Methods and Apparatuses for Beacon Assisted Position Determination Systems

• US 20080280624A1
• Filed: 04/02/2004
• Published: 11/13/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Wrappe, Thomas Keith
• Granted Patent: US 9,137,771 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/68 Marker, boundary, call-sign, or like beacons transmitting signals not carrying directional information
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/11 wherein the cooperating elements are pseudolites or satellite radio beacon positioning system signal repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/17 Emergency applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/02 Services making use of location information
• 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 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for microcell beacon assisted position determination. In one embodiment, microcell beacons that are based on low cost, mass market electronics for wireless local area data communication (e.g., Bluetooth or WiFi) are used to broadcast to mobile stations location information and/or identification information, which can be used to look up for the location information, to improve the precision of position solutions in a wide area position determination system (e.g., a GPS system, an AFLT system, or a hybrid system). In one embodiment, the location information and/or the identification information are site specific; and, the distribution and the transmission strength of the microcell beacons are adjusted to prevent misidentification. In one embodiment, the microcell beacons have the transmission capability but not the receiving capability for wireless local area data communication; and, the mobile station has the receiving capability but not the transmission capability for wireless local area data communication.

Claims

1. A mobile station in a position determination system, the mobile station comprising:

a control circuit;

an SPS (Satellite Positioning System) signal receiver coupled to the control circuit to generate SPS positioning information from SPS signals received at the mobile station;

a local area communication signal receiver coupled to the control circuit to extract identification data from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter which is in close proximity to the mobile station, the local area communication signals being in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication; and

a cellular communication signal transceiver coupled to the control circuit to communicate with a remote server;

wherein the mobile station has no capability of transmitting local area communication signals.

2. The mobile station as in claim 1, wherein a broadcast range of the local area communication signal transmitter is less than 20 meters.

3. The mobile station as in claim 1, wherein the standard for wireless local area data communication comprises one of:

IEEE 802.11; and

IEEE 802.15.

4. The mobile station as in claim 1, wherein the mobile station uses the cellular communication signal transceiver to communicate with the remote server to determine a location of the mobile station from at least one of:

the SPS positioning information; and

the identification data.

5. The mobile station as in claim 4, wherein the remote station combines the SPS positioning information and the identification data to determine a position of the mobile station.

6. A beacon station in a position determination system, the beacon station comprising:

memory to store identification data; and

a local area communication signal transmitter coupled with the memory to transmit local area communication signals modulated with the identification data in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication;

wherein the beacon station has no capability to receive local area communication signals.

7. The beacon station as in claim 6, wherein the standard for wireless local area data communication comprises one of:

IEEE 802.11; and

IEEE 802.15.

8. The beacon station as in claim 6, further comprising:

a communication port coupled with the memory, the identification data stored in the memory being configurable through the communication port using an external programmer.

9. The beacon station as in claim 6, wherein the memory further stores transmission strength data;

and, the local area communication signal transmitter transmits the local area communication signals at a signal strength level according to the transmission strength data.

10. The beacon station as in claim 9, wherein the transmissions strength data in the memory is programmable to adjust a coverage area of the local area communication signals.

11. A method to operate a position determination system, the method comprising:

placing one or more beacon stations within a site, the one or more beacon stations being configured to broadcast radio signals containing data identifying the site which has a known location; and

adjusting transmission strength of the one or more beacon stations to adjust a coverage area of the radio signals transmitted from the one or more beacon stations.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

programming the one or more beacon stations to broadcast the data identifying the site.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

maintaining a database to associate the data identifying the site with commercial information of the site.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein the data identifying the site comprises an altitude of the site.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the data identifying the site further comprises a coordinate position.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the coverage area is adjusted so that the radio signals containing data identifying the site do not misidentify neighboring sites.

17. A method implemented on a mobile station to determine a position of the mobile station, the method comprising:

determining SPS (Satellite Positioning System) positioning information from SPS signals received at the mobile station; and

determining identification data from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter, the local area communication signals being in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication;

wherein both the SPS positioning information and the identification data are used to determine the position of the mobile station.

18. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

transmitting the SPS positioning information and the identification data from the mobile station to a position determination entity through a cellular communication link to determine the position of the mobile station.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

determining cellular positioning information from cellular communication signals of the cellular communication link; and

transmitting the cellular positioning information to the position determination entity to determine the position of the mobile station.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the local area communication signal transmitter is located within a site;

and, the method further comprises;

automatically receiving, at the mobile station, web page information related to the site through the cellular communication link.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the standard for wireless local area data communication comprises one of:

IEEE 802.11; and

IEEE 802.15.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein the identification data comprises at least one of:

an identification of the local area communication signal transmitter;

an identification of a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located;

an altitude of a location in a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located;

a coordinate position of a location in a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located; and

a street address of a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located.

23. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

combining the SPS positioning information and the identification data to determine the position of the mobile station;

wherein the identification data comprises at least one position coordinate.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the position coordinate indicates an altitude of a location in close proximity to the mobile station.

25. The method of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving at least one position coordinate associated with the identification data through a cellular communication link; and

combining the SPS positioning information and at least one position coordinate to determine the position of the mobile station.

26. The mobile station as in claim 17, wherein a broadcast range of the local area communication signal transmitter is less than 100 meters.

27. A method implemented on a server to serve a remote mobile station in a position determination system, the method comprising:

receiving identification data from the remote mobile station through a cellular communication link, the identification data being extracted at the remote mobile station from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication; and

determining a position of the remote mobile station using the identification data.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

looking up a coordinate position from a database according to the identification data.

29. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

receiving cellular positioning information from the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link, the cellular positioning information being generated at the remote mobile station from cellular communication signals received at the remote mobile station;

wherein the position of the remote mobile station is determined using at least the cellular positioning information and the coordinate position.

30. The method of claim 28, further comprising:

receiving SPS (Satellite Positioning System) positioning information from the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link, the SPS positioning information being generated at the remote mobile station from SPS signals received at the remote mobile station;

wherein the position of the remote mobile station is determined using at least the SPS positioning information and the coordinate position.

31. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

determining a site within which the remote mobile station is located using at least one of;

the identification data; and

the position of the remote mobile station; and

automatically transmitting data related to the site to the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link in response to a determination that the mobile station enters the site.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the data related to the site comprises information supplied by an operator of the site.

33. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

determining a site using at least one of;

the identification data; and

the position of the remote mobile station; and

automatically transmitting data related to the site to the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link in response to a determination that the mobile station exits the site.

34. A machine readable medium containing executable computer program instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause said system to perform a method to determine a position of a mobile station, the method comprising:

determining SPS (Satellite Positioning System) positioning information from SPS signals received at the mobile station; and

determining identification data from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter, the local area communication signals being in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication;

wherein both the SPS positioning information and the identification data are used to determine the position of the mobile station.

35. The medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

transmitting the SPS positioning information and the identification data from the mobile station to a position determination entity through a cellular communication link to determine the position of the mobile station.

36. The medium of claim 35, wherein the method further comprises:

determining cellular positioning information from cellular communication signals of the cellular communication link; and

transmitting the cellular positioning information to the position determination entity to determine the position of the mobile station.

37. The medium of claim 35, wherein the local area communication signal transmitter is located within a site;

and, the method further comprises;

automatically receiving, at the mobile station, web page information related to the site through the cellular communication link.

38. The medium of claim 37, wherein the standard for wireless local area data communication comprises one of:

IEEE 802.11; and

IEEE 802.15.

39. The medium of claim 35, wherein the identification data comprises at least one of:

an identification of the local area communication signal transmitter;

an identification of a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located;

an altitude of a location in a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located;

a coordinate position of a location in a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located; and

a street address of a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located.

40. The medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

combining the SPS positioning information and the identification data to determine the position of the mobile station;

wherein the identification data comprises at least one position coordinate.

41. The medium of claim 40, wherein the position coordinate indicates an altitude of a location in close proximity to the mobile station.

42. The medium of claim 34, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving at least one position coordinate associated with the identification data through a cellular communication link; and

combining the SPS positioning information and at least one position coordinate to determine the position of the mobile station.

43. The mobile station as in claim 34, wherein a broadcast range of the local area communication signal transmitter is less than 100 meters.

44. A machine readable medium containing executable computer program instructions which when executed by a data processing system cause said system to perform a method to serve a remote mobile station in apposition determination system, the method comprising:

receiving identification data from the remote mobile station through a cellular communication link, the identification data being extracted at the remote mobile station from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication; and

determining a position of the remote mobile station using the identification data.

45. The medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises:

looking up a coordinate position from a database according to the identification data.

46. The medium of claim 45, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving cellular positioning information from the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link, the cellular positioning information being generated at the remote mobile station from cellular communication signals received at the remote mobile station;

wherein the position of the remote mobile station is determined using at least the cellular positioning information and the coordinate position.

47. The medium of claim 45, wherein the method further comprises:

receiving SPS (Satellite Positioning System) positioning information from the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link, the SPS positioning information being generated at the remote mobile station from SPS signals received at the remote mobile station;

wherein the position of the remote mobile station is determined using at least the SPS positioning information and the coordinate position.

48. The medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a site within which the remote mobile station is located using at least one of;

the identification data; and

the position of the remote mobile station; and

automatically transmitting data related to the site to the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link in response to a determination that the mobile station enters the site.

49. The medium of claim 48, wherein the data related to the site comprises information supplied by an operator of the site.

50. The medium of claim 44, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a site using at least one of;

the identification data; and

the position of the remote mobile station; and

automatically transmitting data related to the site to the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link in response to a determination that the mobile station exits the site.

51. A mobile station in a position determination system, the mobile station comprising:

means for determining SPS (Satellite Positioning System) positioning information from SPS signals received at the mobile station; and

means for determining identification data from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter, the local area communication signals being in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication;

wherein both the SPS positioning information and the identification data are used to determine a position of the mobile station.

52. The mobile station of claim 51, further comprising:

means for transmitting the SPS positioning information and the identification data from the mobile station to a position determination entity through a cellular communication link to determine the position of the mobile station.

53. The mobile station of claim 52, further comprising:

means for determining cellular positioning information from cellular communication signals of the cellular communication link; and

means for transmitting the cellular positioning information to the position determination entity to determine the position of the mobile station.

54. The mobile station of claim 52, wherein the local area communication signal transmitter is located within a site;

and, the method further comprises;

means for automatically receiving, at the mobile station, web page information related to the site through the cellular communication link.

55. The mobile station of claim 54, wherein the standard for wireless local area data communication comprises one of:

IEEE 802.11; and

IEEE 802.15.

56. The mobile station of claim 52, wherein the identification data comprises at least one of:

an identification of the local area communication signal transmitter;

an identification of a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located;

an altitude of a location in a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located;

a coordinate position of a location in a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located; and

a street address of a site within which the local area communication signal transmitter is located.

57. The mobile station of claim 51, further comprising:

means for combining the SPS positioning information and the identification data to determine the position of the mobile station;

wherein the identification data comprises at least one position coordinate.

58. The mobile station of claim 57, wherein the position coordinate indicates an altitude of a location in close proximity to the mobile station.

59. The mobile station of claim 51, further comprising:

means for receiving at least one position coordinate associated with the identification data through a cellular communication link; and

means for combining the SPS positioning information and at least one position coordinate to determine the position of the mobile station.

60. The mobile station as in claim 51, wherein a broadcast range of the local area communication signal transmitter is less than 100 meters.

61. A server to serve a remote mobile station in a position determination system, the server comprising:

means for receiving identification data from the remote mobile station through a cellular communication link, the identification data being extracted at the remote mobile station from local area communication signals transmitted from a local area communication signal transmitter in accordance with a standard for wireless local area data communication; and

means for determining a position of the remote mobile station using the identification data.

62. The server of claim 61, further comprising:

means for looking up a coordinate position from a database according to the identification data.

63. The server of claim 62, further comprising:

means for receiving cellular positioning information from the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link, the cellular positioning information being generated at the remote mobile station from cellular communication signals received at the remote mobile station;

wherein the position of the remote mobile station is determined using at least the cellular positioning information and the coordinate position.

64. The server of claim 62, further comprising:

means for receiving SPS (Satellite Positioning System) positioning information from the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link, the SPS positioning information being generated at the remote mobile station from SPS signals received at the remote mobile station;

wherein the position of the remote mobile station is determined using at least the SPS positioning information and the coordinate position.

65. The server of claim 61, further comprising:

means for determining a site within which the remote mobile station is located using at least one of;

the identification data; and

the position of the remote mobile station; and

means for automatically transmitting data related to the site to the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link in response to a determination that the mobile station enters the site.

66. The server of claim 65, wherein the data related to the site comprises information supplied by an operator of the site.

67. The server of claim 61, further comprising:

means for determining a site using at least one of;

the identification data; and

the position of the remote mobile station; and

means for automatically transmitting data related to the site to the remote mobile station through the cellular communication link in response to a determination that the mobile station exits the sit