Topcon Positioning Systems, Inc.

Topcon Gps, LLC

Vladimir Victorovich Veitsel

Andrey Vladimirovich Veitsel

Mark Isaakovich Zhodzishsky

Nikolay Afanasievich Vazhenin

Fedor Borisovich Serkin

Victor Andreevich Prasolov

Andrey Valerievich Plenkin

Alexey Stanislavovich Lebedinsky

Dmitry Markovich Zhodzishsky

Dmitry Pavlovich Nikitin

Ilya Vladimirovich Ivantsov

Victor Abramovich Veitsel

Dmitry Anatolyevich Rubtsov

Leonid Victorovich Purto

Alexey S Lebedinskiy

Igor Anatolievich Orlovsky

Konstantin Vladimirovich Chereshnev

The present invention discloses methods of accuracy improving for code measurements in GLONASS GNSS receivers. One component of error budget in code measurements of GLONASS receivers is caused by a difference in signal delays arising in the receiver analog Front End and antenna filter on different channel frequencies specific to GLONASS satellites. Methods to compensate for differences in delays for different GLONASS channel frequencies have been proposed using data collected from a GLONASS signals simulator.

Method of reducing inter-channel biases in GLONASS GNSS receivers

Navigation receiver includes antennas receiving signals from different satellite constellations, Low Noise Amplifiers, a Block of Analog Filters, a Block of Quadrature mixers (BQM) translating in phase and quadrature signals to an intermediate frequency, analog converters digitizing the in phase and quadrature signals, a Block of Digital Quadrature Mixers (BDQM) shifting the digitized signals to zero frequency, a Set Block of Digital Filters (SBDF) band-pass filtering the shifted signals, and reducing a sampling rate, and a Block of Digital Processing (BDP) calculating coordinates, all series-connected; a Block of Digital Generators (BDG) for fine control of the BDQM; and a Block of Analog Generators (BAG) that defines which signal is processed by its corresponding BQM; SBDF including Blocks of Digital Filters (BDFs), each BDF including a chain of Blocks of MultiRate Filters for antialiasing filtering/down-sampling of shifted signals, programmable commutators for controlling decimation, and FIR-filters; each BDF controlled by control block.

Block of digital filters for multisystem navigational receivers integrated with data transmission systems

An apparatus to measure signal-to-thermal noise ratio (SNR) and signal-to-pulse noise ratio (SPNR), the apparatus including a quadrature mixer, a pulse noise reduction unit, an SNR estimation unit and an offset compensation unit, connected in series, the quadrature mixer receiving the input radio signal and outputting an in-phase component and a quadrature component; a pulse noise separation unit, and an SPNR estimation unit connected series, the pulse noise reduction unit and the pulse noise separation unit inputting the in-phase and quadrature components; the SPNR estimation unit inputting a filtered in-phase component from the pulse noise reduction unit. The offset compensation unit outputs a current SNR. The SPNR estimation unit outputs a current SPNR. The pulse noise separation unit includes a first LPF, an impulse noise separator and an HPF, connected in series; and a second LPF, a pulse noise detection unit and an inverter, connected in series.

Method and apparatus for estimating the current signal-to-thermal noise ratio and signal-to-pulse noise ratio

Apparatus to measure signal-to-thermal noise ratio (SNR) and signal-to-pulse noise ratio (SPNR) includes a pulse noise reduction unit, an SNR estimation unit and an offset compensation unit; a pulse noise separation unit, and an SPNR estimation unit. Pulse noise separation unit includes (i) a first low pass filter (LPF), an impulse noise separator and a high pass filter (HPF), connected in series; and (ii) a second LPF, a pulse noise detection unit and an inverter. Pulse noise detection unit includes two channels, each with a high pass filter, an absolute value calculation unit, a low pass filter, a comparator, a pulse generator. The channels connect to OR gate, which outputs a pulse detection signal. Pulse noise reduction unit and pulse noise separation unit input in-phase and quadrature components. The SPNR estimation unit inputs a filtered in-phase component. The offset compensation unit outputs SNR, and the SPNR estimation unit outputs SPNR.

Apparatus for estimating a current SNR of a signal, including an SNR estimator and an offset compensator connected in series, the offset compensator outputting the current SNR; the SNR estimator including (i) a first squaring unit, a summer, a square root unit, a first mean unit, a first subtractor, a scaling unit, a divider, a second subtractor and a decibel (dB)-recalculator, all connected in series, wherein an output of the second squaring unit is also connected to the divider; (ii) a third squaring unit connected to the first summer, and a second mean unit connected to an output of the summer at its input and to the subtractor at its output; and (iii) a correction calculator connected to the square root unit and to the second subtractor; the first squaring unit inputting an I component of the signal; and the second squaring unit inputting a Q component of the signal.

Method and apparatus for estimating the current signal-to-noise ratio

A method of estimating current SNR in a sequence of symbols, including receiving a signal representing an additive mixture y(t)=s(t)+n(t) of a sequence of phase-modulated symbols with fixed length and phase modulation s(t) and including white Gaussian noise (AWGN) n(t); separating quadrature components Iand Qof the received signal in a quadrature mixer; determining a mean-squareof I; determining a mean-squareof Q; determining a square/squared value of mean absolute value (modulus); determining a square of mean value for quadrature component, where values of the quadrature component Qare averaged taking into account a sign of a symbol received in a channel; determining a current absolute value (vector length) for; determining the current SNR based on,, ||,and &#x221a;{square root over (I+Q)}; and compensating for a systematic error of the current SNR.

The present invention relates to processing information generated by GNSS receivers received signals such as GPS, GLONASS, etc. GNSS receivers can determine their position in space. The receivers are capable of determining both coordinates and velocity of their spatial movement. When a receiver is used in any machine control systems, velocity vector heading (in other words, velocity vector orientation) should be determined along with velocity vector's absolute value. Angle, determining velocity vector orientation, is calculated based on velocity vector projections which are computed in navigation receivers. The accuracy of velocity vector orientation calculated based on velocity vector projections strongly enough depends on velocity vector's absolute value. To enhance the accuracy, a method of smoothing primary estimates of velocity vector orientation angles using a modified Kalman filter has been proposed. The bandwidth of this filter is varied depending on current estimates of velocity vector's absolute value which were calculated based on the same velocity vector projections.

Method and apparatus of GNSS receiver heading determination

Navigation satellite receivers have a large number of channels, where phase discriminators and loop filter of a PLL operate in phase with data bits and control of numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) carried out simultaneously on all channels. Since symbol boundaries for different satellites do not match, there is a variable time delay between the generation of control signals and NCO control time. This delay may be measured by counting a number of samples in the delay interval. A proposed system measures non-energy parameters of the BPSK-signal carrier received in additive mixture with noise when a digital loop filter of PLL controls NCO with a constant or changing in time delay. A control unit controls bandwidth and a LF order by changing transfer coefficients based on analyzing estimated signal parameters and phase tracking error at a PD output.

Digital system and method of estimating non-energy parameters of signal carrier

Navigation satellite receivers have a large number of channels, where phase discriminators and loop filter of a PLL operate in phase, with data bits and control of numerically controlled oscillator (NCO) carried out simultaneously on all channels. Since symbol boundaries for different satellites do not match, there is a variable time delay between the generation of control signals and NCO control time. This delay may be measured by counting a number of samples in the delay interval. A proposed system measures non-energy parameters of the BPSK signal carrier received in additive mixture with noise when a digital loop filter of PLL controls NCO with a constant or changing in time delay. A control unit controls bandwidth and a LF order by changing transfer coefficients based on analyzing estimated signal parameters and phase tracking error at a PD output.

A navigation receiver processes signals transmitted by global navigation satellites and received by a set of antenna units. Each antenna unit is connected to a separate input port of an antenna multiplexer switch. Satellite signals received from each antenna unit are consecutively switched to the input of a common radiofrequency processing module. A common signal correlator generates a common in-phase correlation signal from the satellite signals received from all the antenna units. The common in-phase correlation signal is processed by a data processing module to demodulate information symbols from the received satellite signals. The common in-phase correlation signal is also processed by phase-lock loops and delay-lock loops to generate carrier phases and code delays from the received satellite signals. Embodiments are described in which, along with the common in-phase correlation signal, common functional blocks or hardware are used to process the satellite signals received from all the antenna units.

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Moscow, Russia

Vladimir Victorovich Veitsel