Estimating a location of a mobile device
First Claim
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1. A method for estimating a location of a mobile device in a network, the method comprising:
- identifying two or more uniquely identifiable radio frequency sources of the network from signals received by the mobile device at the location;
receiving approximate locations of two or more transmit areas from the uniquely identifiable radio frequency sources;
determining for each signal received by the mobile device one or more parameters that are proportional to a distance between the frequency source originating the signal and the mobile device; and
estimating the location of the mobile device from the approximate locations and the one or more parameters,wherein at least one of the parameters is a transmit power of the mobile device at the time one of the signals was received.
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Abstract
The approximate location of a directed cell of a cellular network is calculated based on locations in the vicinity of which mobile devices were able to detect the directed cell. A mobile device is able to estimate its own location from the approximate locations of one or more directed cells that it can identify. This estimated location of the mobile device may be used to seed its GPS receiver.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method for estimating a location of a mobile device in a network, the method comprising:
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identifying two or more uniquely identifiable radio frequency sources of the network from signals received by the mobile device at the location; receiving approximate locations of two or more transmit areas from the uniquely identifiable radio frequency sources; determining for each signal received by the mobile device one or more parameters that are proportional to a distance between the frequency source originating the signal and the mobile device; and estimating the location of the mobile device from the approximate locations and the one or more parameters, wherein at least one of the parameters is a transmit power of the mobile device at the time one of the signals was received. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method for assisting a mobile device to estimate its location in a network, the method comprising:
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receiving from mobile devices location reports that include locations of the mobile devices, an identification of a uniquely identifiable radio frequency source in the network identified by the mobile devices at the locations, and transmit powers of the mobile devices to the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source at the locations; constructing from the location reports a radio frequency source profile for the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source, the radio frequency source profile including information based on the transmit powers and including an approximate location of a transmit area for the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source; receiving from the mobile device a query that identifies the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source; and in response to the query, transmitting the radio frequency source profile to the mobile device to enable the mobile device to use the approximate location and the information in estimating its location. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A location approximation system comprising:
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a database to store a radio frequency source profile for a uniquely identifiable radio frequency source of a first network, the radio frequency source profile including an approximate location of a transmit area for the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source, wherein the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source is able to communicate with an infrastructure network; a server coupled to the database; and means for communicating with the infrastructure network, wherein the server is arranged to receive from mobile devices location reports that include locations of the mobile devices, an identification of the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source identified by the mobile devices at the locations, and transmit powers of the mobile devices to the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source at the locations, wherein the server is further arranged to construct the radio frequency source profile from the location reports, wherein the radio frequency source profile includes information related to the transmit powers, and wherein, in response to receipt by the server of a query from a mobile device identifying the uniquely identifiable radio frequency source, the server is arranged to transmit the radio frequency source profile to the mobile device to enable the mobile device to use the approximate location and the information in estimating its location. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification