Positioning system, terminal apparatus, method of controlling terminal apparatus, program for controlling terminal apparatus and computer-readable storing medium for storing program for controlling terminal apparatus

• US 7,671,793 B2
• Filed: 01/24/2006
• Issued: 03/02/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Terashima, Maho, Kurata, Tomoyuki
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Nga X
• Application Number:
  US11/337,688
• Publication Number:
  US 20060187115A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,498 Days
• Field of Search: 34235708-35709
• US Class Current: 342/357.42
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/48 by combining or switching between position solutions derived from the satellite radio beacon positioning system and position solutions derived from a further system

Abstract

A communication base station has: a communication signal sending device for sending a communication signal including base station position information indicating a position of the communication base station and sending direction information indicating a sending direction from the communication base station, and the terminal apparatus has: a communication signal receiving device; a base station pseudo range information generating device; a satellite orbital position information generating device; a satellite pseudo range information generating device; a candidate position information generating device; and a positioning location information generating device for designating one position out of positions on the circumference indicated in the candidate position information on the basis of the sending direction information to generate positioning location information, and so on.

Claims

1. A positioning method comprising:

receiving a communication signal from a communication base station, the communication signal including sending direction information that indicates a sending direction by a three-dimensional vector and base station position information that indicates a position of the commutation base station, the communication base station sending the communication signal along the sending direction;

receiving a satellite signal from a given positioning satellite;

calculating a base station pseudo range on the basis of an arrival delay time that the communication signal takes to arrive at a terminal apparatus form the communication base station;

calculating a satellite orbital position that is a position of the given positioning satellite;

calculating a satellite pseudo range on the basis of an arrival delay time that the satellite signal takes to arrive at the terminal apparatus from the given positioning satellite;

calculating candidate positions indicated by a set of intersections between a first spherical surface and a second spherical surface, the first spherical surface being formed around the position of the communication base station indicated by the base station position information and having a radius that corresponds to the base station pseudo range, and the second spherical surface being formed around the position satellite orbital position and having a radius that corresponds to the satellite pseudo range; and

designating a positioning location from the candidate positions, the positioning location being a position that is nearest to an extended line that extends in the direction of the three-dimensional vector indicated by the sending direction information from the position of the communication base station indicated by the base station position information.

2. The positioning method according to claim 1, wherein the calculating of the candidate positions includes calculating a circumference that is a set of intersections between the first spherical surface and the second spherical surface as a set of the candidate positions, and

the designating of the positioning location includes calculating two intersections between the circumference that is the set of the candidate positions and a plane defined by an altitude of the communication base station indicated by the base station position information, and designating one of the two intersections that is nearer to the extended line as the positioning location.

3. A terminal apparatus comprising:

a communication signal receiving section that receives a communication signal from a communication base station, the communication signal including sending direction information that indicates a sending direction by a three-dimensional vector and base station position information that indicates a position of the communication base station, the communication base station sending the communication signal along the sending direction;

a satellite signal receiving section that receives a satellite signal from a given positioning satellite;

a base station pseudo range information generating section that generates information that indicates a base station pseudo range on the basis of an arrival delay time that the communication signal takes to arrive at the terminal apparatus from the communication base station;

a satellite orbital position information generating section that generates information that indicates a satellite orbital position that is a position of the given positioning satellite;

a satellite pseudo range information generating section that generates information that indicates a satellite pseudo range on the basis of an arrival delay time that the satellite signal takes to arrive at the terminal apparatus from the given positioning satellite;

a candidate position calculating section that calculates candidate positions indicated by a set of intersections between a first spherical surface and a second spherical surface, the first spherical surface being formed around the position of the communication base station indicated by the base station position information and having a radius that corresponds to the base station pseudo range, and the second spherical surface being formed around the position satellite orbital position and having a radius that corresponds to the satellite pseudo range; and

a positioning location designating section that designates a positioning location from the candidate positions, the positioning location being a position that is nearest to an extended line that extends in the direction of the three-dimensional vector indicated by the sending direction information from the position of the communication base station indicated by the base station position information.