Device comprising a sensor arrangement and an updater

• US 7,895,002 B2
• Filed: 04/27/2006
• Issued: 02/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/04/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Inventors: Boeve, Hans M. B., Van De Walle, Gerjan, Ikkink, Teunis J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem; Michael P
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le; Toan M
• Application Number:
  US11/913,588
• Publication Number:
  US 20100017160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,762 Days
• Field of Search: 702/92, 702/33, 702/38, 702/41, 702/57, 702/69, 702/81, 702 84- 85, 702/91, 702 94- 95, 702104-105, 702/127, 702150-154, 702182-183, 702189-191, 702/193, 702/197, 702/199, 33/1.E, 333/16, 33318-319, 333/24, 33356-357, 333/55.R, 324/202, 324/219, 324246-247, 324/260, 73 175- 177, 701/224
• US Class Current: 702/41
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 17/38 Testing, calibrating, or compensating of compasses

Abstract

Devices comprising sensor arrangements for providing first field information defining at least parts of first fields and for providing second field information defining at least parts of second fields are provided with updaters for updating parameters of the first and/or second fields via criterion-dependent iterations, to become more reliable and user friendly. The fields may be earth gravitational fields and/or earth magnetic fields and/or further fields. The parameters comprise magnitudes of the fields and dot products of the fields. The criterion-dependent iterations comprise magnitude functions and dot product functions. The magnitude functions define new magnitudes being functions of old magnitudes and of updated magnitudes and the dot product functions define new dot products being functions of old dot products and of updated dot products. The criterion-dependent iterations further comprise one dimensional criteria and/or rectangular, hyperbolic and/or topped-off hyperbolic two dimensional criteria all defining threshold values.

Claims

1. A device comprising;

a sensor arrangement for providing first field information defining at least a part of a first field, the part of the first field comprising respective first and second components of the first field in respective first and second directions and a third component of the first field in a third direction, and for providing second field information defining at least a part of a second field, the part of the second field comprising respective first and second components of the second field in respective first and second directions, and

an updater for updating at least a parameter of at least one of the first and second fields via at least one criterion-dependent iteration, the parameter comprising a magnitude of at least one of the first and second fields and a dot product of the first and second fields, the criterion-dependent iteration comprising a magnitude function and a dot product function,

wherein the magnitude function defining a new magnitude of the second field being a function of an old magnitude of the second field and of an updated magnitude of the second field and the dot product function defining a new dot product of the first and second fields being a function of an old dot product of the first and second fields and of an updated dot product of the first and second fields.

2. The device as defined in claim 1, the device further comprising:

an estimator for estimating a third component of the second field in a third direction, the criterion-dependent iteration further comprising at least one criterion defining at least one threshold value for at least one term comprising at least one third component.

3. The device as defined in claim 2, a magnitude of the third component of the second field being related:

either to a square root of a difference between the old magnitude squared of the second field and a sum of the first component squared and the second component squared of the second field in case this difference is larger than zero or to zero in case this difference is equal to or smaller than zero,

or to a magnitude of a further difference between the old dot product and a sum of a first product of the first components of the first and second fields and a second product of the second components of the first and second fields, which further difference is divided by a magnitude of the third component of the first field.

4. The device as defined in claim 1, the criterion-dependent iteration comprising a first magnitude function and a second magnitude function and a dot product function.

5. A device comprising:

a sensor arrangement for providing first field information defining at least a part of a first field and for providing second field information defining at least a part of a second field, and

an updater for updating at least a parameter of at least one of the first and second fields via at least one criterion-dependent iteration, the criterion-dependent iteration comprising a first magnitude function and a second magnitude function and a dot product function,

wherein the first magnitude function defines a new first magnitude of the first field being a function of an old first magnitude of the first field and of an updated first magnitude of the first field and the second magnitude function defines a new second magnitude of the second field being a function of an old second magnitude of the second field and of an updated second magnitude of the second field and the dot product function defining a new dot product of the first and second fields being a function of an old dot product of the first and second fields and of an updated dot product of the first and second fields.

6. The device as defined in claim 5, the device further comprising:

an estimator for estimating third components of the first and second fields in third directions, the criterion-dependent iteration further comprising at least one criterion defining at least one threshold value for at least one term comprising at least one third component.

7. The device as defined in claim 6, magnitudes of the third components of the first and second fields being related:

either to, for the first field, a square root of a first difference between the old magnitude squared of this first field and a sum of the first component squared and the second component squared of this first field in case this first difference is larger than zero for this first field or to zero for this first field in case this first difference is equal to or smaller than zero for this first field and to, for the second field, a square root of a second difference between the old magnitude squared of this second field and a sum of the first component squared and the second component squared of this second field in case this second difference is larger than zero for this second field or to zero for this second field in case this second difference is equal to or smaller than zero for this second field,

or to, for one of the fields, a square root of a difference between the old magnitude squared of this one field and a sum of the first component squared and the second component squared of this one field in case this difference is larger than zero for this one field or to zero for this one field in case this difference is equal to or smaller than zero for this one field and to, for the other field, a magnitude of a further difference between the old dot product and a sum of a first product of the first components of the first and second fields and a second product the second components of the first and second fields, which further difference is divided by a magnitude of the third component of the one field.