Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g. – Directive – Including a satellite
Reexamination Certificate
1998-09-29
2001-04-03
Issing, Gregory C. (Department: 3662)
Communications: directive radio wave systems and devices (e.g.,
Directive
Including a satellite
C342S062000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06211816
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for target or position reconnaissance, and to an apparatus for implementing the process. More specifically, the invention is directed to a novel method and apparatus for artillery guidance in correlation with the content of a mission memory storage of reconnaissance platforms.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
A process and an apparatus for target or position reconnaissance is known from the article “KZO-BREVEL” by P. Haeffner, in SOLDAT UND TECHNIK, Issue 1/1993, pages 26 et seq. describing, by way of example, the use of a drone as an aid for artillery guidance and control through target spotting reconnaissance, and which is supplemented with overlapping comprehensive position scouting. Instead of a self-controlled or remote-controlled drone, it is also possible to employ articles of reconnaissance submunition as sensor carriers; such as in the form of airborne bodies of the type described in German Laid-open Patent Appln. DE-OS 33 13 648, or scatter ammunition as described in German Laid-open Patent Appln. DE-OS 41 04 800. Especially in the two last-mentioned instances, reconnaissance information which has been obtained about the enemy territory must, in every case, be immediately transmitted to a ground station which controls the reconnaissance action. This entails considerable expenditures with regard to the provision of technical equipment for setting up a stable, and eventually through the interposition of relay stations, wide ranging radio connection, thereby increasing the danger of betrayal to enemy defensive capabilities. In contrast therewith, a drone with interim stored reconnaissance data can be again recovered, and as a result does not require any communication link with the ground station.
Usually the positions on the terrain which are of interest relative to the instantaneous location of the sensor carrier are measured by means of methods involving reflective beam position finding (directional and running time evaluation). Thereby, a more or less greater error has to be taken into consideration, depending upon the apparatus parameters. This targeting error is still further increased by virtue of the fact that even through the use of satellite navigation (GNSS-GPS or -GLONASS; as described in FUNKSCHAU, Issue 17/1988, page 16, lower left) there are encounted positional uncertainties in the order of magnitude of several tens to hundreds of meters during the determination of the mission position finding on board the senor carrier; and in any event, as long as the NAVSTAR-precision code is not accessible. This error in position measurement, which can be traced back to clock synchronization errors and orbiting errors (satellite orbit deviations) enable themselves to be reduced when through a so-called relative spot determination were to be undertaken by simultaneous comparative measurements at the same satellite from different positions (FUNKSCHAU, Issue 24/1989, page 60, bottom center); or when from a geodetically measured reception location, the actually prevailing deviation of a satellite-supported positional determination were to be communicated to the mobile receiver (refer to German Patent Specification 41 36 136). However, such corrective measures require maintaining a constant data radio link between the ground station and the current mission location; and any items of corrective information which may be obtained therefrom are against lost if the relevant reconnaissance data are transmitted by way of undefined radio links at one of a plurality of possible locations which, in practice, cannot be predetermined, and later on cannot be determined; such as having to be transmitted into an integrated weapon guidance and control system, and then processed therein, from different of such locations and further transmitted. For example, a target point is to be located by a surveying procedure a plurality of times, and critical movements by enemy units are to be inferred from the subsequently observed target point movement. However, for this purpose, the decision-maker is presented with items of reconnaissance information from various equipment carriers and/or which have been obtained at different points in time which, precisely considered, he cannot combine in order to provide a comprehensive communication, because each individual item of information is possibly tainted with an unknown positional error. More specifically, reliable results are no longer attainable because it is already impossible to reliably determine the current actual position of the various reconnaissance platforms, and during the subsequent positional analysis, the positional errors encountered at that time are unknown.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In recognition of those factors, the present invention is based on the object, that in relation to items of satellite navigation-assisted reconnaissance information, even without the requirement of an on-line data link with the sensor platform, and even without the availability of the GPS-precision code, of being able to substantially increase the degree of accuracy of the positional information, in particular, when those items of information are first to be evaluated in a timed sequence, and combined with other items of reconnaissance information.
In accordance with the invention the foregoing object is essentially attained in that as many as possible of the navigation satellites which are to be considered for determining the mission location on board the sensor carrier are received at the same time from a geodetically accurately located station, and the sequence of items of location information ascertained in that manner, or the difference thereof with regard to the geodetically determined position is stored over the running satellite system time. The positional deviation which is associated with the current satellite configuration and which is documented over the satellite system time is then available as corrective information, when, subsequently, an item of reconnaissance information which, for example, has been placed into intermediate storage in the sensor carrier is evaluated. The target location information thereof, which has been falsified by the mission location error, can thus be subsequently corrected at that time with the deviation which was obtained at the same time, and which was stored with regard to the system time, thereby providing an item of target location or positional information, the accuracy of which could otherwise only by attained by means of the on-line DGPS, so that it is also possible for items of information obtained independently of each other to be subsequently combined without any loss of accuracy.
These items of positionally-corrected reconnaissance information, as a result, thus allow for a directed comparison of items of reconnaissance information which were assumed either successively or in parallel; for example, in order to be able to detect and assess troop marching movements or changes in the terrain. Thus, after the computing out of the deviation from the result of satellite navigation from the actual receiving location, which deviation had been given for the reconnaissance time and which was ascertained in a reference station and then stored, and which also applied to the instantaneous mission location of the sensor carrier, there only remains the uncertainty of the target vector from this observation platform to the measured target position, which can be considered at a good degree of approximation as being a system-governed constant; while the satellite navigation errors depend in a scarcely predicable manner on atmospheric conditions and the actual orbits of the presently being detected satellite.
The subsequent correction of the reconnaissance location or positional data which is now possible in accordance with the invention, thus also permits subsequent processing an evaluation of items of reconnaissance information which were not concurrently obtained, such as average value and stochastic evaluations, irrespective as to wh
Diehl Stiftung & Co.
Issing Gregory C.
Scully Scott Murphy & Presser
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