Half-dead-reckoning capable GPS navigation receiver

• US 5,890,090 A
• Filed: 11/20/1996
• Issued: 03/30/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 11/20/1996
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Trimble Navigation Limited (Trimble Inc.)
• Inventors: Nelson, Robert Leonard Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): WYCKOFF, TIMOTHY R
• Application Number:
  US08/753,109
• Time in Patent Office: 860 Days
• Field of Search: 701/200, 701/207, 701/213, 701/214, 701/215, 701/216, 701/217, 342/357, 342/358, 340/990, 340/995, 73/178 R
• US Class Current: 701/213
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/20 Instruments for performing navigational calculations G01C21/24, G01C21/26 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/50 whereby the position solution is constrained to lie upon a particular curve or surface, e.g. for locomotives on railway tracks

Abstract

A half-dead reckoning satellite navigation receiver comprises a receiver for tracking and acquisition of two, three, four or more satellites and for computing navigation solutions from the available satellites. A navigation computer is included that provides for navigation when only three satellites are visible by constraining the altitude. The navigation computer further provides for a half-dead-reckoning mode of operation when only two satellites are visible and the altitude is constrained by providing a one dimensional satellite navigation solution. The receiver position is projected by dead reckoning with the projection corrected in one axis only that is perpendicular to the available horizontal line of position.

Claims

1. A half-dead reckoning satellite navigation receiver comprising:

an L-band microwave radio receiver for tracking and acquisition of two, three, four or more orbiting navigation satellites and for computing navigation solutions from the signals from the available satellites; and

a navigation computer connected to the radio receiver and that provides for navigation when only three satellites are visible by constraining the altitude, and provides for a half-dead-reckoning mode of operation when only two satellites are visible by providing a one dimensional satellite navigation solution;

wherein, the receiver position is projected by dead reckoning with the projection corrected in one axis only that is perpendicular to the available horizontal line of position.

2. The receiver of claim 1, wherein:

the navigation computer provides said one-dimensional position information at any one time at said constrained altitude where said half-dead-reckoning mode projects the receiver position by dead reckoning and then corrects said projection in one axis only perpendicular to a single available horizontal line of position.

3. The receiver of claim 1, wherein:

the navigation computer includes computational means for starting with a partial-derivative matrix;

##EQU7## where a and b are the pseudorange discrepancies to the two visible satellites, h is the altitude discrepancy, t is the time error, and c is the signal speed; and

means for inverting said matrix that avoids solving for t by moving it to the left side of the equation, ##EQU8##

4. The receiver of claim 3, wherein:

the navigation computer further includes computational means for inverting said matrix to solve for x, y, and z,

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">x=m.sub.13 (a-ct)+m.sub.12 (b-ct)+m.sub.13 h,

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">y=m.sub.23 (a-ct)+m.sub.22 (b-ct)+m.sub.23 h,

space="preserve" listing-type="equation">z=m.sub.33 (a-ct)+m.sub.32 (b-ct)+m.sub.33 h;

wherein x, v, and z are position coordinates.

5. A method of half-dead-reckoning navigation, the method comprising the steps of:

determining if only two orbiting navigation satellites are visible to a satellite navigation receiver;

if only two orbiting navigation satellites are visible, then projecting the position of the receiver by dead reckoning; and

correcting said projection in one horizontal axis only with information provided by said two visible orbiting navigation satellites.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein:

the step of correcting is such that the information provided by said two visible orbiting navigation satellites describes a one-dimensional line solution of position at an assumed altitude.

7. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

bounding a projection obtained by projecting the position of the receiver by dead reckoning with an additional set of measurements taken from said two visible orbiting navigation satellites that provide a plurality of different one-dimensional line solutions of position;

wherein said projections are useful to bound the dead reckoning solutions in a variety of directions by virtue of a changing geometry of any visible satellites then beings tracked.