Azimuth determination for GPS/INS systems via GPS null steering antenna
First Claim
1. A method of determining azimuth within an inertial navigation system using signals from a constellation of satellites of the global navigation satellite system where each satellite of the constellation of satellites provides positional information of the satellite, such method comprising the steps of:
- acquiring a signal from at least some satellites of the constellation of satellites;
determining a location of the inertial navigation system from the acquired signals;
steering a null across a selected arc containing a selected satellite of the at least some satellites from which signals were acquired;
identifying a direction of the selected arc providing a relative minima in signal level from the selected satellite in response to the steered null; and
determining a azimuth by correlating the identified direction of the relative minima with an azimuth of the selected satellite from a perspective of the determined location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Illustrative embodiments of a method and apparatus are provided for determining azimuth for a system using signals from a constellation of satellites of the global navigation satellite system. The method includes the steps of identifying a direction of a selected satellite of the constellation of satellites and determining a azimuth by correlating the identified direction of the selected satellite with the location of the system.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of determining azimuth within an inertial navigation system using signals from a constellation of satellites of the global navigation satellite system where each satellite of the constellation of satellites provides positional information of the satellite, such method comprising the steps of:
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acquiring a signal from at least some satellites of the constellation of satellites; determining a location of the inertial navigation system from the acquired signals; steering a null across a selected arc containing a selected satellite of the at least some satellites from which signals were acquired; identifying a direction of the selected arc providing a relative minima in signal level from the selected satellite in response to the steered null; and determining a azimuth by correlating the identified direction of the relative minima with an azimuth of the selected satellite from a perspective of the determined location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Apparatus for determining azimuth within an inertial navigation system using signals from a constellation of satellites of the global position system where each satellite of the constellation of satellites provides positional information of the satellite, such apparatus comprising:
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means for acquiring a signal from at least some satellites of the GPS system; means for determining a location of the inertial navigation system from the acquired signals; means for steering a null across a selected arc containing a selected satellite of the at least some satellites from which signals were acquired; means for identifying a direction of the selected arc providing a relative minima in signal level from the selected satellite in response to the steered null; and means for determining a azimuth by correlating the identified direction of the relative minima with an azimuth of the selected satellite from a perspective of the determined location. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. Apparatus for determining azimuth within an inertial navigation system using signals from a constellation of satellites of the global position system where each satellite of the constellation of satellites provides positional information of the satellite, such apparatus comprising:
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a cross-correlator which acquires a signal from at least some satellites of the GPS system; a global position system processor which determines a location of the inertial navigation system from the acquired signals; an antenna delay processor which steers a null across a selected arc containing a selected satellite of the at least some satellites from which signals were acquired; a signal level comparator which identifies a direction of the selected arc providing a relative minima in signal level from the selected satellite in response to the steered null; and a correlation processor which determines an azimuth by correlating the identified location of the relative minima with an azimuth of the selected satellite from the perspective of the determined location. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)
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Specification