Balloon-based positioning system and method
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- at least three balloons, each balloon comprising a position-determining module (PDM) and a position-broadcasting module (PBM);
each PDM being configured for determining a position of the respective balloon;
one balloon of the at least three balloons being a first balloon, the PDM of the first balloon being a first PDM, and the first PDM being configured for determining a position of the first balloon based on a ground-station and a celestial object; and
each PBM being configured for broadcasting a balloon signal containing balloon-positioning data of the respective balloon to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the balloon-positioning data comprising (i) the determined position of the respective balloon and (ii) a corresponding time of broadcast of the balloon signal.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are embodiments of a balloon-based positioning system and method. In one example embodiment, a system includes at least three balloons, with each balloon including a position-determining module (PDM) and a position-broadcasting module (PBM). Each PDM is configured for determining a position of the respective balloon and each PBM is configured for broadcasting a balloon signal containing balloon-positioning data of the respective balloon. The balloon-positioning data includes the determined position of the respective balloon and a corresponding time of broadcast.
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Citations
33 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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at least three balloons, each balloon comprising a position-determining module (PDM) and a position-broadcasting module (PBM); each PDM being configured for determining a position of the respective balloon; one balloon of the at least three balloons being a first balloon, the PDM of the first balloon being a first PDM, and the first PDM being configured for determining a position of the first balloon based on a ground-station and a celestial object; and each PBM being configured for broadcasting a balloon signal containing balloon-positioning data of the respective balloon to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the balloon-positioning data comprising (i) the determined position of the respective balloon and (ii) a corresponding time of broadcast of the balloon signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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at least three balloons, each balloon comprising a position-determining module (PDM) and a position-broadcasting module (PBM); each PDM comprising a GPS receiver, each PDM being configured for (i) receiving at least three satellite signals, each satellite signal from a respective one of at least three satellites, each satellite signal including satellite-positioning data of the respective satellite, and (ii) determining a position of the respective balloon based on the satellite-positioning data of the at least three satellites. each PBM being configured for broadcasting a balloon signal containing balloon-positioning data of the respective balloon to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the balloon-positioning data comprising (i) the determined position of the respective balloon and (ii) a corresponding time of broadcast of the balloon signal. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A system comprising:
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at least three balloons, each balloon comprising a position-determining module (PDM) and a position-broadcasting module (PBM); each PDM being configured for determining a position of the respective balloon; each PBM being configured for broadcasting a balloon signal containing balloon-positioning data of the respective balloon to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the balloon-positioning data comprising (i) the determined position of the respective balloon and (ii) a corresponding time of broadcast of the balloon signal. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. A method comprising:
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determining a first position of a first balloon in a balloon network; determining a second position of a second balloon in the balloon network; determining a third position of a third balloon in the balloon network; broadcasting a first balloon signal to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the first balloon signal including the determined first position and a corresponding time of broadcast of the first balloon signal; broadcasting a second balloon signal to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the second balloon signal including the determined second position and a corresponding time of broadcast of the second balloon signal; and broadcasting a third balloon signal to facilitate a receiver determining a position of the receiver, the third balloon signal including the determined third position and a corresponding time of broadcast of the third balloon signal. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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Specification