Assisted-GPS Biometric Device Ephemeris Update

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Solution Overview

Problem

Portable biometric monitoring devices face challenges with GPS integration due to high power consumption and long 'time to first fix' (TTFF) when starting up after a period of inactivity, which affects user experience and battery life.

Innovation Solution

Implementing Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) technology, where a secondary device provides precalculated ephemeris data to the biometric monitoring device via a wireless short-range, low-power communication protocol, allowing for quicker GPS positioning and reducing power consumption by offloading processing to a remote device or server.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If GPS receiver is powered on for initial lock-on, then positional fix can be obtained, but power consumption increases and time to first fix becomes long

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepositional fixVSAvoidpower consumption

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by pre-calculating and storing ephemeris data in advance before GPS positioning is needed. This allows the GPS receiver to quickly acquire satellite orbital information without performing full calculations from scratch, significantly reducing the time to first fix and initial power consumption while maintaining accurate positional fixing capability

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If GPS receiver is powered on for initial lock-on, then positional fix can be obtained, but time to first fix becomes long

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepositional fixVSAvoidtime to first fix

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

3Use of energy by moving object

If ephemeris data is obtained via wireless short-range communication from secondary device, then power consumption is reduced and time to first fix is reduced, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepower consumptionVSAvoiddevice complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

Use of energy by moving objectVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies the intermediary principle by introducing a secondary device as a mediator that stores and transmits pre-calculated ephemeris data to the portable biometric monitoring device. This intermediary approach allows the monitoring device to obtain ready-made orbital data without performing complex calculations itself, reducing its computational burden and power consumption while the secondary device handles the data preparation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS10838073B2Portable biometric monitoring devices having location sensors

Publication Date: 2020.11.17 FITBIT INC

AI summary

Assisted-GPS for a portable biometric monitoring device is provided. The portable biometric monitoring device may obtain updated ephemeris data from an associated secondary device via a short-range, low-power communication protocol. The secondary device may be a computing device such as a smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Various rules may control when the ephemeris data is updated. The ephemeris data may be used in the calculation of the global position of the portable biometric monitoring device. Additionally, the portable biometric monitoring device may communicate downloaded position fixing data to the associated secondary device. The associated secondary device may then calculate the global position from the position fixing data.