Abstract Subject disclosure relates to a novel and improved system for determining the range and aspect of an aircraft or any other vehicle moving in three dimensions in relation to a fixed point. The system includes a fixed isoceles right triangular pattern laid out on the ground or an another suitable reference plane, an energy sensor detector on the aircraft that develops an image of triangular pattern, and determines the coordinates of the apices of the pattern, a computer on the aircraft that performs predetermined mathematical operations on the apex coordinate data from the sensor detector and a readout device on the aircraft that continuously provides range and aspect data that defines the position of the aircraft.
Apparatus for determining the position of an aircraft in relation to the ground, said apparatus comprising: a. three light energy sources positioned on the ground in an isosceles right triangular pattern; b. an energy sensor detector positioned on the aircraft which develops an image of the triangular pattern and determines various parameters of the pattern image, said detector including a telescope device mounted on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and a television vidicon tube; c. and a computer on the aircraft which is coupled to detector and which performs predetermined mathematical operations including the solution of the following equations for Alpha and Beta :
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
109 words
Apparatus for determining the position of an aircraft in relation to the ground, said apparatus comprising: a. three light energy sources positioned on the ground in an isosceles right triangular pattern; b. an energy sensor detector positioned on the aircraft which develops an image of the triangular pattern and determines various parameters of the pattern image, said detector including a telescope device mounted on an axis parallel to the longitudinal axis of the aircraft and a television vidicon tube; c. and a computer on the aircraft which is coupled to detector and which performs predetermined mathematical operations including the solution of the following equations for Alpha and Beta :
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
71 words
The apparatus substantially as described in claim 1 wherein the mathematical operations of the computer further include solution of the following equation: where R is the range of the aircraft to the apex of the right angle of the triangular pattern, L is the ground length of the legs of the triangular pattern, and theta is the angle between the extremities of the projected said foreshortened leg of the triangular pattern.