Patent · US Expired

Leap-second cure for 1999 GPS rollover problem

US5923618A · kind A · utility

9Cited by
3References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateNov 12, 1996
Grant dateJul 13, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateNov 12, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S19/23
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The timing system for GPS has a week counter that recycles at intervals of about 20 years. The first recycling will occur on Aug. 22, 1999, producing a time ambiguity in GPS signals. The invention employs a count of leap seconds to resolve the ambiguity and extends the useability of GPS in its present format by more than a century.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.