GPS System Utilizing Multiple Antennas

• US 20090135060A1
• Filed: 11/27/2007
• Published: 05/28/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CSR Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: SIRF Technology Incorporated (Qualcomm, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lennen, Gary, Babitch, Daniel
• Granted Patent: US 7,642,957 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.310
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/22 Multipath-related issues
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/36 relating to the receiver frond end
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/242 specially adapted for hand-held use
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/29 Combinations of different interacting antenna units for giving a desired directional characteristic H01Q25/00 takes precedence

Abstract

A GPS Mobile Unit is described. The GPS Mobile Unit may include at least two antennas, at least two GPS receivers, and a position solution module in signal communication with the at least two GPS receivers.

Claims

1. A GPS Mobile Unit comprising:

at least two antennas;

at least two GPS receivers, wherein each GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers is in signal communication with an individual antenna of the at least two antennas;

a position solution module in signal communication with the at least two GPS receivers, wherein the position solution module is configured to receive GPS measurements and quality indicators from the at least two GPS receivers and, in response, determine a GPS location for the GPS Mobile Unit.

2. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 1, wherein the at least two antennas are spaced approximately a quarter of a wavelength apart.

3. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 2, wherein the GPS Mobile Unit further includes a common frequency source in signal communication with each GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers.

4. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 3, wherein a first GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers is configured to send a timing mark signal to a second GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers.

5. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 4, wherein the common frequency source is a Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (“

TXCO”

).

6. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 4, wherein each antenna, of the at least two antennas, has an antenna pattern that is not omni-directional.

7. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 6, wherein each antenna is a patch antenna.

8. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 1, wherein the at least two antennas have different orientations.

9. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 1, wherein the satellite measurement and quality indicator information includes pseudorange, timing, Doppler, signal-to-noise ratio (“

SNR”

), carrier-to-noise ratio (“

CNO”

), signal strength measurements, multi-path detector information, satellite heath indication information, and signal jamming indication information.

10. A GPS Mobile Unit comprising:

at least two antennas;

at least two GPS front-ends, wherein each GPS front-end of the at least two GPS front-ends is in signal communication with each antenna of the at least two antennas;

a parallel digital signal acquisition and tracking module in signal communication with the at least two GPS front-ends, wherein the parallel digital signal acquisition and tracking module is configured to receive digital GPS signals from the at least two GPS front-ends and, in response, produce GPS measurements and quality indicators; and

a position solution module in signal communication with the parallel digital signal acquisition and tracking module, wherein the position solution module is configured to receive GPS measurements and quality indicators from the parallel digital signal acquisition and tracking module and, in response, determine a GPS location for the GPS Mobile Unit.

11. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 10, wherein the at least two antennas are spaced approximately a quarter wavelength apart.

12. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 11, wherein the GPS Mobile Unit further includes a common frequency source in signal communication with each GPS front-end of the at least two GPS front-ends.

13. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 12, wherein the common frequency source is a Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator (“

TXCO”

).

14. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 12, further including

a controller in signal communication with the at least two GPS front-ends and parallel digital signal acquisition and tracking module,

wherein the GPS Mobile Unit is configured to utilize a set of M GPS satellite acquisition channels, and

wherein the Controller is configured to allocate a subset of the GPS satellite acquisition channels from the set of M GPS satellite acquisition channels to a first antenna of the at least two antennas and a first front-end of the at least two GPS front-ends based on the received GPS signals.

15. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 14, wherein each antenna has a non-omni-directional antenna pattern.

16. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 15, wherein each antenna is a patch antenna.

17. The GPS Mobile Unit of claim 10, wherein the satellite measurement and quality indicator information includes pseudorange, timing, Doppler, signal-to-noise ratio (“

SNR”

), carrier-to-noise ratio (“

CNO”

), signal strength measurements, multi-path detector information, satellite heath indication information, and signal jamming indication information.

18. A method for receiving a plurality of GPS signals, at GPS Mobile Unit, from a plurality of GPS satellite utilizing at least two antennas and, in response, determining a location for the GPS Mobile Unit, the method comprising:

receiving the plurality of GPS signals with at least two GPS receivers, wherein each GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers is in signal communication with a corresponding antenna of the at least two antennas;

producing GPS measurements and quality indicator information from the received plurality of GPS signals; and

determining the location for the GPS Mobile Unit utilizing the GPS measurements and quality indicator information.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein receiving the plurality of GPS signals with at least two GPS receivers includes utilizing the at least two antennas that are spaced approximately a quarter wavelength apart.

20. The method of claim 19, further including utilizing a common frequency signal, from a common frequency source, with the at least two GPS receivers.

21. The method of claim 20, further including sending a timing mark signals from a first GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers to a second GPS receiver of the at least two GPS receivers.

22. A method for receiving a plurality of GPS signals, at GPS Mobile Unit, from a plurality of GPS satellite utilizing at least two antennas and, in response, determining a location for the GPS Mobile Unit, the method comprising:

receiving the plurality of GPS signals with at least two GPS front-ends, wherein each GPS front-end of the at least two GPS front-ends is in signal communication with a corresponding antenna of the at least two antennas;

producing GPS measurements and quality indicator information from the received plurality of GPS signals; and

determining the location for the GPS Mobile Unit utilizing the GPS measurements and quality indicator information.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein receiving the plurality of GPS signals with at least two GPS receivers includes utilizing the at least two antennas that are spaced approximately a quarter wavelength apart.

24. The method of claim 23, further including utilizing a common frequency signal, from a common frequency source, with the at least two GPS front-ends.

25. The method of claim 24, producing GPS measurements and quality indicator information from the received plurality of GPS signals includes

utilizing a set of M GPS satellite acquisition channels, and

allocating a subset of the GPS satellite acquisition channels from the set of M GPS satellite acquisition channels to a first antenna of the at least two antennas and a first front-end of the at least two GPS front-ends based on the received GPS signals.