Patent ID: 6782320
Filing Date: 2004-08-24
Classification: G01S

Abstract:
A method for determining position coordinates and attitude coordinates of a moving object relative to a plurality of transmitters comprising:(a) transmitting navigation signals from a plurality of transmitters having known positions and orientations in a given coordinate system; (b) employing an antenna of a receiver carried by said moving object to receive far-field region electromagnetic fields of said navigation signals transmitted from said plurality of transmitters which contain phase information representing the relative orientation of the receiving antenna with respect to the transmitting antennas; (c) obtaining a phase difference between a reference phase of a local oscillator and the phase information associated with the signal from each transmitter; and (d) calculating, in said given coordinate system, position coordinates and three-dimensional attitude coordinates of said antenna relative to said transmitters based on said known positions and orientations of said transmitters and said phase difference obtained in step (c).