Systems, methods, and computer-readable storage devices for generating and using a radio-frequency map of an area

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9736644-B2
Application number	US-201615193455-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 27, 2016
Priority date	Dec 5, 2013
Publication date	Aug 15, 2017
Grant date	Aug 15, 2017

Abstract

A method comprising obtaining, by a system using a processor, a wireless fingerprint corresponding to a mobile communication device and a subject area in which the mobile communication device is or was positioned. The method also includes obtaining, by the system, an area wireless signal distribution map indicating wireless signal strength values corresponding to multiple wireless transmitters positioned in the subject area, and determining, by the system, based on the wireless fingerprint and the area wireless signal distribution map, a location of the mobile communication device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
receiving, by a system comprising a processor, from a mobile communication device, a wireless fingerprint generated by the mobile communication device, the wireless fingerprint corresponding to a location within a subject area at which the mobile communication device is or was positioned at a specific time, and the wireless fingerprint comprising at least one signal strength value of at least one signal received by the mobile communication device from at least one transmitter associated with the subject area, wherein the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal is measured by the mobile communication device;
determining, by the system, based at least in part on the wireless fingerprint, a distance of the location within the subject area at which the mobile communication device is or was positioned from the at least one transmitter from which the at least one signal was received by the mobile communication device;
relating, by the system, the distance of the location from the at least one transmitter with the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal received by the mobile communication device from the at least one transmitter; and
generating, by the system, an area wireless signal distribution map for the subject area, wherein the area wireless signal distribution map associates the location with the at least one signal strength value, wherein the location is defined with respect to the distance from the at least one transmitter.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless fingerprint further comprises an identification of the at least one transmitter associated with the subject area.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal is at or above a threshold, as determined by the mobile communication device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless fingerprint further comprises an identification of the mobile communication device from which the wireless fingerprint is received, an identification of the at least one transmitter associated with the subject area, and a time stamp comprising the specific time.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the time stamp corresponds to at least one of when the at least one signal was transmitted by the at least one transmitter to the mobile communication device, when the at least one signal was received by the mobile communication device, or when the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal was measured by the mobile communication device.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the wireless fingerprint generated by the mobile communication device comprises receiving a plurality of wireless fingerprints from the mobile communication device, wherein the plurality of wireless fingerprints include the wireless fingerprint, wherein the plurality of wireless fingerprints comprise signal strength values of signals received by the mobile communication device from the at least one transmitter, wherein each of the plurality of wireless fingerprints corresponds to a respective location within the subject area at which the mobile communication device is or was positioned at a corresponding specific time, wherein the plurality of wireless fingerprints indicate a movement characteristic of the mobile communication device with respect to the at least one transmitter such that the mobile communication device is determined to be moving towards the at least one transmitter when the signal strength values of the signals from the at least one transmitter increase over a period of time, and wherein the signal strength values of the signals comprise the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal of the wireless fingerprint.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the wireless fingerprint generated by the mobile communication device comprises receiving a plurality of wireless fingerprints from the mobile communication device, wherein the plurality of wireless fingerprints include the wireless fingerprint, wherein the plurality of wireless fingerprints comprise signal strength values of signals received by the mobile communication device from the at least one transmitter, wherein each of the plurality of wireless fingerprints corresponds to a respective location within the subject area at which the mobile communication device is or was positioned at a corresponding specific time, wherein the plurality of wireless fingerprints indicate a movement characteristic of the mobile communication device with respect to the at least one transmitter such that the mobile communication device is determined to be moving away from the at least one transmitter when the signal strength values of the signals from the at least one transmitter decrease over a period of time, and wherein the signal strength values of the signals comprise the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal of the wireless fingerprint.

8. A system comprising:
a processor; and
a computer-readable medium comprising computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from a mobile communication device, a wireless fingerprint generated by the mobile communication device, the wireless fingerprint corresponding to a location within a subject area at which the mobile communication device is or was positioned at a specific time, and the wireless fingerprint comprising at least one signal strength value of at least one signal received by the mobile communication device from at least one transmitter associated with the subject area, wherein the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal is measured by the mobile communication device,
determining, based at least in part on the wireless fingerprint, a distance of the location within the subject area at which the mobile communication device is or was positioned from the at least one transmitter from which the at least one signal was received by the mobile communication device,
relating the distance of the location from the at least one transmitter with the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal received by the mobile communication device from the at least one transmitter; and
generating an area wireless signal distribution map for the subject area, wherein the area wireless signal distribution map associates the location with the at least one signal strength value, wherein the location is defined with respect to the distance from the at least one transmitter.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the wireless fingerprint further comprises an identification of the at least one transmitter associated with the subject area.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal is at or above a threshold, as determined by the mobile communication device.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the wireless fingerprint further comprises an identification of the mobile communication device from which the wireless fingerprint is received, an identification of the at least one transmitter associated with the subject area, and a time stamp comprising the specific time.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the time stamp corresponds to at least one of when the at least one signal was transmitted by the at least one transmitter to the mobile communication device, when the at least one signal was received by the mobile communication device, or when the at least one signal strength value of the at least one signal was measured by the mobile communication device.

13. The system of claim 8 , wherein

Assignees

• At & T Mobility Ii Llc

Inventors

• Meredith Sheldon Kent
• Fix Jeremy
• Kosseifi Mario

Classifications

• H04W4/023 Primary

  using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds · CPC title

• H04L67/22

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W4/04

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W4/008

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04L67/535

  Tracking the activity of the user (network monitoring arrangements H04L43/00; recording of computer activity G06F11/34) · CPC title