Location information determination based on timing measurements in wireless networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11096141-B2
Application number	US-201816114098-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 27, 2018
Priority date	Aug 27, 2018
Publication date	Aug 17, 2021
Grant date	Aug 17, 2021

Abstract

Method, systems and devices for location information determination based on timing measurements are described. One example method includes transmitting, by a communication apparatus, a timing request to a plurality of network devices, where the timing request comprises a respective expected response time for each of the plurality of network devices, receiving, at a plurality of times, a plurality of timing measurements from each of the plurality of network devices, wherein each of the plurality of times is based on the corresponding expected response time, and the plurality of timing measurements comprises a respective time of arrival (ToA) timestamp and a respective time of departure (ToD) timestamp, and determining a location information of the communication apparatus based on an estimate of a round trip delay that is computed using a difference of the respective ToA and ToD timestamps from the plurality of timing measurements.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising:
(a) transmitting, by a communication apparatus, a timing request to a subset of a plurality of network devices, wherein the timing request comprises a respective expected response time for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices, and wherein the expected response time corresponds to a transmission time of a timing measurement that is received from the corresponding network device of the plurality of network devices;
(b) receiving, at a plurality of times, a plurality of timing measurements from each of the subset of the plurality of network devices, wherein each of the plurality of times is based on the corresponding expected response time, and the plurality of timing measurements comprises a respective time of arrival (ToA) timestamp and a respective time of departure (ToD) timestamp;
(c) determining a location information of the communication apparatus based on an estimate of a round trip delay that is computed using a difference of the respective ToA and ToD timestamps from the plurality of timing measurements; and
repeating steps (a) and (b) a number of times, wherein a ToA timestamp and a ToD timestamp is received each of the number of times from each of the subset of the plurality of network devices, and wherein the round trip delay is computed for each of the number of times for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices,
wherein the number of times is based on comparing differences of consecutive round trip delays for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices to a threshold.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting, to the plurality of network devices, a plurality of initial timing requests on a plurality of frequency channels; and
receiving a plurality of initial timing responses from the subset of the plurality of network devices on a respective frequency channel of the plurality of frequency channels.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of initial timing requests is transmitted in an identical timeslot.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
refining the estimate of the round trip delay based on a plurality of the ToA timestamps and ToD timestamps.

5. The method of claim 4 , further comprising:
transmitting, after the steps (a) and (b) are repeated the number of times, a termination message.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the timing request identifies a transmission resource associated with each of the subset of the plurality of network devices.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein each of the plurality of timing measurements is received on the respective transmission resource identified in the timing request.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
transmitting a report comprising the location information of the communication apparatus to the subset of the plurality of network devices.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the threshold is distinct for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices.

10. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory memory with instructions thereon, wherein the instructions upon execution by the processor, cause the processor to:
(a) transmit a plurality of initial timing requests to a plurality of network devices, wherein each of the plurality of initial timing requests comprises an expected response time corresponding to a transmission time of a timing measurement that is received from a corresponding network device of a subset of the plurality of network devices;
(b) receive a plurality of initial timing responses from the subset of the plurality of network devices;
(c) transmit a timing request to the subset of the plurality of network devices, wherein the timing request identifies transmission resources to be used by each of the subset of the plurality of network devices;
(d) receive, over the respective transmission resources, a plurality of timing measurements from the subset of the plurality of network devices, wherein the plurality of timing measurements comprises a respective time of arrival (ToA) timestamp and a respective time of departure (ToD) timestamp;
(e) determine a location information of the apparatus based on an estimate of a round trip delay that is computed using a difference of the respective ToA and ToD timestamps from the plurality of timing measurements; and
repeat steps (a) and (b) a number of times, wherein a ToA timestamp and a ToD timestamp is received each of the number of times from each of the subset of the plurality of network devices, and wherein the round trip delay is computed for each of the number of times for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices,
wherein the number of times is based on comparing differences of consecutive round trip delays for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices to a threshold.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of initial timing requests are transmitted on each of a plurality of frequency channels.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the plurality of initial timing responses are received on the corresponding each of the plurality of frequency channels.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of initial timing requests are transmitted in an identical timeslot.

14. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further caused to:
refine the estimate of the round trip delay based on a plurality of the ToA timestamps and ToD timestamps.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the processor is further caused to:
transmit, after the steps (c) and (d) are repeated the number of times, a termination message.

16. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further caused to:
transmit a report comprising the location information of the apparatus to the subset of the plurality of network devices.

17. A computer-readable program medium having code stored thereon, the code, when executed by a processor of a communication apparatus, causing the processor to implement a method for wireless communication, the method comprising:
(a) transmitting, to a group of network devices, a timing request soliciting time measurement responses, the timing request including information for receiving the time measurement responses in a collision-free manner, the information comprising an expected response time corresponding to a transmission time of a timing measurement response that is received from a corresponding network device of at least some network devices from the group;
(b) receiving, in the collision-free manner, the timing measurement responses from the at least some network devices from the group, wherein each timing measurement response includes a first field indicative of a reception time at which a corresponding network device received the timing request and a second field indicative of response time at which the corresponding network device transmitted its timing measurement response;
(c) determining a location of the communication apparatus based on the timing measurement responses;
repeating steps (a) and (b) a number of times, wherein a ToA timestamp and a ToD timestamp is received each of the number of times from each of the subset of the plurality of network devices, and wherein the round trip delay is computed for each of the number of times for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices,
wherein the number of times is based on comparing differences of consecutive round trip delays for each of the subset of the plurality of network devices to a thresh

Assignees

• Zte Corp

Inventors

• Fang Yonggang

Classifications

• H04J3/0667

  Bidirectional timestamps, e.g. NTP or PTP for compensation of clock drift and for compensation of propagation delays (arrangements for monitoring round trip delays in packet switching networks H04L43/0864) · CPC title

• H04B17/364

  Delay profiles · CPC title

• H04W84/12

  WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks] · CPC title

• G01S3/50

  the waves arriving at the antennas being pulse modulated and the time difference of their arrival being measured · CPC title

• H04W64/00 Primary

  Locating users or terminals {or network equipment} for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management · CPC title