Method and apparatus for associating or disassociating mobile devices

{
  "publication_number": "US11259143B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Method and apparatus for associating or disassociating mobile devices",
  "abstract": "Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, obtaining a location of a first mobile tag, responsive to detecting a second mobile tag crossing a threshold relative to the location of the first mobile tag, determining according to an activity associated with the first mobile tag, the second mobile tag, or both whether there is an association event between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag, and responsive to determining the activity corresponds to the association event, determining whether to associate the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag. Other embodiments are disclosed.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A first mobile tag, comprising: a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: determining first location information of the first mobile tag according to a location determination process initiated with at least one anchor; wirelessly receiving second location information for a second mobile tag; detecting an association event between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag based on a comparison of proximity of the first location information and the second location information; initiating an indication at the first mobile tag representing detection of the association event, wherein the indication comprises a visual, audible or tactile indication; and determining whether to associate the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag based on an association determination process initiated between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag responsive to the association event.",
    "2. The first mobile tag of claim 1, wherein the detecting the association event comprises: calculating a distance between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag based on the first location information and the second location information; and determining that the distance is below a distance threshold.",
    "3. The first mobile tag of claim 1, wherein the detecting the association event comprises determining that the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag are not affected by a mitigation event.",
    "4. The first mobile tag of claim 1, wherein the second mobile tag is coupled to a vehicle, and wherein the detecting the association event comprises determining that the vehicle is stationary.",
    "5. The first mobile tag of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise associating the first mobile tag with the second mobile tag responsive to receiving user-generated input during the association determination process.",
    "6. The first mobile tag of claim 5, wherein the user-generated input indicating the first mobile tag is to be associated with the second mobile tag.",
    "7. The first mobile tag of claim 6, wherein the user-generated input is generated at the first mobile tag or the second mobile tag.",
    "8. The first mobile tag of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise transmitting a wireless message to a server, the wireless message indicating the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag have been associated.",
    "9. The first mobile tag of claim 5, wherein the operations further comprise detecting a disassociation event.",
    "10. The first mobile tag of claim 9, wherein the detecting the disassociation event is responsive to detecting a distance between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag that exceeds a distance threshold.",
    "11. The first mobile tag of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise asserting an alarm at the first mobile tag or the second mobile tag to indicate the disassociation event, wherein the alarm is audible, visual, tactile or combinations thereof.",
    "12. The first mobile tag of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise disassociating the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag responsive to expiration of a timer, wherein the disassociating prevents a user of the first mobile tag to delegate an association between a third mobile tag and the second mobile tag.",
    "13. The first mobile tag of claim 10, wherein the operations further comprise preventing a disassociation between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag responsive to receiving user-generated input requesting an extension of an association between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag, or calculating an update to the distance between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag resulting in an updated distance that no longer exceeds the distance threshold.",
    "14. The first mobile tag of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise wirelessly receiving third location information from a third mobile tag, wherein the association event is based on a first possible association between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag or a second possible association between the first mobile tag and the third mobile tag, and wherein the determining whether to associate the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag further includes determining whether to associate the first mobile tag and the third mobile tag.",
    "15. The first mobile tag of claim 14, wherein the operations further comprise associating the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag responsive to receiving a selection requesting the first possible association.",
    "16. The first mobile tag of claim 1, wherein the determining the first location information is performed according to a processing of wideband signals processed by the first mobile tag, and wherein the second location information is received over a narrowband signal.",
    "17. A method, comprising: determining, by a processing system of a first mobile tag, a location of the first mobile tag via communications with at least one device; receiving, by the processing system, a plurality of locations from a plurality of mobile tags; detecting, by the processing system, an association event between the first mobile tag and the plurality of mobile tags based on a comparison of the location of the first mobile tag and the plurality of locations of the plurality of mobile tags; and responsive to the detecting the association event, determining whether to associate the first mobile tag with a second mobile tag identified from the plurality of mobile tags based on an association determination process initiated between the first mobile tag and the plurality of mobile tags.",
    "18. The method of claim 17, wherein the at least one device comprises at least one anchor or at least one other mobile tag, and where the method further comprises, responsive to the association determination process, associating the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag and disabling an alarm condition asserted when the first mobile tag is in close proximity to the second mobile tag.",
    "19. A non-transitory, machine-readable medium comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the machine-readable medium and the processing system operating from a first mobile tag, and the operations comprising: obtaining a location of the first mobile tag; responsive to detecting a second mobile tag crossing a threshold relative to the location of the first mobile tag, determining according to an activity associated with the first mobile tag, the second mobile tag, or both whether there is an association event between the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag; and responsive to determining the activity corresponds to the association event, determining whether to associate the first mobile tag and the second mobile tag.",
    "20. The non-transitory, machine-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the activity comprises a first status of the first mobile tag, a second status of the second mobile tag, or any combinations thereof, and wherein the location of the first mobile tag is determined by the first mobile tag by performing a distance calculation relative to the second mobile tag."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The subject disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for associating or disassociating mobile devices.\n\nDetermining location information between objects can serve multiple purposes such as predicting and mitigating collisions between objects, tracking distances between objects, enforcing distancing between objects, inventory management, or combinations thereof. Objects can include people, mobile machinery such as forklifts and robots, vehicles controlled by individuals or driverless, or other objects for which location management and/or tracking may be desirable. Location information can correspond to distances between objects, trajectory of objects, speed of objects, positions of objects, or combinations thereof.\n\nReference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:\n\nFIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment of a mobile tag and anchors for determining location information between the mobile tag and the anchors in accordance with various aspects described herein.\n\nFIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment of a timing diagram for determining location information between the mobile tag and the anchors of FIG. 1 in accordance with various aspects described herein.\n\nFIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment for determining location information between the mobile tag and pairs of anchors in accordance with various aspects described herein.",
  "cpc": [
    "H04W 4/023",
    "F16P 3/147",
    "G01S 5/0072",
    "G06Q 10/04",
    "G06Q 10/0833",
    "G08B 21/0272",
    "G08B 21/0275",
    "G08B 7/06",
    "H04W 4/029"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "G08B 7/06",
    "H04W 4/02"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Red Point Positioning Corp"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Chunjie Duan",
    "Yara Osko",
    "Anton Shpakovskiy",
    "Yuyi Wei",
    "Jay Sun",
    "Keru Xia",
    "Alex Tidwell",
    "Mingda Zhou",
    "Alexey Liushnia",
    "Dmitry Zvegincev"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2020-07-24",
  "publication_date": "2022-02-22",
  "grant_date": "2022-02-22",
  "priority_date": "2019-07-24",
  "application_number": "US-202016937852-A",
  "family_id": "74190622",
  "cited_by_count": 5,
  "citations": [
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    "US20150304483A1",
    "US20160044451A1",
    "US20170347228A1",
    "WO2017196584A1"
  ]
}