Patent Document ID: 7519372
Application ID: 10473926
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A mobile location module processor that performs the method of estimating a location of a mobile station in a network service area divided into a plurality of zones, the network service area served by a plurality of base stations, the method comprising: obtaining, for each of the plurality of zones, a set of zone location values associated with that zone; obtaining, for each of the plurality of base stations, a base station identifier associated with that base station; obtaining, for each of the plurality of base stations, a set of base station location values associated with that base station; calculating, for each of the plurality of zones, a set of pre-determined signal strength values associated with that zone, wherein each calculated pre-determined signal strength value within a particular set is associated with a different one of the base station identifiers, wherein calculating each pre-determined signal strength value includes using a propagation characteristic, using the set of zone location values associated with that zone, using the set of base station location values associated with that base station identifier, and without using measured signal strength values; storing the sets of zone location values, the associated set of calculated pre-determined signal strength values for each of the sets of zone location values and the associated base station identifiers; obtaining a set of signal strength values reported by the mobile station; determining a plurality of error scores, each based on a comparison of the set of reported signal strength values with a different one of the sets of pre-determined signal strength values; selecting, based on the error scores, one of the sets of pre-determined signal strength values and the associated set of zone location values by selecting the set of pre-determined signal strength values associated with the error score indicating the closest match of reported and pre-determined signal strength; and determining an estimated location of the mobile station based on the selected set of zone location values.