METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING LOCATION-BASED INFORMATION VIA A COMPUTER NETWORK

• US 20020171581A1
• Filed: 11/30/1998
• Published: 11/21/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Snaptrack Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: SHEYNBLAT, LEONID, KRASNER, NORMAN F.
• Granted Patent: US 6,677,894 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.09
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/06 employing an initial estimate of the location of the receiver as aiding data or in generating aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/071 DGPS corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/09 providing processing capability normally carried out by the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/11 wherein the cooperating elements are pseudolites or satellite radio beacon positioning system signal repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/252 Employing an initial estimate of location in generating assistance data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/254 relating to Doppler shift of satellite signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/256 relating to timing, e.g. time of week, code phase, timing offset
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/258 relating to the satellite constellation, e.g. almanac, ephemeris data, lists of satellites in view
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 2205/008 using a mobile telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0045 Transmission from base station to mobile station G01S5/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0054 of actual mobile position, i.e. position calculation on base station
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/009 Transmission of differential positioning data to mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2111 Location-sensitive, e.g. geographical location, GPS
• CPC Class Codes: H03J 7/047 Automatic frequency control using an auxiliary signal, e.g. low frequency scanning of the locking range or superimposing a special signal on the input signal

Abstract

Methods and apparatuses for distributing location-based information (i.e., information specific to a client'"'"'s location or a location of interest to the client) to a client, which may be a mobile SPS receiver, via the Internet and in particular, the World-Wide Web. The client provides information about its location and/or a location of interest to a Web server. The Web server, based on the information, provides via the Internet information relating to the client'"'"'s location or location of interest to the client.

Claims

1. A mobile satellite positioning system (SPS) apparatus comprising:

an input to receive information to indicate a position of said apparatus; and

a data communication interface to provide information to indicate the position of said apparatus to an external device, which external device provides data based on said information to said apparatus via the Internet.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said external device is a server which provides said data through the World-Wide Web.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein said server is coupled to at least one satellite reference station.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said data comprises satellite ephemeris information.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said satellite ephemeris information is derived from at least one of a reference station comprising an SPS receiver and a wide area reference network (WARN) coupled to said external device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said data comprises at least one of a location correction information and time correction information.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein said data is derived from at least one of a reference station comprising an SPS receiver and a wide area reference network (WARN) coupled to said external device.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a SPS receiver, coupled to said input, to provide said information from a set of satellite signals.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said information is associated with pseudoranges.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory to store a routine for processing Web documents; and

a processor to execute said routine.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said data communication interface is operable to provide a wireless interface to a World-Wide Web gateway.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein said data communication interface is operable to provide hard-wired gateway to a World-Wide Web gateway.

13. The apparatus of claim 10, further comprising:

a modem, coupled to said memory and processor.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said system comprises a World-Wide Web (WWW) server, and wherein said data associated with the location of said mobile SPS unit comprises one of:

(a) pseudoranges;

(b) digitized SPS signals;

(c) a location approximation;

(d) a position determined from a set of satellite signals received by said mobile SPS unit; and

(e) velocity.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein said information comprises information derived from SPS-signals.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein said information comprises location-based service information derived from one or more databases having stored therein information related to the location of said mobile SPS unit or a location of interest.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

said mobile SPS unit determining a set of pseudoranges based on receiving a set of signals; and

providing said pseudoranges as said data to said system.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein said information comprises ephemeris data derived from said system which includes a reference station having a SPS receiver.

20. The method of claim 14, wherein said information comprises almanac data derived from said system which includes a reference station having a SPS receiver.

21. The method of claim 14, wherein said information comprises correctional data based on said set of signals and derived from said system which includes a reference station having a SPS receiver.

22. The method of claim 14, wherein said information comprises location-based service information based on a geographical area associated with said mobile SPS unit.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein said data about the location of said mobile SPS receiver comprises a set of pseudoranges measured by said mobile SPS receiver.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein at least one of said data and said information is derived from at least a portion of a set of satellite messages.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein said digital processing system comprises a server coupled to an SPS reference station, which comprises an SPS receiver.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein said server is a World-Wide Web (WWW) server.

28. The method of claim 27, further comprising:

said server providing data based on said information associated with said location of said SPS unit to another entity coupled to the Internet; and

said server receiving at least one of said information and preliminary data used to derive said information from said entity coupled to the Internet.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said second set of data comprises information associated with a location of said mobile SPS receiver.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein said second set of data comprises at least a portion of one or more satellite messages received by said mobile SPS receiver.

32. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

said Web server providing satellite ephemeris as part of said information.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein said information comprises location-based service information.

34. The method of claim 29, further comprising:

said mobile SPS receiver, in response to said information, determining navigational information.

14. A method for distributing information associated with a satellite positioning system (SPS), said method comprising:

providing data associated with the location of a mobile SPS unit to a system in a network; and

in response to said data, said system providing said mobile SPS unit via the Internet information based on the location of said mobile SPS unit.

23. A method for use in a satellite positioning system (SPS), said method comprising:

receiving at a digital processing system coupled to the Internet data associated with the location of mobile SPS receiver; and

said digital processing system providing to said mobile SPS receiver through the World-Wide Web information associated with said location.

29. A method for use in a satellite positioning system (SPS), said method comprising:

storing at a Web server coupled to a computer network a first set of data associated with said SPS, said first set of data being based on satellite signals received at a reference station;

storing at said Web server a second set of data associated with said SPS, said second set of data being based on data provided to said Web server by a mobile SPS receiver; and

based on at least said second set of data, said Web server providing information to said mobile SPS receiver through the World-Wide Web.

35. A system for providing location-based information to a mobile client device via the World-Wide Web, in response to receiving data to indicate the location of said mobile client device.