Method and System for Providing Enhanced Location Based Information for Wireless Handsets

• US 20130045759A1
• Filed: 08/14/2012
• Published: 02/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rivada Networks, LLC
• Original Assignee: Rivada Research, Llc (Rivada Networks, LLC)
• Inventors: Smith, Clint
• Granted Patent: US 8,787,944 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.6
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/02 Magnetic compasses
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1654 with electromagnetic compass
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/48 by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0264 at least one of the systems being a non-radio wave positioning system
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0284 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0294 Trajectory determination or predictive filtering, e.g. target tracking or Kalman filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72421 with automatic activation of emergency service functions, e.g. upon sensing an alarm
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/72457 according to geographic location
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2250/10 including a GPS signal receiver
• 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 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/026 using orientation information, e.g. compass
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/08 User group management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 : Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 : with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Methods, devices and systems for generating enhanced location information on or about a mobile device may include hybrid lateration and/or trilateration solutions in which the mobile device performs location determination calculations with or without the aid or support of network components or global positioning systems (GPS). Mobile devices may automatically form groups based on proximity and/or may be grouped together via a network server. Mobile devices in a group may share computed location information and/or information collected from internal sensors with other grouped mobile devices. Information shared between grouped mobile devices may be used to enhance the location information computed on each mobile device. For example, each mobile device may supplement and/or augment previously computed location information based on the received location information and/or relative positions of other mobile devices in the same group. Each mobile device may also utilize local sensors to further enhance their location information.

Claims

1. A method of determining a location of a mobile device, comprising:

determining an approximate location of the mobile device;

grouping the mobile device with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device to form a communication group;

sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver;

receiving on the mobile device location information from the wireless transceiver; and

determining a more precise location of the mobile device based on the location information received from the wireless transceiver.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

grouping the mobile device with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device to form a communication group comprises grouping the mobile device with a plurality of wireless transceivers in proximity to the mobile device to form the communication group; and

receiving on the mobile device location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving on the mobile device location information from the plurality of wireless transceivers in the communication group.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein grouping the mobile device with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device comprises grouping the mobile device with a second mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving location information on the mobile device from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving a latitude coordinate, a longitude coordinate, and an altitude coordinate.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server;

receiving updated location information on the mobile device from the server; and

re-computing the more precise location of the mobile device based on the updated location information received from the server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server comprises sending information to the server out of band.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server comprises sending sensor information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting movement of the mobile device; and

re-computing the approximate location of the mobile device in response to detecting the movement.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the mobile device is connected to a first telecommunication network and the wireless transceiver is connected to a second telecommunication network; and

sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver comprises the mobile device establishing a near field communication link to the wireless transceiver and the mobile device sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver over the established near field communication link.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving on the mobile device location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving on the mobile device sensor information collected from a sensor of the wireless transceiver.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein receiving on the mobile device sensor information collected from a sensor of the wireless transceiver comprises receiving sensor information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining an approximate location of the mobile device comprises determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from sensors of the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from sensors of the mobile device comprises determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

14. A mobile device, comprising:

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;

determining an approximate location of the mobile device;

grouping with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device to form a communication group;

sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver;

receiving location information from the wireless transceiver; and

determining a more precise location of the mobile device based on the location information received from the wireless transceiver.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor- executable instructions to perform operations such that:

grouping with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device to form a communication group comprises grouping the mobile device with a plurality of wireless transceivers in proximity to the mobile device to form the communication group; and

receiving location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving location information from the plurality of wireless transceivers in the communication group.

16. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that grouping with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device comprises grouping with a second mobile device.

17. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that receiving location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving a latitude coordinate, a longitude coordinate, and an altitude coordinate.

18. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server;

receiving updated location information from the server; and

re-computing the more precise location of the mobile device based on the updated location information received from the server.

19. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server comprises sending information to the server out of band.

20. The mobile device of claim 18, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server comprises sending sensor information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

21. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

detecting movement of the mobile device; and

re-computing the approximate location of the mobile device in response to detecting the movement.

22. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations further comprising:

establishing a connection to a first telecommunication network; and

establishing a near field communication link to the wireless transceiver, the wireless transceiver being connected to a second telecommunication network, and wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions such that sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver comprises sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver over the near field communication link.

23. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that receiving location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving sensor information collected from a sensor of the wireless transceiver.

24. The mobile device of claim 23, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that receiving sensor information collected from a sensor of the wireless transceiver comprises receiving sensor information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

25. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining an approximate location of the mobile device comprises determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from sensors of the mobile device.

26. The mobile device of claim 25, wherein the processor is configured with processor-executable instructions to perform operations such that determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from sensors of the mobile device comprises determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

27. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon processor-executable software instructions configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations comprising:

determining an approximate location of the mobile device;

grouping the mobile device with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device to form a communication group;

sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver;

receiving location information from the wireless transceiver; and

determining a more precise location of the mobile device based on the location information received from the wireless transceiver.

28. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that:

grouping the mobile device with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device to form a communication group comprises grouping the mobile device with a plurality of wireless transceivers in proximity to the mobile device to form the communication group; and

receiving location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving location information from the plurality of wireless transceivers in the communication group.

29. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that grouping with a wireless transceiver in proximity to the mobile device comprises grouping with a second mobile device.

30. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that receiving location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving a latitude coordinate, a longitude coordinate, and an altitude coordinate.

31. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations further comprising:

sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server;

receiving updated location information from the server; and

re-computing the more precise location of the mobile device based on the updated location information received from the server.

32. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server comprises sending information to the server out of band.

33. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 31, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that sending information relating to the determined more precise location of the mobile device and the received location information to a server comprises sending sensor information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

34. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations further comprising:

detecting movement of the mobile device; and

re-computing the approximate location of the mobile device in response to detecting the movement.

35. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations further comprising:

establishing a connection to a first telecommunication network; and

establishing a near field communication link to the wireless transceiver, the wireless transceiver being connected to a second telecommunication network, and wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor to perform operations such that sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver comprises sending the determined approximate location of the mobile device to the wireless transceiver over the near field communication link.

36. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that receiving location information from the wireless transceiver comprises receiving sensor information collected from a sensor of the wireless transceiver.

37. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 36, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that receiving sensor information collected from a sensor of the wireless transceiver comprises receiving sensor information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.

38. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 27, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that determining an approximate location of the mobile device comprises determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from sensors of the mobile device.

39. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 38, wherein the stored processor-executable software instructions are configured to cause a processor of a mobile device to perform operations such that determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from sensors of the mobile device comprises determining the approximate location of the mobile device based on information collected from at least one of:

an accelerometer;

a gyroscope;

a magnetometer; and

a pressure sensor.