Methods and Apparatus for Driving Radio Frequency Transmitter Placement Via an Enhanced Coverage Metric
First Claim
1. A method of positioning a plurality of RF devices each having a position and a coverage area within an environment, the method comprising the steps of:
- identifying a gap in the environment that is outside the coverage areas of the plurality of RF devices;
computing a size of the gap and a relative direction of the gap from the position of one of the plurality of RF devices; and
moving the position of the one of the plurality of RF devices in a direction corresponding to the relative direction to thereby reduce the size of the gap.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for improving the placement of RF devices each having a position and a coverage area within an environment. The system operates by identifying a gap in the environment that is outside the coverage areas of the RF. A size of the gap and a relative direction of the gap from the position of one of the RF devices are determined. The position of the RF device is then moved in a direction corresponding to the relative direction to thereby reduce the size of the gap. The process can be repeated any number of times until a suitable placement scheme is achieved.
8 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of positioning a plurality of RF devices each having a position and a coverage area within an environment, the method comprising the steps of:
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identifying a gap in the environment that is outside the coverage areas of the plurality of RF devices; computing a size of the gap and a relative direction of the gap from the position of one of the plurality of RF devices; and moving the position of the one of the plurality of RF devices in a direction corresponding to the relative direction to thereby reduce the size of the gap. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A system for positioning a plurality of RF devices each having a position and a coverage area within an environment, the system comprising:
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means for identifying a gap in the environment that is outside the coverage areas of the plurality of RF devices; means for computing a size of the gap and a relative direction of the gap from the position of one of the plurality of RF devices; and means for moving the position of the one of the plurality of RF devices in a direction corresponding to the relative direction to thereby reduce the size of the gap. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of positioning a plurality of RF transmitters each having a position and a coverage area within an environment, the method comprising the steps of:
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defining a spatial model associated with the environment and the RF transmitters; determining a first set of placement locations for the plurality of RF transmitters within the spatial model; determining the set of coverage areas associated with the plurality of RF transmitters; identifying a set of gaps in the environment that are excluded by the set of coverage areas, each gap having a size; calculating a coverage metric based on the set of gaps; determining a second placement location of at least one of the RF transmitters within the spatial model based on the coverage metric, the second placement location being displaced from the first placement location by a displacement distance and a displacement direction, wherein the displacement direction corresponds to a relative direction from the at least one of the RF transmitters to one of the gaps, and wherein the displacement distance is based at least in part upon the size of the one of the gaps; calculating a second coverage metric based on a second set of gaps; and placing the at least one RF transmitter in the second placement location within the environment if the second coverage metric is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold value. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification