GPS overlay system for a geostationary satellite

• US 5,760,738 A
• Filed: 09/27/1996
• Issued: 06/02/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawano, Shuichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US08/722,323
• Time in Patent Office: 613 Days
• Field of Search: 342/352, 342/357, 455/12.1, 455/13.2, 364/449.7
• US Class Current: 342/357.48
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/02 Details of the space or ground control segments
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/11 wherein the cooperating elements are pseudolites or satellite radio beacon positioning system signal repeaters

Abstract

Whether or not a pseudo GPS signal is normally received is monitored from the data state in a reception unit. Then, at the stage when the pseudo GPS signal can be normally received, the satellite output timing is substantially synchronized with the ground reference time while the control is carried out so as to advance/delay the timing of outputting a transmission PN code in correspondence to the moving direction of a satellite. Subsequently, a time period ranging from a time point when transmitting the pseudo GPS signal to a time period when receiving the pseudo GPS signal which has been returned via the satellite is observed, while the control is carried out so as to increase/decrease continuously a frequency of the transmission PN code, in such a way that the intermediate time therebetween becomes the reference time. Next, the frequency of the transmission carrier is controlled in correspondence to the control of increasing/decreasing the frequency of the transmission PN code, while the epoch pull out and the reception interruption are monitored, so as to maintain the relationship in which the frequency of the received carrier is 1,540 times as high as that of the received reception PN code frequency. By executing the above-mentioned processings, it is possible to cancel the transponder frequency error of the geostationary satellite site as well as the Doppler component added in the uplink.

Claims

1. A GPS overlay system for a geostationary satellite in which both a PN code and a carrier are generated in a ground station, the PN code is subjected to data modulation using the PN code spectrum diffusion, a pseudo GPS signal is produced by carrier phase modulation using the diffused PN code so as to be transmitted to a geostationary satellite, and the pseudo GPS signal is retransmitted from said geostationary satellite to the ground, thereby utilizing said geostationary satellite as one of GPS satellites, said system comprising:

pseudo GPS signal receiving means for receiving the pseudo GPS signal from said geostationary satellite;

epoch rough synchronization control means for monitoring the pseudo GPS signal received by said pseudo GPS signal receiving means in order to control the timing of generating the PN code in such a way that when transmitting the pseudo GPS signal, a PN code epoch of the pseudo GPS signal which has been transmitted from said geostationary satellite is substantially synchronized with the ground reference time; and

epoch accurate synchronization control means for controlling a frequency of the PN code in such a way that after completion of the rough synchronization by said rough synchronization control means, the intermediate time between the PN code epoch when transmitting the pseudo GPS signal from said ground station to said moving geostationary satellite and the PN code epoch when the ground station receives the pseudo GPS signal from said moving geostationary satellite becomes the ground reference time.

2. A GPS overlay system for a geostationary satellite according to claim 1, further comprising carrier frequency control means for controlling the carrier frequency in such a way that the frequency ratio of the PN code frequency of the pseudo GPS signal received by said pseudo GPS signal receiving means to the carrier frequency thereof becomes a constant specified value.

3. A GPS overlay system for a geostationary satellite according to claim 1, wherein said ground station includes a transmission unit, a reception unit and a monitor control processing unit;

said transmission unit includes a PN code generating unit for generating a PN code, a carrier generating unit for generating a carrier, a diffusion unit for subjecting an output of said PN code generating unit to spectrum diffusion in accordance with input data, a phase modulation unit for subjecting the carrier outputted from said carrier generating unit to phase modulation on the basis of an output of said diffusion unit, a power amplification unit for subjecting an output of said phase modulation unit to power amplification, and a transmission antenna through which an output of said power amplification unit is transmitted as the pseudo GPS signal to said geostationary satellite;

said reception unit includes a reception antenna for tracking therethrough an signal from said geostationary satellite, a reception processing unit for detecting the pseudo GPS signal from an output of said reception antenna, a demodulation unit for extracting the diffused PN code component from the pseudo GPS signal detected by said reception processing unit in order to demodulate the modulated data contained in the PN code component, and an observation unit for observing the characteristics of the pseudo GPS signal on the basis of the reference time information supplied from the outside; and

said monitor control processing unit includes an algorithm used to execute said epoch rough synchronization control means and said epoch accurate synchronization control means on the basis of the data obtained in said demodulation unit and said observation unit of said reception unit, said PN code generating unit of said transmission unit being controlled on the basis of PN code generating timing and a controlled value of the PN code transmission frequency which are obtained by the algorithm.

4. A GPS overlay system for a geostationary satellite according to claim 3, wherein said monitor control processing unit further includes an algorithm used to execute said carrier frequency control means for controlling the carrier frequency in such a way that the frequency ratio of the PN code frequency of the monitored pseudo GPS signal to the carrier frequency thereof becomes a constant specified value, said carrier generating unit of said transmission unit being controlled on the basis of a controlled value of the carrier frequency obtained by the algorithm.