초록 ▼

Systems and methods for the selection of antennas in aircraft navigation systems are provided. In one embodiment, a navigation receiver system for an aircraft comprises: a first aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from fixed-location ground transmitters and a second aircraft antenna t

Systems and methods for the selection of antennas in aircraft navigation systems are provided. In one embodiment, a navigation receiver system for an aircraft comprises: a first aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from fixed-location ground transmitters and a second aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from the fixed-location ground transmitters, wherein the first aircraft antenna has a first gain pattern that is different from a second gain pattern of the second aircraft antenna; a switch coupled to a first receiver and the first and second aircraft antenna; and a switch controller coupled to the switch. The switch controller operates the switch to electrically couple the first receiver to either the first or second aircraft antenna based on a determination of whether the first gain pattern or the second gain pattern provides higher gain in a direction of a first fixed-location ground transmitter of the fixed-location ground transmitters.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A navigation receiver system for an aircraft, the system comprising: a first aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from fixed-location ground transmitters and a second aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from the fixed-location ground transmitters, wherein the first ai

1. A navigation receiver system for an aircraft, the system comprising: a first aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from fixed-location ground transmitters and a second aircraft antenna that receives transmitter signals from the fixed-location ground transmitters, wherein the first aircraft antenna has a first gain pattern that is simultaneously different from a second gain pattern of the second aircraft antenna, wherein the first aircraft antenna and the second aircraft antenna are physically distinct;a switch coupled to a first receiver and coupled to the first aircraft antenna and the second aircraft antenna; anda switch controller coupled to the switch, wherein the switch controller operates the switch to electrically couple the first receiver to either the first aircraft antenna or the second aircraft antenna based on a determination of whether the first gain pattern or the second gain pattern provides higher gain in a direction of a first fixed-location ground transmitter of the fixed-location ground transmitters,wherein the determination of whether the first gain pattern or the second gain pattern provides higher gain in the direction of the first fixed-location ground transmitter is made based on an orientation of the aircraft relative to the first fixed-location ground transmitter as determined at least in part from position information for the aircraft and attitude information for the aircraft, andwherein the determination includes a calculation of a vector between the aircraft and the first fixed-location ground transmitter, and a rotation of the vector into a frame of reference in which the first and second gain patterns are mapped. 2. The system of claim 1, further comprising: a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) that outputs the position information for the aircraft; andan inertial reference system that outputs the attitude information for the aircraft. 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a memory storing a database of coordinates that includes location coordinates of the first fixed-location ground transmitter, wherein the navigation receiver further reads the location coordinates from the database of coordinates to determine the orientation of the aircraft relative to the first fixed-location ground transmitter. 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the first receiver is reconfigurable to operate as either an Instrument Landing System (ILS) localizer receiver or a VHF Data Broadcast (VDB) receiver. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein individual desirability metrics are calculated by the switch controller based on a calculation of bearings between the aircraft and the first fixed-location ground transmitter, the calculation of bearings including one or more of historical bearing calculations, present bearing calculations and predicted future bearing calculations. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the first receiver is compatible with a Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) system and an ILS system; wherein the first receiver receives location coordinates for the first fixed-location ground transmitter from a signal transmitted by the first fixed-location ground transmitter; andwherein the orientation of the aircraft relative to the first fixed-location ground transmitter is determined based on the location coordinates. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the navigation system is an integrated system further comprising: a VHF omnidirectional radio (VOR) receiver, wherein the first aircraft antenna comprises a VOR antenna direct-coupled to the VOR receiver; andan Instrument Landing System (ILS) localizer receiver, wherein the second aircraft antenna comprises an ILS localizer antenna direct-coupled to the ILS localizer receiver;wherein the first receiver comprises a VHF Data Broadcast (VDB) receiver that is Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) compatible; andwherein the VOR antenna and the ILS localizer antenna are switchably coupled to the VDB receiver via the switch. 8. A navigation receiver system for an aircraft, the system comprising: an RF switch coupled to a plurality of aircraft antennas that receive signals from fixed-location ground transmitters, wherein the aircraft antennas are physically distinct;a receiver coupled to the RF switch; anda processor coupled to the receiver and the RF switch, the processor operating the RF switch to couple one of the plurality of aircraft antennas to the receiver based on calculating an orientation of the aircraft with respect to a direction of one of the fixed-location ground transmitters and simultaneous respective gain patterns for each of the plurality of aircraft antennas,wherein operating the RF switch is further based on determining which of the respective gain patterns of the plurality of aircraft antennas provides higher gain in the direction of the fixed-location ground transmitter as determined at least in part from position information for the aircraft and attitude information for the aircraft, andwherein operating the RF switch is further based on calculating a vector between the aircraft and the fixed-location ground transmitter, and a rotation of the vector into a frame of reference in which the respective gain patterns are mapped. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein to couple the one of the plurality of aircraft antennas, the processor calculates at least one bearing of the aircraft with respect to the one of the fixed-location ground transmitters and calculates an individual desirability metric for each of the plurality of aircraft antennas based on the at least one bearing from which the processor selects a best desirability metric. 10. The system of claim 8 further comprising: a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver coupled to the processor, andan inertial reference system (IRS) coupled to the processor;wherein the GNSS receiver provides to the processor a position of the aircraft and the IRS provides to the processor an attitude measurement of the aircraft. 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the receiver is a VHF Data Broadcast (VDB) receiver. 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the processor includes future trajectory information of the aircraft for calculating the orientation of the aircraft with respect to a direction of one of the fixed-location ground transmitters. 13. The system of claim 8, wherein individual desirability metrics are calculated by the processor for each of the plurality of aircraft antennas based on a calculation of bearings between the aircraft and the one fixed-location ground transmitter, the calculation of bearings including one or more of historical bearing calculations, present bearing calculations and predicted future bearing calculations. 14. An aircraft navigation method, the method comprising: determining coordinates of a ground station;determining a direction of the ground station with respect to an aircraft reference frame for a first position of an aircraft traveling along a flight path;determining which of a plurality of antennas aboard the aircraft has a desired gain pattern in the direction of the ground station, wherein the antennas are physically distinct and simultaneously receiving, wherein determining which of the plurality of antennas aboard the aircraft has a desired gain pattern in the direction of the ground station is based on an orientation of the aircraft relative to the ground station as determined at least in part from position information for the aircraft and attitude information for the aircraft, wherein determining which of the plurality of antennas aboard the aircraft has a desired gain pattern in the direction of the ground station includes calculating a vector between the aircraft and the ground station, and a rotation of the vector into a frame of reference in which gain patterns of the plurality of antennas are mapped; andswitching a radio to use the antenna having the desired gain pattern. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining which of a plurality of antennas aboard the aircraft has a desired gain pattern in the direction of the ground station further comprises: calculating individual desirability metrics for each of the plurality of aircraft antennas based on a calculation of bearings between the aircraft and the ground station, and based on reception gain patterns for each of the plurality of antennas, the calculation of bearings including one or more of historical bearing calculations, present bearing calculations and predicted future bearing calculations; andselecting a best desirability metric from the individual desirability metrics. 16. The method of claim 14, wherein determining coordinates of a ground station further comprises either: receiving location coordinates for the ground station from via a transmission broadcast, orretrieving the location coordinates from a database. 17. The method of claim 14, wherein determining a direction of the ground station with respect to an aircraft reference frame for a first position of an aircraft traveling along a flight path further comprises determining a position of an aircraft at one or more future points in time along a planned flight path. 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of antennas aboard the aircraft include at least one VHF omnidirectional radio (VOR) antenna and at least one Instrument Landing System localizer (ILS LOC) antenna, and the radio comprises a Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) receiver.