System and method for TCAS based navigation
First Claim
1. A traffic collision avoidance system based navigation system, comprising:
- a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) associated with an aircraft, the TCAS including one or more directional antennas, the TCAS configured to;
generate a radio frequency (RF) transmission pattern at a selected frequency, the transmission pattern including a plurality of RF beams, each RF beam being directed to a different region of the ground;
receive a plurality of RF signals reflected from the ground across a selected frequency band, the selected frequency band including the selected frequency; and
measure a plurality of frequency differences, the plurality of frequency differences including at least a frequency difference between each of the plurality of RF beams and the plurality of reflected RF signals; and
one or more computing systems in communication with the TCAS, the one or more computing systems configured to;
calculate a ground speed of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences;
calculate a drift angle of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences;
receive a heading reference of the aircraft; and
determine one or more aircraft navigation parameters of the aircraft utilizing at least one of the calculated ground speed of the aircraft, the calculated drift angle of the aircraft, or the received heading reference of the aircraft.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) based navigation system including a TCAS equipped with a directional antenna, the TCAS configured to generate a RF transmission pattern at a selected frequency, the transmission pattern including a plurality of directional beams, receive a plurality of RF signals reflected from the ground across a selected frequency band, the selected frequency band including the selected frequency, and measure frequency differences between one or more beams of the plurality of RF beams and one or more beams of the plurality of RF signals reflected from the ground, and a computing systems in communication with the TCAS, the computing system configured to calculate a ground speed of the aircraft utilizing the measured frequency differences, calculate a drift angle of the aircraft utilizing the measured plurality of frequency differences, receive a heading reference of the aircraft, and determine an aircraft navigation parameter of the aircraft.
34 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A traffic collision avoidance system based navigation system, comprising:
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a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) associated with an aircraft, the TCAS including one or more directional antennas, the TCAS configured to; generate a radio frequency (RF) transmission pattern at a selected frequency, the transmission pattern including a plurality of RF beams, each RF beam being directed to a different region of the ground; receive a plurality of RF signals reflected from the ground across a selected frequency band, the selected frequency band including the selected frequency; and measure a plurality of frequency differences, the plurality of frequency differences including at least a frequency difference between each of the plurality of RF beams and the plurality of reflected RF signals; and one or more computing systems in communication with the TCAS, the one or more computing systems configured to; calculate a ground speed of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences; calculate a drift angle of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences; receive a heading reference of the aircraft; and determine one or more aircraft navigation parameters of the aircraft utilizing at least one of the calculated ground speed of the aircraft, the calculated drift angle of the aircraft, or the received heading reference of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A traffic collision avoidance system based navigation system, comprising:
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a traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) associated with an aircraft, the TCAS including one or more directional antennas, the TCAS configured to; generate a radio frequency (RF) transmission pattern at a selected frequency, the transmission pattern including at least a first RF beam transmitted along a first direction toward a first region of the ground, a second RF beam transmitted along a second direction toward a second region of the ground, a third RF beam transmitted along a third direction toward a third region of the ground, and a fourth RF beam transmitted along a fourth direction toward a fourth region of the ground; receive a plurality of RF signals reflected from the ground across a selected frequency band, the selected frequency band including the selected frequency, the plurality of reflected RF signals including a first RF signal reflected from the first region of the ground toward the TCAS along the first direction, a second RF signal reflected from the second region of the ground toward the TCAS along the second direction, a third RF signal reflected from the third region of the ground toward the TCAS along the third direction, and a fourth RF signal reflected from the fourth region of the ground toward the TCAS along the fourth direction; and measure a plurality of frequency differences, the plurality of frequency differences including at least a frequency difference between the first transmitted RF beam and the first reflected RF signal, a frequency difference between the second transmitted RF beam and the first reflected RF signal, a frequency difference between the third transmitted RF beam and the third reflected RF signal, and a frequency difference between the fourth transmitted RF beam and the fourth reflected RF signal; and one or more computing systems in communication with the TCAS, the one or more computing systems configured to; calculate a ground speed of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences; calculate a drift angle of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences; receive a heading reference of the aircraft; and determine one or more aircraft navigation parameters of the aircraft utilizing at least one of the calculated ground speed of the aircraft, the calculated drift angle of the aircraft, or the received heading reference of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of traffic collision avoidance system (TCAS) based navigation of an aircraft, comprising:
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generating a TCAS radio frequency (RF) transmission pattern including a plurality of transmitted TCAS RF beams, each of the RF beams transmitted at a selected frequency, each of the transmitted TCAS RF beams directed toward a different region of the ground; receiving a plurality of TCAS RF signals reflected from the ground across a selected frequency band, the selected frequency band including the selected frequency; measuring a plurality of frequency differences, the plurality of frequency differences including at least a frequency difference between a first transmitted TCAS RF beam and a first reflected TCAS RF signal, a frequency difference between a second transmitted TCAS RF beam and a second reflected TCAS RF signal, a frequency difference between a third transmitted TCAS RF beam and a third reflected TCAS RF signal, and a frequency difference between a fourth transmitted TCAS RF beam and a fourth reflected TCAS RF signal; calculating a ground speed of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences; calculating a drift angle of the aircraft utilizing one or more of the measured plurality of frequency differences; receiving a heading reference of the aircraft; and determining one or more aircraft navigation parameters of the aircraft utilizing at least one of the calculated ground speed of the aircraft, the calculated drift angle of the aircraft, or the received heading reference of the aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification