Method and system for propagating gnss assistance data among communication devices

Abstract

A communication device within a GNSS group propagates GNSS assistance data to one or more other communication devices in the GNSS group. The GNSS assistance data includes ephemeris received from one or more GNSS satellites and/or predicted ephemeris. As a source device, the communication device generates, and/or acquires from other resources such as a remote location server, the predicted ephemeris. As a destination device, the communication device receives existing GNSS assistance data from a source device and/or other communication devices in the GNSS group. A GNSS position for the communication device and corresponding time information are used to refresh the received GNSS assistance data. In instances where the communication device further acts as a relay device, the refreshed GNSS assistance data is relayed to other communication devices over wired and/or wireless direct device-to-device connections utilizing appropriate communication technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth and/or Bluetooth low energy.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for communication, the method comprising:
 calculating, in a communication device, a position for the communication device utilizing Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) assistance data;   refreshing the GNSS assistance data by incorporating the position for the communication device and corresponding time information; and   propagating the refreshed GNSS assistance data from the communication device to one or more communication devices.   
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 establishing a device-to-device connection from the communication device to the one or more communication devices.   
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claim 1 , wherein the propagating further comprises:
 utilizing a device-to-device connection to propagate the refreshed GNSS assistance data to the one or more communication devices.   
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the GNSS assistance data from one or more GNSS satellites, wherein the GNSS assistance data comprises ephemeris.   
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 generating, in the communication device, predicted ephemeris, wherein the GNSS assistance data comprises the predicted ephemeris.   
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the GNSS assistance data from a remote location server, wherein the GNSS assistance data comprises at least one of ephemeris and predicted ephemeris.   
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 receiving the GNSS assistance data from another communication device from among a plurality of communication devices,   wherein the prior communication device refreshed the GNSS assistance data with the another communication device's position and corresponding time information.   
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 propagating the GNSS assistance data to the one or more communication devices as part of a GNSS spreading group, the GNSS spreading group comprising a plurality of communication devices.   
     
     
         9 . A communication device, comprising:
 a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a communication signal, wherein the communication signal comprises GNSS assistance data; and   a processor configured to:
 calculate a position for the communication device using the GNSS assistance data; and 
 refresh the GNSS assistance data by incorporating the position for the communication device and corresponding time information; 
   wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the refreshed GNSS assistance data from the processor and propagate the refreshed GNSS assistance data to one or more communication devices.   
     
     
         10 . The communication device of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the processor is further configured to generate the GNSS assistance data based on ephemeris, the position for the communication device, and the corresponding time information.   
     
     
         11 . The communication device of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 a GNSS receiver configured to detect and receive a GNSS signal and extract GNSS satellite navigation information from the GNSS signal, the GNSS satellite navigation information comprising the ephemeris,   wherein the processor is further configured to generate predicted ephemeris based on the ephemeris extracted from the GNSS satellite navigation information, the GNSS assistance data being additionally based on the predicted ephemeris.   
     
     
         12 . The communication device of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the transceiver is further configured to receive the assistance data from a location server.   
     
     
         13 . The communication device of  9 , wherein:
 the transceiver is further configured to receive the assistance data from another communication device from among a plurality of communication devices,   wherein the another communication device refreshed the GNSS assistance data with the another communication device's position and corresponding time information.   
     
     
         14 . The communication device of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the transceiver is further configured to establish a device-to-device connection from the communication device to the one or more communication devices.   
     
     
         15 . The communication device of  claim 9 , wherein:
 the communication device and the one or more communication devices are within a GNSS spreading group that comprises a plurality of communication devices.   
     
     
         16 . A communication device, comprising:
 a transceiver configured to transmit and receive a communication signal comprising GNSS assistance data; and   a processor configured to:
 calculate a position for the communication device; and 
 refresh the GNSS assistance data by incorporating the position for the communication device and corresponding time information; 
   wherein the transceiver is further configured to receive the refreshed GNSS assistance data from the processor and propagate the refreshed GNSS assistance data to one or more communication devices.   
     
     
         17 . The communication device of  claim 16 , wherein:
 The processor is further configured to generate the GNSS assistance data based on ephemeris, the position for the communication device, and the corresponding time information.   
     
     
         18 . The communication device of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 a GNSS receiver configured to detect and receive a GNSS signal and extract GNSS satellite navigation information from the GNSS signal, the GNSS satellite navigation information comprising the ephemeris,   wherein the processor is further configured to generate predicted ephemeris based on the ephemeris extracted from the GNSS satellite navigation information, the GNSS assistance data being additionally based on the predicted ephemeris.   
     
     
         19 . The communication device of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the transceiver is further configured to receive the assistance data from another prior communication device from among a plurality of communication devices,   wherein the another communication device refreshed the GNSS assistance data with the another communication device's position and corresponding time information before propagation to the communication device.   
     
     
         20 . The communication device of  claim 16 , wherein:
 the transceiver is further configured to establish a device-to-device connection from the communication device to the one or more communication devices.