METHOD AND ARRANGEMENT FOR DETERMINING ALTITUDE

• US 20130204567A1
• Filed: 01/18/2013
• Published: 08/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Suunto Oy (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Suunto Oy (Anta International Group Holdings Ltd.)
• Inventors: NIEMINEN, Heikki, LINDMAN, Erik
• Granted Patent: US 9,297,650 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/94
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 25/00 Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the other groups of this subclass testing, calibrating or compensating compasses G01C17/38
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 5/00 Measuring height; Measuring distances transverse to line of sight; Levelling between separated points; Surveyors' levels G01C3/20, G01C3/30 take precedence

Abstract

The invention relates to a portable electronic device and method for determining altitude. The device can comprise a satellite-positioning sensor for determining the elevation of the device on the basis of satellite data, a barometric sensor for measuring atmospheric-pressure information and/or an acceleration sensor for measuring acceleration information, and means for determining the altitude reading on the basis of the satellite-based elevation and the atmospheric-pressure and/or acceleration information. According to the invention, the means for determining the altitude reading are arranged to calculate a corrected altitude reading with the aid of the rate of change in elevation determined at least partly on the basis of the elevation determined on a satellite basis and atmospheric-pressure and/or acceleration information. With the aid of the invention, the altitude profile of exercise can be measured precisely.

Claims

25-1. The system of claim 1, wherein the device is configured to provide a weather alert if a change in atmospheric pressure cannot be explained by a change in elevation.

26-2. The system of claim 25, wherein the device is configured to utilize a corrected altitude reading.

27. A method for determining altitude of a portable electronic device including the steps of:

measuring the elevation of the device with the aid of a satellite-positioning system;

measuring atmospheric pressure with the aid of at least one of a barometric sensor and an acceleration sensor; and

determining a corrected elevation on the basis of a satellite-based measured elevation and at least one of an atmospheric-pressure measurement and an acceleration measurement, the corrected elevation is determined at least partly by correcting the satellite-based determined elevation afterwards on the basis of the rate of change of the elevation detected on the basis of at least one of the atmospheric-pressure measurement and the acceleration measurement.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the corrected altitude reading is determined by adding to the elevation measured with the aid of the satellite-positioning system, the change in elevation determined with the aid of the rate of change of atmospheric pressure and a time factor, after determining the previous corrected altitude reading.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the elevation is measured with the aid of the satellite-positioning system at least for as long as the reliability of the measurement result of the elevation meets a predefined criteria, and wherein when the measurement with the aid of the satellite-positioning system is interrupted, the corrected elevation is determined iteratively or recursively at preset intervals on the basis of the rate of change of the atmospheric pressure and of the previous determined elevation.

30. The method of claim 28, wherein the rate of change of the atmospheric pressure is determined independently of the satellite positioning.