Device for measuring a position of a mobile station

• US 8,035,554 B2
• Filed: 11/13/2007
• Issued: 10/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Nakamura, Mitsuru, Shibata, Naoto, Ueda, Akihiro, Tajima, Yasuhiro, Nagamiya, Kiyomi, Hasegawa, Naoto
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza; Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCGUE, FRANK J
• Application Number:
  US12/515,540
• Publication Number:
  US 20100048140A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,428 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.31, 455/67.11
• US Class Current: 342/357.31
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/44 Carrier phase ambiguity resolution; Floating ambiguity; LAMBDA [Least-squares AMBiguity Decorrelation Adjustment] method
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/017 Detecting state or type of motion

Abstract

A device for measuring a position of a mobile station according to the present invention comprises: first measuring means for measuring the position of the mobile station based on observed data of signals from satellites using a one-epoch measuring method; second measuring means for measuring the position of the mobile station using previous determination result of the position of the mobile station and speed information representative of a speed of the mobile station; third measuring means for measuring the position of the mobile station using solutions of variables derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring means; and controlling means 60 for selecting one of the respective measuring means which is to execute its measuring process; wherein if reliability of the determination result of the selected measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value, the controlling means selects another measuring means to make it execute its measuring process.

Claims

1. A device for measuring a position of a mobile station, comprising:

first measuring means for measuring the position of the mobile station based on observed data including a carrier phase of signals from satellites using a one-epoch measuring method in which only the observed data is used, independently epoch by epoch, said one-epoch measuring method performing measuring without inheriting an integer ambiguity or an error covariance from the previous epoch;

second measuring means for measuring the position of the mobile station using a previous determination result of the position of the mobile station and speed information representative of a speed of the mobile station;

third measuring means for measuring the position of the mobile station using solutions of variables derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring means; and

controlling means for selecting one of the respective measuring means which is to execute a respective measuring process as the selected measuring means; and

reliability calculating means for calculating reliability of the measurement result for the selected measuring means,

wherein when the calculated reliability of the measurement result of the selected measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value, the controlling means selects another measuring means as the selected measuring unit, the another measuring means executing a respective measuring process as the selected measuring means.

2. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controlling means selects the second or third measuring means with higher priority than the first measuring means, when the number of observable satellites exceeds a predetermined number.

3. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controlling means selects the first or third measuring means with higher priority than the second measuring means, when the measuring process of the second measuring means continues more than a predetermined time period.

4. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the solutions of variables are integer solutions of integer ambiguities.

5. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 4, wherein the controlling means selects the first measuring means with higher priority than other measuring means, and

wherein

when the reliability of the determination result of the first measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value and the integer solutions of integer ambiguities derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring means are available, the controlling means selects the third measuring means to make it execute its measuring process;

and

when the reliability of the determination result of the first measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value and the previous determination result of the position of the mobile station is available, the controlling means selects the second measuring means to make it execute its measuring process.

6. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 4, wherein the controlling means selects the third measuring means with higher priority than other measuring means as long as the integer solutions of integer ambiguities derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring means are available, and

wherein

when the reliability of the determination result of the third measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value and the previous determination result of the position of the mobile station is available, the controlling means selects the second measuring means to make it execute its measuring process, and

when the previous determination result of the position of the mobile station is not available or if the reliability of the determination result of the third measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value and the previous determination result of the position of the mobile station is not available, the controlling means selects the first measuring means to make it execute its measuring process.

7. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 4, wherein the controlling means selects the second measuring means with higher priority than other measuring means as long as the previous determination result of the position of the mobile station is available, and

wherein

when reliability of the determination result of the second measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value and the integer solutions of integer ambiguities derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring means are available, the controlling means selects the third measuring means to make it execute its measuring process;

and

when reliability of the determination result of the second measuring means is lower than a predetermined reference value and the integer solutions of integer ambiguities derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring means are not available, the controlling means selects the first measuring means to make it execute its measuring process.

8. The device for measuring a position of a mobile station as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first measuring means measures the position of the mobile station based on observed data without using data from an inertial navigation system (INS) sensor.

9. A device for measuring a position of a mobile station, comprising:

a first measuring unit that measures the position of the mobile station based on observed data including a carrier phase of signals from satellites using a one-epoch measuring method in which only the observed data is used, independently epoch by epoch, said one-epoch measuring method performing measuring without inheriting an integer ambiguity or an error covariance from the previous epoch;

a second measuring unit that measures the position of the mobile station using a previous determination result of the position of the mobile station and speed information representative of a speed of the mobile station;

a third measuring unit that measures the position of the mobile station using solutions of variables derived from previous determination results of the first or second measuring units; and

a controlling unit, implemented by a processing device, that selects one of the respective measuring units which is to execute a respective measuring process as the selected measuring unit; and

reliability calculating unit that calculates reliability of the measurement result for the selected measuring unit,

wherein when the calculated reliability of the measurement result of the selected measuring unit is lower than a predetermined reference value, the controlling unit selects another measuring unit as the selected measuring unit, the another measuring unit executing a respective measuring process as the selected measuring unit.

10. A method for measuring a position of a mobile station, comprising:

a first step of measuring the position of the mobile station based on observed data including a carrier phase of signals from satellites using a one-epoch measuring method in which only the observed data is used, independently epoch by epoch, said one-epoch measuring method performing measuring without inheriting an integer ambiguity or an error covariance from the previous epoch;

a second step of measuring the position of the mobile station using a previous determination result of the position of the mobile station and speed information representative of a speed of the mobile station;

a third step of measuring the position of the mobile station using solutions of variables derived from previous determination results of the first or second steps of measuring; and

selecting, using a controlling unit implemented by a processing device, one of the respective measuring steps which is to execute a respective measuring process as the selected measuring step; and

calculating reliability of the measurement result for the selected measuring step,

wherein when the calculated reliability of the measurement result of the selected measuring step is lower than a predetermined reference value, the selecting step selects another measuring step as the selected measuring step, the another measuring step executing a respective measuring process as the selected measuring step.