Proximity Detection for Mobile Communication Devices Using Geo-Fencing

• US 20140192737A1
• Filed: 01/08/2014
• Published: 07/10/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/08/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies International Sales Pte Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: KALAPATAPU, Dutt H., MEDAPALLI, Kamesh, BELGHOUL, Farouk
• Granted Patent: US 9,414,422 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• 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 4/80 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 76/14 Direct-mode setup

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for using geo-fencing techniques to assist in detecting mobile communication devices that are close enough to support direct communication. A mobile communication device can periodically report its geo-fence area to a central server. The server can determine whether to ask the communication device to report more precise geographic information (e.g., GPS information) based on whether another communication device eligible for direct communication is within the same geo-fence area.

Claims

1. A mobile communication device, comprising:

a processor configured to;

send first information regarding a first geographic location of the mobile communication device to a server,

receive a request from the server for a second geographic location of the mobile communication device within the first geographic location,

send second information regarding the second geographic location to the server, and

receive a message from the server indicating that a second mobile communication device is within a predetermined range of the second geographic location; and

a wireless local area network (WLAN) module configured to;

establish a direct wireless communication link with the second mobile communication device based on the message.

2. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the first geographic location is a geo-fence containing the mobile communication device.

3. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the first geographic location is a cell ID associated with a base station serving the mobile communication device.

4. The mobile communication device of claim 1, farther comprising:

a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module configured to provide the second geographic location.

5. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

send a list of devices to the server, wherein the list of devices comprises the second mobile communication device.

6. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to:

update, based on the message, an application indicating other mobile communication devices that are within the predetermined range of the second geographic location.

7. The mobile communication device of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to send the first geographic location without powering up a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) module of the mobile communication device.

8. A server, comprising:

a database configured to;

store information regarding a plurality of geographic locations associated with a plurality of mobile communication devices; and

a proximity detection module configured to;

receive first information regarding a first geographic location of a mobile communication device of the plurality of mobile communication devices,

determine, based on first geographic location and the information, whether to request a second geographic location from the mobile communication device, wherein the second geographic location is within the first geographic location, and

send a message to the mobile communication device requesting the second geographic location.

9. The server of claim 8, wherein the proximity detection module is further configured to:

receive the second geographic location from the mobile communication device;

determine, based on the second geographic location and the information, whether a second mobile communication device of the plurality of mobile communication devices is geographically close enough to the mobile communication device for direct wireless communication; and

notify the mobile communication device that the mobile communication device is geographically close enough to the second mobile communication device for direct wireless communication.

10. The server of claim 8, wherein the first geographic location is a geo-fence containing the mobile communication device.

11. The server of claim 8, wherein the first geographic location is a cell ID of a base station serving the mobile communication device.

12. The server of claim 8, wherein the second geographic location is a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) location of the mobile communication device.

13. The server of claim 8, wherein the database is further configured to:

store a list of devices comprising the second mobile communication device.

14. The server of claim 8, wherein the proximity detection module is further configured to:

determine, based on the first geographic location and the information, whether the mobile communication device and the second mobile communication device are within a same geo-fence to determine whether to request the second geographic location from the mobile communication device.

15. The server of claim 8, wherein the database is further configured to:

store the first geographic location and the second geographic location.

16. A method, comprising:

sending a general geographic location of a first mobile communication device to a server;

receiving a request from the server for a more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device within the general geographic location;

sending the more precise geographic location to the server; and

receiving a message from the server indicating that a second mobile communication device is within a predetermined range of the more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

sending a list of devices to the server, wherein the list of devices comprises the second mobile communication device.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

receiving, at the server, the general geographic location of the first mobile communication device;

determining, based on the general geographic location and stored information regarding a plurality of geographic locations associated with a plurality of mobile communication devices, whether to request the more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device; and

sending a message to the first mobile communication device requesting the more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, at the server, the more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device;

determining, based on the more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device and the stored information, whether the second mobile communication device is geographically close enough to the first mobile communication device for direct wireless communication; and

notifying the first mobile communication device that the first mobile communication device is geographically close enough to the second mobile communication device for direct wireless communication.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the general geographic location is a geo-fence containing the first mobile communication device, and wherein the more precise geographic location of the first mobile communication device is a geographic coordinate of the first mobile communication device.