Wireless Communication Device, Wireless Communication Method, Information Processing Device, Information Processing Method, and Program

• US 20080242278A1
• Filed: 03/27/2008
• Published: 10/02/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: REKIMOTO, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,676,225 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0407 wherein the identity of one or more communicating identities is hidden cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for anonymous credentials or for identity based cryptographic systems H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/02 Protecting privacy or anonymity, e.g. protecting personally identifiable information [PII]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/63 Location-dependent; Proximity-dependent
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

A wireless communication device includes a transmission portion, an information acquisition portion, a storage portion, a selection portion, and a transmission control portion. The transmission portion transmits information. The information acquisition portion acquires location information for the wireless communication device that includes a received signal strength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station in the vicinity. The storage portion stores, in association with specific location information, regulating information that regulates the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device. The selection portion selects from the storage portion the regulating information associated with the location information acquired by the information acquisition portion. The transmission control portion controls, based on the regulating information that was selected by the selection portion, the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

Claims

1. A wireless communication device comprising:

a transmission portion that transmits information;

an information acquisition portion that acquires location information of the wireless communication device, the location information including at least one of information that indicates a location of the wireless communication device or a received signal strength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station in the vicinity of the wireless communication device;

a storage portion that stores, in association with arbitrary location information, regulating information that regulates the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device;

a selection portion that selects from the storage portion the regulating information that is associated with the location information that was acquired by the information acquisition portion; and

a transmission control portion that controls, in accordance with the regulating information that was selected by the selection portion, the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

2. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein

the regulating information includes information that regulates whether or not the location information for the wireless communication device is transmitted to the transmission portion, and

the transmission control portion controls, in accordance with the regulating information that was selected by the selection portion, whether or not the location information for the wireless communication device is transmitted from the transmission portion.

3. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein

the regulating information includes information for transmission that expresses the location information, with which the information for transmission is associated in the storage portion, in a different form, and

the transmission control portion transmits to the transmission portion the information for transmission that is included in the regulating information that was selected by the selection portion.

4. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein

if the regulating information that corresponds to the location information for the wireless communication device that was acquired by the information acquisition portion is not stored in the storage portion,

the transmission control portion transmits to the transmission portion the location information for the wireless communication device that was acquired by the information acquisition portion.

5. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein

the regulating information includes effective period information that indicates an effective period for the regulating information, and

the selection portion selects the regulating information that corresponds to the location information acquired by the information acquisition portion and that is within the effective period.

6. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a registration portion that registers the regulating information in the storage portion in association with the location information.

7. The wireless communication device according to claim 1, wherein

the storage portion stores the received base station signal strength in association with the regulating information, and

the selection portion selects the regulating information that is associated with one of the received base station signal strength that matches the received base station signal strength that was acquired by the information acquisition portion and the received base station signal strength that resembles the received base station signal strength that was acquired by the information acquisition portion.

8. A program that comprises instructions that command a computer to function as:

a wireless communication device that includes

a transmission portion that transmits information,

an information acquisition portion that acquires location information of the wireless communication device, the location information including at least one of information that indicates a location of the wireless communication device or a received signal strength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station in the vicinity of the wireless communication device,

a storage portion that stores in a storage medium, in association with arbitrary location information, regulating information that regulates the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device,

a selection portion that selects from the storage portion the regulating information that is associated with the location information that was acquired by the information acquisition portion, and

a transmission control portion that controls, in accordance with the regulating information that was selected by the selection portion, the transmission from the transmission portion of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

9. A wireless communication method, comprising the steps of:

acquiring location information of a wireless communication device, the location information including at least one of information that indicates a location of the wireless communication device or a received signal strength of a signal that is transmitted from a base station in the vicinity of the wireless communication device;

selecting, from regulating information that is associated with arbitrary location information and that regulates transmission from a transmission device of information that is stored in a storage medium and that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device, the regulating information that corresponds to the location information acquired; and

controlling, in accordance with the regulating information that was selected from the storage medium, transmission from the transmission device of the information that corresponds to the location of the wireless communication device.

10. An information processing device that can communicate with a plurality of communication devices, comprising:

a transmission portion that transmits information;

an information acquisition portion that acquires from each of the communication devices information from which it is possible to estimate a location of the communication device;

a computation portion that computes a distance between a first one of the communication devices and a second one of the communication devices based on the information acquired from each of the communication devices; and

a transmission control portion that controls transmission from the transmission portion of information that corresponds to the location of the first communication device, based on the distance between the first communication device and the second communication device that was computed by the computation portion.

11. The information processing device according to claim 10, wherein

if the distance between the first communication device and the second communication device that was computed by the computation portion exceeds a specified set distance,

the transmission control portion prohibits the transmission from the transmission portion of the location information for the first communication device.

12. A program that comprises instructions that command a computer to function as:

an information processing device that can communicate with a plurality of communication devices and that includes

an information acquisition portion that acquires from each of the communication devices information from which it is possible to estimate a location of the communication device;

a computation portion that computes a distance between a first one of the communication devices and a second one of the communication devices based on the information acquired from each of the communication devices; and

a transmission control portion that controls transmission from a transmission device of information that corresponds to the location of the first communication device, based on the distance between the first communication device and the second communication device that was computed by the computation portion.

13. An information processing method, comprising the steps of:

acquiring from each of a plurality of communication devices information from which it is possible to estimate a location of the communication device;

computing a distance between a first one of the communication devices and a second one of the communication devices based on the information acquired from each of the communication devices; and

controlling transmission of information that corresponds to the location of the first communication device, based on the computed distance between the first communication device and the second communication device.