High Accuracy Satellite Receiving Controller and Associated Method

• US 20090262018A1
• Filed: 02/05/2009
• Published: 10/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: MediaTek, Inc.
• Original Assignee: MStar Semiconductor Incorporated (MediaTek, Inc.)
• Inventors: KAN, Ping-Hsin, VASILYEV, Mikhail, BOCHKOVSKIY, Andrei, WU, Chun-Hsien, CHANG, Yu Tai, YANG, Steve Wiyi, PENG, Hsin-Min, TSAI, TSAI-HSIN
• Granted Patent: US 8,223,070 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 342/357.620
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/235 Calibration of receiver components

Abstract

A high accuracy satellite signal receiving controller and associated method is provided. The high accuracy satellite signal receiving controller includes a frequency synthesizer, and an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiving module and a control unit. The frequency synthesizer, coupled to an external non-temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (non-TXCO), generates an oscillating frequency signal to the GPS receiving module. The ADC converts an analog temperature signal into a digital temperature signal. The control unit, coupled to the ADC, adaptively updates temperature/frequency offset data.

Claims

1. A high accuracy satellite receiving controller, comprising:

an analog-to-digital converter (ADC), for receiving an analog temperature and converting the same into a digital temperature;

a global positioning system (GPS) receiving module, for performing satellite positioning;

a frequency synthesizer, coupled to an external non-temperature-compensated crystal oscillator (non-TCXO), for generating an oscillating frequency signal for operating the GPS receiving module; and

a control unit, coupled to the ADC and the GPS receiving module;

wherein, the control unit generates an oscillation frequency adjustment value to the GPS receiving module to compensate accuracy of satellite positioning, and adaptively updates a temperature/frequency offset data.

2. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the temperature/frequency offset data represents a temperature/frequency offset function.

3. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the GPS receiving module transmits a plurality of satellite code phase errors and a plurality of satellite frequency offsets to the control unit.

4. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 3, wherein when the control unit determines that a positioning solution is absent, the control unit estimates the oscillation frequency adjustment value according to the digital temperature and the temperature/frequency offset data.

5. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a reference clock pin for receiving an accurate reference clock for calibrating the controller.

6. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor for detecting an environmental temperature to generate the analog temperature.

7. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a temperature pin for coupling to an external thermistor to generate the analog temperature.

8. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit is coupled to an external non-volatile memory.

9. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 8, wherein the non-volatile memory is a flash memory.

10. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the GPS receiving module comprises a radio frequency (RF) circuit, a baseband circuit, a measurement engine and a positioning engine;

the baseband circuit receives the oscillation frequency adjustment value to compensate accuracy of satellite positioning.

11. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises a Kalman filter for adaptively updating the temperature/frequency offset data.

12. The high accuracy satellite receiving controller as claimed in claim 1, a frequency bias of the non-TCXO is stored in an external non-volatile memory.

13. A method of high accuracy satellite positioning utilizing a non-temperature-compensated oscillation signal, comprising steps of:

receiving the non-temperature-compensated oscillation signal;

determining whether a positioning solution is present; and

estimating an oscillation frequency adjustment value according to an environmental temperature and a temperature/frequency offset data.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the temperature/frequency offset data represents a temperature/frequency offset function.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a step of generating a plurality of satellite code phase errors and a plurality of satellite frequency offsets.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the determining step determines whether a positioning solution is present according to the satellite code phase errors and the satellite frequency offsets.

17. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a step of compensating a Doppler frequency offset according to the oscillation frequency adjustment value.

18. The method as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a step of adaptively updates the temperature/frequency offset data utilizing a Kalman filter.

19. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the temperature/frequency offset data is stored in an external non-volatile memory.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, wherein a frequency bias of a non-temperature-compensated oscillator is stored in the non-volatile memory.