Transponder subsystem for supporting location awareness in wireless networks
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising means for determining the location of a wireless communication device within a wireless network, the means for determining comprising:
- at least two transponder units with a reduced medium access control stack unit that only allows acknowledgment of unicast data frames addressed to a particular one of said transponder units to provide location-sensing information for communicating with the communication device when the communication device is situated in a coverage area of the wireless network; and
a processing unit for deriving the geolocation of the communication device within the coverage area in dependence on information received from the transponder units;
wherein the processing unit is integral to the communication device; and
wherein one transponder unit comprises a reduced a-type media access (MAC) stack unit implemented with one of microprocessor and a field programmable gate array, said a-type MAC stack unit to filter incoming data frames for error-free reception and correct MAC address, and to pass an acknowledgment frame after a short interframe space to a physical-layer for transmission.
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Abstract
The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for determining the location of a communication device within a wireless network in order to provide a geolocation functionality to the communication device participating under an access protocol of a wireless local-area network (WLAN) infrastructure such as IEEE 802.11 or Hiperlan. The apparatus comprises at least two transponder units for communicating with the communication device when the communication device is situated in a coverage area of the wireless network and a processing unit for deriving the location of the communication device within the coverage area in dependence on information received from the transponder units.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising means for determining the location of a wireless communication device within a wireless network, the means for determining comprising:
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at least two transponder units with a reduced medium access control stack unit that only allows acknowledgment of unicast data frames addressed to a particular one of said transponder units to provide location-sensing information for communicating with the communication device when the communication device is situated in a coverage area of the wireless network; and a processing unit for deriving the geolocation of the communication device within the coverage area in dependence on information received from the transponder units; wherein the processing unit is integral to the communication device; and wherein one transponder unit comprises a reduced a-type media access (MAC) stack unit implemented with one of microprocessor and a field programmable gate array, said a-type MAC stack unit to filter incoming data frames for error-free reception and correct MAC address, and to pass an acknowledgment frame after a short interframe space to a physical-layer for transmission. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for determining the geolocation of a wireless communication device within a wireless network, the method comprising the:
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arranging at least two transponder units with a reduced medium access control stack unit that only allows acknowledgment of unicast data frames addressed to a particular one of said transponder units to provide location-sensing information for communicating with the communication device is situated in a coverage area of the wireless network; receiving information from the transponder units; deriving the location of the communication device within the coverage area in dependence on the received information; and coupling an access point unit to the transponder units, and the access point unit receiving information from the transponder units and employing the information in the step of deriving; wherein one transponder unit comprises a reduced a-type media access (MAC) stack unit implemented with one of a microprocessor and a field programmable gate array, said a-type MAC stack unit to filter incoming data frames for error-free reception and correct MAC address, and to pass an acknowledgment frame after a short interframe space to a physical layer for transmission. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification