Portable mobile transceiver for GPS navigation and vehicle data input for dead reckoning mode

• US 9,234,760 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2010
• Issued: 01/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Malikie Innovations Limited (Key Patent Innovations Limited)
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: DeLuca, Michael Joseph
• Primary Examiner(s): Chen, Shelley
• Application Number:
  US12/696,768
• Publication Number:
  US 20110191024A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,174 Days
• Field of Search: 701/472, 701/501
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/1654 with electromagnetic compass
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/28 with correlation of data from several navigational instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/30 Map- or contour-matching
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/34 Route searching; Route guidance
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/49 whereby the further system is an inertial position system, e.g. loosely-coupled

Abstract

A mobile transceiver device comprises a GPS receiver module to receive GPS signals and calculate current positions. The current positions are used in a navigation module. The mobile transceiver device comprises one or more local interface technologies, such as Bluetooth and USB. These local interface technologies can be used to communicate with an automobile data system. In situations where there is sporadic GPS coverage, the mobile transceiver device receives inputs from the automobile data system, such as speed or velocity information, and heading information, such as output from a compass, as available. These inputs are used in the navigation module of the mobile transceiver device to navigate by dead reckoning until an updated position fix based on received GPS signals can be calculated.

Claims

1. A method for implementation on a mobile transceiver device, comprising:

determining a position of a mobile transceiver device based on received GPS signals;

detecting, at the mobile transceiver device, inadequacy of a received GPS signal to update the position of the mobile transceiver device;

wirelessly receiving, at the mobile transceiver device from a vehicle in which the mobile transceiver device is located, dead reckoning inputs, wherein the dead reckoning inputs include speed data, accelerometer data, and heading data of the vehicle;

in response to the detecting inadequacy of the received GPS signal, using, at the mobile transceiver device, the speed data, the accelerometer data, the heading data, and a last GPS determined position to calculate a trial estimated position of the vehicle, wherein the trial estimated position is calculated by modeling variation of speed of the vehicle based on the accelerometer data to account for delay jitters, integrating the speed of the vehicle over predetermined time intervals, and incrementing a last dead-reckoning based position;

producing an estimated position of the vehicle for use in producing a navigation output, wherein the producing the estimated position of the vehicle comprises;

identifying a conflict between the trial estimated position and a predetermined route information, wherein the predetermined route information identifies a route to reach a predetermined navigation destination; and

in response to the identifying the conflict, revising the trial estimated position to reach a predetermined navigation destination; and

rendering a display of a map with the estimated position of the vehicle based on the revised trial estimated position of the vehicle.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising repeatedly updating the estimated position based on a sequence of dead reckoning inputs received from the vehicle.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving of the dead reckoning inputs comprises receiving the dead reckoning inputs via a data processing system coupled to one or more vehicle sensors.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising using the last GPS determined position of the mobile transceiver device as a starting point for providing the estimated position of the vehicle using dead reckoning.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the dead reckoning inputs comprise an average speed during a time interval of a specified size, to estimate a distance traveled during that interval.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the dead reckoning inputs as instantaneous speed measurements taken on a sampling schedule.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the dead reckoning inputs while receiving GPS signals at the mobile transceiver device, and either determining a position of the mobile transceiver device based on the received GPS signals, or using the dead reckoning inputs when detecting GPS signal reception inadequate to update the position of the mobile transceiver device.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising supplementing the dead reckoning inputs received from the vehicle with an input representing a condition sensed by the mobile transceiver device to produce the estimated position of the vehicle.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the dead reckoning inputs received from the vehicle comprise speed information, and the condition sensed by the mobile transceiver device comprises a heading.

10. A mobile transceiver device, comprising:

a receiver module for receiving a plurality of signals from which a position can be determined, and for producing a navigation output based on the received plurality of signals, wherein the receiver module may fail to calculate a current position at times;

a microprocessor; and

a memory storing code for configuring the microprocessor to

receive, from the receiver module, the current calculated position, when available, and use the current calculated position in providing a navigation output through a user interface of the mobile transceiver device, and

wirelessly receive, at the mobile transceiver device from a vehicle in which the mobile transceiver device is located, dead reckoning inputs, wherein the dead reckoning inputs include speed data, accelerometer data, and heading data of the vehicle, during one or more times when the receiver module fails to output the current position due to inadequacy of a received GPS signal;

in response to the detecting inadequacy of the received GPS signal, use the speed data, the accelerometer data, the heading data and a past determined position to calculate a trial estimated position of the vehicle, wherein the trial estimated position is calculated by modeling variation of speed of the vehicle based on the accelerometer data to account for delay jitters, integrating the speed of the vehicle over predetermined time intervals, and incrementing a last dead-reckoning based position;

produce an estimated position of the vehicle for use in producing a navigation output, wherein the producing the estimated position of the vehicle comprises;

identifying a conflict between the trial estimated position and a predetermined route information, wherein the predetermined route information identifies a route to reach a predetermined navigation destination; and

in response to the identifying the conflict, revising the trial estimated position to reach a predetermined navigation destination; and

render a display of a map with the estimated position of the vehicle based on the revised trial estimated position of the vehicle.

11. The mobile transceiver device of claim 10, wherein the receiver module comprises a Global Positioning System signal receiver module.

12. The mobile transceiver device of claim 10, wherein the code is further for configuring the microprocessor to receive the dead reckoning inputs at generally regular intervals and to responsively estimate the current position.

13. The mobile transceiver device of claim 10, wherein the code is further for configuring the microprocessor to use the last outputted current position from the receiver module as a starting position for dead reckoning navigation.

14. The mobile transceiver device of claim 10, wherein the interface comprises one or more of a Bluetooth link and a Universal Serial Bus link.

15. The mobile transceiver device of claim 10, wherein the code is for using dead reckoning data sensed by the mobile transceiver device in conjunction with the dead reckoning inputs received from the automobile data system.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing computer executable code comprising code for programming a microprocessor located in a mobile transceiver device to:

dynamically switch from GPS-based navigation to dead reckoning navigation, during times when a position of the mobile transceiver device is not sufficiently determinable based on inadequacy of received GPS signals;

perform the dead reckoning navigation based at least on one or more inputs wirelessly received, by the mobile transceiver device, from a data system of a vehicle in which the mobile transceiver device is located;

produce a trial estimated position of vehicle based upon dead reckoning inputs received from the vehicle, wherein the dead reckoning inputs include speed data, accelerometer data, and heading data of the vehicle, and the trial estimated position is calculated by modeling variation of speed of the vehicle based on the accelerometer data to account for delay jitters, integrating the speed of the vehicle over predetermined time intervals, and incrementing a last dead-reckoning based position;

produce an estimated position of the vehicle for use in producing a navigation output, wherein producing the estimated position of the vehicle comprises;

identifying a conflict between the trial estimated position and a predetermined route information, wherein the predetermined route information identifies a route to reach a predetermined navigation destination;

in response to identifying the conflict, revising the trial estimated position to reach a predetermined navigation destination;

render a display of a map with the estimated position of the vehicle based on the revised trial estimated position of the vehicle; and

dynamically switch from dead reckoning based navigation to GPS-based navigation upon availability of an updated GPS-based position fix.

17. A method for providing navigation outputs from a mobile transceiver device, comprising:

outputting, from a user interface of the mobile transceiver device, navigation information determined based on using a position determined using received GPS signals, when GPS signals are available;

when received GPS signals are determined to be inadequate, outputting a trial estimated position of a vehicle based upon dead reckoning inputs wirelessly received, by the mobile transceiver device, from the vehicle, in which the mobile transceiver device is located, wherein the dead reckoning inputs include speed data, accelerometer data, and heading data of the vehicle, and the trial estimated position is calculated by modeling variation of speed of the vehicle based on the accelerometer data to account for delay jitters, integrating the speed of the vehicle over predetermined time intervals, and incrementing a last dead-reckoning based position;

outputting an estimated position of the vehicle, wherein the estimated position of the vehicle is produced by;

identifying a conflict between the trial estimated position and a predetermined route information, wherein the predetermined route information identifies a route to reach a predetermined navigation destination; and

in response to the identifying the conflict, revising the trial estimated position to reach a predetermined navigation destination; and

rendering a display of a map with the estimated position of the vehicle based on the revised trial estimated position of the vehicle.