File creation method and system

• US 9,384,215 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2009
• Issued: 07/05/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: U-Blox AG (u-blox Holding AG)
• Original Assignee: U-Blox AG (u-blox Holding AG)
• Inventors: Peeters, Johan, Yule, Andrew Thomas, Thomason, Graham
• Primary Examiner(s): Casanova, Jorge A
• Application Number:
  US12/993,454
• Publication Number:
  US 20110066667A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,608 Days
• Field of Search: 707/724, 707/999.01
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0252 Radio frequency fingerprinting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/58 Retrieval characterised by using metadata, e.g. metadata not derived from the content or metadata generated manually
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A file creation method comprising: creating file content at a particular location and time using a portable device; and obtaining data from wireless communication devices detectable by the portable device at the particular location and time thereby to obtain a set of data. The set of data identifies or enables identification of the wireless communication devices. The method further comprises associating the set of data and time with the file content to enable subsequent analysis to determine the particular location using a time-dependent database.

Claims

1. A file creation method, comprising:

providing a time-dependent database of reference data, the reference data comprising identities of wireless communication devices, reference locations associated with sightings of said devices, and times and dates associated with the sightings;

creating file content at a creation location, which is unknown, at a known creation time, using a portable device;

obtaining data identifying wireless communication devices detected by the portable device at the creation location at the known creation time;

associating the data and creation time with the file content; and

analysing the data identifying the wireless communication devices detected by the portable device to determine the creation location using the reference data in the time-dependent database, wherein the creation location is determined based on the reference data for the creation location and wherein reference data comprising the identities of wireless communication devices which appeared at the creation location later than the creation time are filtered out.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data comprises a set of device identities of the detected wireless communication devices.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data comprises data which can be analyzed to determine a set of device identities of the detected wireless communication devices.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein creating file content comprises capturing an image and saving corresponding image file.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the time associated with the file content comprises the time and date.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data further comprises signal strength, signal to noise ratio, Doppler, and error rate of a wireless communication device transmission.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein associating the set of data with the file content comprises embedding the data in the file structure.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein obtaining data from wireless communication devices detectable by the portable device is carried out by a second portable device.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising

creating a file comprising the file content and the creation location.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the analysis is carried out:

by the portable device at a different time to obtaining the identities, or

on a computer system to which the file content and associated information is provided.

15. The method of claim 1 further including the step, prior to the providing step, of gathering reference data for the unknown location, the data enabling identification of wireless communication devices at the particular location at a previous time.

11. A file creation system, comprising:

a time-dependent database of reference data, the reference data comprising identities of wireless communication devices, reference locations associated with sightings of said devices, and times and dates associated with the sightings;

a portable device for creating file content at a creation location, which is unknown, at a known creation time;

a wireless receiver for detecting wireless communication signals and obtaining data identifying wireless communication devices at the creation location at the known creation time;

a processor for associating the data and the creation time with the file content; and

a processor configured to analyse the data identifying the wireless communication devices, which was obtained by the wireless receiver, to determine the creation location using the reference data in the time-dependent database wherein the creation location is determined based on the reference data, and wherein the reference data has the identities of wireless communication devices which appeared at the creation location later than the creation time filtered out.

12. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the device comprises a camera, and the file content comprises an image or image sequence.

13. The system as claimed in claim 11, wherein the wireless receiver is part of a second portable device, and wherein a first portable device provides time information with the file content.

14. The system of claim 11, comprising a processor adapted to

create a file comprising the file content and the creation location.

16. The system of claim 11 the processor adapted to gather historical reference data for the particular location, the historical data enabling identification of wireless communication devices at the particular location at a previous time.

17. A method, comprising:

creating a database of reference data about a set of wireless communication device identities, device times of sighting, and device locations thereby to obtain a historical set of data;

creating file content at an unknown creation location at a known creation time using a portable device;

obtaining data identifying wireless communication devices detected by the portable device at the unknown creation location at the known creation time;

associating the data for the known creation time with the file content;

selecting from the database historical data matching the known creation time of the file content; and

determining the location of creation of the file content based on the selected historical data, wherein the identities of wireless communication devices which appeared at the creation location later than the creation time are filtered out from the selected historical data.