Tracking Large Numbers of Wireless Terminals

• US 20130072230A1
• Filed: 09/19/2011
• Published: 03/21/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Polaris Wireless Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Polaris Wireless Incorporated
• Inventors: Bhattacharya, Tarun Kumar, Feuerstein, Martin, Gordon, Scot Douglas, Martin, Robert Lewis, Spain, David Stevenson Jr., Bansal, Ankit
• Granted Patent: US 9,398,402 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• 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 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]

Abstract

An apparatus and method are disclosed for tracking a large number of wireless terminals and for estimating the location of the terminals at each instant. Some embodiments of the present invention use a wide variety of factors to determine the order and frequency with which each wireless terminal is located. These factors include, but are not limited to, the history of the location of the wireless terminal, the time of day, and the weather.

Claims

1-11. -11. (canceled)

12. A method comprising:

(a) receiving, by a data-processing system, a first datum that is evidence of a first location of a wireless terminal;

(b) when, after receiving the first datum, the data-processing system calculates that it cannot estimate a second location of the first wireless terminal with a degree of confidence that is acceptable to the data-processing system;

(i) transmitting, by the data-processing system, a request for evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal, and

(ii) receiving, by the data-processing system, a second datum that is evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal, and

(iii) estimating, by the data-processing system, the second location of the wireless terminal based on the second datum; and

(c) when, after receiving the first datum, the data-processing system calculates that it can estimate the second location of the wireless terminal with the degree of confidence that is acceptable;

(i) refraining, by the data-processing system, from transmitting the request for evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal, and

(ii) estimating, by the data-processing system, the second location of the wireless terminal based on the first datum;

wherein the degree of confidence is based on a priority of the wireless terminal in a priority queue in the data-processing system.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein a frequency with which the data-processing system transmits requests for evidence of location of the wireless terminal is based at least in part on one or more of:

(i) a history of locations for the wireless terminal,

(ii) the time of day, and

(iii) the weather.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the estimate of the second location based on the first datum has the degree of confidence that is acceptable.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the estimate of the second location based on the second datum has the degree of confidence that is acceptable.

16. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

estimating, by the data-processing system, with the degree of confidence that is acceptable, the respective locations of a plurality of wireless terminals in a wireless telecommunications system, wherein the priority queue comprises a priority for each wireless terminal in the plurality.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the second location is estimated to be the same as the first location.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein the data-processing system is a mass tracking system in a wireless telecommunications system.

19. The method of claim 12 further comprising at least one of:

(d) transmitting, by the data-processing system, the estimated second location of the wireless terminal, and

(e) updating, by the data-processing system, a database with the estimated second location of the wireless terminal.

39. The method of claim 12 further comprising:

updating, by the data-processing system, the priority of the wireless terminal in the priority queue after estimating the second location of the wireless terminal.

20. (canceled)

21. A method comprising:

(a) receiving, by a data-processing system, a first datum that is evidence of a first location of a wireless terminal;

(b) when, after receiving the first datum, the data-processing system calculates that it cannot estimate a second location of the first wireless terminal with a degree of confidence that is acceptable to the data-processing system;

(i) transmitting, by the data-processing system, a request for evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal, and

(ii) receiving, by the data-processing system, a second datum that is evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal, and

(iii) estimating, by the data-processing system, the second location of the wireless terminal based on the second datum; and

(c) when, after receiving the first datum, the data-processing system calculates that it can estimate the second location of the wireless terminal with the degree of confidence that is acceptable;

(i) refraining, by the data-processing system, from transmitting the request for evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal, and

(ii) estimating, by the data-processing system, the second location of the wireless terminal based on the first datum;

wherein a frequency with which the data-processing system transmits requests for evidence of location of the wireless terminal is based on a priority of the wireless terminal in a priority queue in the data-processing system, and further wherein the degree of confidence is based on the frequency.

22. The method of claim 21 wherein a scheduler in the data-processing system updates the priority queue based on a plurality of factors comprising:

(i) the time of day, and

(ii) the weather.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the plurality of factors further comprises:

(iii) a history of locations for the wireless terminal.

24. The method of claim 22 wherein the plurality of factors further comprises:

(iv) whether the wireless terminal is stationary; and

(v) whether the wireless terminal is moving slowly.

25. The method of claim 21 wherein the frequency is reduced when the wireless terminal is one of (i) stationary, and (ii) moving slowly.

26. The method of claim 21 further comprising:

estimating, by the data-processing system, with a degree of confidence that is acceptable, the respective locations of a plurality of wireless terminals in a wireless telecommunications system, wherein the priority queue comprises a priority for each wireless terminal in the plurality.

27-29. -29. (canceled)

30. A system comprising:

a scheduler that is configured to;

(a) update a priority queue that comprises a priority for each of a Plurality of wireless terminals, and

(b) determine, based on the priority of a first wireless terminal in the Priority queue a timing of a request to be transmitted for evidence of a location of the first wireless terminal; and

a processor that is configured to;

(a) transmit, based on the timing determined by the scheduler, the request for the evidence of the location of the first wireless terminal, and

(b) receive from a location-engine the location of the first wireless terminal as determined based on the evidence; and

wherein at every instant the system comprises an estimated location of each wireless terminal in the plurality, including the location of the first wireless terminal.

32. The system of claim 30 wherein the processor is further configured to transmit a plurality of requests for evidence of location of the first wireless terminal with a frequency that is based at least in part on one or more of:

(i) a history of locations for the first wireless terminal,

(ii) the time of day, and

(iii) the weather

and further wherein the frequency is based on the timing determined by the scheduler.

31. (canceled)

33. (canceled)

34. A system comprising:

a scheduler that is configured to determine, based on a priority queue, at least one of (i) an order and (ii) a timing of a request to be transmitted for evidence of the location of a wireless terminal; and

a processor that is configured to;

(i) receive a first datum that is evidence of a first location of a wireless terminal, and

(ii) calculate, after the first datum is received, whether the system can estimate, based on the first datum, a second location of the first wireless terminal with a degree of confidence that is acceptable, wherein the degree of confidence is based on a priority of the wireless terminal in the priority queue of the scheduler, and

(iii) when the degree of confidence is not acceptable, transmit the request for evidence of the second location of the wireless terminal as determined by the scheduler, and

(iv) when the degree of confidence is acceptable, refrain from transmitting the request.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the scheduler is further configured to update the priority queue based on a plurality of factors comprising at least one of:

(i) the time of day,

(ii) the weather,

(iii) a history of locations for the wireless terminal,

(iv) whether the wireless terminal is stationary, and

(v) whether the wireless terminal is moving slowly.

37. The system of claim 34 wherein the system is a mass tracking system in a wireless telecommunications system.

38. The system of claim 34 wherein the processor is further configured to estimate, with the degree of confidence that is acceptable, the respective locations of a plurality of wireless terminals, wherein the priority queue comprises a priority for each wireless terminal in the plurality.

36. (canceled)