Method of determining the position of a mobile unit

• US 7,089,112 B2
• Filed: 06/13/2003
• Issued: 08/08/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: NXP B.V. (NXP Semiconductors NV)
• Original Assignee: Koninklijke Philips N.V.
• Inventors: Marshall, Christopher B., Yule, Andrew T., Dooley, Saul R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Camby, Richard M.
• Application Number:
  US10/462,312
• Publication Number:
  US 20030212487A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,152 Days
• Field of Search: 701/213, 701/214, 701/215, 701/216, 342/357, 342/357.03, 342/357.01, 342/357.02
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/34 Power consumption
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/41 Differential correction, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS]
• 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 2205/008 using a mobile telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0063 of measured values, i.e. measurement on base station and position calculation on mobile

Abstract

A method of determining the position of a mobile unit (MS1) having a GPS receiver (24) is disclosed. The method comprising the steps of measuring mobile unit pseudoranges at the mobile unit (MS1) using the GPS receiver (24); providing reference pseudoranges corresponding to a reference location situated remote from the mobile unit (BS1); and determining the position of the mobile unit (MS1) relative to the reference location (BS1) as a function of both the reference pseudoranges and the mobile unit pseudoranges.

Claims

1. A mobile unit (MS1) comprising a communications receiver (21) for receiving reference pseudoranges corresponding to a reference location (BS1) situated remote from the mobile unit (MS1);

a GPS receiver for measuring mobile unit pseudoranges (MS1); and

a GPS processor (24) for determining the position of the mobile unit (MS1) relative to the reference location (BS1) as a function of both the reference pseudoranges and the mobile unit pseudoranges.

2. A mobile unit (MS1) according to claim 1 wherein the GPS receiver (24) is further configured to determine the absolute position of the mobile unit (MS1) from both reference location (BS1) and the relative position of the mobile unit (MS1) to the reference location (BS1).

3. A mobile unit (MS1) comprising a GPS receiver (24) for measuring pseudoranges at the mobile unit (MS1);

and a GPS processor (24) for determining the position of the mobile unit (MS1) relative to a nearby reference location (BS1) using the pseudoranges, and determining the absolute position of the mobile unit (MS1) from both the reference location and the relative position of the mobile unit (MS1) to the reference location (BS1).

4. A mobile unit (MS1) comprising a communications receiver (21) for receiving satellite vector information in Cartesian form describing either or both of the position or movement of GPS satellites;

a GPS receiver (24) for measuring mobile unit pseudoranges from GPS satellite signals modulated by GPS ephemeris data in the form of Keplerian parameters; and

a GPS processor (25) for determining the position of the mobile unit (MS1) as a function of both the satellite vector information and the mobile unit pseudoranges.

5. A mobile unit (MS1) according to claim 4 wherein the satellite vector information comprises position (x,y,z) and velocity ({dot over (x)}, {dot over (y)}, ż

) vectors describing the position and movement of the GPS satellites respectively.

6. A mobile unit (MS1) according to claim 4 wherein the satellite vector information comprises acceleration ({umlaut over (x)}, ÿ

, {umlaut over (z)}) vectors describing the movement of the GPS satellites.

7. A mobile unit (MS1) according to claim 4 wherein the satellite vector information comprises 4^th or higher order vectors describing the movement of the GPS satellites.