Patent US6806830B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US6806830B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Electronic device precision location via local broadcast signals
Assignee: Texas Instruments Inc
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Filing: 2001-12-31
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Granted: 2004-10-19
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Expires: 2021-12-31
Abstract
Abstract A location determination apparatus, method and system ( 10, 23, 26, 32, 36, 48, 52, 60, 64, 74, 78, 84, 90, 106 ) that is an improvement upon existing location determining techniques. The invention enables precision indoor location determination through the use of non-DTV terrestrial broadcast signals (e.g. one way, wide area, dissemination of information)( 20 ), or re-broadcast signals ( 44, 56, 70, 80 ) of the proposed (terrestrial based) digital satellite radio relay transmitters ( 42, 54 ) to provide position location. This solution does not require a local receiver to correct for long distance propagation dispersion, particularly for the satellite relay, as the digital radio satellites are already synchronized to GPS time. More specifically, the invention discloses two significant location detection concepts: A) local terrestrial transmitters ( 12 ) provide information used to determine the location of an electronic apparatus; and B) local re-transmitters of satellite-distributed programming ( 42, 54 ) provide information used to determine the location of an electronic apparatus.
Inventors
- 👤 Carl M. Panasik
- 👤 Steven C. Lazar
- 👤 Madison F. Pedigo
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 20:13
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01S; G01S5/00; G01S5/02; G01S5/0205; G01S5/0226; G01C; G01C21/00; G01C21/20; G01C21/206; G01S5/021; G01S5/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 34
Claim 1
Independent Claim
53 words
A position location system, comprising: non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from known transmitter locations, said broadcast signals each including a synchronization signal locked to a common time; and an apparatus for receiving said broadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said received synchronization signals.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
53 words
A position location system, comprising: non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from known transmitter locations, said broadcast signals each including a synchronization signal locked to a common time; and an apparatus for receiving said broadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said received synchronization signals.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
17 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein said broadcast signals are analog signals with digital sub-carrier signals.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein said broadcast signals are digital signals.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 3 , wherein said digital signals are re-transmissions of satellite radio signals.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein said apparatus is a cellular transceiver.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
14 words
The system of claim 5 , wherein said cellular transceiver is a personal communicator.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein said apparatus receives broadcast signals from at least three transmitter locations.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
21 words
The system of claim 1 , wherein correction of non-time locked broadcast signals is provided by a local monitoring unit “LMU”.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
54 words
A position location system, comprising: broadcast signals with common synchronization from at least one satellite and rebroadcast from three or more known terrestrial re-transmitter locations; and an apparatus for receiving said rebroadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received rebroadcast signals.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
54 words
A position location system, comprising: broadcast signals with common synchronization from at least one satellite and rebroadcast from three or more known terrestrial re-transmitter locations; and an apparatus for receiving said rebroadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received rebroadcast signals.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for locating an electronic device, comprising the steps of: receiving non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from known transmitter locations, said broadcast signals each having a synchronization signal locked to a common time when transmitted; and calculating the location of said electronic device using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said synchronization signals in said received broadcast signals.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
59 words
A method for locating an electronic device, comprising the steps of: receiving non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from known transmitter locations, said broadcast signals each having a synchronization signal locked to a common time when transmitted; and calculating the location of said electronic device using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said synchronization signals in said received broadcast signals.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein said broadcast signals are analog signals with digital sub-carrier signals.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
13 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein said broadcast signals are digital signals.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein said digital signals are re-transmissions of satellite radio signals.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
22 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein said receiving non-DTV broadcast signals is enabled by an RF receiver in said electronic device.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
14 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein said electronic device is a cellular handset.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein said electronic device receives broadcast signals from at least three transmitter locations.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 10 , wherein correction of non-time locked broadcast signals is provided by a local monitoring unit “LMU”.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
62 words
A method for locating an electronic device, comprising the steps of: receiving broadcast signals from three or more terrestrial transmitter locations, each of said broadcast signals being a retransmission with common synchronization of a signal previously transmitted by a satellite; and calculating the location of said electronic device using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received broadcast signals.
Claim 22
Independent Claim
62 words
A method for locating an electronic device, comprising the steps of: receiving broadcast signals from three or more terrestrial transmitter locations, each of said broadcast signals being a retransmission with common synchronization of a signal previously transmitted by a satellite; and calculating the location of said electronic device using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received broadcast signals.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
59 words
An electronic apparatus enabled to receive non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from known transmitter locations in which said broadcast signals each include a synchronization signal locked to a common time at time of transmission and further enabled to calculate the location of said apparatus using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said synchronization signals in said received broadcast signals.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
59 words
An electronic apparatus enabled to receive non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from known transmitter locations in which said broadcast signals each include a synchronization signal locked to a common time at time of transmission and further enabled to calculate the location of said apparatus using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said synchronization signals in said received broadcast signals.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
13 words
The apparatus of claim 19 , wherein said apparatus is a cellular transceiver.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
21 words
The apparatus of claim 20 , wherein said known locations are provided by a lookup table in communication with said transceiver.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein said lookup table is in a server responsive to the transceiver.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
14 words
The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein said lookup table is in said apparatus.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
58 words
An electronic apparatus enabled to receive broadcast signals from three or more terrestrial transmitter locations, each of said broadcast signals being a retransmission with common synchronization of a signal previously transmitted by a satellite, and further enabled to calculate the location of said apparatus using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received broadcast signals.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim
58 words
An electronic apparatus enabled to receive broadcast signals from three or more terrestrial transmitter locations, each of said broadcast signals being a retransmission with common synchronization of a signal previously transmitted by a satellite, and further enabled to calculate the location of said apparatus using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received broadcast signals.
Claim 31
Dependent Claim
69 words
A position location system, comprising: at least three transmitters in which the location of each of the transmitters is known; non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from said known transmitter locations, said broadcast signals each including a synchronization signal locked to a common time; and an apparatus for receiving said broadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said received synchronization signals.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
69 words
A position location system, comprising: at least three transmitters in which the location of each of the transmitters is known; non-DTV broadcast signals transmitted from said known transmitter locations, said broadcast signals each including a synchronization signal locked to a common time; and an apparatus for receiving said broadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected amongst respective ones of said received synchronization signals.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
80 words
A position location system, comprising: at least three transmitters for rebroadcasting a broadcast signal from a satellite in which the location of each of the transmitters is known, said rebroadcast signal transmitted from any one of said three transmitters being commonly synchronized with the rebroadcast signals transmitted from the other transmitters; and an apparatus for receiving said rebroadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received rebroadcast signals.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
80 words
A position location system, comprising: at least three transmitters for rebroadcasting a broadcast signal from a satellite in which the location of each of the transmitters is known, said rebroadcast signal transmitted from any one of said three transmitters being commonly synchronized with the rebroadcast signals transmitted from the other transmitters; and an apparatus for receiving said rebroadcast signals and calculating the location of said apparatus using time differences detected in synchronization between respective ones of said received rebroadcast signals.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-10-19 | 2008-04-19 | 2008-10-19 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-10-19 | 2012-04-19 | 2012-10-19 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-10-19 | 2016-04-19 | 2016-10-19 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |