Navigation system and a method of calculating GPS measuring deviation

• US 5,483,456 A
• Filed: 11/02/1993
• Issued: 01/09/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/1992
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Pioneer Electronics (USA) Incorporated (Pioneer Corporation)
• Inventors: Odagawa, Satoshi, Kuwahara, Shingo
• Primary Examiner(s): Chin, Gary
• Application Number:
  US08/144,535
• Time in Patent Office: 798 Days
• Field of Search: 364/443, 364/444, 364/449, 364/453, 364/454, 364/459, 340/988, 340/990, 340/995, 73/178 R, 342/357, 342/457, 342/451
• US Class Current: 701/215
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/396 Determining accuracy or reliability of position or pseudorange measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/42 Determining position

Abstract

A navigation system includes: GPS receiving device for receiving satellite information including accuracy information supplied from a plurality of GPS satellites and outputting at least the accuracy information, a measuring position as a receiving point calculated from the satellite information, and a declining rate of measuring accuracy calculated on the basis of the position of the GPS satellites; deviation calculating device for calculating a GPS measuring deviation by using the accuracy information and the declining rate of the measuring accuracy; map information storing device for storing map information including digitalized road information; and current position estimating device for estimating a current position by searching the road information within the radius of the GPS measuring deviation around the measured position.

Claims

1. A navigation system comprising:

GPS receiving means for receiving satellite information including accuracy information supplied from a plurality of GPS satellites and outputting at least said accuracy information, a measuring position calculated from the satellite information, and a declining rate of measuring accuracy calculated on the basis of the positions of the GPS satellites;

deviation calculating means for calculating a GPS measuring deviation by using the accuracy information and the declining rate of measuring accuracy;

map information storing means for storing map information including digitized road information; and

current position estimating means for estimating a current position by searching the road information within the radius of the GPS measuring deviation around the measured position.

2. A navigation system as claimed in claim 1, wherein the navigation system further comprises:

deviation storing means for storing the GPS measuring deviation obtained by the deviation calculating means.

3. A navigation system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said stored GPS measuring deviation is renewed, each time said deviation calculating means calculates said GPS measuring deviation.

4. A navigation system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the navigation system further comprises:

measuring dimension detecting means for detecting whether the measuring dimension is two or three dimensional, and wherein if the three dimension measuring is detected, said deviation calculating means calculates the GPS measuring deviation according to the following equation;

##EQU4## wherein PDOP is the declining rate of the measuring accuracy on three dimensional measuring and the values of URAi (i=1 to 4, i;

integer) are each accuracy information of four satellites.

5. A navigation system as claimed in claim 3, wherein the navigation system further comprises:

measuring dimension detecting means for detecting whether the measuring dimension is two or three dimensional, and wherein if the two dimension measuring is detected, said deviation calculating means calculates the GPS measuring deviation according to the following equation;

##EQU5## wherein (i=1 to 4, i;

integer) and wherein HDOP is the declining rate of the measuring accuracy on two dimensional measuring and wherein URA(1), URA(2), URA(3) are each accuracy information of three satellites, URA(4) being equal to a greater of URA(1), URA(2) and URA(3).

6. A method of determining a current position of a self-movable body by map-matching in reliance on GPS satellite accuracy information and a declining rate of measuring accuracy supplied from a plurality of GPS satellites, the method comprising steps of:

detecting whether GPS satellite information is obtained;

obtaining said accuracy information of each captured satellites;

obtaining said declining rate of measuring accuracy;

detecting whether a measuring dimension is two or three;

obtaining URA values from three satellites and obtaining a maximum URA value of the three satellites and using the maximum URA value as a URA of a fourth satellite, if the two measuring dimension is detected;

calculating the GPS measuring deviation from said declining rate of measuring accuracy, said URA values of said three satellites and said maximum URA value; and

storing the calculated GPS measuring deviation;

performing map-matching by searching only road information within a radius around a current measuring position, said radius being equal to said stored GPS measuring deviation, thereby reducing a searching area in said map-matching step when said GPS measuring deviation is low and increasing said searching area when said GPS measuring deviation is high;

determining an updated current measuring position from within said radius.

7. A method according to claim 6, wherein if the three dimension measuring is detected, the GPS measuring deviation is calculated according to the following equation:

##EQU6## wherein PDOP is the declining rate of the measuring accuracy on three dimensional measuring and the values of URAi (i=1 to 4, integer) are each accuracy information of four satellites.

8. A method according to claim 6, wherein if the two dimension measuring is detected, the GPS measuring deviation is calculated according to the following equation:

##EQU7## wherein (i=1 to 4, i;

integer) and wherein HDOP is the declining rate of the measuring accuracy on two dimensional measuring and wherein URA(1), URA(2), URA(3) are each accuracy information of three satellites, URA (4) being a greater of URA(1), URA(2) and URA(3).