A multi-positioning method and system based on time-sharing query

Abstract

The present invention relates to the field of wireless communications technology, specifically disclosing a multi-positioning method and system based on time-sharing interrogation. The method comprises: identifying and marking TACAN devices present in the current airspace and their corresponding device information; selecting at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on the TACAN device information; configuring communication parameters for an onboard device; then, the onboard device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to the at least two TACAN devices during an interrogation period; and receives response signals from the at least two TACAN devices during a response period; and calculating the position of an aircraft based on the interrogation and response signals. The present invention utilizes at least two TACAN devices for interrogation-response ranging at corresponding frequencies, thereby increasing the signal duty cycle and combining the distance information between the at least two TACAN devices and the aircraft to calculate the aircraft's position, resulting in more accurate calculation results and providing technical support for subsequent TACAN networking.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of wireless communication navigation, and in particular to a multi-station positioning method and system based on time-sharing inquiry. Background Art

[0002] In traditional TACAN applications, within the effective range of station A, the aircraft's onboard equipment only uses the signal of station A; when the aircraft flies from station A into the effective range of station B, the aircraft's onboard equipment will switch to station B's working mode and only receive the signal of station B. Stations A and B have different operating frequencies. Figure 1 As shown, Figure 1 The two circles in the figure represent the effective ranges of stations A and B, respectively. Assume that station A operates on channel a and station B operates on channel b. The above process can be described as the aircraft's onboard equipment initially operating on channel a. Upon entering the circle containing station B, the aircraft's onboard equipment switches from channel a to channel b. This approach allows only one station to be used in each time period, which wastes time and leaves room for improvement in positioning accuracy.

[0003] The operating range of each TACAN device is approximately 300 to 500 kilometers. In actual station distribution, the distance between two or more adjacent stations is less than 500 kilometers. Here we take two stations as an example to illustrate: According to the electromagnetic wave propagation theory, the signal of station B also exists in the operating area of ​​station A, but the signal strength and signal quality of station A are better than those of station B. Similarly, the signal of station A also exists in the operating area of ​​station B, that is, the operating areas of stations A and B overlap. Figure 2 As shown, in Figure 2 In the overlapping area, the signal quality of station A is better than that of station B. If station A is defined as the main station and station B as the secondary station, in the current TACAN application, we only use the signal of station A and do not use the signal of station B, which means there is a waste of station resources.

[0004] Based on this problem, the present invention proposes a multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing inquiry. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the technical problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a multi-station positioning method and system based on time-sharing inquiry.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention includes a multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing interrogation, the method comprising:

[0007] Determine and mark the TACAN equipment and corresponding equipment information in the current airspace based on a pre-stored navigation database; the equipment information includes at least the station operating frequency, the station geographic coordinates, and the station operating coverage area;

[0008] receiving a positioning setting instruction and selecting at least two TACAN devices for positioning according to the positioning setting instruction and device information of the TACAN devices; wherein the aircraft is located within the station working coverage of the selected TACAN devices;

[0009] Configuring communication parameters of the airborne device based on the device information of the selected TACAN device; the communication parameters include an interrogation-response cycle and an interrogation signal transmission frequency, the interrogation-response cycle being divided into a leading interrogation time period and a trailing response time period, and the interrogation signal transmission frequency corresponding to the station operating frequency;

[0010] In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period;

[0011] The distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device is calculated according to the interrogation signal and the response signal in at least one interrogation response cycle, and the position information of the aircraft is calculated in combination with the station geographic coordinates.

[0012] Furthermore, in each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period, including:

[0013] The airborne device transmits interrogation signals of corresponding frequencies to at least two TACAN devices in sequence at the start of the interrogation time period;

[0014] During the response time period, the system is adjusted to the corresponding station operating frequency to receive the response signal sent by the corresponding TACAN device.

[0015] Furthermore, in each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period, including:

[0016] The airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices simultaneously at any time during the interrogation time period;

[0017] During the response time period, the system is adjusted to the corresponding station operating frequency to receive the response signal sent by the corresponding TACAN device.

[0018] Furthermore, configuring the communication parameters of the airborne device according to the device information of the selected TACAN device includes:

[0019] Setting the order and interval of transmitting interrogation signals based on at least two selected TACAN devices;

[0020] Setting the sequence of adjusting the station operating frequencies and the switching time within the response time period according to the geographical coordinates of at least two selected TACAN devices;

[0021] The inquiry response cycle is generated according to the order and interval time of transmitting inquiry signals, the order and switching time of adjusting the station operating frequency.

[0022] Furthermore, it also includes:

[0023] The airborne equipment performs a positioning test according to the communication parameters;

[0024] Determining whether the airborne device can transmit an inquiry signal and receive a corresponding response signal according to the inquiry response period;

[0025] If yes, the positioning test passes;

[0026] If not, adjust the transmission sequence and interval time, adjust the sequence and switching time of the station operating frequencies, generate a new inquiry and response cycle, and perform the positioning test again until the positioning test passes.

[0027] Furthermore, when the airborne device performs a positioning test according to the communication parameters, if the number of TACAN devices selected for positioning is greater than or equal to three, the method further includes:

[0028] Determining whether the airborne device can transmit an inquiry signal and receive a corresponding response signal according to the inquiry response period;

[0029] If yes, the positioning test passes;

[0030] If not, the transmitted inquiry signal and the received response signal will be matched with the TACAN equipment. If the number of corresponding TACAN devices is at least two, the positioning test passes; if the number of corresponding TACAN devices is less than two, the transmission order and interval time, the order of station operating frequencies and the switching time will be adjusted to generate a new inquiry and response cycle, and the positioning test will be performed again until the positioning test passes.

[0031] Furthermore, in each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period, including:

[0032] In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices once or multiple times within the interrogation time period, and receives a response signal from at least two TACAN devices once or multiple times within the response time period.

[0033] Furthermore, it also includes:

[0034] Reselect at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on the device information of each TACAN device and the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device;

[0035] Also, the communication parameters of the onboard equipment are adjusted according to the equipment information of the reselected TACAN equipment.

[0036] In a second aspect, the present invention further includes an aircraft, the aircraft being equipped with an onboard device, the onboard device including a radio frequency signal processing module, and at least one set of an onboard transmitting antenna and an onboard receiving antenna, the onboard transmitting antenna and the onboard receiving antenna being communicatively connected to the radio frequency signal processing module; wherein,

[0037] The radio frequency signal processing module is used to determine and mark the TACAN equipment and corresponding equipment information existing in the current airspace according to the pre-stored navigation database; the equipment information at least includes the station operating frequency, the station geographical coordinates, and the station working coverage range; and receive a positioning setting instruction, and select at least two TACAN equipment for positioning according to the positioning setting instruction and the equipment information of the TACAN equipment; the aircraft is located within the station working coverage range of the selected TACAN equipment; and configure the communication parameters of the airborne equipment according to the equipment information of the selected TACAN equipment; the communication parameters include the inquiry response period and the transmission frequency of the inquiry signal, The interrogation-response cycle is divided into an interrogation time period and a response time period. The transmission frequency of the interrogation signal corresponds to the operating frequency of the station. In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne transmitting antenna transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation time period, and the airborne receiving antenna receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response time period. The radio frequency signal processing module is further configured to calculate the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device based on the interrogation signal and the response signal during at least one interrogation-response cycle, and calculate the aircraft's position information in combination with the station's geographic coordinates.

[0038] In a third aspect, the present invention also includes a multi-unit positioning system based on time-sharing interrogation, the multi-unit positioning system including an aircraft and at least two TACAN devices for positioning; the multi-unit positioning system implements the aforementioned multi-unit positioning method based on time-sharing interrogation.

[0039] The multi-station positioning method and system based on time-sharing interrogation of the present invention determines and marks the TACAN devices and corresponding device information in the current airspace based on a pre-stored navigation database, then selects at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on information such as the station's distance from the geographic coordinates and the station's operating coverage area, and then configures the airborne device's communication parameters based on the device information of the selected TACAN devices. The communication parameters include an interrogation-response cycle and an interrogation signal transmission frequency. The interrogation-response cycle is divided into a preceding interrogation time period and a subsequent response time period. The interrogation signal transmission frequency corresponds to the station's operating frequency. Thereafter, within each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to the at least two TACAN devices within the interrogation time period, and Reply signals from at least two TACAN devices are received within a response time period; the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN devices is calculated based on the interrogation signals and the response signals within at least one interrogation-response cycle, and the aircraft's position information is calculated in combination with the station's geographic coordinates. The present invention conducts interrogation-response communication at corresponding frequencies with at least two selected TACAN devices within an interrogation-response cycle. Compared to conventional TACAN ranging modes, the present invention utilizes time-sharing interrogation to effectively utilize idle time outside of interrogation-response operations, thereby improving the signal duty cycle. Furthermore, the invention combines the distances between the at least two TACAN devices and the aircraft, as well as the distance between the two TACAN devices, to calculate the aircraft's position information, resulting in more accurate calculation results and providing technical support for subsequent TACAN networking. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0041] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the effective range of the TACAN equipment (I);

[0042] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the effective range of the TACAN equipment (II);

[0043] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the duty cycle of signal transmission and reception (I);

[0044] Figure 4 The figure is a flowchart of a multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the duty cycle of signal transmission and reception (2). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0047] For the traditional TACAN ranging mode, that is, the inquiry and response ranging method, the airborne equipment only works at one frequency point. The airborne equipment generates an inquiry signal, and the ground station receives the inquiry signal and decodes it to give an answer signal. Figure 3 As shown in the figure, if the inquiry frequency of the airborne device is about 50 Hz, that is, the airborne device and the same ground station have only 50 ranging inquiry and reply operations within 1 second, and the rest of the time (dashed line) is idle, and the time utilization rate is low.

[0048] A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing interrogation in an embodiment of the present invention is applied to an aircraft (such as an airplane). The aircraft in the embodiment of the present invention is equipped with an onboard device, which includes a radio frequency signal processing module and at least one set of airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas, and the airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas are both communicatively connected to the radio frequency signal processing module;

[0049] like Figure 4 As shown, the method includes the following steps:

[0050] Step S10: Determine and mark the TACAN equipment and corresponding equipment information existing in the current airspace according to the pre-stored navigation database.

[0051] In this embodiment of the present invention, the navigation database contains device information for TACAN devices within a certain airspace. This navigation database can be a database already established in the art or a database configured according to the present invention. The device information includes at least information such as station operating frequency, station geographic coordinates, and station coverage. Each TACAN device has its own station operating frequency, which typically varies from device to device. The station geographic coordinates represent the TACAN device's geographic location and can be expressed using latitude and longitude or other common location expressions. The station coverage indicates that signals can only be received within this range. That is, if an aircraft wishes to communicate with a TACAN device, it must be located within the station coverage of that TACAN device. Furthermore, the device information in this embodiment of the present invention may also include information such as the station's operating mode and station identification code. The number of TACAN devices determined in this step may be multiple and can be represented by stations A / B / C / D...

[0052] Step S20: receiving a positioning setting instruction, and selecting at least two TACAN devices for positioning according to the positioning setting instruction.

[0053] When a pilot or commander wishes to determine the specific position of the aircraft, they can generate a positioning setting command via an input device. The onboard equipment will then perform positioning operations only after receiving the positioning setting command. Alternatively, the positioning setting command in this embodiment can also be understood as any trigger-type command prior to the TACAN device selection step, such as a command to start software execution or a pilot's command to operate the onboard equipment.

[0054] First, at least two TACAN devices are selected for positioning based on the positioning setting instruction and the TACAN device information. The aircraft must be within the coverage area of ​​the selected TACAN devices. The TACAN device selection range is stations A / B / C / D, etc., determined in step S10. The positioning setting instruction may include the number of TACAN devices to be selected, and even the specific station numbers or sequences. For example, this step selects stations A and B for aircraft positioning.

[0055] Step S30: configuring the communication parameters of the onboard device according to the device information of the selected TACAN device.

[0056] The communication parameters in this embodiment include the interrogation-response cycle and the interrogation signal transmission frequency. The interrogation-response cycle is divided into a preceding interrogation period and a subsequent response period. The interrogation signal transmission frequency corresponds to the station operating frequency. If stations A and B are selected for aircraft positioning in step S20, then at least two interrogation signals are transmitted, with transmission frequencies corresponding to the station operating frequencies of stations A and B, respectively. This ensures that the transmitted interrogation signals can be received by stations with corresponding frequencies. The implementation of this step illustrates that within an interrogation-response cycle, at least two interrogation signals are transmitted, and at least two response signals are received, also corresponding to the interrogation signal frequencies, thus achieving multi-station positioning with time-sharing interrogation.

[0057] After the communication parameters of the airborne device are determined, the airborne device will transmit and receive signals, as specifically shown in step S40.

[0058] Step S40: In each inquiry response cycle, the airborne device transmits an inquiry signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during an inquiry period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during a response period.

[0059] The present invention includes two implementation modes. The first one is that the airborne equipment configured on the aircraft includes a radio frequency signal processing module and a group of airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas. In this case, inquiry signals and response signals of different frequencies require this group of airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas to switch the working frequencies and transmit and receive in sequence. As the name suggests, when the aircraft sends different inquiry signals, station A receives the inquiry signal, and then quickly switches the frequency to station B to receive another inquiry signal. At this time, both stations A and B are processing the inquiry signal. Then, according to the distance relationship between the aircraft and the station, it is selected in different situations whether station B completes the ranging function and then switches the frequency to station A to complete the ranging function, or after station B receives the inquiry signal, switches to station A to complete the ranging function, and then switches to station B to complete the ranging function, and finally realizes the positioning function.

[0060] Therefore, step S40 specifically includes:

[0061] Step S4011: The airborne device transmits an inquiry signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices in sequence at the start time of the inquiry time period.

[0062] Step S4012: Modulate to the corresponding station operating frequency within the response time period to receive the response signal sent by the corresponding TACAN device.

[0063] The second type is that the airborne equipment configured on the aircraft includes a radio frequency signal processing module and at least two sets of airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas. Each set of airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas is responsible for communicating with a TACAN device. In this case, inquiry signals of different frequencies require each set of airborne transmitting antennas and airborne receiving antennas to switch working frequencies and transmit simultaneously. There is no need to switch working frequencies and wait for receiving response signals. Therefore, step S40 specifically includes:

[0064] Step S4022: The airborne device transmits an inquiry signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices at any time during the inquiry time period.

[0065] Step S4022: Modulate to the corresponding station operating frequency within the response time period to receive the response signal sent by the corresponding TACAN device.

[0066] Assume that the aircraft requires distance information at time t0. Since the distances between the aircraft and different ground stations (i.e., TACAN equipment) vary, ground station one completes its ranging function at time t1, and ground station two completes its ranging function at time t2. Therefore, this embodiment transmits at least two interrogation signals simultaneously, maintaining time synchronization and achieving more accurate positioning. This embodiment improves the hardware of the onboard equipment by modifying the antennas on the aircraft to form a multi-antenna combination, enabling simultaneous reception and transmission of multiple TACAN signals. Furthermore, the performance of the RF signal processing module is modified to enable simultaneous signal processing of multiple different frequencies.

[0067] The radio frequency signal processing module of the embodiment of the present invention has the functions of analog-to-digital conversion of signals as well as content recognition and data analysis and calculation.

[0068] After the response signal is obtained, step S50 is continued.

[0069] Step S50: Calculate the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device based on the interrogation signal and the response signal within at least one interrogation response cycle, and calculate the position information of the aircraft in combination with the station geographic coordinates.

[0070] For the implementation schemes in (1) and (2), a group of airborne receiving antennas sends the reply signals received at different times to the RF signal processing module, or two or more groups of airborne receiving antennas send the received reply signals to the RF signal processing module. The RF signal processing module can measure the distance and direction of the aircraft relative to the A / B / C / D... stations based on the polar coordinate positioning principle of the TACAN equipment. The position of the aircraft can be obtained through the two-ball positioning or three-ball positioning method. Since the information of multiple navigation stations is integrated, the positioning accuracy will be improved compared with single-station positioning.

[0071] Specifically, step S30 of the embodiment of the present invention: configuring the communication parameters of the airborne device according to the device information of the selected TACAN device, includes:

[0072] Step S301: setting the order and interval of transmitting inquiry signals according to at least two selected TACAN devices.

[0073] Step S302: setting the sequence of modulating the station operating frequencies and the modulation time within the response time period according to the geographical coordinates of the stations of the at least two selected TACAN devices.

[0074] Step S303: Generate an inquiry response cycle according to the order and interval time of transmitting inquiry signals, the order and modulation time of modulating the station operating frequency.

[0075] Take the implementation scheme in (1) as an example, Figure 5 As shown, the order of modulating the working frequency of the station during the response time period is to first send an inquiry signal corresponding to the frequency to station A, switch the signal frequency within time t1, and then send an inquiry signal corresponding to the frequency to station A. After the response time period, it enters the response time period, first modulates to the working frequency of station A to receive the response signal sent by station A, and then switches the signal frequency within time t1 and modulates to the working frequency of station B to receive the response signal sent by station B, showing a situation where the working frequency changes alternately.

[0076] The embodiment of the present invention does not specifically limit the order and interval of transmitting the inquiry signal and the order and modulation time of modulating the station operating frequency. Figure 5 The figure is only one embodiment. In this embodiment, the time between the sending of the inquiry signal and the receiving of the response signal by station A is t a The time between the sending of the inquiry signal and the receiving of the reply signal by station B is t b , it can also be seen from the figure that t a and t b There is a certain difference in the length of time. This is because the distances between the aircraft and stations A and B are different. Combined with the length of time it takes to send and receive signals at the same frequency and the transmission speed of the signal, the straight-line distance between the aircraft and the corresponding station can be calculated based on this. Then, the position information of the aircraft can be calculated based on the distance between stations A and B.

[0077] The present invention proposes two methods of selecting a station by comparing the distance between the aircraft and each station:

[0078] The first method is to monitor the power of the signals received by the aircraft at each station through real-time power monitoring. According to the principle of electromagnetic wave propagation, when the transmission power is equal, the farther the aircraft is from the station, the smaller the signal power it receives. Therefore, the aircraft can judge its distance from each station by the strength of the signal received from each station, and thus select the two or more nearest stations for positioning.

[0079] The second method is that the aircraft can measure its relative position to the TACAN equipment through the TACAN equipment. By comparing the distances to each station, two or more stations are selected for positioning.

[0080] The aircraft exchanges information with stations A / B / C / D... to measure the distance and direction of the aircraft relative to stations A / B / C / D..., and the position of the aircraft can be obtained through two-ball positioning or three-ball positioning. Since the information of multiple guide stations is integrated, the positioning accuracy will be significantly improved compared to single-station positioning.

[0081] More preferably, step S40: in each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during an interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during a response period, including:

[0082] In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices once or multiple times during an interrogation period, and receives a response signal from at least two TACAN devices once or multiple times during a response period.

[0083] This embodiment Figure 5 Based on the illustrated example, interrogation signals of corresponding frequencies may be transmitted multiple times to at least two TACAN devices during an interrogation period, and response signals from at least two TACAN devices may be received multiple times during a response period. Because the position of an aircraft changes in real time during flight, this embodiment further utilizes idle time outside of interrogation and response operations, significantly improving the signal duty cycle and enabling more accurate measurement of the aircraft's position.

[0084] In addition, the embodiment of the present invention further includes:

[0085] 1. Reselect at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on each device's device information and the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device. As the aircraft's position changes over time, the closer TACAN device is selected for positioning based on the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device (associated with the station's geographic coordinates and station coverage area in the device information).

[0086] Second, adjust the communication parameters of the onboard equipment based on the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN. Since the distance between the aircraft and at least two TACANs can vary, the order and intervals of signal transmissions, as well as the order and modulation times of the station operating frequencies, can be rationally arranged based on the time required for signal transmission. This means adjusting the interrogation-response cycle. Furthermore, the interrogation signal transmission frequency and the response signal reception frequency can be altered based on the TACAN selection. For example, the TACAN closest to the aircraft can be designated as the master station, increasing its interrogation rate (e.g., performing 3-4 interrogations and replies per interrogation-response cycle) and reducing the interrogation rate of stations farther away (performing only one interrogation and reply per interrogation-response cycle). The specific interrogation signal transmission order can be customized based on the specific situation.

[0087] Specifically, the method of the embodiment of the present invention further includes:

[0088] Step S60: The airborne device performs a positioning test according to the communication parameters.

[0089] The positioning test process includes:

[0090] Determine whether the airborne equipment can transmit an inquiry signal and receive a corresponding response signal according to the inquiry response period;

[0091] If yes, the positioning test passes;

[0092] If not, adjust the transmission sequence and interval time, adjust the sequence and switching time of the station operating frequencies, generate a new inquiry and response cycle, and perform the positioning test again until the positioning test passes.

[0093] If the number of TACAN devices selected for positioning is three or more, the positioning test is performed by the airborne equipment according to the communication parameters. The positioning test process includes:

[0094] Determine whether the airborne equipment can transmit an inquiry signal and receive a corresponding response signal according to the inquiry response period;

[0095] If yes, the positioning test passes;

[0096] If not, the transmitted interrogation signal and received response signal are compared with the TACAN equipment. If there are at least two corresponding TACAN equipment, the positioning test passes. Generally, two TACAN equipment participating in positioning can obtain relatively accurate position information, so the positioning test passes. If there are fewer than two corresponding TACAN equipment, the transmission sequence and interval time, as well as the sequence and switching time of the station operating frequencies, are adjusted to generate a new interrogation and response cycle, and the positioning test is repeated until the positioning test passes.

[0097] An embodiment of the present invention further includes an aircraft, the aircraft being equipped with an onboard device, the onboard device including a radio frequency signal processing module, and at least one set of an onboard transmitting antenna and an onboard receiving antenna, the onboard transmitting antenna and the onboard receiving antenna being communicatively connected to the radio frequency signal processing module; wherein,

[0098] The radio frequency signal processing module is configured to determine and mark TACAN devices and corresponding device information present in the current airspace based on a pre-stored navigation database; the device information includes at least a station operating frequency, a station geographic coordinates, and a station operating coverage area; receive a positioning setting instruction, and select at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on the positioning setting instruction and the device information of the TACAN devices; the aircraft is located within the station operating coverage area of ​​the selected TACAN devices; and configure communication parameters of the airborne device based on the device information of the selected TACAN devices. The communication parameters include an interrogation-response cycle and an interrogation signal transmission frequency. The interrogation-response cycle is divided into a leading interrogation time period and a trailing response time period, and the interrogation signal transmission frequency corresponds to the station operating frequency. Within each interrogation-response cycle, an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency is transmitted to the at least two TACAN devices via the airborne transmitting antenna during the interrogation time period, and response signals from the at least two TACAN devices are received via the airborne receiving antenna during the response time period. The radio frequency signal processing module is further configured to calculate the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN devices based on the interrogation signal and response signal within at least one interrogation-response cycle, and calculate the aircraft's position information based on the station geographic coordinates.

[0099] The functional implementation of this embodiment can be understood in conjunction with the aforementioned embodiment of the multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing inquiry, and will not be described in detail here.

[0100] An embodiment of the present invention further includes a multi-unit positioning system based on time-sharing interrogation, the multi-unit positioning system including an aircraft and at least two TACAN devices for positioning; the multi-unit positioning system implements the multi-unit positioning method based on time-sharing interrogation through the aforementioned embodiment.

[0101] The multi-station positioning method and system based on time-sharing interrogation of the present invention determines and marks the TACAN devices and corresponding device information in the current airspace based on a pre-stored navigation database, then selects at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on information such as the station's distance from the geographic coordinates and the station's operating coverage area, and then configures the airborne device's communication parameters based on the device information of the selected TACAN devices. The communication parameters include an interrogation-response cycle and an interrogation signal transmission frequency. The interrogation-response cycle is divided into a preceding interrogation time period and a subsequent response time period. The interrogation signal transmission frequency corresponds to the station's operating frequency. Thereafter, within each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to the at least two TACAN devices within the interrogation time period, and Reply signals from at least two TACAN devices are received within a response time period; the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN devices is calculated based on the interrogation signals and the response signals within at least one interrogation-response cycle, and the aircraft's position information is calculated in combination with the station's geographic coordinates. The present invention conducts interrogation-response communication at corresponding frequencies with at least two selected TACAN devices within an interrogation-response cycle. Compared to conventional TACAN ranging modes, the present invention utilizes time-sharing interrogation to effectively utilize idle time outside of interrogation-response operations, thereby improving the signal duty cycle. Furthermore, the invention combines the distances between the at least two TACAN devices and the aircraft, as well as the distance between the two TACAN devices, to calculate the aircraft's position information, resulting in more accurate calculation results and providing technical support for subsequent TACAN networking.

[0102] The present invention is further described above with the aid of specific embodiments. However, it should be understood that the specific description herein should not be construed as limiting the essence and scope of the present invention. Various modifications made to the above embodiments by ordinary technicians in this field after reading this specification are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query, characterized in that: The method comprises: Determine and mark the TACAN equipment and corresponding equipment information in the current airspace based on a pre-stored navigation database; the equipment information includes at least the station operating frequency, the station geographic coordinates, and the station operating coverage area; receiving a positioning setting instruction and selecting at least two TACAN devices for positioning according to the positioning setting instruction and device information of the TACAN devices; wherein the aircraft is located within the station working coverage of the selected TACAN devices; Configuring communication parameters of the airborne device based on the device information of the selected TACAN device; the communication parameters include an interrogation-response cycle and an interrogation signal transmission frequency, the interrogation-response cycle being divided into a leading interrogation time period and a trailing response time period, and the interrogation signal transmission frequency corresponding to the station operating frequency; In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period; The distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device is calculated according to the interrogation signal and the response signal in at least one interrogation response cycle, and the position information of the aircraft is calculated in combination with the station geographic coordinates.

2. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period, including: The airborne device transmits inquiry signals of corresponding frequencies to at least two TACAN devices in sequence at the start of the inquiry time period; and adjusts to the corresponding station operating frequency during the response time period to receive response signals sent by the corresponding TACAN devices.

3. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period, including: The airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices simultaneously at any time during the interrogation time period; During the response time period, the system is adjusted to the corresponding station operating frequency to receive the response signal sent by the corresponding TACAN device.

4. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: Configuring the communication parameters of the onboard device according to the device information of the selected TACAN device includes: Setting the order and interval of transmitting interrogation signals based on at least two selected TACAN devices; Setting the sequence of adjusting the station operating frequencies and the switching time within the response time period according to the geographical coordinates of at least two selected TACAN devices; The inquiry response cycle is generated according to the order and interval time of transmitting inquiry signals, the order and switching time of adjusting the station operating frequency.

5. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: Also includes: The airborne equipment performs a positioning test according to the communication parameters; Determining whether the airborne device can transmit an inquiry signal and receive a corresponding response signal according to the inquiry response period; If yes, the positioning test passes; If not, adjust the transmission sequence and interval time, adjust the sequence and switching time of the station operating frequencies, generate a new inquiry and response cycle, and perform the positioning test again until the positioning test passes.

6. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: When the airborne device performs a positioning test according to the communication parameters, if the number of TACAN devices selected for positioning is greater than or equal to three, the method further includes: Determining whether the airborne device can transmit an inquiry signal and receive a corresponding response signal according to the inquiry response period; If yes, the positioning test passes; If not, the transmitted inquiry signal and the received response signal will be matched with the TACAN equipment. If the number of corresponding TACAN devices is at least two, the positioning test passes; if the number of corresponding TACAN devices is less than two, the transmission order and interval time, the order of station operating frequencies and the switching time will be adjusted to generate a new inquiry and response cycle, and the positioning test will be performed again until the positioning test passes.

7. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation period, and receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response period, including: In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne device transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices once or multiple times within the interrogation time period, and receives a response signal from at least two TACAN devices once or multiple times within the response time period.

8. A multi-station positioning method based on time-sharing query as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: Also includes: Reselect at least two TACAN devices for positioning based on the device information of each TACAN device and the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device; Also, the communication parameters of the onboard equipment are adjusted according to the equipment information of the reselected TACAN equipment.

9. An aircraft, characterized in that: The aircraft is equipped with an onboard device, which includes a radio frequency signal processing module and at least one set of an onboard transmitting antenna and an onboard receiving antenna, and the onboard transmitting antenna and the onboard receiving antenna are both communicatively connected to the radio frequency signal processing module; wherein, The radio frequency signal processing module is used to determine and mark the TACAN equipment and corresponding equipment information existing in the current airspace according to the pre-stored navigation database; the equipment information at least includes the station operating frequency, the station geographical coordinates, and the station working coverage range; and receive a positioning setting instruction, and select at least two TACAN equipment for positioning according to the positioning setting instruction and the equipment information of the TACAN equipment; the aircraft is located within the station working coverage range of the selected TACAN equipment; and configure the communication parameters of the airborne equipment according to the equipment information of the selected TACAN equipment; the communication parameters include the inquiry response period and the transmission frequency of the inquiry signal, The interrogation-response cycle is divided into an interrogation time period and a response time period. The transmission frequency of the interrogation signal corresponds to the operating frequency of the station. In each interrogation-response cycle, the airborne transmitting antenna transmits an interrogation signal of a corresponding frequency to at least two TACAN devices during the interrogation time period, and the airborne receiving antenna receives response signals from at least two TACAN devices during the response time period. The radio frequency signal processing module is further configured to calculate the distance between the aircraft and the TACAN device based on the interrogation signal and the response signal during at least one interrogation-response cycle, and calculate the aircraft's position information in combination with the station's geographic coordinates.

10. A multi-positioning system based on time-sharing query, characterized in that: The multi-unit positioning system includes an aircraft and at least two TACAN devices for positioning; the multi-unit positioning system implements a multi-unit positioning method based on time-sharing inquiry through any one of claims 1 to 8.

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