SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING DIRECTIONAL SIGNALS
First Claim
1. A method for calculating a bearing of a signal source using a directional antenna having a plurality of receiving elements, comprising the steps of:
- selecting a correction model from a plurality of correction models;
receiving a plurality of incoming signals with the receiving elements;
processing the incoming signals to produce a plurality of electrical connection signals, wherein each of the electrical connection signals corresponds to a different quadrant of a polar coordinate system and each of the electrical connection signals has an amplitude;
selecting the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude;
selecting the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
identifying a first quadrant that contains the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude;
identifying a second quadrant that contains the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
calculating an amplitude difference between the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude and the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
applying a correction to the amplitude difference in order to obtain the bearing of the signal source, wherein the correction is determined by the correction model, the first quadrant, and the second quadrant.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system for calculating the bearing of a signal source, with a directional antenna, provides corrections for distortion, such as due to a small fuselage of the monitoring aircraft and the elevation angle of an intruder aircraft with respect to the monitoring aircraft. A correction is applied to the bearing estimate that is based on relevant factors, such as the fuselage size and the elevation angle of the intruder aircraft. The correction can be calculated or applied through the use of a look-up table, which may be either pre-selected or selected after calculation of the elevation angle of the intruder aircraft.
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Citations
5 Claims
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1. A method for calculating a bearing of a signal source using a directional antenna having a plurality of receiving elements, comprising the steps of:
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selecting a correction model from a plurality of correction models;
receiving a plurality of incoming signals with the receiving elements;
processing the incoming signals to produce a plurality of electrical connection signals, wherein each of the electrical connection signals corresponds to a different quadrant of a polar coordinate system and each of the electrical connection signals has an amplitude;
selecting the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude;
selecting the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
identifying a first quadrant that contains the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude;
identifying a second quadrant that contains the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
calculating an amplitude difference between the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude and the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
applying a correction to the amplitude difference in order to obtain the bearing of the signal source, wherein the correction is determined by the correction model, the first quadrant, and the second quadrant. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3)
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4. A method for calculating a bearing of a signal source using a directional antenna having a plurality of receiving elements, comprising the steps of:
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receiving a plurality of incoming signals with the receiving elements;
processing the incoming signals to produce a plurality of electrical connection signals, wherein each of the electrical connection signals corresponds to a different quadrant of a polar coordinate system and each of the electrical connection signals has an amplitude;
selecting the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude;
selecting the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
identifying a first quadrant that contains the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude;
identifying a second quadrant that contains the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
calculating an amplitude difference between the electrical connection signal with the strongest amplitude and the electrical connection signal with the second strongest amplitude;
calculating an elevation angle of the signal source;
selecting a correction model from a plurality of correction models based on the elevation angle;
applying a correction to the amplitude difference in order to obtain the bearing of the signal source, wherein the correction is determined by the correction model, the first quadrant, and the second quadrant. - View Dependent Claims (5)
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Specification