Patent ID: 8736482

Claim:
A DME aided multilateration method for a DME interrogator to determine its own position, the method comprising: transmitting interrogation pulses from a DME interrogator that are received by a DME transponder and at least one DME sensor unit (DSU); transmitting reply pulses from the DME transponder in response to the interrogation pulses that are received from the DME interrogator; providing at least one DSU for receiving and determining a TOA for the interrogation pulses transmitted by the DME interrogator and the reply pulses transmitted by the DME transponder, associating the received interrogation pulses and reply pulses, determining a time delay between associated interrogation pulses and reply pulses, determining a time difference of arrival (TDOA) from the determined time delay and the known distance between the DSU and the DME transponder, and transmitting at least the TDOA and the ID of the DSU to the DME interrogator; wherein the DME interrogator receives at least the TDOA and the DSU ID from the at least one DSU, associates the received TDOA from the at least one DSU to a specific transmission of interrogation pulses from the DME interrogator, and determines the DME interrogator position using the received TDOA and range data determined from the transmitted interrogation pulses and the received reply pulses in response to the transmitted interrogation pulses from the DME transponder.