Navigation system with apparatus for detecting accuracy failures

• US 8,019,539 B2
• Filed: 04/14/2008
• Issued: 09/13/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/07/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Vanderwerf, Kevin
• Primary Examiner(s): Black; Thomas
• Assistant Examiner(s): MARC-COLEMAN, MARTHE Y
• Application Number:
  US12/102,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20090146873A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,247 Days
• Field of Search: 701213-215, 342/357, 342/357.58, 342/357.59, 342/357.65
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/20 Integrity monitoring, fault detection or fault isolation of space segment

Abstract

A navigation system for a vehicle having a receiver operable to receive a plurality of signals from a plurality of transmitters includes a processor and a memory device. The memory device has stored thereon machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, enable the processor to determine a set of error estimates corresponding to pseudo-range measurements derived from the plurality of signals, determine an error covariance matrix for a main navigation solution using ionospheric-delay data, and, using a parity space technique, determine at least one protection level value based on the error covariance matrix.

Claims

1. A navigation system for a vehicle having a receiver operable to receive a plurality of signals from a plurality of transmitters, the navigation system comprising:

a processor; and

a memory device having stored thereon machine-readable instructions that, when executed by the processor, enable the processor to;

determine a set of error estimates corresponding to pseudo-range measurements derived from the plurality of signals,

determine an error covariance matrix for a main navigation solution based on the determined set of error estimates, the error covariance matrix including off-diagonal elements representing ionospheric-delay spatial correlation, and

using a parity space technique, determine at least one protection level value based on the error covariance matrix.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein determining the error covariance matrix includes determining a spatially correlated ionospheric error associated with each of the transmitters.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein determining the error covariance matrix includes defining a plurality of grid points on a thin shell model of the ionosphere.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the defined grid points are equally spaced in azimuth at a great circle distance from the system.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the great circle distance is 1500 km.

6. The system of claim 3 wherein determining the error covariance matrix includes defining a vector of normalized ionospheric delays at the grid points.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one protection level value comprises a horizontal protection level value.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one protection level value comprises a vertical protection level value.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one protection level value comprises a horizontal exclusion level value.

10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having computer-executable instructions for performing steps comprising:

determining a set of error estimates corresponding to pseudo-range measurements derived from the plurality of signals;

determining an error covariance matrix for a main navigation solution using ionospheric-delay data, wherein the error covariance matrix includes off-diagonal elements representing the spatially correlated ionospheric error for the plurality of signals;

using a parity space technique, determining at least one protection level value based on the error covariance matrix; and

displaying the at least one protection level value.

11. The medium of claim 10 wherein determining the error covariance matrix includes determining a spatially correlated ionospheric error associated with each of the transmitters.

12. The medium of claim 11 wherein determining the error covariance matrix includes defining a plurality of grid points on a thin shell model of the ionosphere.

13. The medium of claim 12 wherein the defined grid points are equally spaced in azimuth at a great circle distance from the system.

14. The medium of claim 13 wherein the great circle distance is 1500 km.

15. The medium of claim 12 wherein determining the error covariance matrix includes defining a vector of normalized ionospheric delays at the grid points.

16. The medium of claim 10 wherein the at least one protection level value comprises a horizontal protection level value.

17. The medium of claim 10 wherein the at least one protection level value comprises a vertical protection level value.

18. The medium of claim 10 wherein the at least one protection level value comprises a horizontal exclusion level value.

19. A method, comprising the steps of:

accessing from a first computer the computer-executable instructions of claim 10; and

providing the instructions to a second computer over a non transitory communications medium.