Systems and methods for gathering information about discrete wireless terminals

• US 9,002,376 B2
• Filed: 03/15/2013
• Issued: 04/07/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Prima Research, LLC
• Original Assignee: Prima Research, LLC
• Inventors: Price, Christopher, Beveridge, Gregory J.
• Primary Examiner(s): SHAHEED, KHALID W
• Application Number:
  US13/844,662
• Publication Number:
  US 20140200023A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.6
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/04 based on user or terminal location or mobility data, e.g. moving direction, speed
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

The present invention is broadly directed to systems and methods for gathering information about wireless transceiver devices in a defined boundary region. To this end, the disclosure is more particularly directed to gathering movement information (e.g., via detection and location) about two-way end-user wireless terminals within three-dimensional boundaries of defined local space (“DLS”) to allow for selective control of the terminals and other subsystems, as desired. Additionally, the data collected can be used to improve accuracy and precision regarding the prediction of behavior characteristics and tendencies of populations based on a sampling of observed terminals.

Claims

1. A method for determining positioning of a wireless terminal comprising:

determining positioning of a plurality of receivers capturing a first wireless signal emitted from the wireless terminal;

determining a plurality of defined local spaces (DLSs), each DLS defining a volume among four receivers of the plurality of receivers;

determining a plurality of points within each DLS, including spatially relating each point to the positioning of the four receivers defining the corresponding DLS;

determining a four travel times for each point, each travel time representing time needed for wireless signals to travel from the corresponding point to a corresponding one of the four receivers defining the corresponding DLS;

determining a first plurality of first arrival times, each first arrival time representing time for the first wireless signal to reach each of the plurality of receivers;

determining the wireless terminal to be positioned within a first DLS of the plurality of DLSs, the first DLS being associated with the point having travel times most closely correlated with the first arrival times.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the plurality of DLS s to define tetrahedron-shaped volumes.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining a second plurality of second arrival times, each second arrival time representing time for a second signal to reach each of the plurality of receivers, the second signal being emitted from the wireless terminal after the first signal;

determining the wireless terminal to be positioned within a second DLS of the plurality of DLSs when the point having travel times most closely correlated with the second arrival times is within the second DLS.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising determining the plurality of DLS s such that the volume of the first DLS is entirely outside the volume of the second DLS.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising determining the plurality of DLS s such that the volume of the first DLS adjoins the volume of the second DLS.

6. The method of claim 3 further comprising determining the plurality of DLS s such that the volume of the first DLS encompasses the volume of the second DLS.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining each DLS such that the corresponding four receivers are at least a predefined distance apart from each other, the predefined distance being greater than a length of a wavelength of the first wireless signal.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining the wireless terminal to be positioned within the first DLS without identifying personal information for a user associated with the wireless terminal.

9. A computer program product embedded in a non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being sufficient for use with a processor to facilitate determining positioning of a wireless terminal, the non-transitory comprising instructions sufficient for:

determining a plurality of defined local spaces (DLS s), each DLS defining a volume amongst four receiver groupings, the four receiver groupings being selected from a plurality of receivers receiving a first wireless signal from the wireless terminal;

determining a plurality of points within each DLS;

determining four travel times for each point, each travel time representing time needed for the first wireless signal to travel from the corresponding point to a corresponding one of the four receivers defining the corresponding DLS;

determining a first plurality of arrival times, each first arrival time representing relative time measured for the first wireless signal to reach each of the plurality of receivers;

determining positioning of the wireless terminal to be within a first DLS of the plurality of DLSs based on a correlation of the travel times and the arrival times.

10. The computer program product of claim 9 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the first DLS to correspond with the one of the DLSs including the point having travel times most closely correlated with the arrival times.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the first arrival time for a first receiving one of the plurality receivers receiving the wireless signal to be zero and each of the other first arrival times to be greater than zero.

12. The computer program product of claim 10 further comprising instructions sufficient for:

identifying a shortest four of the arrival times; and

determining positioning of the wireless terminal without correlating the arrival times that are longer than the shortest four of the arrival travel times with the travel times.

13. The computer program product of claim 10 further comprising instructions sufficient for:

determining a second plurality of second arrival times, each second arrival time representing relative time measured for a second signal to reach each of the plurality of receivers, the second signal being emitted from the wireless terminal after the first signal;

determining the wireless terminal to be positioned within a second DLS of the plurality of DLSs when the point having travel times most closely correlated with the second arrival times is included within the second DLS.

14. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the plurality of DLSs such that the volume of the first DLS is entirely outside the volume of the second DLS.

15. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the plurality of DLSs such that the volume of the first DLS adjoins the volume of the second DLS and none of the DLS overlap.

16. The computer program product of claim 13 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the plurality of DLSs such that the volume of the first DLS encompasses the volume of the second DLS.

17. The computer program product of claim 9 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the DLS for groupings of four receivers where each receiver is no closer than a predefined distance to any one of the other four receivers within the corresponding DLS.

18. The computer program product of claim 17 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining the predefined distance to be greater than or equal to a wavelength of the first wireless signal.

19. The computer program product of claim 9 further comprising instructions sufficient for determining positioning of the wireless terminal without determining phase of the wireless signals being received at the plurality of receivers.

20. A system for determining positioning of a cellular phone, the cellular phone receiving a ping from a base station, the ping prompting the cellular phone to transmit an administrative signal, the base station requiring receipt of the administrative signal prior to connecting a phone call to the cellular phone, the system comprising:

a plurality of receivers configured to capture the administrative signal, the receivers being unable to listen to the phone call;

a position locating processor configured to determine a position of the cellular phone when the administrative signal is transmitted, the position locating processor configured to;

i) determine a plurality of defined local spaces (DLSs), each DLS defining a volume amongst four receiver groupings, the four receiver groupings being selected from the plurality of receivers receiving the administrative signal;

ii) determining a plurality of points within each DLS;

iii) determining travel times relative to each point, each travel time representing time needed for the administrative signal to travel from the corresponding point to one of the receivers of the corresponding DLS;

iv) determining a first plurality of arrival times, each first arrival time representing time measured for the administrative signal to reach each one of the plurality of receivers;

v) determining positioning of the wireless terminal to be within a first DLS of the plurality of DLSs based on a correlation of the travel times and the arrival times.