Femtocell calibration for timing based locating systems

• US 9,810,765 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2015
• Issued: 11/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Mobility II LLC (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Fix, Jeremy, Hilliard, Brandon Bowers, Meredith, Sheldon
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Dao
• Application Number:
  US14/601,800
• Publication Number:
  US 20150133156A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,021 Days
• Field of Search: 34235725, 342386, 342387, 342442, 342444, 342457, 4554562, 4554566
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/021 Calibration, monitoring or correction G01S5/0252 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/06 Position of source determined by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements G01S5/12 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/10 Position of receiver fixed by co-ordinating a plurality of position lines defined by path-difference measurements , e.g. omega or decca systemsG01S5/12 takes precedence ; beacons and receivers cooperating therewith G01S1/306, G01S1/308

Abstract

A femtocell calibration solution is provided that uses the known location of the femtocell to calibrate timing based locating systems. The calculated time differences of different signals sent between macrocells and a mobile device can be used to solve for a reference time difference that accounts for the timing differences of the unsynchronized macrocells. The reference time difference can then be used to solve for the location of another mobile device if the calculated time differences between that mobile device and the macrocells are known. The solution can include taking many measurements of the calculated time difference at the first mobile device in order to average them to get a more accurate reference time difference. The solution can further include ceasing measurements at the first mobile device when the mobile device is no longer within range of the femtocell.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

determining a timing calibration parameter for a macrocell device based on a variation between a first measured time difference between the macrocell device and a first mobile device and a first projected time difference between the macrocell device and a femtocell access point device within communication range of the first mobile device; and

determining a location of a second mobile device based on the timing calibration parameter and a second measured time difference between the macrocell device and the second mobile device.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving location information from the femtocell access point device via an Iuh interface.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the receiving the location information from the femtocell access point device further comprises receiving a timestamp that corresponds to the location information.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the determining the location of the second mobile device is based on respective timing calibration parameters and measured time differences between a set of macrocell devices, comprising the macrocell device, and the second mobile device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

determining the variation between the first projected time difference and the measured time difference based on report data representing a radio resource control measurement report.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the report data comprises a primary scrambling code that identifies the macrocell device and an indication of a signal strength related to the macrocell device.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein the determining the timing calibration parameter for the macrocell device comprises:

determining the timing calibration parameter for the macrocell device based on respective report data representing radio resource control measurement reports associated with a set of macrocell devices comprising the macrocell device.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

receiving measured time differences, comprising the first measured time difference or the second measured time difference, over a period of time.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise:

redetermining the first measured time difference based on an average of the measured time differences.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:

initiating reception of the first measured time difference in response to determining that the first mobile device is within the communication range of the macrocell device.

11. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a system comprising a processor, report information representing a radio resource control measurement report from a first mobile device that comprises timing measurements between macrocell devices and the first mobile device;

determining, by the system, respective timing calibration parameters for the macrocell devices based on a variation between the timing measurements and projected time differences between the macrocell devices and a femtocell access point device determined to be within range of the first mobile device; and

determining, by the system, a location of a second mobile device based on the timing calibration parameters and measured time differences between the macrocell devices and the second mobile device.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

obtaining, by the system, a location associated with the femtocell access point device from an Iuh interface.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

obtaining, by the system, a location associated with the femtocell access point device via a femtocell device controller.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the obtaining the location associated with the femtocell access point device further comprises obtaining a timestamp that corresponds to the location information.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving the report information comprises receiving first report information at a first time representing a first radio resource control measurement report and receiving second report information at a second time representing a second radio resource control measurement report.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

averaging, by the system, respective timing measurements of the first radio resource control measurement report and the second radio resource control measurement report; and

redetermining, by the system, the timing calibration parameters based on a result of the averaging.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the receiving the report information further comprises receiving code data representing a primary scrambling code that identifies the macrocell device of the macrocell devices and an indication of a signal strength related to the macrocell device.

18. A computer-readable storage device, comprising executable instructions that, in response to execution, cause a device comprising a processor to perform operations, comprising:

receiving a first set of calculated time differences between a first mobile device and macrocell devices within a defined range of the first mobile device;

determining reference time differences for the macrocell devices based on location information received from a femtocell device and the calculated time differences, wherein the reference time differences are respective timing offsets for the macrocell devices relative to a baseline time; and

determining a location of a second mobile device as a function of the reference time differences and a second set of calculated time differences between the second mobile device and the macrocell devices.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the determining the reference time differences for the macrocell devices further comprises comparing the location information from the femtocell device and locations of the macrocell devices.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 18, wherein the receiving the first set of calculated time differences between the first mobile device and the macrocell devices further comprises receiving calculated time differences of the set of calculated time differences at different times of a period of time.