Method and apparatus for determining the position of a base station in a cellular communication network
First Claim
1. A method of performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
- sending at least one position request for at least one user equipment (UE) from a first base station to a second base station, the at least one UE being within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, and wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell;
receiving position information for the at least one UE from the second base station; and
determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE,wherein the determining the position estimate for the first base station comprises;
obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, andaveraging the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques for performing positioning in a cellular network are described. In one design, a first base station (e.g., a home base station) determines its position based on position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of the first base station and a second base station. The first base station sends at least one position request for the at least one UE to the second base station, receives position information for the at least one UE from the second base station, and determines a position estimate for itself based on the position information. In another design, the second base station receives a position request for the first base station, obtains position information for at least one UE, determines a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information, and sends the position estimate to the first base station.
25 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A method of performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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sending at least one position request for at least one user equipment (UE) from a first base station to a second base station, the at least one UE being within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, and wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; receiving position information for the at least one UE from the second base station; and determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE, wherein the determining the position estimate for the first base station comprises; obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and averaging the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 24)
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5. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
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at least one processor configured to execute instructions that cause the apparatus to; send at least one position request for at least one user equipment (UE) from a first base station to a second base station, the at least one UE being within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations, to receive position information for the at least one UE from the second base station, and to determine a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell, and wherein the at least one UE comprises a UE not authorized to access the femto-cell, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute instructions that cause the apparatus to obtain multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and to average the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station, and a memory coupled to the at least one processor storing the instructions. - View Dependent Claims (6)
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7. An apparatus for performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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means for sending at least one position request for at least one user equipment (UE) from a first base station to a second base station, the at least one UE being within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, and wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; means for receiving position information for the at least one UE from the second base station; and means for determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE, wherein the means for determining the position estimate for the first base station comprises; means for obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and means for averaging the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A computer program product, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising; code for causing at least one computer to send at least one position request for at least one user equipment (UE) from a first base station to a second base station, the at least one UE being within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, and wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; code for causing the at least one computer to receive position information for the at least one UE from the second base station; and code for causing the at least one computer to determine a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to determine the position estimate for the first base station comprises; code for causing the at least one computer to obtain multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and code for causing the at least one computer to average the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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11. A method of performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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receiving a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; obtaining position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and sending the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the determining the position estimate for the first base station comprises obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and averaging the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station. - View Dependent Claims (12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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13. A method of performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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receiving a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; obtaining position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and sending the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the determining the position estimate for the first base station comprises; obtaining multiple round trip time (RTT) measurements for the at least one UE, obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and determining the position estimate for the first base station based on the multiple RTT measurements and the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE, wherein the obtaining the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE comprises; sending at least one RTT request to the first base station, and receiving the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE from the first base station.
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21. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
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at least one processor configured to execute instructions that cause the apparatus to receive a position request for a first base station at a second base station, to obtain position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations, to determine a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE, and to send the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell, and wherein the at least one UE comprises a UE not authorized to access the femto-cell, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute instructions that cause the apparatus to determine the position estimate for the first base station by obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and averaging the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station, and a memory coupled to the at least one processor storing the instructions. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23)
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25. An apparatus for performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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means for receiving a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; means for obtaining position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; means for determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and means for sending the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the means for determining the position estimate for the first base station is configured to; obtain multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and average the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station.
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26. A computer program product, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising; code for causing at least one computer to receive a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; code for causing the at least one computer to obtain position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; code for causing the at least one computer to determine a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and code for causing the at least one computer to send the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to determine the position estimate for the first base station comprises; code for causing the at least one computer to obtain multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and code for causing the at least one computer to average the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE to obtain the position estimate for the first base station.
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27. An apparatus for performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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means for receiving a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; means for obtaining position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; means for determining a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and means for sending the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the means for determining the position estimate for the first base station is configured to; obtain multiple round trip time (RTT) measurements for the at least one UE, obtain multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and determine the position estimate for the first base station based on the multiple RTT measurements and the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE, wherein the means for determining is configured to obtain the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE by; sending at least one RTT request to the first base station, and receiving the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE from the first base station.
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28. A computer program product, comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising; code for code for causing at least one computer to receive a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; code for causing the at least one computer to obtain position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; code for causing the at least one computer to determine a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and code for causing the at least one computer to send the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to determine the position estimate for the first base station comprises; code for causing the at least one computer to obtain multiple round trip time (RTT) measurements for the at least one UE, code for causing the at least one computer to obtain multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and code for causing the at least one computer to determine the position estimate for the first base station based on the multiple RTT measurements and the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE, wherein the code for causing the at least one computer to obtain the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE comprises; code for causing the at least one computer to send at least one RTT request to the first base station, and code for causing the at least one computer to receive the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE from the first base station.
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29. An apparatus for performing positioning in a cellular communication network, comprising:
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at least one processor configured to execute instructions that cause the apparatus to; receive a position request for a first base station at a second base station, wherein the first base station provides restricted access to a specific group of UEs, wherein the first base station comprises a home base station providing radio coverage for a femto-cell, wherein the second base station provides radio coverage for a macro-cell encompassing the femto-cell; obtain position information for at least one user equipment (UE) within radio coverage of both the first and second base stations; determine a position estimate for the first base station based on the position information for the at least one UE; and send the position estimate to the first base station, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute instructions that cause the apparatus to determine the position estimate for the first base station by; obtaining multiple round trip time (RTT) measurements for the at least one UE, obtaining multiple position estimates for the at least one UE from the position information, and determining the position estimate for the first base station based on the multiple RTT measurements and the multiple position estimates for the at least one UE, wherein the at least one processor is configured execute instructions that cause the apparatus to obtain the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE by; sending at least one RTT request to the first base station, and receiving the multiple RTT measurements for the at least one UE from the first base station; and memory coupled to the at least one processor for storing the instructions.
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Specification