Apparatus and method for single station communications localization

• US 6,288,676 B1
• Filed: 06/23/2000
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/03/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Skyhook Holding, Inc. (Liberty Broadband Corp.)
• Original Assignee: KSI Inc. (Liberty Broadband Corp.)
• Inventors: Maloney, John E.
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Dao
• Application Number:
  US09/599,553
• Time in Patent Office: 445 Days
• Field of Search: 342/386, 342/457, 342/450, 701/207, 455/456, 455/32.1
• US Class Current: 342/457
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/06 Emergency
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02 using radio waves using satellite radio beacon systems for determining position G01S19/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/04 Position of source determined by a plurality of spaced direction-finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/12 by co-ordinating position lines of different shape, e.g. hyperbolic, circular, elliptical or radial
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

An apparatus and method for combining the measured characteristics of a radio signal in a communications environment with collateral information to produce an accurate and economical way to locate a mobile transmitter station, such as a mobile telephone, in a cellular telephone network.

Claims

1. An apparatus for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver in an operating environment served by a wireless communications system, comprising:

at least a single sensor station having a multi-element antenna and signal receivers to receive radio signals from the mobile transceiver;

a signal characterization processing unit for deriving at least one measurement from at least one integrated complex inter-element product of the signal representations of the radio signals received from the mobile radio transceiver by said single sensor station;

a database of collateral information including position-dependent, propagation-affected measurements derived from complex products measured from the operating environment of the mobile transceiver;

a multidimensional parametric correlation processing unit for determining a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from said at least one measurement derived by said signal characterization processing unit and the collateral information in said database; and

an output indicative of the probable position of the mobile transceiver.

2. An apparatus for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver in an operating environment served by a wireless communications system, comprising:

at least a single sensor station having a multi-clement antenna and signal receivers to receive radio signals from the mobile transceiver;

a signal characterization processing unit for deriving at least one measurement from at least one integrated complex inter-element product of the received signal correlation coefficients obtained from the correlation reception of the signal representations of the radio signals received from the mobile radio transceiver by said single sensor station;

a database of collateral information including position-dependent, propagation-affected measurements derived from complex products measured from the operating environment of the mobile transceiver;

a multidimensional parametric correlation processing unit for determining a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from said at least one measurement derived by said signal characterization processing unit and the collateral information in said database; and

an output indicative of the probable position of the mobile transceiver.

3. A method for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver operating in an environment served by a cellular communications system, comprising the steps of:

(1) deriving at least one measurement from at least one integrated complex inter-element product of the signal representations of the radio signals received from the mobile radio transceiver by at least a single sensor station with a multiple-element antenna and signal receivers;

(2) accessing collateral information including a database of position-dependent, propagation-affected measurements derived from complex products measured from the operating environment of the mobile transceiver;

(3) correlating a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from said at least one measurement and said collateral information; and

(4) indicating a probable position of the mobile transceiver.

4. A method for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver operating in an environment served by a cellular communications system, comprising the steps of:

(1) deriving at least one measurement from at least one integrated complex inter-element product of the signal correlation coefficients obtained from the correlation reception of the signal representations of the radio signals received from the mobile radio transceiver by at least a single sensor station with a multiple-element antenna and signal receivers;

(2) accessing collateral information including a database of position-dependent, propagation-affected, measurements derived from complex products measured from the operating environment of the mobile transceiver;

(3) correlating a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from said at least one measurement and said collateral information; and

(4) indicating a probable position of the mobile transceiver.