Wireless Local Messaging System and Method of Determining a Position of a Navigation Receiver Within a Wireless Local Messaging System

• US 20140232594A1
• Filed: 09/01/2012
• Published: 08/21/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Airbus Defence and Space GmbH
• Original Assignee: Astrium GmbH (Airbus SE)
• Inventors: Oehler, Veit, Steffes, Julian, Voit Von Voithenberg, Michael
• Granted Patent: US 9,746,563 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.51
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/11 wherein the cooperating elements are pseudolites or satellite radio beacon positioning system signal repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/13 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type

Abstract

A wireless local messaging system includes a transmitter transmitting a local message to a navigation receiver configured to receive and process navigation messages from satellites of a global navigation satellite system on a given carrier frequency, each of the satellites transmitting the navigation messages with a satellite-individual PRN code. The transmitter transmits the local message in a local message signal on the given carrier frequency with a local PRN code that is not used by a satellite of the global navigation satellite system, and the receiver receives the local PRN code and processes the local message signal.

Claims

1-10. -10. (canceled)

11. A wireless local messaging system, comprising:

at least one transmitter; and

at least one receiver, wherein the at least one transmitter is configured to transmit a local message to the at least one receiver;

wherein said at least one receiver is a navigation receiver configured to receive and process navigation messages from satellites of a global navigation satellite system on a particular carrier frequency, each of the satellites transmitting the navigation messages with a satellite-individual PRN code,

wherein the at least one transmitter is configured to transmit the local message in a local message signal on the particular carrier frequency with a local PRN code that is not used by a satellite of said global navigation satellite system, and

wherein the at least one receiver is further configured to receive the local PRN code and to process the local message signal.

12. The wireless local messaging system according to claim 11, wherein the local message signal is a non-continually transmitted pulsed signal.

13. The wireless local messaging system according to claim 11, wherein the at least one transmitter comprises a plurality of local transmitters, the system further comprising:

at least one database unit configured to store individual local messages for each one of the plurality of local transmitters together with the associated identifying data of one of the plurality of local transmitters,

wherein each of the at least one navigation receiver is configured to communicate with the at least one database unit in order to obtain the local message associated with one of the plurality of local transmitters on the basis of the identifying data received by the at least one navigation receiver from the one of the plurality of local transmitters.

14. The wireless local messaging system according to claim 13, wherein

the plurality of local transmitters are arranged in a server-based network in which each of the plurality of local transmitters is connected to at least one server of the network and

the network is configured such that the message content to be transmitted by one of the plurality of local transmitters is uploaded from the at least one server via the network into a memory of the one of the plurality of local transmitters.

15. The wireless local messaging system according to claim 13, wherein the local message comprises position information of one of the plurality of local transmitters.

16. The wireless local messaging system according to 11, wherein the system is integrated in a global navigation satellite system having at least one group of navigation satellites configured to transmit navigation information to the at least one navigation receiver.

17. A method of determining a position of a navigation receiver within a wireless local messaging system, the method comprising:

transmitting, by a plurality of local transmitters, local messages that include local position information of the plurality of local transmitters;

receiving, by the navigation receiver, the local messages from at least one of the plurality of local transmitters,

determining, by the navigation receiver, its position using the received local messages or local position information received from a database when no navigation information is received from a group of navigation satellites or when navigation information received from the group of navigation satellites does not allow determination of the position of the navigation receiver, wherein the received local messages or the local position information is position data.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the position data of one of the plurality of local transmitters are directly retrieved from the local position information.

19. The method according to claim 17, wherein identifying data of the local transmitter are directly retrieved from the position information, and wherein the position data of one of the plurality of local transmitters are retrieved on the basis of the identifying data from the database in which the position data are stored for each one of the plurality of local transmitters in relation to the identifying data.

20. A navigation receiver adapted to:

receive and process a local PRN code containing a local message from at least one of a plurality of local transmitters,

determine its position using the received local messages or local position information received from a database when no navigation information is received from a group of navigation satellites or when navigation information received from the group of navigation satellites does not allow determination of the position of the navigation receiver, wherein the received local messages or the local position information is position data.