Method of and apparatus for estimating a characteristic of a signal
US6256494A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 18, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jul 3, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Nov 18, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S5/02
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
This invention relates to a method of estimating a characteristic of a signal such as a time of arrival or a transmitter identity in particular in a cellular communication system. Most known techniques have limited performance as they rely on limited amounts of known data. The method of the invention comprise a first step (201) of receiving the signal at a subscriber unit. In a second step (203) the subscriber unit receives assistance data from the fixed network and in a third step (205) an expected signal is derived in response to this assistance data. For GSM the assistance data can be a frame number and a BSIC permitting an entire expected SCH burst to be derived. In a fourth (207) step the signal characteristic is determined by correlation of the received signal and the expected signal. The invention is particularly applicable to location determination in a GSM communication system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.