US 12,442,886 B2
Apparatus and method for determining a 3D directional vector between a sending device and a receiving device
Dimitris Kalogiros, Thalwil (CH); Ioannis Sarris, Thalwil (CH); and Peter Karlsson, Thalwil (CH)
Assigned to u-blox AG, Thalwil (CH)
Filed by u-blox AG, Thalwil (CH)
Filed on Jun. 24, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/848,862.
Claims priority of application No. 21182793 (EP), filed on Jun. 30, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0084336 A1, Mar. 16, 2023
Int. Cl. G01S 5/02 (2010.01); G01S 3/26 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 5/0268 (2013.01) [G01S 3/26 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for determining a 3-dimensional (3D) directional vector between a sending device and a receiving device, the receiving device comprising a first antenna array and at least a second antenna array, wherein the first and the second antenna array each comprises a plurality of linearly arranged antenna elements that are aligned to different orientations, the method comprising:
receiving, with the first antenna array and the second antenna array, a signal sent from the sending device;
sampling, based on the received signal, outputs of each antenna element of each of the first and the second antenna array at a plurality of time instants;
determining, for each antenna array of the first and the second antenna arrays, a Propagator Direct Data Acquisition (PDDA) pseudo-spectrum by performing a 1-dimensional PDDA (1D-PDDA) based on the sampled outputs of the respective antenna array and on a plurality of steering vectors associated with the respective antenna array;
determining a maximum of each PDDA pseudo-spectrum;
determining an angular quantity (Ψ) for each of the first and the second antenna array based on the respective maximum of the PDDA pseudo-spectrum, wherein the angular quantity (Ψ) depends on an azimuthal angle (φ) and a polar angle (θ); and
determining the 3D directional vector based on the angular quantities (Ψ) of each of the first and the second antenna arrays and on the orientations of the first and the second antenna arrays, wherein determining the 3D directional vector comprises determining a unit directional vector (δ), wherein δi, βj and δk are components of δ, δ is represented by the azimuthal angle (φ) and the polar angle (θ) as:

OG Complex Work Unit Math