Dynamic location almanac for wireless base stations

• US 8,320,934 B2
• Filed: 08/03/2007
• Issued: 11/27/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sheynblat, Leonid
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Nimesh
• Application Number:
  US11/833,813
• Publication Number:
  US 20070270168A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,943 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/411, 455/404, 455423-425, 455447-449, 342/126
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• 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: G01S 5/0249 Determining position using measurements made by a non-stationary device other than the device whose position is being determined
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A system and method of dynamically updating an almanac of base stations with wireless phones that are controlled by end users. First, second, and third location information are received respectfully from a first, second, and third wireless phones. A position of each wireless device is known. The distance between each wireless device an uncooperative base station is determined while accounting for an uncertainty factor. A location of the uncooperative base station is calculated using the first, second, and third location information and the distances. The almanac is updated with the location.

Claims

1. A dynamic almanac system comprising:

machine-readable media having stored thereon

first location information indicative of a position of an uncooperative base station, the first location information being based at least in part on information from a user-controlled wireless device in a first position, the information from the user-controlled wireless device being received through one or more cooperative base stations facilitating voice and data traffic between the user-controlled wireless device and the one or more cooperative base stations, the user-controlled wireless device to receive one or more signals indicative of an identifier from the uncooperative base station, the uncooperative base station to not facilitate voice and data traffic from the user-controlled wireless device in the first position through the uncooperative base station,

second location information indicative of the position of the uncooperative base station, the second location information based at least in part on information from a wireless device in a second position, and

third location information indicative of the position of the uncooperative base station, the third location information based at least in part on information from a wireless device in a third position; and

an almanac processor to access the first, second, and third location information and calculate measured location information of the uncooperative base station using the first, second, and third location information and information indicative of the first, second, and third positions, the almanac processor further to assign a location uncertainty factor to the measured location information of the uncooperative base station and update an almanac using the measured location information of the uncooperative base station, the location uncertainty factor being indicative of range measurement inaccuracies associated with the wireless devices in the first, second, and third positions.

2. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1 wherein at least two of the wireless device in the first position, the wireless device in the second position, and the wireless device in the third position is the same wireless device in two different positions.

3. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1, the almanac processor further to determine that the uncooperative base station has moved.

4. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1 wherein at least two of the wireless device in the first position, the wireless device in the second position, and the wireless device in the third position is the same wireless device at two different times.

5. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1 wherein the almanac processor is co-located with the one or more cooperative base stations.

6. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1 wherein the one or more cooperative base stations are in communication with at least two of the almanac processor and the wireless device in the first position, the wireless device in the second position, and the wireless device in the third position.

7. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1 wherein at least one of the wireless device in the first position, the wireless device in the second position, and the wireless device in the third position comprises one or more of a tracking device, a child or parolee monitor, a navigational device, a wireless pager, and/or a wireless computer.

8. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1 wherein the first, second, and third positions are geographically separate.

9. The dynamic almanac system of claim 1, wherein the machine readable medium comprises one or more memories.

10. A method for dynamically updating an almanac using a plurality of wireless devices, comprising:

receiving first location information from a wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices located at a first position through one or more cooperative base stations facilitating voice and data traffic between the wireless device and the one or more cooperative base stations, the first location information being indicative of a position of an uncooperative base station with respect to the first position, the wireless device further to receive one or more signals indicative of an identifier from the uncooperative base station, the uncooperative base station to not facilitate voice and data traffic from the wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices located at the first position through the uncooperative base station;

obtaining information indicative of the first position;

receiving second location information from a wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices located at a second position, the second location information indicative of the position of the uncooperative base station with respect to the second position;

obtaining information indicative of the second position;

receiving third location information from a wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices located at a third position, the third location information indicative of the position of the uncooperative base station with respect to the third position;

obtaining information indicative of the third position;

assigning an associated uncertainty factor to at least one of the first, second, and third location information;

calculating a measured location of the uncooperative base station based at least in part on the first, second, and/or third location information and the first, second, and/or third positions and assigning a location uncertainty factor to the measured location of the uncooperative base station, the location uncertainty factor being indicative of range measurement inaccuracies associated with the wireless devices located at the first, second, and third positions; and

updating the almanac using the measured location of the uncooperative base station.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein said calculating comprises weighting at least one of the first, second, and third location information with the associated uncertainty factor.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein an uncertainty factor associated with the first distance is aged with time to indicate greater uncertainty.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

ascertaining whether information received from at least one wireless device of the plurality of wireless devices indicates the uncooperative base station to be outside a predetermined threshold distance from the measured location; and

wherein updating the almanac using the measured location comprises;

purging old location information from the almanac based at least in part upon said ascertaining; and

storing new location information indicative of the measured location.

14. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

ascertaining whether information received from at least one wireless device indicates the uncooperative base station is has moved from a previous location and within a predetermined threshold distance of variance from the previous location;

waiting for confirmation from another wireless device; and

wherein updating the almanac using the measured location comprises storing new location information and purging old location information indicative of the previous location if said ascertaining is confirmed during said waiting.

15. The method of claim 10 wherein at least one of the plurality of wireless devices includes one or more of a tracking device, a child or parolee monitor, a navigational device, a wireless pager, and/or a wireless computer.

16. A method for dynamically updating an almanac, comprising:

locating first, second, and third positions respectively of first, second, and third wireless phones;

estimating first, second, and third distances respectively between the first, second, and third wireless phones and an uncooperative base station, one or more of the first, second, and third wireless phones to receive one or more signals indicative of an identifier from the uncooperative base station, the uncooperative base station to not facilitate voice and data traffic from one or more of the first, second, and third wireless phones through the uncooperative base station;

reporting by way of one or more cooperative base stations facilitating voice and data traffic between the first, second, and third wireless phones and the one or more cooperative base stations to a point away from the first, second, and third wireless phones first, second, and third location information that is respectively related to the first, second, and third distances;

determining measured location information for the uncooperative base station from the first, second, and third location information and the first, second, and third distances and assigning a location uncertainty factor to the measured location information for the uncooperative base station, the location uncertainty factor being indicative of range measurement inaccuracies associated with the first, second, and third wireless phones;

updating a location of the uncooperative base station included in the almanac based at least in part on the measured location information;

wherein at least one of the first second, and third wireless phones is carried by an end user during said locating.

17. The method of claim 16 further comprising assigning an uncertainty factor to each of the first, second, and third distances.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein the first location information comprises information indicative of a unique identifier for the uncooperative base station.

19. The method of claim 17 wherein said assigning an uncertainty factor to each of the first, second, and third distances comprises assigning an uncertainty factor indicating increased uncertainty over time;

and

wherein the reporting to a point away from the first, second, and third wireless phones comprises reporting to the one or more cooperative base stations.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein said estimating first, second, and third distances comprises estimating at least one of the first, second, and third distances at a location away from the associated wireless phone.

21. The method of claim 16 wherein said estimating first, second, and third distances comprises estimating at least one of the first, second, and third distances using the associated wireless phone.

22. The method of claim 16 wherein said determining measured location information is performed by a wireless phone.

23. The method of claim 16 wherein each of said estimating first, second, and third distances comprises:

receiving information indicative of a unique identifier for the uncooperative base station; and

presuming a distance to the uncooperative base station based at least in part upon one or more of a response delay, a signal strength, and/or a signal range.

24. The method of claim 16 wherein the location of the uncooperative base station included in the almanac is adjusted over time with new measured location information from one or more wireless phones.

25. The method of claim 16 wherein older location information in the almanac is deemphasized over time.

26. The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the first, second, and third wireless phones is owned by an end user.

27. The method of claim 16 wherein the uncooperative base station comprises a local area network base station.

28. The method of claim 16 wherein at least one of the first wireless phone, the second wireless phone, and the third wireless phone is operable using a particular service provider, and wherein the uncooperative base station comprises a cellular phone base station for another service provider not under a roaming agreement with the service provider.

29. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

determining a likelihood the uncooperative base station will move from a current location of the uncooperative base station; and

preventing the measured location from being used in the almanac based at least in part on the likelihood.

30. An article, comprising:

a computer readable medium having stored thereon instructions executable by a processor to;

process first information indicative of a location of an uncooperative base station, said first information being based at least in part on information received from a wireless device in a first position, the information from the wireless device in the first position to be received through one or more cooperative base stations facilitating voice and data traffic between the wireless device in the first position and the one or more cooperative base stations, the wireless device in the first position to receive one or more signals indicative of an identifier from the uncooperative base station, the uncooperative base station to not facilitate voice and data traffic from the wireless device in the first position through the uncooperative base station;

process second information indicative of the location of the uncooperative base station, said second information being based at least in part on information received from a wireless device in a second position;

process third information indicative of the location of the uncooperative base station, said third information being based at least in part on information received from a wireless device in a third position;

associate an uncertainty factor with at least one of the first information, the second information, and the third information, the uncertainty factor being indicative of range measurement inaccuracies associated with one or more of the wireless devices in the first, second, and third positions; and

update a base station position database based at least in part on one or more of the first information, the second information, the third information, and/or the uncertainty factor.

31. A dynamic almanac system to update an almanac with information from a plurality of wireless phones, comprising:

means for receiving first location information from a first wireless phone of the plurality of wireless phones, the first location information being indicative of a separation between the first wireless phone and an uncooperative base station, the first location information from the first wireless phone to be received through one or more cooperative base stations facilitating voice and data traffic between the first wireless phone and the one or more cooperative base stations, the first wireless phone to receive one or more signals indicative of an identifier from the uncooperative base station, the uncooperative base station to not facilitate voice and data traffic from the first wireless phone of the plurality of wireless phones through the uncooperative base station;

means for retrieving a first position of the first wireless phone;

means for receiving second location information from a second wireless phone of the plurality of wireless phones, the second location information indicative of a separation between the second wireless phone and the uncooperative base station;

means for retrieving a second position of the second wireless phone;

means for receiving third location information from a third wireless phone of the plurality of wireless phones, the third location information indicative of a separation between the third wireless phone and the uncooperative base station;

means for retrieving a third position of the third wireless phone, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third wireless phones is under control of an end user;

means for calculating a measured location of the uncooperative base station based at least in part the first, second, and/or third location information and the first, second, and/or third positions;

means for assigning a location uncertainty factor to the measured location of the uncooperative base station, the location uncertainty factor being indicative of range measurement inaccuracies associated with one or more of the first, second, and third wireless phones; and

means for updating the almanac with the measured location.

32. The dynamic almanac system of claim 31, further comprising:

means for determining a first distance between the first position and the uncooperative base station using the first location information;

means for determining a second distance between the second position and the uncooperative base station using the second location information;

means for determining a third distance between the third position and the uncooperative base station using the third location information; and

wherein the means for calculating a measured location of the uncooperative base station using the first, second, and/or third location information and the first, second, and/or third positions comprises means for calculating the measured location of the uncooperative base station using the first, second, and/or third positions and the first, second, and/or third distances.

33. An apparatus, comprising:

means for locating first, second, and third positions respectively of first, second, and third wireless phones;

means for estimating first, second, and third distances respectively between the first, second, and third wireless phones and an uncooperative base station, one or more of the first, second, and third wireless phones to receive one or more signals indicative of an identifier from the uncooperative base station, the uncooperative base station to not facilitate voice and data traffic from one or more of the first, second, and third wireless phones through the uncooperative base station;

means for reporting by way of one or more cooperative base stations facilitating voice and data traffic between the first, second, and third wireless phones and the one or more cooperative base stations to a point away from the first, second, and third wireless phones first, second, and third location information that is respectively related to the first, second, and third distances;

means for determining measured location information for the uncooperative base station from the first, second, and third location information and the first, second, and third distances and means for assigning a location uncertainty factor to the measured location information for the uncooperative base station, the location uncertainty factor being indicative of range measurement inaccuracies associated with one or more of the first, second, and third wireless phones;

means for updating a location of the uncooperative base station included in the almanac based at least in part on the measured location information for the uncooperative base station;

wherein at least one of the first second, and third wireless phones is carried by an end user during said locating.

34. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising means for assigning an uncertainty factor to each of the first, second, and third distances.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein said means for assigning an uncertainty factor to each of the first, second, and third distances comprises assigning an uncertainty factor indicating increased uncertainty over time;

and

wherein the reporting to a point away from the first, second, and third wireless phones comprises reporting to a cooperative base station.

36. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the first location information comprises information indicative of a unique identifier for the uncooperative base station.

37. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said means for estimating the first, second, and third distances comprises means for estimating at least one of the first, second, and third distances at a location away from the associated wireless phone.

38. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said means for estimating the first, second, and third distances comprises means for estimating at least one of the first, second, and third distances using the associated wireless phone.

39. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein said means for estimating the first, second, and third distances comprises:

means for receiving information indicative of a unique identifier for the uncooperative base station; and

means for estimating a distance to the uncooperative base station based at least in part upon one or more of a response delay, a signal strength, and/or a signal range.

40. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the location of the uncooperative base station included in the almanac is adjusted over time with new measured location information from one or more wireless phones.

41. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein older location information in the almanac is deemphasized over time.

42. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein at least one of the first, second, and third wireless phones is owned by an end user.

43. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the uncooperative base station comprises a local area network base station.

44. The apparatus of claim 33, wherein at least one of the first wireless phone, the second wireless phone, and the third wireless phone is operable using a particular service provider, and wherein the uncooperative base station comprises a cellular phone base station for another service provider not under a roaming agreement with the service provider.

45. The apparatus of claim 33, further comprising:

means for determining a likelihood the uncooperative base station will move from a current location of the uncooperative base station; and

means for preventing the measured location from being used in the almanac based at least in part on the likelihood.