AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION USING THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM, INERTIAL REFERENCE SYSTEM, AND DISTANCE MEASUREMENTS
First Claim
1. A navigation system for a vehicle comprising:
- an inertial reference system onboard the vehicle and producing a first set of data from which a first position indication is produced;
a first receiver, onboard the vehicle, for signals of a global positioning system and producing a second set of data from which a second position indication is produced;
a second receiver, onboard the vehicle, for receiving signals from a plurality of distance measuring equipment stations located at fixed positions on the earth and in response thereto producing a third set of data denoting distances between the vehicle and each distance measuring equipment station, from which third set of data a third position indication is produced; and
a processor that employs the second and third position indications to compensate for uncertainty in the first position indication and thereby produce a position estimate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A navigation technique for a vehicle employs an inertial reference system to derive a first position indication and a first velocity value. A first receiver processes signals of a global positioning system from which a second position indication and a second velocity value are derived. A second receiver processes signals from a plurality of distance measuring equipment stations at fixed positions on the earth and determines the distance between the vehicle and each of those stations. A third position indication is derived from those distances. A Kalman filter function is applied to the first, second and third position indications and to the first and second velocity values to compensate for uncertainty in the first position indication and in the first velocity value and thereby produce a vehicle position estimate and a vehicle velocity estimate.
22 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A navigation system for a vehicle comprising:
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an inertial reference system onboard the vehicle and producing a first set of data from which a first position indication is produced; a first receiver, onboard the vehicle, for signals of a global positioning system and producing a second set of data from which a second position indication is produced; a second receiver, onboard the vehicle, for receiving signals from a plurality of distance measuring equipment stations located at fixed positions on the earth and in response thereto producing a third set of data denoting distances between the vehicle and each distance measuring equipment station, from which third set of data a third position indication is produced; and a processor that employs the second and third position indications to compensate for uncertainty in the first position indication and thereby produce a position estimate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A navigation method for a vehicle comprising:
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providing an inertial reference system onboard the vehicle which produces a first set of data; deriving a first position indication from the first set of data; receiving, via a receiver onboard the vehicle, signals of a global positioning system and in response thereto producing a second set of data; deriving a second position indication from the second set of data; receiving, via a transceiver onboard the vehicle, signals from a plurality of distance measuring equipment stations at fixed positions on the earth and in response thereto producing a third set of data denoting distances between the vehicle and each distance measuring equipment station; deriving a third position indication from the second third of data; and employing the second and third position indications in a processor to compensate for uncertainty in the first position indication and thereby produce a position estimate. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A navigation method for a vehicle comprising:
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providing an inertial reference system onboard the vehicle which produces a first position indication and a first velocity value; receiving, onboard the vehicle, signals of a global positioning system and in response thereto producing a second position indication and a second velocity value; receiving, onboard the vehicle, signals from a plurality of distance measuring equipment stations at fixed positions on the earth and in response thereto producing a third position indication; and applying a Kalman filter function to the first, second, and third position indications and to the first and second velocity values to compensate for uncertainty in the first position indication and in the first velocity value and thereby produce a vehicle position estimate and a vehicle velocity estimate. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification