LOCATION DETERMINATION FOR CALLS WITHIN A FEMTOCELL

• US 20140171015A1
• Filed: 02/20/2014
• Published: 06/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/02/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Choi-Grogan, Yung Shirley
• Granted Patent: US 9,049,586 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0045 Transmission from base station to mobile station G01S5/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• 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 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/045 using private Base Stations, e.g. femto Base Stations, home Node B

Abstract

When a call is placed within a femtocell area of coverage, the location of the femtocell is used as the location of the mobile device. The location of the femtocell is stored in the network, and if the call is placed through the femtocell, the location of the femtocell is used to determine the location of the mobile device.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining, by a system comprising a processor, location information of a mobile device from a registered location of a femtocell device;

determining additional location information that comprises time difference of arrival information determined based on a signal that was determined to have been directed from the femtocell device to the mobile device; and

initiating, by the system, a transmission of a location of the mobile device that is determined by a function of the location information and the additional location information.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining, by the system, the location of the mobile device as the function of the registered location of the femtocell device and the additional location information.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the registered location from the femtocell device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the time difference of arrival information is determined based on the signal being determined to be within a coverage area of the femtocell device.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating the transmission of the location comprises initiating the transmission of a designated waypoint within a coverage area of the femtocell device as the location.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the initiating the transmission of the location comprises initiating reporting of the location of the mobile device to a public safety access point device.

7. A femtocell device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

determining location information of a mobile device that is based on a location of the femtocell device, and additional location information associated with the mobile device based on a time difference of arrival calculation that is a function of a signal determined to have been directed by the femtocell device to mobile devices;

determining a location of the mobile device as a function of the location information and the additional location information; and

facilitating a transmission of the location of the mobile device that is determined as the function of the location information and the additional location information.

8. The femtocell device of claim 7, wherein the facilitating the transmission comprises communicating the location of the mobile device and the location information of the mobile device to a network device of a wireless service provider network associated with the femtocell device.

9. The femtocell device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to directing the signal, associating an identifier with a designated area within a coverage area of the femtocell device.

10. The femtocell device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to directing the signal, registering location coordinates for a designated area as the additional location information.

11. The femtocell device of claim 7, wherein the operations further comprise detecting entry of the mobile device into a coverage area of the femtocell device and registering the location of the femtocell device with a network device of a wireless service provider network.

12. The femtocell device of claim 7, wherein the additional location information comprises at least one of global positioning system data, assisted global positioning system data, angle of arrival data or input data received by the femtocell device.

13. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

determining location information of a mobile device based on a location of a femtocell device;

determining additional information that is a result of a time difference of arrival calculation performed based on a signal communicated by the femtocell device to the mobile device;

determining a location of the mobile device as a function of a combination of the location information and the additional information; and

generating a registered waypoint as the location of the mobile device from the location information and the additional information.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the determining the additional information comprises obtaining directional information associated with a response from the mobile device to the signal sent by the femtocell device.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

prompting the mobile device to communicate a name for the location information; and

associating the registered waypoint with the name.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise:

in response to detecting the mobile device in proximity to the registered waypoint, determining the location of the mobile device by utilizing the name.

17. The system of claim 13, wherein the determining the location information comprises sending the signal to the mobile device, and measuring a time for response to the signal from the mobile device.

18. The system of claim 13, wherein the determining the location information comprises measuring an angle of arrival of a response from the mobile device.

19. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

communicating the location information associated with the femtocell device to a wireless service provider device.

20. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise:

communicating the location of the mobile device to an access point of a network device.