METHODS FOR PROVIDING LOCATION OF WIRELESS DEVICES USING WI-FI
First Claim
1. A method, comprising:
- maintaining a collaborative database on a database server containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points, the collaborative database including database records for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location of the Wi-Fi access point, wherein at least a portion of the database records are based on Wi-Fi identification and geographic location data received from a plurality of Wi-Fi- and GPS-enabled wireless devices such that the collaborative database is built in a collaborative manner;
receiving, at a server, a position location request from a wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device;
retrieving, via a query issued to the database server using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for at least one of the Wi-Fi access points from the collaborative database;
determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the geographic location data retrieved from the collaborative database; and
returning, via the server, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device that is determined.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Method includes maintaining a collaborative database on a database server containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points. The collaborative database includes database records for Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location. A position location request from a Wi-Fi enabled wireless device is received at a server, and includes a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device. Via a query issued to the database server using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for one or more Wi-Fi access points is retrieved from the database. A processor determines geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the retrieved geographic location data, and returns, via the server, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device.
22 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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maintaining a collaborative database on a database server containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points, the collaborative database including database records for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location of the Wi-Fi access point, wherein at least a portion of the database records are based on Wi-Fi identification and geographic location data received from a plurality of Wi-Fi- and GPS-enabled wireless devices such that the collaborative database is built in a collaborative manner; receiving, at a server, a position location request from a wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device; retrieving, via a query issued to the database server using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for at least one of the Wi-Fi access points from the collaborative database; determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the geographic location data retrieved from the collaborative database; and returning, via the server, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device that is determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A method, comprising:
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maintaining a collaborative database on a server system containing geographic location information pertaining to Wi-Fi access points, the collaborative database including database records for each of a plurality of Wi-Fi access points including a MAC address and geographic location of the Wi-Fi access point, wherein at least a portion of the database records are based on Wi-Fi identification and geographic location data received from a plurality of Wi-Fi- and GPS-enabled wireless devices such that the collaborative database is built in a collaborative manner; receiving, at the server system, a position location request from a wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a respective MAC address of at least one Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the wireless device; retrieving, via a query issued to the server system using at least one MAC address included in the position location request, geographic location data for at least one of the Wi-Fi access points from the collaborative database; determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the wireless device based at least on the geographic location data retrieved from the collaborative database; and returning, via the server system, geographic location data to the wireless device corresponding to the geographic location of the wireless device that is determined. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method, comprising:
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receiving at a database server, first Wi-Fi access point location data from a first wireless device that is GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled, the first Wi-Fi access point location data including, GPS location data generated by the first wireless device; and a MAC address of a first Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the first wireless device; processing, via a processor, the first Wi-Fi access point location data to generate geographic location data for the first Wi-Fi access point; adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the first Wi-Fi access point to a collaborative database containing Wi-Fi access point location data; receiving, at a server, a position location request from a second wireless device that is Wi-Fi enabled, the position location request including a MAC address of the first Wi-Fi access point for which a wireless beacon is detected by the second wireless device; retrieving via a query issued to the database server, geographic location data for the first Wi-Fi access point from the collaborative database; determining, via a processor, a geographic location of the second wireless device based at least on the geographic location data for the first Wi-Fi access point; and returning, via the server, geographic location data to the second wireless device corresponding to the geographic location determined for the second wireless device. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method, comprising:
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receiving, at a database server from each of a plurality of GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless devices, respective sets of Wi-Fi access point location data, each set of Wi-Fi access point location data including, for each of at least one Wi-Fi access point from which a wireless beacon transmitted from at Wi-Fi access point is detected by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device, a MAC address of the Wi-Fi access point; and GPS location data generated by the GPS-enabled and Wi-Fi-enabled wireless device; for each of at least a portion of the respective sets of Wi-Fi access point location data that is received; processing, via a processor, data in the set of Wi-Fi access point location data to generate geographic location data for at least one Wi-Fi access point having a MAC address included in the set of Wi-Fi access point location data; and adding the geographic location data and MAC address of the at least one Wi-Fi access point to a collaborative database containing Wi-Fi access point location data. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification