Providing Base Station Almanac to Mobile Station

• US 20090280775A1
• Filed: 05/07/2009
• Published: 11/12/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Moeglein, Mark Leo, Burroughs, Kirk Allan
• Granted Patent: US 8,644,853 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/410
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a hierarchal base station almanac received at a mobile station.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a mobile station one or more signals representative of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level;

storing the hierarchal base station almanac in a memory of the mobile station; and

estimating a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a system identification level, wherein the upper level comprises a header, and wherein the lower level comprises a sector level.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the header comprises an enumerated frequency list and a value indicating a count of one or more entries included in the system identification level, wherein the one or more entries included in the system identification level comprise information related to system coverage area shape, position, and/or size.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a cell identification level and a network identification level in the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac, wherein the cell identification level comprises one or more entries comprising information related to one or more base stations, and wherein said information related to said one or more base stations comprises information related to one or more base station identifiers comprising cell identification values and sector identification values, and further wherein said information related to said one or more base stations at the cell identification level comprises information related to positions of one or more antennae.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously encrypted; and

decompressing the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously compressed.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac comprises decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac using only a subset of functional units of the mobile station having access to the hierarchal base station almanac and to an associated encryption key stored in a local memory in the mobile station.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the hierarchal base station almanac comprises receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks, said information comprising one or more entries at a network identification level of the hierarchal base station almanac, and wherein said receiving said information associated with the one or more wireless networks comprises receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a network provider specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a determination of likely locations to which the mobile station may travel and/or discontinuously jump, wherein said determination of likely locations is based, at least in part, on a plurality of known airports at which the mobile station may arrive in a single hop from an airport closest to a current location of the mobile station.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a roadway and/or direction in which the mobile station is traveling.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises receiving information related to a plurality of transmitters, and wherein said plurality of transmitters are selected for inclusion in the hierarchal base station almanac based, at least in part, on a geographic region.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said information related to the plurality of transmitters comprises timing information for one or more of the plurality of transmitters, wherein said timing information comprises one or more of a code division multiple access (CDMA) forward link calibration value and/or a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) frame timing relationship.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting from the mobile station to the base station almanac server a base station almanac specification parameter, wherein information to be included in said hierarchal base station almanac is selected based at least in part on the base station almanac specification parameter.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein said base station almanac specification parameter comprises one or more of a maximum size for the hierarchal base station almanac, a coverage area of interest, a specified level of accuracy for information included in the hierarchal base station almanac, a transmitter frequency, a transmitter band class, a network identifier, and/or a mobile device capability.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimating the location of the mobile station comprises determining whether to search for a particular signal base depending at least in part on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimating the location of the mobile station comprises determining a time window and/or a frequency window in which to search for signals from one or more base stations based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimating the location of the mobile station comprises calculating a range from a hypothetical mobile station position to a base station position contained in the hierarchal base station almanac.

18. A mobile station, comprising:

a receiver to receive one or more signals representative of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level;

a memory to store the hierarchal base station almanac; and

a processor coupled to the memory and to the receiver, the processor adapted to estimate a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

19. The mobile station of claim 18, wherein the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a system identification level, wherein the upper level comprises a header, and wherein the lower level comprises a sector level.

20. The mobile station of claim 19, wherein the header comprises an enumerated frequency list and a value indicating a count of one or more entries included in the system identification level, wherein the one or more entries included in the system identification level comprise information related to system coverage area shape, position, and/or size.

21. The mobile station of claim 19, wherein the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a cell identification level and a network identification level in the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac, wherein the cell identification level comprises one or more entries comprising information related to one or more base stations, and wherein said information related to said one or more base stations comprises information related to one or more base station identifiers comprising cell identification values and sector identification values, and further wherein said information related to one or more base stations at the cell identification level comprises information related to positions of one or more antennae.

22. The mobile station of claim 18, the processor further adapted to:

decrypt the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously encrypted; and

decompress the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously compressed.

23. The mobile station of claim 22, said processor further adapted to decrypt the hierarchal base station almanac by decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac using only a subset of functional units of the mobile station having access to the hierarchal base station almanac and to an associated encryption key stored in the memory.

24. The mobile station of claim 18, said receiver further to:

receive the hierarchal base station almanac by receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks, said information comprising one or more entries at a network identification level of the hierarchal base station almanac; and

receive said information associated with the one or more wireless networks by receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

25. The mobile station of claim 18, said receiver further adapted to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a network provider specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

26. The mobile station of claim 18, said receiver further to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a determination of likely locations to which the mobile station may travel and/or discontinuously jump, wherein said determination of likely locations is based, at least in part, on a plurality of known airports at which the mobile station may arrive in a single hop from an airport closest to a current location of the mobile station.

27. The mobile station of claim 18, said receiver further to receive said hierarchal base station almanac at least in part by receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a roadway and/or direction in which the mobile station is traveling.

28. The mobile station of claim 27, said receiver further to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving information related to a plurality of transmitters, and wherein said plurality of transmitters are selected for inclusion in the hierarchal base station almanac based, at least in part, on a geographic region.

29. The mobile station of claim 28, wherein said information related to the plurality of transmitters comprises timing information for one or more of the plurality of transmitters, wherein said timing information comprises one or more of a code division multiple access (CDMA) forward link calibration value and/or a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) frame timing relationship.

30. The mobile station of claim 18, further comprising a transmitter to transmit from the mobile station to the base station almanac server a base station almanac specification parameter, wherein information to be included in said hierarchal base station almanac is selected based at least in part on the base station almanac specification parameter.

31. The mobile station of claim 30, wherein said base station almanac specification parameter comprises one or more of a maximum size for the hierarchal base station almanac, a coverage area of interest, a specified level of accuracy for information included in the hierarchal base station almanac, a transmitter frequency, a transmitter band class, a network identifier and/or a mobile device capability.

32. The mobile station of claim 18, said processor to estimate the location of the mobile station at least in part by determining whether to search for a particular signal base depending at least in part on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

33. The mobile station of claim 18, said processor to estimate the location of the mobile station at least in part by determining a time window and/or a frequency window in which to search for signals from one or more base stations based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

34. The mobile station of claim 18, said processor to estimate the location of the mobile station at least in part by calculating a range from a hypothetical mobile station position to a base station position contained in the hierarchal base station almanac.

35. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving at a mobile station one or more signals representative of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server via a means for wireless communication, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level;

means for storing all or a portion of the hierarchal base station almanac in the mobile station; and

means for estimating a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

36. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a system identification level, wherein the upper level comprises a header, and wherein the lower level comprises a sector level.

37. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the header comprises an enumerated frequency list and a value indicating a count of one or more entries included in the system identification level, wherein the one or more entries included in the system identification level comprise information related to system coverage area shape, position, and/or size.

38. The apparatus of claim 36, wherein the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a cell identification level and a network identification level in the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac, wherein the cell identification level comprises one or more entries comprising information related to one or more base stations, and wherein said information related to said one or more base stations comprises information related to one or more base station identifiers comprising cell identification values and sector identification values, and further wherein said information related to one or more base stations at the cell identification level comprises information related to positions of one or more antennae.

39. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising:

means for decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously encrypted; and

means for decompressing the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously compressed.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein said means for decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac comprises means for decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac using only a subset of functional units of the mobile station having access to the hierarchal base station almanac and to an associated encryption key stored in a local memory in the mobile station.

41. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for receiving the hierarchal base station almanac comprises means for receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks, said information comprising one or more entries at a network identification level of the hierarchal base station almanac, and wherein said means for receiving said information associated with the one or more wireless networks comprises means for receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

42. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises means for receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a network provider specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

43. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises means for receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a determination of likely locations to which the mobile station may travel and/or discontinuously jump, wherein said determination of likely locations is based, at least in part, on a plurality of known airports at which the mobile station may arrive in a single hop from an airport closest to a current location of the mobile station.

44. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises means for receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a roadway and/or direction in which the mobile station is traveling.

45. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for receiving said hierarchal base station almanac comprises means for receiving information related to a plurality of transmitters, and wherein said plurality of transmitters are selected for inclusion in the hierarchal base station almanac based, at least in part, on a geographic region.

46. The apparatus of claim 45, wherein said information related to the plurality of transmitters comprises timing information for one or more of the plurality of transmitters, wherein said timing information comprises one or more of a code division multiple access (CDMA) forward link calibration value and/or a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) frame timing relationship.

47. The apparatus of claim 35, further comprising means for transmitting from the mobile station to the base station almanac server a base station almanac specification parameter, wherein information to be included in said hierarchal base station almanac is selected based at least in part on the base station almanac specification parameter.

48. The apparatus of claim 47, wherein said base station almanac specification parameter comprises one or more of a maximum size for the hierarchal base station almanac, a coverage area of interest, a specified level of accuracy for information included in the hierarchal base station almanac, a transmitter frequency, a transmitter band class, a network identifier and/or a mobile device capability.

49. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for estimating the location of the mobile station comprises means for determining whether to search for a particular signal base depending at least in part on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

50. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for estimating the location of the mobile station comprises means for determining a time window and/or a frequency window in which to search for signals from one or more base stations based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

51. The apparatus of claim 35, wherein said means for estimating the location of the mobile station comprises means for calculating a range from a hypothetical mobile station position to a base station position contained in the hierarchal base station almanac.

52. An article, comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed, enable a processor in a mobile station to;

estimate a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on information from a hierarchal base station almanac received at the mobile station from a base station almanac server via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, the hierarchal base station almanac to be stored in a memory of the mobile station at least in part in response to receiving the base station almanac.

53. The article of claim 52, wherein the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a system identification level, wherein the upper level comprises a header, and wherein the lower level comprises a sector level.

54. The article of claim 53, wherein the header comprises an enumerated frequency list and a value indicating a count of one or more entries included in the system identification level, wherein the one or more entries included in the system identification level comprise information related to system coverage area shape, position, and/or size.

55. The article of claim 53, wherein the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a cell identification level and a network identification level in the plurality of levels of the hierarchal base station almanac, wherein the cell identification level comprises one or more entries comprising information related to one or more base stations, and wherein said information related to said one or more base stations comprises information related to one or more base station identifiers comprising cell identification values and sector identification values, and further wherein said information related to one or more base stations at the cell identification level comprises information related to positions of one or more antennae.

56. The article of claim 55, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to:

decrypt the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously encrypted; and

decompress the hierarchal base station almanac at the mobile station if the hierarchal base station almanac was previously compressed.

57. The article of claim 56, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to decrypt the hierarchal base station almanac by decrypting the hierarchal base station almanac using only a subset of functional units of the mobile station having access to the hierarchal base station almanac and to an associated encryption key stored in a local memory in the mobile station.

58. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to:

receive the hierarchal base station almanac by receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks, said information comprising one or more entries at a network identification level of the hierarchal base station almanac; and

receive said information associated with the one or more wireless networks by receiving information associated with one or more wireless networks specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

59. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a network provider specified by the mobile station in a transmission to the base station almanac server.

60. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a determination of likely locations to which the mobile station may travel and/or discontinuously jump, wherein said determination of likely locations is based, at least in part, on a plurality of known airports at which the mobile station may arrive in a single hop from an airport closest to a current location of the mobile station.

61. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving an almanac with information selected based, at least in part, on a roadway and/or direction in which the mobile station is traveling.

62. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to receive said hierarchal base station almanac by receiving information related to a plurality of transmitters, and wherein said plurality of transmitters are selected for inclusion in the hierarchal base station almanac based, at least in part, on a geographic region.

63. The article of claim 62, wherein said information related to the plurality of transmitters comprises timing information for one or more of the plurality of transmitters, wherein said timing information comprises one or more of a code division multiple access (CDMA) forward link calibration value and/or a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) frame timing relationship.

64. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to transmit from the mobile station to the base station almanac server a base station almanac specification parameter, wherein information to be included in said hierarchal base station almanac is selected based at least in part on the base station almanac specification parameter.

65. The article of claim 64, wherein said base station almanac specification parameter comprises one or more of a maximum size for the hierarchal base station almanac, a coverage area of interest, a specified level of accuracy for information included in the hierarchal base station almanac, a transmitter frequency, a transmitter band class, a network identifier and/or a mobile device capability.

66. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to estimate the location of the mobile station by determining whether to search for a particular signal base depending at least in part on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

67. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to estimate the location of the mobile station by determining a time window and/or a frequency window in which to search for signals from one or more base stations based, at least in part, on information from the hierarchal base station almanac.

68. The article of claim 52, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processor to estimate the location of the mobile station by calculating a range from a hypothetical mobile station position to a base station position contained in the hierarchal base station almanac.