Mobile Communication Device and Communication Network for Providing Location Services

The invention pertains to the field of mobile communications. The invention addresses the problem of providing services that are dependent upon determination of the location of a mobile unit of a communication network.

Present mobile radio systems, such as CDMA cellular telephone systems, provide communication of voice and data signals from a mobile unit through a communication network. However, conventional systems provide only minimal location-dependent services for mobiles. Conventional systems also fail to provide location determination with sufficient accuracy for practical implementation of location services.

It is an object of the invention to provide a communication network that provides the location of a mobile to a service provider so that a services may be provided to the user of the mobile at the location of the mobile.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a communication network that provides information regarding available services to a user of a mobile based on a determination of the location of the mobile.

It is a further object of the invention to achieve the aforementioned objects in a manner that improves over the accuracy of conventional location determination devices and processes

It is a further object of the invention to provide a mobile communication device and network, and associated processes and network elements, for achieving the above objects.

The aforementioned objects of the invention are accomplished, in general terms, by a communication network comprising a plurality of base station, provided at known locations and a mobile unit. The location of the mobile unit is determined through analysis of the time difference of arrival (TDOA) at the mobile of signals from at least three base station pairs. The accuracy of the location determination is enhanced through application of correction factors to the TDOA measurements. The location of the mobile may be provided to a service provider, or alternatively, the mobile may be provided with information regarding service providers that are local to the determined location of the mobile. In the latter case, the mobile may subsequently specify a service provider, and the location of the mobile may be provided to the specified service provider.

A variety of embodiments in accordance with the above general principles, including embodiments preferred for achieving particular objects, are disclosed in detail below.

The invention and its various preferred embodiments will be understood through reference to the following disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a mobile communication network in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a first system process in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a second system process in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process in a communication network in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 5 and 5A illustrate a process in a communication network and mobile, respectively, in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 6 and 6A illustrate processes in a mobile and a remainder of a communication network, respectively, in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 7 and 7A illustrate a processes in a mobile and communication network, respectively, in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the invention.

Reference is made first to FIG. 1, which illustrates the physical devices of a communication network in accordance with the invention. As seen in FIG. 1, the communication network includes base stations BTS 1-3 that provide radio signaling for mobile terminals within a region. The base stations are joined by a communications network that provides traffic and signaling communications among the BTSs and other network elements and communication networks. A mobile within the coverage region is generally served for traffic and signaling by the nearest BTS as in conventional mobile communication networks. The mobile typically can also detect signals at lower strength from other nearby base stations.

The communication network of FIG. 1 further includes a location server. The location server may be a computer workstation comprising communication, data processing and data storage subsystems, and associated control programming. The location server provides services associated with determination of the location of a mobile based on TDOA measurements made by the mobile.

The communication network illustrated in FIG. 1 further comprises a location service server for providing additional services to the mobile that are dependent upon a determination of the location of the mobile and instructions received from the mobile. Like the location server, the location service server may be a computer workstation comprising communication, data processing and data storage subsystems, and associated control programming. While the communication network illustrated in FIG. 1 comprises a location server and location services server which are deployed on separate work stations, it will be appreciated that these servers may be logical devices that are implemented on a single physical device or across multiple physical devices, in accordance with the specifications of the particular implementation.

The communication network of FIG. 1 further includes calibration terminals for making TDOA measurements for base station pairs at known location within the area covered by the network. Correction factors for base station pairs may be derived from TDOA measurements made at calibration terminals and applied to TDOA measurements made by mobiles to improve the accuracy of location determinations. Devices and processes related to the use of calibration terminals for increasing the accuracy of location determination is disclosed in the commonly invented and commonly owned copending application Ser. No. (not yet assigned), entitled "DEVICES AND PROCESSES IN A MOBILE RADIO COMMUNICATION NETWORK HAVING CALIBRATION TERMINALS", the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference for its teaching regarding devices and processes related to the use of calibration terminals to increase the accuracy of location determination

Basic system processes in accordance with the invention are now described. The manner in which the various component functions of these processes are distributed among network elements will vary in accordance with network specifications. Various embodiments of network elements in accordance with various network specifications are discussed below.

A first system process in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIG. 2. The first system process involves providing the location of a mobile to a service provider of a specified type, for example, an emergency medical service provider.

As seen in FIG. 2, the system first receives 200 a request for providing the location of the mobile to a service provider of a specified type. The request may be provided, for example, in the form of the initiation of a call to the service provider. The system then determines 210 the location of mobile. Determination of the location of the mobile may be accomplished using TDOA measurements made by the mobile. The TDOA measurements are corrected by the application of correction factors derived from calibration TDOA measurements made at calibration terminals.

Once the location of the mobile is determined, the system determines 220 a service provider of the specified type that is local to the mobile. This may generally be accomplished through reference to a database associating service providers with service provider types or descriptions, and with geographic locations. The system then provides 230 the location of the mobile to the service provider.

A second system process in accordance with the invention is illustrated in FIG. 3. The second system process involves providing a mobile with information regarding service providers that are local to the mobile. The process may further include providing the location of the mobile to a local service provider specified by the mobile.

As seen in FIG. 3, the system first receives 300 a request for information regarding service providers of a specified type that are local to the mobile. The system then determines 310 the location of the mobile. Determination of the location of the mobile may be accomplished using TDOA measurements made by the mobile. The TDOA measurements are corrected through the application of correction factors derived from calibration TDOA measurements made at calibration terminals.

Once the location of the mobile is determined, the system determines 320 services of the specified type that are local to the mobile. This may generally be accomplished through reference to a database associating service providers with service provider types or descriptions, and with geographic locations. The system then provides 330 information regarding local services of the specified type to the mobile.

The process may further include receiving 340 a specification of a service provider from the mobile. The system then provides 350 the location of the mobile to the specified service provider. Providing the location of the mobile may be done in conjunction with the initiation of a call to the specified service provider.

Various embodiments and associated functionalities of network elements in accordance with various network specifications are now described. Each described network element, including mobiles, base stations, location servers, location service servers, and calibration terminals, comprises communication, data processing and data storage subsystems acting in accordance with appropriate control programming. The communication, data processing and data storage subsystems and associated control programming therefore comprise the means for providing the various functionalities described with respect to each embodiment.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the location of a mobile is provided to a service provider specified by the mobile. A process performed in the network in accordance with the first embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 4. As seen in FIG. 4, a request for providing a location to a service provider is received 400. The request is typically provided by a mobile, received by a base station of the network over the radio signalling channels of the network, and provided to the appropriate network subsystem for further processing. The request includes TDOA measurements for at least three base station pairs and a specification of a service provider. The service provider may be specified, for example, by a telephone number (e.g. 911) or other predetermined code associated with the service provider.

Upon receiving the request, correction factors associated with the TDOA measurements received in the request are determined 410. Correction factors may consist of a single correction factor associated with each base station pair, or a set of correction factors may be associated with a base station pair and the correction factor selected the set according to the geographic location of the mobile. The approximate location of the mobile, determined using uncorrected TDOA measurements, may be used to select an appropriate correction factor from the correction factor data base. Correction factors may be simply determined by a network element such as a location server by, for example, reference to a database associating correction factors with base station pairs, or by receiving a periodic correction factor message from a base station, or by providing a query to a calibration terminal to supply correction factors. Alternatively, correction factors may be determined by determining a difference between TDOA measurements for each base station pair made at a calibration terminal, and an expected TDOA for each base station pair at the calibration terminal. Tie data required for this determination may likewise be maintained in a database or may be obtained through a queries to calibration terminals, depending upon the particular network implementation.

The determined correction factors are then applied 420 to the corresponding TDOA measurements, and the location of the mobile is determined 430 using the corrected TDOA measurements. The location of the mobile is then provided 440 to the specified service provider.

A second embodiment of the invention involves providing information to a mobile regarding service providers of a specified type that are local to the mobile. A process performed in accordance with the second embodiment in the network is illustrated in FIG. 5. As seen in FIG. 5, a request for providing information regarding service providers of a specified type is received 500. The request is typically provided by a mobile, received by a base station of the network over the radio signalling channels of the network, and provided to the appropriate network subsystem for further processing. A complementary process executed in a mobile is illustrated in FIG. 5A. A request is provided 502 by a mobile that includes TDOA measurements for at least three base station pairs and a specification of a service provider. The service provider type may be specified, for example, by a predetermined code associated with the service provider type.

Upon receiving the request, correction factors associated with the TDOA measurements received in the request are determined 510. Correction factors may be simply determined by a network element such as a location server by, for example, reference to a database associating correction factors with base station pairs, or by receiving periodic correction factor messages from base stations, or by providing a query to a calibration terminal to supply correction factors. Alternatively, correction factors may be determined by determining a difference between TDOA measurements for each base station pair made at a calibration terminal, and an expected TDOA for each base station pair at the calibration terminal. The data required for this determination may likewise be maintained in a database or may be obtained through queries to calibration terminals, depending upon the particular network implementation.

The determined correction factors are then applied 520 to the corresponding TDOA measurements, and the location of the mobile is determined 530 using the corrected TDOA measurements. The network then determines 540 services of the requested type that are local to the determined location of the mobile. This may be accomplished in a location service server, for example, through reference to a database associating service providers with service provider types and geographic locations within the coverage area of the network.

When services of the specified type that are local to the mobile are determined, information regarding the services is provided 550 to the mobile. Various information may be provided, such as the identification and location of service providers, directions to the locations of the service providers, and other pertinent information.

The mobile receives 512 the information regarding local services and inputs 522 a specification of a service provider. The specification of the service provider is provided 532 to the network.

The process in the network may further comprise receiving 560 a specification of a service provider, and providing 570 the location of the mobile to the specified service provider.

A third embodiment of the invention involves providing the location of a mobile to a services provider, where the location of the mobile has been determined at the mobile and corrected using TDOA correction factors. A process performed in a mobile in accordance with the third embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 6. As seen in FIG. 6, a request for service from a service provider is received 600 at the mobile in the form of input from a user of the mobile. Determination of the location of the mobile then takes place in the mobile. Determination of the location comprises measuring 610 the TDOAs of signal from at least three base station pairs. Upon making TDOA measurements from at least three base station pairs, the mobile determines 620 correction factors associated with each base station pair. Depending upon the particular implementation of the network, correction factors may be determined by receiving periodic broadcasts of correction factors from appropriate calibration terminals or base stations, querying appropriate calibration terminals, querying another appropriate network element such as a location server that maintains a database associating correction factors with base station pairs, or referencing a database of correction factors maintained at the mobile. Alternatively, correction factors may be determined by determining a difference between TDOA measurements for each base station pair made at a calibration terminal, and an expected TDOA for each base station pair at the calibration terminal. The data required for this determination may likewise be obtained from calibration terminals or base stations, other network elements maintaining appropriate databases, or a database maintained at the mobile, depending upon the particular network implementation.

Upon determining correction factors associated with each base station pair, the correction factors are applied 630 to corresponding TDOA measurements to yield corrected TDOA measurements. The location of the mobile is then determined 640 in accordance with the corrected TDOA measurements. The location of the mobile and a specification of a service provider are then provided 650 to the network. This may be done in conjunction with providing a request for initiation of a call to the service provider.

A complementary process in the remainder of the network in accordance with the third embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 6a. As shown in FIG. 6a, the network receives 602 a request from a mobile for providing the location of the mobile to a specified service provider. The request includes the location of the mobile and a specification of a service provider. The network then provides 612 the location of the mobile to the specified service provider.

A fourth embodiment of the invention involves providing to the mobile information regarding services of a specified type that are local to the mobile, where the location of the mobile has been determined in the mobile and corrected using correction factors. A process performed in a mobile in accordance with the fourth embodiment is illustrated in FIG. 7. As seen in FIG. 7, a request for information regarding service providers of a specified type is received 700 at the mobile as input provided by a user of the mobile. The request includes a specification of a service provider type. TDOAs of signals from at least three base station pairs are then measured 710. The mobile then determines 720 correction factors associated with each base station pair. Depending upon the particular implementation of the network, correction factors may be determined by receiving periodic reports of correction factors from appropriate calibration terminals or base stations, querying appropriate calibration terminals, querying another appropriate network element such as a location servers that maintains a database associating correction factors with base station pairs, or referencing a database of correction factors maintained at the mobile. Alternatively, correction factors may be determined by determining a difference between TDOA measurements for each base station pair made at a calibration terminal, and an expected TDOA for each base station pair at the calibration terminal. The data required for this determination may likewise be obtained from calibration terminals or base stations, network elements maintaining appropriate databases, or a database maintained at the mobile, depending upon the particular network implementation.

Upon determining correction factors for each base station pair, the correction factors are applied 730 to the corresponding TDOA measurements to yield corrected TDOA measurements. The location of the mobile is then determined 740 in accordance with the corrected TDOA measurements. The location of the mobile and a specification of a service provider type are then provided 750 to an appropriate element of the network such as a location service server. The mobile subsequently receives 760 information regarding service providers of the specified type, and provides 770 a specification of a particular service provider of the specified type to the network. This may be done in conjunction with providing a request for initiation of a call to the service provider. A complementary process in the remainder of the network in accordance with the fourth embodiment proceeds substantially as illustrated in FIG. 7A.

It is noted that in the discussion provided above, the second and fourth embodiments involve devices and processes wherein a request for information regarding service providers of a specified type is provided by a mobile, information is provided by the network, and a specification of a service provider is then provided by the mobile. However, it will be appreciated that multiple specification steps may be employed to achieve the purpose of these embodiments. For example, if a mobile user requests information regarding local food service providers, the network may provide information in the form of a list of sub-types, for example, a list of ethnic varieties of restaurant in the local area. A further specification step could thus be employed to specify a single sub-type, for which information is then provided.

While the description provided above is intended to disclose the invention and its presently preferred embodiments, those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize further alternative embodiments which may be derived from the above disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited by the above disclosure, but is intended to encompass the subject matter defined by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.