Sirf Technology, Inc.

Steven Chen

Sanjai Kohli

Mangesh M Chansarkar

Charles Robert Cahn

Greg Turetsky

Howard K Luu

A system and a method to track GPS (Global Positioning System) satellite signal in a GPS receiver that includes an expanded capture window to rapidly reacquire the satellite signal after the satellite signal has been obstructed or when there is other type of signal loss. The expanded capture window includes a plurality of additional early and late correlations for maintaining synchronization of the GPS signal with a generated replica signal when positional error has accumulated during the time of the signal loss. The plurality of additional early and late correlations may be delayed from each other by a multiple of a fraction of a chip and may be performed in one or multiple channels of the GPS receiver. The adjoining code samples in the replica signal may also be offset by a fraction of a chip or by a multiple of the fraction of a chip.

Spread spectrum receiver with multi-bit correlator

An input random access memory (RAM) module of a fast Fourier transform (FFT) engine of a DVB receiver is used to store, during a first time period, delayed versions of an input signal that includes a first orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) symbol and a cyclic prefix therefor received at the receiver, and samples for a second OFDM symbol to be demodulated using the FFT engine during a second time period. Delayed versions of the input signal are stored in the input RAM module of the FFT engine in a first-in-first-out (FIFO) fashion for signal acquisition and for FFT processing. Similarly, an output RAM module of the FFT engine is used to store moving averages of an autocorrelation of the input signal with its cyclic prefix computed over presumed guard intervals and over multiple symbols.

Memory reduction in digital broadcast receivers

A terrestrial C/A code GPS receiver system digitally samples, filters and stores a segment of 11 half chips of the received composite as a binary number and multiplexes this number for parallel correlation with each of a series of multibit code replicas for the satellites to be tracked. Each of the time delay specific correlation products are accumulated in a cell of a memory matrix so that at least twenty two delays for each satellite may be evaluated each code period providing fast reacquisition, even within a city intersection, as well as correction of multipath tracking and multipath interference. All cells of the memory matrix may be used for an acquisition of a single satellite in about 4 ms. Two satellite tracking, in addition to altitude hold, uses cross track hold alternating with clock hold to update the cross track estimate. Single satellite tracking uses cross track and clock hold together. Navigation data is updated with detected changes in motion including turns.

Pseudo-noise correlator for GPS spread-spectrum receiver

A GPS car navigation system derives GPS position update information from motion of the car along the actual track. Turns along the track are detected when they actually occur and are compared with the predicted turns so that the time and position at the actual turn can be used to update the then current GPS derived position of the vehicle. Updating position information with actual turn data improves the accuracy of GPS navigation especially during single satellite navigation.

Triple multiplexing spread spectrum receiver

A spread spectrum receiver processes signals from a plurality of sources modulated by different spread spectrum codes by sampling the signals as received to produce an integer series of sampling segments at a sampling rate at least twice a chip rate of the codes, each sampling segment containing an integer number of bits representing a fraction of a chip of the codes, time division multiplexing each sample segment into a number of channels, correlating the bits in each sample segment in each channel in parallel with a source specific series of locally generated sequential code samples differing by one bit, summing each parallel correlation, and accumulating the summed parallel correlations for each code sample in each channel at a rate at least equal to the chip rate to derive data related to each of the sources.

A terrestrial C/A code GPS receiver system digitally samples, filters and stores a segment of 11 half chips of the received composite as a binary number and multiplexes this number for parallel correlation with each of a series of multibit code replicas for the satellites to be tracked. Each of the time delay specific correlation products are accumulated in a cell of a memory matrix so that at least twenty two delays for each satellite may be evaluated each code period providing fast reacquisition, even within a city intersection, as well as correction of multipath tracking and multipath interference. All cells of the memory matrix may be used for a acquisition of a single satellite in about 4 ms. Two satellite tracking, in addition to altitude hold, uses cross track hold alternating with clock hold to update the cross track estimate. Single satellite tracking uses cross track and clock hold together. Navigation data is updated with detected changes in motion including turns.

GPS system for navigating a vehicle

A spread spectrum receiver processes signals from a plurality of sources modulated by different spread spectrum codes by sampling the signals as received to produce an integer series of sampling segments at a sampling rate at least twice a chip rate of the codes, each sampling segment containing an integer number of bits representing a fraction of a chip of the codes, time division multiplexing each sample segment into a number of channels, correlating the bits in each sample segment in each channel in parallel with a source specific series of locally generated sequential code samples differing by one bit, summing each parallel correlation, and accumulating the summed parallel correlations for each code sample in each channel at at least the chip rate to derive data related to each of the sources.

Pseudo-noise correlator for a GPS spread spectrum receiver

GPS car navigation system

A GPS car navigation system permits single satellite navigation by representing the x and y unknowns with on-track and cross track vectors and estimating the z and t unknowns. An estimate of the y unknown, representing the maximum width of the track or roadway, is thereby combined with altitude and clock hold estimates to derive GPS position information along the predicted track. Turns along the track are detected when they actually occur and are compared with the predicted turns so that the time and position at the actual turn can be used to update the then current GPS derived position of the vehicle. Updating position information with actual turn data improves the accuracy of GPS navigation especially when using single satellite navigation. Multiple, parallel correlations of data in a wide capture window extending, at 1/2 chip width intervals or less from the predicted prompt correlation delay of a previously tracked satellite, permits seamless tracking and rapid reacquisition at speeds sufficient to permit position information updates during momentary view available of satellites in intersections. The satellite tracking and data processing is implemented in an ASIC which is configured to use a minimum number of gates. The received data is processed in 11 bit samples, for a total of 186 time segments per 1 msec code period, which are each doppler shifted and multiplexed into 12 channels. The code correlations are performed 22 times per channel by shifting the 11 bit locally generated code by one bit each correlation. The chip rate of the incoming data is 2f.sub.0 and the correlations are performed at 48f.sub.0 providing a time magnification advantage of 24.

A spread spectrum receiver, such as a GPS car navigation system, uses multiple, parallel correlations of data in a wide capture window, permits seamless tracking and rapid reacquisition of satellite signals at speeds sufficient to permit position information updates during momentary views available of satellites in intersections. The received data is processed in 11 bit samples, for a total of 186 time segments per 1 msec code period, which are each Doppler shifted and multiplexed into 12 channels. The code correlations are performed 22 times per channel by shifting the 11 bit locally generated code by one bit each correlation. The chip rate of the incoming data is 2f.sub.0 and the correlations are performed at 48f.sub.0 providing a time magnification advantage of 24.

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Cerritos, CA, United States of America

Steven Chen