Patent · US Expired

Navigation system with solution separation apparatus for detecting accuracy failures

US5760737A · kind A · utility

71Cited by
14References
43Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateSep 11, 1996
Grant dateJun 2, 1998
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 11, 2016

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01S19/47
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A navigation system, incorporating a unique method for detecting failures and determining an accuracy or error bound, has a receiver for receiving signals from several remote transmitters and a processor for determining a position solution from the signals. The processor, preferably employing Kalman filtering techniques, also determines several position subsolutions from subsets of the signals. The processor then computes covariance-based solution separation parameters based on statistical worst-case differences, or separations, between the position solution and the subsolutions. Similarly, the processor also computes error parameters defining statistical worst-case errors in each position subsolution. With the solution separation and the subsolution error parameters, the processor determines an error bound for the position solution. The processor also uses the separation parameters as detection thresholds for detecting transmitter failures. In one embodiment, the processor incorporates inertial reference data into the solutions and ultimately into the error bound calculation, thereby improving the ability of the navigation system to monitor its own accuracy, or integrity.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.