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US 2003/0157943 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for auxiliary pilot signal for mobile phone location
OwnerJohn Sabat JR.inventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
At repeaters or at each individual unit of a distributed antenna system, an auxiliary pilot signal is transmitted in addition to a common base station pilot signal to mobile units. The auxiliary pilot signal is unique to each repeater and each individual unit of the distributed antenna system within a local propagation area. A mobile unit measures the auxiliary pilot signals received from the repeater or distributed antenna units in the same manner it measures those of any base station pilot signal. The location of the mobile unit can be determined using well-known triangulation techniques based on the auxiliary pilot signal measurements.
Claims52
A wireless communication system for determining location of a mobile unit, the system comprising:
- plural wireless base stations each transmitting a base pilot signal having signaling parameters that are different for each base station;
- a repeater receiving a corresponding base pilot signal from one of the plural base stations and transmitting a repeated base pilot signal and an auxiliary pilot signal having signaling parameters that differ from those of the base pilot signals;
- a mobile unit receiving the base pilot signals from the plural base stations and receiving the repeated base pilot signal and the auxiliary pilot signal from the repeater, the mobile unit measuring time of arrival of received pilot signals to provide time of arrival measurements;
- and
- means for determining location of the mobile unit from the time of arrival measurements and from information defining locations of the base stations and the repeater.
2 more elements
A wireless communication system for determining location of a mobile unit, the system comprising:
- a wireless base station transmitting a base pilot signal;
- plural radio access nodes coupled to the base station in a distributed configuration, each of the radio access nodes transmitting a replicated base pilot signal and an auxiliary pilot signal having signaling parameters that are different for each radio access node;
- a mobile unit receiving the replicated base pilot signals and the auxiliary pilot signals from the radio access nodes, the mobile unit measuring time of arrival of received pilot signals to provide time of arrival measurements;
- and
- means for determining a location of the mobile unit from the time of arrival measurements and from information defining locations of the radio access nodes.
2 more elements
A wireless communication system for determining location of a mobile unit, the system comprising:
- a wireless base station located at a hub location, the base station transmitting radio frequency signals including a base pilot signal;
- a base station interface located at the hub, the base station interface converting the radio frequency signals associated with the base station to a transport signaling format;
- a shared transport medium transporting the converted radio frequency signals from the hub location to plural remote access node locations;
- plural radio access nodes located at the remote access node locations and coupled to receive signals from the shared transport medium, the radio access nodes each associated with a particular portion of a total system coverage area, the radio access nodes each comprising equipment converting from the transport signaling format to radio frequency signals and transmitting the radio frequency signals including the base pilot signal and an auxiliary pilot signal having signaling parameters that are different for each radio access node;
- a mobile unit receiving the base pilot signals and the auxiliary pilot signals from the radio access nodes, the mobile unit measuring time of arrival of received pilot signals to provide time of arrival measurements;
- and
- means for determining a location of the mobile unit from the time of arrival measurements and from information defining locations of the radio access nodes.
4 more elements
A method of determining location of a mobile unit in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
- transmitting radio frequency signals including a base pilot signal from a wireless base station located at a hub location;
- converting the radio frequency signals associated with the base station to a transport signaling format;
- transporting the converted radio frequency signals from the hub location to plural remote access node locations over a shared transport medium;
- receiving signals from the shared transport medium at plural radio access nodes located at the remote access node locations, the radio access nodes each associated with a particular portion of a total system coverage area;
- at each radio access node, converting from the transport signaling format to radio frequency signals and transmitting the radio frequency signals including the base pilot signal and an auxiliary pilot signal having signaling parameters that are different for each radio access node;
- at a mobile unit, receiving the base pilot signals and the auxiliary pilot signals, and measuring time of arrival of received pilot signals to provide time of arrival measurements;
- and
- determining a location of the mobile unit from the time of arrival measurements and from information defining locations of the radio access nodes.
5 more elements
A method of determining location of a mobile unit in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
- transmitting pilot signals from plural wireless nodes, the pilot signals each having differing signaling parameters and including at least one base pilot signal and at least one auxiliary pilot signal, transmitting further including transmitting one of the at least one base pilot signals from one of the plural nodes to at least one other of the plural nodes, and for the at least one other node, transmitting one of the at least one auxiliary pilot signals and the corresponding one of the at least one base pilot signals;
- at a mobile unit, receiving the pilot signals and measuring time of arrival of the received pilot signals to provide time of arrival measurements;
- and
- determining a location of the mobile unit from the time of arrival measurements.
1 more element
A method of determining location of a mobile unit in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:
- transmitting a common base pilot signal from a base station to plural radio access nodes;
- transmitting auxiliary pilot signals and the common base pilot signal from the radio access nodes, each auxiliary pilot signal having differing signaling parameters;
- at a mobile unit, receiving the pilot signals and measuring time of arrival of the received pilot signals to provide time of arrival measurements;
- and
- determining a location of the mobile unit from the time of arrival measurements.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.