User equipment link quality estimation based on positioning

• US 9,094,868 B2
• Filed: 10/14/2013
• Issued: 07/28/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/15/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Partners II LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Partners II LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Tellado, Jose, Raleigh, Gregory G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Roberts, Brian
• Application Number:
  US14/053,574
• Publication Number:
  US 20140105046A1
• Time in Patent Office: 652 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/006 with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination

Abstract

Systems, methods, and apparatuses for estimating a user equipment link quality based on a positioning of user equipment are provided. One method includes determining a plurality of link qualities (LQs) of the user equipment (UE) for a plurality of positionings of the UE, wherein at least one of the plurality of positionings includes at least a location or an orientation of the UE, storing information associated with the plurality of LQs for the plurality of positionings, estimating at least one future positioning of the UE, and estimating a future link quality (LQ) of the UE at the at least one future positioning of the UE based on the stored information associated with the plurality of LQs at the plurality of positionings of the UE.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

determining a plurality of link qualities (LQs) of a user equipment (UE) for a plurality of positionings of the UE, wherein at least one of the plurality of positionings includes at least a location or an orientation of the UE;

storing information associated with the plurality of LQs for the plurality of positionings;

estimating at least one future positioning of the UE; and

estimating a future link quality (LQ) of the UE at the at least one future positioning of the UE based on the stored information associated with the plurality of LQs at the plurality of positionings of the UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the future LQ or the plurality of LQs comprises one or more of a path loss (PL), shadowing (S), interference (I), signal to noise ratio (SNR), signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR), signal to interference ratio (SIR), channel quality indicator (CQI), channel state information (CQI), packet error rate (PER).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the future LQ or the information associated with the plurality of LQs is associated with an uplink or downlink transmission.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the future LQ or the plurality of LQs is associated with a frequency band or a frequency channel.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the future LQ or the plurality of LQs is associated with a wireless communication technology.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the future LQ or the plurality of LQs is associated with a link partner of the UE.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein a link quality positioning information includes at least one of the determined plurality of LQs, the stored information, the estimated future positioning or the estimated future LQ.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE obtains at least a portion of the link quality positioning information from a link partner or wherein the UE communicates the at least the portion of the link quality positioning information to the link partner.

9. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a UE usage information, wherein at least a portion of the link quality positioning information is based on the UE usage information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the UE usage information comprises UE information indicating one or more of a user handheld mode, a hands-free mode, a speaker phone mode, a car Bluetooth mode, a headset Bluetooth mode.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising determining a UE environment information, wherein at least a portion of the link quality positioning information is based on the UE environment information.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE environment information comprises information associated to one or more of a traffic load, a network load, an interference, time of day, whether information, day of year, season.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE environment information comprises information associated with surrounding objects or information associated with a user of the UE.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the information associated with the user of the UE includes positioning of the user of the UE or positioning of the user of the UE relative to the UE.

15. The method of claim 11, further comprising assisting determining the UE environment information using sensors of the UE.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising allocating a resource to a UE link, wherein the allocation of the resource to the UE link is based on the estimated future LQ.

17. The method of claim 1, further comprising selecting a transmission mode for a UE link, wherein the selecting the transmission mode for the UE link is based on the estimated future LQ.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the transmission mode comprises one or more of a modulation, a code, a modulation and coding scheme (MCS), a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) mode, a beamforming parameter, a transmit power.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising obtaining at least one future time, and wherein the estimating the at least one future positioning is based on the at least one future time.

20. The method of claim 1, further comprising a second plurality of positionings wherein the second plurality of positionings comprises the at least one future positioning, and further comprising estimating a second plurality of LQs based on the second plurality of positionings.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising allocating a resource block (RB) to a UE link based on the estimated second plurality of LQs.

22. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of positionings is constrained to a physical area.

23. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of positionings or the estimated at least one future positioning of the UE further comprises at least one of an error, an accuracy, a deformation, a velocity, an acceleration.

24. A method, comprising:

determining a plurality of link qualities (LQs) of a user equipment (UE) for a plurality of positionings of the UE, wherein at least one of the plurality positioning includes at least a location or an orientation of the UE;

storing information associated with the plurality of LQs for the plurality of positionings;

estimating at least a positioning of the UE;

determining at least one neighboring positioning of the positioning of the UE; and

estimating one or more neighboring link qualities (LQs) of the UE at the at least one neighboring positioning of the UE based on the stored information associated with the plurality of LQs at the plurality of positionings of the UE.

25. The method of claim 24, further comprising adjusting or changing a configuration of the UE based on the one or more neighboring LQs.

26. The method of claim 24, further comprising presenting the one or more neighboring LQs of the UE at the at least one neighboring positioning.

27. The method of claim 24, further comprising selecting a candidate positioning from the at least one neighboring positioning based on the one or more neighboring LQs.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising presenting the selected candidate positioning to a user of the UE.

29. The method of claim 24, wherein a link quality neighboring positioning information includes at least one of the determined plurality of LQs, the stored information, the estimated at least a positioning of the UE, the determined at least one neighboring positioning, or the one or more neighboring LQs.

30. The method of claim 29, further comprising determining a UE environment information, wherein at least a portion of the link quality neighboring positioning information is based on the UE environment information.

31. The method of claim 30, the UE environment information comprises information associated with a user of the UE.

32. The method of claim 30, further comprising selecting a joint candidate positioning of the UE and a user of the UE, wherein the joint candidate positioning comprises a combination of a UE positioning and a user positioning relative to the UE.

33. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising:

a transceiver operative to communicate with a link partner device through a communication link, wherein the communication link includes a link quality;

a controller, the controller operative to;

determine a plurality of link qualities (LQs) of the UE for a plurality of positionings of the UE, wherein at least one of the plurality of positionings includes at least a location or an orientation of the UE;

store information associated with the plurality of LQs for the plurality of positionings;

estimate at least one future positioning of the UE; and

estimate a future link quality (LQ) of the UE at the at least one future positioning of the UE based on the stored information associated with the plurality of LQs at the plurality of positionings of the UE.

34. A method, comprising:

determining a plurality of link qualities (LQs) of one or more user equipment (UE) for a plurality of positionings of the one or more UE, wherein at least one of the plurality of positionings includes at least a location or an orientation of a first UE of the one or more UE;

storing information associated with the plurality of LQs for the plurality of positionings;

estimating at least one future positioning of a second UE; and

estimating a future link quality (LQ) of the second UE at the at least one future positioning of the second UE based on the stored information associated with the plurality of LQs at the plurality of positionings of the one or more UE.