Method of evaluating a location of a mobile station within a cellular telecommunication network

• US 7,224,986 B2
• Filed: 12/03/2004
• Issued: 05/29/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 12/18/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Evolium SAS (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Evolium SAS (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hother, Michael, Schreiner, Matthias, Nikolai, Dirk
• Primary Examiner(s): Corsaro; Nick
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ajayi; Joel
• Application Number:
  US11/002,421
• Publication Number:
  US 20050136948A1
• Time in Patent Office: 907 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 455/456.1
• 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 method of evaluating a location of a mobile station within a cellular telecommunication system is described.

A cell is associated with a base station (BS). The mobile station (MS) is located within the cell. A timing advance (TA) is evaluated by the base station (BS).

The method comprises the following steps:

• evaluating a direct distance (rd) between the mobile station (MS) and the base station (BS) for a number of locations (L) of the mobile station (MS) within the cell,
• evaluating common values depending on the direct distances (rd), and
• evaluating an estimated direct distance (rd*) of the mobile station (MS) from the base station (BS) depending on the common values.

Claims

1. A method of evaluating a location of a mobile station within a cellular telecommunication system,

wherein a cell is associated with a base station (BS), wherein the mobile station is located within the cell and wherein a timing advance is evaluated by the base station,

comprising the following steps:

evaluating a direct distance between the mobile station and the base station for a number of locations of the mobile station within the cell,

evaluating common values depending on the direct distances, and

evaluating an estimated direct distance of the mobile station from the base station depending on the common values;

wherein the estimated direct distance is generally evaluated as follows;

rd*=a0+a1×

TA+a2×

TA²+a3×

TA³+ . . .

wherein a0, a1, a2, a3, . . . are the evaluated common values and TA is the evaluated timing advance.

2. The method of claim 1 comprising the following further steps:

evaluating mean distances from the direct distances and evaluating the common values based on the mean distances.

3. The method of claim 2 comprising the following further steps:

evaluating the mean distances for the same timing advance and evaluating the common values based on the mean distances of the different timing advances.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the estimated direct distance is calculated as follows:

rd*=a0+a1+TA

wherein a0, a1 are the evaluated common values and TA is the evaluated timing advance.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the direct distance is evaluated with the help of a network planning tool and/or the Global Positioning System.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the common values are evaluated with the help of mathematical and/or statistical methods and/or models.

7. A base station of a cellular telecommunication system for evaluating a location of a mobile station within the cellular telecommunication system,

wherein a cell is associated with the base station, wherein the mobile station is located within the cell, wherein a timing advance is evaluated by the base station, and wherein the base station is equipped to carry out the method of claim 1.

8. A cellular telecommunication network comprising a base station for evaluating a location of a mobile station within the cellular telecommunication system,

wherein a cell is associated with the base station, wherein the mobile station is located within the cell, wherein a timing advance is evaluated by the base station, and wherein the cellular telecommunication network, in particular a server within the cellular telecommunication system, is equipped to carry out the method of claim 1.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the evaluating of the estimated direct distance of th&

mobile station from the base station is not based on a transmission path between the mobile station and the base station.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the direct distance is a line-of-sight distance.

11. A method of evaluating a location of a mobile station within a cellular telecommunication system, the method comprising:

predetermining exact distances between a base station and a plurality of locations having a same timing advance, wherein said predetermination is performed for each one of a plurality of timing advances associated with a cell;

averaging the exact distances for the plurality of locations having the same timing advance, wherein said average is individually performed for each one of the plurality of timing advances;

determining a correlation among the averaged exact distances for the plurality of timing advances;

evaluating an estimated distance between a mobile station and the base station based on the correlation of the plurality of timing advances, the estimated direct distance being generally evaluated as follows;

rd*=a0+a1×

TA+a2×

TA²+a3×

TA³+ . . .

wherein a0, a1, a2, a3, . . . are the evaluated common values and TA is the evaluated timing advance.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the estimated distance between the mobile station and the base station is not based on a propagation time measurement.