Method and device for determining the position of a base station

• US 20040242234A1
• Filed: 03/11/2004
• Published: 12/02/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 09/21/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: WLI Wireless Instruments GmbH (Cobham PLC)
• Original Assignee: WLI Wireless Instruments GmbH (Cobham PLC)
• Inventors: Klenner, Gunther
• Application Number:
  US10/488,247
• Publication Number:
  US 20040242234A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/446
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0242 Determining the position of transmitters to be subsequently used in positioning G01S5/0289 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/06 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/12 takes precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for determining the position of a base station in a mobile radio network. The aim of the invention is to provide a reliable method for the rapid identification of the position of a base station with high precision, independent of prepublished plans. For this purpose, the position of the location, the number of a frame of a signal received by the base station and the time of receipt are determined at least in three locations and the position of the base station is established on the basis of these data. The invention further relates to a corresponding device for carrying out the inventive method.

Claims

1. A method for determining the position of a base station in a mobile radio network, wherein the position of the location, a number of a frame of a signal which is received from the base station as well as the time of reception of the frame are each determined at at least three locations, with the position of the base station being determined from this.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a propagation time difference for the signal for two locations is determined in each case from the difference between two times of reception of two frames and from the difference between the frame numbers, with a position of the base station being determined using the hyperbolic position finding method from at least two propagation time difference values determined in this way.

3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein the propagation time difference L is essentially calculated using the following formula

L=t₁−

t₂−

[(N₂−

N₁)·

T]

where t₁ is the time of reception of the first frame, t₂ is the time of reception of the second frame, N₁ is the frame number of the first frame, N₂ is the frame number of the second frame and T is essentially the time duration of a frame.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reception of a predefined section of the frame is chosen as the time of reception of the frame.

5. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the predefined section is the start of the frame or that section which contains the frame number.

6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a receiver device for a satellite-assisted navigation system is provided in order to determine the position and/or the time of reception of a frame.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a measurement is initiated by a time pulse from a satellite-assisted navigation system.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the time of reception of the frame is defined by a time and by the measurement of the time offset of the frame with respect to this time.

9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the time is predetermined by a time standard, in particular a time pulse from a satellite-assisted navigation system.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method is carried out while driving through a region in order to carry out a supply measurement and/or quality measurement of the mobile radio network in that region.

11. An apparatus for determining the position of a base station in a mobile radio network, in particular for carrying out the method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises a position determining device, a decoding device and a time determining device, with the position determining device determining the position of the location, the decoding device determining the number of a frame of a signal which is received from the base station, and the time determining device determining the time of reception of the frame at each of at least three locations, and with the position of the base station being determined from this.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a propagation time difference for the signal is determined for each of two locations from the difference between two times of reception of two frames and from the difference between the frame numbers, with a position of the base station being determined from at least two propagation time difference values determined in this way, using the hyperbolic position finding method.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein the propagation time difference L is essentially calculated using the following formula

L=t₁−

t₂−

[(N₂−

N₁)·

T]

where t₁ is the time of reception of the first frame, t₂ is the time of reception of the second frame, N₁ is the frame number of the first frame, N₂ is the frame number of the second frame and T is essentially the time duration of a frame.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the reception of a predefined section of the frame is chosen as the time of reception of the frame.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein the predefined section is the start of the frame or that section which contains the frame number.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a receiver device for a satellite-assisted navigation system is provided as the position determining device and/or as the time determining device for reception of a frame.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein a measurement is initiated by a time pulse from a satellite-assisted navigation system.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the apparatus comprises a counter device, with the time of reception of the frame being determined by a time and by the measurement, which is carried out by the counter device, of the time offset of the frame with respect to this time.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 18, wherein the time is predetermined by a time standard, in particular a time pulse from a satellite-assisted navigation system.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the apparatus is arranged in or on a vehicle in order to carry out the method while driving through a region in order to carry out a supply measurement and/or quality measurement of the mobile radio network in that region.

21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, wherein the decoding device is embodied in a measurement mobile telephone.