Apparatus and method of position determination using shared information

• US 20040008138A1
• Filed: 01/02/2003
• Published: 01/15/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Sheynblat, Leonid, Hockley, George O. Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,084,809 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.09
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/05 providing aiding data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/51 Relative positioning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0072 Transmission between mobile stations, e.g. anti-collision systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0289 of multiple transceivers, e.g. in ad hoc networks

Abstract

A hybrid position determination system is disclosed. A mobile device may determine a number of pseudo ranges based on a first position determination system, such as a Global Positioning System. In instances where the position of the mobile device is underdetermined because of an insufficient number of satellite pseudo ranges, the mobile device shares position information with other devices. The other devices may include other mobile devices. A first mobile device may determine its position based on an underdetermined number of satellite pseudo ranges by determining pseudo ranges to other mobile devices. In other embodiments, the number of satellite pseudo ranges may be insufficient to generate an absolute position determination of a single mobile device. In this underdetermined condition, mobile devices may determine a common location of the group or may determine a relative positioning of members of the group.

Claims

1. A method of determining a position of a first mobile device, the method comprising:

determining partial position information of the first mobile device;

receiving shared information from a second mobile device;

determining additional position information of the first mobile device using the shared information from the second mobile device; and

determining the position of the first mobile device using the partial position information and the additional position information.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the partial position information comprises determining a set of pseudo ranges to a set of objects having known locations.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the set of pseudo ranges includes a pseudo range from a base station in a wireless communication system.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the set of pseudo ranges includes a pseudo range from a satellite that is part of a Global Positioning System (GPS).

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining additional position comprises determining a pseudo range from a wireless telephone.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining additional position information comprises determining a pseudo range and an angle of arrival from the second mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining additional position information comprises determining a pseudo range to an object with which the first mobile device is not in communication.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the object is an object in communication with the second mobile device.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the object in communication with the second mobile device is a GPS satellite.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the position of the first mobile device comprises determining an absolute position of the first mobile device.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the position of the first mobile device comprises determining a relative position of the first mobile device.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving shared information from the second mobile device comprises receiving timing information.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving shared information from the second mobile device comprises receiving a position of the second mobile device.

14. A mobile device configured to determine its position, comprising:

a first receiver configured to receive first positioning signals from at least one transmitter having a known position;

a second receiver configured to receive second positioning signals from a second mobile device;

a processor configured to determine the position of the mobile device based at least in part on the first positioning signals and the second positioning signals.

15. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the mobile device is a wireless telephone.

16. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the second mobile device is a wireless telephone.

17. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the first receiver and the second receiver are the same receiver.

18. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the first receiver is configured to receive first positioning signals from a transmitter having a known position.

19. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the first receiver is configured to receive first positioning signals from a Global Positioning System satellite transmitter.

20. The mobile device of claim 14, wherein the second positioning signals include a ranging signal transmitted by the second mobile device.

21. A mobile device configured to determine its position, comprising:

a global positioning system (GPS) receiver for receiving GPS location signals;

a first receiver configured to receive position signals from a wireless telephone; and

a position determination module configured to determine the position of the mobile device based at least in part on the GPS location signals and the position signals.

22. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the GPS receiver is configured to receive GPS location signals from at least three GPS satellites.

23. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the position signals comprise ranging signals.

24. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the position signals comprise a timing reference.

25. The mobile device of claim 21, wherein the position signals comprise a position of the wireless telephone.

26. A first mobile device, comprising:

means for determining partial position information of the first mobile device;

means for receiving additional position information from a second mobile device; and

means for determining the position of the first mobile device based at least in part on the partial position information and the additional position information.

27. The first mobile device of claim 26, wherein the first mobile device is a wireless telephone handset.

28. The first mobile device of claim 26, wherein the second mobile device is a wireless telephone handset.

29. The first mobile device of claim 26, wherein the means for determining partial positional information comprises a global positioning system (GPS) receiver.

30. The first mobile device of claim 26, wherein the means for determining partial positional information comprises a receiver that is configured to receive positioning signals from at least one wireless communication system base station having a known position.

31. The first mobile device of claim 26, wherein the means for receiving additional positional information comprises a receiver configured to receive pseudo ranges from the second mobile device.

32. A method of determining a position of a first mobile device, the method comprising:

receiving, by the first mobile device, signals transmitted by a GPS satellite;

determining a pseudo range to the GPS satellite;

receiving, by the first mobile device, a ranging signal from a second mobile device;

determining a pseudo range to the second mobile device;

receiving a timing reference from the second mobile device; and

determining a position of the first mobile device based on the pseudo range by the GPS satellite and the pseudo range to the second mobile device.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein determining the position of the first mobile device is performed at a location remote from the first mobile device.

34. The method of claim 32, wherein determining the position of the first mobile device is performed by an external device in communication with the first mobile device.

35. The method of claim 32, wherein determining the position of the first mobile device is performed by a module stored in the first mobile device.

36. The method of claim 32, wherein the position of the first mobile device is an absolute position.

37. The method of claim 32, wherein the position of the first mobile device is a relative position.

38. The method of claim 32, wherein the position of the first mobile device is a common position of a group comprising the first mobile device and the second mobile device.

39. One or more processor readable storage devices having processor readable code embodied on the processor readable storage devices, the processor readable code for programming one or more processors to perform a method of determining a position of a first mobile device, the method comprising:

determining partial position information of the first mobile device;

receiving shared information from a second mobile device;

determining additional position information of the first mobile device using the shared information from the second mobile device; and

determining the position of the first mobile device using the partial position information and the additional position information.