Distributed method and system for determining the position of a mobile device using long-range signals and calibrating the position using short-range signals

• US 9,832,602 B2
• Filed: 04/15/2016
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/26/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Golba LLC
• Original Assignee: Golba LLC
• Inventors: Moshfeghi, Mehran
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, KIET M
• Application Number:
  US15/130,225
• Publication Number:
  US 20160309289A1
• Time in Patent Office: 592 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561, 4554563, 4554565, 342378, 34235748, 342465, 705 16
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02585 at least one of the measurements being a non-radio measurement
• 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: G06Q 20/202 Interconnection or interaction of plural electronic cash registers [ECR] or to host computer, e.g. network details, transfer of information from host to ECR or from ECR to ECR
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/3224 Transactions dependent on location of M-devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/409 Device specific authentication in transaction processing
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/73 for taking measurements, e.g. using sensing coils
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/027 using movement velocity, acceleration information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method and system is described where a plurality of position reference devices use short-range wireless communication protocols to transmit positioning assistance data to nearby mobile devices, and the mobile devices use the assistance data to model errors and re-calibrate their positioning systems. The short-range communication methods include NFC, RFID, Bluetooth®, short-range 802.11, Wi-Fi Direct, and high frequency focused beams such as 60 GHz. The position reference devices are passive or active NFC tags, passive or active RFID tags, other devices that include such tags as their components, Bluetooth®-enabled devices, 60 GHz-enabled devices, and 802.11 access points that can lower their transmit power. The reference devices are located at various indoor and outdoor locations such as smart posters, kiosks, ATM machines, malls, store checkout counters, store security gates, wireless access points, cellular base-stations, tollbooths, traffic lights, and street lamp posts.

Claims

1. A method of determining a location of a mobile device comprising a positioning system, the method comprising:

receiving positioning assistance data from a plurality of short-range position reference devices, the positioning assistance data from each position reference device comprising a location of the corresponding position reference device;

using the positioning system of the mobile device, setting the location of the mobile device to a calculated weighted sum of the locations of the position reference devices;

receiving a location of a particular position reference device;

enabling positioning calibration of the mobile device in response to a command from a graphical user interface of the mobile device; and

calibrating the positioning system of the mobile device such that the calculated location of the mobile device using the positioning system coincides with the received location of the particular position reference device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein a first position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices uses a first communication protocol and a second position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices uses a second communication protocol, wherein the first communication protocol has a shorter range than the second communication protocol, wherein the calculated weighted sum of the locations gives a higher weight to the location of the position reference device using the communication protocol having a shorter-range.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices is moving and at least one position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices is stationary, wherein the weighted sum of the locations is calculated based on whether a position reference device is moving or stationary.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices is moving, wherein the calculated weighted sum of the locations gives a weight to the location of a moving reference device based on a time the moving device has been last calibrated.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the calculated weighted sum of the locations gives a weight to the location of each position reference device based on a distance between the position reference device and the mobile device.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising indirectly receiving positioning assistance data from a position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices through an electronic device.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising indirectly receiving positioning assistance data from a position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices through a plurality of electronic devices.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising receiving advertisements at the mobile device from a set of position reference devices in the plurality of position reference devices.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one reference device in the plurality of position reference devices encrypts the assistance data.

10. A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program for determining a location of a mobile device comprising a positioning system, the program executable by at least one processing unit of the mobile device, the program comprising sets of instructions for:

receiving positioning assistance data from a plurality of short-range position reference devices, the positioning assistance data from each position reference device comprising a location of the corresponding position reference device;

using the positioning system of the mobile device, setting the location of the mobile device to a calculated weighted sum of the locations of the position reference devices;

receiving a location of a particular position reference device;

enabling positioning calibration of the mobile device in response to a command from a graphical user interface of the mobile device; and

calibrating the positioning system of the mobile device such that the calculated location of the mobile device using the positioning system coincides with the received location of the particular position reference device.

11. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein a first position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices uses a first communication protocol and a second position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices uses a second communication protocol, wherein the first communication protocol has a shorter range than the second communication protocol, wherein the calculated weighted sum of the locations gives a higher weight to the location of the position reference device using the communication protocol having a shorter-range.

12. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein at least one position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices is moving and at least one position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices is stationary, wherein the weighted sum of the locations is calculated based on whether a position reference device is moving or stationary.

13. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein at least one position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices is moving, wherein the calculated weighted sum of the locations gives a weight to the location of a moving reference device based on a time the moving device has been last calibrated.

14. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein the calculated weighted sum of the locations gives a weight to the location of each position reference device based on a distance between the position reference device and the mobile device.

15. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, the program further comprising a set of instructions for indirectly receiving positioning assistance data from a position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices through an electronic device.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, the program further comprising a set of instructions for indirectly receiving positioning assistance data from a position reference device in the plurality of position reference devices through a plurality of electronic devices.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, the program further comprising a set of instructions for receiving advertisements at the mobile device from a set of position reference devices in the plurality of position reference devices.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium of claim 10, wherein at least one reference device in the plurality of position reference devices encrypts the assistance data.