Attitude determination system with sequencing antenna inputs
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An attitude determination system for determining attitude of a platform, the system comprising:
- a plurality of antenna elements, each of the antenna elements being configured to receive a plurality of incoming signals;
a multiplexer which time-multiplexes among antenna signals received respectively by each of the antenna elements;
a plurality of channels to which a received signal is applied, the received signal coupled from an output of the multiplexer, each of the channels capable of tracking at least one of the incoming signals respectively;
a phase difference processor which determines phase differences between at least some of the antenna elements, for at least one of the incoming signals being tracked; and
an attitude calculator which computes attitude of the platform based on the phase differences.
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Abstract
An attitude determination system uses multiple antenna inputs which are time-multiplexed into a multi-channel receiver. Each channel tracks one incoming signal from a known or ascertainable source. For each of the incoming signals being tracked, digital processing can be used to determine range differences between the different antenna elements for that incoming signal, and to compute attitude based on the range differences and the known configuration of the attenna elements relative to each other.
71 Citations
20 Claims
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1. An attitude determination system for determining attitude of a platform, the system comprising:
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a plurality of antenna elements, each of the antenna elements being configured to receive a plurality of incoming signals; a multiplexer which time-multiplexes among antenna signals received respectively by each of the antenna elements; a plurality of channels to which a received signal is applied, the received signal coupled from an output of the multiplexer, each of the channels capable of tracking at least one of the incoming signals respectively; a phase difference processor which determines phase differences between at least some of the antenna elements, for at least one of the incoming signals being tracked; and an attitude calculator which computes attitude of the platform based on the phase differences. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An attitude determination system for determining attitude of a platform, the system comprising:
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means for receiving et plurality of incoming signals, said receiving means having a plurality of elements; means for time-multiplexing among antenna signals received respectively by each of the elements of the receiving means; means for applying a received signal to a plurality of channels, the received signal coupled from an output of the multiplexing means; means for tracking at least one of the incoming signals in each of the channels respectively; means for determining phase differences between at least some of the elements of the receiving means, for at least one of the incoming signals being tracked; and means for computing attitude of the platform based on the phase differences. - View Dependent Claims (8)
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9. A method for determining attitude of a platform, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving a plurality of incoming signals by a plurality of antenna elements; time-multiplexing among antenna signals received respectively by each of the antenna elements; applying a received signal to a plurality of channels, the received signal coupled from an output produced by the multiplexing step; tracking at least one of the incoming signals in each of the channels respectively; determining phase differences between at least some of the antenna elements, for at least one of the incoming signals being tracked; and computing attitude of the platform based on the phase differences. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for determining phase differences for an incoming signal between a plurality of antenna elements, the method comprising the steps of:
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time-multiplexing among antenna signals received respectively by each of the antenna elements, each of the antenna signals including the incoming signal; using a loop phase error signal to track the incoming signal included in a received signal, the received signal coupled from an output produced by the multiplexing step; and integrating a control command over a sampling time interval, the control command derived from the error signal, a sampling rate in said integrating step being synchronized with a multiplexing rate in the multiplexing step, the multiplexing rate being no greater than the sampling rate.
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20. A system for determining phase differences for an incoming signal between a plurality of antenna elements, the system comprising:
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a multiplexer which time-multiplexes among antenna signals received respectively by each of the antenna elements, each of the antenna signals including the incoming signal; a channel which uses a loop phase error signal to track the incoming signal included in a received signal, the received signal coupled from an output of the multiplexer; and a processor which integrates a control command over a sampling time interval, the control command derived from the error signal, a sampling rate of the processor being synchronized with a multiplexing rate of the multiplexer means, the multiplexing rate being no greater than the sampling rate.
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Specification