Position Monitoring for a Coverage Area

• US 20110319097A1
• Filed: 03/04/2009
• Published: 12/29/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Laine, Tommi Antero, Wirola, Lauri Aame Johannes
• Granted Patent: US 9,220,016 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• 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 64/003 locating network equipment
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/50 for emergency connections

Abstract

It is disclosed a method, an apparatus and a computer program for monitoring, for a position of a set of one or more positions that are associated with a coverage area of a communication node, if a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area of said communication node and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received as a validation of said position for which said monitoring is performed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, and

a memory, said memory storing a program comprising program code,

said program configured to cause said apparatus, when said program is executed on said processor, to perform monitoring, for a position of a set of one or more positions derived from one or more reports received from one or more terminals, said positions associated with a coverage area of a communication node, if a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area of said communication node and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received from a terminal as a validation of said position for which said monitoring is performed.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said set of one or more positions at least one of represents a model for said coverage area of said communication node and serves as a basis for at least one of generating and updating at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said monitoring for said position is triggered by at least one of a decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is a potential outlier with respect to said coverage area of said communication node and a decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is potentially outdated.

6. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is a potential outlier with respect to said coverage area of said communication node is based on at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

7. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is potentially outdated is based on a time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed.

8. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is potentially outdated is made repeatedly.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said defined environment has a rectangular or circular shape.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, said program further configured to cause said apparatus, when said program is executed on said processor, to perform modifying, in case that said report comprising said position associated with said coverage area and lying in said defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received, information associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said modified information prevents said position for which said monitoring is performed to be one of removed or triggered to be removed from said set of one or more positions by a process that is configured to one of remove and trigger removal of said position for which said monitoring is performed from said set of one or more positions in case that no report comprising a position associated with said coverage area, lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed and being associated with a time instant that is before a defined time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed is received.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said program is further configured to cause said apparatus, when said program is executed on said processor, to perform one of removing and triggering removal of said position for which said monitoring is performed from said set of one or more positions if no report comprising a position associated with said coverage area, lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed and being associated with a time instant that is before a defined time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed is received.

13. The apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, in case of removal of said position for which said monitoring is performed from said set of one or more positions, at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node is updated based on said set of one or more positions excluding said removed position.

14. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said program is further configured to cause said apparatus, when said program is executed on said processor, to perform at least one of terminating monitoring for said position in case that a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received, updating a time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed in case that a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received and one of adding and triggering addition of said position comprised in said report to said set of one or more positions and to one of update and trigger updating of at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node based on said set of one or more positions including said added position in case that a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received.

18. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus is at least one of a module, a terminal, an apparatus embodied in a chip and an apparatus that further comprises a user interface and a memory.

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20. (canceled)

21. A method comprising:

monitoring, for a position of a set of one or more positions derived from one or more reports received from one or more terminals, said positions associated with a coverage area of a communication node, if a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area of said communication node and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received from a terminal as a validation of said position for which said monitoring is performed.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein said set of one or more positions at least one of represents a model for said coverage area of said communication node and serves as a basis for at least one of generating and updating at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

23. The method according to claim 21, wherein said monitoring for said position is triggered by at least one of a decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is a potential outlier with respect to said coverage area of said communication node and a decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is potentially outdated.

26. The method according to claim 23, wherein said decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is a potential outlier with respect to said coverage area of said communication node is based on at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node, and wherein said decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is potentially outdated is based on a time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed.

28. The method according to claim 23, wherein said decision that said position for which said monitoring is performed is potentially outdated is made repeatedly.

30. The method according to claim 21, further comprising at least one of modifying, in case that said report comprising said position associated with said coverage area and lying in said defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received, information associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed, one of removing and triggering removal of said position for which said monitoring is performed from said set of one or more positions if no report comprising a position associated with said coverage area, lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed and being associated with a time instant that is before a defined time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed is received, terminating monitoring for said position in case that a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received, updating a time instant associated with said position for which said monitoring is performed in case that a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received, and one of adding and triggering addition of said position comprised in said report to said set of one or more positions and to one of updating and triggering updating of at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node based on said set of one or more positions including said added position in case that a report comprising a position associated with said coverage area and lying in a defined environment of said position for which said monitoring is performed is received.

39. A readable medium having a program comprising program code for performing the method according to claim 21, when said program is executed on a processor, stored thereon.

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