Position determination for a wireless terminal in a hybrid position determination system

• US 7,623,871 B2
• Filed: 04/24/2002
• Issued: 11/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sheynblat, Leonid
• Primary Examiner(s): Eng; George
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller; Brandon J
• Application Number:
  US10/132,501
• Publication Number:
  US 20040203853A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,771 Days
• Field of Search: 455/456.1, 455/456.2, 455/456.3, 455457-458, 455/427, 455/412.1, 455/456.5, 455/456.6, 455/12.1, 455/13.2, 455/404.2, 342/357.03, 342/357.01, 342/357.02, 342/118, 342/358, 342/357.08, 701/213, 701/214, 701/215
• US Class Current: 455/456.1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/026 of associated receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/25 involving aiding data received from a cooperating element, e.g. assisted GPS
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/40 Correcting position, velocity or attitude
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• 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

Techniques to determine a position estimate for a wireless terminal. An accurate position estimate for the initially obtained (e.g., based on a first (accurate) position determination sub-system). For each of one or more transmitters (e.g., base stations) in a second (less accurate) position determination sub-system, an “expected” pseudo-range is computed based on the accurate position estimate for the terminal and the base station location, a “measured” pseudo-range is also obtained, and a pseudo-range residual is then determined based on the expected pseudo-range and the measured pseudo-range. Therefore, to determine an updated position estimate for the terminal, measured pseudo-ranges are obtained for a sufficient number of transmitters. The measured pseudo-range for each base station may be corrected based on the associated residual. The updated position estimate is then determined based on the corrected pseudo-ranges for these transmitters.

Claims

1. A method for determining a position estimate for a wireless terminal, comprising:

obtaining a pseudo-range measurement for at least one transmitter which is included in a first position determination sub-system having synchronous transmitters;

obtaining a pseudo-range measurement for at least one transmitter which is included in a second position determination sub-system;

accessing a residual associated with each of the at least one transmitter included in the first sub-system, wherein the residual is based on a difference between a previous position estimate obtained at a first time using the first position determination sub-system and previous position estimate obtained at the first time using the second position determination sub-system;

correcting the pseudo-range measurement for each of the at least one transmitter included in the first position determination sub-system based on the associated residual for the transmitter; and

determining a position estimate for the terminal based on a plurality of measurements associated with a plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one corrected pseudo-range measurement for the at least one transmitter included in the first position determination sub-system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving the residual associated with each of the at least one transmitter included in the first position determination sub-system.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on the second position determination sub-system at the first time; and

determining the residual associated with each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system based in part on the accurate position estimate for the terminal.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the accurate position estimate for the terminal is obtained by processing a plurality of measurements obtained for a plurality of transmitters in the second position determination sub-system.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one measurement obtained for at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one corrected measurement for at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system and no measurements for transmitters in the second position determination sub-system.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the second position determination sub-system is a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) and each transmitter in the second position determination sub-system corresponds to a SPS satellite.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first position determination sub-system is a cellular communication system and each transmitter in the first position determination sub-system corresponds to a base station.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the each of the plurality of measurements associated with the plurality of transmitters relates to a pseudo-range between the terminal and the transmitter.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the residual associated with each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system is indicative of an error in a measured pseudo-range derived based on a signal received from the transmitter.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the measured pseudo-range for each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system is obtained based on a pilot phase measurement for the signal received from the transmitter.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the measured pseudo-range for each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system is obtained based on a signal strength measurement for the signal received from the transmitter.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the measured pseudo-range for each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system is obtained based on a timing measurement for the signal received from the transmitter.

14. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at the first time, obtaining an accurate position estimate for the terminal;

at the first time, obtaining an actual measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system; and

computing an expected measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system based on the accurate position estimate for the terminal and a location for the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system, and

wherein the residual associated with each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system is determined from the actual measurement and the expected measurement for the transmitter.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the residual associated with each of the at least one transmitter in the first position determination sub-system is determined based on a collection of measurements obtained by a plurality of terminals in close proximity in spatial and temporal domains.

16. The method of claim 5, farther comprising:

periodically determining an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on the second position determination sub-system.

17. The method of claim 5, farther comprising:

determining an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on the second position determination sub-system on per need basis.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining error statistics for the residual associated with each transmitter in the first position determination sub-system.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

updating the error statistics associated with the residual associated with each transmitter in the first position determination sub-system.

20. A method for determining a position estimate for a wireless terminal, comprising:

determining a pseudo-range residual associated with each of one or more base stations included in a synchronous cellular communication system, wherein determining the pseudo-range residual associated with each of one or more base stations comprises;

determining an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on measured pseudo-ranges to a plurality of satellites in a Global Positioning System (GPS);

computing an expected pseudo-range to each of the one or more base stations, the expected pseudo-range based on the accurate position estimate for the terminal and a location for each of the one or more base stations;

obtaining a measured pseudo-range to each of the one or more base stations; and

determining the pseudo-range residual associated with each of the one or more base stations based on the expected pseudo-range and the measured pseudo-range for the associated base station; and

determining the position estimate for the wireless terminal, wherein determining the position estimate for the wireless terminal comprises;

obtaining a measured pseudo-range for each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of transmitters includes at least one base station of the one or more base stations;

accessing the pseudo-range residual associated with each of the at least one base station included in the plurality of transmitters and correcting the measured pseudo-range using the associated pseudo-range residual; and

determining the position estimate for the wireless terminal based on a plurality of pseudo-ranges for the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of pseudo-ranges include at least one corrected pseudo-range for the at least one base station included in the plurality of transmitters.

21. A method for determining a position estimate for a wireless terminal based on first and second position determination sub-systems, the method comprising:

determining the position estimate for the terminal based on the first position determination sub-system if the first position determination sub-system is available, the first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

accessing a residual associated with at least one transmitter included in the second position determination system, the second position determination system having synchronized transmitters;

determining the position estimate for the terminal based on the first and second position determination sub-systems if the first position determination sub-system is partially available, wherein a measurement for each transmitter included in the second position determination sub-system used to determine the position estimate is corrected based on a residual associated with the transmitter; and

determining the position estimate for the terminal based solely on the second position determination sub-system if the first position determination sub-system is unavailable, wherein the measurement for each transmitter included in the second position determination sub-system used to determine the position estimate is corrected based on the residual associated with the transmitter;

wherein the residual associated with each transmitter included in the second position determination sub-system is determined based on a difference between a previous position estimate obtained at a first time using the first position determination sub-system and previous position estimate obtained at the first time using the second position determination sub-system.

22. The method of claim 21, wherein

determining the position estimate for the terminal based solely on the second position determination sub-system if the first position determination sub-system is available comprises selecting one or more transmitter measurements in the second position determination sub-system to be used to determine the position estimate for the terminal.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the one or more transmitter measurements in the second position determination sub-system are selected based on one or more selection criteria.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more selection criteria include availability of accurate base station almanac information.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more selection criteria include presence of repeaters.

26. The method of claim 23, wherein the one or more selection criteria include statistical measures.

27. The method of claim 21, further comprising:

determining an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on the first position determination sub-system, wherein the residual for each of one or more transmitters in the second position determination sub-system is determined based in part on the accurate position estimate for the terminal.

28. The method of claim 21, wherein the first position determination sub-system is a Satellite Positioning System (SPS).

29. The method of claim 21, wherein the second position determination sub-system is a cellular communication system.

30. The method of claim 21, wherein the measurement for each transmitter relates to a pseudo-range between the terminal and the transmitter.

31. The method of claim 21, wherein the position estimate for the terminal is determined based on one or more measurements for the second position determination sub-system only if residuals for transmitters in the second position determination sub-system are deemed to be valid.

32. A memory communicatively coupled to a digital signal processing device (DSPD) capable of interpreting digital information to:

obtain an accurate position estimate for a wireless terminal based on a first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

determine a residual associated with each of one or more synchronous transmitters included in a second position determination sub-system based on a difference between the accurate position estimate and a position estimate obtained based on the second position determination sub-system;

obtain a measurement for each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of transmitters include at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system;

correct the measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system based on the residual associated with the transmitter; and

determine an updated position estimate for the terminal based on a plurality of measurements associated with the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of measurements includes at least one corrected measurement for the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system.

33. A computer program product comprising coded instructions stored in memory and configured to be executed by a processor to determine a position estimate for a wireless terminal, the instructions comprising:

code to obtain an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on a first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

code to determine a residual for associated with each of one or more transmitters included in a second position determination sub-system based on a difference between the accurate position estimate and a position estimate obtained based on the second position determination sub-system;

code to obtain a measurement for each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of transmitters includes at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system;

code to correct the measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system based on the residual associated with the transmitter; and

code to determine an updated position estimate for the terminal based on a plurality of measurements for the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one corrected measurement for the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system.

35. The digital signal processor of claim 33, further comprising:

means for determining an actual measurement for each of the one or more transmitters in the second position determination sub-system; and

means for computing an expected measurement for each of the one or more transmitters in the second position determination sub-system based on the accurate position estimate for the terminal and a location for the transmitter, and wherein the residual for each of the one or more transmitters in the second position determination sub-system is determined from the actual measurement and the expected measurement for the transmitter.

37. The receiver unit of claim 35, wherein the first receiver is operative to process signals from GPS satellites.

38. The receiver unit of claim 35, wherein the second receiver is operative to process signals from base stations in a cellular communication system.

39. The receiver unit of claim 37, wherein the second receiver implements a rake receiver that comprises a plurality of finger processors, wherein each finger processor is assignable to process a particular multipath component, and wherein a residual is determined for each finger processor assigned to process a multipath component.

40. The receiver unit of claim 35, wherein the actual measurement for each transmitter relates to a pseudo-range between the terminal and the transmitter.

34. A digital signal processor comprising:

means for obtaining an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on a first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

means for determining a residual associated with each of one or more transmitters included in a second position determination sub-system based on a difference between the accurate position estimate and a position estimate obtained based on the second position determination sub-system;

means for determining a measurement for each of a plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of transmitters include at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system;

means for correcting the measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system based on the residual associated with the transmitter; and

means for determining an updated position estimate for the terminal based on a plurality of measurements for the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one corrected measurement for the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system.

36. A receiver unit in a wireless communication system, comprising:

a first receiver operative to receive and process a received signal to provide data for a first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

a second receiver operative to receive and process the received signal to provide data for a second position determination sub-system; and

a processing unit coupled to the first and second receivers and operative to;

obtain an accurate position estimate for a terminal based on the data for the first position determination sub-system,

determine a residual associated with each of one or more transmitters included in a second position determination sub-system based on a difference between the accurate position estimate and a position estimate obtained based on the second position determination sub-system,

obtain an actual measurement for each of a plurality of transmitters based on the data for the sub-system to which each transmitter belongs, wherein the plurality of transmitters include at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system,

correct the actual measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system based on the residual associated with the transmitter, and

determine an updated position estimate for the terminal based on a plurality of measurements for the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one corrected measurement for the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system.

41. A wireless terminal in a wireless communication system, comprising:

a first receiver operative to receive and process a received signal to provide data for a first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

a second receiver operative to receive and process the received signal to provide data for a second position determination sub-system; and

a processing unit coupled to the first and second receivers and operative to;

obtain an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on the data for the first position determination sub-system,

determine a residual associated with each of one or more transmitters included in a second position determination sub-system based on a difference between the accurate position estimate and a position estimate obtained based on the second position determination sub-system,

obtain an actual measurement for each of a plurality of transmitters based on the data for the sub-system to which each transmitter belongs, wherein the plurality of transmitters include at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system,

correct the actual measurement for each of the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system based on the residual associated with the transmitter, and

determine an updated position estimate for the terminal based on a plurality of measurements for the plurality of transmitters, wherein the plurality of measurements include at least one corrected measurement for the at least one transmitter in the second position determination sub-system.

43. The terminal of claim 41, wherein the processing unit is further operative to

obtain an accurate position estimate for the terminal based on the first position determination sub-system, wherein the residual for each of one or more transmitters in the second position determination sub-system is determined based in part on the accurate position estimate for the terminal.

42. A wireless terminal in a wireless communication system, comprising:

a first receiver operative to receive and process a received signal to provide data for a first position determination sub-system having synchronized transmitters;

a second receiver operative to receive and process the received signal to provide data for a second position determination sub-system; and

a processing unit coupled to the first and second receivers and operative to;

determine a position estimate for the terminal based on the first position determination sub-system if the first position determination sub-system is available,

determine the position estimate for the terminal based on the first and second position determination sub-systems if the first position determination sub-system is partially available, wherein an actual measurement for each transmitter included in the second sub-system used to determine the position estimate is corrected based on a residual associated with the transmitter, and

determine the position estimate for the terminal based solely on the second position determination sub-system if the first position determination sub-system is unavailable, wherein the actual measurement for each of at least one transmitter included in the second sub-system used to determine the position estimate is corrected based on the residual associated with the transmitter,

wherein the residual is determined based on a difference between a previous position estimate obtained at a first time using the first position determination sub-system and previous position estimate obtained at the first time using the second position determination sub-system.