Mechanism to determine cellular signal reputation of a location and intelligently manage lack of connectivity

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11166170-B2
Application number	US-201816147322-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 28, 2018
Priority date	Sep 28, 2018
Publication date	Nov 2, 2021
Grant date	Nov 2, 2021

Abstract

A technique for collecting and using signal reputation data, comprising obtaining a plurality of signal reputation data corresponding to a plurality of locations, categorizing the signal reputation data into groups, calculating signal circles for at least some of the groups based on a representative signal value for the corresponding group, calculating a signal reputation score for each signal circle, determining a best signal circle for a user mobile device within a predetermined distance of dead zones, and sending the best signal circle to the user mobile device based at least in part on the signal reputation score and a location of the user mobile device. In some embodiments, the technique may include some but not all of these actions and additional actions, such as suspending obtaining signal reputation data based on battery status.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method of collecting signal information for use by a mobile device, comprising:
obtaining a plurality of signal reputation data corresponding to a plurality of locations of a collector device;
categorizing the plurality of signal reputation data into a plurality of groups;
calculating a plurality of signal circles corresponding to at least some of the plurality of groups, based on a representative signal value for the corresponding group;
calculating a signal reputation score for each signal circle;
determining an intended destination to which a user mobile device is predicted to travel;
determining that a predicted travel path to the intended destination falls within a boundary of a signal circle that is determined to be a dead zone;
prefetching a plurality of signal circles within a threshold distance of the travel path and caching the prefetched signal circles for access when the user mobile device is in the dead zone;
determining a best signal circle for a user mobile device within a predetermined distance of the dead zone based on a time of day, a mode of travel, a category of the place associated with the best signal circle, and a characteristic of a user of the user mobile device; and
sending the best signal circle to the user mobile device based at least in part on the signal reputation score and a location of the user mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of signal reputation data comprises a location, a provider, a network type, and a timestamp.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
suspending obtaining the plurality of signal reputation data while a battery status of the collector device meets a predetermined criteria.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising confirming signal reputation data accuracy with event data.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein calculating a signal circle comprises:
marking representative signal values as a signal circle center;
grouping representative signal values within a predetermined distance from the signal circle center into the signal circle; and
repeating performance of marking and grouping until all representative signal values are contained within a signal circle.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
forming a geo-fence a first predetermined distance away from a dead zone;
monitoring proximity of the user mobile device to the geo-fence; and
alerting the user mobile device of the dead zone responsive to determining the user mobile device is within a second predetermined distance of the geo-fence.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining a best signal circle comprises:
discarding signal circles with associated reputation scores less than a predetermined threshold;
discarding signal circles outside an appropriate distance from a location of the user mobile device; and
selecting a signal circle with a highest associated signal reputation score.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
sending supplemental information to the user mobile device, wherein the supplemental information comprises navigation from a location of the user mobile device to the best signal circle and recommendations for user mobile device operation.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the collector device is a user mobile device.

10. A method of using signal reputation data, comprising:
requesting signal circles and associated signal reputation scores from a signal reputation database, based on a location of a user mobile device;
determining a signal dead zone among the signal circles based on the associated signal reputation scores;
determining an intended destination to which a user mobile device is predicted to travel;
determining that a predicted travel path to the intended destination falls within a boundary of the dead zone;
prefetching a plurality of signal circles within a threshold distance of the travel path and caching the prefetched signal circles for access when the user mobile device is in the dead zone;
determining a best signal circle of the signal circles within a predetermined distance of the dead zone based on a time of day, a mode of travel, a category of the place associated with the best signal circle, and a characteristic of a user of the user mobile device; and
presenting the best signal circle on the user mobile device.

11. A machine readable disk or device storing instructions that when executed by a programmable device, cause the programmable device to at least:
obtain a plurality of signal reputation data corresponding to a plurality of locations of a collector device;
categorize the plurality of signal reputation data into a plurality of groups;
calculate a signal circle based on a representative signal value for each of the plurality of groups;
calculate a signal reputation score for each signal circle;
determine an intended destination to which a user mobile device is predicted to travel;
determine that a predicted travel path to the intended destination falls within a boundary of a signal circle that is determined to be a dead zone;
prefetch a plurality of signal circles within a threshold distance of the travel path and caching the prefetched signal circles for access when the user mobile device is in the dead zone;
determine a best signal circle for a user mobile device within a predetermined distance of the dead zone based on a time of day, a mode of travel, a category of the place associated with the best signal circle, and a characteristic of a user of the user mobile device; and
send the best signal circle to the user mobile device based at least in part on the signal reputation score and a location of the user mobile device.

12. The machine readable disk or device of claim 11 , further comprising instructions to:
suspend obtaining the plurality of signal reputation data while a battery status of the collector device meets a predetermined criteria.

13. The machine readable disk or device of claim 11 , further comprising instructions to:
confirm signal reputation data accuracy with event data.

14. The machine readable disk or device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions to calculate a signal circle further comprise instructions to:
mark representative signal values as a signal circle center;
group representative signal values within a predetermined distance from the signal circle center into the signal circle; and
repeat performance of marking and grouping until all representative signal values are contained within a signal circle.

15. The machine readable disk or device of claim 11 , further comprising instructions to:
form a geo-fence a first predetermined distance away from a dead zone;
monitor proximity of the user mobile device to the geo-fence; and
alert the user mobile device of the dead zone responsive to determining the user mobile device is within a second predetermined distance of the geo-fence.

16. The machine readable disk or device of claim 11 , wherein the instructions to determine a best signal circle further comprise instructions to:
discard signal circles with associated reputation scores less than a predetermined threshold;
discard signal circles outside an appropriate distance from a location of the user mobile device; and
select a signal circle with a highest associated signal reputation score.

17. A collector device, comprising:
one or more processors; and
a memory coupled to the one or more processors and comprising instructions that when executed by the one or more processors cause the collector device to at least:
obtain a plurality

Assignees

• Mcafee Llc

Inventors

• Sinha Raja
• Kulkarni Dattatraya
• Nalluri Srikanth
• Nayak Anjan Kumar
• Konda Tirumaleswar Reddy
• Nayak Susmita
• B Purushothaman
• JOSHI Harsha R

Classifications

• H04W4/021 Primary

  Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences · CPC title

• H04W16/18 Primary

  Network planning tools · CPC title

• H04W24/08

  Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic · CPC title

• H04W4/025

  using location based information parameters · CPC title

• H04W4/024

  Guidance services · CPC title