HIERARCHICAL INFORMATION DISSEMINATION FOR LOCATION BASED SYSTEMS

• US 20110136503A1
• Filed: 08/05/2010
• Published: 06/09/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/09/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Khorashadi, Behrooz, Sridhara, Vinay, Das, Saumitra Mohan
• Granted Patent: US 8,437,773 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 60/49 for identifying locations
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel

Abstract

Techniques are provided which may be implemented in various methods and/or apparatuses that support information dissemination for and/or within location based systems to control information dissemination.

Claims

1. A method for use in a location based system having a hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by a plurality of nodal transmitting devices, the method comprising:

with at least one nodal transmitting device;

obtaining one or more signals representing information associated with an item of interest located at a specified location, wherein said information has been selectively propagated within the location based system to said at least one nodal transmitting device based, at least in part, on a spatial restriction parameter associated with said specified location, and/or a temporal restriction parameter associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

with said at least one nodal transmitting device;

receiving one or more signals representing a request from a mobile device for at least a portion of said information associated with said item of interest;

identifying at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

selectively providing one or more signals representing a response to said mobile device based, at least in part, on said estimated position of said mobile device, said response comprising at least a portion of said information.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:

with said at least one nodal transmitting device;

receiving one or more signals representing a request from a mobile device for at least a portion of said information associated with said item of interest;

identifying at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

selectively providing said request to one or more other nodal transmitting devices and/or one or more other computing devices.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises a logically formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of nodal transmitting devices.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises an ad-hoc formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of nodal transmitting devices.

6. The method as recited in claim 2, wherein identifying said estimated position of said mobile device comprises identifying a corresponding zonal position of said mobile device associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said spatial restriction parameter is associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

8. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises one or more signals representing a distance value to operatively restrict propagation of said information to one or more particular zonal positions of the hierarchical zonal structure.

9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a time-to-live (TTL) value, and further comprising:

with said at least one nodal transmitting device;

determining whether said TTL value permits further propagation of said information within the location based system; and

in response to determining that said TTL value does permit further propagation of said information, transmitting one or more signals representing at least a portion of said information to at least one other nodal transmitting device,

wherein said at least one nodal transmitting device is associated with a first zonal position of the hierarchical zonal structure, and said at least one other nodal transmitting device is associated with a second zonal position of said hierarchical zonal structure.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said temporal restriction parameter is associated with one or more signals representing a refresh rate value.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein a first zonal position encompassing said specified location is associated with a first refresh rate value, and a second zonal position not encompassing said specified location is associated with a second refresh rate value that is different from said first refresh rate value.

12. An apparatus for use at a nodal transmitting device within a location based system having a hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by a plurality of nodal transmitting devices, wherein said nodal transmitting device comprises:

a communication interface; and

at least one processing unit configured to obtain information associated with an item of interest located at a specified location, and wherein said information has been received by said communication interface while being selectively propagated within the location based system and based, at least in part, on a spatial restriction parameter associated with said specified location, and/or a temporal restriction parameter associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, said at least one processing unit further configured to:

obtain a request via said communication interface for at least a portion of said information associated with said item of interest from a mobile device;

identify at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

selectively provide a response to said mobile device via said communication interface based, at least in part, on said estimated position of said mobile device, said response comprising at least a portion of said information.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, said at least one processing unit further configured to:

obtain a request via said communication interface for at least a portion of said information associated with said item of interest from a mobile device;

identify at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

selectively provide said request to one or more other nodal transmitting devices and/or one or more other computing devices.

15. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises a logically formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of nodal transmitting devices.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, the hierarchical zonal structure comprises an ad-hoc formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of nodal transmitting devices.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 13, wherein identifying said estimated position of said mobile device comprises identifying a corresponding zonal position of said mobile device associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, wherein said spatial restriction parameter is associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

19. The apparatus as recited in claim 18, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a distance value to operatively restrict propagation of said information to one or more particular zonal positions of the hierarchical zonal structure.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 18, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a time-to-live (TTL) value, and said at least one processing unit further configured to:

determine whether said TTL value permits further propagation of said information within the location based system; and

in response to determining that said TTL value does permit further propagation of said information, initiate transmission of at least a portion of said information to at least one other nodal transmitting device via said communication interface,

wherein said nodal transmitting device is associated with a first zonal position of the hierarchical zonal structure, and said at least one other nodal transmitting device is associated with a second zonal position of said hierarchical zonal structure.

21. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, wherein said temporal restriction parameter is associated with a refresh rate value.

22. The apparatus as recited in claim 21, wherein a first zonal position encompassing said specified location is associated with a first refresh rate value, and a second zonal position not encompassing said specified location is associated with a second refresh rate value that is different from said first refresh rate value.

23. An article comprising:

a computer readable medium having computer-implementable instructions stored thereon that are executable by one or more processing units, the instructions comprising ;

code to obtain information associated with an item of interest located at a specified location within a coverage area of a location based system comprising a plurality of nodal transmitting devices operatively forming a hierarchical zonal structure, wherein said information has been selectively propagated within the location based system to at least one nodal transmitting device associated with said one or more processing units based, at least in part, on a spatial restriction parameter associated with said specified location, and/or a temporal restriction parameter associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

24. The article as recited in claim 23, wherein said computer-implementable instructions further comprise:

code to obtain a request from a mobile device for at least a portion of said information associated with said item of interest;

code to identify at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

code to selectively initiate transmission of a response to said mobile device based, at least in part, on said estimated position of said mobile device, said response comprising at least a portion of said information.

25. The article as recited in claim 23, wherein said computer-implementable instructions further comprise:

code to obtain a request from a mobile device for at least a portion of said information relating to said item of interest;

code to identify at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

code to selectively provide said request to one or more other nodal transmitting devices and/or one or more other computing devices.

26. The article as recited in claim 23, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises a logically formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of nodal transmitting devices.

27. The article as recited in claim 23, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises an ad-hoc formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of nodal transmitting devices.

28. The article as recited in claim 24, wherein said code to identify said at least an estimated position of said mobile device comprises code to identify a corresponding zonal position of said mobile device associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

29. The article as recited in claim 23, wherein said spatial restriction parameter is associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

30. The article as recited in claim 29, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a distance value to operatively restrict propagation of said information to one or more particular zonal positions of the hierarchical zonal structure.

31. The article as recited in claim 29, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a time-to-live (TTL) value, and wherein said computer-implementable instructions further comprise:

code to determine whether said TTL value permits further propagation of said information within the location based system; and

code to, in response to determining that said TTL value does permit further propagation of said information, initiate transmission of at least a portion of said information to at least one other nodal transmitting device,

wherein said at least one nodal transmitting device is associated with a first zonal position of the hierarchical zonal structure, and said at least one other nodal transmitting device is associated with a second zonal position of said hierarchical zonal structure.

32. The article as recited in claim 23, wherein said temporal restriction parameter is associated with a refresh rate value.

33. The article as recited in claim 32, wherein a first zonal position encompassing said specified location is associated with a first refresh rate value, and a second zonal position not encompassing said specified location is associated with a second refresh rate value that is different from said first refresh rate value.

34. An apparatus comprising:

means for obtaining information associated with an item of interest at a specified location;

means for communicating wireless signals; and

means for storing information associated with an item of interest located at a specified location within a coverage area of a location based system comprising a plurality of means for communicating wireless signals operatively forming a hierarchical zonal structure, wherein said information has been selectively propagated within the location based system to said means for communicating wireless signals based, at least in part, on a spatial restriction parameter associated with said specified location, and/or a temporal restriction parameter associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

35. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, further comprising:

means for processing a request from a mobile device for at least a portion of said information associated with said item of interest;

means for identifying at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

means for selectively providing a response to said mobile device based, at least in part, on said estimated position of said mobile device, said response comprising at least a portion of said information.

36. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, further comprising:

means for processing a request from a mobile device for at least a portion of said information relating to said item of interest;

means for identifying at least an estimated position of said mobile device; and

means for selectively providing said request to one or more nodal transmitting devices and/or one or more computing devices.

37. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises a logically formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said plurality of means for communicating wireless signals.

38. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, wherein the hierarchical zonal structure comprises an ad-hoc formed hierarchical zonal structure defined, at least in part, by at least a portion of said means for communicating wireless signals.

39. The apparatus as recited in claim 35, wherein said means for identifying comprises means for identifying a corresponding zonal position of said mobile device associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

40. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, wherein said spatial restriction parameter is associated with the hierarchical zonal structure.

41. The apparatus as recited in claim 40, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a distance value to operatively restrict propagation of said information to one or more particular zonal positions of the hierarchical zonal structure.

42. The apparatus as recited in claim 40, wherein said spatial restriction parameter comprises a time-to-live (TTL) value, and further comprising:

means for determining whether said TTL value permits further propagation of said information within the location based system; and

means for initiating transmission of at least a portion of said information to at least one other of said plurality of means for communicating wireless signals, in response to determining that said TTL value does permit further propagation of said information,

wherein said means for communicating wireless signals is associated with a first zonal position of the hierarchical zonal structure, and said at least one other of said plurality of means for communicating wireless signals is associated with a second zonal position of said hierarchical zonal structure.

43. The apparatus as recited in claim 34, wherein said temporal restriction parameter is associated with a refresh rate value.

44. The apparatus as recited in claim 43, wherein a first zonal position encompassing said specified location is associated with a first refresh rate value, and a second zonal position not encompassing said specified location is associated with a second refresh rate value that is different from said first refresh rate value.