GPS receiver

• US 6,483,456 B2
• Filed: 05/15/2001
• Issued: 11/19/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Uniloc 2017 LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Huisken, Josephus Antonius
• Primary Examiner(s): Blum, Theodore M.
• Application Number:
  US09/855,581
• Publication Number:
  US 20020003494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.06, 701/213
• US Class Current: 342/357.62
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/36 relating to the receiver frond end
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 2201/20 digital audio broadcasting [DAB]
• CPC Class Codes: H04H 40/18 Arrangements characterised by circuits or components specially adapted for receiving

Abstract

Global Position System (GPS) receiver for receiving and processing GPS signals includes cicuitry for receiving and processing Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) signals. To realize simultaneous processing of both DAB and GPS signals, the receiver is provided with a receiver front-end, a mixer stage, filter, and analog-to-digital converter coupled to digital DAB and GPS signal paths. The receiver further includes a DAB signal eliminating device for selectively eliminating DAB signals from the digital GPS signal path.

Claims

1. A receiver for receiving and processing positioning signals comprising means for receiving and processing audio signals, wherein said receiver further comprises:

a series arrangement of a receiver front-end, a mixer stage, filtering means, and analog-to-digital converter means;

a digital audio signal path and a digital positioning signal path;

means for coupling an output from said series arrangement to said digital audio and digital positioning signal paths; and

audio signal eliminating means for selectively eliminating audio signals from said digital positioning signal path, wherein the receiver is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and wherein the audio signals are Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) signals,

characterized in that said receiver further comprises a voltage-controlled oscillator for supplying a tuneable local oscillator signal to the mixer stage, said audio signal eliminating means comprising control means coupled to a DAB demodulator included in said digital audio signal path and providing a control signal to the voltage-controlled oscillator as well as to a switching device, said switching device being coupled between the analog-to-digital converter means and said digital audio and digital positioning signal paths, said control means tuning the receiver to receive GPS signals and, simultaneously, controlling the switching device to disconnect the filtering means from the GPS signal path and to connect the filtering means to the DAB signal path at the occurrence of non-zero level DAB data segments.

4. The receiver as claimed in any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that said receiver further comprises various GPS correlators included in the GPS signal path, each of said GPS correlators comprising an integrate-and-dump circuit for DAB signal content controlled time multiplexed correlation of the GPS signals.

2. A receiver for receiving and processing positioning signals comprising means for receiving and processing audio signals, wherein said receiver further comprises:

a series arrangement of a receiver front-end, a mixer stage, filtering means, and analog-to-digital converter means;

a digital audio signal path and a digital positioning signal path;

means for coupling an output from said series arrangement to said digital audio and digital positioning signal paths; and

audio signal eliminating means for selectively eliminating audio signals from said digital positioning signal path, wherein the receiver is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and wherein the audio signals are Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) signals,

characterized in that the receiver front-end comprises mutually separated DAB and GPS receiver front-ends, respectively coupled to a DAB mixer stage and a GPS mixer stage, outputs of these DAB and GPS mixer stages being coupled through, respectively, a DAB filtering device and a GPS filtering device, outputs from said filtering devices being coupled to an adder, and an output from the adder being coupled to said digital audio and digital positioning signal paths, said DAB and GPS mixer stages providing a frequency conversion of the DAB and GPS signals into mutually different frequency ranges.

3. The receiver as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that said receiver further comprises DAB channel selection means for selecting a DAB channel having a frequency range located beyond the frequency range of the GPS signals, said DAB channel selection means being controlled by a DAB channel selection control device.

5. A receiver for receiving and processing positioning signals comprising means for receiving and processing audio signals, wherein said receiver further comprises:

a series arrangement of a receiver front-end, a mixer stage, filtering means, and analog-to-digital converter means;

a digital audio signal path and a digital positioning signal path;

means for coupling an output from said series arrangement to said digital audio and digital positioning signal paths; and

audio signal eliminating means for selectively eliminating audio signals from said digital positioning signal path, wherein the receiver is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, and wherein the audio signals are Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) signals,

characterized in that said receiver further comprises various GPS correlators included in the GPS signal path, each of said GPS correlators comprising an integrate-and-dump circuit for DAB signal content controlled time multiplexed correlation of the GPS signals.

6. A receiver for receiving and processing positioning signals comprising means for receiving and processing audio signals, wherein said receiver further comprises:

a series arrangement of a receiver front-end, a mixer stage, filtering means, and analog-to-digital converter means;

a digital audio signal path and a digital positioning signal path;

means for coupling an output from said series arrangement to said digital audio and digital positioning signal paths; and

audio signal eliminating means for selectively eliminating audio signals from said digital positioning signal path, wherein the receiver is a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, wherein the audio signals are Digital Audio Broadcast (DAB) signals, and wherein said receiver further comprises signal replica means for generating received DAB signals from a decoded DAB signal, said digital audio signal eliminating means comprising compensation means for subtracting the regenerated DAB signal from the GPS signals in the GPS signal path,

characterized in that said receiver further comprises various GPS correlators included in the GPS signal path, each of said GPS correlators comprising an integrate-and-dump circuit for DAB signal content controlled time multiplexed correlation of the GPS signals.