Mobile communication system with mobile station position detection

• US 6,980,814 B2
• Filed: 07/18/2001
• Issued: 12/27/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/18/2000
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Corporation
• Inventors: Kodama, Yasuteru, Yamazaki, Osamu, Inoue, Hiroto, Suzuki, Masami, Shioda, Takehiko, Nohara, Manabu, Akimoto, Takayuki, Okamura, Masahiro, Arakawa, Katsunori, Odagawa, Satoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): D'Agosta, Stephen
• Application Number:
  US09/907,503
• Publication Number:
  US 20020049063A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,623 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.2, 4554562-457, 455/432.1, 455/436, 455/440, 455/550.1, 455/556.1, 455/557, 370/328, 370/331, 370/334, 34235706-3571, 342/457
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A mobile communication system including a plurality of base stations arranged in a communication area, each emitting a radio wave inherent thereto and a mobile station moving in the communication area and communicating with respective base stations via the transmitted radio waves. There is previously stored a location correlation data group including correlation data representing correlation situations of a plurality of arriving radio waves produced by the transmitted radio waves at respective ones of a plurality of sampling locations within the communication area, the location correlation data corresponding to respective locations. Upon reception of radio waves at a current location of the mobile station, current correlation data is calculated representing correlation situations among received arriving radio waves for the respective mobile station. The location correlation data in the location correlation data group is compared with the current correlation data, and the current position of the mobile stations is determined in accordance with a result of the comparison, generating the determined current position data.

Claims

1. A mobile communication system including a plurality of base stations positioned within a communication area each for emitting a radio wave inherent thereto and a mobile station moving within the communication area and communicating with the respectives of the base stations via the transmitted radio waves, said system comprising:

location correlation data group storing means for previously storing a location correlation data group including correlation data respectively representing correlation situation of a plurality of arriving radio waves produced by the transmitted radio waves at respectives of a plurality of sampling locations within the communication area as location correlation data respectively corresponding to the locations;

current correlation data calculating means for receiving the arriving radio waves at a current position of the mobile station and calculating current correlation data respectively representing the correlation situations among the arriving radio waves for the respective mobile stations; and

current position determining means for comparing the location correlation data in the location correlation data group and the current correlation data and determining the current position of the mobile station in accordance with a result of the comparison thereby to generate information of the determined current position,

wherein the correlation data representing the correlating situation is at least one of a multipath occurrence rate, a delay time period between the multipaths and an electric field intensity of each of the multipaths.

2. The mobile communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the current correlation data calculating means is mounted to the mobile station.

3. The mobile communication system according to claim 1, further comprising:

displaying means for displaying the determined current location.

4. The mobile communication system according to claim 3,

wherein the displaying means is mounted to the mobile station.

5. The mobile communication system according to claim 3,

wherein the displaying means displays the determined current location on a map.

6. The mobile communication system according to claim 1, further comprising:

determined current position transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving the information of the determined current position between the base station and the mobile station as well as information of identifying the mobile station.

7. The mobile communication system according to claim 1, further comprising:

location inherent data holding means for holding location inherent data inherent to the respectives of the sampling locations; and

location inherent data transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving the location inherent data at one of the sampling locations equal to the determined current position, between the base station and the mobile station.

8. The mobile communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the electric field intensity is normalized on the basis of a maximum level in the multipaths at the current position while the maximum level is a reference for the normalization.

9. The mobile communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the sampling location belongs to any one of cell areas allocated to the respective base stations.

10. The mobile communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the determining means determines the current position of the mobile station in accordance with the result of comparison of comparing the data at respective predetermined repetition periods.

11. The mobile communication system according to claim 10,

wherein the determining means repeats its comparison operations at intervals and determines a comparison result at a preceding time as a comparison result at a current time when a moving speed of the mobile station is equal to or smaller than a predetermined speed.

12. The mobile communication system according to claim 1,

wherein the determining means performs the comparison by a degree of coincidence between the location correlation data and the current correlation data.

13. The mobile communication system according to claim 12,

wherein the determining means provides a plurality of the coincidence degrees in terms of the sampling locations as parameters and determining the current position to be the sampling location in correspondence with the highest coincidence degree among them.

14. The mobile communication system according to claim 12,

wherein the determining means provides a plurality of the coincidence degrees in terms of the sampling locations as parameters, provides a distribution state of coincidence degrees representing a distribution state in terms of the sampling locations and determines the current position to be a gravitational center position of the coincidence degree distribution state.

15. The mobile communication system according to claim 1, further comprising:

position measuring means mounted to the mobile station for generating an actually measured position data provided through its actual measurement of the current position of the mobile station;

wherein the determining means reflects a content of the measured position data to the determined current position.

16. The mobile communication system according to claim 15, further comprising:

measured position data transmitting and receiving means for transmitting and receiving the measured position data between the base station and the mobile station in accordance with only an operation instruction input.

17. The mobile communication system according to claim 16, further comprising:

account means for carrying out a charge account processing for the respective mobile station at an occurrence of transmission and reception operation by the measured position data transmitting and receiving means.

18. The mobile communication system according to claim 17,

wherein the account means varies a charge account content in accordance with a number of times of operation of transmission and reception of the measured position data for the respective mobile stations.

19. A method of determining a position of a mobile station, comprising:

storing a location correlation data group, including correlation data representing respective correlation situations of a plurality of received radio waves at respective sampling locations within a communication area, as location correlation data corresponding to respective sampling locations;

receiving radio waves at a current position of the mobile station;

calculating current correlation data representing respective correlation situations among the received radio waves;

comparing the location correlation data in the location correlation data group and the current correlation data; and

determining a current position of the mobile station, in accordance with a result of the comparison, thereby to generate information of the determined current position,

wherein the correlation data representing the correlating situations is at least one of a multipath occurrence rate, a delay time period between the multipaths and an electric field intensity of each of the multipaths.