Mass Market GNSS Receiver Common View Time Transfer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current common view time transfer systems are expensive, non-scalable, and not resilient in degraded GNSS environments, making them unsuitable for mass market applications that require precise and cost-effective timing solutions.
Innovation Solution
The use of mass market multiband GNSS receivers, such as the u-blox ZED-F9T module, to support precise common view time transfer at single digit nanosecond accuracy levels, leveraging event time tagging and pseudo-range residual data to achieve real-time and cost-effective time transfer.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional common view time transfer systems are used, then time transfer accuracy is maintained, but system cost and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, specialized common view time transfer equipment with inexpensive, commercially available multiband GNSS receivers. These mass-market devices perform time transfer functions that previously required dedicated, costly instrumentation, thereby reducing system complexity and cost while maintaining measurement precision through advanced signal processing algorithms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables mass market GNSS receivers to perform multiple functions including positioning, navigation, timing, and common view time transfer. By making these receivers multi-functional, the system eliminates the need for separate specialized equipment, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining time transfer accuracy through software-based processing.
2Measurement precision
If traditional common view time transfer systems are deployed, then precise timing is achieved, but scalability is limited
Solution Approach 1:
By using inexpensive mass market GNSS receivers instead of expensive specialized equipment, the system enables widespread deployment across multiple locations. The low cost of individual units allows scalable expansion from single-point to multi-point time transfer networks, maintaining precision through centralized processing of data from multiple receivers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the time transfer function into distributed GNSS receivers that collect satellite signals independently, with centralized processing that combines data from multiple receivers. This segmentation allows each receiver to be simple and inexpensive while the collective system achieves high precision and scalability through coordinated processing of pseudo-range residuals from multiple locations.
3Device complexity
If traditional common view time transfer systems operate in degraded GNSS environments, then timing continuity is lost, but system simplicity is maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes multiband GNSS signals (multiple frequency bands) to maintain time transfer functionality in degraded environments. By processing signals across multiple frequency bands and using advanced algorithms to analyze pseudo-range residuals, the system can distinguish between ionospheric delays and actual timing errors, maintaining reliability even when signal quality deteriorates in urban canyons or other challenging environments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where pseudo-range residual data from multiple satellites and frequency bands is continuously analyzed to detect and correct timing errors. This feedback loop allows the system to maintain timing reliability in degraded GNSS environments by identifying and compensating for signal quality issues through comparative analysis of multiple signal sources.
Data Source
AI summary
Common view time transfer and related apparatuses and methods are disclosed. An apparatus includes a receiver oscillator to provide a local clock signal and one or more processors. The one or more processors are to perform, at least partially based on the local clock signal, event time tagging pre-processing at least partially responsive to satellite signals received from one or more satellites to generate a decimated precision correction state estimate; determine, per satellite signal pseudo range residuals; determine a navigation engine clock state; perform a precision clock state pre-processing operation at least partially responsive to the navigation engine clock state and the decimated precision correction state estimate to generate a precision navigation clock state; and generate a common view real time report at least partially responsive to the per satellite signal pseudo range residuals and the precision navigation clock state.