GPS receiver tracking system

• US 6,934,630 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2001
• Issued: 08/23/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Johns Hopkins University
• Original Assignee: Johns Hopkins University
• Inventors: Linstrom, Lloyd A., Duven, Dennis J.
• Primary Examiner(s): ARTHUR JEANGLAUDE, GERTRUDE
• Application Number:
  US10/415,541
• Publication Number:
  US 20040010369A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,350 Days
• Field of Search: 701/205, 701/207, 701213-215, 701/300, 342/357.02, 342/357.06, 342/357.07, 342/357.08, 342/357.15, 340/426.19
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/09 providing processing capability normally carried out by the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/18 Military applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/30 code related G01S19/246 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station

Abstract

A receiving station tracking system for receiving GPS data and tracking a mobile vehicle. The receiving station tracking system includes at least one processing stage receiving and processing at least a portion of the GPS data, and a control module receiving and filtering the processed GPS data and outputting at least one control signal in accordance with filtering results. The at least one control signal controls decreasing or increasing a quantity of processing stages of the at least one processing stage.

Claims

1. A receiving station tracking system for receiving GPS data and tracking a mobile vehicle, the receiving station tracking system comprising:

a plurality of processing stages receiving and processing at least a portion of the GPS data; and

a control module receiving and filtering the processed GPS data and outputting at least one control signal in accordance with filtering results, wherein the at least one control signal controls decreasing or increasing a quantity of the plurality of processing stages.

2. The receiving station tracking system of claim 1, wherein the received GPS data includes receiving station GPS data received by the receiving station tracking system and vehicle GPS data received by the vehicle, where the receiving station GPS data and the vehicle GPS data are received approximately simultaneously by the receiving station tracking system and the vehicle, respectively.

3. The receiving station tracking system of claim 1, wherein the receiving station tracking system processes the received GPS data and records the processed GPS data as time ordered receiving station GPS data and vehicle GPS data samples.

4. The receiving station tracking system of claim 3, wherein the at least one control signal controls sequencing to a subsequent vehicle GPS data sample of the GPS data samples.

5. The receiving station tracking system of claim 1, wherein a respective processing stage of the plurality of processing stages includes processing means for performing matched filter processing, fast Fourier Transform processing, and square and sum processing on the vehicle GPS data;

and

wherein an output of the processing means of the respective processing stage is provided to the control module.

6. The receiving station tracking system of claim 1, wherein the receiving station tracking system is implemented in software having a plurality of programmable instructions configured for execution by the plurality of processing stages.

7. The receiving station tracking system of claim 2, wherein a receiver associated with the vehicle is included in a translator mounted on the vehicle, and the translator transmits signals including the vehicle GPS data to the receiving station tracking system.

8. The receiving station tracking system of claim 2, wherein the receiving station tracking system further comprises:

a PN code generator module providing to the plurality of processing stages a PN code based on a navigation message of the receiving station GPS data; and

wherein the at least one control signal further controls the PN code generator module for controlling at least the phase and rate of the PN code.

9. The receiving station tracking system of claim 8, wherein each of the processing stages of the plurality of processing stages processes the PN code delayed by a respective delay.

10. The receiving station tracking system of claim 2, further comprising a local carrier generator module for generating and providing to the plurality of processing stages at least one periodic signal;

and

wherein at least one periodic signal associated with the vehicle GPS data is provided to the plurality of processing stages.

11. The receiving station tracking system of claim 10, wherein the at least one control signal controls the local carrier generator module for controlling at least the rate of the at least one periodic signal.

12. The receiving station tracking system of claim 2, wherein the GPS data includes data extracted from the receiving station GPS data.

13. The receiving station tracking system of claim 12, wherein the extracted data includes at least navigation message data and pseudorange data.

14. The receiving station tracking system of claim 12, wherein the receiving station tracking system further includes a coordination module for providing timing and polarity data for coordinating the extracted data with the vehicle GPS data.

15. The receiving station tracking system of claim 14, wherein the receiving station tracking system further includes a peak interpolation module receiving the timing data from the coordination module, wherein the peak interpolation module performs a peak interpolation algorithm on the filtered data, processes the results of the peak interpolation algorithm with the timing data, and outputs tracking data associated with the vehicle GPS data.

16. A receiving station tracking system for receiving GPS data and tracking a vehicle, the receiving station comprising:

at least one processing stage receiving and processing at least a portion of the GPS data;

a PN code generator module providing to the at least one processing stage a reference PN code; and

a control module receiving and filtering the processed GPS data and outputting at least one control signal in accordance with filtering results, wherein the at least one control signal controls the phase and rate of the reference PN code.

17. The receiving station tracking system of claim 16, wherein the received GPS data includes receiving station GPS data received by the receiving station and vehicle GPS data received by the vehicle, wherein the receiving station GPS data and the vehicle GPS data are received approximately simultaneously by the receiving station tracking system and vehicle, respectively;

and wherein the reference PN code is derived from the receiving station GPS data.

18. The receiving station tracking system of claim 16, wherein each of the processing stages of the at least one processing stage processes the reference PN code delayed by a different delay.

19. The receiving station tracking system of claim 16, wherein the at least one control signal controls decreasing or increasing a quantity of processing stages of the at least one processing stage.

20. The receiving station tracking system of claim 17, wherein the receiving station tracking system processes the received GPS data and records the processed GPS data as time ordered receiving station GPS data and vehicle GPS data samples.

21. The receiving station tracking system of claim 17, wherein a PN code associated with the receiving station GPS data is based on a navigation message of the receiving station GPS data.

22. A method for tracking a vehicle by a receiving station receiving GPS data comprising the steps of:

processing at least a portion of the received GPS data by a series of processing stages;

filtering the processed GPS data to obtain filtered GPS data;

controlling subsequent processing of the processed GPS data based on the filtered GPS data, wherein controlling includes controlling an amount of processing stages of the series of processing stages to be subsequently used for processing the received GPS data.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the GPS data includes vehicle GPS data received by the vehicle and provided to the receiving station and receiving station GPS data received by the receiving station, wherein the vehicle and receiving station GPS data are received approximately simultaneously;

wherein the step of continually processing further includes the step of processing the vehicle GPS data in conjunction with a PN code of the receiving station GPS data; and

wherein the step of controlling further comprises the step of controlling at least the phase and rate of the PN code.