Location determination using location data items received by short-range communication
First Claim
1. A location determination method wherein an entity receives, by short-range communication, location data items originating at known locations, each location data item including a displacement value indicative of the displacement of the item since leaving a specified said known location;
- the entity deriving its location from location data items it has received by effecting a weighted combination of the known locations specified in the received location data items, the weighting of the known location specified in each received location data item being dependent on the associated displacement value.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A location determination method uses location data items that originate at known locations and are passed to, and diffused between, entities by short-range communication. Each location data item received by an entity includes a displacement value indicative of the displacement of the item since leaving a specified known location. This displacement value of a location data item has been updated to reflect movement of entities temporarily hosting the item and/or the range of the transmission hops made by the item. An entity derives its location from received location data items by effecting a weighted combination of the known locations specified in the received location data items, the weighting of the known location specified in each received location data item being dependent on the associated displacement value.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A location determination method wherein an entity receives, by short-range communication, location data items originating at known locations, each location data item including a displacement value indicative of the displacement of the item since leaving a specified said known location;
- the entity deriving its location from location data items it has received by effecting a weighted combination of the known locations specified in the received location data items, the weighting of the known location specified in each received location data item being dependent on the associated displacement value.
- View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A mobile entity provided with a location determination system comprising:
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a short-range receiver for receiving location data items from currently nearby transmitting entities, each location data item indicating a displacement value of the entity from a specified known location;
a memory for storing the received data items;
a distance sub-system for measuring or estimating the distance travelled by the mobile entity;
an update arrangement for updating the received data items by increasing the displacement value associated with each data item by the distance measured or estimated by the distance sub-system since the item concerned was received or last updated; and
a location derivation arrangement operative to determine the location of the entity by effecting a weighted combination of the known locations specified in the received location data items, the weighting of the known location specified in each received location data item being dependent on the associated displacement value. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13)
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14. An entity provided with a location discovery system comprising:
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a short-range receiver for receiving location data items from currently nearby transmitting entities, each location data item indicating a displacement value of the entity from a specified known location;
a memory for storing the received data items;
an update arrangement for updating the received data items by increasing the displacement value associated with each data item by an amount related to the transmission range of the transmitting entity in respect of one of receipt and transmission of the location data item by the entity; and
a location derivation arrangement operative to determine the location of the entity by effecting a weighted combination of the known locations specified in the received location data items, the weighting of the known location specified in each received location data item being dependent on the associated displacement value. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A location determination method wherein location data items originating at known locations are passed to, and diffused between, entities by short-range communication, each location data item received by an entity indicating a separation distance of the entity from a specified said known location;
- a said entity deriving its location from location data items it has received by combining the known locations specified in the location data items in dependence on the related separation distances.
Specification