Vehicle-based dynamic advertising
Granted: May 24, 2005
Patent Number:
6898517
A method and system for dynamically targeting content (e.g., advertising) displayed by a moving vehicle according to the location and direction of travel of the vehicle. Multiple items of content are loaded onto the vehicle and updated at periodic intervals. Position information (such as Global Positioning System information) is used to determine the location and direction of travel of the vehicle. Using the vehicle's position and direction of travel, and perhaps the time of day, a…
Vehicle tracking, communication and fleet management system
Granted: May 10, 2005
Patent Number:
6892131
A vehicle fleet management information system for identification of location and direction of movement of each vehicle in the fleet in real-time and automatic communication directly with management offices to report its location and heading, and status of predetermined events in which the vehicle may be engaged. One example is a cement delivery truck which monitors location, speed and status information such as start pour, pouring, end pour, wash and leave job, and automatically…
Method and apparatus for fast acquisition and low SNR tracking in satellite positioning system receivers
Granted: May 3, 2005
Patent Number:
6888879
A satellite positioning system (SATPS) receiver has a mix of standard and enhanced digital channel processors. The standard digital channel processors perform continuous tracking. During a low SNR and/or fast acquisition mode, the enhanced digital channel processor accumulates samples of a SATPS signal that are identically positioned within corresponding PRN code repetition periods, and plays back the stored accumulated values of the samples in an integration period to a correlation…
Tunable filter device for spatial positioning systems
Granted: May 3, 2005
Patent Number:
6889175
A device for spatial positioning systems includes a programmable measurement filter that is dynamically tuned by the device signal processing unit. The signal processing unit analyzes available data including the measurement signal to determine the likelihood that a detected measurement comprises true device movement and adjusts the measurement filter bandwidth accordingly.
Integrated guidance system
Granted: April 26, 2005
Patent Number:
D504337
Method and system for transmission of real-time kinematic satellite positioning system data
Granted: April 12, 2005
Patent Number:
6879283
A method and system for communication in a real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning system by paging. An RTK positioning system having a reference station and a rover utilizes a paging system for data transfer. A single satellite positioning system (SATPS) reference station may be coupled to the paging system to provide RTK correction data, or multiple networked reference stations may be coupled to the paging system to provide data. Paging systems using allocated paging bands having fixed…
Indoor GPS clock
Granted: April 12, 2005
Patent Number:
6879913
An indoor GPS clock using GPS signals lower that ?143 dBm for issuing disciplined frequency and time standard signals. The indoor GPS clock includes a correlation machine using long integration periods for enabling the indoor GPS clock to operate with low signal levels; a carrier-less tracking loop for tracking the low level signals without carrier offset feedback, a clock bias loop for providing clock bias feedback; and a reference oscillator using the clock bias feedback for providing…
Laser receiver using pin diode photodetector elements
Granted: March 29, 2005
Patent Number:
6873413
A device for detecting the relative position of a generally horizontal reference plane of light includes a plurality of photodetector elements, a weighting circuit, and an output circuit. The photodetector elements are positioned on the device in a generally vertically oriented row. The weighting circuit provides a portion of the electrical output of each photodetector element as a first reference signal related to the spacing of the photodetector element from a first end of said row,…
Versatile transmitter and receiver for position measurement
Granted: March 22, 2005
Patent Number:
6870608
Field-deployable spatial positioning or measurement systems are provided for improved versatility, reliability and performance. The spatial positioning or measurement systems use rotating laser fans or beams for positioning and measuring and include a system integrated field-deployable length standard that uses a reelable tape with positional indents. The systems further include the use of labyrinth seals at interface volumes between rotating laser heads and transmitter assemblies to…
GPS correction methods, apparatus and signals
Granted: March 1, 2005
Patent Number:
6862526
Methods and apparatus are described and illustrated for producing GPS corrections, comprising: collecting measurements from a plurality of network reference stations; determining network corrections from the measurements; determining residual errors at one or more vernier-cell reference stations; and preparing vernier-cell corrections to compensate the residual errors within a vernier-cell region. Network correction streams are described and illustrated which contain network corrections…
Method for inferring useful information from position-related vehicular events
Granted: March 1, 2005
Patent Number:
6862521
A method for inferring useful information from position related vehicular events uses allows a vehicle to determine an arrival at a job site, without knowing the job site location in advance. Arrival information can be reported or downloaded later. The method predicts arrival using a series of implied rules. The rules are based on trigger events detected by a sensor and microprocessor installed in the vehicle monitors for the occurrence of a trigger event that indicates that work is…
Horizontal/vertical exclusion level determination scheme for RAIM fault detection and exclusion implementation
Granted: January 25, 2005
Patent Number:
6847893
A method for satellite receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) real time fault detection and exclusion implementation comprising the following steps: (1) continuously computing a horizontal protection level (HPL) and a vertical 32 protection level (VPL) associated with the effective configuration of real time measurement geometry; (2) if the HPL is less than or equal to the horizontal alert limit (HAL), and/or if the VPL is less than or equal to said vertical alert limit (VAL);…
AINS land surveyor system with reprocessing, AINS-LSSRP
Granted: December 21, 2004
Patent Number:
6834234
A Land Surveyor System with Reprocessing is carried by a surveyor moving from a first known position at the start of a survey interval to a second known position at the end of the survey interval has an AINS (aided inertial navigation system) that provides a continuing sequence of time-indexed present position values. A Position Computing System uses a program that stores the sequence of time-indexed present position values in a memory. A reprocessing computer and program is activated at…
Spectral method for calibrating a multi-axis accelerometer device
Granted: November 23, 2004
Patent Number:
6823279
A method for simultaneously determining respective scale factors and alignment angles of a multi-axis accelerometer device for measuring acceleration. To measure the scale factors, the multi-axis accelerometer device to be calibrated is mounted on a turntable. The turntable has a tilt angle with respect to a vertical axis defined by the local gravity vector. The turntable is used to spin the multi-axis accelerometer device around an axis of rotation at an angular velocity such that the…
Cellular telephone using pseudolites for determining location
Granted: November 2, 2004
Patent Number:
6813500
A cellular telephone having a global positioning system (GPS) receiver using a blended combination of GPS signals from GPS satellites and GPS pseudolites for determining a location. The cellular transceiver receives wireless downlink cellphone signals having acquisition aiding information including GPS-based time; ephemeris orbital parameters for GPS satellites; and pseudorandom (PRN) codes, locations, and signal characteristics used by GPS pseudolites in the local vicinity. The GPS…
Substitution of high quality position measurements with upgraded low quality position measurements
Granted: October 26, 2004
Patent Number:
6810324
A method for substituting at least one high quality position measurement with a set of upgraded low quality position measurements comprising the steps of: selecting a high quality source of position measurements of an object; obtaining at least one high quality position measurement of the object by using the high quality source; wherein each high quality position measurement of the object satisfies the threshold of acceptability requirement for the object; saving at least one high…
Integrated position and direction system with radio communication for updating data
Granted: October 19, 2004
Patent Number:
6807485
An integrated position and direction system is disclosed that includes a digital compass, a communication module, and a satellite positioning system having a receiver adapted to receive satellite position determining signals. Signals that are received from satellites are used to determine position of the integrated position and direction system. A method for updating data is disclosed in which the integrated position and direction system communicates with a remote site and sends a…
Correction data signal diplexing onto the AM band
Granted: October 12, 2004
Patent Number:
6803879
A method and apparatus for generating signals that can be used for accurately determining position and a method and apparatus for accurately determining position. A radio station modification unit is disclosed that can be incorporated into an existing radio transmission facility. The radio station modification unit generates a correction data signal that can be used by position determining systems for accurately determining position. In one embodiment, the radio station modification unit…
Portable motion-activated position reporting device
Granted: October 5, 2004
Patent Number:
6801853
The present invention is a portable motion-activated position reporting device. In one embodiment, a controller is coupled with a power source, a position determining component, a wireless communications component, and an initiating component. In one embodiment, the initiating component detects motion of the position reporting device and generates a signal to the controller indicating the motion. The controller, in response to the signal, activates the position reporting device.
Adaptive threshold logic implementation for RAIM fault detection and exclusion function
Granted: September 28, 2004
Patent Number:
6798377
A method for improving a satellite receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM) availability and fault detection and exclusion (FDE) function by using an adaptive threshold logic. The method comprises the following steps: (A) pre-computing a database of thresholds; (B) selecting in real time from the database a plurality of thresholds corresponding to a set of available measurements; and (C) determining an optimum RAIM/FDE function corresponding to the set of available measurements by…
