Mobile station location

• US 20040063439A1
• Filed: 02/25/2003
• Published: 04/01/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Jha, Sanjay K., Jacobs, Paul, Glazko, Serguei
• Granted Patent: US 7,113,792 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/455
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method for localizing a mobile station, which in one embodiment is characterized by: logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider and which substantially currently provide communication with one or more discernable base stations; and establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider. In one or more various embodiments, related systems include but are not limited to circuitry and/or programming for effecting the foregoing-referenced method embodiment; the circuitry and/or programming can be virtually any combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware configured to effect the foregoing-referenced method embodiment depending upon the design choices of the system designer

Claims

1. A method for localizing a mobile station, said method comprising:

logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider and which substantially currently provide communication with one or more discernable base stations; and

establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

a network provider selected from the network-provider group which includes a substantially permanently assigned home network provider and a substantially temporarily assigned roaming network provider.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network comprises:

selecting a previously unselected wireless mode of the mobile station; and

logging one or more previously unselected wireless mode channels which provide communication with the one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of the one or more network providers to whom the channels belong.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

repeating said selecting and logging until substantially all wireless modes of the mobile station have been selected.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein said previously unselected wireless mode is one of an AMPS mode, a FDMA mode, a TDMA mode, a GSM mode, a WCDMA mode, an HDR mode, or a CDMA mode.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

selecting a previously unselected wireless frequency band of the mobile station; and

logging one or more previously unselected wireless frequency band channels which provide communication with the one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of the one or more network providers to whom the channels belong.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

repeating said selecting and logging until substantially all wireless frequency bands of the mobile station have been selected.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

determining a propagation time of a transmission on a channel which provides communication between a discernable base station and the mobile station.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

determining a geographic location of at least one discernable base station.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein said determining a geographic location of at least one discernable base station comprises:

receiving the geographic location of the at least one discernable base station from the mobiles station'"'"'s home network provider.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein said determining a geographic location of at least one discernable base station comprises:

receiving the geographic location of the at least one discernable base station from the at least one discernable base station'"'"'s network provider.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein said determining a geographic location of at least one discernable base station comprises:

receiving the geographic location of the at least one discernable base station via a trusted third party.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

sending identification of one or more base stations discernable by the mobile station to a position determination entity; and

receiving the geographic position of the mobile station from the position determination entity.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said position determination entity comprises a trusted third party.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein said mobile station comprises a multi-mode wireless device.

16. A system for localizing a mobile station, said system comprising:

means for logging one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider and which substantially currently provide communication with one or more discernable base stations; and

means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

a network provider selected from the network-provider group which includes a substantially permanently assigned home network provider and a substantially temporarily assigned roaming network provider.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein said means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

means for receiving the geographic location of the at least one discernable base station from the at least one discernable base station'"'"'s network provider different than the home network provider.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein said means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the one or more wireless channels which belong to the one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider comprises:

means for receiving the geographic location of the at least one discernable base station via a trusted third party.

20. A method for localizing a mobile station, said method comprising:

selecting a first wireless mode of the mobile station;

logging one or more first wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the first wireless mode channels belong; and

establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein said logging one or more first wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the first wireless mode channels belong comprises:

selecting a previously unselected channel of the first wireless mode;

actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the first wireless mode for base station activity;

logging the results of said actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the first wireless mode; and

repeating said selecting, monitoring, and logging until substantially all channels of the first wireless mode have been selected.

22. The method of claim 20, wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels comprises:

performing a triangulation operation based at least in part on the logged one or more first wireless mode channels.

23. The method of claim 20, wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels comprises:

performing a triangulation operation based at least in part on a first channel drawn from a first-selected frequency band and a second channel drawn from a second-selected frequency band.

24. The method of claim 20, wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels comprises:

performing a triangulation operation based at least in part on a first channel and a second channel drawn from a previously selected frequency band.

25. The method of claim 20, wherein said establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels comprises:

selecting a second wireless mode of the mobile station;

logging one or more second wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the second wireless mode channels belong; and

establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more second wireless mode channels and the logged one or more first wireless mode channels.

26. The method of claim 20, wherein said logging one or more second wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the second wireless mode channels belong comprises:

selecting a previously unselected channel of the second wireless mode;

actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the second wireless mode for base station activity;

logging the results of said actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the second wireless mode; and

repeating said selecting, monitoring, and logging until substantially all channels of the second wireless mode have been selected.

27. A system for localizing a mobile station, said system comprising:

means for selecting a first wireless mode of the mobile station;

means for logging one or more first wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the first wireless mode channels belong; and

means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels.

28. The system of claim 27, wherein said means for logging one or more first wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the first wireless mode channels belong comprises:

means for selecting a previously unselected channel of the first wireless mode;

means for actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the first wireless mode for base station activity;

means for logging the results of said means for actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the first wireless mode; and

means for activating said means for selecting, monitoring, and logging until substantially all channels of the first wireless mode have been selected.

29. The system of claim 27, wherein said means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels comprises:

means for performing a triangulation operation based at least in part on the logged one or more first wireless mode channels.

30. The system of claim 27 wherein said means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more first wireless mode channels comprises:

means for selecting a second wireless mode of the mobile station;

means for logging one or more second wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the second wireless mode channels belong; and

means for establishing a geographic position of the mobile station by use of the logged one or more second wireless mode channels and the logged one or more first wireless mode channels.

31. The system of claim 30 wherein said means for logging one or more second wireless mode channels which provide communication with one or more discernable base stations, said logging irrespective of one or more network providers to whom the second wireless mode channels belong comprises:

means for selecting a previously unselected channel of the second wireless mode;

means for actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the second wireless mode for base station activity;

means for logging the results of said means for actively or passively monitoring the previously unselected channel of the second wireless mode; and

means for activating said means for selecting, monitoring, and logging until substantially all channels of the second wireless mode have been selected.

32. A method comprising:

receiving a request for geographic information of a base station whose network provider is unknown to a mobile station having an associated network provider; and

transmitting the geographic information of the base station whose network provider is unknown in response to said receiving.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein said receiving a request for geographic information for a base station whose network provider is unknown to a mobile station having an associated network provider comprises:

receiving a base station identifier or frequency for the base station whose network provider is unknown;

determining at least one geographic area proximate to the base station whose network provider is unknown; and

retrieving the geographic information for the base station whose network provider is unknown by use of the at least one geographic area and the base station identifier or frequency of the base station whose network provider is unknown.

34. The method of claim 33, wherein said determining at least one geographic area proximate to the base station whose network provider is unknown comprises:

retrieving at least one known geographic area of at least one base station which the mobile station can substantially currently communicate with.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein said transmitting the geographic information for the base station whose network provider is unknown comprises:

transmitting the geographic information of the base station whose network provider is unknown without identifying the network provider associated with the base station whose network provider is unknown.

36. A system, comprising:

means for receiving a request for geographic information of a base station whose network provider is unknown to a mobile station having an associated network provider; and

means for transmitting the geographic information of the base station whose network provider is unknown in response to said receiving.

37. The system of claim 36 wherein said means for receiving a request for geographic information for a base station whose network provider is unknown to a mobile station having an associated network provider comprises:

means for receiving a base station identifier or frequency for the base station whose network provider is unknown;

means for determining at least one geographic area proximate to the base station whose network provider is unknown;

means for retrieving the geographic information for the base station whose network provider is unknown by use of the at least one geographic area and the base station identifier or frequency of the base station whose network provider is unknown.

38. The system of claim 37, wherein said means for determining a geographic area proximate to the base station whose network provider is unknown comprises:

means for retrieving at least one known geographic area of at least one base station which the mobile station can substantially currently communicate with.

39. The system of claim 36, wherein said means for transmitting the geographic information for the base station whose network provider is unknown comprises:

means for transmitting the geographic information of the base station whose network provider is unknown without identifying the network provider associated with the base station whose network provider is unknown.

40. A method for establishing a geographic position of a mobile station by use of one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider, said method comprising:

receiving identification of one or more base stations discernable by the mobile'"'"'station;

retrieving one or more geographic locations of the one or more base stations discernable by the mobile station; and

determining the geographic position of the mobile station by use of the geographic locations of the one or more base stations.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein said retrieving one or more geographic locations of the one or more base stations discernable by the mobile station comprises:

receiving a base station identifier or frequency for a base station whose network provider is unknown;

determining at least one geographic area proximate to the base station whose network provider is unknown; and

retrieving a geographic location for the base station whose network provider is unknown by use of the at least one geographic area and the base station identifier or frequency for the base station whose network provider is unknown.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein said receiving, retrieving, and calculating are at least partially performed by a trusted third party position determination entity.

43. A system for establishing a geographic position of a mobile station by use of one or more wireless channels which belong to one or more network providers other than the mobile station'"'"'s home network provider, said system comprising:

means for receiving identification of one or more base stations discernable by the mobile station;

means for retrieving one or more geographic locations of the one or more base stations discernable by the mobile station; and

means for determining the geographic position of the mobile station by use of the geographic locations of the one or more base stations.

44. The system of claim 43, wherein said means for retrieving one or more geographic locations of the one or more base stations discernable by the mobile station comprises:

means for receiving a base station identifier or frequency for a base station whose network provider is unknown;

means for determining at least one geographic area proximate to the base station whose network provider is unknown; and

means for retrieving a geographic location for the base station whose network provider is unknown by use of the at least one geographic area and the base station identifier or frequency for the base station whose network provider is unknown.

45. The system of claim 43 wherein said means for receiving, means for retrieving, and means for calculating are at least partially coextensive with a trusted third party Position Determination Entity.

46. A method of localizing a mobile station associated with a home network provider, comprising:

receiving location information originated by the home network provider associated with the mobile station and location information from at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider; and

determining a geographic position from the received location information originated by the home network provider and the at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider.

47. The method of claim 46 wherein said receiving location information originated by the home network provider associated with the mobile station and location information from at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider, includes:

receiving a wireless transmission via the home network provider employing a first channel; and

receiving a wireless transmission via the other network provider employing a second channel, different from the first channel.

48. The method of claim 46 wherein said receiving location information originated by the home network provider associated with the mobile station and location information from at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider, includes:

receiving a wireless transmission via the home network provider employing a first transmission mode; and

receiving a wireless transmission via the other network provider employing a second transmission mode, different from the first transmission mode.

49. The method of claim 46 wherein said receiving location information originated by the home network provider associated with the mobile station and location information from at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider, includes:

receiving a number of wireless transmissions employing at least one of CDMA, WCDMA, TDMA, GSM, FDMA, HDR, and AMPS modes of transmission.

50. The method of claim 46 wherein said receiving location information originated by the home network provider associated with the mobile station and location information from at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider, includes:

receiving a wireless transmission employing a first frequency band assigned to the home network provider; and

receiving a wireless transmission via employing a second frequency band assigned to the other network provider, where the second frequency band is different from the first frequency band.

51. The method of claim 46 wherein said determining a geographic position from the received location information originated by the home network provider and the at least one other network provider that is not the home network provider, includes:

triangulating based on the received location information.