METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ACCESS POINT LOCATION
First Claim
1. A method of determining a desired location within a premises for a wireless access point, said method comprising:
- placing each of a plurality of wireless-enabled client devices in respective ones of a plurality of locations within said premises;
utilizing said plurality of client devices to exchange signals between one another to collect data relating to one or more radio frequency characteristics at each of said plurality of locations; and
utilizing said collected data to determine said desired location.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for determining a desired or optimal location for one or more access points within a premises. In one embodiment, software is provided to wireless-enabled client devices in a user premises; the software enables each of the devices to communicate with one another and collect a plurality of data relating to the connectivity of each at various locations within the premises. The data is used to determine a desired or optimal location for placement of an access point. Once the optimal location is determined, the access point is placed, and the client devices communicate therewith. In one variant, ongoing data may be collected as the system operates to ensure continued optimization. In the instance changes in the topology or environment of the user premises cause significant alterations to the communication signals or connectivity, a new optimal location for the access point may be determined.
58 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of determining a desired location within a premises for a wireless access point, said method comprising:
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placing each of a plurality of wireless-enabled client devices in respective ones of a plurality of locations within said premises; utilizing said plurality of client devices to exchange signals between one another to collect data relating to one or more radio frequency characteristics at each of said plurality of locations; and utilizing said collected data to determine said desired location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer readable apparatus comprising a storage medium, said storage medium comprising at least one computer program having a plurality of instructions, said plurality of instructions configured to, when executed on a processing apparatus, to:
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access a plurality of link data obtained from a plurality of wireless client devices, at least a portion of said data gathered by each of said wireless client devices while monitoring wireless signals from at least one other of said plurality of client devices; and evaluate said plurality of link data to identify at least one optimized location from a plurality of candidate locations, said optimized location meeting at least one acceptance criteria for wireless performance. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of remotely installing a wireless access point within a user premises, said method comprising:
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causing a user to place each of a plurality of wireless-enabled client devices in respective ones of a plurality of locations within said user premises, and utilize said plurality of client devices to exchange signals between one another to collect data relating to one or more radio frequency characteristics at each of said plurality of locations; receiving said collected data; utilizing said collected data for determining a desired location; and transmitting information relating to said determined desired location to said user, said information enabling said user to place said wireless access point within said user premises at said desired location. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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15. A method of determining an optimized placement of a wireless access point at a premises, said method comprising:
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utilizing a plurality of wireless enabled devices to transmit and receive signals in a substantially round-robin fashion in order to characterize a performance of each of a plurality of wireless links between said wireless enabled devices; and utilizing said characterizations of said plurality of wireless link performances for identifying at least one location where said performance of said plurality of wireless links is optimized when considered in an aggregate. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification