System method and computer program product for direction finding and/or identification of geo-location, for mobile phones operating in lte (4g)

A method for localizing cellphones served by commercial network of base-stations, the method comprising:

• providing at least one DF/geolocation module including
• a DF/geolocation controller and
• at least one set of receivers operative to receive uplink signal/s transmitted by cellphone/s;
• and
• providing at least one catcher having a real time internal system interface with the DF/geolocation module, each catcher including:
• at least one transmitter and at least one receiver, thereby to define an area of coverage for the catcher, and
• a catcher-controller,
• the transmitter in the catcher being controlled by the catcher-controller to send, to at least one individual cellphone, a signal, including signal content that is unique to the individual cellphone and that the individual cellphone is configured, when operating according to a given cell network protocol, to transmit along an uplink to a base station, thereby to cause each individual cellphone in a current target subset of cellphones aka target cellphones, when within the catcher's area of coverage, to transmit to the catcher, signal content which is unique, within said current subset, only to that individual cellphone, and not to any other cellphone in the current subset,
• wherein the catcher controller triggers the DF/Geolocation controller in real time while the signal is on the air, by sending the signal content via the real time internal system interface to the DF/Geolocation controller, and
• wherein the DF/geolocation controller is operative, responsive to receipt of said signal content,
• to scan incoming transmissions e.g. uplink signals received by the DF/geolocation module receiver in real time, including comparing said uplink signals to signals received and extracted from said incoming transmissions e.g. uplink signals, in real time, by filtering said incoming transmissions, those transmissions which are arriving from a cellphone whose identifier is included in said signal content, thereby to differentiate targets whose identifier is included in said signal content from non-targets whose identifier is not included in said signal content;
• and
• to trigger the DF/geolocation module, in real time, to localize said transmissions which correspond to said signal content, thereby to generate, in real time, target location data indicative of locations of each target cellphone that has entered the catcher's area of coverage, and to output an indication of said target location data, in near real time, thereby to localize, in near real time, any target cellphone that has entered the catcher's area of coverage, and
• wherein said given cell network protocol comprises LTE and said signal content comprises an SRS code assigned uniquely to each target phone.

A catcher system operative in conjunction with a DF/geolocation module, and including:

• at least one catcher having a real time internal system interface with a DF/geolocation module, each catcher including:
• at least one transmitter and at least one receiver, thereby to define an area of coverage for the catcher, and
• a catcher-controller,
• the transmitter in the catcher being controlled by the catcher-controller to send, to at least one individual cellphone, a signal, including signal content that is unique to the individual cellphone and that the individual cellphone is configured, when operating according to a given cell network protocol, to transmit along an uplink to a base station, thereby to cause each individual cellphone in a current target subset of cellphones aka target cellphones, when within the catcher's area of coverage, to transmit to the catcher, signal content (including at least one parameter) which is unique, within said current subset, only to that individual cellphone and not to any other cellphone in the current subset,
• wherein the catcher controller triggers the DF/Geolocation controller in real time while the signal is on the air, by sending the signal content via the real time internal system interface to the DF/Geolocation controller.

A computer program product, comprising a non-transitory tangible computer readable medium having computer readable program code embodied therein, said computer readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method for localizing cellphones served by commercial network of base-stations, the method comprising:

• providing at least one DF/geolocation module including a DF/geolocation controller and
• at least one set of receivers operative to receive uplink signal/s transmitted by cellphone/s;
• and
• providing at least one catcher having a real time internal system interface with the DF/geolocation module, each catcher including:
• at least one transmitter and at least one receiver, thereby to define an area of coverage for the catcher, and
• a catcher-controller
• the transmitter in the catcher being controlled by the catcher-controller to send, to at least one individual cellphone, a signal, including signal content that is unique to the individual cellphone and that the individual cellphone is configured, when operating according to a given cell network protocol, to transmit along an uplink to a base station, thereby to cause each individual cellphone in a current target subset of cellphones aka target cellphones, when within the catcher's area of coverage, to transmit to the catcher, signal content which is unique, within said current subset, only to that individual cellphone and not to any other cellphone in the current subset,
• wherein the catcher controller triggers the DF/Geolocation controller in real time while the signal is on the air, by sending the signal content via the real time internal system interface to the DF/Geolocation controller, and
• wherein the DF/geolocation controller is operative, responsive to receipt of said signal content,
• to scan incoming transmissions e.g. uplink signals received by the DF/geolocation module receiver in real time, including comparing said uplink signals to signals received and extracted from said incoming transmissions e.g. uplink signals, in real time, by filtering said incoming transmissions, those transmissions which are arriving from a cellphone whose identifier is included in said signal content, thereby to differentiate targets whose identifier is included in said signal content from non-targets whose identifier is not included in said signal content;
• and
• to trigger the DF/geolocation module, in real time, to localize said transmissions which correspond to said signal content, thereby to generate, in real time, target location data indicative of locations of each target cellphone that has entered the catcher's area of coverage, and to output an indication of said target location data, in near real time, thereby to localize, in near real time, any target cellphone that has entered the catcher's area of coverage, and
• wherein said given cell network protocol comprises LTE and said signal content comprises an SRS code assigned uniquely to each target phone.