wherein the relative location of the fixed resource is stored at a level which represents a smallest geographical region in which the fixed resource is located. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A database, comprising:
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multiple records associated with fixed resources in a wireless network; and
a directory tree structure to organize the records according to a location of the fixed resource that the record represents. - View Dependent Claims (41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification