Adaptive threshold for proximity based wireless communications features

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10154367-B2
Application number	US-201715596797-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 16, 2017
Priority date	May 16, 2016
Publication date	Dec 11, 2018
Grant date	Dec 11, 2018

Abstract

A method of improving wireless communication of an apparatus includes detecting a wireless signal from a wireless communication device at a first signal strength level, detecting the wireless signal increasing from the first strength level to exceed a threshold level associated with the wireless communication device, requesting, by the apparatus, an input from a user of the apparatus when the signal strength exceeds a threshold level associated with the wireless communication device, wherein the input indicates whether the apparatus should cause an action to occur at the wireless communication device, adjusting, at the apparatus, the threshold level associated with the wireless communication device after receiving the input, and automatically transmitting a signal from the apparatus to the wireless communication device to cause the wireless communication device to perform the action when the apparatus detects the wireless signal from the wireless communication device has exceeded the adjusted threshold level.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of improving wireless communication of an apparatus, comprising:
receiving, at the apparatus, an initiation request from a user;
detecting, at the apparatus, in response to the request, a signal strength of a signal from a wireless communication device, the signal broadcasting in a wireless communication standard;
requesting the user to place the apparatus in a first disposition in which the detected signal strength exceeds a default threshold level associated with the wireless communication device and to confirm communication between the apparatus and the wireless communication device;
requesting the user to place the apparatus in a second disposition different from the first disposition in which the detected signal strength is less than the default threshold level associated with the wireless communication device and confirm communication between the apparatus and the wireless communication device;
adjusting, at the apparatus, the threshold level associated with the wireless communication device based on the signal strength detected when the user confirmation is received by the apparatus; and
automatically transmitting a signal from the apparatus to the wireless communication device to cause the wireless communication device to perform an action when the apparatus detects that the signal strength from the wireless communication device has exceeded the adjusted threshold level.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first disposition comprises a first location that is a first distance from the secondary device, and the second disposition is a second location that is a second distance from the secondary device that is greater than the first distance.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second disposition comprises the apparatus having one or more accessories disposed thereon that are absent in the first disposition.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the detection threshold comprises lowering the detection threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication standard comprises a Bluetooth standard.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless communication standard comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal strength and threshold are indicated by respective Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the signal strength and threshold are indicated by respective decibel (dBm) values.

9. A method of improving a wireless communication of an apparatus, comprising:
detecting, at the apparatus, a wireless signal from a wireless communication device at a first signal strength level;
detecting, at the apparatus, the wireless signal increasing from the first strength level to exceed a threshold level associated with the wireless communication device;
requesting, by the apparatus, an input from a user of the apparatus when the signal strength exceeds a threshold level associated with the wireless communication device, wherein the input indicates whether the apparatus should cause an action to occur at the wireless communication device;
adjusting, at the apparatus, the threshold level associated with the wireless communication device after receiving the input; and
automatically transmitting a signal from the apparatus to the wireless communication device to cause the wireless communication device to perform the action when the apparatus detects the wireless signal from the wireless communication device has exceeded the adjusted threshold level.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein adjusting the detection threshold comprises lowering the detection threshold when the input indicates that the action should be performed and increasing the threshold when the input indicates that the action should not be performed.

11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the wireless communication standard comprises a Bluetooth standard.

12. The method of claim 9 , wherein the wireless communication standard comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard.

13. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the at least one non-transitory memory medium and the computer-readable instructions configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to:
receive an initiation request from a user;
detect, in response to the request, a signal strength of a signal from a wireless communication device, the signal broadcasting in a wireless communication standard;
request the user to place the apparatus in a first disposition in which the detected signal strength exceeds a default threshold level associated with the wireless communication device and to confirm communication between the apparatus and the wireless communication device;
request the user to place the apparatus in a second disposition different from the first location in which the detected signal strength is less than the default threshold level associated with the wireless communication device and confirm communication between the apparatus and the wireless communication device;
adjust the threshold level associated with the wireless communication device based on the signal strength detected when the user confirmation is received by the apparatus; and
automatically transmit a signal from the apparatus to the wireless communication device to cause the wireless communication device to perform an action when the apparatus detects that the signal strength from the wireless communication device has exceeded the adjusted threshold level.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the first disposition comprises a first location that is a first distance from the secondary device, and the second disposition is a second location that is a second distance from the secondary device that is greater than the first distance.

15. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the second disposition comprises the apparatus having one or more accessories disposed thereon that are absent in the first disposition.

16. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein adjusting the detection threshold comprises lowering the detection threshold.

17. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the wireless communication standard comprises a Bluetooth standard.

18. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the wireless communication standard comprises a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standard.

19. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the signal strength and threshold are indicated by respective Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) values.

20. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the signal strength and threshold are indicated by respective decibel (dBm) values.

21. An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one non-transitory memory medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereon, the at least one non-transitory memory medium and the computer-readable instructions configured, with the at least one processor, to cause the apparatus to:
detect a wireless signal from a wireless communication device at a first signal strength level;
detect the wireless signal increasing from the first strength level to exceed a threshold level associated with the wireless communication device;
request an input from a user of the apparatus when the signal strength exceeds a threshold level associated with the wireless communication device, wherein the input indicates whether the apparatus should cause an action to occur at the wireless communication devic

Assignees

• Google Inc
• Google Llc

Inventors

• James Bryan
• Rabb Laura

Classifications

• H04W76/14

  Direct-mode setup · CPC title

• H04W4/80 Primary

  Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication · CPC title

• H04L43/16

  Threshold monitoring · CPC title

• H04B17/318

  Received signal strength · CPC title

• H04W4/008 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic