Screening terminal positions at a terminal

• US 8,929,924 B2
• Filed: 03/04/2009
• Issued: 01/06/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/04/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Wirola, Lauri Aarne Johannes, Laine, Tommi Antero, Raitoharju, Matti Samuli, Sirola, Niilo Torsten
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US13/202,595
• Publication Number:
  US 20110306365A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,134 Days
• Field of Search: 455/422.1, 4554561-4566, 455/403, 455/404.1, 455/404
• US Class Current: 455/456.6
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/27 for locating or positioning the transmitter
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/18 Network planning tools
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports

Abstract

It is disclosed an apparatus, a method and a computer program for determining, at a terminal, whether at least one terminal position associated with a coverage area of a communication node shall be discarded or reported to allow at least one of said coverage area and said communication node to be characterized at least partially based on said at least one reported terminal position.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, and

a memory, said memory storing a program comprising program code, said memory and said program configured to, with said processor, cause said apparatus to perform determining, at a terminal, whether at least one terminal position of a plurality of positions of said terminal, said terminal position associated with a coverage area of a communication node, shall be discarded or reported to a unit that is different from said terminal to allow at least one of said coverage area and said communication node to be characterized at least partially based on said at least one reported terminal position.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining whether said at least one terminal position shall be discarded or reported is at least partially based on at least one of a model for said coverage area of said communication node and a modified model for said coverage area of said communication node that is obtained by modifying said at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said model for said coverage area of said communication node is derived, as a characterization of said coverage area, from one or more terminal positions associated with said coverage area of said communication node and reported by one or more terminals.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said at least one terminal position is determined to be discarded if it is covered by at least one of said model for said coverage area of said communication node and said modified model.

5. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said modified model for said coverage area of said communication node is a scaled representation of said at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

6. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said memory and said program are further configured to, with said processor, cause said apparatus to perform determining a mismatch between said at least one terminal position and one of said model for said coverage area of said communication node and said modified model and to report an indication of such a mismatch.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said determining whether said at least one terminal position shall be discarded or reported is at least partially based on at least one of information on terminal positions that have been reported by said terminal before and a state of a process for characterizing said coverage area of said communication node at least partially based on one or more terminal positions reported by one or more terminals.

8. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said at least one terminal position is discarded if it is in a respective defined environment of any terminal position of a defined set of terminal positions that have been reported before.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said memory and said program are further configured to, with said processor, cause said apparatus to perform determining whether said at least one terminal position and information on a distance between said at least one terminal position and said communication node shall be discarded or reported, and wherein said determining is at least partially based on information on a quality of an estimate of a position of said communication node.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said position of said communication node is estimated, as a characterization of said communication node, based on one or more terminal positions and respective information on the distance between the terminal positions and the communication node reported by one or more terminals.

11. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said at least one terminal position and said information on said distance between said at least one terminal position and said communication node is determined to be reported if said quality of said estimate of said position of said communication node is considered low according to a defined criterion.

12. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitter configured to report said at least one terminal position in case it is determined that said at least one terminal position shall be reported.

13. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in case it is determined that said at least one terminal position shall be reported, said at least one terminal position is reported as a fingerprint that further comprises an identifier of said communication node.

14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said fingerprint further comprises an identifier of another communication node for which it is determined that said terminal position shall be reported to allow at least one of a coverage area of said other communication node and said other communication node to be characterized at least partially based on said at least one reported terminal position.

15. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus is at least one of a module, a portable electronic communication device and an apparatus comprising at least one of a user interface and an antenna.

16. A method comprising:

determining, at a terminal, whether at least one terminal position of a plurality of positions of said terminal, said terminal position associated with a coverage area of a communication node, shall be discarded or reported to a unit that is different from said terminal to allow at least one of said coverage area and said communication node to be characterized at least partially based on said at least one reported terminal position.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein it is determined whether said at least one terminal position and information on a distance between said at least one terminal position and said communication node shall be discarded or reported, and wherein said determining is at least partially based on information on a quality of an estimate of a position of said communication node.

18. The method according to claim 16, wherein, in case it is determined that said at least one terminal position shall be reported, said at least one terminal position is reported as a fingerprint that further comprises an identifier of said communication node.

19. A non-transitory readable medium having a program comprising:

program code for performing the method according to claim 16, when said program is executed on a processor.

20. The method according to claim 16, wherein said determining whether said at least one terminal position shall be discarded or reported is at least partially based on at least one of a model for said coverage area of said communication node and a modified model for said coverage area of said communication node that is obtained by modifying said at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

21. The method according to claim 20, wherein said model for said coverage area of said communication node is derived, as a characterization of said coverage area, from one or more terminal positions associated with said coverage area of said communication node and reported by one or more terminals.

22. The method according to claim 20, wherein said at least one terminal position is determined to be discarded if it is covered by at least one of said model for said coverage area of said communication node and said modified model.

23. The method according to claim 20, wherein said modified model for said coverage area of said communication node is a scaled representation of said at least one model for said coverage area of said communication node.

24. The method according to claim 20, further comprising determining a mismatch between said at least one terminal position and one of said model for said coverage area of said communication node and said modified model, and reporting an indication of such a mismatch.

25. The method according to claim 16, wherein said determining whether said at least one terminal position shall be discarded or reported is at least partially based on at least one of information on terminal positions that have been reported by said terminal before and a state of a process for characterizing said coverage area of said communication node at least partially based on one or more terminal positions reported by one or more terminals.

26. The method according to claim 25, wherein said at least one terminal position is discarded if it is in a respective defined environment of any terminal position of a defined set of terminal positions that have been reported before.

27. The method according to claim 17, wherein said position of said communication node is estimated, as a characterization of said communication node, based on one or more terminal positions and respective information on the distance between the terminal positions and the communication node reported by one or more terminals.

28. The method according to claim 17, wherein said at least one terminal position and said information on said distance between said at least one terminal position and said communication node is determined to be reported if said quality of said estimate of said position of said communication node is considered low according to a defined criterion.

29. The method according to claim 16, further comprising reporting said at least one terminal position in case it is determined that said at least one terminal position shall be reported.

30. The method according to claim 18, wherein said fingerprint further comprises an identifier of another communication node for which it is determined that said terminal position shall be reported to allow at least one of a coverage area of said other communication node and said other communication node to be characterized at least partially based on said at least one reported terminal position.