Patent ID: 7317933

Claim:
Method for measuring the time of arrival of a radio signal originating from a transmitting station, the method comprising the steps of: storing in a memory of a radiocommunication receiver a component of the radio signal received by said receiver and carrying information bits and pilot bits; obtaining an estimation of said information bits, the obtaining of said estimation comprising a demodulation of said signal component by the receiver using said pilot bits; estimating in the receiver the time of arrival of the signal on the basis of the estimated bits and the received signal component, wherein the step of obtaining the estimation of the information bits includes combining a plurality of estimations of identical information bits and comprises the steps of: demodulating said signal component in a plurality of receivers, each receiving said component, to generate first estimations of information bits; addressing first estimations of the information bits to a computing unit; and combining the first estimations to produce a second estimation of the information bits, whereby estimating the time of arrival of the signal uses said second estimation of the information bits.