GPS Antenna Attenuation for Orientation and Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional GPS systems have limited position accuracy and struggle to differentiate between GPS devices in close proximity, as they rely on symmetric antenna radiation patterns, which do not provide sufficient orientation data without calibration.
Innovation Solution
A positioning system that incorporates an attenuation device to create an asymmetric antenna radiation pattern by blocking or attenuating GPS signals from specific areas of the sky, allowing for the determination of orientation and position information without additional sensors, using a controller to compare signal strengths with stored reference data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional GPS systems use symmetric antenna radiation patterns, then the system structure is simple, but the position accuracy and orientation determination capability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies asymmetry by introducing an attenuation device that creates an asymmetric antenna radiation pattern. The attenuation device blocks GPS signals from specific areas of the sky (e.g., below a certain elevation angle), transforming the symmetric radiation pattern into an asymmetric one. This asymmetry enables the system to determine orientation information in addition to position, thereby improving measurement precision without requiring separate sensors for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent achieves multi-functionality by enabling a single GPS antenna system to perform both position determination and orientation determination. By incorporating the attenuation device, the same antenna structure provides not only location information but also tilt angle and compass orientation data, eliminating the need for separate accelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetic sensors.
2Loss of information
If conventional GPS systems rely on symmetric antenna patterns, then additional sensors are not needed, but orientation and tilt information cannot be determined
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the GPS antenna system universal by enabling it to extract both position and orientation information from the same signal reception process. The asymmetric radiation pattern caused by the attenuation device allows the system to determine tilt angles and compass directions using only the GPS receiver and attenuation device, without adding separate orientation sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by using its own modified antenna radiation pattern to generate orientation data. The attenuation device modifies the signal reception characteristics, and the controller analyzes these modified characteristics to derive orientation information, eliminating the need for external or additional sensing systems.
3Measurement precision
If GPS signals from all directions are received, then signal strength is maximized, but devices in close proximity cannot be differentiated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses asymmetry in the radiation pattern to create a unique signal signature for each device location. By blocking signals from specific directions (e.g., low elevation angles), the system creates an asymmetric reception pattern that varies with the device's precise location and orientation. This allows differentiation between devices in close proximity, as each device experiences a slightly different asymmetric pattern based on its exact position and angular relationship to satellites.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 2C~2D
AI summary
There is provided a positioning system that comprises a GPS device including a GPS receiver arranged to receive GPS satellite signals from a plurality of GPS satellites and an attenuation device arranged to attenuate GPS satellite signals such that when a GPS satellite is located in a first portion of sky the GPS satellite signals received by the GPS receiver from said GPS satellite are attenuated. A storage is provided to store satellite location information for the plurality of GPS satellites over time at a location of the GPS receiver, and a controller is provided to determine location information of the GPS device based on received GPS information from the GPS device, wherein the received GPS information comprises information on signal strengths of the GPS satellite signals received by the GPS receiver. If a signal strength for a first GPS satellite is lower than a threshold signal strength at a point in time then the controller is arranged to determine that the first GPS satellite is in the first portion of the sky and determine angle information of the GPS device relative to earth's normal and/or orientation information of the GPS device in a horizontal plane using the stored satellite location information.