Single station communications localization system
AssigneeKSI Inc.
InventorJohn E. Maloney
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention combines the measured characteristics of a radio signal in a communications environment with collateral information to produce an accurate and economical way to locate a mobile transmitter station, such as a mobile telephone, in a cellular telephone network.
Claims16
An apparatus for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver in an operating environment served by a wireless communications system, comprising:
- at least a single sensor station having a directionally sensitive antenna and signal receiver to receive radio signals from the mobile transceiver;
- a signal characterization processing unit for measuring at least one signal characteristic based on the signal representations received from the mobile radio transceiver by said signal sensor station;
- a source of collateral information including a database of position-dependent, propagation-affected, signal characteristics measured from the operating environment of the mobile transceiver;
- a multidimensional parametric correlation processing unit for determining a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from the correlation of the measured signal-characteristic information from said single sensor station and the collateral information;
- and
- an output indicative of the probable position of the mobile transceiver.
A method for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver operating in an environment served by a cellular communications system, comprising the steps of:
- (1) measuring at least one signal characteristic based on the signal representations received from the mobile radio transceiver by at least a single sensor station with a directionally sensitive antenna and signal receiver;
- (2) accessing collateral information including a database of position-dependent, propagation-affected, signal characteristics measured from the operating environment of the mobile transceiver;
- (3) correlating a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from the measured signal-characteristic information from said single sensor station and said collateral information;
- and
- (4) indicating a probable position of the mobile transceiver.
An apparatus for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver in an operating environment served by a wireless communications system, comprising:
- at least a single sensor station having a directionally sensitive antenna and signal receiver to receive radio signals from the mobile transceiver;
- a signal characterization processing unit for measuring at least one positionally sensitive signal characteristic based on the signal representations received from the mobile radio transceiver by said single sensor station;
- a source of collateral information which comprises data sensitive to the position of the mobile transceiver within its operating environment;
- a multidimensional parametric correlation processing unit for determining a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from the correlation of the measured signal-characteristic information from said single sensor station and the collateral information;
- and
- an output indicative of the probable position of the mobile transceiver.
A method for locating a mobile radio communications transceiver operating in an environment served by a cellular communications system, comprising the steps of:
- (1) measuring at least one positionally sensitive signal characteristic based on the signal representations received from the mobile radio transceiver by at least a single sensor station with a directionally sensitive antenna and signal receiver;
- (2) accessing collateral information which comprises data sensitive to the position of the mobile transceiver within its operating environment;
- (3) correlating a probable position of the mobile transceiver directly from the measured signal-characteristic information from said single sensor station and said collateral information;
- and
- (4) indicating a probable position of the mobile transceiver.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.