METHOD FOR DETERMINING PRECIPITATION INTENSITY ON A ROUTE

Abstract

Method for determining an average precipitation intensity on at least one route covered by a mobile network, wherein electromagnetic signals in the mobile network are transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver via a signal link connecting the transmitter to the receiver along the route, wherein the transmitter and the receiver represent respective endpoints of the route, wherein attenuation of the electromagnetic signals along the signal link is determined as the difference between a signal intensity of the electromagnetic signals measured at the transmitter and a signal intensity of the electromagnetic signals measured at the receiver by a control unit of a measuring arrangement which is in communicative contact with the transmitter and the receiver.and by means of the specific attenuation of the electromagnetic signals via a predetermined functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity, the precipitation intensity on the path is measured by the control unit of the measuring arrangement, wherein the transmitter and / or the receiver is selected as a mobile terminal device, wherein the method further comprises the following procedural steps: , - Continuous monitoring of occupied radio channels on an air interface of the mobile network, preferably by the control unit of the measuring arrangement; - After a request for a precipitation measurement in at least one mobile communication cell by an external application to the control unit of the measuring arrangement, data is collected by the at least one requested mobile communication cell, which mobile devices are currently registered, which frequency bands they occupy, which frequency bands they potentially support, and what the current utilization of each occupied frequency band is, i.e., at the time of the request, - Decision by at least one requested mobile communication cell to carry out a precipitation measurement, whereby mobile devices that are eligible to act as transmitters and / or receivers for precipitation measurement and the frequency bands occupied by these are selected, whereby a limit is set and consideration is given to how high the utilization of a regular user traffic per frequency band may be in order to carry out a potential precipitation measurement in addition, - Conducting precipitation measurements on the selected frequency bands using the corresponding selected mobile devices, - Communicating a measurement result from the performed precipitation measurement to the external requesting application and releasing the selected frequency bands.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to the determination of precipitation intensity and / or quantity over at least one route using electromagnetic signals.

[0002] It is known that electromagnetic signals transmitted via a signal link between a transmitter and a receiver through a mobile network are attenuated depending on the wavelength or frequency of the electromagnetic signals. This attenuation is caused by the number of particles, e.g., in the form of moisture droplets, present in the medium surrounding the signal link and by the size of the particles or moisture droplets. The attenuation is caused by the size and number of particles or moisture droplets along the path of the electromagnetic signals, i.e., along the signal link. It is also known at what level of attenuation of the electromagnetic signals by these moisture droplets precipitation begins and what the precipitation intensity is at each level of electromagnetic signal attenuation.

[0003] For example, given a transmitter output power, frequency and polarization of the electromagnetic signals, and possibly a given temperature, H. Messer, A. Zinevich, and A. Pinhas, “Environmental monitoring by wireless communication networks,” Science, vol. 312, no. 5774, p. 713, 2006. [Online]. Available: https: / / science.sciencemag.org / content / 312 / 5774 / 713, describes how to determine precipitation intensity.

[0004] CN 1 04 656 163 A relates to a method for measuring the precipitation distribution and dynamics in a mobile communications network using big data, whereby the transmission power of respective base stations and the power received by the base stations from respective mobile devices are recorded in real time and, based on this, rain-related attenuation values ​​of signals from mobile devices are calculated per unit distance.

[0005] US 2021 / 0149079 A1 describes a computer-based method for processing data for use in weather modeling.

[0006] EP 3 401 709 A1 relates to a method and a system for determining the presence of meteorological precipitation in an area of ​​the Earth's surface based on the detection of fluctuations in the power of a radio signal broadcast by a transmitter of a mobile network and received by one or more receivers located in that area.

[0007] Precipitation is usually expressed either as an instantaneous value through the precipitation intensity, RI [mm / (dt*m²)]. 2 )], i.e., the height of the column per square meter and expressed in terms of a unit of time dt, or, if the area of ​​interest F is known, as the amount of precipitation RM [volume] per unit of time. Here, 1 mm of column per square meter corresponds to a precipitation of one liter.

[0008] It therefore follows RM(of area F in m2)[liter]=RI*F*DT with RI [water column height / (dt*m 2 )] and water column height [mm] as well as the period dt of intensity normalization for RI, e.g. 1', 1h or 1 day and the relevant period DT=t2-t1 for RM, in which RI is assumed to be constant.

[0009] In the present disclosure, only precipitation is considered as an example, and the intensities, attenuations, and quantities determined within the scope of this disclosure are related to it. However, the intensities, attenuations, and quantities determined within the scope of this disclosure can also be applied to air pollution and insect populations if a suitable electromagnetic wave, i.e., suitable electromagnetic signals, and a suitable determination of the intensity of a quantity relevant to air pollution and insect populations through wave analysis or analysis of the electromagnetic signals are possible. Determining the intensity of the quantity is then always possible analogously to the example given with precipitation, by specifying an area and, if necessary, a time period.

[0010] The starting point of this disclosure is the determination of precipitation intensity or amount (or air pollution or insect density) by measuring the attenuation of suitable electromagnetic signals using stationary stations, such as base stations of a mobile network. However, their number is limited and cannot be increased at short notice if necessary. Furthermore, the locations / positions of the base stations are predetermined and cannot be changed.

[0011] If the relevant attenuation measurements, which are always taken between two base stations, need to be increased for a radio cell in order to improve the accuracy of determining a target variable, e.g., precipitation, for a specific radio cell or even for sub-areas within a radio cell, this is only possible with attenuation measurements between more distant base stations whose connecting lines pass through the specific radio cell under consideration, i.e., when projected onto the horizontal plane, intersect the area of ​​the radio cell under consideration.

[0012] However, an additional attenuation measurement using an intersection line with the initial base triangle of a radio cell suffers from the problem that the resulting measurement represents an average for the entire distance between the respective, more distant base stations and thus also includes influences from outside the initial base triangle, leading to lower-quality attenuation measurements. Another problem is that the possible number of these additional attenuation measurements is also severely limited for the same reason: if more such measurements are to be added, their quality will continuously decrease, as increasingly longer distances with ever-greater proportions outside the initial base triangle would have to be used.

[0013] It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a method by which a more precise determination of precipitation intensity or amount can be made, possibly even only on a partial area of ​​a radio cell.

[0014] To solve this problem, a method with the features of claim 1 and a measuring arrangement with the features of claim 9 are provided. Advantageous embodiments can be found in the dependent claims and the description.

[0015] It should be noted that the features listed individually in the claims can be combined with one another in any technically meaningful way (even across category boundaries, for example between method and apparatus) and demonstrate further embodiments of the invention. The description further characterizes and specifies the invention.

[0016] It should also be noted that the conjunction “and / or” used herein, which stands between two features and links them together, is always to be interpreted in such a way that in a first embodiment of the object according to the invention only the first feature may be present, in a second embodiment only the second feature may be present, and in a third embodiment both the first and the second feature may be present.

[0017] The invention relates to a method for determining precipitation intensity on at least one section covered, i.e., served, by a mobile network, wherein electromagnetic signals in the mobile network are transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver along the route via a signal link connecting the transmitter and the receiver, the transmitter and the receiver representing respective endpoints of the route. The attenuation of the electromagnetic signals along the signal link is determined as the difference between the signal intensity of the electromagnetic signals measured at the transmitter and the signal intensity measured at the receiver by a control unit of a measuring arrangement that is in communicative communication with the transmitter and the receiver.By means of the specific attenuation of the electromagnetic signals, the precipitation intensity on the path is determined or measured by the control unit of the measuring arrangement via a functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity, whereby the transmitter and / or the receiver is selected as a mobile terminal device.

[0018] For the purposes of this disclosure, a "communicative connection" is understood to mean any connection through which data can be transmitted between endpoints of the connection, such as the control unit and the sender or receiver, for example, a radio connection or a wired connection. This means that a communicative connection is a connection via data cable (optical or electrical) or wirelessly (radio). Data or information is generally transmitted digitally. A suitable protocol is required for data exchange, which must be known to all endpoints of the communicative connection, i.e., the sender, the receiver, and the control unit.

[0019] In one possible embodiment of the method according to the invention, the transmitter and the receiver are each selected as a mobile terminal device. Alternatively, only the transmitter is selected as a mobile terminal device, and the receiver is selected as a base station of the mobile network. In yet another alternative embodiment, the transmitter is selected as a base station of the mobile network, and the receiver is selected as a mobile terminal device.

[0020] The signal connection can exist between a mobile device, in particular a mobile communication device (e.g. smartphone, tablet, portable computer, etc.) and a stationary communication device, in particular a base station of the mobile network or a stationary server, or another mobile device, in particular another mobile communication device (e.g. smartphone, tablet, portable computer, etc.).

[0021] By including mobile devices, especially mobile phones, as kinematic stations alongside fixed base stations in determining precipitation intensity along at least one section covered by a mobile network, the number of possible attenuation measurements within a cell can be increased, thus improving the precision of precipitation intensity determination within that cell. Furthermore, relevant local attenuation measurements can also be taken for a sub-area of ​​a cell, for example, if the section(s) under consideration lie only within that sub-area. This also leads to a more precise determination of the respective precipitation intensity along these sections and the precipitation intensity across the area spanned by these sections.

[0022] If both the transmitter and the receiver are designed as mobile terminal devices, measurement lines can be used to measure the attenuation of the electromagnetic signals transmitted between them, e.g., only in the center of a radio cell, or even the smallest areas, i.e., small compared to the radio cell size, can be covered by more representative measurement lines, provided that mobile terminal devices are located at the necessary suitable positions at the current time of the desired determination of precipitation intensity and have previously been used for calibration measurements.

[0023] The following discussion will focus on the case where either the sender or the receiver of the measurement line, i.e., the at least one section or the signal connection, is a kinematic station.

[0024] It should be noted that, firstly, the respective positions of the kinematic stations are not static. Therefore, the length of each section must be continuously determined, or at least at the time and for the duration of the precipitation intensity measurement or the measurement of the attenuation. The length of each section must be known in order to determine attenuation and its causes along that section as average intensities. According to the invention, the respective mobile devices involved in the method determine their positions at the time and for the duration of the measurement and transmit them to an evaluation unit, i.e., the control unit of the measurement arrangement according to the invention. With current methods, the accuracies of these position determinations are perfectly adequate for outdoor applications (2-10 m) and indoor applications (5-20 m).In the next generation of positioning technologies, including higher radio frequencies, 3D positioning accuracies of 0.3-2m outdoors and 1-5m indoors are expected.

[0025] In one possible embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is therefore provided that a length of the path existing at a time or for a period of time when measuring the respective signal intensities is determined, and when determining the attenuation, the determined attenuation of the electromagnetic signals is averaged using the determined length of the path, wherein, in order to determine the length existing at the time or for the period of time when determining the attenuation, a position of the transmitter existing at the time or for the period of time when determining the attenuation and a position of the receiver existing at the time or for the period of time when determining the attenuation are determined and made available.

[0026] On the other hand, it is not always guaranteed that there are no additional signal-attenuating factors, such as buildings, for the signal connection or the path from transmitter to receiver.

[0027] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, a path along the path is determined based on the position of the transmitter and the position of the receiver, and effects and / or objects that attenuate the electromagnetic signals independently of precipitation are identified along this path. These identified effects and / or objects are considered as at least one function term and / or parameter in the functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity.

[0028] In one embodiment of the method according to the invention, it is provided that objects damping the electromagnetic signals are identified on the determined route using a provided terrain model, provided construction plans and / or provided building models.

[0029] Based on the position of the mobile devices involved in the process, acting as transmitters and / or receivers, a known terrain model can be used to determine whether the path or signal link between transmitter and receiver is obstructed by attenuating materials. If this is not the case, the mobile device(s) can be used just like one or two base stations. Terrain models with highly accurate positioning of <=2 cm for all facade points already exist for many major cities and will follow for more. If, for example, nine buildings are located on a measurement line or on the considered path, an absolute error aF [m] of a calculated airborne component of the path can be calculated as follows: aF<=2*√2*√9=number of buildings)=2*1.4*3=8.4cm

[0030] This value is negligible for attenuation measurements. This means that if buildings are present along the path, but they do not have a damping effect (i.e., they do not contain damping materials), their geometric dimensions will reduce the air gap as part of the path, but the resulting error is, as shown above, negligible for attenuation measurements. The factor √2 is the error propagation from entry and exit errors into a house with a facade position error of 2 cm.

[0031] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, the attenuation of each of the identified objects attenuating the electromagnetic signals along the determined path is calculated using provided material information. Typically, such material information is stored on a server and can be provided from there to determine the attenuation of a respective object in the direction of the signal link or along the path, or retrieved by the control unit of the measuring arrangement according to the invention as needed. The respective path segment of an attenuating object can be taken from building plans and / or digital building models with high facade accuracy of <2 cm in the measurement line direction.As a rule, the path consists of a path segment of air and a path segment of other objects, which may either have a damping effect due to their material properties or have no damping effect, in the latter case their geometric extent in the direction of the path is usually negligible compared to the path segment of air, as already explained above.

[0032] In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the attenuation of each of the identified objects attenuating the electromagnetic signals along the determined path is determined by means of signal intensity measurements before and after each object attenuating the electromagnetic signals, and stored and / or made available in a database. The control unit of the measuring arrangement according to the invention can retrieve the respective attenuation or attenuation measurement value from this database.

[0033] This means that the respective attenuation caused by an object located on the determined route does not have to be determined simultaneously with the determination of the precipitation intensity on the route, but can be determined independently in advance and stored in the database so that it can be made available when needed.

[0034] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, in the case of a respective a priori unknown attenuation of objects with each known position, the electromagnetic signal attenuating effects / objects on the determined course of the path are determined by means of respective representative attenuation measurements for each respective zone that is traversed by the path.For a given zone, which extends within a radio cell of the mobile network or across two adjacent radio cells of the mobile network and in which a given number of mobile devices are located, wherein the mobile devices each operate a signal connection to the same connection point, preferably to one and the same base station or to another mobile device, thus providing a bundle of signal connections, the respective representative attenuation measurement value is determined and provided by determining the attenuation along the respective signal connections.

[0035] This means that attenuation is determined along at least one path without knowledge of individual attenuation values ​​of objects at exact positions, but with knowledge of known attenuation mean values ​​of all mobile devices in a respective zone traversed by the path to a common connection point.

[0036] In this embodiment of the method according to the invention, the following assumptions are made: - A sufficient number of mobile devices, preferably mobile phones, are arranged in a small, enclosed zone. A zone is defined as an area polygon with a sufficiently homogeneous distribution of the mobile devices, where the mean measurement line length to the same connection point is sufficiently long compared to the zone area and also compared to the maximum zone diameter. This ensures that the individual measurements will have sufficiently comparable attenuation values. - each zone lies within only a single radio cell or is distributed across two adjacent radio cells, All these mobile devices, especially mobile phones, are connected to the central connection point via attenuation measurements, where the central connection point can be a single static base station or a single kinematic station, i.e., a mobile device. This results in a precise beam of measurement lines.

[0037] Under these conditions, a single fictitious but representative attenuation measurement value of a zone pattern "point-zone" or "zone-zone", EDWZ, can be determined by the attenuation measurements of all participating mobile devices, especially mobile phones, within such a zone pattern. EDWZ then refers approximately exactly to a fictitious zone measurement line (signal connection) from the base station to the approximate center of gravity of the zone ("point-zone") or from zone to zone and their approximate centers of gravity ("zone-zone").

[0038] This single representative attenuation measurement, EDWZ, could, for example, be a simple average over the respective signal links or an average weighted over the respective signal link lengths.

[0039] Prior calibration allows various point-zone or zone-zone-specific EDWZ measurement values ​​to be assigned to the corresponding RI (precipitation intensities) of the beam or nearly parallel lines. If a current EDWZ value is later determined, the RI value of the zone can be found by accessing a zone-specific calibration table. This RI value represents a precipitation intensity above all attenuating objects, i.e., an average precipitation intensity for the entire distance between the point-zone or zone-zone.

[0040] A fictitious zone measurement line in a database would then include at least the following parameters: - Endpoints of the respective zones and zone positions and / or extents (e.g. ellipses or polygons) as well as number and distribution of transmitters / receivers - Length of the fictitious representative "mean" measurement line - different EDWZ values ​​and their corresponding RI values

[0041] The precipitation intensities RI of the database must have been determined beforehand using other methods, e.g. with precipitation collection tanks or, better yet, with the inventive method described below.

[0042] If a current individual attenuation measurement with a corresponding attenuation value, or a weighted average of several sufficiently simultaneous individual attenuation measurements, is available for a specific database element "Point-Zone" or "Zone-Zone," the corresponding RI value can be retrieved from the database for this attenuation measurement. The more sufficiently simultaneous individual attenuation measurements of corresponding measurement lines are available, the more accurately the RI value can be determined. It should also be noted that a single mobile device can provide several of these individual measurements if it moves within a short period of time, since it can be assumed that precipitation intensities do not change too drastically in the short term during precipitation events.The position distributions of the participating mobile devices can be checked for possible uniform distribution in the respective zone and approximately the same distribution as in the prior calibration, provided the database contains this information.

[0043] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, the functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity for the at least one path is determined or calibrated by assigning measured attenuation values ​​to independently measured precipitation intensity values ​​in at least one measurement without precipitation and at least one measurement with precipitation.

[0044] The terms “damping value”, “damping measurement value” and “damping measurement value” are used synonymously within the scope of this disclosure.

[0045] The following describes the calibration of a representative attenuation value to a corresponding precipitation intensity value (RI value) for non-LOS (non-line-of-sight) measurement lines and objects with unknown attenuation values. These measurement lines and their RI values ​​can then be further processed into fictitious zone measurement lines using weighted averaging.

[0046] The following applies: RI = F(signal attenuation D, path length S, ... , frequency), where F(...) denotes a function of ..., RI denotes an average precipitation intensity on the path S, S = HS + LS denotes the path of the measurement line with HS as the house path as a synonym for unknown attenuations and LS as the air path on which "impurities" such as precipitation are to be measured.

[0047] The house shares for calculating HS can now be extracted with high accuracy from digital models and databases. LS follows from LS=S-HS. DHLR = F(HS, LS, ...) Attenuation of the house component HS in a measurement on S without knowing whether there is also precipitation during the measurement, i.e. independent of the RI value. DH = F(HS, LS=0, ...) Damping only on HS as a calculated value from position and materials. DH is still an initial, very uncertain value here due to the material method. DL = F(HS=0, LS, ...) Attenuation DL only on LS as a calculated value from formulas with RI reference. DLG = F(HS=0, LS, ... , transition to precipitation) Attenuation only at LS as a calculated value at the RI limit just below the precipitation threshold. Higher DL values ​​than this DLG limit result in precipitation. DLG is a very reliably determined value here, as it is a predefined definition value.

[0048] In the event of precipitation on the LS route, DL will later be renamed DR, damping-precipitation.

[0049] The approximate mean attenuation DHL on S (=HS+LS) without precipitation on LS follows from distance-based averaging: DHL=(DH*HS+DL*LS) / (HS+LS) DHL is the very good attenuation measurement value for S=HS+LS without precipitation on LS.

[0050] The equation is an example approximation, since attenuation components of individual sections are not strictly added. More precise formulas are known and can be used if calibrations show this to be beneficial.

[0051] The equals sign only applies if DH can be reliably determined from materials.

[0052] The theoretical DH value derived from materials (see above) is now determined much more accurately for the HS distance by rearranging the above equation as follows: DH=(DHL*(HS+LS)−DL*LS) / HS DH is now also derived very accurately and is at the accuracy level of DHL, but always slightly worse, as an error propagation formula would immediately prove.

[0053] If, on a stretch of road S, which has houses on the HS section of the stretch, whose DH value is therefore very precisely known (see above) and whose LS section is known, the attenuation value DHR of the total stretch S=HS+LS is measured during precipitation, then the following equation applies: DHR=(DH*HS+DR*LS) / (HS+LS) DHR measures very accurately during precipitation

[0054] From this, DR follows from LS by rearranging the equation to: DR=(DHR*(HS+LS)−DH*HS) / LS with DR during precipitation on LS; DR determined very accurately.

[0055] In the event of precipitation on the LS route, DR must be greater than DLG, which can be verified using the known, predefined DLG limit value. Since DLG, as defined above, is the limit value of the RI value from no precipitation to precipitation, and both DR and DLG are very precise values, the resulting RI value, which can be uniquely derived from DR, is also a very precise value.

[0056] For DR>DL, tables of values ​​with RI values ​​can be created for the DHR values. This is the calibration. With currently measured DHR, a current DR value can be determined using this table of values, and with DR, the corresponding RI value that is sought can be determined. Since it will rain or precipitation just as intensely above the houses as in the air path LS, the RI value can be considered the average of the entire path S=HS+LS. Therefore, if one wants to determine the representative RI value of an area from the RI values ​​of the measurement lines later by appropriately combining several measurement lines, in order to determine the amount of rain or precipitation RM using RI*area*time duration, it should be remembered that in the present inventive work, despite other attenuation and / or paths without rain, an average RI value of the entire path S=HS+LS is determined, since it also rains or precipitation above the houses.Precipitation is occurring, and uniform damping must and will be assumed along the LS route.

[0057] The database can contain DHR instead of interval limits and F() approximating functions for RI, with: RI=F(DHR)

[0058] Within the scope of this disclosure, the terms "attenuation measurement line", "measurement line", and "D-measurement line" are used synonymously. Furthermore, a "attenuation measurement value" is also referred to simply as a "D-value".

[0059] The formulas above refer to attenuation (D) measurements or D-formula calculation values. The following explains how and why these values ​​are generated as individual representative D-values, even though the zones mentioned above, with their multiple attenuation measurement lines, contribute the values ​​from several mobile devices. The measurement lines involved in a beamforming (point-zone) or zone-zone formation, with their n measurement lines and n typically different individual attenuation values ​​D, are combined into a single representative D-value FDM, e.g., DHR or DR, as follows: D = Sum (D(i)*P(i)) / Sum (P(i)) for all i with i=1, 2, 3, ... where P(i)=S(i)=HS(i)+LS(i) the distance as a weight factor Sum (x(i)) means the sum of all values ​​x(i) for the stated variation of i.

[0060] These representative "summative" mean damping values ​​D, e.g., for DHR, are entered into the database, not the individual damping values ​​D(i), e.g., DHR(i), from which they were derived. In a current measurement for point-zone or zone-zone, multiple measurement lines may be present. If this is the case, then the representative fictitious damping measurement value, FDM, should also be determined using the weighting formula for damping D above, in order to then find the corresponding RI value in the database.

[0061] The database may also contain the number of contributing measurements and their position distributions in the zone(s) and / or an accuracy measure for DHR, making this information available to the user so that they can analyze their current n and position distribution for their current measurements in order to derive an accuracy of the assigned RI value.

[0062] A point-zone pattern can also only be generated by kinematic stations, i.e., by mobile devices, where the point can also be represented by a single mobile device, in particular a mobile phone.

[0063] In a further embodiment of the method according to the invention, a precipitation intensity for an area spanned by a plurality of routes covered (served) by the mobile network is determined by determining the respective precipitation intensity for each of the routes and determining the precipitation intensity for the area as the mean of the respective precipitation intensities of the plurality of routes.

[0064] A further object of the invention is a measuring arrangement for determining the average precipitation intensity on at least one section covered (served) by a mobile network, wherein the measuring arrangement comprises at least one transmitter, at least one receiver, a control unit, and a database, wherein the at least one transmitter and the at least one receiver are in communicative contact with the control unit, and the at least one transmitter, the at least one receiver, the control unit, and the database are configured to jointly execute a method according to the invention. The control unit can be integrated into a base station of the mobile network or into a central server of the mobile network. The database can be integrated into a base station of the mobile network or into a central server of the mobile network.

[0065] It is understood that, with regard to definitions of terms related to measurement setups, as well as the effects and advantages of features of measurement setups, recourse can be made fully to the disclosure of analogous definitions, effects, and advantages of the method according to the invention, and vice versa. A repetition of explanations of analogous features, their effects, and advantages can therefore be omitted in favor of a more concise description, without such omissions being to be interpreted as a limitation of any of the disclosed subject matter of the invention.

[0066] In order to use the method according to the invention as efficiently and effectively as possible in a productive mobile network operation, the available resources of each radio cell or mobile network cell should be managed effectively. The existing "normal" resource management should be maintained as far as possible while a precipitation measurement is carried out. According to the invention, this is achieved as follows, preferably using the measurement arrangement according to the invention: 1. Continuous monitoring of occupied radio channels on an air interface of the mobile network, preferably by the control unit of the measuring arrangement according to the invention; 2. External trigger (external application): Request for precipitation measurement in at least one mobile communication cell to the control unit of the measuring arrangement according to the invention. 3. The at least one requested mobile cell collects data on which mobile devices are currently registered, which frequency bands they occupy, and which frequency bands they potentially support. 4. The at least one requested mobile phone cell collects data on the current utilization of the individual frequency bands, i.e., at the time of the request. 5. At least one requested mobile phone cell can decide to carry out a precipitation measurement; the following parameters should be taken into account: a. Selection of mobile devices suitable for precipitation measurement: i. Based on the supported frequency bands of the mobile devices, a suitable frequency band can be selected for the individual case. ii. Based on the respective position of the mobile devices. Using multiple mobile devices in a similar position allows for the validation of measurement results. Using mobile devices in different positions allows for an increase in the measurement area. iii. Based on potential obstruction of the radio wave or electromagnetic signals. Mobile devices in the direct line of sight (LoS) are best suited. This can be measured using the Free Space Path Loss (FSPL). b. A limit value should be set variably to determine how high the utilization of regular public traffic may be per frequency band in order to carry out additional potential precipitation measurements. 6. To use frequency bands relevant for precipitation measurement without exceeding the limit set in 5b, mobile devices can be reassigned to other supported frequency bands or band combinations. Since band combinations are frequently used in 5G NSA, and also in LTE networks, individual frequency bands can be exchanged quite flexibly, as long as the anchor band remains the same. 7. At least one requested mobile phone cell performs precipitation measurements on the desired or selected frequencies or frequency bands. 8. The result of the precipitation measurements is determined or calculated according to the inventive method described above. a. If the result is of sufficient quality, the precipitation measurement can be successfully completed. b. If more precipitation measurements are needed, the process can be repeated iteratively on other frequency bands (back to step 3). 9. The measurement result is returned to the external requesting application. Frequency bands are released again.

[0067] By using mobile stations (i.e., mobile devices), precipitation measurements or measurements from one base station to several mobile stations within a zone can significantly improve the relative humidity (RI) values ​​of neighboring areas. The size of these neighboring areas, or rather their diameter, is limited by approximately the shortest distance between two base stations. This is because all mobile stations must be connected to the same base station for their respective measurement lines, and this base station is one of the base stations within the cell. Furthermore, the diameter is limited by the transmission power and reception sensitivity of the mobile stations.

[0068] By using only kinematic stations, any area can be significantly improved with point-zone or zone-zone patterns, regardless of the location of the base stations of a mobile network with respect to their reception characteristics (RI). The area size is limited only by the transmit power and receive sensitivity of the kinematic stations.

[0069] The method according to the invention provides absolute values ​​for precipitation intensity (RI). However, with a sufficiently constant distribution of mobile devices, e.g., mobile phones, within a cell, the method according to the invention allows for relative statements about changes in precipitation intensity to be made by varying the DHL value over time, and even the beginning and end of precipitation events to be determined. It is not necessary for all mobile phones to be involved; rather, to improve the resolution for a given area, the method according to the invention can be limited to mobile phones that all communicate with the same base station. This improves the area resolution by a factor of 3 in triangular cells, for example, if a cell is divided into three approximately equal areas by its center of gravity, and the mobile phones in each sub-area only communicate with their nearest base station (forming measurement lines).

[0070] However, linear zone-zone corridors or very acute-angled triangular corridors can also be used. These zone methods are preferred, for example, for air pollution measurements on road sections that can even run arbitrarily and do not have to converge in a straight line to a base station, which would have been the case if a static base station had been included in the measurement pattern.

[0071] Different current position distributions of mobile devices depend, for example, on the time of day, day of the week, and special events such as rush hour or office hours. Predictions of these distributions (and the subsequent reachability of a particular mobile device via an electromagnetic signal) are also time-dependent, taking into account the positions and velocity vectors, as well as historical data (e.g., on a bus) of the mobile devices, such as cell phones. For longer measurement periods, a current position and, additionally, a direction of movement can be considered.

[0072] For air pollution measurements on roads, for example, only mobile phones belonging to pedestrians can be selected, which is possible using movement profiles (speed <= 1.5 m / s, e.g., crossing streets, waiting at traffic lights) and absolute positions (e.g., on the sidewalk). However, the control unit of the measuring arrangement according to the invention can also select a subset of suitable mobile phones at any time based on their current positions in order to determine a representative DHL value for a zone measurement line pattern only for this subset. The server can also determine which mobile phone participates in the method (e.g., according to position and / or whether a call connection, i.e., a signal connection, is currently active). Furthermore, it can be aimed to always select at least three mobile phones as close together as possible in order to detect extreme outliers within this positional radius.

[0073] The mobile phones' own speeds, especially below 70 km / h in the direction of the measurement line, are preferable, as the Doppler effect at these speeds does not significantly influence attenuation, for example, with regard to the attenuation effects of precipitation (generally causing no additional relevant amplitude changes). Precise threshold values ​​would need to be calibrated and then defined depending on the method used. The lower the mobile phone's speed in the direction of the signal, the more advantageous this is. The vectorial speeds can be determined by the mobile phone, as can the positions. Alternatively, this can also be done with lower accuracy outdoors by the respective base stations. Indoors, at high frequencies, base stations sometimes even provide the more significant contribution to position determination, but indoors, the speed should then preferably be determined via the mobile phone's accelerometer.

Claims

[1] Method for determining an average precipitation intensity on at least one route covered by a mobile network, wherein electromagnetic signals in the mobile network are transmitted from a transmitter to a receiver via a signal link connecting the transmitter to the receiver along the route, wherein the transmitter and the receiver represent respective endpoints of the route, wherein an attenuation of the electromagnetic signals along the signal link is determined as the difference between a signal intensity of the electromagnetic signals measured at the transmitter and a signal intensity of the electromagnetic signals measured at the receiver by a control unit of a measuring arrangement which is in communicative contact with the transmitter and the receiver,and by means of the specific attenuation of the electromagnetic signals via a predetermined functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity, the precipitation intensity on the path is measured by the control unit of the measuring arrangement, wherein the transmitter and / or the receiver is selected as a mobile terminal device, wherein the method further comprises the following procedural steps:, - Continuous monitoring of occupied radio channels on an air interface of the mobile network, preferably by the control unit of the measuring arrangement; - After a request for a precipitation measurement in at least one mobile communication cell by an external application to the control unit of the measuring arrangement, data is collected by the at least one requested mobile communication cell, which mobile devices are currently registered, which frequency bands they occupy, which frequency bands they potentially support, and what the current utilization of each occupied frequency band is, i.e., at the time of the request, - Decision by at least one requested mobile communication cell to carry out a precipitation measurement, whereby mobile devices that are eligible to act as transmitters and / or receivers for precipitation measurement and the frequency bands occupied by these are selected, whereby a limit is set and consideration is given to how high the utilization of a regular user traffic per frequency band may be in order to carry out a potential precipitation measurement in addition, - Conducting precipitation measurements on the selected frequency bands using the corresponding selected mobile devices, - Communicating a measurement result from the performed precipitation measurement to the external requesting application and releasing the selected frequency bands. [2] Method according to claim 1, wherein the sender and the receiver are each selected as a mobile terminal, or wherein the sender is selected as a mobile terminal and the receiver as a base station of the mobile network, or wherein the sender is selected as a base station of the mobile network and the receiver as a mobile terminal. [3] Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit of the measuring arrangement determines the length of the path present at a time or for a duration of measurement of the respective signal intensities, and the control unit of the measuring arrangement averages the determined attenuation of the electromagnetic signals using the determined length of the path, wherein, in order to determine the length present at the time or for the duration of determining the attenuation, a position of the transmitter present at the time or for the duration of determining the attenuation and a position of the receiver present at the time or for the duration of determining the attenuation are determined and provided. [4] Method according to claim 3, wherein, based on the position of the transmitter and the position of the receiver, a path of the distance is determined at the time or for the duration of the determination of the attenuation by the control unit of the measuring arrangement, and the electromagnetic signal attenuating effects and / or objects on the determined path of the distance are determined by the control unit of the measuring arrangement and are taken into account as at least one function term and / or parameter in the functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity. [5] The method of claim 4, wherein the electromagnetic signal attenuating objects on the determined route are identified by means of a provided terrain model, provided construction plans and / or provided building models, and / or wherein the electromagnetic signal attenuating effects on the determined route are identified by means of representative attenuation measurements determined for each zone traversed by the route, wherein for each zone extending within a radio cell of the mobile network or over two adjacent radio cells of the mobile network and in which a given number of mobile terminals are located, wherein the mobile terminals each operate a signal connection to the same connection point, thereby providing a bundle of signal connections,The respective representative attenuation measurement value is determined and provided by measuring the attenuation along the respective signal links, in particular by averaging over the bundle of signal links. [6] Method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the respective attenuation of each of the determined objects attenuating the electromagnetic signals on the determined course of the path is determined by the control unit of the measuring arrangement by means of provided material information and / or by means of respective signal intensity measurements in front of and behind the respective object attenuating the electromagnetic signals, and is stored and / or made available in a database that is communicatively connected to the control unit. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the functional relationship between signal attenuation and precipitation intensity for the route is determined or calibrated by assigning measured attenuation values ​​to independently measured precipitation intensity values ​​in at least one measurement without and one measurement with rain. [8] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein a precipitation intensity for an area spanned by a plurality of routes covered by the mobile network is determined by determining the respective precipitation intensity for each of the routes and determining the precipitation intensity for the area as the mean of the respective precipitation intensities of the plurality of routes. [9] Measuring arrangement for determining an average precipitation intensity on at least one route covered by a mobile network, wherein the measuring arrangement comprises at least one transmitter, at least one receiver, a control unit and a database, wherein the at least one transmitter and the at least one receiver are in communicative contact with the control unit and the at least one transmitter, the at least one receiver, the control unit and the database are designed to jointly carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.