Radio navigation system

• US 7,054,739 B2
• Filed: 05/01/2003
• Issued: 05/30/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/01/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Taylor, Lucius O.
• Primary Examiner(s): LOUIS JACQUES, JACQUES H
• Application Number:
  US10/427,214
• Publication Number:
  US 20040220722A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,125 Days
• Field of Search: 701/213, 701/225, 701/200, 701207-208, 701214-217, 701/224, 342/422, 342/464, 342/350, 342/352, 342/463, 342/465, 342/367, 342/147, 342/428, 342/394, 342/46, 342/49, 342/82, 342/359, 342/386, 342/417, 342/423, 342442-445, 455/456.1, 455/82, 455/101, 455/562.1, 455/11.1, 455/12.1, 455/13.1, 455/13.3, 455/25, 455/296, 455/303, 455/63.1, 343/702, 343/861, 343814-815, 343/810, 343/893
• US Class Current: 701/200
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/02521 using a radio-map
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/08 Position of single direction-finder fixed by determining direction of a plurality of spaced sources of known location

Abstract

Navigation apparatus that may include a radio receiver, at least one directional antenna communicatively coupled to the radio receiver, and a navigation computer including a memory and a processor. The navigation computer may be communicatively coupled to the radio receiver to receive relative bearing information from the directional antenna to a set of known radio transmitters, such as (but not limited to) commercial broadcast radio or television stations. Using a database stored in the memory that includes a record of position information and a record of radio frequency information for the set of known radio transmitters, the apparatus allows for the calculation of one or more reference positions using relative bearing information to the set of known radio transmitters and the stored, known positions of the set of known radio transmitters.

Claims

1. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a radio receiver;

at least one directional antenna communicatively coupled to the radio receiver, the directional antenna providing relative bearing information to the radio receiver;

a navigation computer including a memory and a processor, the navigation computer being communicatively coupled to the radio receiver to receive relative bearing information;

a database stored in the memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of radio frequency information for a plurality of known radio transmitters;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the radio receiver to tune to at least three known radio transmitters selected from the plurality of known radio transmitters using the record of radio frequency information;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information from the at least one directional antenna to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the record of position information to calculate a first reference position;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate a true bearing from the first reference position to a known position using the first reference position and a known position of at least one of the at least three known radio transmitters; and

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information from the at least one directional antenna to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the true bearing to calculate a true heading.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a display communicatively coupled to the navigation computer to display the first reference position.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a display communicatively coupled to the navigation computer to display the true heading.

4. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a radio receiver;

at least one directional antenna communicatively coupled to the radio receiver, the directional antenna providing relative bearing information to the radio receiver;

a navigation computer including a memory and a processor, the navigation computer being communicatively coupled to the radio receiver to receive relative bearing information;

a database stored in the memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of radio frequency information for a plurality of known radio transmitters;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the radio receiver to tune to at least three known radio transmitters selected from the plurality of known radio transmitters using the record of radio frequency information;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information from the at least one directional antenna to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the record of position information to calculate a first reference position;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate a second reference position; and

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate velocity using the first reference position, the second reference position, and the elapsed time between the calculation of the first reference position and the second reference position.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate ground track and ground speed using the first reference position, the second reference position, and the elapsed time between the calculation of the first reference position and the second reference position.

6. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein at least one of the at least three known radio transmitters is identified by a unique station identifier broadcast from a station.

7. A navigation apparatus comprising:

a radio receiver;

at least one directional antenna communicatively coupled to the radio receiver, the directional antenna providing relative bearing information to the radio receiver;

a navigation computer including a memory and a processor, the navigation computer being communicatively coupled to the radio receiver to receive relative bearing information;

a database stored in the memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of radio frequency information for a plurality of known radio transmitters;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the radio receiver to tune to at least three known radio transmitters selected from the plurality of known radio transmitters using the record of radio frequency information;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information from the at least one directional antenna to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the record of position information to calculate a first reference position;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate a true bearing from the first reference position to a known position using the first reference position and a known position of at least one of the at least three known radio transmitters;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the true bearing to calculate a true heading;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate a second reference position;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate velocity using the first reference position, the second reference position, and the elapsed time between the calculation of the first reference position and the second reference position; and

a display communicatively coupled to the navigation computer to display the first reference position, the second reference position, the true heading, and velocity.

8. For use in a navigation system of the type that includes a radio receiver and a directional antenna, a navigation computer comprising:

a communications port for communicatively coupling the navigation computer to the radio receiver;

a memory;

a processor;

a database stored in the memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of radio frequency information for a plurality of known radio transmitters;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the radio receiver to tune to at least three known radio transmitters selected from the plurality of known radio transmitters using the record of radio frequency information;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information from the at least one directional antenna to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the record of position information to calculate a first reference position;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate a true bearing from the first reference position to a known position using the first reference position and a known position of at least one of the at least three known radio transmitters; and

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the true bearing to calculate a true heading.

9. For use in a navigation system of the type that includes a radio receiver and a directional antenna, a navigation computer comprising:

a communications port for communicatively coupling the navigation computer to the radio receiver;

a memory;

a processor;

a database stored in the memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of radio frequency information for a plurality of known radio transmitters;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the radio receiver to tune to at least three known radio transmitters selected from the plurality of known radio transmitters using the record of radio frequency information;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to use relative bearing information from the at least one directional antenna to the at least three known radio transmitters and to use the record of position information to calculate a first reference position;

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate a second reference position; and

a set of instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to calculate velocity using the first reference position, the second reference position, and the elapsed time between the calculation of the first reference position and the second reference position.

10. The navigation computer of claim 9, wherein the position information includes latitude and longitude for the plurality of known radio transmitters.

11. A method for determining position, comprising the steps of:

maintaining a database in a memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of frequency information for a plurality of known, stationary radio transmitters;

tuning to a first set of at least three of the plurality of known, stationary radio transmitters using the record of frequency information;

determining a first set of relative bearings from at least one directional antenna to each of the transmitters in the first set of at least three known radio transmitters;

calculating, in a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, a first reference position using the first set of relative bearings and using the record of position information;

calculating, in the processor, a true bearing from the first reference position to a known position of a reference transmitter selected from the first set of at least three known radio transmitters using the first reference position and the record of position information; and

calculating, in the processor, a true heading using the true bearing and using a relative bearing from the at least one directional antenna to the reference transmitter.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting the first reference position to a display device.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting the first reference position to a flight management device.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

transmitting the first reference position to a display device and to a flight control device; and

transmitting the true heading to the display device and to the flight control device.

15. A method for determining position, comprising the steps of:

maintaining a database in a memory, the database including a record of position information and a record of frequency information for a plurality of known, stationary radio transmitters;

tuning to a first set of at least three of the plurality of known, stationary radio transmitters using the record of frequency information;

determining a first set of relative bearings from at least one directional antenna to each of the transmitters in the first set of at least three known radio transmitters;

calculating, in a processor communicatively coupled to the memory, a first reference position using the first set of relative bearings and using the record of position information;

tuning to a second set of at least three of the plurality of known, stationary radio transmitters using the record of frequency information;

determining a second set of relative bearings from the at least one directional antenna to each of the transmitters in the second set of at least three known radio transmitters;

calculating, in the processor, a second reference position using the second set of relative bearings and using the record of position information; and

calculating, in the processor, ground speed using the first reference position, the second reference position, and a time measurement between calculating the first position and the second position.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

calculating, in the processor, a ground track using the first reference position and the second reference position; and

transmitting the first reference position, the second reference position, the true heading, the ground speed, and the ground track to a display device and to a flight management device.