Patents Assigned to SiRF Technology, Inc.
  • Patent number: 7822105
    Abstract: A receiver capable of receiving a spread spectrum signal and having a crosscorrelator that enables a carrier wave (CW) jamming to be identified, tracked, replicated and removed from the received spread spectrum signal after demodulation of a weak signal has occurred.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 20, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Sirf Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Underbrink, Henry Falk, Charles Norman
  • Patent number: 7813875
    Abstract: Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a host based positioning system. The host based positioning system includes a tracker hardware interface that connects to a dedicated hardware space vehicle tracker. The tracker hardware interface receives positioning information from the space vehicle tracker. The host based positioning system includes a layered approach to enable user applications on a host computer to access data from tracker hardware.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 10, 2002
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Sirf Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford Yamamoto, Sebastian Nonis, Ashutosh Pande, Nikola Bulatovic, Stefan Witanis
  • Patent number: 7813454
    Abstract: Methods and Systems for tracking symbol timing of an OFDM signal are disclosed. In one embodiment, a wireless receiver includes signal tracking and timing logic to facilitate the timing of a demodulation operation such that the demodulation operation occurs on the proper symbol boundary, particularly when the OFDM signal has multipath components and the second component has greater power than the first.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Sirf Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Robert Cahn, Sharath Ananth
  • Publication number: 20100250129
    Abstract: GPS navigation devices or GPS receivers can consume less power by using a temperature recorder circuit and/or a power manager in calculating the accuracies of the GPS system time and reference frequency to improve battery life. A representative receiver includes a time reference device that generates data associated with a GPS system time, and a temperature recorder circuit that operates using the generated data from the time reference device and monitors the temperature of the time reference device while the receiver hibernates. The receiver further includes memory including a power manager that has instructions, which are processed by a processing device after the receiver wakes up. The instructions associated with the power manager include determining if the temperature recorder circuit sent a wake-up signal, reading data from the temperature recorder circuit, and adjusting parameters associated with at least one of the following: the time reference device and the temperature recorder circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 27, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: SIRF Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Babitch, Steven A. Gronemeyer
  • Publication number: 20100248678
    Abstract: GPS navigation devices or GPS receivers can consume less power by using a temperature recorder circuit and/or a power manager in maintaining the accuracies of the GPS receiver time and reference frequency to improve battery life. A representative receiver includes a time reference device and the temperature recorder circuit that operate while the receiver hibernates. The time reference device generates clock signals and the temperature recorder circuit receives and operates using the clock signals from the time reference device. The temperature recorder senses the temperature of the time reference device. The temperature recorder circuit is designed to send a wake-up signal to at least one electrical component of the receiver to wake up the electrical component of the receiver. The electrical component of the receiver includes at least one of the following: a GPS signal processing system and a frequency reference device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 30, 2009
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: SIRF Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Daniel Babitch, Steven A. Gronemeyer, Peter Naji
  • Patent number: 7800535
    Abstract: A multi-function device with a positioning function and a real time positioning engine is disclosed. The device contains also a shared processor used by the positioning function and other functions of the device, such as a mobile radio-communication function. The positioning engine performs in real time the most computational intensive calculations of the positioning function, such as downsampling, Doppler mixing and correlation calculations. Since the received signal need not be stored, the memory requirements of the positioning function are significantly reduced if aiding data is available.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Scott Bloebaum, Andrew Chou, Benjamin Van Roy
  • Patent number: 7792650
    Abstract: An Edge-Aligned Ratio Counter (EARC) that includes at least one processor coupled to at least one counter circuit is provided for determining a ratio between two clock signals by receiving a first and a second value in response to a first clock signal and generating a control signal under control of the loaded value by counting the pulses of the first clock signal and a second clock signal and captures the count of each clock signal in response to the control signal and determining a ratio between a frequency of the first clock signal and a frequency of the second clock signal using the differences of the captured counts taken at two different occurrences of the control signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 16, 2004
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Underbrink, Steven A. Gronemeyer
  • Patent number: 7792639
    Abstract: Methods and systems consistent with the present invention provide a host based positioning system. The host based positioning system includes a tracker hardware interface that connects to a dedicated hardware space vehicle tracker. The tracker hardware interface receives positioning information from the space vehicle tracker. The host based positioning system also includes a memory that includes a GPS library having a user interface, a tracker interface, and an operating system interface. A processor runs functions provided by the interfaces.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 6, 2005
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Clifford Yamamoto, Sebastian Nonis, Ashutosh Pande, Nikola Bulatovic, Stefan Witanis
  • Patent number: 7786932
    Abstract: An improved time-to-first-fix (TTFF) for GPS systems is provided through a comparison of the time-of-week (TOW) to the sub-frame identification (ID). In one embodiment, this comparison comprises dividing the TOW to form a ratio and performing a modulus operation on the ratio to form a remainder, which is then incremented. If the incremented remainder equals the sub-frame ID, the TOW is assumed to be valid, thereby providing a time of transmission. The time of transmission may then be used to calculate pseudoranges and determine a receiver's location.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 31, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Qutub Salman Syed, Xiang Yuan, James Stephen
  • Patent number: 7760040
    Abstract: A method and a voltage-controlled oscillator provide an output signal with a frequency within one of a plurality of frequency bands, while reducing or eliminating temperature-induced band-switching or other drifts in operating frequency. The band-switching is reduced or eliminated by providing a circuit that adjusts a tuning sensitivity according to a calibration performed under test conditions. For example, such a voltage-controlled oscillator may include (a) a digitally controlled variable current source for providing a first control current to select one of the frequency bands for the voltage-controlled oscillator; (b) a variable transconductance circuit providing a second control current to compensate a variation in operating frequency; and (c) a control circuit for varying the frequency of the output signal in accordance with the first and second control signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 20, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Liping Zhang, Ray Herman, Sanjai Kohli, Neng-Tze Yang
  • Patent number: 7756639
    Abstract: A map-matching feedback interface uses added information to bound a mapping solution and calibrate a navigation system, thus enabling the navigation system to navigate more accurately over a longer period of time. The system recognizes erroneous measurements and reduces or eliminates them from the mapping solution, thus preventing position inaccuracies. The system interfaces the navigation system with a mapping system that feeds back map-based data to the navigation system and combines the map-matching feedback data with other sensor data to produce an accurate navigation solution even in environments where GPS or dead reckoning input data is inaccurate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 5, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Jaime B. Colley, Lars Boeryd
  • Patent number: 7751974
    Abstract: A method for navigation processing in a satellite positioning system receiver is disclosed. A method in accordance with the present invention comprises separating the three SATPS satellites into a first pair and a second pair, constructing a primary solution and an alternate solution, wherein the primary solution and the alternate solution satisfy the measurement constraints, computing a Doppler difference estimate for the primary solution and a Doppler difference estimate for the alternate solution, computing Doppler difference residuals for the first pair and the second pair of SATPS satellites, and comparing the Doppler difference residuals for said primary and alternate solutions to determine a valid solution. Typically, the computing of a Doppler difference residuals comprises differencing a measured Doppler difference from an estimated Doppler difference for the first pair and the second pair of SATPS satellites.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 17, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Keith Jacob Brodie, David Allan Tuck, Mangesh M. Chansarkar
  • Patent number: 7751791
    Abstract: In a system and method for simultaneously receiving or switching between dual frequency carrier signals in a GPS receiver, the GPS receiver is adapted to utilize different harmonics of a sub-harmonic frequency generator, which may include a lower frequency voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to detect the L1 and L2 GPS carriers. A sub-harmonic mixer may be used to simultaneously down convert the L1 and L2 signals to a lower intermediate frequency (IF). A second mixer may be an image reject (IR) mixer used to separate the downconverted L1 and L2 signals. This mixer may be configured to simultaneously monitor the L1 and L2 signals, or to switch between the L1 and L2 signals. High frequency switching is not required of the radio frequency (RF) input or local oscillator signals, and simultaneous L1 and L2 reception is enabled without and 3 dB image noise degradation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 6, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Noshir B. Dubash, Robert Tso
  • Patent number: 7747236
    Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus that produces an estimate of the local oscillator (LO) frequency error using an external reference signal. The error estimate can be used for LO calibration, correction and other purposes. The present invention does not require the external reference signal to be a precision reference signal, nor does the present invention require that the reference signal be continuously supplied. Further, the present invention can be implemented exclusively in software, and therefore does not add to the size or weight of any device that it is resident in. Thus, the present invention can be added to microcontrollers and various specialized programmable digital ICs that were not initially designed for this task.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Gennaidy Poberezhskiy, Charles P. Norman
  • Patent number: 7747259
    Abstract: A system is described that utilizes an imager in a wireless device (102) in a wireless network (100) and transmits a digital image to a service center (120) that assists in identifying the location of the wireless device (102) within a cell site (104).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 29, 2010
    Assignee: Sirf Technology, Inc.
    Inventors: Ashutosh Pande, Kanwar Chadha
  • Patent number: 7741994
    Abstract: A GPS server capable of receiving information for use in determining ionospheric errors using mathematical formulas and sending ionospheric error correction information to GPS receivers that are in a location capable of receiving the ionospheric error correction information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 13, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Assignee: SiRF Technology Inc.
    Inventors: Ashutosh Pande, Junichi Suzuki
  • Publication number: 20100151786
    Abstract: Systems and methods for channel pairing a transmitter and a receiver are provided. In this regard, a representative method, among others, includes selecting a channel in a radio frequency (RF) band; transmitting a carrier and alert tone on the selected channel in the RF band; responsive to detecting the transmitted carrier and alert tone, demodulating the carrier and alert tone on the selected channel in the RF band and producing the demodulated alert tone; and responsive to detecting the produced alert tone, using the selected channel to establish a wireless link between the transmitter and receiver.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 11, 2008
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Applicant: SIRF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Ronald Clayton Alford, Noshir Dubash, Douglas W. Schucker
  • Publication number: 20100150275
    Abstract: Systems and methods for mitigating multipath signals in a receiver are provided. In this regard, a representative system, among others, includes a radio frequency (RF) front-end and at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC). The RF front-end receives FM signals and down-converts the received frequency signals to intermediate frequency (IF) signals. The analog-to-digital converter (ADC) receives the intermediate frequency signals and digitizes multiple FM channels around a desired FM channel associated with the down-converted signals. The system further includes multiple sets of digital processing components that are configured to simultaneously receive and process the digitized multiple channels. The multiple sets of digital processing components include at least two parallel channel selection and demodulation paths in which the respective digitized multiple channels are processed therethrough.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 12, 2008
    Publication date: June 17, 2010
    Applicant: SIRF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventors: Noshir Dubash, Siva Bonasu, Peter Naji, Douglas W. Schucker
  • Publication number: 20100141341
    Abstract: A receiver having multi-stage low noise amplifier are provided. In this regard, a representative receiver, among others, includes at least one antenna and a filter that receives and filters signals from the at least one antenna. The filtered signals include a first frequency band signal and a second frequency band signal. The receiver further includes a multi-stage low noise amplifier that receives the filtered signals from the filter. The multi-stage low noise amplifier includes a first stage low noise amplifier that receives and performs impedance matching for the first frequency band signal and second frequency band signal. The multi-stage low noise amplifier further includes a second stage low noise amplifier that receives the first frequency band signal and second frequency band signal.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 5, 2008
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Applicant: SIRF TECHNOLOGY, INC.
    Inventor: Liping Zhang
  • Publication number: 20100134354
    Abstract: A system and method capable of mitigating the migration from the current GPS system to the Galileo system and allow a single satellite system positioning receiver to process both GPS signals and Galileo signals.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 2, 2008
    Publication date: June 3, 2010
    Applicant: SiRF Technology, Inc.
    Inventor: Gary Lennen