Combined PC/104 and satellite positioning system

• US 5,633,799 A
• Filed: 08/12/1994
• Issued: 05/27/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 05/28/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Dussell, William O.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trans, Vincent N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): GARBOWSKI, LEIGH M
• Application Number:
  US08/289,916
• Time in Patent Office: 1,019 Days
• Field of Search: 364/443, 364/449, 364/460, 342/450, 342/451, 342/352, 342/357, 342/358, 340/988, 340/990, 340/991, 340/995, 73/178 R
• US Class Current: 701/215
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/37 Hardware or software details of the signal processing chain

Abstract

Apparatus for determining the present location of, or time of observation by, an observer in the vicinity of the Earth'"'"'s surface. The apparatus provides a Satellite Positioning System (SATPS), such as GPS or GLONASS, in a portable device or card that is built to the I.E.E.E. PC/104 Standard, which is a variation of the I.E.E.E. P996 Standard for personal computer buses. The PC/104/SATPS Card includes an SATPS antenna to receive (and frequency downconvert, if necessary) SATPS signals from one or more SATPS satellites, a microprocessor programmed to receive the SATPS signals from the antenna and to perform calculations to determine the spatial location of the antenna and/or the time of observation by the antenna. The PC/104/SATPS Card has a buffer and a format translator to compensate for SATPS signal latency and for differences in SATPS signal arrival rate and PC/104 signal processing rate and/or to translate signals from SATPS format to whatever format the microprocessor uses. The PC/104/SATPS Card optionally has a keyboard, pen-and-tablet or other information entry means, optionally includes an information transfer module for transferring information from the PC/104/SATPS Card to another electronic apparatus for further signal processing or for display of the location of, or time of observation by, the antenna, and optionally includes a display module for displaying the location of, or time of observation by, the antenna in a visually perceptible manner on the card itself.

Claims

1. Apparatus for determining the present value of at least one Location Coordinate of an observer located in the vicinity of the Earth'"'"'s surface, the apparatus comprising:

a PC/104/SATPS Card, that receives and processes Satellite Positioning System (SATPS) signals from one or more SATPS satellites, where the PC/104/SATPS Card is built according to the following standards;

the PC/104/SATPS Card provides at least one of 8-bit signal processing and 16-bit signal processing, and the Card complies with the I.E.E.E. P996 Standard for a personal computer bus and a card that includes this bus and a personal computer, with the following changes in the I.E.E.E. P996 Standard;

the physical size of the PC/104/SATPS Card is about 9 cm by 9.5 cm by 1.5 cm;

the PC/104/SATPS Card has a first bus connection group having about 64 electrical connection pins and a second bus connection group having about 40 electrical connection pins;

the PC/104/SATPS Card includes at least two signal processing modules that are self-stacking when assembled together, and each module consumes at most about 2 Watts of power; and

four electrical signals generated on the PC/104/SATPS Card each require a maximum of about 20 milliamps of drive current, and all other signals generated on the Card require drive currents of at most about 6 milliamps;

an SATPS antenna positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive SATPS signals from one or more SATPS satellites, with each signal being characteristic of a particular satellite, and to issue these signals as antenna output signals;

a radiofrequency downconverter positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive the antenna output signals, to convert the primary frequency of each of these signals to a selected lower frequency, and to issue these down-converted signals as downconverter output signals;

a programmed digital signal processor and associated memory positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive the downconverter output signals corresponding to each SATPS signal received by the antenna, to determine the present value of at least one Location Coordinate for the antenna, and to issue this Location Coordinate present value as a processor output signal; and

an information transfer module positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive the digital signal processor output signal and to transmit this output signal to an electronic device that is linked to the PC/104/SATPS Card, for further signal processing of the present value of at least one Location Coordinate for the antenna.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising signal format translator means on said PC/104/SATPS Card, connected to said digital signal processor, for receiving said SATPS signals and converting said signals from an SATPS format into a format that can be accepted and processed by said digital signal processor.

3. Apparatus for determining the present value of at least one Location Coordinate of an observer located in the vicinity of the Earth'"'"'s surface, the apparatus comprising:

a PC/104/SATPS Card, that receives and processes Satellite Positioning System (SATPS) signals from one or more SATPS satellites, where the PC/104/SATPS Card is built according to the following standards;

the Card provides at least one of 8-bit signal processing and 16-bit signal processing, and the Card complies with the I.E.E.E. P996 Standard for a personal computer bus and a card that includes this bus and a personal computer, with the following changes in the I.E.E.E. P996 Standard;

the physical size of the PC/104/SATPS Card is about 9 cm by 9.5 cm by 1.5 cm;

the PC/104/SATPS Card has a first bus connection group having about 64 electrical connection pins and a second bus connection group having about 40 electrical connection pins;

the PC/104/SATPS Card includes at least two signal processing modules that are self-stacking when assembled together, and each module consumes at most about 2 Watts of power; and

four electrical signals generated on the PC/104/SATPS Card each require a maximum of about 20 milliamps of drive current, and all other signals generated on the Card require drive currents of at most about 6 milliamps;

an SATPS antenna positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive SATPS signals from one or more SATPS satellites, with each signal being characteristic of a particular satellite, and to issue these signals as antenna output signals;

a radiofrequency downconverter positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive the antenna output signals, to convert the primary frequency of each of these signals to a selected lower frequency, and to issue these down-converted signals as downconverter output signals;

a programmed digital signal processor and associated memory positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive the downconverter output signals corresponding to each SATPS signal received by the antenna, to determine the present value of at least one Location Coordinate of the antenna, and to issues this Location Coordinate present value as a processor output signal; and

an image display module positioned on the PC/104/SATPS Card to receive the digital signal processor output signal and to display the present value of a Location Coordinate of the antenna in a visually perceptible manner.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising signal format translator means, connected to said digital signal processor, for receiving said SATPS signals and converting said signals from an SATPS format into a format that can be accepted and processed by said digital signal processor.