Granted Patent B2

US 9,942,776 · App. 15/343,180 · Granted Apr 10, 2018

Inventors: Kevin Ross (Saratoga Springs, UT); Venkat Kalkunte (Saratoga, CA)

Assignee: Vivint, Inc.

H04W16/28H04W4/02H04W40/20H04W72/046H04W84/18

Abstract

Claims (69)

1. A method for wireless networking and communications, comprising:

identifying a visual characteristic associated with a geographic area;

receiving topography data associated with the geographic area;

comparing the visual characteristic associated with the geographic area and the topography data;

identifying a current location of a user device associated with the geographic area;

identifying a first line of sight path associated with a first access point location and the user device based at least in part on the comparing;

identifying a second line of sight path based at least in part on the first line of sight path, the second line of sight path being different from the first line of sight path; and

adjusting a characteristic of an antenna associated with the first access point based at least in part on identifying the second line of sight path.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the visual characteristic associated with the geographic area comprises:

determining at least one of a texture, a color, a shape, a reflectivity, a structure type, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein adjusting the characteristic of the antenna comprises:

adjusting a narrow beam communication.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein adjusting the narrow beam communication further comprises:

adjusting a frequency associated with the narrow beam communication, or a channel associated with the narrow beam communication, or a strength of the narrow beam communication, or a communication direction, or a communication width, or a horizontal narrow beam communication characteristic, or a vertical narrow beam communication characteristic, or a location of a component, or a combination thereof.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

receiving network performance data associated with the user device;

determining a weight value based at least in part on the identified visual characteristic of the geographic area, the topography data, and the identified location of the user device;

applying the weight value to the narrow beam communication based at least in part on the network performance data; and

wherein adjusting the narrow beam communication is based at least in part on the weight value.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

determining an existence of a signal inhibitor from the topography data; and

adjusting the weight value based at least in part on determining the existence of the signal inhibitor.

7. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

determining an anticipated change in the topography data within a predetermined time frame, wherein adjusting the narrow beam communication is based at least in part on the anticipated change.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein receiving the topography data comprises:

receiving the topography data from an aerial representation associated with the geographic area.

9. An apparatus for wireless networking and communications, comprising:

a processor;

memory in electronic communication with the processor; and

instructions stored in the memory, the instructions being executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to:

identify a visual characteristic associated with a geographic area;

receive topography data associated with the geographic area;

compare the visual characteristic associated with the geographic area and the topography data;

identify a current location of a user device associated with the geographic area;

identify a first line of sight path associated with a first access point location and the user device based at least in part on the comparing;

identify a second line of sight path based at least in part on the first line of sight path, the second line of sight path being different from the first line of sight path; and

adjust a characteristic of an antenna associated with the first access point based at least in part on identifying the second line of sight path.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein when the processor identifies the visual characteristic associated with the geographic area, the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine at least one of a texture, a color, a shape, a reflectivity, a structure type, or a combination thereof.

11. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein when the processor adjusts the characteristic of the antenna, the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

adjust a narrow beam communication.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein when the processor adjusts the narrow beam communication, the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

adjust a frequency associated with the narrow beam communication, a channel associated with the narrow beam communication, a strength of the narrow beam communication, a communication direction, a communication width, a horizontal narrow beam communication characteristic, a vertical narrow beam communication characteristic, a location of a component, or a combination thereof.

13. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive network performance data associated with the user device;

determine a weight value based at least in part on the identified visual characteristic of the geographic area, the topography data, and the identified location of the user device;

apply the weight value to the narrow beam communication based at least in part on the network performance data; and

wherein adjusting the narrow beam communication is based at least in part on the weight value.

14. The apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine an existence of a signal inhibitor from the topography data; and

adjust the weight value based at least in part on determining the existence of the signal inhibitor.

15. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein when the processor adjusts the narrow beam communication, the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

determine an anticipated change in the topography data within a predetermined time frame, wherein adjusting the narrow beam communication is based at least in part on the anticipated change.

16. The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein when the processor receives the topography data, the instructions further cause the processor to cause the apparatus to:

receive the topography data from an aerial device associated with the geographic area.

17. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable code, the code executable by a processor to:

identify a visual characteristic associated with a geographic area;

receive topography data associated with the geographic area;

compare the visual characteristic associated with the geographic area and the topography data;

identify a current location of a user device associated with the geographic area;

identify a first line of sight path associated with a first access point location and the user device based at least in part on the comparing;

identify a second line of sight path based at least in part on the first line of sight path, the second line of sight path being different from the first line of sight path; and

adjust a characteristic of an antenna associated with the first access point based at least in part on identifying the second line of sight path.

18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein when the processor identifies the visual characteristic associated with the geographic area, the code further causes the processor to:

determine at least one of a texture, a color, a shape, a reflectivity, a structure type, or a combination thereof.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein when the processor adjusts the characteristic of the antenna, the code further causes the processor to:

adjust a narrow beam communication.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19 , wherein when the processor adjusts the narrow beam communication, the code further causes the processor to:

adjust a frequency associated with the narrow beam communication, a channel associated with the narrow beam communication, a strength of the narrow beam communication, a communication direction, a communication width, a horizontal narrow beam communication characteristic, a vertical narrow beam communication characteristic, a location of a component, or a combination thereof.

Assignments (11)

Continuity (2)