Methods, apparatuses, and devices for mobile device position estimation using virtual access points
First Claim
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1. A method, at a mobile device, comprising:
- acquiring multiple beacon signals, wherein each of said multiple acquired beacon signals is identified by identifiers encoded into said each of said multiple acquired beacon signals;
inferring that two or more of said multiple acquired beacon signals originate from a single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on said identifiers;
confirming, responsive to said inferring, that said two or more of said multiple acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on measurement of carrier signal characteristics of said multiple acquired beacon signals;
transmitting, to a server, one or more reports of virtual access points that correspond to said single physical transceiver; and
prioritizing, responsive to said confirming that said two or more of said multiple acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver, scanning one or more communication channels utilized by a first virtual access point in relation to scanning one or more communication channels utilized by a second virtual access point, said first and said second virtual access points being collocated with said single physical transceiver.
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Abstract
Methods, apparatuses, and devices are disclosed to estimate a position of a mobile device using, for example, beacon signals transmitted using virtual access points utilizing a single, physical transceiver. Determination that beacon signals emanate from a single, physical transceiver may be based, at least in part, on a similarity among acquired beacon signals conveying identifiers, such as media access control identification (MAC ID) addresses and/or basic service set identifiers (BSSIDs), and on measurement of beacon signal characteristics, such as received signal strength at a mobile device and/or round trip time between the mobile device and the transceiver.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. A method, at a mobile device, comprising:
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acquiring multiple beacon signals, wherein each of said multiple acquired beacon signals is identified by identifiers encoded into said each of said multiple acquired beacon signals; inferring that two or more of said multiple acquired beacon signals originate from a single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on said identifiers; confirming, responsive to said inferring, that said two or more of said multiple acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on measurement of carrier signal characteristics of said multiple acquired beacon signals; transmitting, to a server, one or more reports of virtual access points that correspond to said single physical transceiver; and prioritizing, responsive to said confirming that said two or more of said multiple acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver, scanning one or more communication channels utilized by a first virtual access point in relation to scanning one or more communication channels utilized by a second virtual access point, said first and said second virtual access points being collocated with said single physical transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A mobile device comprising:
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a transceiver to acquire beacon signals from a communications channel, wherein unique identifiers are encoded in said acquired beacon signals and transmit messages; and one or more processors coupled to said transceiver, said one or more processors executing instructions to; compute an inference that said acquired beacon signals emanate from a single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on said unique identifiers encoded in said acquired beacon signals; confirm, responsive to computing said inference, that said acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on measurements of carrier signal characteristics of said acquired beacon signals; initiate transmission, through said transceiver to a server, one or more reports of virtual access points that correspond to said single physical transceiver; and prioritize, responsive to said confirmation that two or more of said acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver, scan one or more communication channels utilized by a first virtual access point in relation to a scan of one or more communication channels utilized by a second virtual access point, said first and said second virtual access points to be collocated with said single physical transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. An article comprising:
a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium storing one or more programs for execution by one or more processors of a mobile device, said one or more programs comprising instructions to; obtain beacon signals, acquired at a receiver, each of said acquired beacon signals being identified by a unique identifier encoded into said each of said acquired beacon signals; compute an inference that two or more of said acquired beacon signals originate from a single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on said unique identifiers encoded into each of said two or more of said acquired beacon signals; confirm, in response to computing said inference, that said two or more of said acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on a measurement of carrier signal characteristics of said two or more of said acquired beacon signals; initiate transmission, to a server, of one or more reports of virtual access points that correspond to said single physical transceiver; and prioritize, responsive to said confirmation that said two or more of said acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver, scan one or more communication channels utilized by a first virtual access point in relation to said scan of said one or more communication channels utilized by a second virtual access point, said first and said second virtual access points to be collocated with said single physical transceiver. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A mobile device, comprising:
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means for acquiring beacon signals, each of said acquired beacon signals being identified by different corresponding unique identifiers encoded into said each of said acquired beacon signals; means for inferring that two or more of said acquired beacon signals originate from a single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on said unique identifiers encoded into each of said two or more of said acquired beacon signals; means for confirming, responsive to said means for inferring, that said two or more of said acquired beacon signals originate from said single physical transceiver based, at least in part, on measurement of carrier signal characteristics of said two or more acquired beacon signals; means for transmitting, to a server, one or more reports of virtual access points that correspond to said single physical transceiver; and means for prioritizing a first virtual access point relative to a second virtual access point based, at least in part, on attributes of said first and second virtual access points, said attributes comprising an indication that a virtual access point may be accessed for RTT measurements with acceptable reliability, an indication that a virtual access point provides password protection, authentication, secure access, relatively high-speed communications, or any combination thereof. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification