Apparatus for determining the magnitude of phase discontinuities introduced into a received signal at known instants
First Claim
1. An apparatus for tracking phase discontinuities introduced into a incoming signal at known instants, comprising:
- timing means for generating clock signals;
means for generating command signals to introduce said phase discontinuities into said incoming signal at known instants;
a controlled oscillator generating an output signal tracking the carrier of the incoming signal, said controlled oscillator being capable of introducing into said output signal phase jumps having a magnitude and sign determined by a control signal applied to an input thereof;
a phase discriminator receiving at its respective inputs said incoming signals and said output signal, and producing at its output a signal representing the difference in phase therebetween; and
control signal generating means responsive to said phase jumps observed at the output of the phase discriminator to generate said control signal so as to introduce a phase jump into said output signal of the controlled signal at said known instants equal in magnitude and sign to the phase jumps in the incoming signal, said controlled oscillator and said control signal generating means thereby constituting a delta phase tracking loop which tracks the phase discontinuities introduced into the incoming signal.
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Abstract
An apparatus for tracking phase discontinuities introduced into a received signal at known instants is disclosed. The phase discontinuities are introduced into the received signal by command signals derived from a system timing reference. A controlled oscillator generates an output signal at the same frequency as the received signal. The controlled oscillator introduces into the output signal a phase jump having a magnitude and timing determined by a control signal applied to its input. A synchronous detector responsive to phase jumps in the received signal generates the control signal so as to introduce a phase jump into the output signal at the known instants equal in magnitude and sign to the detected phase jumps. The controlled oscillator and synchronous detector constitute a delta phase tracking loop which is capable of tracking the discontinuities in phase. The apparatus can be used to derive orientational information from a radio signal transmitted from a source whose position is known or can be determined.
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Citations
19 Claims
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1. An apparatus for tracking phase discontinuities introduced into a incoming signal at known instants, comprising:
- timing means for generating clock signals;
means for generating command signals to introduce said phase discontinuities into said incoming signal at known instants;
a controlled oscillator generating an output signal tracking the carrier of the incoming signal, said controlled oscillator being capable of introducing into said output signal phase jumps having a magnitude and sign determined by a control signal applied to an input thereof;
a phase discriminator receiving at its respective inputs said incoming signals and said output signal, and producing at its output a signal representing the difference in phase therebetween; and
control signal generating means responsive to said phase jumps observed at the output of the phase discriminator to generate said control signal so as to introduce a phase jump into said output signal of the controlled signal at said known instants equal in magnitude and sign to the phase jumps in the incoming signal, said controlled oscillator and said control signal generating means thereby constituting a delta phase tracking loop which tracks the phase discontinuities introduced into the incoming signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
- timing means for generating clock signals;
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12. An apparatus for deriving orientational information from a received signal, comprising:
- an antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements located in fixed relative positions;
receiver means for receiving a signal transmitted from a source whose position can be determined;
switching means for selectively coupling said antenna elements to said receiver means;
timing means for generating clock signals;
means for generating command signals to control said switching means so as to couple said antenna elements successively to said receiver means at known instants in relation to said clock signals and thereby introduce a phase jump into the incoming signal;
a controlled oscillator generating an output signal at the same frequency as the received signal, said oscillator being capable of introducing into said output signal a phase jump having a magnitude and sign determined by a control signal applied to an input thereof;
a phase discriminator receiving at its respective inputs said incoming signal and said output signal, and producing at its output a signal representing the difference in phase therebetween; and
control signal generating means responsive to phase jumps observed at the output of the phase discriminator to generate said control signal so as to introduce a phase jump into said output signal of the controlled oscillator at said known instants equal in magnitude and in sign to the phase jumps in the received signal, said controlled oscillator and said control signal generating means thereby constituting a delta phase tracking loop which tracks the phase discontinuities introduced into the incoming signal, whereby when said delta phase loop is tracking said signal received at the input means said control signal represents the phase difference between the signals received at successive antenna elements. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
- an antenna array having a plurality of antenna elements located in fixed relative positions;
Specification