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Location determination using historical data

  • US 7,242,950 B2
  • Filed: 02/18/2003
  • Issued: 07/10/2007
  • Est. Priority Date: 02/18/2003
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A system comprising:

  • a history database to track a sequence of wireless network access points (NAPs) accessed by a wireless device in a session, the NAPs part of a plurality of NAPs each having a known location and a unique identifier, the plurality of NAPs comprising a plurality of shorter-range NAPs and a plurality of longer-range NAPs, each NAP comprising an associated precedence; and

    a location determination component to determine which of at least two NAPs that receive a request for information from the wireless device has a greatest precedence and to assign same as a current NAP, to determine whether the current NAP is a NAP of the plurality of shorter-range NAPs or the plurality of longer-range NAPs, to determine whether a previously-current NAP for the wireless device from the history database is within the range of the current NAP, and to estimate a current location of the wireless device based on the known location of the current NAP and the known location of the previously-current NAP for the wireless device from the history database;

    wherein the estimate of the current location is biased towards the previously-current NAP when the current NAP is one of the plurality of longer-range NAPs and the previously-current NAP is located outside the range of the current NAP; and

    wherein the estimate of the current location is within the range of the current NAP and not within the range of the previously-current NAP when the current NAP is one of the plurality of longer-range NAPs and the previously-current NAP is located within the range of the current NAP.

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