Airborne pseudolite navigation system
AssigneeRockwell International Corporation
InventorsSusan R. Schellenberg, Michael G. Farley
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Abstract
Disclosed are systems, pseudolite transmitters, receivers, and methods of using the same to navigate. An airborne pseudolite transmitter transmits a first spread spectrum signal indicative of a first fixed location spaced apart from a current actual position of the transmitter. The airborne pseudolite transmitter also transmits a corrections signal indicative of a vector error correction between the first fixed location and the current actual position of the transmitter. A receiver receiving the first spread spectrum signal and the corrections signal calculates its location in response thereto.
Claims20
A positioning system comprising:
- a first airborne pseudolite transmitter moving relative to a first fixed location, the first fixed location being spaced apart from a current actual position of the first airborne pseudolite transmitter, the first airborne pseudolite transmitter transmitting a first spread spectrum signal containing information which is indicative of the first fixed location;
- and
- a second navigation transmitter transmitting a second spread spectrum signal;
- a third navigation transmitter transmitting a third spread spectrum signal;
- and
- a receiver adapted to receive the first, second and third spread spectrum signals and to determine a position of the receiver as a function of the first, second and third spread spectrum signals.
An airborne pseudolite transmitter for use in transmitting positioning signals to a receiver in a pseudolite navigation system, the airborne pseudolite transmitter comprising:
- a first transmitter adapted to transmit an L-band ranging signal;
- and
- a second transmitter adapted to transmit a corrections signal, wherein the receiver determines its position as a function of the L-band ranging signal and of the corrections signal.
A method of determining a position of a receiver, the method comprising:
- transmitting from an airborne pseudolite transmitter a first spread spectrum signal, the airborne pseudolite transmitter moving relative to a first fixed location spaced apart from a current actual position of the airborne pseudolite transmitter, the first spread spectrum signal containing information which is descriptive of the first fixed location;
- determining a vector error correction between the first fixed location and the current actual position of the airborne pseudolite transmitter;
- transmitting from the pseudolite transmitter a corrections signal indicative of the determined vector error correction;
- receiving the first spread spectrum signal and the corrections signal with a navigation receiver;
- and
- calculating a location of the receiver in response to the received spread spectrum signal and to the received corrections signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.