System and method for determining mobile device location

• US 9,161,204 B2
• Filed: 08/26/2013
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Smith Micro Software Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Location Labs (Gen Digital Inc.)
• Inventors: Hotes, Scott, Polito, Anthony, Roumeliotis, Tasos
• Primary Examiner(s): MIZRAHI, DIANE D
• Application Number:
  US14/010,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20130344891A1
• Time in Patent Office: 778 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/423, 4555521-5531
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02213 Receivers arranged in a network for determining the position of a transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer

Abstract

A computer-implemented mobile device locating method is provided. The method includes determining a current cell sector of a mobile device and comparing the current cell sector with a cell sector list of previously determined cell sectors. A current location of the mobile device is determined if the current cell sector is not listed in the cell sector list. The current location is compared with a last determined location. The current cell sector is added to the cell sector list if the current location is substantially the same as the last determined location. The cell sector list is cleared if the current location is not substantially the same as the last determined location.

Claims

1. A computer implemented mobile device locating method, wherein each step is performed by at least one network-connectable computing device, the method comprising:

detecting at least one of a change in a source of signals corresponding to a particular protocol received by a mobile device and a change in a strength of signals corresponding to a particular protocol received by the mobile device; and

determining a current location of the mobile device in response to detecting the at least one of the change in a source of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device and the change in the strength of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising detecting a cell sector change and determining the current location of the mobile device in response to detecting the cell sector change.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the particular protocol of the signals comprises at least one of a Wi-Fi ™

, Bluetooth ™

, and Zigbee ™

protocol; and

wherein detecting the at least one of the change in a source of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device and the change in the strength of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device comprises detecting a change in at least one of a Wi-Fi ™

, Bluetooth ™

, and Zigbee ™

protocol signals.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 1, further comprising determining the current location of the mobile device at a predetermined frequency for a predetermined period of time in response to detecting the at least one of the change in a source of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device and the change in the strength of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device.

5. A mobile device comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory comprising instructions operable to enable the at least one processor to perform a procedure comprising:

detecting at least one of a change in a source of signals corresponding to a particular protocol received by the mobile device and a change in a strength of signals corresponding to a particular protocol received by the mobile device; and

determining a current location of the mobile device in response to detecting the at least one of the change in a source of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device and the change in the strength of signals corresponding to the particular protocol received by the mobile device.