Method for determining wireless device location based on proximate sensor devices

• US 9,503,856 B2
• Filed: 08/09/2012
• Issued: 11/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Cherian, George, Sampath, Hermanth
• Primary Examiner(s): Obayanju, Omoniyi
• Application Number:
  US13/570,464
• Publication Number:
  US 20130231130A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,566 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455/456.4, 455/456.5, 455/457, 455/41.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method operational in a mobile device is provided for ascertaining location information for the mobile device by using captured/received locating information broadcast by local sensor devices. The method captures, at the mobile device, a message from a sensor device transmitted, for example, over a local wireless network. The method identifies a locating data in the message and may determine a location of the mobile device based on the identified locating data.

Claims

1. A method operational in a mobile device, comprising:

listening, at the mobile device, across multiple local wireless networks for messages transmitted between sensor devices or between one sensor device and a gateway to a central system;

intercepting, at the mobile device, a message not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from a sensor device over a local wireless network intended for a second sensor device or the gateway to the central system, wherein the sensor device is fixed in a geographic location and part of an interconnected network of sensor devices each configured to wirelessly transmit to one or more other sensor devices or the central system, wherein the message comprises temperature, humidity, or light data;

identifying locating data in the message, said locating data indicating a current location of the sensor device;

determining a location of the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device provided within the message intercepted by the mobile device not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from the sensor device intended for the second sensor device or the gateway to the central system; and

performing a location based function at the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device;

wherein determining the location of the mobile device comprises identifying corresponding GPS (Global Positioning System) location data in a reference map when non-GPS location data is provided in the message.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising capturing a plurality of messages from a plurality of sensor devices.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising identifying locating data in at least one message of each sensor device from the plurality of sensor devices.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the location of the mobile device comprises determining the location of the mobile device based on the locating data in the message from the sensor device and locating data within a message from at least one sensor device from the plurality of sensor devices.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the location of the mobile device comprises performing a triangulation computation based on the locating data from the sensor device and locating data from at least two other sensor devices from the plurality of sensor devices.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein determining the location of the mobile device comprises selecting a particular locating data associated with a particular message having the strongest signal and using the particular locating data to identify the location of the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mobile device and the sensor device communicate with each other via a local communication link.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified locating data is a non-coordinate based location data.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the identified locating data is a Global Positioning System (GPS) based location data.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

using the location of the mobile device to provide navigational directions.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

requesting a direct connection with the sensor device via the local wireless network; and

directly connecting via the local wireless network with the sensor device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein directly connecting via the local wireless network is performed after receiving a confirmation from the sensor device.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request from the sensor device, for a direct connection with the sensor device via the local wireless network; and

directly connecting via the local wireless network with the sensor device.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the message is transmitted using a transmission power that is based on a distance between the sensor device and a different device.

15. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining at the mobile device whether the locating data is coordinate system position data or non-coordinate system location derivable identifier data, wherein the mobile device is configured to determine the current location of the sensor device based on coordinate system position data in response to a determination that the locating data is coordinate system position data, and is configured to determine the current location of the sensor device based on non-coordinate system location derivable identifier data in response to a determination that the locating data is non-coordinate system location derivable identifier data.

16. A mobile device comprising:

a wireless communication interface for communicating over a local wireless network; and

a processing circuit coupled to the wireless communication interface, the processing circuit adapted to;

listen, at the mobile device, across multiple local wireless networks for messages transmitted between sensor devices or between one sensor device and a gateway to a central system;

intercept, at the mobile device, a message not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from a sensor device over a local wireless network intended for a second sensor device or the gateway to the central system, wherein the sensor device is fixed in a geographic location and part of an interconnected network of sensor devices each configured to wirelessly transmit to one or more other sensor devices or the central system, wherein the message comprises temperature, humidity, or light data;

identify locating data in the message at the mobile device, said locating data indicating a current location of the sensor device;

determine a location of the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device provided within the message intercepted by the mobile device not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from the sensor device intended for the second sensor device or the gateway to the central system; and

perform a location based function at the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device;

wherein the processing circuit is adapted to determine the location of the mobile device by identifying corresponding GPS (Global Positioning System) location data in a reference map when non-GPS location data is provided in the message.

17. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to:

use the location of the mobile device to provide navigational directions.

18. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to capture a plurality of messages from a plurality of sensor devices, wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to identify locating data in at least one message of each sensor device from the plurality of sensor devices, and wherein the processing circuit is further adapted to perform a triangulation computation to determine the location of the mobile device based on the locating data from the sensor device and locate data from at least two other sensor devices from the plurality of sensor devices.

19. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device and the sensor device communicate with each other via a local communication link.

20. The mobile device of claim 16, further comprising another wireless communication interface for communicating over a subscriber wireless network, wherein the processing circuit is coupled to the other wireless communication interface.

21. The mobile device of claim 16, wherein the mobile device is configured to determine the current location of the sensor device based on coordinate system position data in response to a determination that the locating data is coordinate system position data, and is configured to determine the current location of the sensor device based on non-coordinate system location derivable identifier data in response to a determination that the locating data is non-coordinate system location derivable identifier data.

22. A mobile device, comprising:

means for listening, at the mobile device, across multiple local wireless networks for messages transmitted between sensor devices or between one sensor device and a gateway to a central system;

means for intercepting, at the mobile device, a message not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from a sensor device over a local wireless network intended for a second sensor device or the gateway to the central system, wherein the sensor device is fixed in a geographic location and part of an interconnected network of sensor devices each configured to wirelessly transmit to one or more other sensor devices or the central system, wherein the message comprises temperature, humidity, or light data;

means for identifying locating data in the message, said locating data indicating a current location of the sensor device;

means for determining a location of the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device provided within the message intercepted by the mobile device not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from the sensor device intended for the second sensor device or the gateway to the central system; and

means for performing a location based function at the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device;

wherein the means for determining the location of the mobile device comprise means for identifying corresponding GPS (Global Positioning System) location data in a reference map when non-GPS location data is provided in the message.

23. The mobile device of claim 22, further comprising:

means for using the location of the mobile device to provide navigational directions.

24. The mobile device of claim 22, wherein the mobile device and the sensor device communicate with each other via a local communication link.

25. A processor-readable non-transitory storage medium having one or more instructions operational in a mobile device, which when executed by one or more processors causes the one or more processors to:

listen, at the mobile device, across multiple local wireless networks for messages transmitted between sensor devices or between one sensor device and a gateway to a central system;

intercept, at the mobile device, a message not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from a sensor device over a local wireless network intended for a second sensor device or the gateway to the central system, wherein the sensor device is fixed in a geographic location and part of an interconnected network of sensor devices each configured to wirelessly transmit to one or more other sensor devices or the central system, wherein the message comprises temperature, humidity, or light data;

identify locating data in the message, said locating data comprising a current location of the sensor device;

determine at the mobile device whether the locating data is coordinate system position data or non-coordinate system location derivable identifier data;

determine a location of the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device provided within the message intercepted by the mobile device not intended for transmission to the mobile device but transmitted from the sensor device intended for the second sensor device or the gateway to the central system; and

perform a location based function at the mobile device based on the current location of the sensor device;

wherein determining the location of the mobile device comprises identifying corresponding GPS (Global Positioning System) location data in a reference map when non-GPS location data is provided in the message.

26. The processor-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25, further comprising one or more instructions which when executed by the one or more processors causes the one or more processors to:

use the location of the mobile device to provide navigational directions.

27. The processor-readable non-transitory storage medium of claim 25, wherein the mobile device and the sensor device communicate with each other via a local communication link.