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AppleGranted patentPhones & computersInterest 6/10

Apple patents method to filter out blocked GPS signals for better accuracy

Apple has been granted a patent for a technique that helps electronic devices figure out if a GPS signal is coming directly from a satellite or if it has bounced off a building. The device compares the measured distance to the satellite with a predicted distance based on other data to assign a probability to each signal being a direct line of sight. It then uses these probabilities to calculate a more accurate location.

Why it mattersThis improves the reliability of location services in urban areas where buildings often block or reflect GPS signals, leading to more precise mapping and navigation.

In the filing’s own words

In accordance with one or more implementations, a method includes receiving, with an electronic device, a first satellite signal and a second satellite signal and determining whether the first satellite signal is LOS. The determining is based on a signal strength of the first satellite signal. The method also includes determining whether the second satellite signal is non-LOS. The determining is based on a signal strength of the second satellite signal. The method further includes estimating a location of the electronic device based on the first satellite signal and the second satellite signal in response to determining that the first satellite signal is LOS and that the second satellite signal is non-LOS.

What exactly they claim (claim 1)

1. A method comprising: receiving, with an electronic device, a first satellite signal and a second satellite signal; determining, with the electronic device, a first probability that the first satellite signal is a first line of sight satellite signal based at least in part on a first difference between a first measured range to a first satellite and a first predicted range to the first satellite computed using a first location of the electronic device derived from a non-satellite signal; determining, with the electronic device, a second probability that the second satellite signal is a second line of sight satellite signal based at least in part on a second difference between a second measured range to a second satellite and a second predicted range to the second satellite computed using the first location of the electronic device derived from the non-satellite signal; and estimating, with the electronic device, a second location of the electronic device based at least in part on the first probability that the first satellite signal corresponds to the first line of sight satellite signal, the second probability that the second satellite signal corresponds to the second line of sight satellite signal, and at least two other satellite signals.

Facts

Company
Apple (Apple Inc.)
Official title
Line of sight estimator
Patent number
US12742887B2
Application number
18102067
Filed
Jan 26, 2023
Granted
Sep 22, 2026
Inventors
4
Claims
21

Classified under

G01S 19/22 Physics & computingG01S 19/46 Physics & computing
Read the full filing (official PDF) ↗ Open in the Patent Tracker

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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.