Underwater navigation system
First Claim
1. An underwater navigation system,said navigation system comprising a beacon which transmits a first signal and a second signal, said first and second signals being transmitted in synchronization and having a respective first propagation velocity and second propagation velocity,said navigation system further comprising a navigating station comprising a first receiving node,where said first receiving node comprises a first and a second receiving device for respectively receiving said first and said second signal,wherein, during use, a time differential between said first signal and said second signal is determined from measured data of said first and said second receiving device and wherein a range of said transmitting beacon from said navigating station is determined from said time differential between said first signal and said second signal.
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Abstract
The present invention provides an underwater navigation system which can determine the bearing and the range of a remotely located beacon from a navigation station. The remotely located beacon transmits a pair of signals each having a different propagation velocity. Typically, the pair of signals are an acoustic signal and an electromagnetic signal. The range of the beacon to the navigation station is determined by a time differential in the detection of the two signals at the navigation station. The time differential is alternately a variation in phase between the two signals, or a time difference between the reception of a timing event encoded in synchronization on the pair of signals. In one form, the navigation station is a mobile unit which navigates to the remotely located beacon, and in another form the navigation station has a fixed position, and the remotely located beacon is mobile.
23 Citations
34 Claims
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1. An underwater navigation system,
said navigation system comprising a beacon which transmits a first signal and a second signal, said first and second signals being transmitted in synchronization and having a respective first propagation velocity and second propagation velocity, said navigation system further comprising a navigating station comprising a first receiving node, where said first receiving node comprises a first and a second receiving device for respectively receiving said first and said second signal, wherein, during use, a time differential between said first signal and said second signal is determined from measured data of said first and said second receiving device and wherein a range of said transmitting beacon from said navigating station is determined from said time differential between said first signal and said second signal.
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30. An underwater navigation system,
said navigation system comprising a plurality of transmitting beacons each transmitting first and second signals, said first and second signals being transmitted in synchronization from each beacon and having respective first and second propagation velocities, said navigation system further comprising a navigating station comprising a receiving node, said receiving node comprising a first and a second receiving device for respectively detecting said first and the second signals, wherein, during use, a time differential between a first signal and a second signal of at least one of said plurality of transmitting beacons is determined from measured data of said first and said second receiving device and wherein a range of said at least one of said plurality of transmitting beacons from said navigating station is determined from said time differential between said first signal and said second signal.
Specification