Method of and system for estimating a time of arrival of a radio signal
US6675018B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 21, 1999 |
| Grant date | Jan 6, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 21, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S5/14
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
The invention relates to a method for estimating time of arrival of radio signals in particular as used for location determination. A known method of determining the location of a subscriber unit (401) calculates a number of ranges based on the distance from base stations (403,405,407) with known location. The ranges are calculated from time of arrival estimates of the signals from the different base stations but a significant source of error is the multipath signal components typical in for example cellular mobile communication systems. According to the invention, the effect of multipath is mitigated by selecting a subset of signals based on a time of arrival estimate of each of the signals. An averaged time of arrival estimate with improved accuracy is then determined from the selected subset. A typical use of the invention is for location determination in a cellular mobile communication system.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.