Providing base station almanac to mobile station

• US 9,026,143 B2
• Filed: 12/26/2013
• Issued: 05/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Moeglein, Mark Leo, Burroughs, Kirk Allan
• Primary Examiner(s): DOAN, KIET M
• Application Number:
  US14/141,160
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106789A1
• Time in Patent Office: 495 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.6, 455/456.2, 455/13.3, 455/561, 370/352, 370/392, 370/338, 370/254, 370/331, 370/244, 370/341, 711/103, 717/126
• US Class Current: 455/456.2
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services

Abstract

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a hierarchal base station almanac received at a mobile station.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

receiving at a mobile station one or more signals representative of at least a subset of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein said common information is recorded as a single entry in the upper level;

storing information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac; and

estimating a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

9. A mobile station, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive one or more signals representative of at least a subset of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein said common information is recorded as a single entry in the upper level;

a memory configured to store information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac; and

a processor coupled to the memory and to the receiver, the processor configured to estimate a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac.

10. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

11. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

12. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

13. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

14. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

15. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

16. The mobile station of claim 9, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

17. An apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving at a mobile station one or more signals representative of at least a subset of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server via a means for wireless communication, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein said common information is recorded as a single entry in the upper level;

means for storing information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac in the mobile station; and

means for estimating a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

21. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

22. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

23. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

24. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

25. A non-transitory article, comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed, enable a processor in a mobile station to;

receive one or more signals representative of at least a subset of a hierarchal base station almanac from a base station almanac server, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein said common information is recorded as a single entry in the upper level;

store information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac; and

estimate a location of the mobile station based, at least in part, on the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac.

26. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

27. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

28. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

29. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

30. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

31. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

32. The non-transitory article of claim 25, wherein the information derived from the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

33. A method comprising:

receiving at a base station server a request for information associated with a hierarchal base station almanac;

transmitting to a mobile station one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the hierarchal base station almanac from the base station server via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein the common information is recorded in the hierarchal base station almanac as a single entry in the upper level.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

35. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

36. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

37. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

38. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

39. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

40. The method of claim 33, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

41. A base station server comprising:

a receiver configured to receive a request for information associated with a hierarchal base station almanac; and

a transmitter configured to transmit to a mobile station one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the hierarchal base station almanac via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein the common information is recorded in the hierarchal base station almanac as a single entry in the upper level.

42. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

43. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

44. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

45. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

46. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

47. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

48. The base station server of claim 41, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

49. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a request for information associated with a hierarchal base station almanac; and

means for transmitting to a mobile station one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the hierarchal base station almanac via means for wireless communication, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein the common information is recorded in the hierarchal base station almanac as a single entry in the upper level.

50. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

51. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

52. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

53. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

54. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

55. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

56. The apparatus of claim 49, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.

57. A non-transitory article, comprising:

a storage medium having stored thereon instructions that, if executed, enable a processor in a base station server to;

receive a request for information associated with a hierarchal base station almanac; and

transmit to a mobile station one or more signals representative of at least a subset of the hierarchal base station almanac via a wireless communication network, the hierarchal base station almanac comprising a plurality of levels configured in a hierarchal fashion, including an upper level and a lower level, wherein the upper level comprises information common to a plurality of entries listed in the lower level, wherein the common information is recorded in the hierarchal base station almanac as a single entry in the upper level.

58. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a coverage area whose position is expressed as an offset from a reference point.

59. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises a list of frequencies.

60. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with an LTE network.

61. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a GSM network.

62. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a UTRA network.

63. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a WLAN network.

64. The non-transitory article of claim 57, wherein the information associated with the hierarchal base station almanac comprises information associated with a group of transmitters.