Short range RF monitoring system

• US 9,167,548 B2
• Filed: 04/22/2009
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: APSU USA Limited
• Original Assignee: Bigger Than The Wheel Limited
• Inventors: Elsom-Cook, Mark, Morris, Steve P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tsvey, Gennadiy
• Application Number:
  US12/989,218
• Publication Number:
  US 20110098001A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,372 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 340/539.13, 340/539.21, 340/568.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/02 using radio waves G01S19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/06 using intensity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/20 derived by sampling signal received by an antenna system having periodically-varied orientation of directivity characteristic
• 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 8/005 Discovery of network devices, e.g. terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

A wireless short range radio-frequency master device adapted to create and maintain a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency slave devices wherein the master device is configured to detect and register suitable slave devices for a network, and is capable of determining the proximity of any registered slave device with respect to the master device in use, the master device further being adapted to enable a user to define two or more groups of registered slave devices selected from the total number of registered slave devices and to enable a user to select a defined group of such registered slave devices as an active group, thereby forming an active portable private network of wireless short range radio frequency devices comprising the master device and selected registered slave devices within the selected group.

Claims

1. A wireless short range radio-frequency master device being a mobile telecommunications device adapted to maintain a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency slave devices, wherein the master device is configured to:

receive, at a plurality of orientations of the master device, a plurality of signals from two or more slave devices, wherein the plurality of signals are transmitted using variable strengths,

determine, by comparing strengths of the plurality of signals, a calculated proximity of the two or more slave devices with respect to the master device, wherein the calculated proximity is associated with a physical distance between the master device and a slave device,

determine from differences in the strengths of the plurality of signals, a direction of the two or more slave devices relative to the master device,

enable definition of a set of slave devices selected from the two or more slave devices, and

based on the determined calculated proximity and the determined direction, enable a user to monitor members of the set.

2. A wireless short range radio frequency master device as in claim 1, wherein the master device is adapted to inform the user if any of the slave devices within the set is not within a predetermined proximity to the master device.

3. A wireless short range radio frequency master device as in claim 1, wherein the master device is configured to display the status of the members of the set.

4. A wireless short range radio frequency master device as in claim 1 that conforms to the Bluetooth standards.

5. A wireless short range radio frequency master device as in claim 1, wherein the determination of the calculated proximity is based on historical signal strength of the plurality of signals transmitted using variable strengths.

6. A wireless short range radio frequency master device as in claim 1, wherein the direction of the at least two slave devices relative to the master device is other than a direction associated with any of the plurality of orientations.

7. A method of maintaining a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency devices, comprising a master device and slave devices, the method comprising the steps of:

receiving, at a plurality of orientations of the master device, a plurality of signals from two or more slave devices, wherein the plurality of signals are transmitted using variable strengths,

determining, by comparing strengths of the plurality of signals, a calculated proximity of the two or more slave devices with respect to the master device, wherein the calculated proximity is associated with a physical distance between the master device and a slave device,

determining from differences in the strengths of the plurality of signals, a direction of the two or more slave devices relative to the master device,

enabling definition of a set of slave devices selected from the two or more slave devices, and

based on the determined calculated proximity and the determined direction, enabling a user to monitor members of the set.

8. The method of claim 7 further comprising determining a signal strength of the plurality of signals, wherein the signal strength is determined by a combination of one or more of the following:

a measure of the strength of the master transmitted signal as received by a slave device,

a ratio of the strength of the signal received by the slave device to the strength of the signal transmitted by the master device,

a ratio of the strength of the signal received by the master device to the strength of the signal transmitted by the slave device,

a determination of the threshold of detection of a slave device by variation of the strength of the master transmitter signal,

a determination of the path loss rate as decibel loss of signal strength between the master and slave devices,

a determination of the bit error rate by measure of number of packets of data lost between the master device and a slave device,

a calibration of the change in signal strength received by a slave device due to a change in the distance between the master and slave devices, by measurement of the strength of the signal received by the slave device from the master device at one or more known separation distances from the master device, and

a calibration of the slave device transmitter and receiver by querying the device for manufacturer information, comparing the response to a list of known previously calibrated devices.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the direction of the at least two slave devices relative to the master device is other than a direction associated with any of the plurality of orientations.

10. A method as in claim 7, wherein a number of the plurality orientations is four and the angle of rotation between each orientation is approximately 90 degrees.

11. A method as in claim 7, further compromising determining an error range of the calculated proximity.

12. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having encoded thereon computer readable instructions which instructions when implemented enable the determination of the calculated proximity of one or more slave devices by the master device according to the steps of the method of claim 7.

13. A system for maintaining a portable private network of wireless short range radio-frequency devices, comprising a wireless short range radio-frequency master device and wireless short range radio-frequency slave devices wherein:

the master device is capable of receiving at a plurality of its orientations a plurality of signals from two or more slave devices, wherein the plurality of signals are transmitted using variable strengths,

the master device is capable of determining, by comparing strengths of the plurality of signals, a calculated proximity of the two or more slave devices with respect to the master device, wherein the calculated proximity is associated with a physical distance between the master device and a slave device,

the master device is capable of determining from differences in the strengths of the plurality of signals, a direction of the two or more slave devices relative to the master device,

the master device is capable of enabling definition of a set of slave devices selected from the two or more slave devices and

based on the determined calculated proximity and the determined direction, the master device is capable of enabling a user to monitor members of the set.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the master device is configured to measure a signal strength of the plurality of signals, and to calculate the distance to the slave devices based on the signal strength.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the direction of the at least two slave devices relative to the master device is other than a direction associated with an of the plurality of orientation.