MUTING TIME MASKS TO SUPPRESS SERVING CELL INTERFERENCE FOR OBSERVED TIME DIFFERENCE OF ARRIVAL LOCATION

• US 20110039583A1
• Filed: 08/17/2009
• Published: 02/17/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2009
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: KRISHNAMURTHY, Sandeep, FRANK, Colin
• Application Number:
  US12/542,374
• Publication Number:
  US 20110039583A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.5
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0226 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method, a user communication device, and a base station are disclosed. A network interface 260 may synchronize a serving positioning reference transmission 116 with the coordinated network 100. A transceiver 240 may send the serving positioning reference transmission 116 in a set of positioning subframes. A processor 210 may mute the serving positioning reference transmission 116 according to a muting pattern optimized to allow the user communication device 102 to receive a maximum number of neighbor positioning reference transmissions 118 for the set of positioning subframes.

Claims

1. A method for locating a user communication device within a coordinated network, comprising:

synchronizing a serving positioning reference transmission of a serving base station with the coordinated network;

sending the serving positioning reference transmission in a set of positioning subframes;

generating a muting pattern based upon a physical cell identifier for the serving base station; and

muting the serving positioning reference transmission according to the muting pattern.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

optimizing the muting pattern to allow the user communication device to receive a maximum number of neighbor positioning reference transmissions for the set of positioning subframes.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the muting pattern has the serving positioning reference transmission transmitting for approximately half the set of positioning subframes and muted for approximately half the set of positioning subframes.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a frequency offset to the serving positioning reference transmission based on a physical cell identifier for the serving base station.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

muting the serving positioning reference transmission while a serving site neighbor base station mutes a same site positioning reference transmission.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

muting the serving positioning reference transmission while a same offset base station sends a same offset positioning reference transmission.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the user communication device an observed time difference of arrival for the at least one neighbor positioning reference transmission; and

calculating a network location for the user communication device based on the observed time difference of arrival.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting to the user communication device at least one of a transmission time for the set of positioning subframes, a muting pattern length, a muting pattern subframe index, and at least one physical cell identifier for at least one neighbor base station.

9. A serving base station for a coordinated network that locates a user communication device, comprising:

a network interface that synchronizes a serving positioning reference transmission with the coordinated network;

a transceiver that sends the serving positioning reference transmission in a set of positioning subframes; and

a processor that mutes the serving positioning reference transmission according to a muting pattern optimized to allow the user communication device to receive a maximum number of neighbor positioning reference transmissions for the set of positioning subframes.

10. The base station of claim 9, wherein the muting pattern is based upon a physical cell identifier.

11. The base station of claim 9, wherein the muting pattern has the serving positioning reference transmission transmitting for approximately half the set of positioning subframes and muted for approximately half the set of positioning subframes.

12. The base station of claim 9, wherein the network interface receives a frequency offset assignment for the serving positioning reference transmission based on physical cell identifier.

13. The base station of claim 9, wherein the processor mutes the serving positioning reference transmission while a serving site neighbor base station mutes a same site positioning reference transmission.

14. The base station of claim 9, wherein the processor mutes the serving positioning reference transmission while a same offset base station sends a same offset positioning reference transmission.

15. The base station of claim 9, wherein the processor calculates a network location for the user communication device based on an observed time difference of arrival for the at least one neighbor positioning reference transmission received from the user communication device.

16. A user communication device for interacting with a coordinated network, comprising:

a transceiver that receives a set of positioning subframes having a serving positioning reference transmission of a serving base station synchronized with at least one neighbor positioning reference transmission of at least one neighbor base station, with the serving positioning reference transmission muted according to a muting pattern optimized to allow the user communication device to receive a maximum number of neighbor positioning reference transmissions for the set of positioning subframes; and

a processor that calculates an observed time difference of arrival for the at least one neighbor positioning reference transmission.

17. The user communication device of claim 16, wherein the processor calculates the muting pattern based upon a physical cell identifier for the serving base station.

18. The user communication device of claim 16, wherein the muting pattern has the serving positioning reference transmission transmitting for approximately half the set of positioning subframes and muted for approximately half the set of positioning subframes.

19. The user communication device of claim 16, wherein the transceiver receives at least one physical cell identifier for at least one neighbor base station from the serving base station.

20. The user communication device of claim 16, wherein the processor calculates the observed time difference of arrival based upon the at least one neighbor positioning reference transmission received while the serving positioning reference transmission is muted.