The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 10, 2007
Filed:
Dec. 19, 2003
John C. Krumm, Redmond, WA (US);
Gerald F. Cermak, Bothell, WA (US);
Eric J. Horvitz, Kirkland, WA (US);
Edward C. Miller, Bellevue, WA (US);
Adel Amin Abdelazim Youssef, Hyattsville, MD (US);
John C. Krumm, Redmond, WA (US);
Gerald F. Cermak, Bothell, WA (US);
Eric J. Horvitz, Kirkland, WA (US);
Edward C. Miller, Bellevue, WA (US);
Adel Amin AbdelAzim Youssef, Hyattsville, MD (US);
Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA (US);
Abstract
The present invention employs approximate device locations determined from changes in the sensed strength of radio signals at different locations. In one instance of the invention, the approximate device locations are based on inference procedures that are used to process ambient commercial radio signals, to estimate a location or a probability distribution over the locations of a device. In another instance of the invention, approximate device locations derived from learning and inference methods that are applied to rank vector of signal strength vectors are utilized. Moving to such rank orderings leads to methods that bypass consideration of absolute signal strengths in location calculations. The invention utilizes approximations for a device location that is based on a method that does not require a substantial number of available ambient signal strengths while still providing useful location inferences in determining locations. Several location-centric services are supported, including receipt of location-specific information such as traffic reports, emergency information, transmission about device location, and time-sensitive promotions such as discounts offered by businesses for load balancing the provision of services.