Patent ID: 8233457

Claim:
A method of providing synchronization-free station locating in a wireless network, the wireless network including a station having an unknown location and a plurality of access points (APs) having known locations, the method comprising: for each set including one of the plurality of APs and the station, sending a unicast packet from the AP to the station, the unicast packet having a time of departure TOD(D); receiving the unicast packet at the station, the unicast packet having a time of arrival TOA(D); sending an acknowledgement packet from the station to the AP, the acknowledgment packet having a time of departure TOD(D_ACK); receiving the acknowledgment packet at the AP, the acknowledgment packet having a time of arrival TOA(D_ACK); and determining a distance between the AP and the station using a first difference between the TOA(D_ACK) and the TOD(D) and a second difference between the TOD(D_ACK) and the TOA(D); and using a plurality of computed distances between the plurality of APs and the station to determine a location of the station.