Locating method and a locating device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10588108-B2
Application number	US-201615269262-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 19, 2016
Priority date	Sep 23, 2015
Publication date	Mar 10, 2020
Grant date	Mar 10, 2020

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method and apparatus for determining a location of device. The method comprises obtaining locations of at least three reference points associated with the device and determining the location of the device based on the locations of the at least three reference points. The embodiments of the present disclosure have advantages such as cheapness, easy implementation and easy installation, may provide an administrator with various management interfaces and monitoring interfaces, and expand the scope of applicability.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of determining a location of a device, comprising:
providing a plurality of reference points enabled to communicate with the device;
obtaining locations of at least three reference points of the plurality of reference points, wherein the at least three reference points are associated with the device;
triggering indicators at the at least three reference points when an operation state of the device is abnormal;
activating an abnormal state indicator on the device; and
determining the location of the device based on the locations of the at least three reference points.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
pre-establishing associations between the device and the at least three reference points.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the pre-establishing associations between the device and the at least three reference points comprises:
storing into a client at least three reference points received by the client with strongest signals, the client being arranged at the location of the device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining locations of at least three reference points associated with the device comprises:
sending, via the client, a message to at least three associated reference points to trigger indicators at the locations of the at least three reference points.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
instructing, via a reader, the client at the location of the device to send a message to the at least three associated reference points.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
obtaining state information of the device from the client via the reader.

7. A computer program product for determining a location of a device, the computer program product comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable code, the code configured to enable the execution of:
providing a plurality of reference points enabled to communicate with the device;
obtaining locations of at least three reference points of the plurality of reference points, wherein the at least three reference points are associated with the device;
triggering indicators at the at least three reference points when an operation state of the device is abnormal;
activating an abnormal state indicator on the device; and
determining the location of the device based on the locations of the at least three reference points.

8. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the code is further configured to enable the execution of:
pre-establishing associations between the device and the at least three reference points.

9. The computer program product of claim 8 , wherein the pre-establishing associations between the device and the at least three reference points comprises:
storing into a client at least three reference points received by the client with strongest signals, the client being arranged at the location of the device.

10. The computer program product of claim 7 , wherein the obtaining locations of at least three reference points associated with the device comprises:
sending, via the client, a message to at least three associated reference points to trigger indicators at the locations of the at least three reference points.

11. The computer program product of claim 10 , wherein the code is further configured to enable the execution of:
instructing, via a reader, the client at the location of the device to send a message to the at least three associated reference points.

12. The computer program product of claim 11 , wherein the code is further configured to enable the execution of:
obtaining state information of the device from the client via the reader.

13. A method of identifying a data center device among multiple data center devices to a user, the method comprising:
communicating, from a device location where the data center device resides, with at least three reference point devices residing at reference point locations which are different from the device location to determine the device location where the data center device resides;
in response to the data center device entering an abnormal state, providing human discernable reference point indicators from the at least three reference point devices residing at reference point locations; and
activating an abnormal state indicator on the data center device;
the data center device being identified to the user via the human discernable reference point indicators provided from the at least three reference point devices and the abnormal state indicator activated on the data center device.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein communicating from the device location where the data center device resides includes:
receiving, by a client apparatus physically coupled with the data center device, broadcasted signals from a plurality of reference point devices and identifying, as the at least three reference point devices, a subset of the plurality of reference point devices providing the strongest signals;
wherein the client apparatus is constructed and arranged to notify data center equipment which is separate from the multiple data center devices to enable the data center equipment to operate the subset of the plurality of reference point devices to provide the human discernable reference point indicators.

Assignees

• Emc Ip Holding Co Llc

Inventors

• Wu Chao
• Zhai Li
• Xia Robert Guowu
• Peng Krein Zuiliang
• Hou Andrew Anzhou

Classifications

• G01S1/08

  Systems for determining direction or position line · CPC title

• H04W64/00 Primary

  Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management · CPC title

• G01S1/00

  Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith (position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00) · CPC title

• H04W64/003 Primary

  locating network equipment · CPC title

• G01S1/042

  Transmitters · CPC title