Fail safe receiver system

• US 5,543,803 A
• Filed: 08/23/1994
• Issued: 08/06/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 08/23/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Honeywell Incorporated (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Serfling, Steven E., Stangeland, Rodney L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tancza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): PHAN, DAO LINDA
• Application Number:
  US08/294,668
• Time in Patent Office: 714 Days
• Field of Search: 342/357, 342/420, 455/12.1, 455/63
• US Class Current: 342/357.64
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/15 Aircraft landing systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/22 Multipath-related issues

Abstract

A receiver system using antennas which may be effected by reflections or multipath propagation errors wherein the antennas are placed at spaced apart locations and produce outputs which differ due to the difference of locations and which may differ due to the multipath propagation errors, wherein the system corrects for the position differences and eliminates a signal which contains multipath errors to provide a corrected signal.

Claims

1. The method of determining a correct value for signals from a plurality of receivers each of which produces an output indicative of values received from a remote transmitter but which may contain errors due to multipath propagation comprising the steps of:

A. positioning the receivers at spaced apart locations so that any multipath propagations effect the receivers differently; and

B. processing the outputs of the receivers together to determine if there is an error due to multipath propagation and to produce a resultant output indicative of the correct value.

2. The method of claim 1 further including the step of

A1. correcting the output of the receivers for any differences due to the receivers being at different positions.

3. Signal receiving apparatus comprising:

a plurality of receivers positioned at different locations to receive signals transmitted by a remote transmitter and produce outputs in accordance therewith, one of said output possibly being in error due to multipath propagation;

correction circuit means connected to receive and correct the outputs of the receivers together in accordance with the difference in position and to eliminate any receiver outputs which contain multipath propagation errors.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 wherein, the signal receiving apparatus is part of a global position system and the remote transmitter is a satellite.

5. Apparatus for removing any multipath errors from a transmission received from a GPS satellite comprising:

first and second receivers positioned at spaced apart locations to receive the transmission from the satellite and to produce first and second signals in accordance therewith, the first and second signals being effected by multipath errors differently;

processing means connected to receive both the first and second signals to eliminate any differences due to the receivers being at different positions, and to determine any differences due to multipath errors, said processing means producing a corrected output signal.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 further including a third receiver positioned to receive the transmission from the satellite to produce a third signal, said processing means receiving the first second and third signals to produce the corrected output signal.