Methods and arrangements for fingerprinting positioning

• US 9,234,959 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2009
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Original Assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson
• Inventors: Wigren, Karl Torbjrn
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Dinh P
• Application Number:
  US13/140,238
• Publication Number:
  US 20110250905A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,441 Days
• Field of Search: 455/404.2, 455/418, 455/440, 455/456.1, 455/456.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02523 Details of interaction of receiver with radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location

Abstract

A method for providing position determination assisting data comprises repetitions of establishing (210) of a cell relation configuration for a user equipment and performing (212) of a high-precision position determination for the user equipment. Results of the determinations belonging to the same cell relation configuration are clustered (214) in separate clustered results. An area definition is associated (220) with the clustered results by enclosing (221) the clustered results by a polygon, shrinking (222) the polygon by moving corners towards a contraction point and defining (223) the area definition as a shrunk polygon comprising a predetermined fraction of the clustered results. The contraction point is selected to be situated within the clustered results. The method also comprises creating (230) of position determination assisting data comprising a relation between the cell relation configurations and the associated area definitions. An arrangement for providing position determination assisting data is also presented.

Claims

1. A method for providing position determination assisting data for adaptive enhanced cell-ID positioning purposes in a cellular communications network, comprising:

for each of a plurality of times, establishing a cell relation configuration for a user equipment and performing a high-precision position determination for said user equipment;

clustering results of different ones of said high-precision position determinations that belong to different cell relation configurations into separate clusters of results, wherein any given one of said clusters includes results of one or more of said high-precision position determinations that belong to the same cell relation configuration;

associating an area definition with each of one or more of said clusters by;

enclosing the results of the cluster within a polygon;

shrinking said polygon by moving polygon corners towards a contraction point distinct from a total centre of gravity of all results of the cluster, wherein said contraction point is a local centre of gravity of a subset of the results of the cluster, said subset being a predetermined amount of those results of the cluster that are situated closest to a total centre of gravity of all results of the cluster, and wherein said contraction point is always selected to be situated in the interior of the cluster and is locally surrounded by individual results of the cluster; and

defining the area definition associated with the cluster as a shrunk polygon comprising a predetermined fraction of the results of the cluster; and

creating position determination assisting data comprising a relation between said cell relation configurations and said associated area definitions.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein said contraction point is selected as a point within said polygon having a smallest distance to the n-th closest result of said cluster, where n is one of a predetermined number and a predetermined fraction of all results of the cluster.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising computing said contraction point before beginning to shrink said polygon.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising computing said contraction point intermittently while shrinking said polygon.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising computing said contraction point only if said total centre of gravity falls outside the interior of the results of the cluster.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is also for radio network planning, wherein said performing a high-precision position determination comprises performing said determination on demand, and wherein the method further comprises evaluating said position determination assisting data regarding actual radio propagation.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method is also for determining a position of a particular user equipment in the cellular communications network, and further comprises:

establishing a cell relation configuration for said particular user equipment; and

determining, by said position determination assisting data, an area definition related to the cell relation configuration established for said particular user equipment as defining an area in which said particular user equipment is positioned.

8. A node associated with a cellular communications network operative to provide position determination assisting data for adaptive enhanced cell-ID positioning purposes, comprising:

a configuration-establisher and a data-obtainer configured, for each of a plurality of times, to establish a cell relation configuration for a user equipment and to obtain data of a high-precision position determination for said user equipment;

a clusterer connected to said configuration-establisher and said data-obtainer and configured to cluster results of different ones of said high-precision position determinations that belong to different cell relation configurations into separate clusters of results, wherein any given one of said clusters includes results of one or more of said high-precision position determinations that belong to the same cell relation configuration;

an associator connected to said clusterer and configured to associate an area definition with each of one or more of said clusters and to create position determination assisting data for adaptive enhanced cell-ID positioning purposes, said data comprising a relation between said cell relation configurations and said associated area definitions, wherein the associator is configured to associate an area definition with a cluster by;

enclosing the results of the cluster within a polygon;

shrinking said polygon by moving polygon corners towards a contraction point distinct from a total centre of gravity of all results of the cluster, wherein said contraction point is a local centre of gravity of a subset of the results of the cluster, said subset being a predetermined amount of those results of the cluster that are situated closest to a total centre of gravity of all results of the cluster, and wherein said contraction point is always selected to be situated in the interior of the cluster and is locally surrounded by individual results of the cluster; and

defining the area definition associated with the cluster as a shrunk polygon comprising a predetermined fraction of the results of the cluster.

9. The node according to claim 8, wherein the associator is configured to select said contraction point as a point within said polygon having a smallest distance to the n-th closest result of said cluster, where n is one of a predetermined number and a predetermined fraction of all results of the cluster.

10. The node according to claim 8, wherein the node is configured to determine a position of a particular user equipment in the cellular communications network, and further comprises:

a second configuration-establisher configured to establish a cell relation configuration for said particular user equipment; and

a position-determiner connected to said second configuration establisher and configured to determine, by said position determination assisting data, an area definition related to said cell relation configuration established for said particular user equipment as defining an area in which said particular user equipment is positioned.

11. The node according to claim 8, wherein the node is external to the cellular communications network, and wherein said configuration establisher and said data-obtainer comprise a receiver configured to receive data from the cellular communications network.

12. A cellular communications network comprising a node for providing position determination assisting data for adaptive enhanced cell-ID positioning purposes related to the cellular communications network, wherein the node comprises:

a configuration-establisher and a data-obtainer configured, for each of a plurality of times, to establish a cell relation configuration for a user equipment and to obtain data of a high-precision position determination for said user equipment;

a clusterer connected to said configuration-establisher and said data-obtainer and configured to cluster results of different ones of said high-precision position determinations that belong to different cell relation configurations into separate clusters of results, wherein any given one of said clusters includes results of one or more of said high-precision position determinations that belong to the same cell relation configuration;

an associator connected to said clusterer and configured to associate an area definition with each of one or more of said clusters and to create position determination assisting data for adaptive enhanced cell-ID positioning purposes, said data comprising a relation between said cell relation configurations and said associated area definitions, wherein the associator is configured to associate an area definition with a cluster by;

enclosing the results of the cluster within a polygon;

shrinking said polygon by moving polygon corners towards a contraction point distinct from a total centre of gravity of all results of the cluster, wherein said contraction point is always selected to be situated in the interior of the cluster and is locally surrounded by individual results of the cluster; and

defining the area definition associated with the cluster as a shrunk polygon comprising a predetermined fraction of the results of the cluster.