Systems and methods to determine the locations of packages and provide navigational guidance to reach the packages

• US 9,894,483 B2
• Filed: 05/18/2016
• Issued: 02/13/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Onemarket Network LLC
• Original Assignee: Onemarket Network LLC
• Inventors: Kokkonen, Erik Davin
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Daniel
• Application Number:
  US15/158,102
• Publication Number:
  US 20170318422A1
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/028 using a RF signal
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0639 Item locations
• 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 4/024 Guidance services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/30 Services specially adapted for particular environments, situations or purposes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/33 for indoor environments, e.g. buildings
• 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: Y10S 901/01 Mobile robot

Abstract

Systems and methods to provide navigational guidance to reach a package located inside a building. Low-energy wireless transmitting devices (e.g., Bluetooth devices) are used to transmit their identifiers. Some of the devices are placed at known locations inside the building; and some of the devices are attached to packages. When a mobile device detects the identifier of a device placed at a known location and the identifier of a device attached to the package, the location of the package is identified and recorded based on the known location of the device. Navigational guidance is provided to a mobile device of a user to reach the package based on the recorded location of the package and/or the location of any of the devices the mobile device can detect within the communication range from the current location of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing a plurality of beacon devices at a plurality of locations, wherein each respective beacon device in the plurality of beacon devices includes;

a memory storing an identifier of the respective beacon device; and

a transmitter configured to wirelessly provide the identifier within a predetermined communication range from the respective beacon device;

storing, in at least one database, location data of the plurality of beacon devices, wherein the location data associates, for the respective beacon device,

the identifier of the respective beacon device, and

an identification of a location of the respective beacon device;

transmitting, to a first mobile device positioned within the communication range from a package having an attached first beacon device that is separate from the plurality of beacon devices, wireless communications from transmitters of beacon devices, including transmissions from the first beacon device and transmissions from a second beacon device among the plurality of beacon devices;

receiving, from the first mobile device in response to the first mobile device extracting from the wireless transmissions, an identifier of the first beacon device and an identifier of the second beacon device;

storing, in the at least one database, package data associating;

an identification of the package,

the identifier of the first beacon device representative of the package having attached there on the first beacon device, and

the identifier of the second beacon device indicative of a location of the package based on the location data; and

providing, to a second mobile device, navigational guidance to reach the package based on;

a location of the second mobile device, and

the identification of the location of the second beacon device associated with the identifier of the second beacon device in the location data.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, to the second mobile device, second wireless communications from at least a third beacon device, among the plurality of beacon devices, that is within the predetermined communication range from the second mobile device;

receiving, from the second mobile device in response to the second mobile device extracting from the second wireless communications, an identifier of the third beacon device; and

determining the location of the second mobile device based at the identification of the location of the third beacon device associated with the identifier of the third beacon device in the location data.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the second mobile device is configured with a mobile application to

detect identifiers of the plurality of beacon devices located within the communication range from the second mobile device during a trip to the package, and

transmit the detected identifiers to a server computer coupled with the at least one database to receive real time navigational guidance to reach the location of the package within a building.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless communications are in accordance with a standard for wireless personal area networks.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the standard for wireless personal area networks includes a BLUETOOTH®

standard.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first beacon device includes a power source to transmit the identifier of the first beacon device.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of beacon devices are provided at the plurality of locations in an indoor environment in a shopping mall.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

reading the identifier of the first beacon device at a time the first beacon device is attached to the package;

transmitting data to the at least one database to associate the identifier of the first beacon device with the identification of the package.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the receiving of the wireless communications is performed at a time the package is disposed at a location within the predetermined communication range from the second beacon device for storage.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first mobile device is transported with the package to the location at which the package is disposed, and the first mobile device is configured to report a sequence of identifiers of the plurality of beacon devices observed by the first mobile device during a trip to the location at which the package is disposed.

11. A non-transitory computer storage medium storing instructions configured to instruct a computing apparatus to perform a method, the method comprising:

storing, in at least one database, location data of a plurality of beacon devices disposed at a plurality of locations, wherein each respective beacon device in the plurality of beacon devices includes;

a memory storing an identifier of the respective beacon device; and

a transmitter configured to wirelessly provide the identifier within a predetermined communication range from the respective beacon device, wherein the location data associates, for the respective beacon device, the identifier of the respective beacon device, and an identification of a location of the respective beacon device;

receiving, from a first mobile device, an identifier of a first beacon device and an identifier of a second beacon device, in response to the first mobile device extracting, from wireless communications from transmitters of beacon devices while the first mobile device is positioned within the communication range from a package having an attached first beacon device that is separate from the plurality of beacon devices, wherein the wireless communications include transmissions from the first beacon device and transmissions from the second beacon device among the plurality of beacon devices;

storing, in the at least one database, package data associating;

an identification of the package,

the identifier of the first beacon device representative of the package having attached there on the first beacon device, and

the identifier of the second beacon device indicative of a location of the package based on the location data; and

providing, to a second mobile device, navigational guidance to reach the package based on;

a location of the second mobile device, and

the identification of the location of the second beacon device associated with the identifier of the second beacon device in the location data.

12. A system, comprising:

a plurality of beacon devices disposed at a plurality of locations, wherein each respective beacon device in the plurality of beacon devices includes;

a memory storing an identifier of the respective beacon device;

a transmitter configured to wirelessly provide the identifier within a predetermined communication range from the respective beacon device;

at least one database storing location data of the plurality of beacon devices, wherein the location data associates, for the respective beacon device,

the identifier of the respective beacon device, and

an identification of a location of the respective beacon device; and

a server configured to communicate with mobile devices, wherein each of the mobile devices is configured to detect, within the predetermined communication range, wireless communications from the beacon devices and extract identifiers of the beacon devices from the wireless communications, wherein a first mobile device positioned within the communication range from a package having an attached first beacon device that is separate from the plurality of beacon devices, is configured to;

receive wireless communications from transmitters from beacon devices, including transmissions from the first beacon device and transmissions from a second beacon device among the plurality of beacon devices, and

extract, from the wireless transmissions, an identifier of the first beacon device and an identifier of the second beacon device;

wherein the server is configured to communicate with the first mobile device to store, in the at least one database, package data associating;

an identification of the package,

the identifier of the first beacon device representative of the package having attached there on the first beacon device, and

the identifier of the second beacon device indicative of the first location of the package based on the location data; and

wherein the server is configured to provide a second mobile device with navigational guidance to reach the package based on;

a location of the second mobile device, and

the identification of the location of the second beacon device associated with the identifier of the second beacon device in the location data.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the second mobile device is configured to determine the location of the second mobile device by:

receiving second wireless communications from at least a third beacon device, among the plurality of beacon devices, that is within the predetermined communication range from the second mobile device;

extracting, from the second wireless communications, an identifier of the third beacon device; and

determining the location of the second mobile device based at the identification of the location of the third beacon device associated with the identifier of the third beacon device in the location data.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the second mobile device is configured with a mobile application to:

detect identifiers of the plurality of beacon devices located within the communication range from the second mobile device during a trip to the package, and

transmit the detected identifiers to the server to receive real time navigational guidance to reach the location of the package within a building in which the plurality of beacon devices are located.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the wireless communications are in accordance with a standard for wireless personal area networks.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the standard for wireless personal area networks includes a BLUETOOTH®

standard; and

the respective beacon device further include a power source to power the transmitter of the respective beacon device.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the plurality of beacon devices are provided at the plurality of locations in an indoor environment in a shopping mall.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the first mobile device is further configured to:

reading the identifier of the first beacon device at a time the first beacon device is attached to the package;

transmitting data to the at least one database to associate the identifier of the first beacon device with the identification of the package.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein the first mobile device is configured to report a sequence of identifiers of the plurality of beacon devices observed by the mobile device during a trip to the location at which the package is disposed when the first mobile device is transported with the package to the location at which the package is disposed.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein the server is further configured to store data associating the second mobile device with the package after the second mobile device receives the identifier of the first beacon device.