Transmitter position integrity checking

• US 8,437,772 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2009
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Moeglein, Mark Leo, Rowitch, Douglas Neal, Bhatia, Ashok, Wong, Kin Fai
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US12/560,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20110065457A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,330 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 370/338
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0249 Determining position using measurements made by a non-stationary device other than the device whose position is being determined
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to determining whether a reported position of a wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate in accordance with an accuracy metric based at least in part on a calculated range between an estimated position of a mobile station and the reported position and also based at least in part on one or more measurements taken from one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a mobile station, a reported position associated with a wireless transmitter;

estimating, by the mobile station, a position of a mobile station at a first point in time;

calculating, by the mobile station, a range between the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter and the estimated position of the mobile station;

determining, by the mobile station, whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate in accordance with an accuracy metric based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on one or more measurements related to one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at approximately the first point in time; and

assigning, by the mobile station, an adjustable uncertainty value to the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on said one or more measurements, the uncertainty value of the reported position is further adjustable based, at least in part, on one or more additional calculated ranges and on one or more additional measurements of one or more additional signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at one or more other points in time.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more measurements related to the one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter are performed by the mobile station.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises receiving the reported position from the wireless transmitter.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises receiving an almanac of information related to a plurality of transmitters.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises receiving an estimated position of an antenna of the wireless transmitter.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises receiving an estimated position of a center of a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimating the position of the mobile station at the first point in time comprises estimating the position of the mobile station within the mobile station.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said estimating the position of the mobile station at the first point in time comprises estimating the position of the mobile station at a network server.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said determining whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate is based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter;

an uncertainty value associated with the estimated position of the mobile station;

the uncertainty value assigned to the reported position;

a timing parameter for at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station;

a strength of at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station; and

/or

an amount of previous observations of one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at a plurality of independent positions within a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter is based, at least in part, on said strength of said at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station, an estimated coverage area provided by a base station almanac, information inferred from search windows from a neighbor list, one or more range estimates to one or more neighbors, and/or a density of base stations in a specified area.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter and/or indicating that the reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter is not reliable based at least in part on said one or more measurements.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting said uncertainty value based at least in part on a degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said adjusting said uncertainty value comprises increasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively small.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said adjusting said uncertainty value comprises decreasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively large.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising labeling the reported position of the wireless transmitter as unreliable if the uncertainty value exceeds a specified threshold.

16. A mobile station, comprising:

a receiver to receive a reported position associated with a wireless transmitter, the receiver further configured to receive one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at approximately a first point in time; and

a processing unit to estimate at least in part a position of the mobile station at the first point in time, the processing unit further configured to calculate at least in part a range between the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter and the estimated position of the mobile station, to determine at least in part whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate in accordance with an accuracy metric based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on one or more measurements related to said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter, and to assign an adjustable uncertainty value to the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on said one or more measurements, the uncertainty value of the reported position is further adjustable based, at least in part, on one or more additional calculated ranges and on one or more additional measurements of one or more additional signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at one or more other points in time.

17. The mobile station of claim 16, wherein the one or more measurements related to the one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter are performed by the mobile station.

18. The mobile station of claim 16, said receiver to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving the reported position from the wireless transmitter.

19. The mobile station of claim 16, said receiver to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving an almanac of information related to a plurality of transmitters.

20. The mobile station of claim 16, said receiver to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving an estimated position of an antenna of the wireless transmitter.

21. The mobile station of claim 16, said receiver to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving an estimated position of a center of a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

22. The mobile station of claim 16, said processing unit to determine whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter;

an uncertainty value associated with the estimated position of the mobile station;

an uncertainty value associated with the reported position;

a timing parameter for at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station;

a strength of at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station; and

/or

an amount of previous observations of one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at a plurality of independent positions within a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

23. The mobile station of claim 22, said processing unit to estimate the coverage area of the wireless transmitter based, at least in part, on said strength of said at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station, an estimated coverage area provided by a base station almanac, information inferred from search windows from a neighbor list, one or more range estimates to one or more neighbors, and/or a density of base stations in a specified area.

24. The mobile station of claim 16, said processing unit further to adjust a reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter and/or to indicate that the reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter is not reliable based at least in part on said one or more measurements.

25. The mobile station of claim 16, said processing unit to adjust said uncertainty value based at least in part on a degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements.

26. The mobile station of claim 25, said processing unit to adjust said uncertainty value by increasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively small.

27. The mobile station of claim 25, said processing unit to adjust said uncertainty value by decreasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively large.

28. The mobile station of claim 25, said processing unit further to label the reported position of the wireless transmitter as unreliable if the uncertainty value exceeds a specified threshold.

29. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a reported position associated with a wireless transmitter;

means for receiving at a mobile station one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at approximately a first point in time;

means for estimating a position of the mobile station at the first point in time;

means for calculating a range between the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter and the estimated position of the mobile station;

means for determining whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate in accordance with an accuracy metric based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on one or more measurements related to said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter; and

means for assigning an adjustable uncertainty value to the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on said one or more measurements, the uncertainty value of the reported position is further adjustable based, at least in part, on one or more additional calculated ranges and on one or more additional measurements of one or more additional signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at one or more other points in time.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the one or more measurements related to the one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter are performed by the mobile station.

31. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises means for receiving the reported position from the wireless transmitter.

32. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises means for receiving an almanac of information related to a plurality of transmitters.

33. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises means for receiving an estimated position of an antenna of the wireless transmitter.

34. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for receiving the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter comprises means for receiving an estimated position of a center of a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

35. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for estimating the position of the mobile station at the first point in time comprises means for calculating the estimated position of the mobile station within the mobile station.

36. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for estimating the position of the mobile station at the first point in time comprises means for receiving an estimated position of the mobile station calculated at a network server.

37. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein said means for determining whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate comprises means for making the determination based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter;

an uncertainty value associated with the estimated position of the mobile station;

an uncertainty value associated with the reported position;

a timing parameter for at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station;

a strength of at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station; and

/or

an amount of previous observations of one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at a plurality of independent positions within a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein said estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter is based, at least in part, on said strength of said at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station, an estimated coverage area provided by a base station almanac, information inferred from search windows from a neighbor list, one or more range estimates to one or more neighbors, and/or a density of base stations in a specified area.

39. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising means for adjusting a reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter and/or means for indicating that the reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter is not reliable based at least in part on said one or more measurements.

40. The apparatus of claim 29, further comprising means for adjusting said uncertainty value based at least in part on a degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements.

41. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein said means for adjusting said uncertainty value comprises means for increasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively small.

42. The apparatus of claim 40, wherein said means for adjusting said uncertainty value comprises means for decreasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively large.

43. The apparatus of claim 40, further comprising means for labeling the wireless transmitter as unreliable if the uncertainty value exceeds a specified threshold.

44. A non-transitory article of manufacture, comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed by a processing unit of a mobile station, enable the processing unit to;

estimate a position of the mobile station at a first point in time;

calculate a range between a reported position associated with a wireless transmitter and the estimated position of the mobile station;

determine whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate in accordance with an accuracy metric based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on one or more measurements related to one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at approximately the first point in time; and

assign an adjustable uncertainty value to the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter based at least in part on the calculated range and based at least in part on said one or more measurements, the uncertainty value of the reported position is further adjustable based, at least in part, on one or more additional calculated ranges and on one or more additional measurements of one or more additional signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at one or more other points in time.

45. The article of claim 44, wherein the one or more measurements related to the one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter are performed by the mobile station.

46. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving the reported position from the wireless transmitter.

47. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving an almanac of information related to a plurality of transmitters.

48. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving an estimated position of an antenna of the wireless transmitter.

49. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to receive the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter by receiving an estimated position of a center of a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

50. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to determine whether the reported position associated with the wireless transmitter is sufficiently accurate by making the determination based, at least in part, on one or more of:

an estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter;

an uncertainty value associated with the estimated position of the mobile station;

an uncertainty value associated with the reported position;

a timing parameter for at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station;

a strength of at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station; and

/or

an amount of previous observations of one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter at a plurality of independent positions within a coverage area of the wireless transmitter.

51. The article of claim 50, wherein said estimated coverage area of the wireless transmitter is based, at least in part, on said strength of said at least one of said one or more signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter and received at the mobile station, an estimated coverage area provided by a base station almanac, information inferred from search windows from a neighbor list, one or more range estimates to one or more neighbors, and/or a density of base stations in a specified area.

52. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to adjust a reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter and/or to indicate that the reported coverage area of the wireless transmitter is not reliable based at least in part on said one or more measurements.

53. The article of claim 44, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to adjust said uncertainty value based at least in part on a degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements.

54. The article of claim 53, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to adjust said uncertainty value by increasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively small.

55. The article of claim 53, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to adjust said uncertainty value by decreasing the uncertainly value if the degree of agreement between said reported position and said one or more measurements is relatively large.

56. The article of claim 53, wherein the storage medium has stored thereon further instructions that, if executed, further enable the processing unit to label the reported position of the wireless transmitter as unreliable if the uncertainty value exceeds a specified threshold.