Apparatus and method for acquiring the position of a portable terminal

• US 9,354,325 B2
• Filed: 03/01/2012
• Issued: 05/31/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 05/09/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Shin, Gye-Joong, Chung, Do-Hyoung
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng, George
• Assistant Examiner(s): DEAN, JR, JOSEPH E
• Application Number:
  US13/409,812
• Publication Number:
  US 20120289257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,552 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/4
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/25 involving aiding data received from a cooperating element, e.g. assisted GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

An apparatus for acquiring a position of a portable terminal includes a position estimating unit for estimating a position of a portable terminal based on prestored reference information, and a control unit for detecting—the position of the portable terminal using information from a server, wherein when there is a failure to acquire the position information of the portable terminal using the information from the server, the position estimating unit acquires the position of the portable terminal based on the estimated position of the portable terminal.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

identifying base station information received from a base station by a portable terminal;

transmitting, by the portable terminal to a server, a request for a position of the base station corresponding to the identified base station information;

while a response to the request for the position of the base station is pending, detecting, by the portable terminal, an area where the portable terminal is situated by comparing the base station information with reference information stored in the portable terminal;

while the response to the request for the position of the base station is pending, locating a satellite based at least in part on the area where the portable terminal is situated; and

when the response is received before the satellite is located based at least in part on the area, stopping a process of locating the satellite based at least in part on the area where the portable terminal is situated, and locating the satellite based at least in part on an indication of the position of the base station that is contained in the response.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference information relates:

a country code to (i) a longitude and latitude of a reference point, and (ii) an indication of at least one line which, in conjunction with the reference point, describes the area.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising estimating the location of the portable terminal based on a signal from the satellite.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the reference information is searchable based on the base station information.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving a signal from the satellite.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting of the area where the portable terminal is situated comprises:

detecting a reduced radius around the reference point based on the indication of the at least one line; and

wherein the area is determined based on the reduced radius and the reference point.

7. A portable terminal comprising at least one processor coupled to a memory storing reference information, the at least one processor being configured to:

identify base station information received from a base station by the portable terminal;

transmit, by the portable terminal to a server, a request for a position of the base station corresponding to the identified base station information;

while a response to the request for the position of the base station is pending, detect an area where the portable terminal is situated by comparing the base station information with the reference information ;

while the response to the request for the position of the base station is pending, locate a satellite based at least in part on the area where the portable terminal is situated; and

when the response is received before the satellite is located based at least in part on the area, stop a process of locating the satellite based at least in part on the area where the portable terminal is situated, and locate the satellite based at least in part on an indication of the position of the base station that is contained in the response.

8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the reference information relates:

a country code to (i) a longitude and latitude of a reference point, and (ii) an indication of at least one line which, in conjunction with the reference point, describes the area based on which the satellite is located.

9. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to estimate the location of the portable terminal based on a signal from the satellite.

10. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the reference information is searchable based on the base station information.

11. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the detecting of the area where the portable terminal is situated comprises:

detecting a reference point corresponding to the base station information using the reference information;

detecting a reduced radius around the reference point; and

wherein the area is determined based on the reduced radius and the reference point.

12. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the processor is further configured to receive a signal from the satellite.

13. A method comprising:

identifying base station information for use in searching for satellites based on a communication between a base station and a portable terminal;

detecting a range for searching for the satellites based on reference information stored in the portable terminal, the reference information being searchable based on the base station information, and the reference information relating the base station information to (i) a longitude and latitude of a reference point, and (ii) an indication of at least one line which, in conjunction with the reference point, describes the range for searching for the satellites; and

estimating a position of the portable terminal using geolocational signals from the satellites after the satellites are identified based on the range;

wherein the range is detected based on the reference information when the portable terminal is unable to retrieve a location of the base station from a server; and

wherein the range is detected during an ongoing attempt to retrieve the location of the base station from the server.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the indication of the at least one line defines a radius around the reference point.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the detecting of the range comprises detecting a reduced radius around the reference point based on the indication of the at least one line.