Error correlation for wireless networks

• US 20010016489A1
• Filed: 04/23/2001
• Published: 08/23/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Charles Louis Haymes, Dominick Anthony Zumbo
• Original Assignee: Charles Louis Haymes, Dominick Anthony Zumbo
• Inventors: Haymes, Charles Louis, Zumbo, Dominick Anthony
• Granted Patent: US 7,127,213 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/423
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/3461 Preferred or disfavoured areas, e.g. dangerous zones, toll or emission zones, intersections, manoeuvre types, segments such as motorways, toll roads, ferries
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements

Abstract

Alternate methods, devices and systems are presented for providing service providers and/or end users of mobile stations to monitor and/or report regions with high error rates and/or dead zones. A protocol is provided such as to yield the error occurrence, error rate and/or the address of the end user. In some embodiments it also contains location information and time of day information. This information may be collected from the G.P.S., and/or all or a portion of users when there is a significant transmission difficulty and/or an abundance of errors. The collected data forms a database which is analyzed to generate coverage maps. This may include the dynamic aspects of the mobile network. In another aspect of this invention, each mobile station periodically compares its current location with the data base. The results of this comparison enables the mobile unit to anticipate connection problems. In still another aspect of the invention, the comparison is performed by the service provider which notifies the end user.

Claims

1. A method to detect dead zones in a wireless network, said network having a plurality of users being interconnected within the wireless network, said method comprising:

a first user communicating via said wireless network, the first user measuring and detecting a message error rate while communicating,

said first user broadcasting an error message to a base station when the error rate exceeds an error threshold level,

said base station obtaining a location of the first user,

said base station incorporating the location in a database of dead zones for the wireless network.

2. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein each of a subset of the users has a mobile unit forming a mobile user connection with the wireless network

3. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the wireless network includes a plurality of cellular phones.

4. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the wireless network includes a plurality of portable computing devices interconnected via a wireless local area network.

5. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising a step of deploying a subset of the users within at least one building.

6. A method as recited in

claim 5

, further comprising the step of forming a map of dead zones in said building.

7. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the step of error detecting includes cyclic error detection.

8. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the step of error detecting includes performing parity checking.

9. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the step of error detecting includes performing a checksum calculation.

10. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the error threshold level is one part in a million.

11. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the error threshold level guarantees clear reception of data.

12. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein said step of broadcasting uses a signal having a high probability of reception by the base station in a dead zone.

13. A method as recited in

claim 12

, wherein the step of broadcasting the error message is performed at twice the power level used in normal message transmission.

14. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the step of broadcasting employs a different transmission channel having a greater probability of reception than an original channel employed by the step of measuring.

15. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the step of broadcasting is performed at a lower data rate than a first data rate employed by step of measuring.

16. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising the step of replicating the database at at least one other base station.

17. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising the step of replicating the database at at least one other network device.

18. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the step of obtaining includes rotating a direction of at least one antenna.

19. A method as recited in

claim 18

, wherein the step of obtaining employs triangulation.

20. A method as recited in

claim 18

, wherein the step of obtaining includes employing a wired LAN connecting multiple base stations.

21. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising:

said first user entering an error transmit mode;

said base station issuing at acknowledge to the first user; and

said first user ending the error transmit mode.

22. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising, said first user entering an error transmit mode, and wherein the step of broadcasting is repeated a fixed number of times, and said first user ending the error transmit mode.

23. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising, said first user entering an error transmit mode, and wherein the step of broadcasting is repeated over a fixed time interval, and said first user ending the error transmit mode.

24. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising the step of logging the error message and location, and the step of broadcasting is delayed for transmittal to the base station at a later time.

25. A method as recited in

claim 1

, further comprising the step of extracting data from a plurality of error messages, and storing the data in the database for future retrieval and/or manipulation.

26. A method as recited in

claim 1

, wherein the database is resident at a network management station.

27. A method as recited in

claim 25

, further comprising the step of forming a database of error reports, and extracting a set of features from the database.

28. A method as recited in

claim 27

, wherein said step of extracting includes determining a level of service provided by the mobile network to at least the first user.

29. A method as recited in

claim 27

, further comprising the step of processing the database to determine an occurrence of a repetitive time dependent feature.

30. A method for a particular member from a plurality of members to report an error in a mobile network, said method comprising:

the particular member keeping track of a number of errored packets occurring in a packet window;

the particular member entering an error transmit reporting mode and reporting an error condition to a base station when the number of errored packets exceeds an error threshold; and

said base station obtaining the location of the member.

31. A method as recited in

claim 30

, wherein the step of reporting includes reporting a time of error occurrence.

32. A method as recited in

claim 30

, wherein the step of reporting includes providing an identity of the member when the error occurred.

33. A method to detect dead zones in a wireless network employed in an outdoor environment, said network having a plurality of users and a plurality of base stations being interconnected within the wireless network, said method comprising:

a first user communicating via said wireless network, the first user measuring and detecting a message error rate while communicating,

said first user broadcasting an error message to one of the base stations when the error rate exceeds an error threshold level,

obtaining a location of the first user, and

said one base station incorporating the location in a database of dead zones for the wireless network.

34. A method as recited in

claim 33

wherein the step of obtaining includes employing a Global Positioning System (GPS) module.

35. A method as recited in

claim 33

wherein the step of obtaining includes employing a Loran-C positioning system module.

36. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein each of a subset of the users has a mobile unit forming a mobile user connection with the wireless network.

37. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the wireless network includes a plurality of cellular phones.

38. A method as recited in

claim 34

, wherein a GPS module is built into a vehicle interconnected with the wireless network.

39. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein a subset of the users includes a plurality of vehicles interconnected via a wireless wide area network.

40. A method as recited in

claim 33

, further comprising a step of deploying a subset of the users within at least one building.

41. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the error mobile network includes a plurality of members, said method further comprising:

at least one of said members keeping track of a number of errored packets in a packet window;

entering an error transmit reporting mode when the number of errored packets exceeds an error threshold; and

reporting an error condition to one of the base stations; and

wherein said step of obtaining is performed by a base station.

42. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of detecting includes performing cyclic error detection.

43. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of error detecting includes parity checking.

44. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of error detecting includes checksum calculation.

45. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the error threshold level is one part in ten million.

46. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the error threshold level guarantees a satisfactory level of reception of communication data.

47. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the error message is broadcast with a signal having a high probability of reception by the base station in a dead zone.

48. A method as recited in

claim 47

, wherein the step of broadcasting the error message is at twice the power level of normal message transmission.

49. A method as recited in

claim 47

, wherein the step of broadcasting the error message is via a different transmission channel with a greater probability of reception.

50. A method as recited in

claim 47

, wherein the step of broadcasting the error message is at a lower data rate.

51. A method as recited in

claim 41

, wherein the time when the error occurred is included in an error message from the member to the base station.

52. A method as recited in

claim 41

, wherein the step of reporting includes providing an identity of said at least one of said members.

53. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of obtaining includes querying a Global Positioning System to determine the location.

54. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of obtaining includes querying a Loran-C positioning system to determine the members location.

55. A method as recited in

claim 33

, further comprising:

said first user entering an error transit mode,

said one base station issuing at acknowledge to the first user upon receiving an error message from the first user, and

said first user ending the error transmit mode.

56. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of broadcasting is repeated a fixed number of times.

57. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the step of broadcasting the error message is repeated over a fixed time interval.

58. A method as recited in

claim 33

, further comprising the step of logging the error message and location, and the step of broadcasting is delayed for transmittal at a time of low network traffic.

59. A method as recited in

claim 33

, further comprising the step of extracting data from a plurality of error messages and storing the data in a database for future manipulation and/or retrieval.

60. A method as recited in

claim 33

, wherein the database is resident at a network management station.

61. A method as recited in

claim 33

, further comprising the step of replicating the database at at least one other network device.

62. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for notifying a family of users of a non-operating area of a wireless network, said method steps comprising:

providing a database of non-operating areas of the wireless network;

one of the users entering a trip route to a G.P.S. system in the one user'"'"'s vehicle; and

said vehicle querying the database to download the map for dead zones in the trip route.

63. A program storage device readable by machine as recited in

claim 62

, said method steps further comprising recommending a changed route having a reduced area of dead zones.

64. A program storage device readable by machine as recited in

claim 63

, wherein the changed route is shown on a G.P.S. screen in the vehicle.

65. A program storage device readable by machine as recited in

claim 62

, said method steps further comprising providing a warning signal to the user indicating that the vehicle is approaching a dead zone.

66. A program storage device readable by machine as recited in

claim 62

, wherein the warning signal includes an audible alarm.

67. A method for notifying a family of users of dead zones in a wireless network:

providing a database of non-operating areas of the wireless network forming dead zones;

one of said users entering a trip route into a G.P.S. system within a vehicle; and

said vehicle querying the database to download a map showing any dead zones in the trip route.

68. A method as recited in

claim 67

, further comprising recommending a changed route having a reduced area of dead zones.

69. A method as recited in

claim 68

, wherein the changed route is shown on a G.P.S. screen in the vehicle.

70. A method as recited in

claim 67

, further comprising activating a warning signal to the one user when the vehicle is approaching a dead zone.

71. A method as recited in

claim 70

, wherein the warning signal includes an audible signal.

72. A method as recited in

claim 67

, further comprising the one user making a database query of network reception dead zones, and a network management station responding and determining if the one user is in or near a dead zone, and notifying the one user when the step of determining locates the user in or near a dead zone.

73. A method as recited in

claim 72

, wherein the network management station can inform the user of an appropriate step to take to maintain connectivity.

74. An error monitoring and collection system for a mobile network, the system comprising:

a plurality of base stations;

a plurality of mobile devices wirelessly interconnected with the base stations, each device being a member of the mobile network, each of a subset of said devices including;

an error rate monitor to monitor a reception error rate;

a message processor to form and report an error message to one of the base stations when the reception error rate rises above a preset threshold.

75. A system as recited in

claim 74

, wherein the error message is used by the one base station to determine an identity of a device reporting the error message and a location of the device at a time when the error occurred.

76. A system as recited in

claim 75

, wherein the base station sends an acknowledgment to take the device out of an error reporting mode.

77. A system as recited in

claim 74

, further comprising a network manager which includes a database that contains records of all error messages.

78. A system as recited in

claim 77

, wherein the network manager includes a network processor to extract recurring error trends.

79. A system as recited in

claim 78

, wherein the network processor maps areas of network reception dead zones, and responds to a member request querying the data base to determine if the device is entering a dead zone.

80. A system as recited in

claim 79

, wherein the network processor is capable of informing the user of an appropriate action to maintain connectivity.