초록 ▼

A system produces of an empirical map of wireless communication coverage through a process of combining information from individual clients to produce a map which is then shared by all of the clients. The wireless coverage map aids in maintaining a reliable communications link. The empirical map is

A system produces of an empirical map of wireless communication coverage through a process of combining information from individual clients to produce a map which is then shared by all of the clients. The wireless coverage map aids in maintaining a reliable communications link. The empirical map is generated by combining information from a group of mobile wireless users. The group may consist of a fleet of trucks, taxicabs, government service vehicles, or the customers of a wireless service provider. The mobile vehicles must be equipped with a GPS device or be located by other means such as triangulation. While vehicles are moving, the quality of wireless communication, e.g., signal strength or communication continuity, is recorded for each vehicle as a function of positions. The data from all of the vehicles is combined to produce the empirical map. The empirical map may be maintained at a central site and subsets of the map replicated for individual vehicles. The map may then be used to direct mobile users to sites of superior communications reliability, warn mobile users when they are out of the service area or are about to leave the service area, or to regulate data communications automatically to stop and restart communications as a mobile vehicle passes through a gap in coverage.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A dual map system in a vehicle for navigation and wireless communication comprising:a location device to identify a position of the vehicle; a wireless communication device; a measurement device which determines the quality of wireless communication; a storage device for storing a navigation map

1. A dual map system in a vehicle for navigation and wireless communication comprising:a location device to identify a position of the vehicle; a wireless communication device; a measurement device which determines the quality of wireless communication; a storage device for storing a navigation map and a wireless coverage map; and a system control unit connected to receive inputs from each of said location device, said wireless communication device, said measurement device and said storage device, said system control unit updating the wireless coverage map based on information from said measurement device and determining whether reliable communications can be established with said wireless communication device based on current location information from said location device and said street map as compared with an updated version of said wireless coverage map.