Abstract: The invention provides a determination of direction to a remote object which omnidirectionally transmits a signal. The invention includes a handheld directional and omnidirectional antenna at a user's location and a handheld circuit coupled to the antennas to determine field strengths of the signal received from the remote object by the two antennas. A comparison of the received signals at the antennas during a sweep a field of observation is made and a probable direction of the remote object relative to the user's location is selected from the data sweep. The apparatus may further comprise a digital compass which generates a compass heading corresponding to each direction in which the directional antenna is pointed. The circuit stores field strength data by compass heading and averages the field strength data according to a predetermined protocol over compass headings.
Type:
Grant
Filed:
March 12, 2008
Date of Patent:
July 17, 2012
Assignee:
Compass Auto Tracker LLC
Inventors:
James Ladd Berntsen, Patrick Edward Franz, Bruce Hampton Kennard, Rob Baranowski, Ian Crabtree
Abstract: The invention provides a determination of direction to a remote object which omnidirectionally transmits a signal. The invention includes a handheld directional and omnidirectional antenna at a user's location and a handheld circuit coupled to the antennas to determine field strengths of the signal received from the remote object by the two antennas. A comparison of the received signals at the antennas during a sweep a field of observation is made and a probable direction of the remote object relative to the user's location is selected from the data sweep. The apparatus may further comprise a digital compass which generates a compass heading corresponding to each direction in which the directional antenna is pointed. The circuit stores field strength data by compass heading and averages the field strength data according to a predetermined protocol over compass headings.
Type:
Application
Filed:
March 12, 2008
Publication date:
June 9, 2011
Applicant:
COMPASS AUTO TRACKER LLC
Inventors:
James Ladd Bernsten, Patrick Edward Franz, Bruce Hampton Kennard, Rob Baranowski, Ian Crabtree