GPS-based positioning system for mobile GPS terminals

• US 7,009,555 B2
• Filed: 08/07/2002
• Issued: 03/07/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: CSR Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Asahi Matsushita Electric Works Ltd. (Panasonic Holdings Corporation), SIRF Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Junichi, Chang, Chiayee Steve, Tsujimoto, Ikuo, Pande, Ashutosh, Gerin, Lionel Jacques
• Primary Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US10/213,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20020190896A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,308 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.06, 342/357.05, 342/357.12, 342/357.1, 701/213, 701/215
• US Class Current: 342/357.43
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/09 providing processing capability normally carried out by the receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/25 involving aiding data received from a cooperating element, e.g. assisted GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236

Abstract

The present invention discloses a GPS system that uses call-processor intelligence to determine the mode of operation of a GPS receiver located in a GPS terminal. The modes are selected based on the availability of network facilities, the GPS information that can be acquired, or user input requirements.

Claims

1. A GPS terminal, comprising:

a GPS section for receiving and processing a GPS signal;

a strategy selector, external to and coupled to the GPS section, that determines a positioning strategy based upon a state of the GPS section; and

a communication system, coupled to the GPS section and the strategy selector, capable of exchanging data with a location aiding server.

2. The GPS terminal of claim 1, wherein the GPS terminal identifies the positioning strategy and transmits data associated with the identified positioning strategy.

3. The GPS terminal of claim 1, wherein the strategy selector comprises a mode determinator for determining a mode of operation of the GPS section based upon the state of the GPS section.

4. The GPS terminal of claim 3, wherein the state of the GPS section is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a signal level of received satellite signals, a number of satellites from which signals are being received, a frequency range used for searching for satellites, a time range used for searching for satellites, a current searching status, and a state in a positioning process sequence.

5. The GPS terminal of claim 3, further comprising a time estimator for computing an estimated positioning time based upon the state of the GPS section, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation of the GPS section based upon computed estimated positioning time.

6. The GPS terminal of claim 3, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation by using at least one parameter selected from the group:

consisting of a communication state that identifies whether the GPS terminal can communicate with a location aiding server, a communications cost, and a user request.

7. The GPS terminal of claim 3, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation by using a communication state, and the communication stae is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting an availability of a communication link to the location aiding server, an effective data transmission rate from the GPS terminal, and a communication delay characteristic associated with transmissions from the GPS terminal.

8. The GPS terminal of claim 3, wherein the GPS terminal further comprises a terminal destination calculator for selecting a destination of a terminal calculated position of the GPS terminal and for sending the terminal calculated position.

9. The GPS terminal of claim 8, wherein the terminal destination of the terminal calculated position of the GPS terminal is stored at the GPS terminal and transmitted by the GPS terminal.

10. The GPS terminal of claim 1, wherein the strategy selector comprises an aiding data determinator for determining a method for acquiring position aiding data based upon the state of the GPS section.

11. The GPS terminal of claim 10, wherein the state of the GPS section is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a signal level of received satellite signals, a number of satellites from which signals are being received, a frequency range used for searching for satellites, a time range used for searching for satellites, a current searching status, and a state in a positioning process sequence.

12. The GPS terminal of claim 10, further comprising a time estimator for computing an estimated positioning time based upon the state of the GPS section, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based upon the computed estimated positioning time.

13. The GPS terminal of claim 10, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based on at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a communication state, a communications cost, and a user request.

14. The GPS terminal of claim 10, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based on a communication state, and the communication state is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of

an availability of a communication link, an effective data transmission rate from the GPS terminal and a communication delay characteristic of transmissions received at the GPS terminal.

15. The GPS terminal of claim 10, wherein the GPS terminal further comprises a terminal destination calculator for selecting a destination for the GPS terminal and for sending a terminal calculated position of the GPS terminal.

16. The GPS terminal of claim 10, wherein the aiding data being sent from the aiding data determinator to the GPS section is dynamically altered based on a change in the state of the GPS section.

17. The GPS terminal of claim 1, wherein the GPS section and the strategy selector pass information between the GPS section and the strategy selector.

18. The GPS terminal of claim 17, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting real time data of the GPS section and a quality of service message.

19. The GPS terminal of claim 18, wherein the information is selected from a quality of service message, and the quality of service message comprises at least one message selected from the group consisting of

a request or estimated positioning accuracy, a request or estimated positioning time, a request or estimated positioning sensitivity, or information for the necessity of aiding data, and a preferred mode of operation.

21. The GPS terminal of claim 3, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation by using at least one user request selected from the group consisting of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning cost, and positioning sensitivity.

22. The GPS terminal of claim 10, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based on at least one user request selected from the group consisting of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning costs, and positioning sensitivity.

23. The GPS terminal of claim 1, comprising a call processing section communicating with the GPS section, wherein the strategy selector is a part of the call processing section.

20. A GPS terminal comprising:

a GPS section for receiving and processing a GPS signal;

a strategy selector, external to and coupled to the GPS section, that determines a positioning strategy based upon a state of the GPS section; and

a communications section, coupled to the GPS section and the strategy selector, for transmitting at least GPS information from the GPS section.

24. The GPS terminal of claim 20, wherein the GPS terminal identifies the positioning strategy and transmits data associated with the identified positioning strategy.

25. The GPS terminal of claim 20, wherein the strategy selector comprises a mode determinator for determining a mode of operation of the GPS section based upon the state of the GPS section.

26. The GPS terminal of claim 25, wherein the state of the GPS section is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a signal level of received satellite signals, a number of satellites from which signals are being received, a frequency range used for searching for satellites, a time range used for searching for satellites, a current searching status, and a state in a positioning process sequence.

27. The GPS terminal of claim 25, further comprising a time estimator for computing an estimated positioning time based upon the state of the GPS section, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation of the GPS section based upon computed estimated positioning time.

28. The GPS terminal of claim 25, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation by using at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a communication state that identifies whether the GPS terminal can communicate with a location aiding server, a communications cost, and a user request.

29. The GPS terminal of claim 25, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation by using at least one user request selected from the group consisting of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning cost, and positioning sensitivity.

30. The GPS terminal of claim 25, wherein the mode determinator determines the mode of operation by using a communication state, and the communication state is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of an availability of a communication link to the location aiding server, an effective data transmission rate from the GPS terminal, and a communication delay characteristic associated with transmissions from GPS terminal.

31. The GPS terminal of claim 25, wherein the GPS terminal further comprises a terminal destination calculator for selecting a destination of a terminal calculated position of the GPS terminal and for sending the terminal calculated position.

32. The GPS terminal of claim 31, wherein the terminal destination of the terminal calculated position of the GPS terminal is stored at the GPS terminal and transmitted by the GPS terminal.

33. The GPS terminal of claim 20, wherein the strategy selector comprises an aiding data determinator for determining a method for acquiring position aiding data based upon the state of the GPS section.

34. The GPS terminal of claim 33, wherein the state of the GPS section is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a signal level of received satellite signals, a number of satellites from which signals are being received, a frequency range used for searching for satellites, a time range used for searching for satellites, a current searching status, and a state in a positioning process sequence.

35. The GPS terminal of claim 33, further comprising a time estimator for computing an estimated positioning time based upon the state of the GPS section, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based upon the computed estimated positioning time.

36. The GPS terminal of claim 33, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based on at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of a communication state, a communications cost, and a user request.

37. The GPS terminal of claim 33, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based on at least one user request selected from the group consisting of positioning accuracy, positioning time, positioning costs, and positioning sensitivity.

38. The GPS terminal of claim 33, wherein the aiding data determinator determines the acquiring method based on a communication state, and the communication state is determined by at least one parameter selected from the group consisting of an availability of a communication link, an effective data transmission rate from the GPS terminal and a communication delay characteristic of transmissions received at the GPS terminal.

39. The GPS terminal of claim 33, wherein the GPS terminal further comprises a terminal destination calculator for selecting a destination for the GPS terminal and for sending a terminal calculated position of the GPS terminal.

40. The GPS terminal of claim 33, wherein the aiding data beng sent from the aiding data determinator to the GPS section is dynamically altered based on a change in the state of the GPS section.

41. The GPS terminal of claim 20, wherein the GPS section and the strategy selector pass information between the GPS section and the strategy selector.

42. The GPS terminal of claim 41, wherein the information is selected from the group consisting of real time data of the GPS section and a quality of service message.

43. The GPS terminal of claim 41, wherein the information is selected from a quality of service message, and the quality of service message comprises at least one message selected from the group consisting of a request or estimated positioning accuracy, a request or estimated positioning time, a request or estimated positioning sensitivity, or information for the necessity of aiding data, and a preferred mode of operation.

44. The GPS terminal of claim 20, comprising a call processing section communicating with the GPS section, wherein the strategy selector is a part of the call processing section.