The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 05, 2015
Filed:
Apr. 28, 2011
Mark D. Smith, Glendale, AZ (US);
Mark D. Smith, Glendale, AZ (US);
Aviation Communication & Surveillance Systems LLC, Phoenix, AZ (US);
Abstract
Systems and methods for providing antenna calibration can be used in a variety of applications. A method of calibrating an antenna array for use in a traffic advisory system or traffic alert and collision avoidance system provide a mechanism that renders complex combining circuitry unnecessary in the array. A method can include receiving an unsolicited reply that contains absolute position information of an intruder aircraft. The method can also include determining a bearing of a signal encoding the reply based on a phase relationship of the signals from an antenna array not configured to operate with an internal self-test phase calibration mechanism. The method can further include comparing the bearing based on the phase relationship with a bearing calculated by a comparison of the absolute positions of a host aircraft and the intruder aircraft. The method can additionally include calibrating the antenna array based on the result of the comparison.