GNSS receiver and antenna system including a digital communication subsystem

• US 9,164,176 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2008
• Issued: 10/20/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Novatel Incorporated (Hexagon AB)
• Original Assignee: Novatel Incorporated (Hexagon AB)
• Inventors: Fenton, Patrick C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Issing, Gregory C
• Application Number:
  US12/126,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20080297407A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,706 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357.07, 342/357.09, 342/357.1
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/03 Cooperating elements; Interaction or communication between different cooperating elements or between cooperating elements and receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/07 providing data for correcting measured positioning data, e.g. DGPS [differential GPS] or ionosphere corrections
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/33 Multimode operation in different systems which transmit time stamped messages, e.g. GPS/GLONASS
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/35 Constructional details or hardware or software details of the signal processing chain
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0036 of measured values, i.e. measurement on mobile and position calculation on base station

Abstract

A GNSS receiver and antenna system transmits signals from an antenna structure to a remote GNSS receiver and includes a digital communications subsystem that utilizes a high speed digital communications conductor. The transmissions are digital signals that preserve GNSS satellite signal frequency and/or carrier and code phase information. The system may transmit digital signals corresponding to GNSS signals such as GPS, GLONAS, Galileo and Compass satellite signals. In addition, the system may transmit, over the same digital communications conductor in appropriately formatted digital signals, ranging signals from ground-based transmitters or other satellites, differential GNSS correction signals from beacons or base GPS receivers, and/or signals from transmitting or co-located sensors, such as inertial sensors, temperature sensors and so forth. The digital signals include in headers or payload relative timing and carrier and code phase information and, as appropriate, information that identifies the signals by source or type, such as information that identifies the frequencies or the antennas or antenna elements providing the respective signals.

Claims

1. A system consisting of:

one or more sensors that provide signals containing non-GNSS information;

one or more remote GNSS antenna structures adapted to receive GNSS signals and the signals provided by the one or more sensors;

a digital communication subsystem including;

one or more RF to formatted digital signal converters, at a first end of the subsystem nearest to the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures, to receive signals from the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures and produce digital signals that are formatted for transmission and correspond to the received GNSS signals and the signals provided by the one or more sensors and preserve carrier frequency and phase information and code phase information from which the received GNSS signals can be fully recovered,

one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters, at a second end of the subsystem nearest to one or more GNSS receivers, for converting the digital signals to RF signals for use by the one or more GNSS receivers, and

a digital communications high speed conductor consisting of a single continuous high speed digital serial link cable spanning an entire distance between the one or more RF to formatted digital signal converters at the first end and the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters at the second end without any intervening devices, the single continuous high speed digital serial link cable transmitting the digital signals from all of the one or more RF to formatted digital signal converters to all of the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters; and

one or more GNSS receivers located remotely from the remote GNSS antenna structures and the sensors and directly coupled to receive the RF signals from the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters, the one or more GNSS receivers adapted to recover the code and carrier phase information and the non-GNSS information and use the code and carrier phase information and the non-GNSS information to produce position information.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein one remote GNSS antenna structure is optimized for the receipt of GPS signals and another remote GNSS antenna structure is optimized for the receipt of one or more other GNSS satellite signals.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures downconvert the received GNSS signals to intermediate frequency signals.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more of the sensors are co-located with the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein one converter provides to the digital communications conductor signals from which other converters can recover clock information for synchronizing local oscillators.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein

the one or more sensors are inertial sensors, temperature sensors, barometric sensors, or combinations thereof.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive differential GNSS correction signals, and

the digital communication subsystem is further adapted to convert the correction signals into digital signals that are formatted for transmission and include information associated with a source or type of the correction signals.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive ranging signals from ground-based devices or other satellites, and

the digital communication subsystem is further adapted to convert the ranging signals into digital signals that are formatted for transmission and include information associated with a source or type of the ranging signals and carrier and code phase information.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive differential GNSS correction signals, and

the digital communications subsystem is further adapted to convert the correction signals into digital signals that are formatted for transmission and include information associated with a source or type of the correction signals.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive ranging signals from ground-based devices or other satellites, and

the digital communications subsystem is further adapted to convert the ranging signals into digital signals that are formatted for transmission and include information associated with a source or type of the ranging signals and carrier and code phase information.

11. The system of claim 6 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive ranging signals from ground-based devices or other satellites, and

the digital communications subsystem is further adapted to convert the ranging signals into digital signals that are formatted for transmission and include information associated with a source or type of the ranging signals and carrier and code phase information.

12. The system of claim 7 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive ranging signals from ground-based devices or other satellites, and

the digital communications subsystem is further adapted to convert the ranging signals into digital signals that are formatted for transmission and include information associated with the source of the ranging signals.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein one or more sensors are transmitting sensors.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the digital communication subsystem further includes in digital signals information associated with sources or types of signals provided by respective sensors.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein a given GNSS receiver connects to the high speed serial link cable.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the GNSS antenna structures are directly coupled to the first end of the digital communication subsystem.

17. A system consisting of:

one or more sensors that provide signals containing non-GNSS information;

one or more remote GNSS antenna structures adapted to receive GNSS signals and the signals provided by the one or more sensors;

a digital communication subsystem including;

one or more RF to formatted digital signal converters, at a first end of the subsystem nearest to the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures, to receive signals from the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures and produce digital signals that are formatted for transmission and correspond to the received GNSS signals and the signals provided by the one or more sensors and preserve carrier frequency and phase information and code phase information from which the received GNSS signals can be fully recovered,

one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters, at a second end of the subsystem nearest to one or more GNSS receivers, for converting the digital signals to RF signals for use by the one or more GNSS receivers, and

a digital communications high speed conductor consisting of a single continuous high speed digital serial link cable spanning an entire distance between the one or more RF to formatted digital signal converters at the first end and the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters at the second end of the digital communication subsystem without any intervening devices, the single continuous high speed digital serial link cable transmitting the digital signals from all of the one or more RF to formatted digital signal converters to all of the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters; and

one or more GNSS receivers located remotely from the remote GNSS antenna structures and the sensors and directly coupled to receive the RF signals from the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters, the one or more GNSS receivers adapted to recover the code and carrier phase information and the non-GNSS information and use the code and carrier phase information and the non-GNSS information to produce position information.

18. The system of claim 17 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive differential GNSS correction signals, and

the digital communications subsystem is further adapted to produce corresponding formatted digital signals that include information associated with a source or type of the correction signals.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters are synchronized to or at a known offset from the RF to formatted digital signal converters.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the sensors are one or more of inertial sensors, temperature sensors, barometric sensors or combinations thereof.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein

the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures are further adapted to receive ground-based or other satellite ranging signals, and

the digital communications subsystem is further adapted to produce corresponding formatted digital signals that include information associated with a source or type of the ranging signal and carrier and code phase information.

22. The system of claim 17 wherein the high speed serial link cable connects to a given GNSS receiver.

23. A system consisting comprising:

a plurality of remote GNSS antenna structures configured to receive GNSS satellite signals;

a plurality of RF to formatted digital converters configured to produce formatted digital signals corresponding to the received GNSS satellite signals that include carrier frequency and phase information and code phase information from which the received GNSS signal can be fully recovered;

a single continuous high speed digital serial link cable spanning an entire distance between the plurality of RF to formatted digital converters and a plurality of formatted digital signal to RF converters, the single continuous high speed digital serial link cable configured to transmit all formatted digital signals from all of the plurality of RF to formatted digital converters to all of the plurality of formatted digital signal to RF converters;

the plurality of formatted digital signal to RF converters configured to convert the formatted digital signals received, over the single continuous high speed digital serial link cable spanning an entire distance between the plurality of RF to formatted digital converters and the plurality of formatted digital signal to RF converters, to RF signals; and

one or more GNSS receivers configured to receive the RF signals from the one or more formatted digital signal to RF converters, the GNSS receivers being remote from the one or more remote GNSS antenna structures.