Position calculating method and position calculating device

• US 9,423,486 B2
• Filed: 03/12/2012
• Issued: 08/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Mizuochi, Shunichi
• Primary Examiner(s): ZEWDU, MELESS NMN
• Application Number:
  US14/008,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20140106775A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,625 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/165 combined with non-inertial navigation instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/47 the supplementary measurement being an inertial measurement, e.g. tightly coupled inertial
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0027 of actual mobile position, i.e. position determined on mobile

Abstract

In a position calculating device of a moving object including a satellite positioning unit and an inertial positioning unit, a position calculation accuracy determining unit determines a position calculation accuracy and sets an influence level of measurement result 1 of the satellite positioning unit on measurement result 2 of the inertial positioning unit on the basis of the determined position calculation accuracy. The position of the moving object is calculated by performing a coupling process of coupling measurement result 1 and measurement result 2 on the basis of the set influence level.

Claims

1. A position calculating method of calculating a position of a moving object using a first measurement result of a satellite positioning receiver unit disposed in the moving object and a second measurement result of an inertial positioning sensor unit disposed in the moving object, comprising:

determining position calculation accuracy;

comparing the position calculation accuracy to a set of three or more accuracy threshold ranges;

adjusting an influence of the first measurement result of the satellite positioning receiver unit on the second measurement result of the inertial positioning sensor unit to one of three or more influence levels corresponding to the accuracy threshold ranges on the basis of the position calculation accuracy; and

calculating the position of the moving object by performing a coupling process of coupling the first measurement result and the second measurement result on the basis of the adjusted influence,

wherein adjusting the influence includes performing one of;

setting a frequency of performing the coupling process to be lower with higher position calculation accuracy; and

setting an error parameter value used in a Kalman filtering process to be larger with higher position calculation accuracy.

2. The position calculating method according to claim 1, wherein the determining of the position calculation accuracy includes determining the position calculation accuracy on the basis of an elapsed time or a position calculation frequency after the moving object starts to move.

3. The position calculating method according to claim 1, wherein the coupling process includes an error estimating operation of estimating an error included in the calculated position, and

wherein the determining of the position calculation accuracy includes determining the position calculation accuracy on the basis of the error estimated through the error estimating operation.

4. The position calculating method according to claim 1,

wherein the calculating of the position includes performing the coupling process using the first measurement result on the basis of the frequency.

5. The position calculating method according to claim 1,

wherein the calculating of the position includes performing the Kalman filtering process using the first measurement result and the error parameter value.

7. The position calculating method according to claim 1, wherein the accuracy threshold ranges are ranges of elapsed times from start of movement.

8. The position calculating method according to claim 1, wherein the accuracy threshold ranges are ranges of frequencies of position calculation.

6. A position calculating device calculating a position of a moving object using a first measurement result of a satellite positioning receiver unit disposed in the moving object and a second measurement result of an inertial positioning sensor unit disposed in the moving object, comprising:

a position calculation accuracy determining unit that determines a position calculation accuracy;

an influence level setting unit that compares the position calculation accuracy to a set of three or more accuracy threshold ranges, and adjusts an influence of the first measurement result of the satellite positioning receiver unit on the second measurement result of the inertial positioning sensor unit to one of three or more influence levels corresponding to the accuracy threshold ranges on the basis of the position calculation accuracy; and

a coupling unit that calculates the position of the moving object by performing a coupling process of coupling the first measurement result and the second measurement result on the basis of the adjusted influence,

wherein adjusting the influence includes performing one of;

setting a frequency of performing the coupling process to be lower with higher position calculation accuracy; and

setting an error parameter value used in a Kalman filtering process to be larger with higher position calculation accuracy.