CN1155331A

CN1155331A - Apparatus and method for locating cellular telephones and similar transmitters

Info

Publication number: CN1155331A
Application number: CN 95190753
Authority: CN
Inventors: 戴维·L·海里克
Original assignee: Lockheed Sanders Inc
Current assignee: Lockheed Corp
Priority date: 1994-07-08
Filing date: 1995-07-07
Publication date: 1997-07-23

Abstract

The field of locating cellular telephones suffers from high multipath city environments which affect accuracy. This problem can be overcome by a two tiered approach including a general location determination using cellular base station located system (10) and subsequent finite location using a portable receiver (26) capable of functioning in high multipath environments. Applications include emergency calls and criminal investigations.

Description

The equipment and the method that are used for locating cellular telephone and similar transmitters

The present invention relates generally to the function of locating cellular telephone and other mobile transmitter, relate in particular to a kind of method and apparatus, it uses the two-phase measuring method, comprises that promptly longer scope, variable precision technology combine with shorter scope, degree of precision technology.

Along with mobile phone, or cell phone, reach their technology and increasing rapidly of use, in many application, need the ability of locating cellular telephone and similar transmitter.These application scenarios comprise " 911 " calling, tourism and transport information, and commercial government bodies and the stolen vehicle followed the tracks of, and definite undelegated cellular use and unlawful activities may also can be enumerated some examples.Basic cell phone system can only be determined nearest cellular telephone base stations, the base station can be in the 3-10 mile range locating cellular telephone.

The target of any positioning system of using together with mobile phone is as often as possible to use existing equipment or compatible mutually with existing equipment at least, for example with use together without improved mobile phone and compatible mutually with existing cellular basestation.

Transmitting set can be followed the tracks of or locate to now existing many technology.As LORAN and gps system, the process of this locating cellular telephone comprises that accurately measuring same signal arrives the time of a plurality of base stations and compare these times to determine the mistiming of each base station received signal.Tdoa technology and not requiring is improved transmitter, and is also compatible mutually with the omnidirectional antenna of existing cell phone and base station because they operate the Tdoa technology based on normal signal transmission.

The Tdoa technology is applied in U.S. Patent No. 5,317 with seeking combining and being applied to of mobile phone to technology, describes in 323, and the system of Miao Shuing uses the GPS timing signal to determine the time of signal reception at receiver end there.How through between interference and cochannel, to disturb with seeking to the technology minimizing.Unfortunately, but antenna or aerial array to technical requirement use break-in are sought in use, therefore just with cellular telephone industry in the existing omnidirectional antenna structure used incompatible, both having made is also to can be used for cellular subregion (sectoreod) antenna enough precision can not be provided.This patent has been set forth and has been removed many importance through disturbing.A target of any mobile phone positioning system is to distinguish direct signal that cell phone sends and same transmit and arrive through buildings and the reflection of other reflecting body many through reflected signal.The locating information of lower accuracy is provided through the reflected signal of long and uncertain path arrival receiver.

A kind of method of similar locating cellular telephone is in U.S. Patent No. 5,327, describe in 144, this method uses the tdoa technology by collect all data and these data of crosscorrelation that cell phone is launched on reverse control channel, identify and the positioning honeycomb mobile phone, this method has an intrinsic defective when using the tdoa technology and not adding improved cell phone, promptly can only be limited to measuring-signal on the transmission channel of 30KHz.This limited bandwidth has just limited in the ideal case, and the precision of tdoa measurement is 300 feet in theory.When run into any many through or adjacent channel between when disturbing, precision also can descend widely.

Correspondingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a kind of equipment and method with the position of determining cell phone and similar transmitter and higher precision is provided.

Another object of the present invention be need not transform especially common cell phone and similarly transmitter just can to carry out the position definite.

A further object of the invention is to exist strong many positions of carrying out under the situation of reflected signal to determine.

A further object of the invention is to use the antenna that generally is used for cell phone operation and antenna structure to carry out the position to determine.

In one embodiment, the invention provides a kind of method that is used for determining cell phone or similar transmitter site, the method comprises step: in predetermined scope, by receiving transmission signals in a plurality of positions and received signal being handled to determine the approximate location of phone or transmitter; In the preset range of phone or transmitter, receive the signal of phone or transmitter emission with portable receiver; Determine the accurate position of cell phone or transmitter according to transmitting of receiving by portable receiver.

In another embodiment, the invention provides an equipment to determine the position of cell phone or similar transmitter, it comprises the device that is used for determining the approximate location of phone or transmitter in predetermined scope, is included in a plurality of positions and receives the device of transmission signals and the device of the signal that processing receives; With the portable receiving trap that can in the preset range of phone or transmitter, move with from phone or transmitter received signal; Also comprise the device that transmits to determine cell phone or transmitter exact position that receives by processing.

The present invention is described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is the system block diagram of the equipment of constructing according to the part principle of an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 has shown an embodiment of the cell phone positioning system 10 that adopts existing cellular telephone base stations and antenna.System 10 generally comprises a plurality of existing cellular basestation 12-14, wherein is added with device of the present invention.The existing antenna 16 that transmits and receives that base station 12-14 type of service is identical with function.Each base station adds an additional GPS (GPS) antenna 18, and it can receive the existing timing signal that is used for the civilian GPS emission of positioning function.

To the greatest extent a step comprises that the equipment of carrying out positioning function, this equipment generally comprise the signal that sampling or digitizing receive from cell phone or transmitter 22 and uses the signal of deriving from the gps signal that receives to above-mentioned sampling or digitalized data timing target device in each base station.

Shown order wire 19 is connected the equipment that center base station 14 has comprised not to be had in the

remote base stations

12,13 with at least two

remote base stations

12,13 with center base station 14, as is used to handle the toda CPU20 of the signal that receives from all base station 12-14.Tdoa CPU20 can be arranged in any one base station or be positioned at place outside such base station.The position of this separation will comprise all communication lines 19 between direct interconnection base station and tdoa CPU20.

Tdoa CPU 20 receives base station from each and receives digitized, target data and simple crosscorrelation similar data when having, the simple crosscorrelation data with markers mistiming of the arrival data between the base station of related data and corresponding known location is provided.The approximate location of mesh phone or transmitter 22 can be determined according to the technology of knowing.

It is a kind of to determine the method for the approximate location of cell phone or similar transmitter 22 in circle 24 preset ranges of representing that above-mentioned tdoa system provides.To implement this to technology roughly be bit function to also available other appropriate technology as seeking.A kind of feasible tdoa method is being entitled as " equipment and the method that are used for locating cellular telephone ", is described in the U.S. Patent number 08/272,752 of application on July 8th, 1994 by same inventor, here provides for your guidance.

Known that in case the approximate location of circle 24 is known a portable receiver 26 just can move and be used for accurately locating phone or transmitter 22 in this zone.Local there police has equipped portable receiver on many squad cars, receiver may be in the approximate range of circle 24 like this.The size of circle 24 depends on the precision of above-mentioned positioning equipment in theory.But in fact round 24 size is directly proportional with the receiving ability of portable receiver 24.Because the reception elevation angle of portable receiver 26 is limited, landform is just influential to receptivity.

Portable receiver can be any suitable type and manufacturing process.A kind of model provides for your guidance at this being entitled as " equipment and the method for searching signal emitting-source " description in the U.S. Patent No. 08/272,724 of application on July 8th, 1994 by David L.Herrick and William F.Matthews III.Their direction is roughly determined in the relative motion that portable receiver use receiver wherein and phone or transmitter are 22.Described technology is useful in the environment that the strong multipath as buildings disturbs.Seeking of other form to also being suitable for.

In order to make portable receiver 26 accurately locating cellular telephone or transmitter 22, be necessary to determine the transmission frequency and the received signal of phone or transmitter 22.For cell phone 22, transmission frequency depends on the channel allocation of local cellular telephone system.In order to determine suitable channel allocation, be preferably in and set up the assignment information of a communication link between receiver 26 and local cellular system with receive channel.

Therefore, the positioning system that is provided just can overcome all inexactnesies that exist in the long distance range system under the condition that does not require remarkable increase expense.This inexactness is in the environment that Qiang Duojing disturbs or even can not avoid, and the additional expense of the High Definition Systems in the cellular basestation mainly is that the number by the operation base station causes.

Embodiment described above be one schematically, be not limited thereto.Those skilled in the art can make different modifications and improvement to above embodiment under the situation of the scope of the present invention that does not break away from the accessory claim definition.

Claims

1. determine the method for the position of cell phone or similar transmitter, comprise step:

By receiving the signal of emission in a plurality of positions and handling the signal that is received is determined phone or transmitter in predetermined scope approximate location;

Receive the signal of phone or transmitter emission with a portable receiver of the preset range that is positioned at phone or transmitter; With

Determine the exact position of cell phone or transmitter according to transmitting of receiving from portable receiver.

2. the process of claim 1 wherein that a plurality of positions of launching reception are the base stations in the cellular phone network.

3. the method for claim 2, wherein said predetermined scope is determined by the acceptance the subject of knowledge and the object of knowledge of portable receiver.

4. the method for claim 3 wherein uses the treatment technology that arrives the signal time difference to realize determining approximate location.

5. the method for claim 1 further is included in the step of the preset range mobile portable receiver that phone or transmitter be arranged in.

6. the process of claim 1 wherein that the step of determining the exact position comprises that measuring the characteristic that reception transmits in preset range when the mobile portable receiver also comes the mobile portable receiver according to the characteristic that measures.

7. be used for determining the equipment of cell phone or similar transmitter site, comprise:

Be used for determining in preset range the device of the approximate location of phone or transmitter, it comprises and is used for receiving device that transmits and the device that is used to handle the signal of being accepted in a plurality of positions; With

Be used for portable receiver mobile in the preset range of phone or transmitter, be used for transmitting, and comprise the device that is used for according to the accurate position of transmit definite cell phone or the transmitter that receive from phone or transmitter reception.

8. the equipment of claim 7, wherein a plurality of positions of receiving of emission are base stations of cellular phone network.

9. the equipment of claim 8, wherein Yu Ding scope is determined by the receptivity of portable receiver.

10. the equipment of claim 9, wherein signal processing apparatus comprises the mistiming algorithm of arriving signal.

11. the equipment of claim 7, wherein the portable receiver device comprises that the device that is used for measurement received signal characteristic when receiver apparatus moves is to provide the indication of exact position direction.