Network and method for calculating ionosphere corrections

• US 8,305,266 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2009
• Issued: 11/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Damidaux, Jean-Louis, Levy, Jean-Christophe
• Primary Examiner(s): LIU, HARRY K
• Application Number:
  US12/933,310
• Publication Number:
  US 20110050494A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.44
• US Class Current: 342/357.44
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/07 providing data for correcting measured positioning data, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS] or ionosphere corrections

Abstract

The invention relates to a network making it possible to calculate and provide ionospheric corrections to the users of a satellite navigation system, wherein the network also comprises: an aeronautical segment comprising an aeronautical user segment composed of a plurality of aircraft each one having an on-board RF receiver capable of measuring delays of the navigation signals transmitted by the satellites and an aeronautical data communication means between the plurality of aircraft and the ground segment in order to transmit said measurements of delays to the ground segment, and means, at the level of the ground segment, of receiving measurements of delays used for the calculation of the grid, the measurements of delays coming from the plurality of aircraft and from the plurality of ground stations.

Claims

1. A network making it possible to calculate and provide ionospheric corrections to the users of a satellite navigation system, comprising:

a spatial segment constituted by a plurality of satellites transmitting navigation signals at distinct frequencies and location corrections data to a user segment,

a ground segment comprising a calculating system and means of transmission of data to the spatial segment in such a way that the calculating system compiles ionospheric delay measurements coming from a plurality of ground stations in order to calculate a grid of ionospheric corrections and that the transmission means transmit the grid of ionospheric corrections to the spatial segment,

wherein the network also comprises;

an aeronautical segment comprising an aeronautical user segment composed of a plurality of aircraft each one having an on-board RF receiver capable of measuring delays of the navigation signals transmitted by the satellites and an aeronautical data communication means between the plurality of aircraft and the ground segment in order to transmit said measurements of delays to the ground segment,

means, at the level of the ground segment, of receiving measurements of delays used for the calculation of the grid, the measurements of delays coming from the plurality of aircraft and from the plurality of ground stations.

2. The network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the calculating system of the ground segment comprises means of selecting the delays measurement sources in such a way that it uses most relevant measurement sources for the calculation of the ionospheric corrections grid.

3. The network as claimed in claim 2, wherein the aircraft of the user segment also comprise a means of receiving an indication of operational reliability of said RF receiver.

4. The network as claimed in claim 3, wherein the calculating system of the ground segment comprises a means assessing the reliability of the RF receivers measuring delays and a means of transmission of an indication of reliability of said RF receivers to the aircraft of the user segment.

5. A method making it possible to calculate and to provide ionospheric corrections data to the users of a satellite navigation system, wherein it uses a network as claimed in claim 4 in order to carry out the following steps:

measurement of delays at the level of the aeronautical user segment and at the level of the ground segment,

transmission of the delays measured by the plurality of aircraft, the transmission of the data being carried out by an aeronautical communication network, to the ground segment,

calculation of a grid of ionospheric corrections by compiling data principally coming from the measurements carried out at the level of the aeronautical user segment,

transmission to the spatial sector of the data of the grid of ionospheric corrections.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the steps are carried out in real time and continuously.

7. The method as claimed in claim 6, wherein, in order to calculate the grid of ionospheric corrections, when the number of delay measurements coming from the aeronautical user segment becomes less than a minimum threshold, the calculating system selects delay measurements coming from the ground stations.

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the calculating system transmits, to the plurality of aircraft having an on-board RF receiver capable of measuring delays, an indication of reliability of their RF receiver.