Proximity node location using a wireless node network

• US 9,674,812 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2014
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fedex Corporate Services Incorporated (FedEx Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fedex Corporate Services Incorporated (FedEx Corporation)
• Inventors: Hollahan, Terence, Benton, Steven, Skaaksrud, Ole-Petter
• Primary Examiner(s): WYCHE, MYRON
• Application Number:
  US14/538,851
• Publication Number:
  US 20150156747A1
• Time in Patent Office: 937 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 60/00256 Delivery operations
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 25/02 Packaging agricultural or horticultural products
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/02 Internal fittings of containers made by folding or erecting blanks made of paper B65D5/44
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 25/102 Straps, bands, strings or other elongate elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3407 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3453 Special cost functions, i.e. other than distance or default speed limit of road segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/362 received from an external device or application, e.g. PDA, mobile phone or calendar application
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/01 specially adapted for specific applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0022 characterised by the communication link data switching networks in general H04L12/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/021 specially adapted to land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/0712 the arrangement being capable of triggering distinct operating modes or functions dependent on the strength of an energy or interrogation field in the proximity of the record carrier active means for hindering electromagnetic reading or writing G06K19/07336
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/10366 the interrogation device being adapted for miscellaneous applications
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/083 Shipping
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0832 Special goods or special handling procedures, e.g. handling of hazardous or fragile goods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0833 Tracking
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0835 Relationships between shipper or supplier and carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/08355 Routing methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0836 : Recipient pick-ups
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0838 : Historical data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/087 : Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/14 : specially adapted for billing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/22 : Payment schemes or models
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/308 : using the Internet of Things
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/321 : using wearable devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/325 : using wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40 : Authorisation, e.g. identification of payer or payee, verification of customer or shop credentials; Review and approval of payers, e.g. check credit lines or negative lists
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0267 : Wireless devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0269 : based on user profile or attribute
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0261 : System arrangements wherein the object is to detect trespassing over a fixed physical boundary, e.g. the end of a garden
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/0269 : System arrangements wherein the object is to detect the exact location of child or item using a navigation satellite system, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/60 : for patient-specific data, e.g. for electronic patient records
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 10/65 : stored on portable record carriers, e.g. on smartcards, RFID tags or CD
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/67 : for remote operation
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 80/00 : ICT specially adapted for facilitating communication between medical practitioners or patients, e.g. for collaborative diagnosis, therapy or health monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/3822 : specially adapted for use in vehicles H04B1/3827 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/61 : for local area broadcast, e.g. instore broadcast
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 20/71 : Wireless systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/026 : using e-messaging for transporting management information, e.g. email, instant messaging or chat
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0813 : characterised by the conditions triggering a change of settings
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 : characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 : Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 : Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/403 : Arrangements for multi-party communication, e.g. for conferences data switching systems for conference H04L12/18; arrangements for connecting several subscribers to a common circuit, i.e. affording conference facilities H04M3/56; television conferencing systems H04N7/15
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/01 : Protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 : in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/303 : Terminal profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 : specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 : Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/08 : Access security
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 : Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 : Services making use of location information
• 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 4/025 : using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 : Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/38 : for collecting sensor information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 : Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 : Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 : managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/04 : TPC
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/10 : Connection setup
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 : Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/24 : Transfer of terminal data
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Methods, media, apparatus, and systems are described for improved and enhanced node location determination related to one of a plurality of nodes in a wireless node network. A first and second other node in the network are instructed to detect any message broadcast from the one node over a period of time. The server receives a first indication from the first other node, where the first indication relates to a characteristic of all messages broadcast from the one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period. The server receives a second indication from the second other node, where the second indication relates to the characteristic of all messages broadcast from the one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period. The server then determines a location of the one node based upon a difference in the first and second indications.

Claims

1. An improved method for locating a particular one of a plurality of nodes in a wireless node network having a server, the method comprising:

instructing a first other of the nodes and a second other of the nodes to detect any message broadcast from the particular one node over a time period;

receiving, by the server, a first indication from the first other node, the first indication related to a characteristic of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period;

receiving, by the server, a second indication from the second other node, the second indication related to the characteristic of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period;

determining a location of the particular one node based upon a difference in the first indication and the second indication; and

receiving, by the server, at least one of a first updated location from the first other node and a second updated location received from the second other node; and

refining the location of the particular one node based upon at least one of the received first updated location received from the first other node and the received second updated location received from the second other node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication is a first count of messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period, and wherein the second indication is a second count of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first count is greater than the second count.

4. The method of claim 2 further comprising determining a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the first count and the second count over a plurality of the time periods.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication is a first time factor of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period, and wherein the second indication is a second time factor of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising determining a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the first time factor and the second time factor.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the first time factor is an average transit time for a message detected at the first other node to go from the particular one node to the first other node, and wherein the second time factor is an average transit time for a message detected at the second other node to go from the particular one node to the second other node.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first time factor is less than the second time factor.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first indication is a first average signal strength of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period;

wherein the second indication is a second average signal strength of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period;

wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first average signal strength is greater than the second average signal strength; and

further comprising the steps of;

observing a degree of change in the first average signal strength and a degree of change in the second average signal strength over repeated time periods, and

determining a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the degree of change in the first average signal strength and the degree of change in the second average signal strength.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising comparing the location of the particular one node to a predicted path of the particular one node to determine if the one node is located outside the predicted path.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising generating a notification if the particular one node is outside the predicted path.

12. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining context data related to the particular one node, and refining the location of the particular one node based upon the context data.

13. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining context data related to the closer of the first other node and the second other node when compared to the location of the particular one node, and refining the location of the particular one node based upon the context data.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the particular one node is part of a node-enabled package;

and

wherein the step of determining the location of the particular one node further comprises determining the location of the one node while the one node is within the node-enabled package and while the node-enabled package is within a vehicle.

15. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

generating a location message regarding where the node-enabled package is located within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the particular one node; and

transmitting the location message to another network device in the wireless node network for display on a user interface of the another network device.

16. The method of claim 14 further comprising:

accessing shipping information related to the node-enabled package;

generating a relocation message regarding where the node-enabled package is to be relocated within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the particular one node and the accessed shipping information; and

transmitting the relocation message to another network device in the wireless node network for display on a user interface of the another network device.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the shipping information comprises weight information on the node-enabled package.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the location of the node-enabled package within the vehicle is according to a loading scheme.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the loading scheme is related to an anticipated delivery schedule.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein the vehicle is one from a group consisting of a truck, a van, a trailer, an aircraft, and a marine vessel.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions which when executed on a processor performs an improved method for locating a particular one of a plurality of nodes in a wireless node network having a server, the method comprising:

instructing a first other of the nodes and a second other of the nodes to detect any message broadcast from the particular one node over a time period;

receiving, by the server, a first indication from the first other node, the first indication related to a characteristic of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period;

receiving, by the server, a second indication from the second other node, the second indication related to the characteristic of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period;

determining a location of the particular one node based upon a difference in the first indication and the second indication; and

receiving, by the server, at least one of a first updated location from the first other node and a second updated location received from the second other node; and

refining the location of the particular one node based upon at least one of the received first updated location received from the first other node and the received second updated location received from the second other node.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the first indication is a first count of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period, and wherein the second indication is a second count of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first count is greater than the second count.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 22, wherein the method further comprises determining a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the first count and the second count over a plurality of the time periods.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the first indication is a first time factor of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period, and wherein the second indication is a second time factor of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the method further comprises determining a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the first time factor and the second time factor.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the first time factor is an average transit time for a message detected at the first other node to go from the particular one node to the first other node, and wherein the second time factor is an average transit time for a message detected at the second other node to go from the particular one node to the second other node.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first time factor is less than the second time factor.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the first indication is a first average signal strength of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period;

wherein the second indication is a second average signal strength of messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period;

wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first average signal strength is greater than the second average signal strength; and

wherein the method further comprising the steps of;

observing a degree of change in the first average signal strength and a degree of change in the second average signal strength over repeated time periods, and

determining a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the degree of change in the first average signal strength and the degree of change in the second average signal strength.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises comparing the location of the particular one node to a predicted path of the particular one node to determine if the particular one node is located outside the predicted path.

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 30, wherein the method further comprises generating a notification if the particular one node is outside the predicted path.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises determining context data related to the particular one node, and refining the location of the particular one node based upon the context data.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the method further comprises determining context data related to the closer of the first other node and the second other node when compared to the location of the particular one node, and refining the location of the particular one node based upon the context data.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the particular one node is part of a node-enabled package;

and

wherein the step of determining the location of the one node further comprises determining the location of the particular one node while the particular one node is within the node-enabled package and while the node-enabled package is within a vehicle.

35. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

generating a location message regarding where the node-enabled package is located within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the particular one node; and

transmitting the location message to another network device in the wireless node network for display on a user interface of the another network device.

36. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

accessing shipping information related to the node-enabled package;

generating a relocation message regarding where the node-enabled package is to be relocated within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the particular one node and the accessed shipping information; and

transmitting the relocation message to another network device in the wireless node network for display on a user interface of the another network device.

37. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 36, wherein the shipping information comprises weight information on the node-enabled package.

38. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 37, wherein the location of the node-enabled package within the vehicle is according to a loading scheme.

39. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 38, wherein the loading scheme is related to an anticipated delivery schedule.

40. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the vehicle is one from a group consisting of a truck, a van, a trailer, an aircraft, and a marine vessel.

41. An apparatus for locating a particular one of a plurality of nodes in a wireless node network, comprising:

a server in communication with at least a first other of the nodes and a second other of the nodes, the server further comprising,

a server processing unit,

a server volatile memory coupled to the server processing unit,

a server memory storage coupled to the server processing unit, the server memory storage maintaining at least a program code section and location data, and

a communication interface that provides a communication path operatively coupling the server with the first other node and the second other node; and

wherein the server processing unit, when executing at least the program code section resident in the server volatile memory, is operative to

send an operation message to the first other node instructing the first other node to detect any message broadcast from the particular one node over a time period,

send another operation message to the second other node instructing the second other node to detect any message broadcast from the particular one node over the time period,

receive, from the communication interface, a first indication from the first other node, the first indication related to a characteristic of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period,

receive, from the communication interface, a second indication from the second other node, the second indication related to the characteristic of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period,

determine a location of the particular one node based upon a difference in the first indication and the second indication,

receive, from the communication interface, at least one of a first updated location from the first other node and a second updated location received from the second other node, and

refine the location of the particular one node based upon at least one of the received first updated location received from the first other node and the received second updated location received from the second other node.

42. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the first indication is a first count of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period, and wherein the second indication is a second count of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period.

43. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first count is greater than the second count.

44. The apparatus of claim 42, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the first count and the second count over a plurality of the time periods.

45. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the first indication is a first time factor of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period, and wherein the second indication is a second time factor of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the first time factor and the second time factor.

47. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein the first time factor is an average transit time for a message detected at the first other node to go from the particular one node to the first other node, and wherein the second time factor is an average transit time for a message detected at the second other node to go from the particular one node to the second other node.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first time factor is less than the second time factor.

49. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the first indication is a first average signal strength of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the first other node during the time period;

wherein the second indication is a second average signal strength of all messages broadcast from the particular one node that are detected by the second other node during the time period;

wherein the determining step further comprises determining the location of the particular one node to be closer to the first other node than the second other node when the first average signal strength is greater than the second average signal strength; and

wherein the server processing unit is further operative to

observe a degree of change in the first average signal strength and a degree of change in the second average signal strength over repeated time periods, and

determine a node movement direction for the particular one node based upon comparing the degree of change in the first average signal strength and the degree of change in the second average signal strength.

50. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to compare the location of the particular one node to a predicted path of the particular one node to determine if the particular one node is located outside the predicted path.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to generate a notification if the particular one node is outside the predicted path.

52. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine context data related to the particular one node, and refine the location of the particular one node based upon the context data.

53. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine context data related to the closer of the first other node and the second other node when compared to the location of the particular one node, and refine the location of the particular one node based upon the context data.

54. The apparatus of claim 41, wherein the particular one node is part of a node-enabled package;

and

wherein the server processing unit is further operative to determine the location of the particular one node while the particular one node is within the node-enabled package and while the node-enabled package is within a vehicle.

55. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to:

generate a location message regarding where the node-enabled package is located within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the particular one node; and

transmit the location message via the communication interface to another network device in the wireless node network for display on a user interface of the another network device.

56. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to:

access shipping information related to the node-enabled package;

generate a relocation message regarding where the node-enabled package is to be relocated within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the particular one node and the accessed shipping information; and

transmit the relocation message via the communication interface to another network device in the wireless node network.

57. The apparatus of claim 56, wherein the shipping information comprises weight information on the node-enabled package.

58. The apparatus of claim 57, wherein the location of the node-enabled package within the vehicle is according to a loading scheme.

59. The apparatus of claim 58, wherein the loading scheme is related to an anticipated delivery schedule.

60. The apparatus of claim 54, wherein the vehicle is one from a group consisting of a truck, a van, a trailer, an aircraft, and a marine vessel.