Position determining system and method for determining the position of a reference point on a self-propelled construction machine as well as method for initializing a reference station set up in the periphery of a self-propelled construction machine

A method for determining a position of a reference point on a construction machine in a coordinate system independent of the construction machine, the method comprising:

• at a DGPS rover associated with the construction machine, receiving satellite signals of a global navigation satellite system;
• during initialization of a reference station located independent of the construction machine, transmitting position data from the reference station to the DGPS rover describing a reference station position measured by the reference station;
• determining at the DGPS rover an actual reference station position from a comparison of a plurality of predetermined positions of the reference station stored in a memory unit of the reference station and the reference station position measured by the reference station, wherein the actual reference station position is selected from among the plurality of predetermined positions;
• transmitting position data describing the actual reference station position from the DGPS rover to the reference station;
• transmitting correction signals from the reference station to the DGPS rover, wherein the correction signals are calculated by the reference station based on the actual reference station position and the reference station position measured by the reference station;
• and
• determining at the DGPS rover position data describing the position of the reference point on the construction machine in the coordinate system independent of the construction machine based on the satellite signals of the global navigation satellite system and the correction signals from the reference station.

A system for determining a position of a reference point on a self-propelled construction machine in a coordinate system independent of the construction machine, the system comprising:

• a differential global positioning system (DGPS) rover associated with the construction machine;
• a reference station placed in a periphery of the construction machine and configured to determine a reference station position;
• at least a first processor associated with the DGPS rover unit and configured, during an initialization of the reference station, to read out a position dataset describing predetermined positions of the reference station from a memory unit, and to transmit the position dataset to the reference station;
• at least a second processor associated with the reference station and configured to:
• determine an actual reference station position based on a comparison of the predetermined positions of the reference station with the reference station position determined by the reference station;
• calculate correction signals based on the actual reference station position and the reference station position determined by the reference station;
• and
• transmit the correction signals to the DGPS rover;
• and
• wherein the DGPS rover is configured to receive satellite signals of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and the correction signals of the reference station, and to determine position data describing a position of a reference point on the construction machine in a coordinate system independent of the construction machine based on the satellite signals and the correction signals.