Position determination methodology selection

• US 9,103,901 B2
• Filed: 02/27/2012
• Issued: 08/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Zhang, Gengsheng, Johnson, Kelly G., Namburi, Shanta P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Sarwar, Babar
• Application Number:
  US13/406,440
• Publication Number:
  US 20120302257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,261 Days
• Field of Search: 455/420, 455/436, 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/457, 455/550.1, 455/556.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0263 by combining or switching between positions derived from two or more separate positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

Various methods, apparatuses and articles of manufacture are provided for use in or with a mobile device to identify one or more attributes for each of a plurality of positioning resources available at the mobile device. In an example, positioning resources may provide all or part of a position fix based, at least in part, on one or more wireless signals received by the mobile device, and/or one or more electrical signals received from one or more sensors onboard the mobile device. For example, in certain instances at least one of the positioning resources may have at least one attribute that is different than at least one other attribute of anther positioning resource. In certain examples, at least one of the positioning resources may be selected for obtaining a position fix based, at least in part, on a request and one or more particular attributes.

Claims

1. A method comprising, with a mobile device:

identifying one or more attributes for each of a plurality of positioning resources available at said mobile device, wherein each of said plurality of positioning resources provides a position fix of the mobile device based, at least in part, on at least one of;

one or more wireless signals received by said mobile device, or one or more signal received from one or more sensors onboard said mobile device, and wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources has at least one of said one or more attributes that is different than at least one other of said plurality of positioning resources;

obtaining a request for a position fix of said mobile device; and

selecting at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix based, at least in part, on said request and said one or more attributes,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes corresponds to at least one position fix criteria that characterizes an expected power consumption,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of an expected achievable time to fix, an expected achievable position accuracy, an expected position availability or an expected position format, and

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of a use policy, a security policy or a preference policy.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one said one or more attributes corresponds to an operational state of at least a portion of said mobile device.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said request for said position fix identifies one or more desired characteristics for said position fix, and wherein selecting said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix further comprises comparing said one or more desired characteristics to at least one of said one or more attributes.

4. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said one or more desired characteristics for said position fix comprises a desired position accuracy;

a desired time to fix or a desired position format;

or a combination of said desired position accuracy, said desired time to fix or said desired position format.

5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein said one or more desired characteristics for said position fix further characterizes a requesting function with regard to a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy;

or a combination of a use policy, said security policy or said preference policy.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein selecting said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix further comprises:

determining whether a recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said request for said position fix is satisfied, at least in part, based on an age of said recent position fix;

an accuracy of said recent position fix or a format of said recent position fix;

or a combination of said age of said recent position fix, said accuracy of said recent position fix or said format of said recent position fix.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein said request for said position fix is satisfied, at least in part, based on said recent position fix satisfying a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy, or a combination of a use policy, said security policy or said preference policy.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, and further comprising:

in response to a determination that a recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix, identifying said recent position fix as said position fix in response to said request for said position fix.

10. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources comprises a satellite positioning system (SPS) based positioning resource;

an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) based positioning resource;

a cell sector based positioning resource;

a wireless network based positioning resource;

a near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource;

or a combination of an SPS based positioning resource, said AFLT based positioning resource, said cell sector based positioning resource, said wireless network based positioning resource, said near-field communication based positioning resource or said ad hoc network based positioning resource.

11. The method as recited in claim 1, and further comprising:

selecting said position fix from a plurality of obtained position fixes.

12. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is based, at least in part, on a combination of two or more requests obtained from two or more applications or functions.

13. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is obtained from an application or a function by a first manager capability.

14. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein a second manager capability is responsive to said first manager capability, at least in part, in selecting said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein a third manager capability is responsive to said second manager capability, at least in part, in providing at least one command to said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix.

16. The method as recited in claim 13, wherein:

a second manager capability is responsive to said first manager capability, at least in part, in selecting said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix;

a third manager capability is responsive to said second manager capability, at least in part, in providing at least one command to said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix; and

said first manager capability, said second manager capability, and said third manager capability are provided, at least in part, by a modem processor in response to at least one request received from an application processor.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein at least one of:

said first manager capability comprises a unified location manager (ULM);

said second manager capability comprises a location method manager (LMM);

or said third manager capability comprises a subsystem manager (SSM).

18. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein said request is obtained from and said position fix is provided to an application programming interface capable of serving a plurality of applications or functions.

19. An apparatus for use in a mobile device, the apparatus comprising:

means for identifying one or more attributes for each of a plurality of positioning resources available at said mobile device, wherein each of said plurality of positioning resources provides a position fix of the mobile device based, at least in part, on at least one of;

one or more wireless signals received by said mobile device, or one or more signal received from one or more sensors onboard said mobile device, and wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources has at least one of said one or more attributes that is different than at least one other of said plurality of positioning resources;

means for obtaining a request for a position fix of said mobile device; and

means for selecting at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix based, at least in part, on said request and said one or more attributes,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes corresponds to at least one position fix criteria that characterizes an expected power consumption,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of an expected achievable time to fix, an expected achievable position accuracy, an expected position availability or an expected position format, and

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of a use policy, a security policy or a preference policy.

20. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein said request for said position fix identifies one or more desired characteristics for said position fix, and wherein said means for selecting said at least one of said positioning resources further comprises:

means for comparing said one or more desired characteristics to at least one of said one or more attributes.

21. The apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein said one or more desired characteristics for said position fix comprises a desired position accuracy;

a desired time to fix or a desired position format;

or a combination of said desired position accuracy, said desired time to fix or said desired position format.

22. The apparatus as recited in claim 20, wherein said one or more desired characteristics for said position fix further characterizes a requesting function with regard to a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy;

or a combination of a use policy, said security policy or said preference policy.

23. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein said means selecting said at least one of said positioning resources further comprises means for determining whether a recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix;

and further comprising

means for identifying said recent position fix as said position fix in response to said request for said position fix, in response to a determination that said recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix.

24. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources comprises a satellite positioning system (SPS) based positioning resource;

an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) based positioning resource;

a cell sector based positioning resource;

a wireless network based positioning resource;

a near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource;

or a combination of a SPS based positioning resource, an AFLT based positioning resource, said cell sector based positioning resource, said wireless network based positioning resource, said near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource.

25. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, and further comprising:

means for selecting said position fix from a plurality of obtained position fixes.

26. The apparatus as recited in claim 19, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is based, at least in part, on a combination of two or more requests obtained from two or more applications or functions.

27. A mobile device which comprises:

one or more receivers;

one or more sensors; and

one or more processing units to;

identify one or more attributes for each of a plurality of positioning resources available at said mobile device, wherein each of said plurality of positioning resources provides a position fix of the mobile device based, at least in part, on one or more wireless signals received via said one or more receivers or said one or more electrical signals received from said one or more sensors, or a combination of one or more wireless signals received via said one or more receivers or said one or more electrical signals received from said one or more sensors, and wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources has at least one of said one or more attributes that is different than at least one other of said plurality of positioning resources;

obtain a request for said position fix of said mobile device; and

select at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix based, at least in part, on said request and said one or more attributes,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes corresponds to at least one position fix criteria that characterizes an expected power consumption,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of an expected achievable time to fix, an expected achievable position accuracy, an expected position availability or an expected position format, and

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of a use policy, a security policy or a preference policy.

28. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, wherein said request for said position fix identifies one or more desired characteristics for said position fix, and said one or more processing units to further:

compare said one or more desired characteristics to at least one of said one or more attributes.

29. The mobile device as recited in claim 28, wherein said one or more desired characteristics for said position fix comprises a desired position accuracy;

a desired time to fix;

a desired position format;

a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy;

or a combination of said desired position accuracy, said desired time to fix, said desired position format, a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy.

30. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, said one or more processing units to further:

determine whether a recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix.

31. The mobile device as recited in claim 30, wherein said request for said position fix is satisfied, at least in part, based on an age of said recent position fix;

an accuracy of said recent position fix;

a format of said recent position fix;

a use policy;

a security policy or a preference policy;

or a combination of said age of said recent position fix, said accuracy of said recent position fix, said format of said recent position fix, a use policy said security policy or said preference policy.

32. The mobile device as recited in claim 30, said one or more processing units to further:

in response to a determination that said recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix, identify said recent position fix as said position fix in response to said request for said position fix.

33. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, wherein said one or more receivers are operatively supportive of and at least one of said plurality of positioning resources comprises a satellite positioning system (SPS) based positioning resource;

an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) based positioning resource;

a cell sector based positioning resource;

a wireless network based positioning resource;

a near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource;

or a combination of an SPS based positioning resource, an AFLT based positioning resource, said cell sector based positioning resource, said wireless network based positioning resource, said near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource.

34. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, said one or more processing units to further:

select said position fix from a plurality of obtained position fixes.

35. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is based, at least in part, on a combination of two or more requests obtained from two or more applications or functions.

36. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is obtained from at least one other processing unit.

37. The mobile device as recited in claim 27, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is obtained by said one or more processing units from an application or a function using a first manager capability provided, at least in part, by said one or more processing units.

38. The mobile device as recited in claim 31, wherein a second manager capability provided, at least in part, by said one or more processing units is responsive to said first manager capability, at least in part, in selecting said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix.

39. The mobile device as recited in claim 38, wherein a third manager capability provided, at least in part, by said one or more processing units is responsive to said second manager capability, at least in part, in providing at least one command to said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix.

40. An article for use in a mobile device, the article comprising:

a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein computer implementable instructions that are executable by one or more processing units to;

identify one or more attributes for each of a plurality of positioning resources available at said mobile device, wherein each of said plurality of positioning resources provides a position fix of the mobile device based, at least in part, on one or more wireless signals received by said mobile device or said one or more signal received from said one or more sensors onboard said mobile device, or a combination of one or more wireless signals received by said mobile device or said one or more signal received from said one or more sensors onboard said mobile device, and wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources has at least one of said one or more attributes that is different than at least one other of said plurality of positioning resources;

obtain a request for said position fix of said mobile device; and

select at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix based, at least in part, on said request and said one or more attributes,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes corresponds to at least one position fix criteria that characterizes an expected power consumption,

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of an expected achievable time to fix, an expected achievable position accuracy, an expected position availability or an expected position format, and

wherein at least one of said one or more attributes further corresponds to at least one position fix criteria comprising a combination of a use policy, a security policy or a preference policy.

41. The article as recited in claim 40, wherein said request for said position fix identifies one or more desired characteristics for said position fix, and said computer implementable instructions being further executable to:

select said at least one of said positioning resources for obtaining said position fix further comprises comparing said one or more desired characteristics to at least one of said one or more attributes.

42. The article as recited in claim 41, wherein said one or more desired characteristics for said position fix comprises a desired position accuracy;

a desired time to fix;

a desired position format;

a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy;

or a combination of said desired position accuracy;

said desired time to fix, said desired position format, a use policy;

said security policy or said preference policy.

43. The article as recited in claim 40, said computer implementable instructions being further executable to:

determine whether a recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix; and

in response to a determination that said recent position fix satisfies said request for said position fix, identify said recent position fix as said position fix in response to said request for said position fix.

44. The article as recited in claim 40, wherein at least one of said plurality of positioning resources comprises a satellite positioning system (SPS) based positioning resource;

an Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) based positioning resource;

a cell sector based positioning resource;

a wireless network based positioning resource;

a near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource;

or a combination of an SPS based positioning resource, an AFLT based positioning resource, said cell sector based positioning resource, said wireless network based positioning resource, said near-field communication based positioning resource or an ad hoc network based positioning resource.

45. The article as recited in claim 40, said computer implementable instructions being further executable to:

select said position fix from a plurality of obtained position fixes.

46. The article as recited in claim 40, wherein said request for said position fix of said mobile device is based, at least in part, on a combination of two or more requests obtained from two or more applications or functions.