USING MULTIPLE SOURCES OF LOCATION-AID DATA TO DETERMINE POSITION INFORMATION

• US 20140278077A1
• Filed: 03/12/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/12/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Tirosh Levin, Tomer Daniel
• Inventors: LEVIN, Tirosh, DANIEL, Tomer
• Granted Patent: US 9,110,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/469
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/005 with correlation of navigation data from several sources, e.g. map or contour matching G01C21/30 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/00 Beacons or beacon systems transmitting signals having a characteristic or characteristics capable of being detected by non-directional receivers and defining directions, positions, or position lines fixed relatively to the beacon transmitters; Receivers co-operating therewith position fixing by co-ordinating a plurality of determinations of direction or position lines G01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• 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 19/11 wherein the cooperating elements are pseudolites or satellite radio beacon positioning system signal repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/12 wherein the cooperating elements are telecommunication base stations
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/45 by combining measurements of signals from the satellite radio beacon positioning system with a supplementary measurement
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/009 Transmission of differential positioning data to mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/18513 Transmission in a satellite or space-based system
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/025 using location based information parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/029 Location-based management or tracking services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/003 locating network equipment

Abstract

A wireless location/position computation system, device, and method are directed to multiple aid-data sources each providing location-related aid information, a wireless device configured to communicate with the aid-data sources, and a location computation module either integrated with or external to the wireless device. The wireless device may include a transceiver to communicate wireless, data and other signals. The wireless device may receive a position request to compute a position of the wireless device, and in response, initiate a compute-position session. In the compute-position session, the wireless device sends aid requests to and retrieves the location-related aid information from the aid-data sources and processes the location-related aid information from the aid-data sources to generate integrated location information. The location computation module may compute the position of the wireless device based on the integrated location information and satellite location information received from a satellite.

Claims

1. A wireless device, comprising:

a transceiver configured to transmit and receive wireless signals; and

a location core module comprising a processor configured to;

receive a position request to compute a position of the wireless device, and

responsive to the position request, initiate a compute-position session in which the processor is further configured to;

send aid requests to a plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

retrieve the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

process the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources to generate integrated location information, and

either compute the position of the wireless device based on the integrated location information and satellite location information received from a satellite, or provide the integrated location information and/or the satellite location information to a location computation module external to the wireless device to compute the position of the wireless device.

2. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the location core module further comprises a location framework module, a location engine module and a location baseband module, wherein, using the processor:

the location framework module is configured to receive the position request, and communicate with the plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve the location-related aid information;

the location engine module is configured to;

send a request to the location framework module to communicate with the plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve the location-related aid information,

receive the location-related aid information from the location framework module,

generate and provide configuration information to the location baseband module, and

process the integrated location information and the satellite location information; and

the location baseband module is configured to track and acquire a satellite based on the configuration information, receive the satellite location information and provide the satellite location information to the location engine module.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of aid-data sources comprises network location servers associated with a plurality of cellular networks, wherein each network location server stores the location-related aid information generated or processed within a corresponding cellular network, one or more Internet-based location service provider servers, or a combination thereof.

4. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the location-related aid information comprises reference location information, reference time information, orbital information of a satellite, reference and status information of a set of satellites, or a combination thereof.

5. The wireless device of claim 4, wherein, to process the location-related aid information, the processor is further configured to:

perform a mathematical operation on the reference location information or the reference time information from at least two of the plurality of aid-data sources,

append the orbital information of a satellite from one of the plurality of aid-data sources with the orbital information of a satellite from another of the plurality of aid-data sources,

select the location-related aid information received first at the location core module from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

select the location-related aid information received last at the location core module from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

convert the orbital information of a satellite or the reference and status information of a set of satellites from a first format to a second format, or vice-versa, wherein the first format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the processor of the location core, and the second format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the location computation module external to the wireless device, or

a combination thereof.

6. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the location core receives the position request from an application executing on the wireless device, or from a device separate from the wireless device.

7. The wireless device of claim 2, wherein, as part of and without terminating the compute-position session, the location engine module is further configured to:

generate and provide first configuration information to the location baseband module based on the location-related aid information received from a first of the plurality of aid-data sources;

combine the location-related aid information received from the first of the plurality of aid-data sources with the location-related aid information received from a second of the plurality of aid-data sources; and

generate and provide second configuration information to the location baseband module based on the combined location-related aid information.

8. The wireless device of claim 7, wherein, as part of and without terminating the compute-position session, the location baseband module is further configured to:

track and acquire a satellite, and initiate generation of a location report based on the first configuration information; and

responsive to the second configuration information, update tracking and acquiring of a satellite, and update the location report.

9. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein:

at a first time instance, the wireless device is operationally connected to a first wireless network, and as part of the compute-position session, the processor is configured to retrieve the location-related aid information from a first of the plurality of aid-data sources associated with the first wireless network; and

at a second time instance, the wireless device is disconnected from the first wireless network and operationally connected to a second wireless network, and as part of and without terminating the compute-position session, the processor is further configured to retrieve the location-related aid information from a second of the plurality of aid-data sources associated with the second wireless network.

10. A method to compute a position of a wireless device, the method comprising:

receiving, at a processor associated with the wireless device, a position request to compute a position of the wireless device; and

responsive to the position request, initiating, using the processor, a compute-position session, the compute-position session comprising;

sending, using the processor, aid requests to a plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

receiving, at the processor, the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

processing, using the processor, the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources to generate integrated location information, and

either computing, using the processor, the position of the wireless device based on the integrated location information and satellite location information received from a satellite, or provide the integrated location information and/or the satellite location information from the wireless device to a location computation module external to the wireless device to compute the position of the wireless device.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of aid-data sources comprises network location servers associated with a plurality of cellular networks, wherein each network location server stores the location-related aid information generated or processed within a corresponding cellular network, one or more Internet-based location service provider servers, or a combination thereof.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the location-related aid information comprises reference location information, reference time information, orbital information of a satellite, reference and status information of a set of satellites, or a combination thereof.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, said processing the location-related aid information comprises:

performing a mathematical operation on the reference location information or the reference time information from at least two of the plurality of aid-data sources,

appending the orbital information of a satellite from one of the plurality of aid-data sources with the orbital information of a satellite from another of the plurality of aid-data sources,

selecting the location-related aid information received first at the location core module from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

selecting the location-related aid information received last at the location core module from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

converting the orbital information of a satellite or the reference and status information of a set of satellites from a first format to a second format, or vice-versa, wherein the first format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the processor of the location core, and the second format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the location computation module external to the wireless device, or

a combination thereof.

14. A system to compute a position of a wireless device, the system comprising:

a plurality of aid-data sources each storing location-related aid information;

a wireless device configured to communicate with the plurality of aid-data sources, a data network including the Internet, and a satellite, the wireless device comprising a transceiver configured to transmit and receive communication signals, and, in response to a position request to compute a position of the wireless device, the wireless device is configured to;

initiate a compute-position session in which the wireless device;

sends aid requests to the plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

retrieves the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources, and

processes the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources to generate integrated location information; and

a location computation module either integrated within the wireless device, or external to and operationally connected with the wireless device, wherein the location computation module is configured to compute the position of the wireless device based on the integrated location information and satellite location information received from a satellite.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of aid-data sources comprises network location servers associated with a plurality of cellular networks, wherein each network location server stores the location-related aid information generated or processed within a corresponding cellular network, one or more Internet-based location service provider servers, or a combination thereof.

16. The system of claim 14, wherein the location-related aid information comprises reference location information, reference time information, orbital information of a satellite, reference and status information of a set of satellites, or a combination thereof.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein, to process the location-related aid information, the wireless device is further configured to:

perform a mathematical operation on the reference location information or the reference time information from at least two of the plurality of aid-data sources,

append the orbital information of a satellite from one of the plurality of aid-data sources with the orbital information of a satellite from one or more of the plurality of aid-data sources,

select the location-related aid information received first at the wireless device from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

select the location-related aid information received last at the wireless device from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

convert the orbital information of a satellite or the reference and status information of a set of satellites from a first format to a second format, or vice-versa, wherein the first format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the location computation module integrated within the wireless device, and the second format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the location computation module external to the wireless device, or

a combination thereof.

18. The system of claim 14, wherein the wireless device receives the position request from an application executing on the wireless device, or from a device separate from the wireless device.

19. The system of claim 14, wherein the wireless device further comprises a location framework module, a location engine module and a location baseband module, wherein:

the location framework module is configured to receive the position request, and communicate with the plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve the location-related aid information;

the location engine module is configured to;

send a request to the location framework module to communicate with the plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve the location-related aid information,

receive the location-related aid information from the location framework module,

generate and provide configuration information to the location baseband module, and

process the integrated location information and the satellite location information; and

the location baseband module is configured to track and acquire a satellite based on the configuration information, receive the satellite location information and provide the satellite location information to the location engine module.

20. The system of claim 14, further comprising a first wireless network comprising a first of the plurality of aid-data sources, and a second wireless network comprising a second of the plurality of aid-data sources, wherein:

at a first time instance, the wireless device is operationally connected to the first wireless network, and as part of the compute-position session, the wireless devices retrieves the location-related aid information from the first of the plurality of aid-data sources;

at a second time instance, the wireless device is disconnected from the first wireless network and operationally connected to the second wireless network, and as part of and without terminating the compute-position session, the wireless device retrieves the location-related aid information from the second of the plurality of aid-data sources, and combines the location-related aid information from the second of the plurality of aid-data sources with the location-related aid information received from the first of the plurality of aid-data sources.

21. A computer-readable medium comprising computer-readable instruction physically embodied thereon which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform a method to compute a position of a wireless device, the method comprising:

receiving a position request to compute a position of the wireless device; and

responsive to the position request, initiating a compute-position session, the compute-position session comprising;

sending aid requests to a plurality of aid-data sources to retrieve location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

receiving the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources,

processing the location-related aid information from the plurality of aid-data sources to generate integrated location information, and

either computing the position of the wireless device based on the integrated location information and satellite location information received from a satellite, or provide the integrated location information and/or the satellite location information to a location computation module external to the wireless device to compute the position of the wireless device.

22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the plurality of aid-data sources comprises network location servers associated with a plurality of cellular networks, wherein each network location server stores the location-related aid information generated or processed within a corresponding cellular network, one or more Internet-based location service provider servers, or a combination thereof.

23. The computer-readable medium of claim 21, wherein the location-related aid information comprises reference location information, reference time information, orbital information of a satellite, reference and status information of a set of satellites, or a combination thereof.

24. The computer-readable medium of claim 23, wherein said processing the location-related aid information comprises:

performing a mathematical operation on the reference location information or the reference time information from at least two of the plurality of aid-data sources,

appending the orbital information of a satellite from one of the plurality of aid-data sources with the orbital information of a satellite from another of the plurality of aid-data sources,

selecting the location-related aid information received first at the location core module from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

selecting the location-related aid information received last at the location core module from one of the plurality of aid-data sources as the integrated location information,

converting the orbital information of a satellite or the reference and status information of a set of satellites from a first format to a second format, or vice-versa, wherein the first format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the processor of the location core, and the second format corresponds to computation of the position of the wireless device by the location computation module external to the wireless device, or

a combination thereof.