Telecommunications apparatus and methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11722842-B2
Application number	US-201816954531-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 14, 2018
Priority date	Dec 18, 2017
Publication date	Aug 8, 2023
Grant date	Aug 8, 2023

Abstract

A method of operating a terminal device supporting a plurality of positioning techniques which use positioning measurements made by the terminal device and positioning assistance information received from a location server to determine the location of the terminal device. The method includes: establishing a target location; selecting a first positioning technique for navigating towards the target location; receiving first positioning assistance information from the location server for the first positioning technique; determining a first location of the terminal device in accordance with the first positioning technique and the first positioning assistance information; establishing a first trigger for using a second positioning technique which is associated with higher positioning accuracy than the first positioning technique; and, in response to determining the first trigger is satisfied, determining a second location of the terminal device in accordance with the second positioning technique and second positioning assistance information received from the location server.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of operating a terminal device to provide a navigation function in a wireless telecommunications system comprising the terminal device and a location server, wherein the terminal device supports a plurality of positioning techniques which use positioning measurements made by the terminal device and positioning assistance information received from the location server to determine location information for the terminal device, wherein the method comprises:
establishing a target location;
selecting a first positioning technique to use for navigating towards the target location;
receiving first positioning assistance information from the location server for the first positioning technique;
determining first location information for the terminal device from positioning measurements made by the terminal device in accordance with the first positioning technique and the first positioning assistance information,
establishing a first trigger condition for using a second positioning technique with a higher positioning accuracy than the first positioning technique, wherein the first trigger condition is dependent on the target location and is associated with an identifier for a radio network access node in the wireless telecommunications system in the vicinity of the target location, and the first trigger condition is deemed to be satisfied when the terminal device determines from radio signalling received from the radio network access node associated with the identifier that the terminal device is within a radio coverage area served by the radio network access node; and,
in response to determining the first trigger condition is satisfied, determining second location information for the terminal device from measurements made by the terminal device in accordance with the second positioning technique and second positioning assistance information received from the location server for the second positioning technique.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first trigger condition is established by the terminal device from an indication of the first trigger condition received from the location server.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the indication of the first trigger condition is received from the location server in association with the first positioning assistance information.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device receives at least one of the first and second positioning assistance information from the location server in response to transmitting a request for the at least one of the first and second positioning assistance information to the location server.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device receives at least one of the first and second positioning assistance information from the location server without transmitting a request for the at least one of the first and second positioning assistance information to the location server.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the terminal device receives at least one of the first and second positioning assistance information in system information transmitted by a radio network access node in the wireless telecommunications system.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second positioning assistance information is obtained from the location server before determining the first trigger condition is satisfied.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second positioning assistance information includes an indication of which of the plurality of positioning techniques should be used by the terminal device as the second positioning technique for determining the second location information.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and/or second positioning technique includes at least one positioning techniques selected from the group comprising: a global navigation satellite system positioning technique; a wireless local area network positioning technique; a radio network access node identifier positioning technique; a radio network access node ranging technique; a radio beacon positioning technique; a gyroscopic positioning technique; and a barometric pressure measurement positioning technique.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first and second positioning techniques rely on the same form of positioning measurements made by the terminal device, but wherein the positioning measurements are made more frequently by the terminal device in accordance with the second positioning technique than in accordance with the first positioning technique.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising establishing a second trigger condition for using a third positioning technique, wherein the second trigger condition is dependent on the target location; and, in response to determining the second trigger condition is satisfied, determining third location information for the terminal device from measurements made by the terminal device in accordance with the third positioning technique and third positioning assistance information received from the location server for the third positioning technique.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the second trigger condition is associated with a threshold distance from the target location and the second trigger condition is deemed to be satisfied when the first location information for the terminal device indicates the terminal device is within the threshold distance from the target location.

13. The method of claim 1 , further comprising, in response to determining the first trigger condition is satisfied, launching an application on the terminal device for a location based service.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the first and/or second positioning assistance information includes information to support the application launched on the terminal device for a location based service.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the second location information comprises an indication of an identifier or display location for an object at the target location.

16. A terminal device for providing a navigation function in a wireless telecommunications system comprising the terminal device and a location server, wherein the terminal device supports a plurality of positioning techniques which use positioning measurements made by the terminal device and positioning assistance information received from the location server to determine location information for the terminal device, wherein the terminal device comprises controller circuitry and transceiver circuitry configured to operate together such that the terminal device is operable to:
establish a target location;
select a first positioning technique to use for navigating towards the target location;
receive first positioning assistance information from the location server for the first positioning technique;
determine first location information for the terminal device from positioning measurements made by the terminal device in accordance with the first positioning technique and the first positioning assistance information;
establish a first trigger condition for using a second positioning technique with a higher positioning accuracy than the first positioning technique, wherein the first trigger condition is dependent on the target location, wherein the first trigger condition is dependent on the target location and is associated with an identifier for a radio network access node in the wireless telecommunications system in the vicinity of the target location, and the first trigger condition is deemed to be satisfied when the terminal device determines from radio signalling received from the radio network access node associated with the

Assignees

• Sony Corp
• Sony Mobile Communications Inc

Inventors

• Wakabayashi Hideji
• Berggren Anders
• Wei Yuxin
• Sharma Vivek
• Tsuda Shinichiro

Classifications

• H04W4/024 Primary

  Guidance services · CPC title

• G01S5/0236

  Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac · CPC title

• G01S19/48

  by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system · CPC title

• H04W64/006

  with additional information processing, e.g. for direction or speed determination · CPC title

• H04W64/00 Primary

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