Patent ID: 8509810

Claim:
A method for estimating a geographic location of a mobile station within a coverage area of a wireless network, comprising: calculating an instant angular position of an individual mobile station in relation to a first base station, the first base station including multiple sector antennas, the instant angular position based at least in part on a first signal strength measurement, a second signal strength measurement, and an angular position reference that extends outward from the first base station, the first and second signal strength measurements related in calendar time and representative of power characteristics of respective radio frequency (RF) signals received by the individual mobile station from corresponding first and second sector antennas of the first base station; determining a radial distance of the individual mobile station from the first base station, the radial distance based at least in part on a round trip measurement associated with elapsed time between sending an outgoing signal from the first base station to the individual mobile station and receiving a corresponding acknowledgement signal from the individual mobile station at the first base station, the round trip measurement related in calendar time to the first and second signal strength measurements; and identifying an instant geographic location of the individual mobile station in a coverage area of a wireless network formed by at least the first base station, the instant geographic location based at least in part on an intersection of a line extending outward from the first base station at the instant angular position with a circle having a center defined by the first base station and a radius defined by the radial distance.