5143 results about "Satellite positioning" patented technology

A navigation information system includes a communications system having a fixed part and at least one mobile part, the fixed part including data storage and a processor identifying the location of a mobile unit, generating guidance information appropriate to that location and transmitting it to the mobile unit. By locating most of the complexity with the service provider, in particular the navigation computer and geographical database, the system can be readily updated and the capital cost of the in-vehicle system, which in its simplest form may be a standard cellular telephone, can be minimized. The user makes a request for guidance information, and the system, having determined the user's present location, then transmits instructions to the user. The user's present location can be determined by a Satellite Positioning System or the like.

Local emergency alert service for cell-phone or pager users is provided using regional or localized broadcast to or polling of available, voluntary, or otherwise identified wireless communication devices or other network-accessible nodes operating using different protocol in proximate help area, thus allowing such alerted users to respond to nearby emergency request or condition. Wireless communicator location is determined using relative satellite positioning, radio signal triangulation, or manual entry technique. Sensor may alert wireless communicator automatically of emergency condition.

A method for locating a satellite positioning system receiver, for example, a satellite positioning system enabled wireless communications device in cellular network, including obtaining a coarse position and / or a time estimate (210), and computing a satellite positioning system based position and / or time solution (240) that is constrained by uncertainty information associated with the coarse position and / or a time estimate. The uncertainty constraints may also be used to identify erroneous measurements used to compute the position solution.

A method and apparatus for determining a reference time associated with a satellite positioning system. In turn, the reference time, in one embodiment, may be used to determine other navigational information. Such navigational information may include, for example, the location / position of a satellite positioning system (SPS) receiver. In one embodiment, a relative velocity between an SPS receiver and a set of one or more satellites is used to determine an offset between time as indicated by the SPS receiver and the reference time. According to another embodiment of the invention, an error statistic is used to determine the reference time. According to yet another embodiment of the invention, two records, each representing at least a portion of a satellite message, are compared to determine time. In one implementation, the SPS receiver is mobile and operates in conjunction with a basestation to determine time and / or other navigational information according to one or a combination of the methods described.

Method and apparatus for processing location service messages in a satellite position location system is described. In one example, a mobile receiver includes a satellite signal receiver, wireless circuitry, and at least one module. The satellite signal receiver is configured to receive satellite positioning system signals, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) signals. The wireless circuitry is configured to communicate location service messages between the mobile receiver and a server through a cellular communication network. The location service messages may include any type of data related to A-GPS operation, such as assistance data, position data, request and response data, and the like. The at least one module is configured to provide a user-plane interface and a control-plane interface between the satellite signal receiver and the wireless transceiver. The at leat one module is capable of processing location service messages communicated using either the control-plane signaling or user-plane signaling mechanisms.

The present invention is directed to utilizing monitoring devices (200) for determining the effectiveness of various locations, such as media display locations (150) for an intended purpose (media display exposure). The monitoring devices (200) are distributed to a number of study respondents. The monitoring devices (200) track the movements of the respondents. While various technologies may be used to track the movements of the respondents, at least some of the location tracking of the monitoring device (200) utilize a satellite (105) location system such as the global positioning system (“GPS”). These movements of the respondent and monitoring device (200) at some point coincide with exposure to a number of media displays (150). Geo data (movement data) collected by the monitoring devices, is downloaded to a download server (300), for determining which media displays (150) the respondent was exposed to. The exposure determinations are made by a post-processing server (400).

Methods and apparatuses for frequency synchronizing basestations in a cellular communication system. In one aspect of the invention, a method to predict a timing of transmission of a basestation in a cellular communication system includes: receiving a first time tag for a first timing marker in a first cellular signal transmitted from the basestation; receiving a second time tag of a second timing marker in a second cellular signal transmitted from the basestation; and computing a frequency related to the basestation using the first and second time tags. Each of the time tags are determined using at least one satellite positioning system signal received at a mobile station which receives the corresponding time marker.

The invention relates to an aided Global Positioning System (GPS) subsystem within a wireless device. The wireless device includes a wireless processing section capable of receiving signals from a wireless network and a GPS subsystem having a radio frequency (RF) front-end capable of receiving a GPS satellite signal. The wireless processing section of the wireless device receives an external clock and determines the offset between the clock in the wireless processing section and that of the external clock. The GPS subsystem then receives the offset information from the wireless processing section, information related to the nominal frequency of the wireless processing section clock and the wireless processing section clock. Using this information and the GPS clock in the GPS subsystem, the GPS subsystem determines an acquiring signal, which is related to a frequency offset between the GPS clock and the network clock. The GPS subsystem then acquires GPS satellite signals in an acquiring unit though the use of the acquiring signal.

Method in a Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, including determining pseudorange (PNR) measurements for at least four satellites (210), determining a coarse time (220) corresponding to the pseudorange measurement, determining an offset time (240) between a periodic GPS event of one of the four satellites and the coarse time, determining a time correction delta (250) based upon the period of the Periodic GPS event, the offset time and the coarse time if an error of the coarse time is less than ½ the period of the periodic GPS event, and determining corrected time (260) based upon the coarse time and the time correction delta if the error of the coarse time is less than ½ the period of the periodic GPS event.

Generic SATPS receivers and methods for configuring generic SATPS receivers that include a plurality of outputs are provided. These configurable SATPS receivers are adapted to be utilized in at least one of a plurality of particular SATPS receiver applications, and can also include a plurality of input paths, and a means for generating selected ones of the plurality of possible outputs. Selected ones of the plurality of outputs are enabled / disabled based on at least one requirement of the particular receiver application to configure or program the generic SATPS receiver to function as a SATPS receiver used for a particular SATPS receiver application or operating environment. The selected ones of the plurality of outputs can be defined by and can be those utilized by the particular SATPS receiver application or operating environment. Thus, SATPS receivers are provided that can be used in multiple applications, that can accept multiple types of assistance data, and that have multiple types of outputs depending on the application and / or desires of the user. The SATPS receiver can be implemented in SATPS systems that include at least one satellite that provides SATPS information, a generic SATPS receiver, and a remote computer.

The integrated laser and satellite positional system receiver is disclosed. The integrated laser and satellite positioning system receiver can provide a plurality of mobile units with a laser plane data determined with a millimeter relative accuracy. The integrated laser and differential satellite positioning system receiver can also generate and transmit the differential correctional data to a plurality of mobile units. Each mobile unit equipped with a mobile satellite positioning system receiver can use the differential correction data and the high precision laser plane data to improve its position determination capabilities.

Generic SATPS receivers and methods for configuring generic SATPS receivers that include a plurality of outputs are provided. These configurable SATPS receivers are adapted to be utilized in at least one of a plurality of particular SATPS receiver applications, and can also include a plurality of input paths, and a means for generating selected ones of the plurality of possible outputs. Selected ones of the plurality of outputs are enabled / disabled based on at least one requirement of the particular receiver application to configure or program the generic SATPS receiver to function as a SATPS receiver used for a particular SATPS receiver application or operating environment. The selected ones of the plurality of outputs can be defined by and can be those utilized by the particular SATPS receiver application or operating environment. Thus, SATPS receivers are provided that can be used in multiple applications, that can accept multiple types of assistance data, and that have multiple types of outputs depending on the application and / or desires of the user. The SATPS receiver can be implemented in SATPS systems that include at least one satellite that provides SATPS information, a generic SATPS receiver, and a remote computer.

A system and method for monitoring, measuring, and / or usage metering of a vehicle involving tracking continuous movement and position of the vehicle for priced parking spots, priced roads, and / or pay-as-you-drive insurance. The system comprises a vehicle-mounted apparatus incorporating positioning signal reception, filtering, compression, storage and wireless transmission, while a central processing system collects these position-logs for matching with digital maps and parking, road use, and insurance fee application schedules. Sufficient accuracy and precision enables billing of vehicle owners unambiguously, generating timely congestion and traffic maps, and providing real time data feeds to signal control and navigation systems. This invention may be used to meter parking, road use, or insurance, either alone or concurrently in combination.

Significant, cost-effective improvement is introduced for Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) on a global basis, particularly enhancing the performance of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), an example of which is the Global Positioning System (GPS). The solution significantly improves performance metrics including the accuracy, integrity, time to acquire, interference rejection, and spoofing protection. A constellation of small satellites employing a low-cost architecture combined with improved signal processing yields an affordable enabler for spectrum-efficient transportation mobility. As air traffic management modernization transitions to a greater dependence on satellite positioning, the solution provides aviation users new protections from both intentional and unintentional interference to navigation and surveillance. And in response to an era in which intelligent transportation is under development for automobiles, reliable where-in-lane positioning enables new applications in connected and autonomous vehicles. New military capability increases PNT availability.

The present invention is directed to utilizing monitoring devices (200) for determining the effectiveness of various locations, such as media display locations (150) for an intended purpose (media display exposure). The monitoring devices (200) are distributed to a number of study respondents. The monitoring devices (200) track the movements of the respondents. While various technologies may be used to track the movements of the respondents, at least some of the location tracking of the monitoring device (200) utilize a satellite (105) location system such as the global positioning system (“GPS”). These movements of the respondent and monitoring device (200) at some point coincide with exposure to a number of media displays (150). Geo data (movement data) collected by the monitoring devices, is downloaded to a download server (300), for determining which media displays (150) the respondent was exposed to. The exposure determinations are made by a post-processing server (400).

The disclosed subject matter relates to a method for determining a Dilution of Precision Metric (DOP) with less than four satellites in a hybrid positioning system. In some embodiments, the method includes determining an initial position estimate of a device using a non-satellite positioning system, obtaining satellite measurements from less than four satellites, wherein the measurements include each satellite's position with respect to the initial position estimate, constructing a geometry matrix corresponding to the measurements from the less than four satellites using each satellite's position and the initial position estimate, multiplying the geometry matrix by its transpose to construct an H matrix, determining an inverse of the H matrix, and determining the DOP based on a sum of the diagonal elements of the inverse H matrix. In some embodiments, the non-satellite positioning system is a WLAN positioning system.

This disclosure describes systems and methods for maintaining clock bias accuracy in a hybrid positioning system. In some embodiments, the method to maintain the stability of an internal clock of an satellite positioning system receiver by using WLAN access points (APs) can include maintaining the internal clock accuracy of a satellite positioning system receiver by using one or more WLAN APs as a reference.

A mobile communication device (202) outside the service area of a communications network 210 in need of satellite positioning assistance information to perform a location determination (308). The mobile communication device receives the assistance information from a peer mobile communication device (204, 206) over a direct link.

A method for enhancing the accuracy of location coordinates and / or clock bias computed for a mobile user station that is part of a Satellite Positioning System (SATPS), such as GPS or GLONASS. A data processing station is provided with pseudorange corrections PRC(t;j;ref) for an SATPS reference station for each of M SATPS satellites (j=1, . . . , M; M> / =3) and with uncorrected location fix coordinates x'(tf), y'(tf)', z'(tf)' and / or b'(tf) for the mobile station for a selected location fix time tf. A matrix equation H(tf;mob) DELTA W(tf;mob)=PRC(tf;ref) relates a matrix DELTA W of location fix coordinate corrections for the mobile station to a matrix PRC(t;ref) of the pseudorange correction values, where H(tf;mob) is an MxN matrix (M< / =N; N=3 or 4) with known entries computed from mobile station data. An inverse or pseudo-inverse matrix H(tf;mob)(-1) is formed satisfying the relation H(tf;mob)(-1)H(tf;mob)=the identity matrix I, and the matrix DELTA W(tf;mob)=H(tf;mob)(-1)PRC(tf;ref) is computed. The entries of the matrix DELTA W(tf) are interpreted as additive corrections for the location fix coordinates x'(tf), y'(tf)', z'(tf)' and / or b'(tf) for the mobile station. Post-processing can be performed to apply the pseudorange corrections to the mobile station data.