Method for determining a temporal reference and/or at least one spatial reference in a communication system

A device configured to determine a temporal reference and at least one spatial reference, the device configured to be included in a communication system further comprising a plurality of gathering gateways adapted for communicating with terminal devices by wireless communications, each of the gathering gateways being configured to transmit synchronization beacons in the communication system so as to enable devices receiving the synchronization beacons to synchronize in time and frequency vis-à-vis said communication system,

• wherein, for each beacon in a plurality of beacons or for each succession of beacons in a plurality of successions of beacons respectively received from distinct gathering gateways, said device implements in software form by execution of a set of instructions by a programmable machine or in hardware form by a machine or a dedicated component:
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom first information on current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons;
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom second information indicating what communication technology was used for determining the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons;
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom third information indicating whether the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons has been determined internally in said gathering gateway, or whether the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons was determined externally to said gathering gateway;
• classifying said beacon or said succession of beacons responsive to the first, second and third information;
• determining, responsive to said classification, whether to consider or not said beacon or said succession of beacons in order to determine the temporal reference for synchronizing in time and frequency said device vis-à-vis said communication system and determining, responsive to said classification, how to weight said beacon or said succession of beacons to determine the temporal reference for synchronizing in time and frequency said device vis-à-vis said communication system;
• and
• determining, responsive to said classification, whether to consider or not said beacon or said succession of beacons in order to determine the spatial reference or references for determining the geolocation of said device and determining, responsive to said classification, how to weight said beacon or said succession of beacons to determine the spatial reference or references for determining the geolocation of said device;
• and
• based on said determinations, determining the temporal reference for synchronizing in time and frequency said device vis-à-vis said communication system and the spatial reference or references for determining the geolocation of said device.

A method for determining a temporal reference and at least one spatial reference, by a device in a communication system comprising a plurality of gathering gateways adapted for communicating with wireless communication terminal devices, each of the gathering gateways being configured to transmit synchronization beacons in the communication system so as to enable devices receiving the synchronization beacons to synchronize in time and frequency vis-à-vis said communication system,

• wherein the method is implemented by said device, and for each beacon in a plurality of beacons or for each succession of beacons in a plurality of successions of beacons respectively received from separate gathering gateways, the method comprises:
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom first information on current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons;
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom second information indicating what communication technology was used for determining the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons;
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom third information indicating whether the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons was determined internally in said gathering gateway, or whether the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons was determined externally to said gathering gateway;
• parsing said beacon or said succession of beacons and obtaining therefrom fourth information representing a resolution algorithm for determining the current geolocation of the gathering gateway that transmitted said beacon or said succession of beacons;
• determining, responsive to the first, second, third and fourth information, whether to consider or not said beacon or said succession of beacons in order to determine the temporal reference for synchronizing in time and frequency said device vis-à-vis said communication system and determining, responsive to the first, second, third and fourth information, how to weight said beacon or said succession of beacons to determine the temporal reference for synchronizing in time and frequency said device vis-à-vis said communication system;
• and
• determining, responsive to the first, second, third and fourth information, whether to consider or not said beacon or said succession of beacons in order to determine the spatial reference or references for determining the geolocation of said device and determining, responsive to the first, second, third and fourth information, how to weight said beacon or said succession of beacons to determine the spatial reference or references for determining the geolocation of said device;
• and
• based on said determinations, determining the temporal reference for synchronizing in time and frequency said device vis-à-vis said communication system and the spatial reference or references for determining the geolocation of said device.