Reducing power consumption on location reference devices

• US 9,326,242 B1
• Filed: 10/07/2014
• Issued: 04/26/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Verizon Patent and Licensing Incorporated (Verizon Communications Inc.)
• Inventors: Bitar, Nabil N., DeKlerk, Gareth P., Rau, Lawrence Richard, Vishwanathan, Kumar K., Santaiti, Matthew
• Primary Examiner(s): LE, DANH C
• Application Number:
  US14/508,377
• Publication Number:
  US 20160100364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 567 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.2, 455/456.6, 455/418, 455/550.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0225 using monitoring of external events, e.g. the presence of a signal
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A device may request location information for a location reference device (LRD); receive, based on the request, the location information for the LRD via a cellular network connection; transmit, via the cellular network, an instruction to direct the LRD to activate a non-cellular radio on the LRD; receive wireless signals outputted via the non-cellular radio; determine a distance between the user device and the LRD based on a strength of the wireless signals received by the user device; and audibly or visually indicate, by the user device, the determined distance between the user device and the LRD.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

requesting, by a user device, location information for a location reference device (LRD);

receiving, by the user device and based on the request, the location information for the LRD via a cellular network connection;

transmitting, by the user device and via the cellular network connection, an instruction to direct the LRD to activate a non-cellular radio on the LRD;

receiving, by the user device, wireless signals outputted via the non-cellular radio;

determining, by the user device, a distance between the user device and the LRD based on a strength of the wireless signals received by the user device; and

audibly or visually indicating, by the user device, the determined distance between the user device and the LRD.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein requesting the location information for the LRD includes transmitting, towards the LRD and via the cellular network connection, a wake command to wake the LRD from a low-powered mode.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the location information includes receiving the location information as a coarse location.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-cellular radio includes a short-range radio.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from a user of a user device to receive a fine location of the LRD,

wherein transmitting the instruction to direct the LRD to activate the non-cellular radio on the LRD is based on receiving the request from the user.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining that the user device is within a threshold distance of the LRD,

wherein transmitting the instruction to direct the LRD to activate the non-cellular radio on the LRD is based on determining that the user device is within the threshold distance of the LRD.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

disabling the non-cellular radio after determining the distance between the user device and the LRD.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving an indication, from a user of the user device, that the LRD has been found,

wherein disabling the non-cellular radio is based on receiving the indication that the LRD has been found.

9. A system comprising:

a user device, comprising;

a non-transitory memory device storing;

a plurality of processor-executable instructions; and

a processor configured to execute the processor-executable instructions, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions causes the processor to;

request location information for a location reference device (LRD);

receive, based on the request, the location information for the LRD via a cellular network;

transmit, via the cellular network, an instruction to direct the LRD to activate a non-cellular radio on the LRD;

receive wireless signals outputted via the non-cellular radio;

determine a distance between the user device and the LRD based on a strength of the wireless signals received by the user device; and

audibly or visually indicate, by the user device, the determined distance between the user device and the LRD.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions, to request the location information for the LRD, causes the processor to:

transmit, towards the LRD and via the cellular network, a wake command to wake the LRD from a low-powered mode.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions, to receive the location information, causes the processor to:

receive the location information as a coarse location.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the non-cellular radio includes a short-range radio.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions further causes the processor to:

receive a request from a user of a user device to receive a fine location of the LRD,

wherein executing the processor-executable instructions, to transmit the instruction to direct the LRD to activate a non-cellular radio on the LRD, causes the processor to transmit the instruction to direct the LRD based on receiving the request from the user.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions further causes the processor to:

determine that the user device is within a threshold distance of the LRD,

wherein executing the processor-executable instructions, to transmit the instruction to direct the LRD to activate a non-cellular radio on the LRD, causes the processor to transmit the instruction to direct the LRD based on determining that the user device is within the threshold distance of the LRD.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions further causes the processor to:

disable the non-cellular radio after determining the distance between the user device and the LRD.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein executing the processor-executable instructions further causes the processor to:

receive an indication, from a user of the user device, that the LRD has been found,

wherein executing the processor-executable instructions, to disable the non-cellular radio, causes the processor to disable the non-cellular radio based on receiving the indication that the LRD has been found.

17. A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising processor-executable instructions to cause a processor to:

request location information for a location reference device (LRD);

receive, based on the request, the location information for the LRD via a cellular network connection;

transmit, via the cellular network connection, an instruction to direct the LRD to activate a non-cellular radio on the LRD;

receive wireless signals outputted via the non-cellular radio;

determine a distance between a user device and the LRD based on a strength of the wireless signals received by the user device; and

audibly or visually indicate the determined distance between the user device and the LRD.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein to request the location information for the LRD, the processor-executable instructions cause the processor to transmit, towards the LRD and via the cellular network connection, a wake command to wake the LRD from a low-powered mode.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein:

the processor-executable instructions cause the processor to receive a request, from a user of the user device, to receive a fine location of the LRD, and the transmission of the instruction to direct the LRD to activate the non-cellular radio on the LRD is based on receiving the request from the user.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17, wherein:

the processor-executable instructions cause the processor to determine that the user device is within a threshold distance of the LRD, and

the transmission of the instruction to direct the LRD to activate the non-cellular radio on the LRD is based on a determination that the user device is within the threshold distance of the LRD.