GNSS receiver candidate selection

A method in a GNSS receiver for tracking one or more global navigation satellites for processing a plurality of correlation results generated by a correlator from samples of a received GNSS signal and stored in a memory, the method comprising:

• receiving, at a vector processor via a memory interface, a first array comprising a plurality of correlation results stored in a memory, each correlation result associated with a respective combination of possible receiver parameters for a particular satellite of said one or more global navigation satellites, wherein the receiver parameters include at least one of a ranging code, a code phase lag and/or delay, a Doppler frequency shift or phase rate error;
• processing, at the vector processor, the first array by analysing the correlation results to identify a first subset of correlation results in the first array;
• retaining, in the memory via the memory interface, the identified first subset and discarding, from the memory via the memory interface, those correlation results of the plurality of correlation results not in the identified first subset;
• and
• subsequently receiving, at the vector processor via the memory interface, a second array comprising a second plurality of correlation results from the memory, each of the second plurality of correlation results associated with a respective combination of possible receiver parameters for a particular satellite of said one or more global navigation satellites;
• processing the second array and the identified first subset together by analysing the correlation results to identify a second subset of correlation results;
• retaining, in the memory via the memory interface, the identified second subset, and discarding, from the memory via the memory interface, those correlation results of the second plurality of correlation results and the identified first subset which are not in the identified second subset.

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer readable dataset description of an integrated circuit that, when processed in an integrated circuit manufacturing system, causes the integrated circuit manufacturing system to manufacture a GNSS receiver for tracking one or more global navigation satellites, said GNSS receiver embodied in an integrated circuit, said GNSS receiver comprising:

• a memory interface;
• and
• a vector processor configured to:
• receive, via the memory interface, a first array comprising a plurality of correlation results stored in a memory, each correlation result associated with a respective combination of possible receiver parameters for a particular satellite of the one or more global navigation satellites, wherein the receiver parameters include at least one of a ranging code, a code phase lag and/or delay, a Doppler frequency shift or phase rate error;
• process the first array by analysing the correlation results to identify a first subset of the correlation results in the first array;
• retain, in the memory via the memory interface, the identified first subset and discard, from the memory via the memory interface, those correlation results of the plurality of correlation results not in the identified first subset;
• subsequently receive, via the memory interface, a second array comprising a second plurality of correlation results from the memory, each of the second plurality of correlation results associated with a respective combination of possible receiver parameters for a particular satellite from said one or more global navigation satellites;
• process the second array and the identified first subset together by analysing the correlation results to identify a second subset of correlation results;
• and
• retain, in the memory via the memory interface, the identified second subset, and discard, from the memory via the memory interface, those correlation results of the second plurality of correlation results and the identified first subset which are not in the identified second subset.