Cell organization and transmission schemes in a wide area positioning system (WAPS)

• US 9,291,712 B2
• Filed: 08/02/2012
• Issued: 03/22/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/10/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NextNav, LLC
• Original Assignee: NextNav, LLC
• Inventors: Krasner, Norman, Raghupathy, Arun
• Primary Examiner(s): Liu, Harry
• Application Number:
  US13/565,732
• Publication Number:
  US 20130063307A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,328 Days
• Field of Search: 342/387, 342/386
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/071 DGPS corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/11 wherein the cooperating elements are pseudolites or satellite radio beacon positioning system signal repeaters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/45 by combining measurements of signals from the satellite radio beacon positioning system with a supplementary measurement
• 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

Abstract

A position location system comprises transmitters that broadcast positioning signals. Each broadcasted positioning signal comprises a pseudorandom ranging signal. The position location system includes a remote receiver that acquires and measures the time of arrival of the positioning signals received at the remote receiver. During an interval of time, at least two positioning signals are transmitted concurrently by the transmitters and received concurrently at the remote receiver. The two positioning signals have carrier frequencies offset from one another by an offset that is less than approximately twenty-five percent of the bandwidth of each positioning signal of the two positioning signals. Cross-interference between the positioning signals is reduced by tuning the remote receiver to a frequency of a selected signal of the two positioning signals and correlating the selected signal with a reference pseudorandom ranging signal matched to a transmitted pseudorandom ranging signal of the selected signal.

Claims

1. A position location system comprising:

a plurality of transmitters,

each of the plurality of transmitters are at different locations and are operable to transmit a positioning signal that includes a pseudorandom ranging signal modulated on a carrier having one carrier frequency selected from a finite set of values,

the plurality of transmitters including two transmitters that are operable to concurrently transmit two positioning signals,

a first of the two transmitters operable to transmit a first of the two positioning signals that includes a pseudorandom ranging signal modulated on one carrier having a first carrier frequency, and

a second of the two transmitters operable to transmit a second of the two positioning signals that includes a pseudorandom ranging signal modulated on one carrier having a second carrier frequency that is offset from the first carrier frequency by an offset that is less than or equal to twenty-five percent of the bandwidth of each positioning signal of the two positioning signals.

2. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the offset is a multiple of a sum of (i) a frame rate of the pseudorandom ranging signals included in the two positioning signals and (ii) a fraction 1/n of the frame rate, where n is an integer.

3. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the two positioning signals have different pseudorandom codes.

4. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the two positioning signals have the same pseudorandom codes.

5. The position location system of claim 1, wherein at least one transmitter of the plurality of transmitters is operable to repeat the pseudorandom ranging signal of its positioning signal a plurality of times in succession.

6. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmitters include two additional transmitters that are operable to non-concurrently transmit two additional positioning signals.

7. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmitters are arranged in a geometric pattern, and the plurality of transmitters comprises at least m transmitters operable to use n time slots in a time multiplexing frame to transmit their positioning signals, where m and n are positive integers.

8. The position location system of claim 7, wherein m is greater than n.

9. The position location system of claim 7, wherein m is less than or equal to n.

10. The position location system of claim 7, wherein at least one transmitter of the at least m transmitters is operable to transmit in more than one slot in a time multiplexing frame.

11. The position location system of claim 1, wherein at least one transmitter of the plurality of transmitters is operable to transmit its positioning signal in at least two successive time multiplexing frames.

12. The position location system of claim 11, wherein the at least one transmitter is operable to transmit positioning data in a primary frame of the at least two successive time multiplexing frames, and further operable to transmit auxiliary data comprising security data, authentication data, or both the security data and the authentication data, in a secondary frame of the at least two successive time multiplexing frames.

13. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the two transmitters are in a vicinity of one another, wherein the two positioning signals have at least one common parameter that is a pseudorandom code, positioning signal data, or both the pseudorandom code and the positioning signal data.

14. The position location system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of transmitters comprises a supergroup of transmitters, wherein the supergroup includes a plurality of groups of transmitters arranged in a geometric pattern, and each group includes a plurality of transmitters arranged in a geometric pattern.

15. The position location system of claim 14, wherein the plurality of groups of a supergroup comprises an n-group repeat pattern, wherein n is an integer.

16. The position location system of claim 14, wherein the two transmitters are in a first group from the plurality of groups.

17. The position location system of claim 14, wherein a first of the two transmitters is in a first group from the plurality of groups, and a second of the two transmitters is in a second group from the plurality of groups.

18. The position location system of claim 14, wherein the positioning signals comprise a set of pseudorandom codes, and wherein each group in the plurality of groups of transmitters is operable to utilize a permutation of the set of pseudorandom codes.

19. The position location system of claim 14, wherein the permutation of the set of pseudorandom codes is cyclic with respect to a transmit time slot number assigned to a transmitter.

20. The position location system of claim 18, wherein the permutation associates each pseudorandom code in the set to a geographical position of each transmitter in a group, wherein a position of a transmitter in each group is associated with a transmit time slot.

21. The position location system of claim 14, wherein each group of the plurality of groups is operable to use a plurality of time slots to transmit positioning signals.

22. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each group of the plurality of groups comprises n transmitters that are operable to use the same n time slots to transmit positioning signals, where n is an integer.

23. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of a supergroup is operable to use at least one pseudorandom code that is different from the pseudorandom code of any other group.

24. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of transmitters of the plurality of groups of a supergroup is operable to use a common pseudorandom code constructed using a maximal length pseudorandom sequence for a least a portion of its transmissions.

25. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each transmitter of a group is operable to transmit its positioning signal using a different pseudorandom code from any other transmitter of the group, and wherein each group of the plurality of groups of a supergroup is operable to use the same set of pseudorandom codes.

26. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each transmitter of the supergroup is operable to transmit its positioning signal using a different pseudorandom code from any other transmitter of the supergroup.

27. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of a supergroup is operable to use a different pseudorandom code that is constructed using a maximal length pseudorandom sequence.

28. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of the supergroup is operable to use an offset in frequency that is different than the offset of any other group.

29. The position location system of claim 21, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of a supergroup is operable to use a set of pseudorandom codes that are permuted relative to slot numbers of every other group of the plurality of groups.

30. The position location system of claim 1, wherein each value of the carrier frequencies differs from another value of the carrier frequencies by less than twenty-five percent of the bandwidth of each of the positioning signals.

31. A method for transmitting positioning signals from a plurality of transmitters residing at different locations, the method comprising:

transmitting, using the plurality of transmitters, a plurality of positioning signals that each include a pseudorandom ranging signal modulated on one carrier having a carrier frequency selected from a finite set of values; and

concurrently transmitting two positioning signals of the plurality of positioning signals using two transmitters of the plurality of transmitters,

wherein a first positioning signal of the two positioning signals includes a pseudorandom ranging signal modulated on one carrier having a first carrier frequency,

wherein a second positioning signal of the two positioning signals includes a pseudorandom ranging signal modulated on one carrier having a second carrier frequency, and

wherein the first carrier frequency and the second carrier frequency are offset from one another by an offset that is less than or equal to twenty-five percent of the bandwidth of each positioning signal of the two positioning signals.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the offset is a multiple of a sum of (i) a frame rate of the pseudorandom ranging signals included in the two positioning signals and (ii) a fraction 1/n of the frame rate, where n is an integer.

33. The method of claim 31, wherein the two positioning signals have different pseudorandom codes.

34. The method of claim 31, wherein the two positioning signals have the same pseudorandom codes.

35. The method of claim 31, wherein two additional positioning signals are transmitted non-concurrently by two additional transmitters of the plurality of transmitters.

36. The method of claim 31, wherein the plurality of transmitters are arranged in a geometric pattern and use a plurality of time slots to transmit the plurality of positioning signals, wherein the plurality of transmitters comprises at least m transmitters using n time slots in a time multiplexing frame to transmit the plurality of positioning signals, where m and n are positive integers.

37. The method of claim 31, wherein at least one transmitter of the plurality of transmitters transmits a positioning signal in at least two successive time multiplexing frames.

38. The method of claim 31, wherein the plurality of transmitters comprises a supergroup of transmitters, wherein the supergroup includes a plurality of groups of transmitters arranged in a geometric pattern, and each group includes a plurality of transmitters arranged in a geometric pattern, and wherein each group of the plurality of groups uses a plurality of time slots to transmit the plurality of positioning signals.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of a supergroup uses at least one pseudorandom code that is different from the pseudorandom code of any other group.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the plurality of transmitters of the plurality of groups of a supergroup uses a common pseudorandom code for a least a portion of their transmissions, wherein the pseudorandom code is constructed using a maximal length pseudorandom sequence.

41. The method of claim 38, wherein each transmitter of a group broadcasts using a different pseudorandom code from any other transmitter of the group, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of a supergroup uses a set of pseudorandom codes that is the same as every other group of the plurality of groups.

42. The method of claim 38, wherein each transmitter of the supergroup broadcasts using a different pseudorandom code from any other transmitter of the supergroup.

43. The method of claim 38, wherein each group of the plurality of groups of the supergroup uses an offset in frequency that is different than the offset of any other group.

44. The method of claim 31, wherein each carrier frequency is the sum of a base frequency plus an element of a set of frequency offsets, and each of the frequency offsets in the set of frequency offsets is a multiple of a minimum nonzero offset, and wherein the set of frequency offsets corresponds to 0, k₀R+R/Q, 2k₀R+2R/Q, 3k₀R+3R/Q . . . , (Q−

1)k₀R+(Q−

1)R/Q, where R represents PN frame rate, k₀ represents a nonzero integer, and Q represents an integer equal to the number of frequency offsets in the set of frequency offsets.

45. The method of claim 31, wherein each value of the carrier frequencies differs from another value of the carrier frequencies by less than twenty-five percent of the bandwidth of each of the positioning signals.