Multi-path mitigation in rangefinding and tracking objects using reduced attenuation RF technology

• US 9,507,007 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2012
• Issued: 11/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm Technologies Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Polte Corporation
• Inventors: Markhovsky, Felix, Prevatt, Truman
• Primary Examiner(s): MCNALLY, KERRI L
• Application Number:
  US13/566,993
• Publication Number:
  US 20130023285A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 340/572.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/222 using random or pseudorandom pulse repetition frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/24 using frequency agility of carrier wave
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/767 Responders; Transponders teaching or practice apparatus for gun-aiming or gun-laying using reflecting targets or active targets F41G3/26
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 13/878 Combination of several spaced transmitters or receivers of known location for determining the position of a transponder or a reflector G01S13/874 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/466 by Trilateration, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the distance to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, i.e. the distance between the antennas or sensors, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2013/468 by Triangulation, i.e. two antennas or two sensors determine separately the bearing, direction or angle to a target, whereby with the knowledge of the baseline length, the position data of the target is determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 3/74 Multi-channel systems specially adapted for direction-finding, i.e. having a single antenna system capable of giving simultaneous indications of the directions of different signals systems in which the directions of different signals are determined sequentially and displayed simultaneously G01S3/04, G01S3/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0218 Multipath in signal reception
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0258 by combining or switching between measurements derived from different systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0263 by combining or switching between positions derived from two or more separate positioning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0273 using multipath or indirect path propagation signals in position determination
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location

Abstract

An autonomous system with no Customer Network Investment is described, wherein the system is configurable to operate on a band other than the LTE band. Such system allows the definition of hybrid operations to accommodate the positioning reference signals (PRS) of LTE and already existing reference signals. The system can operate with PRS, with other reference signals such as cell-specific reference signals (CRS), or with both signal types. As such, the system provides the advantage of allowing network operator(s) to dynamically choose between modes of operation depending on circumstances, such as network throughput and compatibility.

Claims

1. A method for determining a location of one or more user equipment (UE) in a wireless system, the method comprising:

determining that positioning reference signals are available for use in a first mode of operation;

determining that non-positioning specific reference signals are available for use in a second mode of operation;

selecting the first mode of operation, the second mode of operation, or a combination of the first mode of operation and the second mode of operation as a mode of operation of the wireless system based on network parameters, wherein the network parameters include hearability, throughput, and compatibility; and

utilizing the selected mode of operation to calculate a location of each UE among the one or more UE.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the non-positioning specific reference signals comprise cell-specific reference signals.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein each UE is configured to communicate with a locate server unit (LSU), and wherein the location calculation may be made by the one or more UE, by the LSU, or split between the one or more UE and LSU.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the positioning reference signals include sounding reference signals (SRS) and position reference signals (PRS).

5. The method of claim 2, wherein each UE of the one or more UE is configured to communicate with a locate server unit (LSU), and wherein the location calculation may be made by the one or more UE, by the LSU, or split between the one or more UE and LSU.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the LSU or one or more UE are configured to support location consistency multilateration and location consistency algorithms to generate the location.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the wireless system is configured to include functionality of a LSU, including functionality of a SUPL server, a E-SMLC server, and a LCS (LoCation Services) system.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the location calculation includes utilizing one or more angles of arrival.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein one or more angles of arrival are obtained from time difference of arrival results from two or more antennas from a cell tower, a location where multiple antennas are co-located, or a combination of two or more antennas from a cell tower and the location where multiple antennas are co-located.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the location calculation includes utilizing a multilateration between cell towers, a location where multiple sector antennas are co-located, or a combination of one or more angles of arrival from each cell tower and the location where multiple sector antennas are co-located.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the location calculation includes utilizing a combination of a distance measurement between one or more UE and a single cell tower or one or more locations where multiple sector antennas are co-located and a result from the single cell tower or the location where multiple sector antennas are co-located.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the location calculation includes utilizing a multilateration between cell towers, a location where multiple sector antennas are co-located, or a combination of one or more angles of arrival from each cell tower and the location where multiple sector antennas are co-located.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the location calculation includes utilizing a combination of a distance measurement between one or more UE and a single cell tower or one or more locations where multiple sector antennas are co-located and a result from the single cell tower or the location where multiple sector antennas are co-located.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein the location calculation comprises utilizing a downlink time difference of arrival.

15. A method for determining a location of one or more UE in a wireless system, the method comprising:

determining that positioning reference signals are available for use in a first mode of operation;

determining that non-positioning specific reference signals are available for use in a second mode of operation;

selecting the first mode of operation, the second mode of operation, or a combination of the first mode of operation and the second mode of operation as a mode of operation of the wireless system based on network parameters, wherein the network parameters include hearability, throughput, and compatibility; and

utilizing the selected mode of operation and an uplink time difference of arrival to calculate a location of each UE among the one or more UE.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the up-link time difference of arrival is calculated based on data obtained from a plurality of network signals acquisition units (NSAUs).

17. The method of claim 16, wherein each NSAU of the plurality of NSAUs is equipped with one antenna.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein each NSAU of the plurality of NSAU is configured to operate in a receiver mode.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to convert uplink RF transmission signals of the UE to baseband signals and convert the baseband signals to a digital format.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the converted baseband signals include I/Q samples.

21. The method of claim 18, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to receive uplink transmission baseband signals of the one or more UE in a digital format from a distributed antenna system (DAS), femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

22. The method of claim 16, wherein network infrastructure of the wireless system is configured to include functionality of an LSU.

23. The method of claim 16, wherein a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers in the wireless system are configured to include functionality of an NSAU.

24. The method of claim 16, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to communicate with a LSU.

25. The method of claim 24, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with an LTE network via a network API.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the DAS, femto cells, or small cells, or one or more cell towers are configured to pass to the LSU one or more of a list of served user equipment identifications (UEIDs), a SRS schedule per UE among the one or more UE with a UEID, including SRS related parameters, and physical cell IDs (PCIs) and global cell IDs (GCIs) of femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers for measurements.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the LSU is configured to calculate ranging and to obtain the location of the one or more UE based on data received from the plurality of NSAUs, the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein the LSU is further configured to calculate timing offsets of the plurality of NSAUs.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with an LTE network, and wherein the LSU provides ranging and location information to the LTE network.

31. The method of claim 26, wherein network infrastructure of the wireless system is configured to include functionality of the LSU.

32. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are further configured to convert uplink RF transmission signals of the UE to baseband signals and convert the baseband signals to a digital format.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the converted baseband signals include I/Q samples.

34. The method of claim 32, further comprising the plurality of NSAUs being configured to transmit the converted baseband signals to the LSU, and wherein the converted baseband signals include time stamps.

35. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to receive uplink transmission baseband signals of the one or more UE in a digital format from a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

36. The method of claim 24, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to receive, process, and time stamp samples of downlink signals of the one or more UE.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to periodically send a number of the samples to the LSU.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers, and wherein the LSU is further configured to calculate timing offsets of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

39. The method of claim 36, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers, and wherein the LSU is further configured to calculate timing offsets of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

40. The method of claim 24, wherein each NSAU of the plurality of NSAUs include an input configured for synchronization with an external signal.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the external signal is a GPS/GNSS signal.

42. A method for determining a location of one or more UE in a wireless system, the method comprising:

determining that positioning reference signals are available for use in a first mode of operation;

determining that non-positioning specific reference signals are available for use in a second mode of operation;

selecting the first mode of operation, the second mode of operation, or a combination of the first mode of operation and the second mode of operation as a mode of operation of the wireless system based on network parameters, wherein the network parameters include hearability, throughput, and compatibility; and

utilizing the selected mode of operation, an uplink time difference of arrival and a downlink time difference of arrival to calculate a location of each UE among the one or more UE.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the down link time difference of arrival is calculated based on data obtained from the one or more UE.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein each UE among the one or more UE is configured to communicate with a LSU.

45. The method of claim 44, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers, and wherein the LSU is configured to calculate timing offsets of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

46. The method of claim 44, wherein the location calculation may be made by the one or more UE, by the LSU, or split between the UE and the LSU.

47. The method of claim 43, wherein the one or more UE are configured to convert downlink RF transmission signals of a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers to baseband signals and convert these baseband signals to a digital format.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the converted baseband signals include I/Q samples.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the one or more UE are configured to transmit the converted baseband signals to a LSU.

50. The method of claim 47, wherein the one or more UE are configured to transmit the converted baseband signals to a LSU.

51. The method of claim 47, wherein the one or more UE are configured to process converted baseband signals to calculate ranging results.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the one or more UE are configured to transmit the ranging results to a LSU.

53. The method of claim 47, wherein the one or more UE are configured to process the converted baseband signals to calculate the location of each UE.

54. The method of claim 42, wherein the one or more UE are configured to convert downlink signals of a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers to baseband signals and convert the baseband signals to a digital format, and wherein the one or more UE are configured to process the converted baseband signals to calculate ranging results.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the one or more UE are configured to transmit the ranging results to a LSU.

56. The method of claim 54, wherein the one or more UE are configured to process the converted baseband signals to calculate the location of each UE.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the one or more UE are configured to transmit the location of the one or more UE to a LSU.

58. The method of claim 44, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with an LTE network via a network API.

59. The method of claim 44, wherein the location calculation may be made by the one or more UE, by the LSU, or split between the UE and the LSU.

60. The method of claim 44, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers, and wherein the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers are configured to pass to the LSU one or more of:

a. geographical candidates of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers;

b. timing offsets of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers;

c. a PRS schedule per UE among the one or more UE with a UEID, and other PRS related parameters; and

d. physical cell IDs (PCIs) and global cell IDs (GCIs) of femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

61. The method of claim 44, wherein the LSU is configured to pass to the one or more UE one or more of:

a. PCIs and GCIs of candidate cells for measurement;

b. timing relative to the DAS, femto cells, or small cells, or one or more cell towers of candidate cells; and

c. a PRS schedule per UE among the one or more UE with a UEID, and other PRS related parameters.

62. The method of claim 44, wherein the LSU is further configured to calculate timing offsets of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

63. The method of claim 44, wherein network infrastructure of the wireless system is configured to include functionality of the LSU, including a SUPL server, a E-SMLC server, and a LCS.

64. The method of claim 57, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

65. The method of claim 57, wherein the location calculation may be made by the one or more UE, by the LSU, or split between the UE and the LSU.

66. The method of claim 57, wherein the LSU is further configured to calculate timing offsets of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

67. The method of claim 57, wherein the LSU provides ranging and the location of the one or more UE to a LTE network.

68. The method of claim 57, wherein network infrastructure of the wireless system is configured to include functionality of the LSU, including a SUPL server, a E-SMLC server, and a LCS.

69. The method of claim 64, wherein the LSU is configured to pass to the one or more UE one or more of:

a. PCIs and GCIs of candidate cells for measurement;

b. timing relative to the DAS, femto cells, or small cells, or one or more cell towers of candidate cells; and

c. a PRS schedule per UE among the one or more UE with a UEID, and other PRS related parameters.

70. The method of claim 64, wherein the LSU is configured to communicate with a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

71. The method of claim 64, wherein network infrastructure of the wireless system is configured to include functionality of the LSU, including a SUPL server, a E-SMLC.

72. A method for determining a location of one or more UE in a wireless system, the method comprising:

determining that positioning reference signals are available for use in a first mode of operation;

determining that non-positioning specific reference signals are available for use in a second mode of operation;

selecting the first mode of operation, the second mode of operation, or a combination of the first mode of operation and the second mode of operation as a mode of operation of the wireless system based on network parameters; and

utilizing the selected mode of operation, an uplink time difference of arrival and a downlink time difference of arrival to calculate a location of each UE among the one or more UE, wherein downlink timing offsets of a DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers of the wireless system are calculated based on data obtained from a plurality of NSAUs.

73. The method of claim 72, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to communicate with a LSU.

74. The method of claim 72, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to receive downlink RF signals of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers, and to convert the downlink RF signals to downlink baseband signals, and to process and time stamp samples of the baseband signals.

75. The method of claim 72, wherein the plurality of NSAUs include an input configured for synchronization with an external signal.

76. The method of claim 75, wherein the external signal is a GPS/GNSS signal.

77. The method of claim 73, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to receive downlink RF signals of the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers, and to convert the downlink RF signals to downlink baseband signals, and to process and time stamp samples of the baseband signals.

78. The method of claim 73, wherein the plurality of NSAUs include an input configured for synchronization with an external signal.

79. The method of claim 78, wherein the external signal is a GPS/GNSS signal.

80. The method of claim 77, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to receive transmission of baseband signals from the DAS, femto cells, small cells, or one or more cell towers.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein the baseband signals include I/Q samples.

82. The method of claim 81, wherein the plurality of NSAUs are configured to periodically send a number of the I/Q samples to the LSU.

83. The method of claim 77, wherein the plurality of NSAUs include an input configured for synchronization with an external signal.

84. The method of claim 83, wherein the external signal is a GPS/GNSS signal.

85. The method of claim 73, wherein network infrastructure of the wireless system is configured to include functionality of the LSU and the plurality of NSAUs in a single unit.