Navigation system
AssigneeHoneywell International Inc.
InventorDavid Vacanti
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A radar altimeter system with a closed-loop modulation for generating more accurate radar altimeter values. The present invention combines flight safety critical sensors into a common platform to permit autonomous or semi-autonomous landing, enroute navigation and complex precision approaches in all weather conditions. An Inertial Navigation System (INS) circuit board, a radar altimeter circuit board and a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) circuit board are housed in a single chassis. VHF (Very High Frequency) Omni-directional Radio (VOR), Marker Beacon (MB), and VDB (VHF Data Broadcast) receiver circuit boards may also be implemented on circuit boards in the chassis.
Claims9
A navigation system comprising:
- a single antenna radar device comprising:
- a circulator;
- a transmitter in signal communication with the circulator for transmitting a radar signal using closed-loop modulation;
- a receiver in signal communication with the circulator and the transmitter, the receiver configured to receive reflections of the transmitted radar signal;
- and
- an analog-to-digital converter in signal communication with the receiver for outputting a digital signal of the received reflections;
- a chassis remotely located from the single antenna radar device, the chassis comprising:
- a radar altimeter processing component;
- an instrument landing system (ILS) component;
- an inertial navigation system (INS) component;
- a global positioning system (GPS) receiver component;
- and
- a controller being in data communication with the radar altimeter processing component, the ILS component, the INS component, and the GPS receiver component;
- and
- a data communication device coupled to the single antenna radar device and the controller, the data communication device includes at least one of an Ethernet cable or a fiber optics cable.
A navigation radio unit being in digital data communication with a radar system, the unit comprising:
- a controller for sending signals to the radar system for transmission and receiving digital signals from the radar system via at least one of an Ethernet cable or a fiber optics cable;
- a radar altimeter processing component coupled to the controller;
- an instrument landing system (ILS) component;
- an inertial navigation system (INS) component;
- and
- a global positioning system (GPS) receiver component
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.