Wireless network hybrid positioning
First Claim
1. A method of determining a location of a mobile station, the method comprising:
- receiving wireless signals from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network is a cellular network;
receiving wireless signals from a second wireless access point of a second wireless network, wherein the first wireless network and the second wireless network are separate and distinct, the second wireless network is a wireless local area network, the second wireless access point is a wireless local area network access point, and the wireless signals from the second wireless access point indicate a media access control (MAC) address of the second wireless access point;
determining one or more timing measurements and a cellular telephone base station identifier based on the wireless signals from the first wireless network;
accessing a first base station almanac server associated with the first wireless network for a first location of the first wireless access point based on the cellular telephone base station identifier, wherein the first base station almanac server stores locations of multiple wireless access points associated with the first wireless network;
accessing a location server for a coverage area second location of the second wireless access point based on the MAC address, wherein the location second base station almanac server stores coverage areas locations of multiple wireless access points; and
determining the location of the mobile station based at least in part on the first location of the first wireless access point, the coverage area of the second location of the second wireless access point, and the one or more timing measurements.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and apparatuses for position determination and other operations. In one embodiment of the present invention, a mobile station uses wireless signals from a plurality of wireless networks (e.g., with different air interfaces and/or operated by different service providers) for position determination (e.g., for data communication, for obtaining time and/or frequency information, for range measurement, for sector or altitude estimation). In one embodiment of the present invention, mobile stations are used to harvest statistical data about wireless access points (e.g., the locations of mobile stations that have received signals from the wireless access points, such as from cellular base stations, wireless local area network access points, repeaters for positioning signals or other wireless communication transmitters) and to derive location information (e.g., position and coverage area of the wireless access points) for the wireless networks from the collected statistical data.
179 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method of determining a location of a mobile station, the method comprising:
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receiving wireless signals from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network is a cellular network; receiving wireless signals from a second wireless access point of a second wireless network, wherein the first wireless network and the second wireless network are separate and distinct, the second wireless network is a wireless local area network, the second wireless access point is a wireless local area network access point, and the wireless signals from the second wireless access point indicate a media access control (MAC) address of the second wireless access point; determining one or more timing measurements and a cellular telephone base station identifier based on the wireless signals from the first wireless network; accessing a first base station almanac server associated with the first wireless network for a first location of the first wireless access point based on the cellular telephone base station identifier, wherein the first base station almanac server stores locations of multiple wireless access points associated with the first wireless network; accessing a location server for a coverage area second location of the second wireless access point based on the MAC address, wherein the location second base station almanac server stores coverage areas locations of multiple wireless access points; and determining the location of the mobile station based at least in part on the first location of the first wireless access point, the coverage area of the second location of the second wireless access point, and the one or more timing measurements. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An apparatus for determining a location of a mobile station, the apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving wireless signals from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first network is a cellular network; means for receiving wireless signals from a second wireless access point of a second wireless network, wherein the first wireless network and the second wireless network are separate and distinct, the second wireless network is a wireless local area network, the second wireless access point is a wireless local area network access point, and the wireless signals from the second wireless access point indicate a media access control (MAC) address of the second wireless access point; means for determining one or more timing measurements and a cellular telephone base station identifier based on the wireless signals from the first wireless network and; means for accessing a first base station almanac server associated with the first wireless network for a first location of the first wireless access point based on the cellular telephone base station identifier, wherein the first base station almanac server stores locations of multiple wireless access points associated with the first wireless network; means for accessing a location server for a coverage area second location of the second wireless access point based on the MAC address, wherein the location second base station almanac server stores coverage areas of multiple wireless access points; and means for determining the location of the mobile station based at least in part on the first location of the first wireless access point, the coverage area of the second location of the second wireless access point, and the one or more timing measurements. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A mobile device comprising a processor and a memory wherein the memory comprises software configured to cause the mobile device to:
- cause wireless signals to be received from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network is a cellular network;
cause wireless signals to be received from a second wireless access point of a second wireless network, wherein the first wireless network and the second wireless network are separate and distinct, the second wireless network is a wireless local area network, the second wireless access point is a wireless local area network access point, and the wireless signals from the second wireless access point indicate a media access control (MAC) address of the second wireless access point; determine one or more timing measurements and a cellular telephone base station identifier based on the wireless signals from the first wireless network; cause a first base station almanac server associated with the first wireless network to be accessed for a first location of the first wireless access point based on the cellular telephone base station identifier, wherein the first base station almanac server stores coverage areas of multiple wireless access points associated with the first wireless network; and
cause a location server to be accessed for a coverage area second location of the second wireless access point based on the MAC address, wherein the location second base station almanac server stores locations of multiple wireless access points; andthe location of the mobile station is determined based at least in part on the first location of the first wireless access point, the coverage area of the second wireless access point, and the one or more timing measurements. - View Dependent Claims (15)
- cause wireless signals to be received from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network is a cellular network;
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16. A non-transitory computer-readable medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by a digital processing apparatus to perform a method for determining a location of a mobile station having memory and a processor, said method comprising operations of:
- cause wireless signals to be received from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network is a cellular network;
cause wireless signals to be received from a second wireless access point of a second wireless network, wherein the first wireless network and the second wireless network are separate and distinct, the second wireless network is a wireless local area network, the second wireless access point is a wireless local area network access point, and the wireless signals from the second wireless access point indicate a media access control (MAC) address of the second wireless access point;
determine one or more timing measurements and a cellular telephone base station identifier based on the wireless signals from the first wireless network;
cause a first base station almanac server associated with the first wireless network to be accessed for a first location of the first wireless access point based on the cellular telephone base station identifier, wherein the first base station almanac server stores coverage areas of multiple wireless access points associated with the first wireless network; and
cause a location to be accessed for a coverage area of the second wireless access point based on the MAC address, wherein, the location second base station almanac server stores locations of multiple wireless access points; and
the location of the mobile station is determined based at least in part on the first location of the first wireless access point, the coverage area second location of the second wireless access point, and the one or more timing measurements. - View Dependent Claims (17)
- cause wireless signals to be received from a first wireless access point of a first wireless network, wherein the first wireless network is a cellular network;
Specification