System and method for fast initialization of navigational satellite signal receivers
First Claim
1. A method of reducing initialization time of a satellite signal receiver, comprising the steps of:
- dividing navigational satellites of a positioning system into a plurality of groups such that each group has a fixed number of said navigational satellites uniformly distributed over entire surface of Earth; and
configuring said receiver such that said receiver searches for navigational satellite signals per group in an assigned order to acquire a first satellite signal;
generating a two-dimensional (2D) matrix based on slot and plane of each of said navigational satellites;
whereineach row of said matrix contains unique identifiers of said navigational satellites;
wherein each row has a target satellite; and
whereineach row is sorted by distance or proximity of each remaining navigational satellite in relation to said target satellite;
acquiring additional navigation satellite signals;
computing receiver position using the acquired first and additional satellite signals; and
displaying the computed receiver position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for a satellite navigation receiver to lock onto satellite signals in the cold start mode with no information on the receiver position, the satellite position, or time estimates stored in the receiver'"'"'s memory. All satellites in a positioning system are divided into groups based on the satellite constellation structure. In an embodiment, the positioning system is the Global Positioning System (GPS) and all GPS satellites are divided into three groups. During initialization of the receiver, the satellites are searched per group to lock onto at least one satellite signal. Other satellites are then searched in a given order based on their respective distance or proximity to the first satellite acquired. This method reduces the Time-to-First-Fix (TTFF) ordinarily required by conventional receivers in the cold start mode.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. A method of reducing initialization time of a satellite signal receiver, comprising the steps of:
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dividing navigational satellites of a positioning system into a plurality of groups such that each group has a fixed number of said navigational satellites uniformly distributed over entire surface of Earth; and configuring said receiver such that said receiver searches for navigational satellite signals per group in an assigned order to acquire a first satellite signal; generating a two-dimensional (2D) matrix based on slot and plane of each of said navigational satellites;
whereineach row of said matrix contains unique identifiers of said navigational satellites;
wherein each row has a target satellite; and
whereineach row is sorted by distance or proximity of each remaining navigational satellite in relation to said target satellite; acquiring additional navigation satellite signals; computing receiver position using the acquired first and additional satellite signals; and displaying the computed receiver position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of initializing a satellite signal receiver, comprising the steps of:
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searching a first group of twelve navigational satellites uniformly distributed over entire surface of Earth; acquiring a first navigational satellite signal from said first group; and
acquiring remaining navigational satellite signals based on a two-dimensional matrix containing identification and statistical information of all navigational satellites of a positioning system, whereineach row of said matrix contains unique identifiers of said navigational satellites; each row has a target satellite; and each row is sorted by distance or proximity of each non-target navigational satellite in relation to said target satellite; computing receiver position using the acquired first and remaining satellite signals; and
displaying the computed receiver position. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16)
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17. A method of initializing a satellite signal receiver, comprising the steps of:
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searching a first group of twelve navigational satellites uniformly distributed over entire surface of Earth; acquiring a first navigational satellite signal from said first group; and
acquiring remaining navigational satellite signals based on a two-dimensional matrix containing identification and statistical information of all navigational satellites of a positioning system, wherein said distance or proximity is determined based on statistics of positions of said navigational satellites during an orbital period;computing receiver position using the acquired first and remaining satellite signals; and displaying the computed receiver position. - View Dependent Claims (18)
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19. A method of initializing a satellite signal receiver, comprising the steps of:
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searching a first group of twelve navigational satellites uniformly distributed over entire surface of Earth; acquiring a first navigational satellite signal from said first group; and
acquiring remaining navigational satellite signals based on a two-dimensional matrix containing identification and statistical information of all navigational satellites of a positioning system;computing receiver position using the acquired first and remaining satellite signals; and
displaying the computed receiver position;wherein if no navigational satellite signal is acquired from said first group, further comprising the step of; searching a second group of twelve navigational satellites uniformly distributed over entire surface of Earth; and acquiring said first navigational satellite signal from said second group.
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Specification