Method and system for determining the altitude of a mobile wireless device
First Claim
1. A method for determining an altitude of a mobile wireless device comprising:
- establishing a database that associates transmission metrics with altitudes of x-y coordinate locations having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located;
receiving a communication from the mobile wireless device;
determining an x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device;
measuring a transmission metric of the mobile wireless device from the communication received from the mobile wireless device; and
consulting the database to determine the altitude from the x-y coordinate location and the measured transmission metric.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method and system for determining the three-dimensional location of a mobile wireless device. In one implementation, the device is a cellular telephone making a 911 call from one floor of a multi-story building. An embodiment of the method of the invention includes establishing a database that associates transmission metrics with altitudes of x-y coordinate locations having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located, receiving a communication from the mobile wireless device, determining an x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device, measuring a transmission metric of the mobile wireless device, and consulting the database to determine the altitude from the x-y coordinate location and the measured transmission metric. The transmission metric could be, for example, the transmission time or angle of arrival of a wireless signal received from the mobile wireless device.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for determining an altitude of a mobile wireless device comprising:
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establishing a database that associates transmission metrics with altitudes of x-y coordinate locations having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located; receiving a communication from the mobile wireless device; determining an x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device; measuring a transmission metric of the mobile wireless device from the communication received from the mobile wireless device; and consulting the database to determine the altitude from the x-y coordinate location and the measured transmission metric. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13)
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11. A method for determining a current altitude of a mobile wireless device comprising:
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identifying x-y coordinates having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located; determining a first value of a transmission metric at a first altitude of the more than one altitude; determining a second value of the transmission metric at a second altitude of the more than one altitude; associating the first value with the first altitude and the x-y coordinates; associating the second value with the second altitude and the x-y coordinates; receiving a communication from the mobile wireless device; determining that the mobile wireless device is located at the x-y coordinates; measuring a current value of the transmission metric of the mobile wireless device; determining that the current value is substantially equal to the first value; and determining that the first altitude is the current altitude based on the association between the first value and the first altitude. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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17. A system for determining a three-dimensional location of a mobile wireless device comprising:
a wireless signal receiver in communication with the mobile wireless device; (b) a location system adapted to determine an x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device; (c) a database that contains x-y coordinate locations at which the mobile wireless device could be located at more than one altitude, wherein the database associates possible altitudes with each x-y coordinate location, wherein the database associates a value of a transmission metric with each possible altitude, and wherein the transmission metric relates to a wireless signal received by the wireless signal receiver from the mobile wireless device; and (d) a processor adapted to receive a current x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device from the location system, to measure a current value of the transmission metric, and to retrieve an altitude associated with the current x-y coordinate location and the current value from the database. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20)
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21. A system for determining an altitude of a mobile wireless device comprising:
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(a) a database that associates transmission metrics with altitudes of x-y coordinate locations having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located; (b) a location system that provides an x-y coordinate location of the mobile wireless device; (c) means for measuring a transmission metric of the mobile wireless device; and (d) a processor that consults the database to determine the altitude from the x-y coordinate location and the measured transmission metric.
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22. A method for determining the location of a mobile wireless device comprising:
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identifying x-y coordinates having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located; associating a first description with a first altitude of the more than one altitude; associating a second description with a second altitude of the more than one altitude; receiving a communication from the mobile wireless device; determining that the mobile wireless device is located at the x-y coordinates and the first altitude comprising; receiving an x-y coordinate location from a location system, identifying the x-y coordinates as having more than one altitude at which the mobile wireless device could be located, determining a first value of a transmission metric at the first altitude of the more than one altitude, associating the first value with the first altitude and the x-y coordinates, measuring a current value of the transmission metric of the mobile wireless device, determining that the current value is substantially equal to the first value, and determining that the wireless mobile device is located at the first altitude based on the association between the first value and the first altitude; and reporting the first description as the location of the wireless mobile device. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24)
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Specification