METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING EMERGENCY CALLS AND LOCATION FOR FEMTO ACCESS POINTS

• US 20090311987A1
• Filed: 06/12/2009
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Edge, Stephen W., Burroughs, Kirk Allan
• Granted Patent: US 8,620,255 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.100
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/52 specially adapted for the location of the user terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0045 involving hybrid, i.e. a mixture of public and private, or multi-vendor systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/20 Services signaling; Auxiliary data signalling, i.e. transmitting data via a non-traffic channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/90 Services for handling of emergency or hazardous situations, e.g. earthquake and tsunami warning systems [ETWS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

Techniques for routing an emergency call originated by a mobile station via a femto access point (FAP) in a wireless network and for locating the mobile station are described. In an aspect, the emergency call may be routed to an appropriate emergency center based on location information for the FAP. In one design, the location information for the FAP may include a macro cell identity (ID) and/or a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on the FAP location. The macro cell ID and/or the macro MSC ID may be assigned to the FAP and used to access a database, which may store routing information for emergency centers versus cell IDs and MSC IDs. In another design, the location information for the FAP may include a location estimate for the FAP. The location estimate may be used to access a geographic database, which may store routing information for emergency centers for different geographic areas.

Claims

1. A method of supporting emergency calls in a wireless communication network, comprising:

receiving a first message sent by a mobile station to a femto access point (FAP) to originate an emergency call; and

sending location information for the FAP to a network entity for use to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining location of the FAP during initialization of the FAP; and

obtaining the location information for the FAP based on the location of the FAP.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating with a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the FAP during initialization of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP comprises the location estimate.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining a macro cell identity (ID) determined based on location of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP comprises the macro cell ID.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the macro cell ID is for a macro cell having a strong received signal at the FAP or having overlapping coverage with the FAP.

6. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

obtaining a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on the macro cell ID, and wherein the location information for the FAP further comprises the macro MSC ID.

7. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

sending a second message to the network entity to initiate the emergency call, the second message comprising the location information for the FAP.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for location of the FAP from the network entity, and wherein the location information is sent by the FAP in response to the request.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request for location of the FAP from the network entity; and

sending a location estimate for the FAP to the network entity, the location estimate for the FAP being used as a location estimate for the mobile station and provided to the emergency center if requested.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating with a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the FAP, the location estimate for the FAP being used as a location estimate for the mobile station and provided to the emergency center if requested.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the communicating with the PDE comprises establishing an IS-801 session between the PDE and the FAP, wherein the location estimate for the FAP is obtained as a result of the IS-801 session.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

forwarding messages exchanged between the mobile station and a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the mobile station after the emergency call is originated, the location estimate for the mobile station being provided to the emergency center if requested.

13. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a first message sent by a mobile station to a femto access point (FAP) to originate an emergency call; and

means for sending location information for the FAP to a network entity for use to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

means for communicating with a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the FAP during initialization of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP comprises the location estimate.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

means for obtaining at least one of a macro cell identity (ID) and a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on location of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP comprises at least one of the macro cell ID and the macro MSC ID.

16. The apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

means for receiving a request for location of the FAP from the network entity; and

means for sending a location estimate for the FAP to the network entity, the location estimate for the FAP being used as a location estimate for the mobile station and provided to the emergency center if requested.

17. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processing unit configured to receive a first message sent by a mobile station to a femto access point (FAP) to originate an emergency call, and to send location information for the FAP to a network entity for use to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processing unit is configured to communicate with a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the FAP during initialization of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP comprises the location estimate.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processing unit is configured to obtain at least one of a macro cell identity (ID) and a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on location of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP comprises at least one of the macro cell ID and the macro MSC ID.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the at least one processing unit is configured to receive a request for location of the FAP from the network entity, and to send a location estimate for the FAP to the network entity, the location estimate for the FAP being used as a location estimate for the mobile station and provided to the emergency center if requested.

21. A computer-readable medium encoded with instructions, when executed by a processing unit, the instructions perform operations, the instructions comprising:

code to receive a first message sent by a mobile station to a femto access point (FAP) to originate an emergency call, and

code to send location information for the FAP to a network entity for use to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

22. A method of originating emergency calls in a wireless communication network, comprising:

sending a message from a mobile station to a femto access point (FAP) to originate an emergency call, the emergency call being connected to an emergency center selected based on location information for the FAP; and

communicating with the emergency center for the emergency call.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

communicating with a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the mobile station, the location estimate being provided to the emergency center if requested.

24. An apparatus comprising:

means for sending a message from a mobile station to a femto access point (FAP) to originate an emergency call, the emergency call being connected to an emergency center selected based on location information for the FAP; and

means for communicating with the emergency center for the emergency call.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, further comprising:

means for communicating with a Position Determination Entity (PDE) to obtain a location estimate for the mobile station, the location estimate being provided to the emergency center if requested.

26. A method of supporting emergency calls in a wireless communication network, comprising:

receiving a first message sent by a femto access point (FAP) to initiate an emergency call for a mobile station;

receiving location information for the FAP; and

sending a second message comprising the location information for the FAP to a first network entity, the location information for the FAP being used to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

27. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

receiving a third message comprising routing information for the emergency center from a second network entity, the routing information being determined based on the location information for the FAP; and

forwarding the emergency call to the emergency center based on the routing information.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises a macro cell identity (ID) determined based on location of the FAP.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the location information for the FAP further comprises a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on the macro cell ID.

30. The method of claim 26, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises a location estimate for the FAP.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein the location information for the FAP is received in the first message sent by the FAP.

32. The method of claim 26, further comprising:

sending a request for location of the FAP, and wherein the location information for the FAP is sent by the FAP in response to the request.

33. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

receiving a request for location of the FAP from the first or second network entity; and

providing the location of the FAP to the first or second network entity, if available, without querying the FAP.

34. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a first message sent by a femto access point (FAP) to initiate an emergency call for a mobile station;

means for receiving location information for the FAP; and

means for sending a second message comprising the location information for the FAP to a first network entity, the location information for the FAP being used to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, further comprising:

means for receiving a third message comprising routing information for the emergency center from a second network entity, the routing information being determined based on the location information for the FAP; and

means for forwarding the emergency call to the emergency center based on the routing information.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises at least one of a macro cell identity (ID) and a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on location of the FAP.

37. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises a location estimate for the FAP.

38. A method of supporting emergency calls in a wireless communication network, comprising:

receiving a first message sent by a network entity to a Mobile Positioning Center (MPC) to obtain routing information for an emergency center for an emergency call originated by a mobile station via a femto access point (FAP);

receiving location information for the FAP;

determining the routing information for the emergency center based on the location information for the FAP; and

sending a second message comprising the routing information from the MPC to the network entity.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises a macro cell identity (ID) determined based on location of the FAP, and wherein the routing information is determined by looking up the macro cell ID in a database of routing information for different cell IDs.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the location information for the FAP further comprises a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on the macro cell ID, and wherein the routing information is determined by further looking up the macro MSC ID in the database.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises a location estimate for the FAP, and wherein the routing information is determined by looking up a database of routing information for different geographic areas.

42. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

receiving a location estimate for the FAP;

receiving a request for location of the mobile station from the emergency center; and

sending the location estimate for the FAP to the emergency center in response to the request.

43. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a first message sent by a network entity to a Mobile Positioning Center (MPC) to obtain routing information for an emergency center for an emergency call originated by a mobile station via a femto access point (FAP);

means for receiving location information for the FAP;

means for determining the routing information for the emergency center based on the location information for the FAP; and

means for sending a second message comprising the routing information from the MPC to the network entity.

44. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises at least one of a macro cell identity (ID) and a macro Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ID determined based on location of the FAP, and wherein the means for determining the routing information comprises means for looking up at least one of the macro cell ID and the macro MSC ID in a database to obtain the routing information.

45. The apparatus of claim 43, wherein the location information for the FAP comprises a location estimate for the FAP, and wherein the means for determining the routing information comprises means for looking up a database of routing information for different geographic areas based on the location estimate to obtain the routing information.

46. A method of performing positioning in a wireless communication network, comprising:

establishing an IS-801 session between a femto access point (FAP) and a Position Determination Entity (PDE) for positioning of the FAP; and

communicating with the PDE via the IS-801 session to obtain a location estimate for the FAP.

47. The method of claim 46, wherein the IS-801 session is established during initialization of the FAP, and wherein the location estimate for the FAP is used to determine whether the FAP is allowed to operate on a particular frequency band on behalf of a particular network operator.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

receiving a message sent by a mobile station to the FAP to originate an emergency call, and wherein the location estimate for the FAP is used to select an emergency center for the emergency call.

49. An apparatus comprising:

means for establishing an IS-801 session between a femto access point (FAP) and a Position Determination Entity (PDE) for positioning of the FAP; and

means for communicating with the PDE via the IS-801 session to obtain a location estimate for the FAP.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the IS-801 session is established during initialization of the FAP, and wherein the location estimate for the FAP is used to determine whether the FAP is allowed to operate on a particular frequency band on behalf of a particular network operator.

51. The apparatus of claim 49, further comprising:

means for receiving a message sent by a mobile station to the FAP to originate an emergency call, and wherein the location estimate for the FAP is used to select an emergency center for the emergency call.