Satellite radio signal tracking method for GPS receivers

• US 5,155,491 A
• Filed: 07/20/1990
• Issued: 10/13/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/1989
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Ando, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Sotomayor, John B.
• Application Number:
  US07/554,994
• Time in Patent Office: 816 Days
• Field of Search: 342/352, 342/357, 342/457, 364/449, 364/450, 364/451, 364/453, 364/456, 364/459, 455/12, 455/13
• US Class Current: 342/357.67
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/28 Satellite selection

Abstract

The satellite signal tracking method performed during the initial phase of satellite tracking operation, wherein three or more GPS satellites in a first orbit are selected for searching in sequence through one receiving channel of a GPS receiver and performing the positioning on the earth upon receipt of navigation data from the captured GPS satellite, whereby, if a first GPS satellite is failed to be caught within a specified period of time, a second GPS satellite among the selected GPS satellites in the same orbit, which is at the furthermost point from the first GPS satellite, is picked out for searching and, further, if any of the selected GPS satellites in the same orbit is failed to be caught, three or more GPS satellites in another orbit are selected for reiterating the same operation as for the first orbit, and these changes of mode provides a quick restart of the position reckoning even when the GPS receiver has lost all the navigation data in a backup memory required therefor and an expeditious operation in catching satellite signals for initializing the GPS receiver.

Claims

1. A satellite signal tracking method for a GPS receiver including the steps of:

selecting three or more GPS satellites in a first orbit, all of said selected satellites being located in the same orbital plane, as targets upon initiation of an initial satellite tracking operation where the GPS receiver receives initialization data such as GPS clock data and almanac data; and

searching for initialization data transmitted from the selected GPS satellites by checking each selected satellite in sequence during the initial satellite tracking operation.

2. A satellite signal tracking method for a GPS receiver as claimed in claim 1, further including a step of picking out a second GPS satellite among the selected GPS satellites in the first orbit, as the next one to search, which is at the furthermost point in the same orbit from the first GPS satellite being searched when failed in catching the first GPS satellite.

3. A satellite signal tracking method for a GPS receiver as claimed in claim 1, further including a step of selecting three or more GPS satellites in a second orbit as targets and reiterating the searching for satellite signals when failed in catching any of the GPS satellites in the first orbit.

4. A satellite signal tracking method for a GPS receiver as claimed in claim 3, further including a step of assigning the three or more GPS satellites in the first orbit to a first receiving channel of a GPS receiver and that the three or more GPS satellites in the second orbit to a second receiving channel of the GPS receiver for searching satellite signals in a parallel operation.

6. A satellite signal tracking method for a GPS receiver as claimed in claim 2, further including a step of selecting three or more GPS satellites in a second orbit as targets and reiterating the searching for satellite signals when failed in catching any of the GPS satellites in the first orbit.

5. A satellite signal tracking operation for a GPS receiver as claimed in 1, 2, 3 or 4, further including the steps of:

synchronizing a clock of the GPS receiver with a GPS clock of a captured GPS satellite;

collecting almanac information from the captured GPS satellite;

making a rough estimate of a position of the GPS receiver based on the collected almanac information; and

recalculating orbital positions of GPS satellites which are trackable from the estimated position of the GPS receiver for accomplishing the initialization.