Cubic-western Data

Carl A Heldwein

Richard Newell Jekel

Stephen R Sampson

John T Zupan

Systems and methods for determining the range from a vehicle to a plurality of reference points. In one system a mobile transceiver is located on the vehicle for transmitting a ranging interrogation signal pulse modulated on an RF carrier having a given frequency in response to a timing pulse and for receiving ranging response signal pulses modulated on RF carriers having the given frequency. A plurality of reference transponders are individually located at each of the plurality of reference points for receiving the timing pulse and the ranging interrogation signal pulse on a carrier having the given frequency and for responding thereto by transmitting a ranging response signal pulse on a carrier having the given frequency during an interval that is discrete from the intervals during which ranging response signal pulses are transmitted from the other reference transponders. Within a given time slot in relation to the timing pulse, a single ranging interrogation signal pulse is followed by a sequence of discrete ranging response signal pulses. A data processor determines and processes the phase of the received ranging response signal pulses in relation to the transmitted ranging interrogation signal pulse to determine the range from the vehicle to individual reference points, and processes the range determinations to determine the position of the vehicle by multilateration. The mobile transceiver, transponders, and transmitter each include an RF transmitter having a modulator circuit for modulating an RF carrier signal to have a predetermined shape envelope determined by the shape of a modulating signal.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Carl A Heldwein