Transmission of Information to a GPS Device

• US 20090219976A1
• Filed: 05/09/2007
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Corning Optical Communications Wireless Ltd. (Corning Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mobileaccess Networks Limited (Corning Incorporated)
• Inventors: Oren, Yair, Alterman, Stanley B.
• Application Number:
  US12/227,123
• Publication Number:
  US 20090219976A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 375/141
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/14 specially adapted for specific applications

Abstract

A terrestrial system for transmitting non-GPS information for reception by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, the system including a processor, a memory coupled to the processor and including computer-readable instructions configured to, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to receive the non-GPS information, determine an available pseudo-random noise (PRN) code, spread the non-GPS information using the available PRN code to provide a spread signal, modulate a GPS carrier frequency using the spread signal to produce a GPS compatible signal, and a terrestrial transmitter configured to transmit the GPS compatible signal.

Claims

1. A terrestrial system for transmitting non-GPS information for reception by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, the system comprising:

a processor;

a memory coupled to the processor and including computer-readable instructions configured to, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to;

receive the non-GPS information;

determine an available pseudo-random noise (PRN) code;

spread the non-GPS information using the available PRN code to provide a spread signal;

modulate a GPS carrier frequency using the spread signal to produce a GPS compatible signal; and

a terrestrial transmitter configured to transmit the GPS compatible signal.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein GPS carrier frequency is at least one of the L1, L2, and L5 carrier frequencies.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the terrestrial transmitter re-transmits existing GPS signals.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter is disposed within a building in a location where existing GPS signals cannot be received.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the non-GPS information includes E911 information.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the terrestrial transmitter is configured to transmit the GPS compatible signal using a duty cycle of substantially 10-30%.

7. A terrestrial system for transmitting non-GPS information for reception by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, the system comprising:

an input module configured to receive the non-GPS information;

a processor coupled to the input module, the processor being configured to determine an available pseudo-random noise (PRN) code and to produce a GPS compatible signal that is generated as a function of the available PRN code, the GPS compatible signal including a navigation message, the navigation message including the non-GPS information;

an amplifier coupled to the processor and configured to amplify the GPS compatible signal; and

a terrestrial transmitter coupled to the processor and configured to transmit the GPS compatible signal.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the non-GPS information is transmitted using a series of frames of consecutive navigation messages.

9. The system of claim 7 where in the processor is configured to generate a plurality of GPS compatible signals, each generated as a function of a different available PRN code.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the terrestrial transmitter is configured to transmit the GPS compatible signal using a duty cycle of substantially 10-30%.

11. A method of terrestrially transmitting non-GPS information for reception by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, the method comprising:

receiving non-GPS information;

determining an available pseudo-random noise (PRN) code;

spreading the non-GPS information using the available PRN code to produce a spread signal;

modulating a GPS carrier frequency using the spread signal to produce a GPS compatible signal; and

transmitting the GPS compatible signal using a terrestrial transmitter.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein transmitting the GPS compatible signal includes transmitting the GPS compatible signal using a duty cycle of substantially 10-30%.

13. A system comprising:

a transmitter comprising;

a first processor configured to receive non-GPS information and to encode the non-GPS information in a navigation message of a global positioning system (GPS) signal to produce a GPS compatible signal, wherein an available pseudo-random noise (PRN) code is used to encode the non-GPS information;

a terrestrial transmitter configured to transmit the GPS compatible signal;

a GPS receiver comprising;

an antenna configured to receive GPS signals including the GPS compatible signal;

a second processor coupled to the antenna and configured to receive the GPS compatible signal from the antenna, the second processor being configured to recognize the presence of the non-GPS information in the GPS compatible signal and to process the GPS compatible signal in a predetermined manner.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the first processor is configured to encode the non-GPS information using an available pseudo-random noise (PRN) code.

15. The system of claim 13 wherein the second processor is configured parse the navigation message to retrieve the non-GPS information.

16. The system of claim 13 wherein the first processor is configured to produce a plurality of GPS compatible signals each encoded using a different available PRN code.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the second processor is configured to parse a plurality of GPS compatible signals according to the available PRN code used to encode the non-GPS information.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the non-GPS information is used by the receiver for providing location-based services.