System and method for device co-location discrimination

• US 6,959,260 B2
• Filed: 12/17/2001
• Issued: 10/25/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Polycom Incorporated (Plantronics, Inc.)
• Inventors: Rodman, Jeffrey, Pearson, Gil
• Primary Examiner(s): Assouad, Patrick J.
• Application Number:
  US10/023,572
• Publication Number:
  US 20020101918A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,408 Days
• Field of Search: 702/71, 702/150, 455/404.2, 455/456.1, 455/67.11, 342/450, 356/3, 367/118, 340/539.13
• US Class Current: 702/150
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2207/18 wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2242/30 Determination of the location of a subscriber
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/56 Arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities video conference systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/568 audio processing specific to telephonic conferencing, e.g. spatial distribution, mixing of participants echo suppression in two-way loud-speaking telephone systems H04M9/02; sound field processing per se H04S7/30

Abstract

A system and method for determining if a first and second device are co-located includes first and second sensors for receiving a sample signal. Each sensor is coupled to the first and second devices. The first and second devices each responsively generate a first and second signal representing the sampled signal. Also included is a transmission device located at the first device for transmitting the first signal to the second device and a receiving device located at the second device for receiving the first signal from the first device. Finally, a signal analysis device determines if the first and second devices are co-located.

Claims

1. A method for determining if a first and a second device are co-located, comprising the steps of:

sampling a sample signal at the first device and responsively generating a first representative signal of the sample signal;

sampling the sample signal at the second device and responsively generating a second representative signal of the sample signal;

transmitting the second representative signal to the first device; and

comparing the first representative signal to the second representative signal.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample signal comprises an acoustic signal.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample signal comprises a light signal.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second representative signals comprise a digitized signal of the sample signal.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of comparing comprises correlated envelope signal analysis of the first and second representative signal to determine if the first and second representative signals are similar in form.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of comparing comprises harmonic frequency signal analysis of the first and second representative signal to determine if the first and second representative signals are similar in form.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of comparing comprises cross-correlating the first and second representative signal to determine if the first and second representative signals are similar in form.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device is a base station and the second device is a remote device.

9. The method or claim 1, wherein the first device is a remote device and the second device is a base station.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample signal is generated by the first device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the sample signal is generated by the second device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second device communicate wirelessly.

13. A method for discriminating between data received from co-located and non co-located devices, comprising the steps of:

receiving at a base station data from a remote device;

sampling a sample signal at the remote device and responsively generating a first representative signal of the sample signal;

sampling the sample signal at the base station and responsively generating a second representative signal of the sample signal;

determining if the base station and the remote device are co-located; and

processing the data received by the base station if the remote device is co-located.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the data is embodied in the form of radio frequency.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining further comprises transmitting the first and second representative signals to a third device known to be co-located with the base station for comparison.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining further comprises transmitting the first representative signal to the base station for comparison.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of determining further comprises transmitting the second representative signal to the remote device for comparison.

18. A system for determining if a first device and a second device are co-located comprising:

a first sensor located at the first device for receiving a sample signal, the first device responsively generating a first signal representing the sample signal;

a second sensor located at the second device for receiving a sample signal, the second device responsively generating a second signal representing the sample signal;

a transmission device located at the first device for transmitting the first signal to the second device;

a receiving device located at the second device for receiving the first signal from the first device; and

a signal analysis device for determining if the first and second devices are co-located.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first and second sensor comprise an acoustic sensor and the sample signal is an acoustic signal.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein the first and second sensor comprise a photodetector and the sample signal is a modulated beam of light.

21. The system of claim 18, wherein the first device is a remote device and the second device is a base station.

22. The system of claim 18, wherein the first device is a base station and the second device is a remote device.

23. The system of claim 18, wherein the signal analysis device compares the first and second signals in order to determine if the first and second devices are co-located.

24. The system of claim 18, wherein the signal analysis device is coupled to the first device.

25. The system of claim 18, wherein the signal analysis device is coupled to the second device.

26. The system of claim 18, wherein the signal analysis device is coupled to a third device, the third device known to be co-located with the first device.

27. The system of claim 18, wherein the signal analysis device is coupled to a third device, the third device known to be co-located with the second device.

28. A system for determining if a first and second device are co-located comprising:

means for sampling a sample signal at the first device;

means for responsively generating a first representative signal of the sample signal at the first device;

means for sampling the sample signal at the second device;

means for responsively generating a second representative signal of the sample signal at the second device;

means for transmitting the second representative signal to the first device; and

means for comparing the first representative signal to the second representative signal.

29. A computer readable medium having embodied thereon a program, the program being executable by a machine to perform method steps for determining if a first and a second device are co-located, the method steps comprising:

sampling a sample signal at the first device and responsively generating a first representative signal of the sampled signal;

receiving from the second device a second representative signal of the sample signal; and

comparing the first representative signal to the second representative signal.

30. A method for discriminating between data received from co-located and non co-located devices, comprising the steps of:

receiving at a remote device data from a base station;

sampling a sample signal at the base station and responsively generating a first representative signal of the sample signal;

sampling the sample signal at the remote device and responsively generating a second representative signal of the sample signal;

determining if the remote device and the base station are co-located; and

processing the data received by the remote device if the base station is co-located.