Method and apparatus for an independent positioning system and augmentation of GPS

• US 6,985,743 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2001
• Issued: 01/10/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Crystal Mountain Communications, LLC (Ascend Innovation Management, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Bajikar, Sundeep
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, CongVan
• Application Number:
  US09/811,277
• Publication Number:
  US 20020082024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,761 Days
• Field of Search: 455/41.2, 455/56.2, 455/91, 455/95, 455/404.2, 4554561-4563, 455/456.5, 455/3.02, 455/13.2, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/24, 455/409.2, 455/414.1, 455/414.2, 455/457, 455/73, 455/88, 455/553.1, 455/69, 455/78, 34235701- 16, 375/219
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/254 relating to Doppler shift of satellite signals
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/258 relating to the satellite constellation, e.g. almanac, ephemeris data, lists of satellites in view
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for a positioning system and augmentation of a global positioning system (GPS) are provided. The system includes at least one transmitter and at least one transceiver. The transceiver is able to calculate a position of the transceiver relative to the transmitter using information sent by the transmitter to the transceiver.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a transceiver to receive a first set of codes from multiple separate transmitters via a short-range wireless Bluetooth™

communications standard, the transceiver to generate a second code; and

a correlator on the transceiver to uses the first set of codes and the second code to find a distance between the transceiver and the transmitter, the correlator using the distance to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the transmitter.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transceiver to receive the first set of codes from at least four different transmitters, the transceiver to use the first set of codes to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the four transmitters.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the transceiver further comprises a radio frequency unit with a radio and a baseband processing unit.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the radio frequency unit of the transceiver to receive the first set of codes sent by the transmitters.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the baseband processing unit processes a noise code received from a satellite in a global positioning system (GPS), the transceiver to use the noise code to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the satellite.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 wherein the transceiver includes a short-range wireless communication interface to exchange augmentation data with the GPS.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the augmentation data is selected from the group consisting of differential corrections, wide area augmentation system (WAAS) corrections, satellite ephemeris data, doppler shift estimates, satellite snapshot data, and terrain maps.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the short-range wireless communications standard is IEEE 802.11b.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the first set of codes and the second code are noise codes.

10. A system comprising:

a set of transmitters to transmit a first set of codes corresponding to the transmitters via a short-range wireless Bluetooth™

communications standard;

a transceiver having a radio frequency (RF) unit with a radio to receive the first set of codes, the transceiver to generate a second code;

a baseband processing unit on the transceiver, the baseband processing unit to process a noise code received from a satellite in a global positioning system (GPS); and

a correlator on the transceiver to uses the first set of codes and the second code to find a distance between the transceiver and the transmitter, the correlator to use the distance to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the transmitters, and the correlator to determine a second distance between the transceiver and the satellite in order to determine a second position of the transceiver relative to the satellite.

11. The system of claim 10 wherein the transceiver to receive the first set of codes from at least four different transmitters, the transceiver using the first set of codes to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the four transmitters.

12. The system of claim 10 wherein the transceiver is to receive GPS noise codes from at least four different satellites, the transceiver to use the GPS noise codes to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the four satellites.

13. The system of claim 12 wherein the transceiver includes a short-range wireless communication interface to exchange augmentation data with the GPS.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the augmentation data is selected from the group consisting of differential corrections, wide area augmentation system (WAAS) corrections, satellite ephemeris data, doppler shift estimates, satellite snapshot data, and terrain maps.

15. The system of claim 10 wherein the short-range wireless communications standard is IEEE 802.11 b.

16. The system of claim 10 wherein the first set of codes and the second code are noise codes.

17. A method comprising:

sending a first set of codes from a set of transmitters to a transceiver via a short-range wireless Bluetooth™

communications standard;

generating a second code to correspond to the first set of codes;

comparing the first code with the second code;

calculating a distance between the transmitters and the transceiver; and

determining a position of the transceiver relative to the transmitters using the calculated distance between the transmitter and the transceiver.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of:

receiving first codes from at least four different transmitters; and

determining a position of the transceiver relative to the four transmitters.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising the steps of:

sending noise codes from a satellite in a global positioning system (GPS) to the transceiver; and

processing the noise code to determine a position of the transceiver relative to the satellite.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of processing the noise code is done by a baseband processing unit of the transceiver.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the steps of:

receiving noise codes from at least four satellites; and

determining the position of the transceiver relative to the four satellites.

22. The method of claim 21 further comprising the step of exchanging augmentation data between the GPS and a short-range wireless communications interface on the transceiver.

23. The method of claim 22 wherein the augmentation data is selected from the group consisting of differential corrections, wide area augmentation system (WAAS) corrections, satellite ephemeris data, doppler shift estimates, satellite snapshot data, and terrain maps.

24. The method of claim 17 wherein the short-range wireless communications standard is IEEE 802.11b.

25. The method of claim 17 wherein the first set of codes and the second codes are noise codes.