Determining node location using chaining triangulation in a wireless node network

• US 9,984,350 B2
• Filed: 11/12/2014
• Issued: 05/29/2018
• 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: Skaaksrud, Ole-Petter
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Harry K
• Application Number:
  US14/538,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20150154554A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,294 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

Improved methods, systems, and apparatus are described for determining a location using chaining triangulation for one of a plurality of nodes in a wireless node network having a server. A first of the nodes determines a location of the first node, and transmits the location of the first node to the server. A second of the nodes determines a location of the second node, and transmits the location of the second node to the server. The server receives the locations of the first and second notes, and infers a location of a third of the nodes. Thereafter, the server triangulates the location of the one node based upon a determined distance of the one node to each of the locations of the first and second nodes and a determined distance of the one node to the inferred location of the third node.

Claims

1. A method for determining a location using chaining triangulation for one of a plurality of wireless transceiver-based nodes in a wireless node network having a server operative to communicate with the wireless transceiver-based nodes, the method comprising:

determining, by a first of the wireless transceiver-based nodes in the network, a location of the first node and transmitting the location of the first node to the server;

determining, by a second of the wireless transceiver-based nodes in the network, a location of the second node and transmitting the location of the second node to the server;

receiving, by the server from the first node, the location of the first node;

receiving, by the server from the second node, the location of the second node;

inferring, by the server, a location of a third of the wireless transceiver-based nodes by determining a proximate-based location of the third node relative to another of the nodes having a known location, the proximate-based location operating as the inferred location of the third node; and

triangulating, by the server, the location of the one node based upon a determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, a determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node, and a determined distance of the one node to the inferred location of the third node.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

transmitting, by the server to the one node, an instruction to cause the one node to broadcast a plurality of advertising signals over a period of time; and

wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the first node over the period of time and reported to the server by the first node.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the second node and reported to the server by the second node.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

transmitting, by the server to the one node, an instruction to cause the one node to broadcast a plurality of advertising signals at different power levels; and

wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the first node and reported to the server by the first node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the second node and reported to the server by the second node.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inferring the location of the third node further comprises determining, by the server, a relative location of the third node to the first node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of inferring the location of the third node further comprises determining, by the server, a relative location of the third node to the second node.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting, by the server, the inferred location of the third node to determine a refined location of the third node based upon third node context data related to the inferred location of the third node.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the triangulating step further comprises the steps of:

accessing, by the server, first node context data related to a contextual environment near the first node and second node context data related a contextual environment near the second node;

adjusting, by the server, the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node based upon the first node context data to provide a refined distance of the one node to the location of the of the first node; and

triangulating, by the server, the location of the one node based upon the adjusted determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, the adjusted determined distance of the one node to the location of second node, and a determined distance of the one node to the refined location of the third node.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising transmitting the location information by the server upon receipt of a request for a location of the one node.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the one node is part of a wireless transceiver-based node-enabled package;

and

wherein the step of triangulating the location of the 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.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

generating a location message regarding where the node-abled package is located within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the 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.

13. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

accessing shipping information related to the node-enabled package;

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

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the shipping information comprises weight information on the node-enabled package.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the location of the node-enabled package within the vehicle is according to a loading scheme.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the loading scheme is related to an anticipated delivery schedule.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the vehicle is one from a group consisting of a truck, a van, a trailer, an aircraft, and a marine vessel.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions which when executed on a processor performs a method for determining a location using chaining triangulation for one of a plurality of wireless transceiver-based nodes in a wireless node network having a server operative to communicate with the wireless transceiver-based nodes, the method comprising:

determining, by a first of the wireless transceiver-based nodes in the network, a location of the first node and transmitting the location of the first node to the server;

determining, by a second of the wireless transceiver-based nodes in the network, a location of the second node and transmitting the location of the second node to the server;

receiving, by the server from the first node, the location of the first node;

receiving, by the server from the second node, the location of the second node;

inferring, by the server, a location of a third of the wireless transceiver-based nodes by determining a proximate-based location of the third node relative to another of the nodes having a known location, the proximate-based location operating as the inferred location of the third node; and

triangulating, by the server, the location of the one node based upon a determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, a determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node, and a determined distance of the one node to the inferred location of the third node.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

transmitting, by the server to the one node, an instruction to cause the one node to broadcast a plurality of advertising signals over a period of time; and

wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the first node over the period of time and reported to the server by the first node.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the second node and reported to the server by the second node.

21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises the steps of:

transmitting, by the server to the one node, an instruction to cause the one node to broadcast a plurality of advertising signals at different power levels; and

wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the first node and reported to the server by the first node.

22. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the second node and reported to the server by the second node.

23. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the step of inferring the location of the third node further comprises determining, by the server, a relative location of the third node to the first node.

24. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the step of inferring the location of the third node further comprises determining, by the server, a relative location of the third node to the second node.

25. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises adjusting, by the server, the inferred location of the third node to determine a refined location of the third node based upon third node context data related to the inferred location of the third node.

26. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 25, wherein the triangulating step further comprises the steps of:

accessing, by the server, first node context data related to a contextual environment near the first node and second node context data related a contextual environment near the second node;

adjusting, by the server, the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node based upon the first node context data to provide a refined distance of the one node to the location of the of the first node; and

triangulating, by the server, the location of the one node based upon the adjusted determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, the adjusted determined distance of the one node to the location of second node, and a determined distance of the one node to the refined location of the third node.

27. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the method further comprises transmitting the location information by the server upon receipt of a request for a location of the one node.

28. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the one node is part of a wireless transceiver-based node-enabled package;

and

wherein the step of triangulating the location of the one node further comprises triangulating the location within a vehicle of the node-enabled package having the one node based upon the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node, and the determined distance of the one node to the inferred location of the third node.

29. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the method further comprises:

generating a location message regarding where the node-abled package is located within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the 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.

30. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28 further comprising:

accessing shipping information related to the node-enabled package;

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

31. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 30, wherein the shipping information comprises weight information on the node-enabled package.

32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the location of the node-enabled package within the vehicle is according to a loading scheme.

33. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the loading scheme is related to an anticipated delivery schedule.

34. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 28, wherein the vehicle is one from a group consisting of a truck, a van, a trailer, an aircraft, and a marine vessel.

35. A server apparatus for determining a location using chaining triangulation for one of a plurality of wireless transceiver-based nodes in a wireless node network, the server apparatus 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 a first of the wireless transceiver-based nodes and a second of the wireless transceiver-based nodes; and

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

receive a request over the communication interface for the location of the one node,

receive, from the first node, a location of the first node,

store the location of the first node in the server memory storage as part of the location data maintained on the server memory storage,

receive, from the second node, a location of the second node,

store the location of the second node in the server memory storage as part of the location data maintained on the server memory storage,

infer a location of a third of the wireless transceiver-based nodes by determining a proximate-based location of the third node relative to another of the wireless transceiver-based nodes having a known location, the proximate-based location operating as the inferred location of the third node; and

store the inferred location of the third node in the server memory storage as part of the location data maintained on the server memory storage,

triangulate the location of the one node based upon a determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, a determined distance of the one node to the location of second node, and a determined distance of the one node to the inferred location of the third node, and

transmit the location information over the communication interface in response to the request.

36. The server apparatus of claim 35, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to:

transmit an instruction over the communication interface to cause the one node to broadcast a plurality of advertising signals over a period of time; and

wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the first node over the period of time and reported to the server by the first node.

37. The server apparatus of claim 36, wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the second node and reported to the server by the second node.

38. The server apparatus of claim 35, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to:

transmit an instruction over the communication interface to cause the one node to broadcast a plurality of advertising signals at different power levels; and

wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the first node and reported to the server by the first node.

39. The server apparatus of claim 38, wherein the determined distance of the one node to the location of the second node is based upon captured signals from the one node by the second node and reported to the server by the second node.

40. The server apparatus of claim 35, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to infer the location of the third node by being operative to determine a relative location of the third node to the first node.

41. The server apparatus of claim 35, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to infer the location of the third node by being operative to determine a relative location of the third node to the second node.

42. The server apparatus of claim 35, wherein the server processing unit is further operative to adjust the inferred location of the third node to determine a refined location of the third node based upon third node context data related to the inferred location of the third node.

43. The server apparatus of claim 42, wherein the server memory storage further maintains context data;

and

wherein the server processing unit is further operative to triangulate by being operative to;

access first node context data as part of the context data maintained on the server memory storage, the first node context data being related to a contextual environment near the first node,

access second node context data as part of the context data maintained on the server memory storage, the second node context data being related a contextual environment near the second node,

adjust the determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node based upon the first node context data to provide a refined distance of the one node to the location of the of the first node, and

triangulate the location of the one node based upon the adjusted determined distance of the one node to the location of the first node, the adjusted determined distance of the one node to the location of second node, and a determined distance of the one node to the refined location of the third node.

44. The server apparatus of claim 35, wherein the one node is part of a wireless transceiver-based node-enabled package;

and

wherein the server processing unit is further operative to triangulate 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.

45. The server apparatus of claim 44 further comprising:

generating a location message regarding where the node-abled package is located within the vehicle based upon the determined location of the 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.

46. The server apparatus of claim 44 further comprising:

accessing shipping information related to the node-enabled package;

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

47. The server apparatus of claim 46, wherein the shipping information comprises weight information on the node-enabled package.

48. The server apparatus of claim 47, wherein the location of the node-enabled package within the vehicle is according to a loading scheme.

49. The server apparatus of claim 48, wherein the loading scheme is related to an anticipated delivery schedule.

50. The server apparatus of claim 44, wherein the vehicle is one from a group consisting of a truck, a van, a trailer, an aircraft, and a marine vessel.