Supporting an assisted satellite based positioning

• US 8,077,084 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2006
• Issued: 12/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Syrjarinne, Jari, Valio, Harri
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Nga X
• Application Number:
  US11/453,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20060290566A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,009 Days
• Field of Search: 34235701-35717, 342/357.66
• US Class Current: 342/357.43
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/06 employing an initial estimate of the location of the receiver as aiding data or in generating aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/071 DGPS corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/258 relating to the satellite constellation, e.g. almanac, ephemeris data, lists of satellites in view
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/33 Multimode operation in different systems which transmit time stamped messages, e.g. GPS/GLONASS

Abstract

For supporting a satellite based positioning of a mobile arrangement (30,40) with assistance data, a communication network converts parameters of a dedicated orbit model describing a movement of a satellite (50,60), which dedicated orbit model is defined for a particular satellite based positioning system, into parameters of a common orbit model describing a movement of a satellite (50,60). Alternatively or in addition, the network replaces a reference value that is based on a satellite based positioning system time in available parameters of an orbit model by a reference value that is based on a communication system time. After the parameter conversion and/or the reference value replacement, the parameters are provided as a part of assistance data for the satellite based positioning.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

converting, by a server, received parameters of a dedicated orbit model into parameters of a common orbit model, wherein said dedicated orbit model is defined for a particular satellite based positioning system, wherein said common orbit model is defined in common for at least two different satellite based positioning systems including at least two of Galileo system, Global Positioning System and Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System, wherein said dedicated orbit model with said received parameters describes a movement of a particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system and wherein said common orbit model with said converted parameters describes a movement of said particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system; and

providing said converted parameters as a part of assistance data for satellite based positioning for transmission to a mobile device.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the common orbit model is defined in common for at least three different satellite based positioning systems, the at least three different satellite based positioning systems including in addition at least one of the following:

European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service; and

Wide Area Augmentation System.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein said common orbit model comprises at least one parameter having a longer word length than a corresponding parameter of a dedicated orbit model for said at least one satellite based positioning systems.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein said assistance data comprises in addition at least one of the following:

differential Global Positioning System corrections;

Real Time Kinematics corrections;

carrier phase measurements for satellite signals;

European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service corrections;

Wide Area Augmentation System corrections;

short-term differential corrections for said converted parameters;

ionosphere model parameters;

troposphere model parameters; and

short-term integrity warnings

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising at a network element of a communication network replacing a reference value in said converted parameters that represents a reference time and that is based on a satellite based positioning system time by a reference value that represents a reference time and that is based on a communication system time.

10. A method according to claim 1, wherein said parameters of said common orbit model have a longer validity time than parameters of a dedicated orbit model for said at least one satellite based positioning system.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein said assistance data comprises in addition data bits of at least one satellite based positioning system enabling a data wipe off.

21. The method according to claim 1, wherein said common orbit model represents a Keplerian orbit.

6. A computer readable medium stored with instructions that, when executed by a processor performs:

converting received parameters of a dedicated orbit model into parameters of a common orbit model, wherein said dedicated orbit model is defined for a particular satellite based positioning system, wherein said common orbit model is defined in common for at least two different satellite based positioning systems including at least two of Galileo system, Global Positioning System and Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System, wherein said dedicated orbit model with said received parameters describes a movement of a particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system and wherein said common orbit model with said converted parameters describes a movement of said particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system; and

providing said converted parameters as a part of assistance data for satellite based positioning for transmission to a mobile device.

7. An apparatus comprising a processing unit and implemented software code, the processing unit with the software code being configured to cause the apparatus to perform

convert received parameters of a dedicated orbit model into parameters of a common orbit model, wherein said dedicated orbit model is defined for a particular satellite based positioning system, wherein said common orbit model is defined in common for at least two different satellite based positioning systems including at least two of Galileo system, Global Positioning System and Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System, wherein said dedicated orbit model with said received parameters describes a movement of a particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system and wherein said common orbit model with said converted parameters describes a movement of said particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system, and

provide said converted parameters as a part of assistance data for satellite based positioning for transmission to a mobile device.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, wherein the apparatus is one of a server, a base station, an apparatus for use in a server and an apparatus for use in a base station.

11. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said parameters of said common orbit model have a longer validity time than parameters of a dedicated orbit model for said at least one satellite based positioning system.

13. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit with the software code are configured to cause the apparatus to include in the assistance data in addition data bits of at least one satellite based positioning system enabling a data wipe off.

14. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the common orbit model is defined in common for at least three different satellite based positioning systems, the at least three different satellite based positioning systems including in addition at least one of the following:

European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service; and

Wide Area Augmentation System.

15. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said common orbit model comprises at least one parameter having a longer word length than a corresponding parameter of a dedicated orbit model for said at least one satellite based positioning systems.

16. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit with the software code is configured to cause the apparatus to include in the assistance data in addition at least one of the following:

differential Global Positioning System corrections;

Real Time Kinematics corrections;

carrier phase measurements for satellite signals;

European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service corrections;

Wide Area Augmentation System corrections;

short-term differential corrections for said converted parameters;

ionosphere model parameters;

troposphere model parameters; and

short-term integrity warnings.

17. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein parameters of said common orbit model have a validity of at least one day.

18. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit with the software code is configured to cause the apparatus to calculate correction data specifically for said common orbit model and to include said correction data in addition in said assistance data.

19. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit with the software code is configured to cause the apparatus to replace a reference value in said converted parameters that represents a reference time and that is based on a satellite based positioning system time by a reference value that represents a reference time and that is based on a communication system time.

20. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit with the software code is configured to cause the apparatus to transmit the assistance data to a particular mobile arrangement upon a request by said mobile arrangement or to broadcast the assistance data in a cell of a communication system.

22. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said common orbit model represents a Keplerian orbit.

9. An apparatus comprising:

means, implemented at least partly in hardware, for converting received parameters of a dedicated orbit model into parameters of a common orbit model, wherein said dedicated orbit model is defined for a particular satellite based positioning system, wherein said common orbit model is defined in common for at least two different satellite based positioning systems including at least two of Galileo system, Global Positioning System and Global Orbiting Navigation Satellite System, wherein said dedicated orbit model with said received parameters describes a movement of a particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system and wherein said common orbit model with said converted parameters describes a movement of said particular satellite of said particular satellite based positioning system, and

means, implemented at least partly in hardware, for providing said converted parameters as a part of assistance data for satellite based positioning for transmission to a mobile device.