Wireless Router Location Detection via Satellite Terminal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Consumer-class wireless routers, such as those integrated into home gateways or set-top boxes, often lack the necessary capabilities for determining their location due to limited space and budget, and may not have access to GPS or reliable beacon signals, complicating the process of setting regional frequency and power settings.
Innovation Solution
The wireless router obtains an IP address and terminal identifier from a locally coupled satellite terminal device, sends an outgoing message to a remote node via the satellite network, receives a message indicating the device's location, and adjusts its settings based on this information to comply with regional regulations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS receiver or cellular receiver is added to determine location, then location determination capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses the satellite terminal device as an intermediary to obtain location information. Instead of adding GPS or cellular receivers to the router, the router queries the satellite terminal device (which already has location capabilities) for its location, and the satellite terminal device returns the location information to the router. This allows the router to determine its location without adding complex sensing circuitry.
2Measurement precision
If GPS receiver or cellular receiver is added to determine location, then location determination capability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The satellite terminal device serves as a mediator that already possesses location determination capabilities through its satellite connection. The router leverages this existing capability by querying the satellite terminal device for location information, avoiding the need to manufacture routers with expensive GPS or cellular receivers.
Solution Approach 2:
The satellite terminal device provides location information to the router as a self-service function. The terminal device already has the capability to determine its own location through satellite communication, and it voluntarily provides this information to the router, eliminating the need for the router to have its own location determination hardware.
3Reliability
If default settings are used for all regions, then compliance with regional restrictions is ensured, but adaptability to specific regional requirements deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The router dynamically adjusts its operating parameters (frequency channels and transmit power) based on its determined location. After obtaining location information from the satellite terminal device, the router selects appropriate regional settings that match its geographic location, transitioning from static default settings to dynamic location-specific settings.
Solution Approach 2:
The router changes its operating parameters (frequency and power) based on location information. Different geographic regions have different regulatory requirements for wireless operation, and the router adjusts these parameters according to the specific region where it is deployed, moving from uniform default parameters to location-adapted parameters.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and apparatus provide for operation of a wireless router, including changing the router from default settings to regional settings. Advantageous aspects of operation include the router obtaining an identifier of a satellite terminal device that provides Internet access for the router, exchanging internet messages with a remote node that returns to the router an indication of the region in which the satellite terminal device is located, and using the location of the satellite terminal device to select regional settings of the router.