Method and apparatus for WLAN location services

• US 20070249366A1
• Filed: 04/21/2006
• Published: 10/25/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/21/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Thomson, Allan, Stephenson, David, Polk, James
• Granted Patent: US 8,099,107 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses and systems directed to providing location services in a wireless network. According to one implementation of the present invention, the wireless network infrastructure provides high-accuracy location information via location services to wireless clients. In one embodiment, during an advertisement phase, a location server provides a list of available location services to wireless clients via a central controller. In another embodiment, during a presentation phase, a driver of the wireless client presents the available location services to one or more applications of the wireless client. In another embodiment, during a request phase, the driver transmits a location service request to the central controller, which passes the location service request to the location server.

Claims

1. Logic for requesting one or more location services provided by a network infrastructure, the logic encoded in one or more media for execution and when executed operable to:

access one or more wireless advertisements that identify one or more location services; and

transmit, responsive to selection of one or more of the identified location services, a location service request identifying one or more of the selected location services.

2. The logic of claim 1 wherein the logic is operable to present to an application program data allowing for selection of one or more location services identified in wireless advertisements.

3. The logic of claim 1 wherein at least one location service comprises an on-demand location service.

4. The logic of claim 1 wherein at least one location service comprises an update location service.

5. The logic of claim 1 wherein the one or more wireless advertisements further comprise one or more location service options comprising one or more of a format option, resolution option, and an encoding option.

6. The logic of claim 1 wherein the one or more wireless advertisements are wireless management frames, and wherein the one or more location services are contained in information elements appended to the wireless management frames.

7. In a wireless client, a method comprising:

accessing one or more wireless advertisements that identify one or more location services; and

transmitting, responsive to selection of one or more of the identified location services, a location service request identifying one or more of the selected location services.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising presenting to an application program data allowing for selection of one or more location services identified in wireless advertisements.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein at least one location service comprises an on-demand location service.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein at least one location service comprises an update location service.

11. The method of claim 7 wherein the one or more wireless advertisements further comprise one or more location service options comprising one or more of a format option, resolution option, and an encoding option.

12. The method of claim 7 wherein the one or more wireless advertisements are wireless management frames, and wherein the one or more location services are contained in information elements appended to the wireless management frames.

13. A wireless client comprising:

means for wirelessly communicating with a wireless network;

means for accessing one or more wireless advertisements that identify one or more location services; and

means for transmitting, responsive to selection of one or more of the identified location services, a location service request identifying one or more of selected location services.

14. Logic for providing one or more location services provided by a network infrastructure, the logic encoded in one or more media for execution and when executed operable to:

transmit wireless frames advertising one or more location services; and

forward location service requests received from wireless clients to a location server.

15. The logic of claim 14 wherein the logic is operable to collect location data for a wireless client if a received location service request is an on-demand request.

16. The logic of claim 14 wherein the logic is operable to generate path loss measurement parameters (PLM) including a radio transmission schedule including one or more of an interval between bursts, a number of bursts, and one or more radio channels on which to transmit.

18. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

collecting location data for a wireless client if a received location service request is an on-demand request.

19. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

generating path loss measurement parameters (PLM) including a radio transmission schedule including one or more of an interval between bursts, a number of bursts, and one or more radio channels on which to transmit.

17. In a wireless network infrastructure node, a method comprising:

transmitting wireless frames advertising one or more location services; and

forwarding location service requests received from wireless clients to a location server.

20. An apparatus comprising:

means for transmitting wireless frames advertising one or more location services; and

means for forwarding location service requests received from wireless clients to a location server.

21. A location server comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory;

a network interface; and

a management application, physically stored in the memory, comprising instructions operable to cause the one or more processors and the wireless network server to;

provide a list of available location services to one or more elements of a wireless network;

receive one or more location service requests from the one or more wireless clients; and

provide one or more location services to the one or more wireless clients based on the location service requests.

22. In a location server, a method comprising:

providing a list of available location services to one or more elements of a wireless network;

receiving one or more location service requests from the one or more wireless clients; and

providing one or more location services to the one or more wireless clients based on the location service requests.