Position Estimation Assistance Information For Mobile Station

• US 20110057836A1
• Filed: 09/08/2009
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 09/08/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Ische, Marc A., Biacs, Zoltan F., Moeglein, Mark L., Farmer, Dominic Gerard
• Granted Patent: US 8,665,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.43
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/252 Employing an initial estimate of location in generating assistance data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/27 creating, predicting or correcting ephemeris or almanac data within the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac

Abstract

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to providing assistance information to a mobile station for performing position estimation operations.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining additional fix information associated with an estimation of a position of a mobile station, wherein said additional fix information comprises one or more measurements obtained from processing one or more wireless signals received at a receiver of the mobile station from one or more base stations;

storing the additional fix information in a memory of the mobile station according to a priority scheme; and

transmitting one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the additional fix information into a network.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising

receiving one or more signals representative of updated almanac information from the network, wherein said updated almanac information is based, at least in part, on said subset of additional fix information.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on prior base station almanac information received from the network and stored in the memory of the mobile station.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said one or more measurements obtained from processing the one or more wireless signals comprise propagation delay information from one or more cells of a cellular network and wherein said determining the additional fix information comprises receiving transmitter location information broadcasted by a transmitter and further wherein storing the additional fix information comprises storing the transmitter location information in the memory as additional fix information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals from one or more space vehicles at the mobile station, wherein said estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on one or more measurements obtained from processing said one or more SPS signals.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said storing the additional fix information in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme further comprises storing the additional fix information in a cell database in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said storing the additional fix information in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme further comprises storing the additional fix information in a current fix database entry in a fix database including a plurality of previously stored fix database entries in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said storing the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme comprises storing the additional fix information according to a first-in, first-out priority scheme, wherein more recent fix database entries are given priority over less recent fix database entries.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein said storing the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme comprises determining a priority value for the current fix database entry and comparing the priority value for the current fix database entry with priority values for the plurality of previously stored fix database entries, wherein said determining the priority value is based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an accuracy of the prior base station almanac information;

distances in space between the current fix database entry and neighboring entries comprising a prior fix database entry and a following fix database entry;

differences in time between the current fix database entry and the neighboring entries;

a level of confidence that the prior base station almanac information is provided by a trusted source;

a level of statistical significance for one or more entries of the prior base station almanac information;

a level of desire for additional almanac information based at least in part on whether the prior base station almanac information comprises information related to a known coverage area; and

a determination of whether the prior base station almanac information comprises unknown or unreliable information, and whether additional almanac information is relatively highly desired.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising performing one or more mobile station operations utilizing at least a portion of the updated almanac information, wherein said one or more mobile station operations comprises one or more of:

determining one or more base stations and/or satellite signals for which the mobile station is to search;

determining one or more time and/or frequency search windows for satellite and/or terrestrial wireless signals;

maintaining a background position fix solution in the mobile station at least in part by performing periodic network-based position fixes;

maintaining a mobile station clock at least in part by performing periodic network-based position and/or time fixes;

performing a hybrid position fix with one or more varied terrestrial-based measurement types and/or one or more varied satellite-based measurement types;

performing a fall-back position fix solution if a preferred measurement type search fails to provide a navigation solution; and

performing a network-based position fix that is sufficiently accurate and/or timely to avoid a need for further satellite and/or terrestrial signals.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating a position of an access point in an area where insufficient wireless signals are available to perform a position fix for the mobile station, wherein the mobile station comprises one or more sensors, the mobile station to estimate the position of the access point at least in part by calculating a position from which the mobile station observes the access point, wherein said calculating is based at least in part on one or more displacement values generated at least in part by the one or more sensors and further based at least in part on a pre-observation and/or a post-observation position fix for the mobile station, the pre-observation position fix to occur at a point in time prior to the mobile station observing the access point and the post-observation position fix to occur at a point in time subsequent to the mobile station observing the access point.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said one or more displacement values are generated by the one or more sensors tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the position from which the mobile station observes the access point to the post-observation position fix location.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said one or more displacement values are generated by the one or more sensors tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the pre-observation position fix location to the position from which the mobile station observes the access point.

14. A mobile station, comprising:

a receiver to receive one or more wireless signals at a mobile station from one or more terrestrial wireless transmitters;

a processor coupled to the receiver, the processor to determine additional fix information associated with an estimation of a position of a mobile station, wherein said additional fix information comprises one or more measurements obtained from processing said one or more wireless signals received at the receiver, the processor to store the additional fix information in a memory of the mobile station according to a priority scheme; and

a transmitter coupled to the processor, the transmitter to transmit one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the additional fix information into a network

15. The mobile station of claim 14, the receiver to receive one or more signals representative of updated almanac information from the network, wherein said updated almanac information is based, at least in part, on said subset of additional fix information.

16. The mobile station of claim 14, wherein the estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on prior base station almanac information received at the receiver from the network and stored in the memory of the mobile station.

17. The mobile station of claim 14, wherein said one or more measurements obtained from processing the one or more wireless signals comprise propagation delay information from one or more cells of a cellular network, the processor further to determine the additional fix information at least in part by receiving transmitter location information broadcasted by a transmitter and to store said additional fix information at least in part by storing said transmitter location information in the memory as additional fix information.

18. The mobile station of claim 14, the receiver further to receive one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals from one or more space vehicles, and wherein the estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on one or more measurements obtained from processing said one or more SPS signals.

19. The mobile station of claim 14, the processor further to store the additional fix information in a cell database in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme.

20. The mobile station of claim 14, the processor further to store the additional fix information in a current fix database entry in a fix database including a plurality of previously stored fix database entries in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme.

21. The mobile station of claim 20, the processor to store the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme at least in part by storing the additional fix information according to a first-in, first-out priority scheme, wherein more recent fix database entries are given priority over less recent fix database entries.

22. The mobile station of claim 20, the processor to store the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme by determining a priority value for the current fix database entry and by comparing the priority value for the current fix database entry with priority values for the plurality of previously stored fix database entries, the processor to determine the priority value based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an accuracy of the prior base station almanac information;

distances in space between the current fix database entry and neighboring entries comprising a prior fix database entry and a following fix database entry;

differences in time between the current fix database entry and the neighboring entries;

a level of confidence that the prior base station almanac information is provided by a trusted source;

a level of statistical significance for one or more entries of the prior base station almanac information;

a level of desire for additional almanac information based at least in part on whether the prior base station almanac information comprises information related to a known coverage area; and

a determination of whether the prior base station almanac information comprises unknown or unreliable information, and whether additional almanac information is relatively highly desired.

23. The mobile station of claim 15, the processor further to perform one or more mobile station operations utilizing at least a portion of the updated almanac information, the processor to perform said one or more mobile station operations at least in part by performing one or more of:

determining one or more base stations and/or satellite signals for which the mobile station is to search;

determining one or more time and/or frequency search windows for satellite and/or terrestrial wireless signals;

maintaining a background position fix solution in the mobile station at least in part by performing periodic network-based position fixes;

maintaining a mobile station clock at least in part by performing periodic network-based position and/or time fixes;

performing a hybrid position fix with one or more varied terrestrial-based measurement types and/or one or more varied satellite-based measurement types;

performing a fall-back position fix solution if a preferred measurement type search fails to provide a navigation solution; and

performing a network-based position fix that is sufficiently accurate and/or timely to avoid a need for further satellite and/or terrestrial signals.

24. The mobile station of claim 14, the processor further to estimate a position of an access point in an area where insufficient wireless signals are available to perform a position fix for the mobile station, wherein the mobile station comprises one or more sensors, the processor to estimate the position of the access point at least in part by calculating a position from which the mobile station observes the access point, wherein said calculating is based at least in part on one or more displacement values generated at least in part by the one or more sensors and further based at least in part on a pre-observation and/or a post-observation position fix for the mobile station, the pre-observation position fix to occur at a point in time prior to the mobile station observing the access point and the post-observation position fix to occur at a point in time subsequent to the mobile station observing the access point.

25. The mobile station of claim 24, said one or more displacement values to be generated by the one or more sensors tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the position from which the mobile station observes the access point to the post-observation position fix location.

26. The mobile station of claim 24, said one or more displacement values to be generated by the one or more sensors tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the pre-observation position fix location to the position from which the mobile station observes the access point.

27. An apparatus, comprising:

means for determining additional fix information associated with an estimation of a position of a mobile station, wherein said additional fix information comprises one or more measurements obtained from processing one or more wireless signals received at a receiver of the mobile station from one or more base stations;

means for storing the additional fix information in a memory of the mobile station according to a priority scheme; and

means for transmitting one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the additional fix information into a network.

28. The apparatus of claim 27, said means for receiving to receive one or more signals representative of updated almanac information from the network, wherein said updated almanac information is based, at least in part, on said subset of additional fix information.

29. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on prior base station almanac information received from the network and stored in the memory.

30. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said one or more measurements obtained from processing the one or more wireless signals comprise propagation delay information from one or more cells of a cellular network, wherein said means for determining addition fix information further comprises means for receiving transmitter location information broadcasted by the transmitter, and wherein said means for storing further comprises means for storing said transmitter location information in the memory as additional fix information.

31. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for receiving one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals from one or more space vehicles, wherein said estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on one or more measurements obtained from processing said one or more SPS signals.

32. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for storing the additional fix information in a cell database in the memory according to the priority scheme.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein said means for storing comprises means for storing the additional fix information in a current fix database entry in a fix database including a plurality of previously stored fix database entries in the memory according to the priority scheme.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said means for storing the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme comprises means for storing the additional fix information according to a first-in, first-out priority scheme, wherein more recent fix database entries are given priority over less recent fix database entries.

35. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said means for storing the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme comprises means for determining a priority value for the current fix database entry and means for comparing the priority value for the current fix database entry with priority values for the plurality of previously stored fix database entries, wherein said determination of the priority value is based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an accuracy of the prior base station almanac information;

distances in space between the current fix database entry and neighboring entries comprising a prior fix database entry and a following fix database entry;

differences in time between the current fix database entry and the neighboring entries;

a level of confidence that the prior base station almanac information is provided by a trusted source;

a level of statistical significance for one or more entries of the prior base station almanac information;

a level of desire for additional almanac information based at least in part on whether the prior base station almanac information comprises information related to a known coverage area; and

a determination of whether the prior base station almanac information comprises unknown or unreliable information, and whether additional almanac information is relatively highly desired.

36. The apparatus of claim 28, further comprising means for performing one or more mobile station operations utilizing at least a portion of the updated almanac information, wherein said one or more mobile station operations comprises one or more of:

determining one or more base stations and/or satellite signals for which the mobile station is to search;

determining one or more time and/or frequency search windows for satellite and/or terrestrial wireless signals;

maintaining a background position fix solution in the mobile station at least in part by performing periodic network-based position fixes;

maintaining a mobile station clock at least in part by performing periodic network-based position and/or time fixes;

performing a hybrid position fix with one or more varied terrestrial-based measurement types and/or one or more varied satellite-based measurement types;

performing a fall-back position fix solution if a preferred measurement type search fails to provide a navigation solution; and

performing a network-based position fix that is sufficiently accurate and/or timely to avoid a need for further satellite and/or terrestrial signals.

37. The apparatus of claim 27, further comprising means for estimating a position of an access point in an area where insufficient wireless signals are available to perform a position fix for the apparatus, wherein the apparatus comprises one or more means for sensing, the means for estimating to estimate the position of the access point at least in part by calculating a position from which the apparatus observes the access point, wherein said calculating is based at least in part on one or more displacement values generated at least in part by the one or more means for sensing and further based at least in part on a pre-observation and/or a post-observation position fix for the apparatus, the pre-observation position fix to occur at a point in time prior to the apparatus observing the access point and the post-observation position fix to occur at a point in time subsequent to the apparatus observing the access point.

38. The method of claim 37, said one or more means for sensing to generate one or more displacement values by tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the position from which the apparatus observes the access point to the post-observation position fix location.

39. The method of claim 37, said one or more means for sensing to generate one or more displacement values by tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the pre-observation position fix location to the position from which the apparatus observes the access point.

40. An article, comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, in response to being executed by a processor in a mobile station result in;

determining additional fix information associated with an estimation of a position of a mobile station, wherein said additional fix information comprises one or more measurements obtained from processing one or more wireless signals received at a receiver of the mobile station from one or more base stations;

storing the additional fix information in a memory of the mobile station according to a priority scheme; and

transmitting one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the additional fix information into a network.

41. The article of claim 40, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, result in:

receiving one or more signals representative of updated almanac information from the network, wherein said updated almanac information is based, at least in part, on said subset of additional fix information.

42. The article of claim 40, wherein the estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on prior base station almanac information received from the network and stored in the memory of the mobile station.

43. The article of claim 40, wherein said one or more measurements obtained from processing the one or more wireless signals comprise propagation delay information from one or more cells of a cellular network, and wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in receiving transmitter location information broadcasted by a transmitter and storing said transmitter location information in the memory as additional fix information.

44. The article of claim 40, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor;

further result in the mobile station receiving one or more satellite positioning system (SPS) signals from one or more space vehicles, wherein said estimation of the position of the mobile station is based, at least in part, on one or more measurements obtained from processing said one or more SPS signals.

45. The article of claim 40, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in storing the additional fix information in a cell database in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme.

46. The article of claim 40, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in storing the additional fix information in a current fix database entry in a fix database including a plurality of previously stored fix database entries in the memory of the mobile station according to the priority scheme.

47. The article of claim 46, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in storing the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme by storing the additional fix information according to a first-in, first-out priority scheme, wherein more recent fix database entries are given priority over less recent fix database entries.

48. The article of claim 46, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in storing the additional fix information in the current fix database entry according to the priority scheme by determining a priority value for the current fix database entry and by comparing the priority value for the current fix database entry with priority values for the plurality of previously stored fix database entries, wherein said determining the priority value is based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an accuracy of the prior base station almanac information;

distances in space between the current fix database entry and neighboring entries comprising a prior fix database entry and a following fix database entry;

differences in time between the current fix database entry and the neighboring entries;

a level of confidence that the prior base station almanac information is provided by a trusted source;

a level of statistical significance for one or more entries of the prior base station almanac information;

a level of desire for additional almanac information based at least in part on whether the prior base station almanac information comprises information related to a known coverage area; and

a determination of whether the prior base station almanac information comprises unknown or unreliable information, and whether additional almanac information is relatively highly desired.

49. The article of claim 41, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in the mobile station performing one or more operations utilizing at least a portion of the updated almanac information, wherein said one or more operations comprise one or more of:

determining one or more base stations and/or satellite signals for which the mobile station is to search;

determining one or more time and/or frequency search windows for satellite and/or terrestrial wireless signals;

maintaining a background position fix solution in the mobile station at least in part by performing periodic network-based position fixes;

maintaining a mobile station clock at least in part by performing periodic network-based position and/or time fixes;

performing a hybrid position fix with one or more varied terrestrial-based measurement types and/or one or more varied satellite-based measurement types;

performing a fall-back position fix solution if a preferred measurement type search fails to provide a navigation solution; and

performing a network-based position fix that is sufficiently accurate and/or timely to avoid a need for further satellite and/or terrestrial signals.

50. The article of claim 40, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, in response to being executed by the processor, further result in estimating a position of an access point in an area where insufficient wireless signals are available to perform a position fix for the mobile station, wherein the mobile station comprises one or more sensors, the mobile station to estimate the position of the access point at least in part by calculating a position from which the mobile station observes the access point, wherein said calculating is based at least in part on one or more displacement values generated at least in part by the one or more sensors and further based at least in part on a pre-observation and/or a post-observation position fix for the mobile station, the pre-observation position fix to occur at a point in time prior to the mobile station observing the access point and the post-observation position fix to occur at a point in time subsequent to the mobile station observing the access point.

51. The article of claim 50, wherein said one or more displacement values are generated by the one or more sensors tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the position from which the mobile station observes the access point to the post-observation position fix location.

52. The article of claim 50, wherein said one or more displacement values are generated by the one or more sensors tracking longitude, latitude, and altitude displacement values from the pre-observation position fix location to the position from which the mobile station observes the access point.