Estimation and resolution of carrier wave ambiguities in a position navigation system
First Claim
1. Apparatus for resolving ambiguities in a satellite position navigation system comprising:
- a base station located at a known location comprising;
a first satellite receiver capable of receiving navigation satellite signals including carrier signals;
a rotating laser transmitter;
a mobile station comprising;
a second satellite receiver capable of receiving navigation satellite signals including carrier signals;
a photodetection device for receiving laser beams generated by said laser transmitter;
an arithmetic processing unit for processing the laser beams in order to calculate an elevation angle between said laser transmitter on said base station and said mobile station; and
a data processing unit in communication with said first and second satellite receivers for determining the location of said mobile station based at least on part on carrier signals, said processing unit configured to resolve carrier phase ambiguities based at least in part on said elevation angle.
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Abstract
A method and apparatus for resolving floating point and integer ambiguities in a satellite position navigation system is disclosed. A rover station is periodically positioned at unknown locations and has a satellite receiver capable of receiving the navigation signals. By calculating relative position coordinates between a base station in a known location and the rover station, and by calculating other position parameters relative to the satellite position, a geometric constraint based on a measured elevation angle between the rover and base station can be incorporated into data computations and processing to help resolve carrier phase ambiguities. The elevation angle is measured by transmitting multiple laser beams to an optical sensor on the rover station. This technique results in greater precision in determining the location of the rover.
40 Citations
22 Claims
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1. Apparatus for resolving ambiguities in a satellite position navigation system comprising:
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a base station located at a known location comprising; a first satellite receiver capable of receiving navigation satellite signals including carrier signals; a rotating laser transmitter; a mobile station comprising; a second satellite receiver capable of receiving navigation satellite signals including carrier signals; a photodetection device for receiving laser beams generated by said laser transmitter; an arithmetic processing unit for processing the laser beams in order to calculate an elevation angle between said laser transmitter on said base station and said mobile station; and a data processing unit in communication with said first and second satellite receivers for determining the location of said mobile station based at least on part on carrier signals, said processing unit configured to resolve carrier phase ambiguities based at least in part on said elevation angle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method for resolving ambiguities during position determination of a mobile unit in a satellite navigation system comprising the steps of:
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receiving a laser beam generated by a rotating laser transmitter at a known location; calculating an elevation angle between said mobile unit and said laser transmitter; and resolving ambiguities in carrier waves received by the mobile unit based at least in part on a geometric constraint generated from said elevation angle. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. Apparatus for resolving carrier phase ambiguities in a satellite position navigation system having a base station at a known location capable of receiving navigation satellite signals, and also having a rotating laser transmitter, said apparatus comprising:
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a mobile station; a satellite receiver on said mobile station; an optical sensor on said mobile station capable of receiving laser beams generated from the laser transmitter; processor means for analyzing the laser beams to calculate an elevation angle between said mobile station and the base station, and for resolving carrier phase ambiguities based at least in part on said elevation angle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18)
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19. A method for resolving carrier phase ambiguities during position determination of a mobile unit having an optical sensor to receive multiple laser beams from at least one rotating laser and having an antenna to receive navigation satellite signals, comprising:
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processing the satellite signals received by the antenna of the mobile unit in order to detect cycle and phase parameters; analyzing the laser beams received by the optical sensor of the mobile unit in order to calculate an elevation angle between the mobile unit and a base station located at a known location; and resolving carrier phase ambiguities based on calculations incorporating the elevation angle. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22)
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Specification