System and method for aircraft navigation using signals transmitted in the DME transponder frequency range
First Claim
1. A DME aided multilateration method for a DME interrogator to determine its own position, the method comprising:
- transmitting interrogation pulses from a DME interrogator that are received by a DME transponder and at least one DME sensor unit (DSU);
transmitting reply pulses from the DME transponder in response to the interrogation pulses that are received from the DME interrogator;
providing at least one DSU forreceiving and determining a TOA for the interrogation pulses transmitted by the DME interrogator and the reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponder,associating the received interrogation pulses and reply pulses,determining a time delay between associated interrogation pulses and reply pulses,determining a time difference of arrival (TDOA) from the determined time delay and the known distance between the DSU and the DME transponder, andtransmitting at least the TDOA and the ID of the DSU to the DME interrogator;
wherein the DME interrogatorreceives at least the TDOA and the DSU ID from the at least one DSU,associates the received TDOA from the at least one DSU to a specific transmission of interrogation pulses from the DME interrogator, anddetermines the DME interrogator position using the received TDOA and range data determined from the transmitted interrogation pulses and the received reply pulses in response to the transmitted interrogation pulses from the DME transponder.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention provides a system and method for aircraft to determine own position and navigate using a navigation heartbeat signal broadcast on a DME uplink and/or a Mode-S uplink frequency. The present invention enables deep integration between the existing navigation systems (DME interrogation-reply ranges and GPS/WAAS raw TDOA or pseudo range measurements) and the DME heartbeat TDOAs or Mode-S heartbeat TDOAs to provide a highly accurate navigation positioning capability and provide necessary backup capability in lieu of GPS to maintain the necessary RNP/RNAV capability and avoid degrading aircraft operational safety.
23 Citations
53 Claims
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1. A DME aided multilateration method for a DME interrogator to determine its own position, the method comprising:
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transmitting interrogation pulses from a DME interrogator that are received by a DME transponder and at least one DME sensor unit (DSU); transmitting reply pulses from the DME transponder in response to the interrogation pulses that are received from the DME interrogator; providing at least one DSU for receiving and determining a TOA for the interrogation pulses transmitted by the DME interrogator and the reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponder, associating the received interrogation pulses and reply pulses, determining a time delay between associated interrogation pulses and reply pulses, determining a time difference of arrival (TDOA) from the determined time delay and the known distance between the DSU and the DME transponder, and transmitting at least the TDOA and the ID of the DSU to the DME interrogator; wherein the DME interrogator receives at least the TDOA and the DSU ID from the at least one DSU, associates the received TDOA from the at least one DSU to a specific transmission of interrogation pulses from the DME interrogator, and determines the DME interrogator position using the received TDOA and range data determined from the transmitted interrogation pulses and the received reply pulses in response to the transmitted interrogation pulses from the DME transponder. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A DME Aided Multilateration method for a DME interrogator to determine its own position, the method comprising:
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transmitting interrogation pulses from at least one DME interrogator that are received by at least one DME transponder; transmitting reply pulses from at least one DME transponder in response to the interrogation pulses that are received from the at least one DME interrogator; providing at least one slave DME device for receiving the reply pulses transmitted by the at least one DME transponder, and retransmitting at least first pulses of the received reply pulses after a predetermined delay, the at least one DME interrogator receiving the reply pulses transmitted by the at least one DME transponder; receiving the at least first pulses of the reply pulses transmitted by the at least one slave DME device, associating the received reply pulses transmitted by the at least one DME transponder and the at least first pulses of the reply pulses transmitted by the at least one slave DME device; determining a time delay between the received reply pulses transmitted by the at least one DME transponder and the at least first pulses of the reply pulses transmitted by the at least one slave DME device; determining a time difference of arrival (TDOA) from the determined time delay and the known transmission delay of the at least one slave DME device, and determining the position of the at least one DME interrogator using the determined TDOA and range data from the at least one DME transponder determined from the transmitted interrogation pulses and the received reply pulses in response to the transmitted interrogation pulses. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8)
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9. A slave DME-DME navigation system, comprising:
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a DME interrogator; a DME transponder; and at least one slave DME device; wherein the DME interrogator transmits interrogation pulses that are received by the DME transponder and the DME transponder transmits reply pulses in response to the received interrogation pulses; the at least one slave DME device receives the reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponder and retransmits at least first pulses of the received reply pulses after a predetermined delay; wherein the DME interrogator receives the reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponder and the at least first pulses of the received reply pulses retransmitted by the at least one slave DME device after the predetermined delay, associates the received reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponder and the at least first pulses of the received reply pulses retransmitted by the at least one slave DME device, determines at least one time difference between the received reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponders and the at least first pulses of the received reply pulses retransmitted by the at least one slave DME device, determines at least one TDOA from the determined at least one time difference and the predetermined delay of the at least one slave DME device, and determines a position of the DME interrogator using the at least one TDOA and range data from the DME transponder determined from the transmitted interrogation pulses and the received reply pulses in response to the transmitted interrogation pulses. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A DME aided multilateration system, the system comprising
a plurality of DME transponders; -
at least one DME sensor unit (DSU); and at least one DME interrogator; the at least one DME interrogator transmitting interrogation pulses that are received by at least one DME transponder and at least one DME transponder transmitting reply pulses in response to the interrogation pulses that are received from the at least one DME interrogator; wherein the at least one DSU receives the interrogation pulses transmitted by the at least one DME interrogator and the reply pulses transmitted by the at least one DME transponder, determines a time of arrival (TOA) for the interrogation pulses and the reply pulses, associates the received interrogation pulses and reply pulses, determines a time delay between associated interrogation pulses and reply pulses, determines a time difference of arrival (TDOA) from the determined time delay and the known distance between the DSU and the at least one DME transponder and transmits at least the TDOA and the DSU ID to the at least one DME interrogator; wherein the DME interrogator receives at least the TDOA and the DSU ID from the at least one DSU, associates the received TDOA from the at least one DSU with one or more received TDOAs clustered to a specific transmission of interrogation pulses from the at least one DME interrogator using time, and determines the DME interrogator position using the received TDOA and range data determined from the transmitted interrogation pulses and the received reply pulses. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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21. A method for a target to multilaterate own position, the method comprising:
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receiving a heartbeat signal transmitted by a plurality of ground transmitters of known location; time stamping a time of arrival (TOA) for the received heartbeat signals at the target; pairing the received heartbeat signals and determining a time difference of arrival (TDOA) between the received heartbeat signals using the TOAs; and determining the position of the target from the determined TDOAs. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A system for a target to determine its own position, the system comprising
a plurality of ground transmitters of known location; - and
at least one target; the plurality of ground transmitters of known location transmitting a heartbeat signal; the at least one target receives the heartbeat signal from at least three ground transmitters of the plurality of ground transmitters, determines a time of arrival (TOA) for the received heartbeat signals, determines a time difference of arrival (TDOA) between the received heartbeat signals using the determined TOAs, and determines the position of the target from the determined TDOAs. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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53. A system for a target to determine its own position, the system comprising a plurality of ground transmitters of known location;
- and at least one target;
wherein the plurality of ground transmitters of known location transmitting a heartbeat signal, and the at least one target receiving the heartbeat signal from at least three ground transmitters of the plurality of ground transmitters, determines a time of arrival (TOA) for the received heartbeat signals, determines a time difference of arrival (TDOA) between the received heartbeat signals using the determined TOAs, determines an altitude of the target from an altimeter, and determines the position of the target from the determined TDOAs and determined altitude.
- and at least one target;
Specification