System and method for location determination

• US 7,412,248 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2004
• Issued: 08/12/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xenogenic Development Limited Liability Company (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: TechnoCom Corporation
• Inventors: McNew, Justin Paul, Dessouky, Khaled I., Liu, Jun, Blakely, Robert Charles
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cho; Un C.
• Application Number:
  US11/020,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20050288033A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,329 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/404.2, 455/517, 455/550.1, 455/553.1
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

In one embodiment, a system and method for determining a location of a mobile device are described. A number of different locations for the mobile device is provided using a location determining system. The locations for a number of virtual base stations are determined utilizing the known locations for the mobile device. Then a new location for the mobile device is established based on the determined plurality of locations of the virtual base stations. In one embodiment, a system and method for establishing network references for a first wireless location determining system are described. A plurality of known locations for a mobile device is provided using a second location determining system. Radio signals between the mobile device and base stations of the first wireless location determining system are measured and a plurality of locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations are determined based on the known locations of the mobile device and the measured radio signals. The determined plurality of locations for the plurality of virtual base stations are then utilized to establish network references for the first wireless location determining system.

Claims

1. A method for determining a location of a mobile device in a wireless network including a plurality of network references, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of different locations for the mobile device using a location determining system external to the wireless network;

determining a plurality of estimated locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations utilizing the plurality of locations for the mobile device provided by the location determining system external to the wireless network and without using the network references; and

determining a new location for the mobile device utilizing the plurality of determined estimated locations of the virtual base stations without utilizing the location determining system external to the wireless network and without using the network references.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the location determining system is one or more of the group consisting of Global Positioning System, Iridium, and Galileo.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of estimated locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations are determined using time difference of arrival (TDOA) method.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a plurality of system biases for the respective plurality of virtual base stations.

5. A mobile device in a wireless network including a plurality of network references comprising:

a reference module for providing locations of the mobile device utilizing a location determining system external to the wireless network;

a radio measurement module for communicating with the wireless network and taking measurements of radio signals between the mobile device and a plurality of base stations at different locations of the mobile device;

a memory for saving the locations of the mobile device and the corresponding radio measurements provided by the location determining system external to the wireless network; and

a computing engine for determining estimated locations of a plurality of virtual base stations utilizing the saved locations of the mobile device and the corresponding radio measurements, without using the network references, and computing a new location of the mobile device based on the plurality of determined estimated locations of the virtual base stations without utilizing the location determining system external to the wireless network, and without using the network references.

6. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the location determining system is one or more of the group consisting of Global Positioning System, Iridium, and Galileo.

7. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the radio measurement module measures radio signals according to time difference of arrival (TDOA).

8. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein one or more of the radio measurement module, the memory, and the computing engine are implemented in a server in the wireless network.

9. The mobile device of claim 5, wherein the computing engine determines a plurality of system biases for the respective plurality of virtual base stations.

10. A system for determining a location of a mobile device in a wireless network including a plurality of network references comprising:

means for providing a plurality of different locations for the mobile device using a location determining system;

means for determining a plurality of estimated locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations utilizing the plurality of provided locations for the mobile device and without using the network references; and

means for determining a new location for the mobile device utilizing the plurality of determined estimated locations of the virtual base stations without utilizing the location determining system external to the wireless network and without using the network references.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the location determining system is one or more of the group consisting of Global Positioning System, Iridium, and Galileo.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the means for determining a plurality of estimated locations utilizes time difference of arrival (TDOA).

13. A method for establishing network references for a first wireless location determining system having a plurality of base stations, each base station having a respective actual location, the method comprising:

providing a plurality of different locations for a mobile device using a second wireless location determining system, external to the first wireless location determining system;

measuring radio signals between the mobile device and the plurality of base stations of the first wireless location determining system;

determining a plurality of estimated locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations based on the provided locations of the mobile device and the measured radio signals; and

utilizing the plurality of determined estimated locations of the plurality of virtual base stations for establishing the network references for the first wireless location determining system, without using the actual locations of the base stations.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the second wireless location determining system is one or more of the group consisting of Global Positioning System, Iridium, and Galileo.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the plurality of estimated locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations are determined using time difference of arrival (TDOA) method.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising determining a plurality of system biases for the respective plurality of virtual base stations.

17. A system for establishing network references for a first wireless location determining system having a plurality of base stations, each base station having a respective actual location, comprising:

means for providing a plurality of different locations for a mobile device using a second wireless location determining system, external to the first wireless location determining system;

means for measuring radio signals between the mobile device and the plurality of base stations of the first wireless location determining system;

means for determining a plurality of estimated locations for a respective plurality of virtual base stations based on the provided locations of the mobile device and the measured radio signals; and

means for utilizing the plurality of determined estimated locations of the plurality of virtual base stations for establishing the network references for the first wireless location determining system, without using the actual locations of the base stations.

18. The system of claim 17, further comprising means for determining a plurality of system biases for the respective plurality of virtual base stations.

19. The system of claim 17, wherein the second wireless location determining system is one or more of the group consisting of Global Positioning System, Iridium, and Galileo.

20. The system of claim 17, wherein the means for measuring radio signals utilizes time difference of arrival (TDOA).