Location determination utilizing environmental factors
First Claim
1. An apparatus for controlling an operation based upon the determined location of a user, comprising:
- a receiver associated with the user for sensing and measuring a plurality of physical parameters present at the location of the receiver;
a database associating a plurality of known locations with corresponding reference data sets of physical parameters;
means for correlating the measured physical parameters with the data sets to identify at least one best match therebetween; and
means for controlling an operation based upon the identity of the at least one best match.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and apparatus for determining the geographic location of a user incorporates the sensing of a plurality of physical environmental parameters at the user'"'"'s location. The parameter values are compared to corresponding parameter values associated with known locations, and a best-fit correlation is established. The identity of the determined location may be displayed to the user, or may be used to control a location-based operation, such as the unlocking of a safe, the transmission of an entry password, or the disabling of a piece of equipment. Persistence weighting values for different environmental parameters may be applied to improve the reliability of the correlation.
32 Citations
22 Claims
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1. An apparatus for controlling an operation based upon the determined location of a user, comprising:
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a receiver associated with the user for sensing and measuring a plurality of physical parameters present at the location of the receiver;
a database associating a plurality of known locations with corresponding reference data sets of physical parameters;
means for correlating the measured physical parameters with the data sets to identify at least one best match therebetween; and
means for controlling an operation based upon the identity of the at least one best match. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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6. An apparatus for determining the location of a user, comprising:
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a receiver associated with the user for sensing and measuring a plurality of physical parameters present at the location of the receiver;
a database associating a plurality of known locations with corresponding reference data sets of physical parameters;
means for correlating the measured physical parameters with the data sets to identify at least one best match therebetween; and
a display for presenting to the user the know locations associated with the at least one best match as a prediction of the location of the receiver and hence the user. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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18. A method of determining a predicted location of a user, comprising the steps of:
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obtaining values for selected physical parameters at the user'"'"'s location; and
comparing and correlating the values of the physical parameters to corresponding reference values associated with known locations to determine a location associated with a best fit between the sensed and reference values location. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification