Vehicle navigation using cellular networks
First Claim
1. A method for navigation of a vehicle using cellular networks, the method comprising:
- transmitting, with a transmit antenna associated with the vehicle, a transmit signal to a cellular tower;
receiving, with a receive antenna associated with the vehicle, a receive signal from the cellular tower containing a cell identification (CID) of the cellular tower;
determining, with at least one computer, a location of the cellular tower by looking up the CID of the cellular tower in a lookup table;
determining, with the at least one computer, a difference in time from a time the transmit signal was sent by the transmit antenna to a time the receive signal was received by the receive antenna;
calculating, with the at least one computer, a distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower by using the difference in time; and
refining, with the at least one computer, an estimate of a location of the vehicle by using the location of the cellular tower, the distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower, and an angle of the transmit antenna and the receive antenna such that they are both pointed towards the cellular tower.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure provides a method for navigation of a vehicle using cellular networks that involves determining, with an inertial navigation system, a vehicle location estimate. The method also involves transmitting, with a transmit antenna, a transmit signal to the cellular tower requesting a cell identification (CID); and receiving, with a receive antenna, a receive signal from the cellular tower containing the CID. Further, the method involves determining the cellular tower location by looking up the CID in a lookup table; determining a difference in time from the time the transmit signal was sent to the time the receive signal was received; calculating the distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower by using the time difference; and refining the vehicle location estimate by using the cellular tower location, the distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower, and the angle of the transmit antenna and the receive antenna.
16 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method for navigation of a vehicle using cellular networks, the method comprising:
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transmitting, with a transmit antenna associated with the vehicle, a transmit signal to a cellular tower; receiving, with a receive antenna associated with the vehicle, a receive signal from the cellular tower containing a cell identification (CID) of the cellular tower; determining, with at least one computer, a location of the cellular tower by looking up the CID of the cellular tower in a lookup table; determining, with the at least one computer, a difference in time from a time the transmit signal was sent by the transmit antenna to a time the receive signal was received by the receive antenna; calculating, with the at least one computer, a distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower by using the difference in time; and refining, with the at least one computer, an estimate of a location of the vehicle by using the location of the cellular tower, the distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower, and an angle of the transmit antenna and the receive antenna such that they are both pointed towards the cellular tower. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system for navigation of a vehicle using cellular networks, the system comprising:
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a transmit antenna, associated with the vehicle, to transmit a transmit signal to a cellular tower; a receive antenna, associated with the vehicle, to receive a receive signal from the cellular tower containing a cell identification (CID) of the cellular tower; and at least one computer to determine a location of the cellular tower by looking up the CID of the cellular tower in a lookup table;
to determine a difference in time from a time the transmit signal was sent by the transmit antenna to a time the receive signal was received by the receive antenna;
to calculate a distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower by using the difference in time; and
to refine an estimate of a location of the vehicle by using the location of the cellular tower, the distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower, and an angle of the transmit antenna and the receive antenna such that they are both pointed towards the cellular tower. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. An apparatus for navigation of a vehicle using cellular networks, the apparatus comprising:
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a transmit antenna to transmit a transmit signal to a cellular tower; a receive antenna to receive a receive signal from the cellular tower containing a cell identification (CID) of the cellular tower; and at least one computer to determine a location of the cellular tower by looking up the CID of the cellular tower in a lookup table;
to determine a difference in time from a time the transmit signal was sent by the transmit antenna to a time the receive signal was received by the receive antenna;
to calculate a distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower by using the difference in time; and
to refine an estimate of a location of the vehicle by using the location of the cellular tower, the distance from the vehicle to the cellular tower, and an angle of the transmit antenna and the receive antenna such that they are both pointed towards the cellular tower.
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Specification