Tracking and position determination system

An apparatus for determining the location of a station in a reference coordinate system comprising:

• at least two antenna means in the locality of the station, for receiving the carrier waves, each antenna means having at least one carrier wave receiving position which moves repetitively with a uniform speed so that carrier waves are received along at least two non-parallel lines;
• means for radiating carrier waves to said receiving antenna means from a known location in the reference coordinate system;
• and,
• means, communicating with said antenna means, for determining the location of the station with respect to the reference coordinate system responsive to frequency modulations of the carrier waves induced by the movements of the receiving positions.

An apparatus for determining position coordinates of an object comprising:

• first means for radiating carrier waves from a radiating position;
• antenna means for receiving carrier waves from the object at a receiving position of the antenna means;
• means for varying the location of one of said radiating and receiving positions in a first predetermined manner and a second predetermined manner, different from the first, thereby inducing two different Doppler frequency shifts in the carrier waves;
• and,
• means for determining position coordinates of the object responsive to a difference between the frequency of the received carrier waves when the location is varied in the first predetermined manner and the frequency when the location is varied in the second predetermined manner.

An apparatus for determining position coordinates of an object comprising:

• a first transmitter for transmitting first carrier waves from at least one position moving repetitively at a generally uniform speed along at least two non-parallel lines, whereby frequency modulation is induced by the Doppler effect in said transmitted first carrier waves;
• a second transmitter, displaced a known distance from said first transmitter, for transmitting second carrier waves from at least one position moving repetitively at a generally uniform speed along at least two non-parallel lines, whereby frequency modulation is induced by the Doppler effect in said transmitted second carrier waves;
• antenna means for receiving said first and second carrier waves directed by the object to said antenna means;
• and,
• means operatively connected to said antenna means for determining the position coordinates of the object with respect to said transmitters, responsive to the induced frequency modulation of the received first and second carrier waves.

An apparatus for determining the position coordinates of an object comprising:

• a first means for radiating carrier waves;
• a first antenna means for receiving carrier waves directed by the object at at least one position on said first antenna means which position moves repetitively at a generally uniform speed along at least two non-parallel lines, whereby frequency modulation is induced in said received carrier waves;
• a second antenna means, displaced a known distance from said first antenna means, for receiving carrier waves directed by the object at at least one position on said second antenna means which position moves repetitively at a generally uniform speed along at least two non-parallel lines, whereby frequency modulation is induced in said received carrier waves;
• and,
• means operatively connected to said first and second antenna means for determining the position coordinates of the object with respect to said antenna means, responsive to the induced frequency modulation of the received carrier waves.

A method of determining the position of an object relative to known reference location, comprising the steps of:

• radiating carrier waves from along two at least partially non-parallel lines at one of the object and the known reference location by varying the location of at least one radiating position to induce Doppler shift in the carrier waves;
• receiving the carrier waves at at least two antennae spaced apart at the other of the object and the known location;
• sensing the Doppler shift of the carrier waves received at each of the antennae;
• and,
• calculating the position of the object from the sensed Doppler shifts, the separation of the two antennae and the coordinates of the known reference location.

An apparatus for determining position coordinates of an object comprising:

• first means for radiating carrier waves from a radiating position;
• antenna means for receiving carrier waves directed by the object to a receiving position;
• means for varying in a predetermined manner the location of one of said radiating and receiving positions, thereby inducing at least two separate independent frequency modulations in the carrier waves each of which is dependent at least in a partially separate and independent manner on the position coordinates of the object;
• means for separately determining each of the induced independent frequency modulations of the received carrier waves;
• and,
• means for determining position coordinates of the object responsive to the induced independent frequency modulations of the received carrier waves.