BASE STATION POSITIONING APPARATUS, BASE STATION POSITIONING METHOD, AND BASE STATION POSITIONING PROGRAM

• US 20150087340A1
• Filed: 05/01/2013
• Published: 03/26/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: NTT Docomo Incorporated (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Takashi
• Application Number:
  US14/124,665
• Publication Number:
  US 20150087340A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.5
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0252 Radio frequency fingerprinting
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/12 by co-ordinating position lines of different shape, e.g. hyperbolic, circular, elliptical or radial
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/021 Services related to particular areas, e.g. point of interest [POI] services, venue services or geofences
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

There is provided a base station positioning apparatus, a base station positioning method, and a base station positioning program for reducing an error in a transverse direction with respect to a direction from a base station toward a barycentric position of a cell of the base station when a position of a mobile terminal is estimated in the time-of-arrival positioning method. A correction candidate area specifying unit (66) calculates a difference between: an RSRP for each area acquired by a quality data acquiring unit (65) in the case where the interior of a service area is divided into areas with the same radio wave intensities; and an RSRP received by a radio wave intensity acquiring unit (62) when an MT (50) receives a signal. An area where the difference is within a predetermined threshold value is specified as a correction candidate area among the divided areas.

Claims

1. A base station-positioning apparatus comprising:

a time-of-arrival acquiring unit configured to acquire a time of arrival of a signal transmitted and received between a base station and a mobile terminal that constitute a wireless communication network system;

a radio wave intensity acquiring unit configured to acquire a radio wave intensity of the signal occurring when the mobile terminal receives the signal that has been transmitted to the base station from the mobile terminal;

a distance estimating unit configured to estimate a distance from a position of the base station to a position of the mobile terminal based on the time of arrival acquired by the time-of-arrival acquiring unit;

a position estimating unit configured to specify an arc that has a center at the position of the base station and a radius that is the distance estimated by the distance estimating unit, specify a straight line connecting the position of the base station and a barycentric position of a cell of the base station, and estimate a position at an intersection point between the arc and the straight line to be the position of the mobile terminal;

a quality data acquiring unit configured to acquire a radio wave intensity for each area in a case where an interior of a service area of the wireless communication network system is divided into areas with same radio wave intensities, respectively;

a correction candidate area specifying unit configured to calculate a difference between the radio wave intensity for the each area acquired by the quality data acquiring unit in the case where the interior of the service area is divided into the areas with the same radio wave intensities, and the radio wave intensity of the signal occurring when the mobile terminal receives the signal acquired by the radio wave intensity acquiring unit, and specify an area where the difference is within a predetermined threshold value as a correction candidate area; and

a position correcting unit configured to correct the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to a position on the arc within the correction candidate area in a case where the correction candidate area specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit is present at a position on the arc.

2. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the correction candidate area specifying unit performs a specifying process to specify an area where the difference is within the predetermined threshold value as the correction candidate area in a case where the number of the radio wave intensities acquired by the quality data acquiring unit is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, and does not perform the specifying process in a case where the number of the radio wave intensities acquired by the quality data acquiring unit is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.

3. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position correcting unit corrects the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to the position on the arc within the correction candidate area at a closest distance from the position of the mobile terminal in a case where a plurality of the correction candidate areas specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit are present at positions on the arc.

4. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in a case where a plurality of the correction candidate areas specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit are present at positions on the arc, the position correcting unit corrects the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to the position at the center on the arc connecting respective ends of the plurality of the correction candidate areas.

5. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in a case where a plurality of the correction candidate areas specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit are present at positions on the arc, the position correcting unit corrects the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to the position of an intersection point between a straight line connecting a center of gravity in an area combining the plurality of the correction candidate areas and the position of the base station together, and the arc.

6. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radio wave intensity for the each area acquired by the quality data acquiring unit in the case where the interior of the service area is divided into the areas with the same radio wave intensities is acquired when a positioning operation process in a GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning method is performed.

9. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the position correcting unit corrects the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to the position on the arc within the correction candidate area at a closest distance from the position of the mobile terminal in a case where a plurality of the correction candidate areas specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit are present at positions on the arc.

10. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in a case where a plurality of the correction candidate areas specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit are present at positions on the arc, the position correcting unit corrects the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to the position at the center on the arc connecting respective ends of the plurality of the correction candidate areas.

11. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in a case where a plurality of the correction candidate areas specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit are present at positions on the are, the position correcting unit corrects the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to the position of an intersection point between a straight line connecting a center of gravity in an area combining the plurality of the correction candidate areas and the position of the base station together, and the arc.

12. The base station positioning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the radio wave intensity for the each area acquired by the quality data acquiring unit in the case where the interior of the service area is divided into the areas with the same radio wave intensities is acquired when a positioning operation process in a GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning method is performed.

7. A base station positioning method comprising:

acquiring a time of arrival of a signal transmitted and received between a base station and a mobile terminal that constitute a wireless communication network system;

acquiring a radio wave intensity of the signal occurring when the mobile terminal receives the signal that has been transmitted to the base station from the mobile terminal;

estimating a distance from a position of the base station to a position of the mobile terminal based on the time of arrival acquired;

specifying an arc that has a center at the position of the base station and a radius that is the distance estimated, specifying a straight line connecting the position of the base station and a barycentric position of a cell of the base station, and estimating a position at an intersection point between the arc and the straight line to be the position of the mobile terminal;

acquiring a radio wave intensity for each area in a case where an interior of a service area of the wireless communication network system is divided into areas with same radio wave intensities, respectively;

calculating a difference between the radio wave intensity for the each area acquired in the case where the interior of the service area is divided into the areas with the same radio wave intensities, and the radio wave intensity of the signal occurring when the mobile terminal receives the signal acquired, and specify an area where the difference is within a predetermined threshold value as a correction candidate area; and

correcting the position of the mobile terminal estimated to a position on the arc within the correction candidate area in a case where the correction candidate area specified is present at a position on the arc.

8. A base station positioning program that causes a computer to function as:

a time-of-arrival acquiring unit configured to acquire a time of arrival of a signal transmitted and received between a base station and a mobile terminal that constitute a wireless communication network system;

a radio wave intensity acquiring unit configured to acquire a radio wave intensity of the signal occurring when the mobile terminal receives the signal that has been transmitted to the base station from the mobile terminal;

a distance estimating unit configured to estimate a distance from a position of the base station to a position of the mobile terminal based on the time of arrival acquired by the time-of-arrival acquiring unit;

a position estimating unit configured to specify an are that has a center at the position of the base station and a radius that is the distance estimated by the distance estimating unit, specify a straight line connecting the position of the base station and a barycentric position of a cell of the base station, and estimate a position at an intersection point between the arc and the straight line to be the position of the mobile terminal;

a quality data acquiring unit configured to acquire a radio wave intensity for each area in a case where an interior of a service area of the wireless communication network system is divided into areas with same radio wave intensities, respectively;

a correction candidate area specifying unit configured to calculate a difference between the radio wave intensity for the each area acquired by the quality data acquiring unit in the case where the interior of the service area is divided into the areas with the same radio wave intensities, and the radio wave intensity of the signal occurring when the mobile terminal receives the signal acquired by the radio wave intensity acquiring unit, and specify an area where the difference is within a predetermined threshold value as a correction candidate area; and

a position correcting unit configured to correct the position of the mobile terminal estimated by the position estimating unit to a position on the arc within the correction candidate area in a case where the correction candidate area specified by the correction candidate area specifying unit is present at a position on the arc.