Patent ID: 8032153

Claim:
A method for locating, from a plurality of wireless mobile stations, one of the wireless mobile stations using measurements of wireless signals, wherein at least one of: (i) said measurements and (ii) said wireless signals are transmitted between said one wireless mobile station and at least one of a plurality of fixed location communication stations, each communication station capable of at least one of receiving wireless signals from, and transmitting wireless signals to said one wireless mobile station, comprising the following steps at A and B which are performed by computational machinery: (A) receiving, from each of at least first and second mobile station location estimators, corresponding first and second information related to likely geographical approximations for a location of said one wireless mobile station, wherein (a) and (b) following are satisfied: (a) for determining a likely geographical approximation, GA A , for a location, L A , of a second of the wireless mobile stations at a time T A , said first mobile station location estimator generates GA A without requiring a prior likely geographical location approximation generated by said second mobile station location estimator for locating the second wireless mobile station at substantially the location L A at substantially the time T A , and, (b) for estimating a likely geographical approximation, GA B , for a location, L B , of a third one of the wireless mobile stations at a time T B , said second mobile station location estimator generates GA B without requiring a prior likely geographical location approximation generated by said first mobile station location estimator for locating the third wireless mobile station at the location L B at substantially the time T B ; (B) determining a resulting location estimate of said one wireless mobile station, wherein said step of determining includes at least one of the substeps (B1) through (B2) following: (B1) when said first and second information include, respectively, first and second likely geographical approximations, combining said first and second likely geographical approximations so that said resulting location estimate is dependent on each of said first and second location likely geographical approximations; and (B2) selecting one of said first and second information for receiving preference in determining said resulting location estimate, wherein said selecting is dependent upon location related data in at least one of said first and second information.