System and method for controlling device location determination
View Patent ↗A controlling device such as a remote control has programming for transmitting a signal response to a plurality of control environments, each environment including a signaling device. Each signaling device in receipt of the signal request sends a signal response having a unique ID which is chosen to be characteristically attenuated by the surroundings of the environment. Because the controlling device can only be in one environment at a given time, and given the attenuation characteristics of the signal response from each signaling device, only one signal response will be received by the controlling device in each environment. Location definitions associated with the received unique ID may be used by programming in the controlling device to recall saved devices states, commands sets, macros, and even to dynamically generate commands based on the location information.
1. A system for providing location data for use in a portable device, the system comprising:
a portable device having programming for simultaneously receiving from each of a plurality of different signaling devices a wireless signal wherein the simultaneously received wireless signals function to provide a unique wireless signal fingerprint in each of a plurality of different environments and for capturing the unique wireless signal fingerprint in each of the plurality of different environments; and
a database accessible to the portable device having a plurality of stored location definitions each being related to a captured unique wireless signal fingerprint such that when the portable device is in subsequent simultaneous receipt of the wireless signals from each of the plurality of different signaling devices in a one of the plurality of different environments the programming is setup to select one of the plurality of stored location definitions from the database for use in configuring the portable device to be used in the one of the plurality of different environments.
2. The system as in claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of different signaling devices comprise a wireless access point having a network address.
3. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the portable device comprises at least one of: a remote control, a portable phone, a wireless capable PDA, a tablet PC, a Smart Display, and a home appliance.
4. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the wireless signal fingerprint comprises at least one of a network ID, access point name, and appliance address associated with the wireless signal received from each of the plurality of different signaling devices.
5. The system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the wireless signal fingerprint comprises a least a signal strength associated with the wireless signal received from each of the plurality of different signaling devices.