Real time location system and method for caching location information based on finger printing

• US 8,674,828 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2010
• Issued: 03/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LS Industrial Systems Company Limited
• Original Assignee: LS Industrial Systems Company Limited
• Inventors: Im, Chang Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Ghayour, Mohammad
• Assistant Examiner(s): WILSON, BRIAN P
• Application Number:
  US12/958,301
• Publication Number:
  US 20110128124A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,203 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 340/539.21
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02524 Creating or updating the radio-map

Abstract

Disclosed is a location tracking system and the method thereof for storing location information. The location tracking system includes at least one beacon apparatus arranged to transmit a beacon signal to a tag; a tag at any position respectively measuring a signal intensity of beacon signals received from surrounding at least one beacon apparatus, and transmitting a measured per-beacon signal intensity to a specific beacon apparatus; and a server arranged to determine if at least any one of signal intensities exceeds a set maximum value by analyzing a per-beacon signal intensity input from the specific beacon apparatus, and store a location-based signal intensity into a database by equally dividing a distance between corresponding beacon apparatuses and then distributing a measured signal intensity into a divided each position in multiple cases the signal intensity exceeds a set maximum value.

Claims

1. A location tracking system for storing finger-print based location information, the system comprising:

a plurality of beacon apparatuses, each beacon apparatus configured to transmit a beacon signal, wherein one or more of the beacon signals are received by a tag configured to measure a signal intensity of each of the one or more received beacon signals and to transmit a set of information, the set of information including the one or more measured signal intensities and identification information that identifies the beacon apparatus corresponding to each measured signal intensity, wherein the tag repeatedly receives one or more of the beacon signals and measures one or more signal intensities to transmit multiple sets of information; and

a server configured to;

obtain each of the sets of information and store the measured signal intensities;

determine, for each set of information, if one of the one or more measured signal intensities exceeds a maximum value, the maximum value based on the beacon apparatus corresponding to the measured signal intensity;

increase a beacon count if one of the one or more measured signal intensities is determined to exceed the maximum value;

determine if the beacon count equals a reference value;

determine a location-based signal intensity if the beacon count is determined to equal the reference value, wherein determining the location-based signal intensity includes associating the stored measured signal intensities with positions along a path between each of the beacon apparatuses corresponding to each of the measured signal intensities exceeding the corresponding maximum value; and

store the location-based signal intensity in a database.

2. The location tracking system of claim 1, wherein each of the beacon signals includes unique identification information, wherein the unique identification information is an MAC (media access control) address.

3. The location tracking system of claim 1, wherein the maximum value is equal to a maximum signal intensity of the corresponding beacon apparatus.

4. A finger print-based location information storing method, the method comprising:

measuring signal intensities of beacon signals received from a plurality of beacon apparatuses, and transmitting multiple sets of information to a server, each set of information including one or more of the measured signal intensities and identification information that identifies which one of a plurality of beacon apparatuses corresponds to each measured signal intensity;

storing the measured signal intensities;

determining, by the server, for each set of information, if one of the one or more measured signal intensities exceeds a maximum value, the maximum value based on the beacon apparatus corresponding to the measured signal intensity;

increasing a beacon count if one of the one or more measured signal intensities is determined to exceed the maximum value;

determining if the beacon count equals a reference value;

determining a location-based signal intensity if the beacon count equals the reference value, wherein determining the location-based signal intensity includes associating the stored measured signal intensities with positions along a path between each of the beacon apparatuses corresponding to each of the measured signal intensities exceeding the corresponding maximum value; and

storing the location-based signal intensity in a database.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

initializing the beacon count when location-based signal intensity is stored.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein if the beacon count is determined to not equal the reference value, the server repeats the determining if one of the one or more measured signal intensities exceeds the maximum value.

7. The method of claim 4, wherein the maximum value is equal to a maximum signal intensity of the corresponding beacon apparatus.