System and method for providing location information for a mobile handset

• US 8,055,270 B1
• Filed: 12/23/2005
• Issued: 11/08/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Copeland, Jeanette Christine-Deason, Albanes, Stalin, Cantrell, Herbert R.
• Primary Examiner(s): PHUONG, DAI
• Application Number:
  US11/318,367
• Time in Patent Office: 2,146 Days
• Field of Search: 4554561-457
• 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 system that facilitates determination of a location of a mobile handset. The system includes three or more location measurement units that each correspond to a sector of the cell site. The location measurement units transmit location related information to a computation component. The computation component receives the location related information and performs a triangulation calculation on the information o define the location of the mobile handset.

Claims

1. A system that facilitates determination of a location of a mobile handset, comprising:

a location measurement unit, within a cell site comprising a single base station, configured to collect location related information corresponding to the mobile handset; and

a base station controller further comprising;

a computation component configured to approximate a location of the mobile handset, wherein the computation component is configured to receive the location related information from the location measurement unit and additional location related information from at least two other location measurement units within the cell site, and the computation component approximates the location via a triangulation operation that utilizes the location related information, wherein the triangulation operation is initiated by the computation component in response to detection of the location related information being received from the mobile handset at the location measurement unit and the at least two other location measurement units and wherein each location measurement unit corresponds to a sector of the cell site and the location measurement unit resides at least 0.5 miles from the at least two other location measurement units within the cell site.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the base stations controller is configured to communicate with the location measurement unit and utilize the computation component to calculate at least one of latitude data and longitude data that defines the location of the mobile handset.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the location measurement unit is configured to communicate with the base stations controller by way of microwaves.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the location related information is time difference of arrival information.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the location related information comprises angle of arrival information.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the cell site comprises three sectors.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising two additional cell sites, wherein the cell sites are arranged in a triangular pattern of three cell sites, and each of the three cell sites comprise three sectors that exhibit a 120 degree transmission pattern facing at least one of the sectors of other two cell sites of the three cell sites and a one mile line of site between each sector.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the cell site comprises six sectors.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein there are three cell sites arranged in a triangular pattern, and each of the three cell sites comprises six sectors that exhibit a 60 degree transmission pattern facing at least one of the sectors of other two cell sites of the three cell sites and a one mile line of site between each sector.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the cell site comprises an omni cell site with a single sector.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein there are three omni cell sites, and each of the three omni cell sites comprise one sector that exhibits a 360 degree transmission pattern and a one mile line of site between each sector.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the location measurement unit is configured to be remotely accessed by a proxy.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the cell site is a cellular communication tower comprising microwave transmitters and receivers.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein the cell site is associated with structures at least as large as a building.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising computer executable instructions that, in response to execution by a computing system, cause the computing system to perform operations, comprising:

obtaining a signal from a mobile handset at a location measurement unit associated with a cell site comprising a single base station;

producing location related information based at least in part on the signal;

receiving the location related information from the location measurement unit and additional location related information from at least two additional location measurement units associated with the cell site;

employing the location related information from the location measurement unit and the additional location related information from the at least two additional location measurement units associated with the cell site to determine a location of the mobile handset, wherein the location of the mobile handset is determined via a triangulation operation and wherein each location measurement unit corresponds to a sector of the cell site and the location measurement unit resides at least 0.5 miles from the at least two additional location measurement units associated with the cell site; and

initiating the triangulation operation based on the location related information being received at the location measurement unit and the at least two additional location measurement units.

16. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, the operations further comprising:

determining latitude data and longitude data indicating the location of the mobile handset based upon the location related information received from the location measurement unit and the at least two additional location measurement units.

17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 16, wherein the receiving is by way of microwaves.

18. The computer readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the location related information is time difference of arrival information.

19. A method comprising:

receiving, at a base station controller, location related information from at least three location measurement units being located within a cell site comprising a single base station and associated with the base stations controller, the location related information pertaining to a location of a mobile handset located within the cell site and being based upon a measured arrival of a signal from the mobile handset at each of the at least three location measurement units and wherein each location measurement unit corresponds to a sector of the cell site and the at least three location measurement units with a distance of at least 0.5 miles separating one location measurement unit from an adjacent location measurement unit comprising the at least three location measurement units; and

calculating, at the base stations controller, the location of the mobile handset located within the cell site;

wherein the calculating is initiated in response to detecting arrival of a signal from the mobile handset at each of the at least three location measurement units and comprises triangulating the location related information being received from the at least three location measurement units.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the receiving includes receiving by way of microwaves.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein the location related information includes time difference of arrival information.

22. The method of claim 19, wherein the triangulating includes calculating at least one of latitude data or longitude data.

23. The method of claim 19, wherein the cell site comprises three sectors.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein the receiving and calculating are performed continuously.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising continuously provisioning, by the base stations controller, the location of the mobile handset to an external device requiring, from the base stations controller, information regarding the location of the mobile handset.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein the receiving the location related information includes receiving measurements relating to time difference of arrival.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the calculating includes calculating using the measurements relating to time difference of arrival.