METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING POSITION DETERMINATION WITH PRE-SESSION ACTION

• US 20100261483A1
• Filed: 06/28/2010
• Published: 10/14/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Farmer, Dominic Gerard
• Granted Patent: US 8,768,375 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.100
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/03 Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0205 Details
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A network sends to a user equipment (UE) an indication (e.g., a request for permission) to perform a position fix for the UE. The network also selectively sends to the UE a pre-session command for an action related to position determination. For example, the command may direct the UE to (1) clear all or a portion of location-related data at the UE prior to performing the position fix, (2) send back a position estimate for the UE, if available, or (3) apply a time offset and/or a position offset in performing the position fix. The UE sends to the network an acknowledgment (e.g., a grant of permission) to perform the position fix. The UE also performs the action indicated by the command (if any) received from the network prior to or in conjunction with performing the position fix. The network and UE perform the position fix for the UE.

Claims

1. A method of performing testing of a user equipment (UE), comprising:

in the UE, receiving a test-related command that indicates selected location-related data to be cleared from at least a portion of a memory in the UE containing the selected location-related data to reset said portion of the memory to a known state, and responsive thereto, clearing said selected location-related data at the UE by deleting the selected location-related data from said portion of the memory.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the clearing the selected location-related data at the UE comprises clearing at least one type of global positioning satellite (GPS) assistance data at the UE.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein said GPS assistance data to be cleared includes at least one of time information, almanac, ephemeris, ionospheric information, UTC time offset, position estimate, and cell-ID database.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the clearing the selected location-related data at the UE comprises clearing all location-related data at the UE.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the clearing the selected location-related data at the UE comprises clearing a position estimate available at the UE.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the clearing the selected location-related data at the UE comprises clearing a cell-ID database at the UE prior to performing the position fix.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

retaining the location-related data at the UE if a clear command is not received.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the location-related data that has been cleared at the UE by the test-related command received.

9. An apparatus for performing testing of a user equipment (UE) comprising:

a receiver for receiving a test-related command that indicates selected location-related data to be cleared from at least a portion of a memory in the UE containing the selected location-related data to reset said portion of the memory to a known state; and

a processor operative to clear the selected location-related data at the UE prior to performing the position fix for the UE by deleting the selected location-related data from said portion of the memory, responsive to the test-related command received.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is operative to identify at least one type of location-related data associated with the test-related command received and to clear the at least one type of location-related data at the UE associated with the received test-related command, wherein the received test-related command is selected from among a plurality of clear commands, and wherein each clear command corresponds to a different set of at least one type of location-related data at the UE.

11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the processor is operative to clear at least one type of global positioning satellite (GPS) assistance data at the UE.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said GPS assistance data to be cleared includes at least one of time information, almanac, ephemeris, ionospheric information, UTC time offset, position estimate, and cell-ID database.

13. An apparatus for performing testing of a user equipment (UE) comprising:

means for receiving a test-related command that indicates selected location-related data to be cleared from at least a portion of a memory in the UE containing the selected location-related data to reset said portion of the memory to a known state;

means, responsive to said test-related command, for clearing the selected location-related data at the UE prior to performing the position fix for the UE by deleting the selected location-related data from said portion of the memory.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for clearing the selected location-related data at the UE comprises means for identifying at least one type of location-related data associated with the test-related command received, wherein the received test-related command is selected from among a plurality of clear commands, and wherein each clear command corresponds to a different set of at least one type of location-related data at the UE, and means for clearing the at least one type of location-related data at the UE associated with the received test-related command.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the means for clearing the selected location-related data at the UE comprises means for clearing at least one type of global positioning satellite (GPS) assistance data at the UE prior to performing the position fix.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein said GPS assistance data to be cleared includes at least one of time information, almanac, ephemeris, ionospheric information, UTC time offset, position estimate, and cell-ID database.

17. An article comprising a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed by a processor, enable testing of a user equipment (UE), the instructions comprising:

code to receive a test-related command that indicates location-related data to be cleared from at least a portion of a memory in the UE containing the selected location-related data to reset said portion of the memory to a known state, and responsive thereto, clear said selected location-related data at the UE prior to performing the position fix for the UE by deleting the selected location-related data from said portion of the memory.

18. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise:

code to clear the selected location-related data at the UE by identifying at least one type of location-related data associated with the test-related command received, wherein the received test-related command is selected from among a plurality of clear commands, and wherein each clear command corresponds to a different set of at least one type of location-related data at the UE; and

code to clear the at least one type of location-related data at the UE associated with the received test-related command.

19. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise code to clear the selected location-related data at the UE by clearing at least one type of global positioning satellite (GPS) assistance data at the UE.

20. The article of claim 19 wherein said GPS assistance data to be cleared includes at least one of time information, almanac, ephemeris, ionospheric information, UTC time offset, position estimate, and cell-ID database.

21. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise code to clear the selected location-related data at the UE by clearing all location-related data at the UE.

22. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise code to clear the selected location-related data at the UE by clearing a position estimate available at the UE.

23. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise code to clear the selected location-related data at the UE by clearing a cell-ID database at the UE.

24. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise code to retain the location-related data at the UE if a clear command is not received.

25. The article of claim 17, wherein the instructions further comprise code to receive the location-related data that has been cleared at the UE by the test-related command received.