Home Node B Assisted GNSS Location Interworking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing location services for Home Node B (HNB) and user equipment (UE) in wireless networks face inefficiencies, particularly with standalone Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which has long time to first fix and struggles with low signal strength detection.
Innovation Solution
Implementing assisted GNSS (A-GNSS) through inter-working between user plane and control plane location solutions, where HNBs communicate with location servers via SUPL and exchange messages to support UE positioning, using protocols like SUPL, RRC, and PCAP to enhance location determination accuracy and speed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If standalone GNSS is used for location determination, then location accuracy can be achieved, but time to first fix is long and signal detection capability is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The location server pre-calculates and stores reference location information for multiple base stations before actual location determination is needed. When a UE requests location services, the server can quickly retrieve pre-computed data and combine it with current measurements, eliminating the need to perform full location calculations from scratch and significantly reducing time to first fix
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an assisted GNSS mechanism where the location server acts as an intermediary between the UE and the GNSS satellites. The server provides assistance data including almanac information, ephemeris data, and clock corrections to the UE, enabling faster satellite acquisition and more accurate position calculation without requiring the UE to independently process all raw satellite signals
2Reliability
If standalone GNSS is used for location determination, then location capability is provided, but signal detection capability for low signal strength is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The location server serves as an intermediary that collects and processes GNSS signals and measurement data from multiple base stations. By aggregating measurements from multiple locations and using centralized processing algorithms, the system can detect and resolve low-strength signals that individual UEs or base stations cannot reliably detect alone
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines location measurement data from multiple sources including multiple base stations, assisted GNSS measurements, and network-based location methods. This merging of multiple measurement sets improves signal detection capability by providing redundant measurements and enabling cross-validation, allowing the system to determine location even when individual signal strengths are low
3Ease of operation
If HNBs are flexibly deployed in unplanned manner, then deployment ease is improved, but location determination becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service location determination where each HNB automatically determines its own location using assisted GNSS measurements and network-based methods. The HNB autonomously communicates with the location server to obtain location services without requiring manual configuration or external assistance, maintaining deployment flexibility while enabling accurate location determination
Solution Approach 2:
The location server provides a universal location determination service that works with all types of base stations including both planned macro base stations and unplanned HNBs. The system uses multiple location determination methods (assisted GNSS, network-based, hybrid) that can be applied universally regardless of deployment scenario, making location determination feasible for flexibly deployed HNBs without requiring location-specific customization
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques for supporting location services for a base station such as a home Node B (HNB) and its user equipments (UEs) are disclosed. In an aspect, location services may be supported for a UE by having an HNB inter-work between user plane and control plane location solutions. In another aspect, a location server may be used to support assisted GNSS (A-GNSS) for HNBs and UEs. In one design, a location server receives a positioning request including an identification value from a base station, determines a positioning method based on the identification value, sends a positioning response to the base station based on the positioning method, receives positioning information from the base station, determines the position of the base station based on the positioning information, and stores the position of the base station.