Patent ID: 10054663

Abstract:
A method and devices are disclosed, for localization of a radio beacon at a remote receiver in the framework of a satellite system. Such satellite system could be Cospas-Sarsat, for Search and Rescue of people, ships and aircraft in distress, and particularly its MEOSAR (Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue) segments: DASS/GPS, SAR/Galileo and SAR/Glonass; said beacon is typically one of a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) or EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) or ELT (Emergency Locator Beacon); and said remote receiver is typically a MEOLUT (Medium Earth Orbit Local User Terminal) base station.Present art MEOSAR localization is based on Time measurements and Frequency measurements on signals emitted by radio beacons, relayed by satellites and detected at a MEOLUT; however since the exact time of transmission of the beacon is unknown at the MEOLUT, Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) equations are applied. The present invention however, discloses that by carefully configuring the time of transmission at said beacon, even without directly communicating that specific time to the MEOLUT, Time of Arrival (TOA) equations could be applied at the MEOLUT enabling enhanced localization accuracy and/or fewer satellites in view required to localize the beacon. In particular, localization is enabled even upon a single burst emitted by the beacon and relayed to the MEOLUT by a single satellite.