System and method for improved location system accuracy

• US 9,294,936 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2013
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Gonia, Patrick S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gelin, Jean
• Application Number:
  US13/774,066
• Publication Number:
  US 20140051459A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,124 Days
• Field of Search: 715/847, 715/764, 702/188, 702/150, 702/24, 370/254, 370/338, 455/456.1, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• 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 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

A plurality of wireless devices can obtain location related information from members of a plurality of location anchors located throughout a region being monitored. The devices can each send probes to the location anchors. The anchors which receive a probe can each respond with a signal carrying at least an anchor address. Each of the devices can process the respective received signal to establish a distance parameter, and, can forward the address and the distance parameter to a displaced location estimating engine.

Claims

1. A method of providing location related information to a location manager comprising:

transmitting, via a wireless local area network, a probe from at least one mobile device to at least one location anchor of a plurality of location anchors in a region to be monitored, wherein each location anchor of the plurality of location anchors has a predetermined address, where each location anchor is not wired for Ethernet backhaul communications nor contains a backhaul radio, and where the robe is received at the at least on location anchor of the plurality of location anchors;

receiving, by atleast one mobile device from the at east one location anchor via the wireless local area network, a signal with the predetermined address;

detecting the signal at the at least one mobile device; and

forwarding the predetermined address and the signal as the location related information directly from the at least one mobile device to the location manager,

wherein each location anchor of the plurality of location anchors includes a transceiver capable of communicating with the at least one mobile device and incapable of communicating with the location manager, and

where forwarding the location related information includes establishing, at least in part, a wireless communications path between the at least one mobile device and the location manager exclusive of any of the plurality of location anchors.

2. The method as in claim 1, wherein the detecting of the signal detects one of a signal strength parameter or time of flight of the received signal.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of location anchors receive the probe and transmit a probe response in a format that is compatible with the IEEE STD 802.11-2007 standard.

4. The method as in claim 1, wherein the mobile device comprises circuitry that transmits the probe and forwards the location related information from the mobile device to the location manager.

5. The method as in claim 4, further comprising:

sensing at least one ambient condition at the at least one mobile device.

6. The method as in claim 1, wherein the plurality of location anchors are the only devices with location anchor functionality in the region.

7. The method as in claim 1, wherein the at least one mobile device comprises at least one sensor of an ambient condition selected from a group consisting of gas sensors, smoke sensors, temperature sensors, and radiation sensors.

8. A regional monitoring system comprising:

a plurality of location anchors disposed within a region to be monitored, wherein each location anchor of the plurality of location anchors is not wired for Ethernet backhaul communications nor contains a backhaul radio, and wherein the plurality of location anchors are the only location anchors in the region;

a location manager, and

at least one mobile device configured to communicate with one or more location anchors of the plurality of location anchors and receive responses from the one or more location anchors via a wireless local area network, where each response includes an anchor address of the corresponding location anchor,

wherein the at least one mobile device is configured to measure at least one parameter associated with a received response of the received responses and forward a result of that measurement and the anchor address as location related information to the location manager via the wireless local area network and via circuitry other than circuitry at the one or more location anchors, wherein the location manager is configured to estimate the position of the mobile device based on the location related information, and

wherein each location anchor comprises a transceiver configured to communicate with the at least one mobile device and incapable of communicating with the location manager.

9. The system as in claim 8, wherein each location anchor of the plurality of location anchors comprises circuitry configured to respond to a communication received from the at least one mobile device and transmits the response to the at least one mobile device.

10. The system as in claim 9, where the at least one mobile devices comprises circuitry configured to measure at least one of RSSI of signals received from location anchors, or time-of-flight of signals traveling between the at least one mobile device and the one or more location anchor of the plurality of location anchors.

11. The system as in claim 10, wherein the at least one mobile device is configured to communicates the location related information, including the at least one of RSSI signals received from the location anchors or time-of-flight of the signals traveling between the at least one mobile device and the one or more location anchor, to the location manager via a respective access point of the wireless local area network.

12. The system as in claim 8, wherein the one or more location anchors are configured to communicate with the at least one mobile device in response to probes from the at least one mobile device.

13. The system as in claim 8, wherein the at least one mobile device is configured to communicate the location related information to the location manager via a respective access point of the wireless local area network.

14. The system as in claim 8, wherein the at least one mobile device is configured to directly forward the result and the anchor address to the location manager.

15. The system as in claim 8, wherein the at least one mobile device comprises at least one sensor of an ambient condition selected from a group consisting of gas sensors, smoke sensors, temperature sensors, and radiation sensors.

16. A system comprising:

a plurality of mobile wireless devices configured to derive location related information from members of a plurality of location anchors located throughout a region being monitored, wherein each location anchor of the plurality of location anchors is located throughout the region, wherein each location anchor of the plurality of location anchors is not wired for Ethernet backhaul communications nor contains a backhaul radio,

wherein the plurality of mobile wireless devices are configured to each send probes to the plurality of location anchors via a wireless local area network,

wherein at least some of the location anchors are configured to respond to the probes with a signal carrying an anchor address via the wireless local area network,

wherein at least one mobile device of the plurality of mobile wireless devices is configured to process the received signal to obtain a measure of distance to a responding location anchor and forward that measure of distance and the associated address directly to a displaced location estimating engine,

wherein the location estimating engine is configured to produce a location estimate for the mobile device, and

wherein each of the location anchors comprises a transceiver capable of communicating with the plurality of mobile wireless devices and incapable of communicating with the location estimating engine.

17. The system as in claim 16, wherein the plurality of mobile wireless devices are configured to communicate with the location estimating engine via an access point of the wireless local area network.

18. The system as in claim 16, wherein at least some of the plurality of mobile devices comprise at least one sensor of an ambient condition selected from a group consisting of gas sensors, smoke sensors, and radiation sensors.

19. The system as in claim 16, wherein the plurality of location anchors are the only devices with location anchor functionality in the region.