Area based position determination for terminals in a wireless network
First Claim
1. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
- receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters;
adjusting the expected area associated with each transmitter based on at least one assigned scale factor to determine an adjusted expected area associated with the transmitter; and
combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Techniques to estimate the position of a wireless terminal. In a method, the identities of a number of transmitters (e.g., BTSs) to be used to estimate the position are initially received. Expected areas for these transmitters are then determined. The expected area associated with each transmitter is indicative of an area where the terminal is likely to be located given that the signal from the transmitter is received by the terminal. Each expected area may comprise a location (e.g., the expected area center) to be used as an estimated position of the terminal and an uncertainty (or error estimate) associated with that estimated position. The expected areas for the transmitters are then combined (e.g., based on a weighted average) to determine a combined expected area, which is then provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal.
431 Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters;
adjusting the expected area associated with each transmitter based on at least one assigned scale factor to determine an adjusted expected area associated with the transmitter; and
combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the plurality of expected areas are combined to determine a combined expected area that is provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal;
wherein the combining the plurality of expected areas includes combining centers of the plurality of expected areas, based on a predicted power and a received power for each transmitter, to determine a center for the combined expected area. - View Dependent Claims (21)
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22. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the plurality of expected areas are combined to determine a combined expected area that is provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal;
wherein the combining the plurality of expected areas includes determining a unit fault for the combined expected area, and scaling the combined expected area based on the unit fault. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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24. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the combining the plurality of expected areas includes determining a plurality of weights for the plurality of expected areas, and wherein the plurality of expected areas are combined based on the plurality of weights. - View Dependent Claims (25, 26)
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27. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the combining the plurality of expected areas includes determining a plurality of weights for the plurality of expected areas, scaling the plurality of expected areas based on the associated weights, combining the scaled expected areas to determine a combined expected area, scaling centers of the plurality of expected areas based on the associated weights, combining the scaled centers of the plurality of expected areas to determine a center for the combined expected area, and wherein the combined expected area and the combined expected area center are provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal.
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28. A method of estimating the position for a terminal in a wireless communication network, comprising:
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receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
determining an expected area and a scale factor for each of the plurality of transmitters;
adjusting each expected area based on the associated scale factor to provide an adjusted expected area;
determining a plurality of weights for the plurality of transmitters;
combining the plurality of adjusted expected areas based on the plurality of weights to determine a combined expected area to be provided as the estimated position of the terminal. - View Dependent Claims (29, 30, 31, 32)
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33. An apparatus in a wireless communication network, comprising:
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means for receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
means for determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
means for combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position of the terminal;
means for weighting centers of the plurality of expected areas based on the associated weights, means for combining the weighted centers of the expected areas to determine the center of the combined expected area, means for scaling the plurality of expected areas based on the associated weights, and means for combining the scaled expected areas to determine the combined expected area.
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34. An apparatus for estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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means for receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
means for determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters;
means for adjusting the expected area associated with each transmitter based on at least one assigned scale factor to determine an adjusted expected area associated with the transmitter; and
means for combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal.
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35. An apparatus for estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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means for receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
means for determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
means for combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the plurality of expected areas are combined to determine a combined expected area that is provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal;
wherein the combining the plurality of expected areas includes combining centers of the plurality of expected areas, based on a predicted power and a received power for each transmitter, to determine a center for the combined expected area.
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36. A method of estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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means for receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
means for determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
means for combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the plurality of expected areas are combined to determine a combined expected area that is provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal;
wherein the combining the plurality of expected areas includes determining a unit fault for the combined expected area, and scaling the combined expected area based on the unit fault.
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37. An apparatus for estimating the position of a wireless terminal, comprising:
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means for receiving identities of a plurality of transmitters to be used to estimate the position of the terminal;
means for determining a plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters; and
means for combining the plurality of expected areas for the plurality of transmitters to estimate the position for the terminal;
wherein the means for combining the plurality of expected areas comprises, means for determining a plurality of weights for the plurality of expected areas, means for scaling the plurality of expected areas based on the associated weights, means for combining the scaled expected areas to determine a combined expected area, means for scaling centers of the plurality of expected areas based on the associated weights, means for combining the scaled centers of the plurality of expected areas to determine a center for the combined expected area, and wherein the combined expected area and the combined expected area center are provided as the estimate of the position of the terminal.
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Specification