Method for determining the position of a mobile station

• US 6,289,211 B1
• Filed: 03/26/1998
• Issued: 09/11/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ericsson, Inc. (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Erksson Incorporated
• Inventors: Hoff, Anders Carl Erik, Lundquist, Patrik Nils, Koorapaty, Havish
• Primary Examiner(s): Le, Thanh Cong
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Thuan T.
• Application Number:
  US09/048,545
• Time in Patent Office: 1,265 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422, 455/456, 455/457, 455/458, 455/404, 455/434, 455/435, 455/33.1, 370/331, 342/450, 342/451, 342/452, 701/207
• US Class Current: 455/404.2
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

The location of a mobile station in a mobile cellular communication system is determined by taking measurements of known transmissions from the mobile station at a plurality of base stations. The serving base station sends a control message to the mobile station to induce the mobile station to transmit a known bit sequence. The known bit sequence transmitted by the mobile station is received at a plurality of base stations. The time of arrival of the known bit sequence at each base station is determined and used to calculate the location of the mobile station.

Claims

1. A method for determining the location of a mobile station in a mobile radio communication system including a plurality of base stations, comprising:

inducing the mobile station to transmit a locating signal containing a known bit sequence;

receiving said locating signal at a plurality of selected base stations in said mobile radio communication system;

determining the time of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations;

measuring the signal quality of said locating signal received at said selected base stations; and

calculating the position of the mobile station based on said time of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations, if said signal quality of said locating signal received at said selected base stations meets a desired signal quality.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein inducing said mobile station to transmit said locating signal comprises transmitting a control message from one of said selected base stations in said mobile radio communication system to said mobile station, wherein said mobile station is programmed to transmit a known response message to said control message.

3. The method according to claim 2 wherein said control message is a reverse voice channel control message in an AMPS system.

4. The method according to claim 3 wherein said control message is an audit message.

5. The method according to claim 3 wherein said control message is a change power message.

6. The method according to claim 5 wherein said change power message is a command to change to the highest power level.

7. The method according to claim 3 wherein said control message is a serial number request message.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein said base stations are communicatively connected to a mobile positioning center and wherein said time of arrival data is transmitted by said base stations to said mobile positioning center where said location of the mobile station is calculated.

9. The method according to claim 8 wherein said mobile positioning center transmits said location of the mobile station to an emergency center.

10. The method of claim 8 further comprising transmitting signal quality measurements indicative of said quality of said locating signal received at said selected bases stations to said mobile positioning center.

11. A method for determining the location of a mobile station in a mobile radio communication system including a plurality of base stations, comprising:

a) inducing said mobile station to transmit a locating signal containing a known bit sequence;

b) receiving said locating signal at a plurality of selected base stations in said mobile radio communication system;

c) determining the time difference of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations, and

d) calculating said location of said mobile station based on said time difference of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations.

12. The method according to claim 11 wherein the step of inducing said mobile station to transmit a locating signal containing a known bit sequence includes transmitting a control message from one of said selected base stations in said mobile radio communication system to said mobile station, wherein said mobile station is programmed to transmit a known response message to said control message.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein said control message is a reverse voice channel control message in an AMPS system.

14. The method according to claim 13 wherein said control message is an audit message.

15. The method according to claim 13 wherein said control message is a change power message.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein said change power message is a command to change to the highest power level.

17. The method according to claim 13 wherein said control message is a serial number request message.

18. The method according to claim 11 wherein said time difference of arrival is transmitted from said selected base stations to a mobile positioning center, and wherein calculating said location of said mobile station based on said time difference of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations is performed at said mobile positioning center.

19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the mobile positioning center transmits said location of the mobile station to an emergency center.

20. The method of claim 18 further comprising measuring the signal quality of said locating signal received at said selected base stations.

21. The method of claim 20 further comprising transmitting said signal quality measurements indicative of said quality of said locating signal received at said selected base stations to said mobile positioning center.

31. The method of claim 18 further comprising measuring the signal quality of said locating signal received at said selected base stations.

32. The method of claim 31 further comprising transmitting said signal quality measurements indicative of said quality of said locating signal received at said selected base stations to said mobile positioning center.

22. A method for determining the location of a mobile station in a mobile radio communication system including a plurality of base stations, comprising:

a) inducing the mobile station to transmit a locating signal containing a known bit sequence;

b) receiving said locating signal at a plurality of selected base stations in said mobile radio communication system;

c) determining the angle of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations; and

d) calculating the position of the mobile station based on said angle of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations.

23. The method according to claim 22 wherein the step of inducing said mobile station to transmit a locating signal containing a known bit sequence includes transmitting a control message from one of said selected base stations in said mobile radio communication system to said mobile station, wherein said mobile station is programmed to transmit a known response message to said control message.

24. The method according to claim 23 wherein said control message is a reverse voice channel control message in an AMPS system.

25. The method according to claim 24 wherein said control message is an audit message.

26. The method according to claim 24 wherein said control message is a change power message.

27. The method according to claim 26 wherein said change power message is a command to change to the highest power level.

28. The method according to claim 24 wherein said control message is a serial number request message.

29. The method according to claim 22 wherein said angle of arrival is transmitted from said selected base stations to a mobile positioning center, and wherein calculating said location of said mobile station based on said angle of arrival of said locating signal at said selected base stations is performed at said mobile positioning center.

30. The method according to claim 29 wherein the mobile positioning center transmits said location of the mobile station to an emergency center.