Method for building a home-zone database using measured power strength

• US 6,721,561 B1
• Filed: 10/19/2000
• Issued: 04/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Jeong, Jae-Ho, Bae, Jae-Seong
• Primary Examiner(s): Appiah, Charles
• Assistant Examiner(s): Iqbal, Khawar
• Application Number:
  US09/691,799
• Time in Patent Office: 1,272 Days
• Field of Search: 455/432.1, 455/456.3, 455/456.1, 455/457, 455/446, 455/440, 455/525, 455/436, 455/67.11, 455/67.12, 455/433, 455/465.1, 455/69, 455/437, 370/335, 370/331
• US Class Current: 455/433
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/18 Service support devices; Network management devices

Abstract

Disclosed is a method for building a home-zone database using data measured while moving about the home-zone service area in a mobile communication system, which includes a mobile diagnostic monitor with a GPS antenna, a mobile telephone and a base station database. The method comprising the steps of: measuring the strength of a pilot signal received from each base station in the home-zone service area; deriving a line-fitting formula indicating a variation trend of the pilot strength of each PN (Pseudo Noise) offset according to the distance between the respective base station from the monitor device; generating a plurality of bins associated to the home-zone service area in the form of a grid; estimating the pilot strength of each bin by applying the line-fitting formula to the respective bin; and searching the base station database for the PN offsets corresponding to the pilot strengths estimated for the respective bins and reading the cell identification information for each searched PN offset to build a home-zone database.

Claims

1. A method for determining a home-zone database using a simulation data measured as a mobile unit roams around a plurality of locations in a mobile communication system, comprising the steps of:

(a) measuring a respective pilot signal strength and a PN(Pseudo Noise) offset received from a plurality of base stations within the system by a mobile diagnostic monitor that tracks its own position while measuring pilot signal strength;

(b) calculating a distance between the respective base station and the respective location based on a measured signal strength of the pilot signal measured in step (a);

(c) generating a graphical relationship between the measured pilot signal strength at each location and the calculated distance such that only a calculated distance above a predetermined threshold is used to define a home-zone boundary;

(d) generating a plurality of bins;

(e) estimating a new pilot signal strength for each bin by associating the generated graphical relationship to the plurality of the bins; and

(f) searching a predetermined base station database to retrieve a cell identification information of the PN offset responsive to the estimated new pilot signal strength.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising the step of defining the home-zone database using the searched cell identification information.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step(a) comprises the step of sorting the measured pilot signal strength according to the PN offsets associated to the plurality of base stations.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step(b) of calculating the distance between the respective base station and the respective location is performed according to the level of the measured pilot signal strength.

5. The method as recited in claim 4, wherein the x-coordinate represents the measured pilot signal strength and the y-coordinate represents the calculated distance.

6. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step (b) comprises the step of associating the graphical relationship in x-y coordinates for each of the PN offset.

7. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step(c) of generating the graphical relationship is performed using a line fitting algorithm.

8. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step(c) comprises the steps of:

determining whether the predetermined base station database includes the same PN offset corresponding to the detected pilot signal strength in step(a);

reading a position information of the corresponding base station corresponding to the same PN offset;

calculating a distance between the base station and the mobile unit based on the position information of the base station in the predetermined base station database and a position data of the mobile unit at the each location; and

deriving the line-fitting formula indicating the variation trend of the pilot strength according to the calculated distance and a line-fitting algorithm.

9. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step(e) comprises the steps of:

detecting a position data of each bin from the predetermined base station database;

calculating a distance from each of the base station and the detected position data of each bin;

calculating the new pilot signal strength exceeding a predetermined threshold value by substituting the calculated distance into the corresponding line-fitting formula; and

searching the predetermined base station database for the corresponding PN offset and the cell identification information corresponding to the calculated new pilot signal strength.

10. A method for building a home-zone database using a data measured while roaming around potential home-zone service areas in a mobile communication system, the method comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting, by an idle mobile unit, a pilot signal having a PN(Pseudo Noise) offset from each base station at a plurality of locations within the system and storing the strength of the detected pilot signal strength and the corresponding position data by a mobile diagnostic monitor that tracks its own positions while measuring pilot signal strength;

(b) rearranging the detected pilot signal strength and the matching position data according to the PN offset;

(c) deriving a line-fitting formula for each detected PN offset indicating a variation trend of the pilot signal strength according to the distance between the mobile unit and each of the base station base stations;

(d) generating a plurality of bins to define the hone-zone service areas;

(e) estimating a new pilot signal strengths exceeding a predetermined threshold value by associating the line-fitting formula to each of the bins; and

(f) searching a predetermined base station database to retrieve a cell identification information for the PN offset corresponding to the estimated new pilot signal strength.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the step(c) comprises the steps of:

determining whether the predetermined base station database includes the same PN offset matching the PN offset corresponding to the detected pilot signal strength in step(a);

reading a position information of the corresponding base station corresponding to the same PN offset;

calculating a distance between the base station and the mobile unit based on the level of the detected pilot signal strength; and

deriving the line-fitting formula according to the calculated distance and a line-fitting algorithm.

12. The method as recited in claim 11, wherein the cell identification information includes a cite identification (ID) and a sector identification ID for defining the home-zone area.

13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the position data of the corresponding bin is calculated using a GPS information corresponding to a reference bin stored in the base station database and the distance between bins, wherein the reference bin being a left uppermost bin.

14. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the step(e) comprises the steps of:

detecting a position data of each bin from the predetermined base station database;

calculating a distance from each base station and the detected position data of each bin;

calculating the new pilot signal strength exceeding a predetermined threshold value by substituting the calculated distance into the corresponding line-fitting formula; and

searching the predetermined base station database for the corresponding PN offset and the cell identification information corresponding to the calculated new pilot signal strength.