Measurements and information gathering in a wireless network environment

A method for communicating network information, the method comprising:ntransmitting a request message from a mobile device to an access point;receiving, at the mobile device, a reply message transmitted from the access point in response to receiving the request message, the reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the access point of the reply message; anddetermining, based, at least in part, on the received reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point, a received signal power level at the mobile device of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the mobile device and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the mobile device, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the mobile device and the access point, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the access point transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A wireless communication apparatus comprising:na transceiver to transmit and receive communication messages; anda processor-based device configured to cause operations comprising:transmitting a request message from the wireless communication apparatus to an access point,receiving, at the wireless communication apparatus, a reply message transmitted from the access point in response to receiving the request message, the reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the access point of the reply message, anddetermining, based, at least in part, on the received reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point, a received signal power level at the wireless communication apparatus of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the wireless communication apparatus and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the wireless communication apparatus, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the wireless communication apparatus and the access point, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the access point transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A wireless communication apparatus, comprising:nmeans for transmitting a request message from the wireless communication apparatus to an access point;means for receiving, at the wireless communication apparatus, a reply message transmitted from the access point in response to receiving the request message, the reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the access point of the reply message; andmeans for determining, based, at least in part, on the received reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point, a received signal power level at the wireless communication apparatus of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the wireless communication apparatus and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the wireless communication apparatus, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the wireless communication apparatus and the access point, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the access point transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A non-transitory computer readable media programmed with a set of instructions executable on a processor that, when executed, cause operations for communicating network information comprising:ntransmitting a request message from a mobile device to an access point;receiving, at the mobile device, a reply message transmitted from the access point in response to receiving the request message, the reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the access point of the reply message; anddetermining, based, at least in part, on the received reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point, a received signal power level at the mobile device of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the mobile device and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the mobile device, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the mobile device and the access point, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the access point transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A method for communicating network information, the method comprising:nreceiving at an access point a request message sent from a mobile device; andin response to receiving the request message, transmitting, from the access point to the mobile device, a reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the access point of the reply message;wherein the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point is configured to enable determination of a received signal power level at the mobile device of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the mobile device and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the mobile device, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the mobile device and the access point, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the access point transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A wireless communication apparatus comprising:na transceiver to transmit and receive communication messages; anda processor-based device configured to cause operations comprising:receiving at the wireless communication apparatus a request message sent from a mobile device, andin response to receiving the request message, transmitting, from the wireless communication apparatus to the mobile device, a reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the wireless communication apparatus of the reply message,wherein the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the wireless communication apparatus is configured to enable determination of a received signal power level at the mobile device of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the mobile device and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the mobile device, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the mobile device and the wireless communication apparatus, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the wireless communication apparatus transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A wireless communication apparatus, comprising:nmeans for receiving at the wireless communication apparatus a request message sent from a mobile device, andmeans for transmitting from the wireless communication apparatus to the mobile device, in response to receiving the request message, a reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the wireless communication apparatus of the reply message,wherein the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the wireless communication apparatus is configured to enable determination of a received signal power level at the mobile device of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the mobile device and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the mobile device, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the mobile device and the wireless communication apparatus, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the wireless communication apparatus transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.

A non-transitory computer readable media programmed with a set of instructions executable on a processor that, when executed, cause operations for communicating network information comprising:nreceiving at an access point a request message sent from a mobile device; andin response to receiving the request message, transmitting, from the access point to the mobile device, a reply message including data representative of a transmitted signal power level at the access point of the reply message;wherein the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point is configured to enable determination of a received signal power level at the mobile device of the reply message, a round trip time derived from measured timing signals corresponding to a first time instance when the request message was transmitted from the mobile device and a second time instance when the reply message including the data representative of the transmitted signal power level at the access point was received at the mobile device, and at least one of a path loss associated with the reply message and a distance between the mobile device and the access point, the at least one of the path loss and the distance computed based on the received signal power determined from the reply message and the data representative of the access point transmitted signal power level included in the reply message.