Method for estimating the position of a portable device

• US 10,203,418 B2
• Filed: 01/21/2015
• Issued: 02/12/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/21/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: GiPSTech SRL
• Original Assignee: GiPSTech SRL
• Inventors: D'Aquila, Gaetano
• Primary Examiner(s): Phan, Dao L
• Application Number:
  US15/113,416
• Publication Number:
  US 20170010364A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,483 Days
• Field of Search: 34235731, 342419, 342450-452, 4554563, 455457, 701469
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/50 whereby the position solution is constrained to lie upon a particular curve or surface, e.g. for locomotives on railway tracks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02695 Constraining the position to lie on a curve or surface

Abstract

Method for estimating the position of a portable device which includes:

• • a first estimation step (11), in which is estimated the position and the extension of a first spatial region (100) where the portable device is located and;
  • a second estimation step (12), in which is estimated the position of the portable device by the selection of the position where the portable device is located among the positions included in the first spatial region (100).

Claims

1. Method for estimating the position of a portable device (A), which comprises:

a first estimation step (11), in which is estimated the position and the extension of a first spatial region (100) where is located said portable device (A);

a second estimation step (12), in which is estimated the position of said portable device (A);

said second estimation step (12) comprises the selection of said position among the positions included in said first spatial region (100);

said first estimation step (11) also providing to estimate said position of the portable device (A);

said first estimation step (11) being performed by first estimating means and said second estimation step (12) being performed by second estimation means which are independent with respect to said first estimation means;

the accuracy of the estimation of the position provided in said first estimation step (11) is lower than the accuracy of the estimation of the position estimated in said second estimation step (12),

when the portable device is displaced, spatial region correspondingly moves;

characterized in that said first estimation step and said second estimation step are both performed and updated during time.

2. A method for estimating the position according to claim 1 characterized in that it comprises a step of verifying the efficiency of said estimating means and by the fact that :

if the second means of estimation is not operative then said position of the portable device (A) is estimated by said first means;

if the second estimation means is operative then this position is estimated by said second means of estimation.

3. A method for estimating the position according to claim 1 characterized in that said first estimation step (11) provides to select, according to a predetermined criterion, said first estimation means among a plurality of first estimating means, which differ from one another by the position estimating way.

4. A method for estimating the position according to claim 1 characterized in that said second estimation step (12) provides to select, according to a predetermined criterion, said second means of estimation between a plurality of second estimating means which differ from one another by the position estimating way.

5. A method for estimating the position according to claim 1 characterized in that said second step also comprises to estimate the position and extension of a second spatial region (200), in which is located said portable device (A).

6. A method according to claim 5 characterized in that the estimation of said second spatial region (200) comprises the selection of a subset of positions included in said first spatial region (100), said subset defining said second spatial region (200).

7. A method according to claim 1 characterized in that said first and second estimation step (11, 12) are cyclically repeated in succession at predefined time intervals.

8. A method according to claim 6 characterized by the fact that, within each first estimation step (11) which follows a second estimation step (12), the estimation of the position of said first spatial region (100) consists in the selection of one of the positions included in the second spatial region (200) estimated in a second phase.

9. A method according to claim 7 characterized by comprising to inhibit a selected one of said estimation steps (11, 12) to reduce the computing resources necessary for the performing said method.