1490 results about "Pseudorange" patented technology

A method and apparatus for locating mobile device over a broad coverage area using a wireless communications link that may have large and unknown latency. The apparatus comprises at least one mobile device, a reference network, a position server, a wireless carrier, and a location requester. The mobile device is in communication with the wireless carrier and receives global positioning system (GPS) signals from a plurality of satellites in the GPS satellite constellation. The reference network is coupled to the position server and provides GPS data. The mobile receiver receives GPS signals, performs rudimentary signal processing and transmits the processed signals to the wireless carrier. The wireless carrier passes the signals on to the position server. The position server processes the mobile receiver's GPS data and the reference network ephemeris data to identify the location of the mobile receiver. The location is sent to the location requester.

A method and apparatus for locating position of a satellite signal receiver is described in one example, groups of pseudoranges from the satellite signal receiver to a plurality of satellites are determined at a respective plurality of times. The group of pseudoranges are transmitted to a server, where a position of the satellite signal receiver may be determined using the groups of pseudoranges. In another example, a plurality of groups of pseudoranges are applied to a time-based filter located in the server. The position of the satellite signal receiver arrived from the time-based filter.

Methods and apparatuses for improved position determination of a device using multiple pseudo range measurements from transmitting sources at known locations, such as GPS satellites. A plurality of pseudo range measurements for each transmitting source are processed together to obtain a simplified maximum likelihood estimate for the pseudo range for that transmitting source at a common reference time. The processed pseudo range estimates for all transmitting sources are then combined using conventional position determination algorithms. This technique facilitates removal of raw measurement outliers prior to position determination, which results in improved (i.e., more accurate) position fixes of the device. In addition, improved measurement integrity monitoring of the pseudo range measurements is a feature of this invention.

Method and apparatus for locating position of a satellite signal receiver is described. In one example, pseudoranges are obtained that estimate the range of a satellite signal receiver to a plurality of satellites. An absolute time and a position are computed using the pseudoranges at a first time. The absolute time is then used to compute another position at a subsequent time. In another example, a plurality of states associated with a satellite signal receiver are estimated, where the plurality of states includes a time tag error state. A dynamic model is then formed relating the plurality of states, the dynamic model operative to compute position of the satellite signal receiver.

A method and apparatus for creating a dynamic GeoFence area by determining an instant reference point using a first set of pseudorange measurements received by a GeoFence device, defining the dynamic GeoFence area referenced to the instant reference point, determining a position fix using a second set of pseudorange measurements, and comparing the position fix to the dynamic GeoFence area. In one aspect, an alert message based on the comparison results is presented to a user.

Position determination accuracy of a wireless communication device may be negatively affected by a large unaccounted GPS doppler bias, which in turn may affect GPS doppler estimations and GPS doppler measurements conducted by the wireless communication device. The quality of GPS doppler measurements is very important for position location, because poor quality GPS doppler measurements may prevent the wireless communication device from acquiring satellites in the most sensitive modes with narrow frequency ranges, which results in reduced GPS pseudorange measurement yield. Large unaccounted GPS doppler bias also adversely affects position accuracy because of the adverse effect on the GPS code phase measurements time propagation to common time prior to their use in position location calculation. The same is true in the case of unaccounted CDMA code doppler, through the adverse effect on the AFLT code phase measurements time propagation to common time prior to their use in a position location engine. This effect is the biggest concern in the case of large search windows. Therefore, the present disclosure provides a method of optimizing GPS based position location in the presence of time-varying frequency error, including the steps of continuously measuring and / or calculating resulting GPS doppler bias and CDMA code doppler bias and then minimizing their adverse effects with regard to position location determination by re-centering GPS doppler search windows based on the GPS doppler bias value, as well as using GPS doppler bias and CDMA code doppler bias value to properly propagate GPS pseudorange and AFLT pilot phase measurements, respectively, to common time prior to their use in a position location engine.

A radio frequency (RF) motion capture system includes stationary sensor receivers, one or more transmitter marker tags on one or more objects to be tracked within a capture zone, at least one stationary reference tag transmitter, and a processing system for processing the received signals. The individual tags transmit burst of spread-spectrum RF signals. The transmitted signals include a common sync code, and a tag identification code that is unique to each tag. By computing double differences of pseudoranges, clock terms are cancelled out allowing the processing system to precisely determine the location of each tag as it moves through the capture zone without the need to synchronize clocks between sensors and tags. The system can be used for RF match moving.

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.

A hybrid position determination system is disclosed. A mobile device may determine a number of pseudo ranges based on a first position determination system, such as a Global Positioning System. In instances where the position of the mobile device is underdetermined because of an insufficient number of satellite pseudo ranges, the mobile device shares position information with other devices. The other devices may include other mobile devices. A first mobile device may determine its position based on an underdetermined number of satellite pseudo ranges by determining pseudo ranges to other mobile devices. In other embodiments, the number of satellite pseudo ranges may be insufficient to generate an absolute position determination of a single mobile device. In this underdetermined condition, mobile devices may determine a common location of the group or may determine a relative positioning of members of the group.

The invention belongs to the satellite navigation and positioning technical field and discloses a low earth orbit satellite-based satellite-earth differential real-time precise positioning method. A low earth orbit satellite is utilized to broadcast the observation data and real-time orbit data of the satellite-borne GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receiver of the low earth orbit satellite to the ground; and after receiving the differential information broadcasted by the low earth orbit satellite, a ground receiver generates a double-difference observation value consisting of the differential information and a local GNSS observation value and performs pseudorange-based moving base station DGNSS (Differential Navigation Satellite System) positioning and carrier phase-based moving base station RTK (Rea-time kinematic) positioning. According to the positioning method of the invention, the global mobile low earth orbit satellite platform is adopted as a reference station, so that real-time precision differential positioning service in the whole world can be realized, and the method does not depend on the distribution of ground reference stations; and a user can realize differential real-time precise positioning just through using a single receiver, and therefore, the method is free of operating range restrictions, and data communication links are not required to be considered.

An apparatus and method for determining the position of a user terminal comprise an antenna subsystem which is able to receive signals of GPS and TV, a receiver front end which converts the frequency of the incident signals and filters out unwanted signals so that the desired signals can be sampled, a digital processing component which accommodates the imperfections of the front end and converts the measured signals into a position information. The apparatus is capable of receiving at the user terminal, broadcast television signals from television signal transmitters; determining a first set of pseudo-ranges between the user terminal and the television signal transmitters based on a known component of the broadcast television signals; receiving at the user terminal global positioning signals from a global positioning satellites; determining a second set of pseudo-ranges between the user terminal and the global positioning satellites based on the global positioning signals; and determining a position of the user terminal based on the first and second sets of pseudo-ranges, locations of the television signal transmitters, and locations of the global positioning satellites.

A mobile terminal is configured to receive wireless communications including GPS data from a terrestrial and / or satellite wireless network, and to perform pseudo-range measurements using the GPS data that is received. The mobile terminal may be configured to perform pseudo-range measurements by receiving GPS coarse / acquisition (C / A) signals from GPS satellites, estimating Doppler shifts in the received GPS C / A signals, and estimating received code phases of the GPS C / A signals using the Doppler shifts that are estimated. The estimated code phases and / or the estimated Doppler shifts of the GPS C / A signals can provide the pseudo-range measurements. By removing the Doppler shift from the received signal samples prior to performing the code phase measurement, reduced computational complexity and / or processing time may be obtained.

A security system comprises a secured asset associated with a high-sensitivity GPS receiver that can receive network aiding information. Indoors, the pseudo-ranges from orbiting GPS satellites can be computed by using digital correlators to pull directly received satellite signal transmissions from the noise floor, but the NAV-data transmissions cannot be demodulated well enough due to the attenuation caused by the building structure. So a wireless network is relied upon to provide aiding information that supplies the almanac and ephemeredes. The fact that the NAV-data transmissions cannot be demodulated well enough is taken as indicia that the system is being operated indoors, and such can be used in a geo-fence control to decide if indoor or outdoor use is not permitted. The secured asset can be temporarily or permanently disabled according to such geo-fence controls.

Disclosed is a method for providing a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) navigation position solution with guaranteed integrity in non-controlled environments, the method including processing a (GNSS) signal including multiple satellites generating at least one signal to obtain carrier phase and pseudorange measurements; pre-processing the measurements to detect and characterize local errors in the measurements, wherein the local errors cannot be ascertained a priori, the characterization including providing error bounds estimated by measuring the carrier phase and pseudoranges measurements, thereby providing a set of measurements rejections when the characterization is not possible; and using the estimated error bounds, together with error bounds provided by the GNSS signal concerning satellite and ionospheric errors, to build in each measurement an estimated noise level in the measurements as input to a weighted Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (RAIM) algorithm in order to compute position coordinates and associated protection levels in the non-controlled environments.

A method and apparatus for maintaining integrity of long-term-orbit information used by a Global-Navigation-Satellite-System or other positioning receiver is described. The method comprises obtaining a predicted pseudorange from a first set of long-term-orbit information possessed by a positioning receiver; obtaining, at the positioning receiver from at least one satellite, a measured pseudorange; determining validity of the predicted pseudorange as a function of the predicted pseudorange and the measured pseudorange; and excluding from the long-term-orbit information at least a portion thereof when the validity of the predicted pseudorange is deemed invalid. Optionally, the method may comprise updating or otherwise supplementing the long-term-orbit information with other orbit information if the validity of the predicted pseudorange is deemed invalid.

A Global Positioning System carries out Doppler correction of a C / A code sequence after a frequency conversion, and calculates a pseudo range by performing correlation calculation between the C / A code, which is obtained by summing up the C / A code sequence beginning from a polarity inversion boundary determined at a correlation peak detecting step ST10, and a C / A code generated in a GPS terminal. When a received electric field detected by a received electric field intensity detector 11 is good, the current position is determined from the pseudo range and the navigation data extracted by the GPS terminal itself, whereas when the received electric field is poor, the current position is determined from the pseudo range and the navigation data sent from an external apparatus.

Method and apparatus for computing position using instantaneous Doppler measurements from satellites is described. In one example, instantaneous Doppler measurements are measured for a plurality of satellite signals relative to a satellite signal receiver. The instantaneous Doppler measurements are transmitted to a server. Position of the satellite signal receiver is computed at the server using the instantaneous Doppler measurements. In another example, at least one fractional pseudorange is measured between the satellite signal receiver and a respective at least one satellite. At least one instantaneous Doppler measurement is measured for a respective at least one satellite signal relative to the satellite signal receiver. The at least one pseudorange and the at least one instantaneous Doppler measurement are sent to a server. Position of the satellite signal receiver is computed at the server using the at least one pseudorange and the at least one instantaneous Doppler measurement.

A method and system for approximating a position using a Global Navigational Satellite System (GNSS) having a plurality of GNSS satellites and an augmentation system, the method including the steps of obtaining an initial code pseudorange measurement and an initial carrier phase measurement from a signal transmitted by a GNSS satellite in the GNSS system, receiving a code correction from the augmentation system, using the code correction to correct the initial code pseudorange measurement and the initial carrier phase measurement to mitigate for errors in the signal, to result in a corrected code pseudorange measurement and a corrected carrier phase measurement, and using a code dominated measurement in a filter which outputs apposition and ambiguity estimate.

A direct multilateration target tracking system is provided with the TOA time stamp as an input. A technique of tracking targets with varying receiver combinations is provided. Methods of correlating and combining Mode A, Mode C, and Mode S messages to enhance target tracking in a passive surveillance system are provided. A direct multilateration target tracking system is provided by TOA tracking and smoothing. A technique for selecting best receiver combination and / or solution of multilateration equations from a multitude of combinations and / or solutions is provided. A technique for correcting pseudorange values with atmospheric conditions is provided. A technique for improving height determination for regions of poor VDOP in a 3D multilateration system is provided.

Method and apparatus for locating position of a remote receiver is described. In one example, long term satellite tracking data is obtained at a remote receiver. Satellite positioning system (SPS) satellites are detected. Pseudoranges are determined from the remote receiver to the detected SPS satellites. Position of the remote receiver is computed using the pseudoranges and the long term satellite tracking data. SPS satellites may be detected using at least one of acquisition assistance data computed using a previously computed position and a blind search. Use of long term satellite tracking data obviates the need for the remote receiver to decode ephemeris from the satellites. In addition, position of the remote receiver is computed without obtaining an initial position estimate from a server or network.

A method, apparatus, and computer-readable media for determining the position of a user terminal comprises receiving at the user terminal a broadcast television signal from a television signal transmitter; determining a first pseudo-range between the user terminal and the television signal transmitter based on a known component of the broadcast television signal; receiving at the user terminal a mobile telephone signal from a mobile telephone base station; determining a second pseudo-range between the user terminal and the mobile telephone base station based on a known component of the mobile telephone signal; and determining a position of the user terminal based on the first and second pseudo-ranges, a location of the television signal transmitter, and a location of the mobile telephone base station; wherein the mobile telephone signal is selected from the group consisting of a EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Evolution) signal; a Code-Division Multiple Access 2000 (cdma2000) signal; and a Wideband Code-Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) signal.

Apparatus for measuring surveying parameters, such as distances and angular displacements between an instrument survey station and a mobile survey station, with improved accuracy. The invention combines a differential satellite positioning system (DSATPS), available with positioning systems such as GPS and GLONASS, with electromagnetic measurements of distances and optically encoded angles by a conventional electro-optical survey instrument to provide survey measurements that can be accurate to within a few millimeters in favorable situations. The DSATPS relies upon pseudorange measurements or upon carrier phase measurements, after removal of certain phase integer ambiguities associated with carrier phase SATPS signals. The SATPS may be retrofitted within the housing of the conventional electro-optical instrument. In a first approach, a remote station provides DSATPS corrections for the mobile station and / or for the instrument station. In a second approach, the mobile station provides DSATPS corrections for itself and for the instrument station. In a third approach, the instrument station provides DSATPS corrections for itself and for the mobile station.

A system and method are provided for determining a position of a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver prior to bit and frame synchronization. As such, the time-to-first-fix is substantially reduced. More specifically, pseudoranges to five GPS satellites are measured by correlating locally generated Pseudo-Random Number (PRN) codes with signals received from the GPS satellites. After correlation, the pseudorange measurements are correct with an unknown integer number of milliseconds error, which is different for each of the pseudorange measurements. Using the measurements of the pseudoranges and a mathematical model where each of the pseudorange measurements is forced to have a common channel time error, the user position and the common channel time error are determined prior to bit and frame synchronization.

A method for generating satellite clock corrections for a WADGPS network computers satellite clock corrections after removing other substantial error components. Errors caused by the ionosphere refraction effects are removed from GPS measurements taken at reference stations using dual-frequency GPS measurements. The multipath noise are removed by smoothing of GPS pseudorange code measurements with carrier-phase measurements. The tropospheric refraction effect can be largely removed by modeling, and if desired, can be improved by the use of small stochastic adjustments included in the computation of the clock correction. After removing the above error factors, satellite clock corrections are computed for individual reference stations, and an average clock correction is formed for each of a plurality of satellites by taking an average or weighted average of the satellite clock corrections over reference stations to which the satellite is visible.

A method for removing biases in dual frequency GNSS receivers circumvents the need for ionosphere corrections by using L2(P) in combination with either L1(P) or L1(C / A) to form ionosphere-free ranges. A table of biases is stored in microprocessor controller memory and utilized for computing a location using corrected ionosphere-free pseudo ranges. A system for removing biases in dual frequency GNSS receivers includes a dual frequency GNSS receiver and a controller microprocessor adapted to store a table of bias values for correcting pseudo ranges determined using L2(P) in combination with either L1(P) or L1(C / A).

A computer program product, apparatus, and method for determining the position of a user terminal. It includes receiving at the user terminal a plurality of digital television (DTV) broadcast signals from a plurality of DTV transmitters, determining a pseudo-range between the user terminal and each DTV transmitter based on the DTV broadcast signals, and determining a position of the user terminal based on the pseudo-ranges and a location of each of the DTV transmitters.

A method for establishing a position of a device is disclosed. The method generally includes the steps of (A) receiving an input signal from a receiver listening to a plurality of satellites in a positioning system, (B) calculating (i) a plurality of estimated Doppler shifts of the satellites, (ii) an estimated position of the device and (iii) an estimated velocity of the device, (C) generating a plurality of pseudo-ranges in an intermediate signal based on all of (i) the input signal, (ii) the estimated Doppler shifts, (iii) the estimated position and (iv) the estimated velocity and (D) generating the position in an output signal based on the pseudo-ranges.

A mobile terminal is configured to receive wireless communications including GPS data from a terrestrial and / or satellite wireless network, and to perform pseudo-range measurements using the GPS data that is received. The mobile terminal may be configured to perform pseudo-range measurements by receiving GPS coarse / acquisition (C / A) signals from GPS satellites, estimating Doppler shifts in the received GPS C / A signals, and estimating received code phases of the GPS C / A signals using the Doppler shifts that are estimated. The estimated code phases and / or the estimated Doppler shifts of the GPS C / A signals can provide the pseudo-range measurements. By removing the Doppler shift from the received signal samples prior to performing the code phase measurement, reduced computational complexity and / or processing time may be obtained.

In accordance with embodiments of the invention, a skyward-looking sensor enables classification of points in its hemispherical field of view as either sky, partial sky or not sky, which in turn enables determination from data supplied by the GNSS receiver of whether each satellite in the GNSS antenna's field of view is in a region of sky, partial sky or not sky. Pseudrange and phase data from GNSS satellites determined to be in a region of sky can be considered reliable and used with confidence in a positioning solution. Pseudrange and phase data from GNSS satellites determined to be in a region of partial sky can be considered suspect and can therefore only contribute to a position solution with limited confidence and decreased accuracy. Pseudorange and phase data from GNSS satellites determined to be in a region of no sky can be considered unreliable and excluded from use in a positioning solution.