System With Wireless Messages To Enhance Location Accuracy

• US 20140066091A1
• Filed: 09/06/2012
• Published: 03/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/06/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Varoglu, Devrim, Parupudi, Ravisastry
• Granted Patent: US 9,344,989 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/10 providing dedicated supplementary positioning signals
• 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: 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 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/12 Messaging; Mailboxes; Announcements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/542 using measured or perceived quality

Abstract

Electronic equipment in a system may transmit and receive wireless advertisement messages. Each wireless message may include location information and may have an associated received signal strength indicator when received from transmitting equipment by receiving equipment. The transmitting equipment may be associated with stationary equipment such as equipment installed at a building, adjacent to a road, or in traffic control equipment or other traffic structures. The receiving electronic equipment may be mobile equipment such as a vehicle or mobile computing equipment such as a cellular telephone or portable computer. Satellite navigation system signals may be received by the receiving electronic equipment in addition to the wireless messages. The receiving electronic information can present alerts to a user based on a location determined using the wireless messages and the satellite navigation system signals.

Claims

1. A method for operating receiving electronic equipment at a location, comprising:

with the receiving electronic equipment, receiving wireless advertisement messages containing location data from stationary transmitting electronic equipment;

analyzing the received wireless advertisement messages with the receiving electronic equipment to generate corresponding received signal strength indicator information; and

with the receiving electronic equipment, using the location data and the received signal strength indicator information to identify the location.

2. The method defined in claim 1 wherein receiving the wireless advertisement messages comprises receiving Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) messages.

3. The method defined in claim 2 wherein the transmitting electronic equipment is located adjacent to a road and wherein receiving the wireless advertisement messages comprises receiving wireless signals from the transmitting electronic equipment that is located adjacent to the road while the receiving electronic equipment is located on the road.

4. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the receiving electronic equipment forms part of a vehicle and wherein receiving the wireless advertisement messages comprises receiving the wireless advertisement messages with the receiving electronic equipment in the vehicle.

5. The method defined in claim 3 wherein the receiving electronic equipment comprises portable computing equipment and wherein receiving the wireless advertisement messages comprises receiving wireless advertisement messages with the portable computing equipment.

6. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the receiving electronic equipment forms part of a vehicle traveling on a road and wherein the transmitting equipment comprises equipment mounted adjacent to the road, the method further comprising updating a map based on analyzing the received wireless advertisement messages.

7. The method defined in claim 6 wherein the road includes a branch and wherein the method comprises positioning an icon on the branch in response to analyzing the received wireless advertisement messages.

8. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

with the receiving electronic device, updating a map based on the location.

9. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

presenting a user of the receiving electronic equipment with an alert based on the location.

10. The method defined in claim 9 wherein presenting the user with the alert comprises displaying information for a driver of a vehicle with information on driving conditions.

11. The method defined in claim 9 wherein the receiving electronic equipment forms part of a vehicle of a given type and wherein presenting the user with the alert comprises displaying information for the user based at least partly on the given type.

12. The method defined in claim 9 further comprising:

with the receiving electronic equipment, processing satellite navigation system signals to help determine the location.

13. The method defined in claim 1 further comprising:

receiving satellite navigation system signals from satellites using a satellite navigation system receiver in the receiving electronic equipment.

14. The method defined in claim 13 further comprising:

determining whether to use the received wireless advertisement messages to help identify the location in addition to the satellite navigation system signals based on a determination of whether the geographic position of the receiving electronic equipment is within a predetermined geographic area.

15. The method defined in claim 13 wherein the receiving electronic equipment is part of a vehicle being driven on a road by a driver, the method further comprising:

displaying a map on the receiving electronic equipment for the driver that includes an icon representing the location of the receiving electronic equipment as determined using both the received satellite navigation system signals and the received wireless advertisement messages.

16. Electronic equipment in a vehicle that is configured to be driven at a location by a driver, comprising:

a satellite navigation system receiver that receives satellite navigation system signals;

a wireless receiver that receives wireless advertisement messages containing location data from stationary transmitting electronic equipment; and

control circuitry that ascertains the location of the electronic equipment in the vehicle using at least the wireless messages and received signal strength indicator information associated with the wireless messages.

17. The electronic equipment defined in claim 16 wherein the wireless receiver comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) receiver.

18. The electronic equipment defined in claim 17 wherein the stationary transmitting electronic equipment is installed adjacent to a road and wherein the control circuitry is configured to ascertain the location of the electronic equipment in the vehicle using the satellite navigation system receiver and the Bluetooth Low Energy receiver.

19. A method for determining a location where mobile electronic equipment is operating, comprising:

receiving satellite navigation system signals with the mobile electronic equipment;

with the mobile electronic equipment, extracting location information and received signal strength indicator information from Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) messages transmitted by stationary electronic equipment; and

identifying the location with the mobile electronic equipment using the satellite navigation system signals, the location information, and the received signal strength indicator information.

20. The method defined in claim 19 wherein the stationary electronic equipment includes at least two pieces of transmitting equipment configured to transmit distinct Bluetooth Low Energy messages from two respective distinct locations and wherein identifying the location comprises using triangulation to identify the location.