USE OF BROADCAST POSITION DATA FOR SUBSEQUENT GPS LOCATION FIX

• US 20080284646A1
• Filed: 09/20/2007
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/18/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Avago Technologies General IP PTE Limited (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Broadcom Corporation (Broadcom, Inc.)
• Inventors: Walley, John, Shoarinejad, Kambiz, Seshadri, Nambirajan, Karaoguz, Jeyhan
• Application Number:
  US11/858,495
• Publication Number:
  US 20080284646A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.09
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 11/06 using intensity measurements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/46 the supplementary measurement being of a radio-wave signal type
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0236 Assistance data, e.g. base station almanac
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/14 Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location

Abstract

A radio device that is capable of positioning itself within a broadcast radio system includes a radio receiver operable to receive a plurality of broadcast radio signals, each broadcast from a respective one of a plurality of broadcast radio signal sources, and a GPS receiver coupled to receive a broadcast parameter determined using the broadcast radio signals and operable to calculate a GPS location of the radio device using the broadcast parameter.

Claims

1. A Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver within a radio device, comprising:

an interface coupled to receive a broadcast parameter determined using broadcast radio signals broadcast from radio stations;

an antenna coupled to receive a GPS signal including GPS data transmitted from at least one of a plurality of GPS satellites; and

processing circuitry coupled to receive said GPS signal and said broadcast parameter and operable to calculate a GPS location of said radio device using said broadcast parameter and said GPS signal.

2. The GPS receiver of claim 1, further comprising:

a memory maintaining almanac data indicating coarse orbital parameters for said plurality of GPS satellites.

3. The GPS receiver of claim 2, wherein said processing circuitry is further operable to:

determine a respective location and a respective pseudorange for at least one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said GPS signal;

determine a respective location and a respective pseudorange for at least one other one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said almanac data and said broadcast parameter; and

calculate said GPS location of said radio device using said respective location and said respective pseudorange for at least three of said GPS satellites.

4. The GPS receiver of claim 1, wherein said broadcast parameter is a broadcast location of said radio device calculated by said radio device using said broadcast radio signals or clock information identifying a time of day included in said broadcast radio signals.

5. A radio device, comprising:

a receiver operable to receive a plurality of broadcast radio signals, each broadcast from a respective one of a plurality of broadcast radio signal sources;

processing circuitry coupled to said receiver and operable to;

determine respective call station identification information associated with each of said plurality of broadcast radio signals from each of said plurality of broadcast radio signals, each said call station identification information identifying a respective one of said plurality of broadcast radio signal sources;

measure respective signal quality characteristics for each of said plurality of broadcast radio signals from said respective broadcast radio signals,

identify station position data associated with each of said broadcast radio signal sources from said respective call station identification information, said station position data indicating a respective location of each of said broadcast radio signal sources, and

calculate a broadcast location of said radio device using said signal quality characteristics and said station position data associated with at least three of said broadcast radio signal sources; and

a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver coupled to receive said broadcast location and operable to calculate a GPS location of said radio device using said broadcast location.

6. The radio device of claim 5, wherein said GPS receiver is coupled to receive a GPS signal including GPS data transmitted from at least one of a plurality GPS satellites and is operable to:

determine a respective location of and respective pseudorange for at least one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said GPS signal;

determine a respective location and respective pseudorange for at least one other one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said broadcast location; and

calculate said GPS location of said radio device using said respective location and said respective pseudorange for at least three of said GPS satellites.

7. The radio device of claim 5, wherein at least one of said plurality of broadcast radio signals includes radio data system (RDS) data;

and wherein said processing circuitry is further operable to decode said RDS data within said at least one of said broadcast radio signals to determine a respective RDS identifier for each of said at least one respective broadcast radio signal sources and to use said respective RDS identifiers to identify said respective station position data.

8. The radio device of claim 7, wherein said station position data is included within said RDS data broadcast by said broadcast radio signal sources.

9. The radio device of claim 5, wherein each said station position data includes coordinate data identifying the geographical coordinates of said respective broadcast radio signal source and transmit power data identifying the transmit power of said respective broadcast radio signal source.

10. The radio device of claim 9, wherein each said station position data further includes signal measurement data that associates said measured signal quality characteristics for said respective broadcast radio signal source with a radial distance from said respective broadcast radio signal source.

11. The radio device of claim 9, wherein said processing circuitry is further operable to calculate said signal measurement data using said measured signal quality characteristics, said coordinate data and said transmit power data.

12. The radio device of claim 10, wherein said processing circuitry is operable to calculate said location of said radio device using at least one triangulation of said signal measurement data from at least three of said broadcast radio signal sources.

13. The radio device of claim 5, wherein said signal quality characteristics of each of said plurality of broadcast radio signals include a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) or a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).

14. The radio device of claim 5, wherein said processing circuitry is operable to multiply a respective weighting factor to each of said signal quality characteristics to produce weighted signal quality characteristics and utilize said weighted signal quality characteristics to calculate said location of said radio device.

15. The radio device of claim 5, wherein said broadcast radio signals are frequency modulated (FM) broadcast radio signals.

16. A method for positioning a radio device using a built-in GPS receiver, said method comprising:

receiving a broadcast parameter determined using broadcast radio signals broadcast from radio stations;

receiving a GPS signal including GPS data transmitted from at least one of a plurality of GPS satellites; and

calculating a GPS location of said radio device using said broadcast parameter and said GPS signal.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein said calculating further comprises:

maintaining almanac data indicating coarse orbital parameters for said plurality of GPS satellites;

determining a respective location and a respective pseudorange for at least one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said GPS signal;

estimating a respective location and a respective pseudorange for at least one other one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said almanac data and said broadcast parameter; and

calculating said GPS location of said radio device using said respective location and said respective pseudorange for at least three of said GPS satellites.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein said broadcast parameter is a broadcast location of said radio device calculated by said radio device using said broadcast radio signals or clock information identifying a time of day included in said broadcast radio signals.

19. A method for determining a location of a radio device, comprising the steps of:

receiving a plurality of broadcast radio signals, each broadcast from a respective one of a plurality of broadcast radio signal sources;

determining respective call station identification information associated with each of said plurality of broadcast radio signals from each of said received plurality of broadcast radio signals, each said call station identification information identifying a respective one of said plurality of broadcast radio signal sources;

measuring respective signal quality characteristics for each of said plurality of broadcast radio signals from said respective broadcast radio signals;

identifying station position data associated with each of said broadcast radio signal sources from said respective call station identification information, said station position data indicating a respective location of each of said broadcast radio signal sources;

calculating a broadcast location of said radio device using said signal quality characteristics and said station position data associated with at least three of said broadcast radio signal sources; and

calculating a Global Positioning System (GPS) location of said radio device using said broadcast location.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein said step of calculating said GPS location of said radio device further comprises the steps of:

receiving a GPS signal including GPS data transmitted from at least one of a plurality GPS satellites;

determining a respective location of and respective pseudorange for at least one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said GPS signal;

determining a respective location and respective pseudorange for at least one other one of said plurality of GPS satellites from said broadcast location; and

calculating said GPS location of said radio device using said respective location and said respective pseudorange for at least three of said GPS satellites.