Positioning system

• US 20060187116A1
• Filed: 02/03/2006
• Published: 08/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Uozumi, Hiroshi
• Application Number:
  US11/346,185
• Publication Number:
  US 20060187116A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.410
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/04 providing carrier phase data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/07 providing data for correcting measured positioning data, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS] or ionosphere corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/25 involving aiding data received from a cooperating element, e.g. assisted GPS

Abstract

A communication base station includes: a satellite-time information generating device for continuously generating satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of a positioning satellite on the basis of the satellite signal; a satellite-orbit information generating device for generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of the satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information; a satellite-time information transmitting device for sending the satellite-time information to the terminal; a positioning-auxiliary information transmitting device for sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal; and the terminal includes: a satellite-time information acquiring means device; a positioning-auxiliary information acquiring device; and a positioning device for locating a position of the terminal on the basis of a plurality of the satellite signals from the positioning satellites by use of the satellite-time information and the satellite-orbit information.

Claims

1. A positioning system, asynchronous between communication base stations, having a communication base station capable of receiving a satellite signal that is a signal from a positioning satellite and a terminal capable of communicating with the communication base station,

the communication base station comprising:

satellite-time information generating means for continuously generating satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of the positioning satellites on the basis of the satellite signal;

satellite-orbit information generating means for generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of the satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information;

satellite-time information transmitting means for sending the satellite-time information to the terminal;

positioning-auxiliary information transmitting means for sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal; and

the terminal comprising;

satellite-time information acquiring means for acquiring the satellite-time information from the communication base station;

positioning-auxiliary information acquiring means for acquiring the positioning auxiliary information from the communication base station; and

positioning means for locating a position of the terminal on the basis of a plurality of the satellite signals from the positioning satellites by use of the satellite-time information and the satellite-orbit information.

2. The positioning system of claim 1, wherein

communication information to be sent by the communication base station is constituted with a plurality of frames,

the satellite-time information generating means of the communication base station is configured to generate the satellite-time information at a constant interval of the frames,

the terminal has satellite-time estimating means for estimating the satellite-time information of the frames received immediately before, on the basis of an identification number of the frame received immediately before positioning and the satellite-time information generated by the base station.

3. A communication base station on a communication network asynchronous between communication base stations, the communication base station comprising:

satellite-time information generating means for generating continuously satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of a positioning satellite, on the basis of a satellite signal from the positioning satellite;

satellite-orbit information generating means for generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of the satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information;

satellite-time information transmitting means for sending the satellite-time information to the terminal; and

positioning-auxiliary information transmitting means for sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal.

4. A positioning system, asynchronous between communication base stations, having a communication base station capable of receiving a satellite signal that is a signal from a positioning satellite and a terminal capable of communicating with the communication base station,

the communication base station comprising:

communication-information transmitting means for sending communication information constituted by a plurality of frames to the terminal;

satellite-time information generating means for continuously generating satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of the positioning satellite for each of the frames of the communication information on the basis of the satellite signal;

satellite-orbit information generating means for generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of the satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information;

requested-satellite-time information transmitting means that sends, to the terminal, satellite-time information as to the frame requested from the terminal;

positioning-auxiliary information transmitting means for sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information; and

the terminal comprising;

communication information receiving means for receiving the communication information from the communication base station;

satellite-time information acquiring means for acquiring the satellite-time information for the frame received immediately before positioning, from the communication base station;

positioning-auxiliary information acquiring means for acquiring the positioning auxiliary information from the communication base station; and

positioning means for locating a position of the terminal on the basis of the satellite signals from a plurality of the positioning satellites by use of the satellite-time information and the satellite-orbit information.

5. A communication base station on a communication network asynchronous between communication base stations, the communication base station comprising:

communication information transmitting means for sending communication information constituted by a plurality of frames, to the terminal;

satellite-time information generating means for continuously generating, satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of a positioning satellites for each of the frames of the communication information on the basis of a satellite signal;

satellite-orbit information generating means for generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of the satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information;

requested-satellite-time information transmitting means for sending the satellite-time information as to the frame requested from the terminal, to the terminal; and

positioning-auxiliary information transmitting means for sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal.

6. A control method for a communication base station, comprising the steps of:

generating continuously satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of a positioning satellite on the basis of a satellite signal that is a signal from the positioning satellite, by the communication base station on a communication network asynchronous between communication base stations;

generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information, by the communication base station;

sending the satellite-time information to the terminal, by the communication base station; and

sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal, by the communication base station.

7. A communication base station control program allowing a computer to execute the steps of:

generating continuously satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of a positioning satellite on the basis of a satellite signal that is a signal from the positioning satellite, by a communication base station on a communication network asynchronous between communication base stations;

generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information, by the communication base station;

sending the satellite-time information to the terminal, by the communication base station; and

sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal, by the communication base station.

8. A computer-readable recording medium recording a control program for a communication base station, allowing a computer to execute the steps of:

generating continuously satellite-time information representative of a satellite-time that is a time of a positioning satellite on the basis of a satellite signal that is a signal from the positioning satellite, by a communication base station on a communication network asynchronous between communication base stations;

generating satellite-orbit information at a time interval regulated by an effective time period of satellite-orbit information representative of an orbit of the positioning satellite when generating the satellite-time information, by the communication base station;

sending the satellite-time information to the terminal, by the communication base station; and

sending positioning auxiliary information including the satellite-orbit information to the terminal, by the communication base station.