IP Library Granted Patent US 12700914
Granted Patent B2
US 12700914 · App. 18/157,396 · Granted Aug 4, 2026

Aerial repeater position determination apparatus, aerial repeater position determination method, and recording medium storing instructions to perform aerial repeater position determination method

Inventors: Jae Don Park (Daejeon, KR); Jong Sung Park (Daejeon, KR); Yong Woo Park (Daejeon, KR); Sungho Park (Daejeon, KR)
Assignee: AGENCY FOR DEFENSE DEVELOPMENT
H04B7/18502H04B7/0632
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12700914
App. No.
18/157,396
Granted
Aug 4, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

An aerial repeater position determination apparatus is proposed. The apparatus may include a transceiver configured to acquire a height of an aerial repeater, a position of a source node, and a position of a mobile communication base station. The apparatus may also include an initial position determination processor configured to determine an initial position by checking a position at which a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized on a first plane parallel to the ground and including the aerial repeater, on the basis of the position of the source node, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the height of the aerial repeater.

Claims (496)

1 . An aerial repeater position determination apparatus comprising:

a transceiver configured to acquire a height of an aerial repeater, a position of a source node, and a position of a mobile communication base station; and

an initial position determination processor configured to determine an initial position by checking a position at which a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized on a first plane parallel to the ground and including the aerial repeater, on the basis of the position of the source node, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the height of the aerial repeater,

wherein the position at which the SNR of the signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized is located on a third straight line connecting a first point at which a first straight line perpendicular to the first plane and extending from the source node intersects the first plane, to a second point at which a second straight line perpendicular to the first plane and extending from the mobile communication base station intersects the first plane.

2 . The aerial repeater position determination apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when assuming that the source node is located at an origin of a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system having values of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis, the mobile communication base station is located at a first coordinate having w1, w2, and h as values of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis of the spatial coordinate system on the basis of the acquired position of the source node and the acquired position of the mobile communication base station, and a value of the z-axis on the first plane in the spatial coordinate system calculated on the basis of the acquired position of the source node and the acquired height of the aerial repeater is H, and

wherein the initial position determination processor is configured to:

calculate a value of an x-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater and a value of a y-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater by calculating equations 1 and 2 as follows, and

determine the initial position of the aerial repeater having the calculated value of the x-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater, the calculated value of the y-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater, and the assumed value of the z-axis on the first plane,

x

=

ε

·

w

1

,

<

Equation

1

>

y

=

ε

·

w

2

,

<

Equation

2

>

herein the ε is calculated by an equation 3 as follows,

ε

=

1

2

+

2

-

a

3

cos

(

1

3

cos

-

1

(

3

b

2

a

-

3

a

)

-

4

π

3

)

,

<

Equation

3

>

herein the coefficient a is calculated by an equation 4 and the coefficient b is calculated by an equation 5 as follows,

a

=

1

2

(

H

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

+

(

H

-

h

)

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

)

-

1

4

,

and

<

Equation

4

>

b

=

1

4

(

H

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

-

(

H

-

h

)

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

)

.

<

Equation

5

>

3 . The aerial repeater position determination apparatus according to claim 1 ,

wherein the transceiver is further configured to acquire terrain feature information between the determined initial position of the aerial repeater and the position of the mobile communication base station, and

wherein the aerial repeater position determination apparatus further includes:

an LoS determination processor configured to determine whether a line of sight (LoS) between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, on the basis of the acquired terrain feature information, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the determined initial position of the aerial repeater; and

a final position determination processor configured to search for a candidate position at which an LoS between a first candidate position randomly selected inside a first sphere having a first predetermined radius centered on the determined initial position of the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied and determine a final position of the aerial repeater on the basis of the candidate position that has been searched for when the LoS between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is not satisfied, and determine the initial position of the aerial repeater as the final position when the LoS between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied.

4 . The aerial repeater position determination apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the final position determination processor is configured to determine the position at which the SNR of the signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized among candidate positions at which the LoS is satisfied, as a final position of the aerial repeater.

5 . The aerial repeater position determination apparatus according to claim 3 ,

wherein the LoS determination processor is configured to determine whether or not there is a position at which the LoS between the first candidate position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, and

wherein the final position determination processor is configured to:

re-search for a second candidate position randomly selected inside a second sphere having a second radius larger than the first radius centered on the determined initial position of the aerial repeater, and a position at which an LOS between the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied when there is no position at which an LoS between the first candidate position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, and

determine the final position of the aerial repeater again on the basis of a candidate position at which the LoS between the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, the candidate position being determined by the re-search.

6 . The aerial repeater position determination apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the second candidate position is located inside the second sphere and outside the first sphere.

7 . An aerial repeater position determination method performed by an aerial repeater position determination apparatus, the aerial repeater position determination method comprising:

acquiring a height of the aerial repeater, a position of a source node, and a position of a mobile communication base station; and

determining an initial position by checking a position at which a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized on a first plane parallel to the ground and including the aerial repeater, on the basis of the position of the source node, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the height of the aerial repeater,

wherein the position at which the SNR of the signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized is located on a third straight line connecting a first point at which a first straight line perpendicular to the first plane and extending from the source node intersects the first plane, to a second point at which a second straight line perpendicular to the first plane and extending from the mobile communication base station intersects the first plane.

8 . The aerial repeater position determination method according to claim 7 , wherein,

when assuming that the source node is located at an origin of a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system having values of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis, the mobile communication base station is located at a first coordinate having w1, w2, and h as values of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis of the spatial coordinate system on the basis of the acquired position of the source node and the acquired position of the mobile communication base station, and a value of the z-axis on the first plane in the spatial coordinate system calculated on the basis of the acquired position of the source node and the acquired height of the aerial repeater is H, and

wherein the determining the initial position includes:

calculating a value of a an x-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater and a value of a y-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater by calculating an equations 1 and 2 as follows, and

determining the position of the aerial repeater having the calculated value of the x-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater, the calculated value of the y-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater, and the assumed value of the z-axis on the first plane,

x

=

ε

·

w

1

,

Equation

1

y

=

ε

·

w

2

,

Equation

2

herein the ε is calculated by an equation 3 as follows,

ε

=

1

2

+

2

-

a

3

cos

(

1

3

cos

-

1

(

3

b

2

a

-

3

a

)

-

4

π

3

)

,

Equation

3

herein the coefficient a is calculated by an equation 4 and the coefficient b is calculated by an equation 5 as follows,

a

=

1

2

(

H

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

+

(

H

-

h

)

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

)

-

1

4

,

and

Equation

4

b

=

1

4

(

H

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

-

(

H

-

h

)

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

)

.

Equation

5

9 . The aerial repeater position determination method according to claim 7 , further comprising:

acquiring terrain feature information between the determined initial position of the aerial repeater and the position of the mobile communication base station;

determining whether a line of sight (LoS) between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, on the basis of the acquired terrain feature information, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the determined initial position of the aerial repeater;

searching for a candidate position at which an LOS between a first candidate position randomly selected inside a first sphere having a first predetermined radius centered on the determined initial position of the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied and determining a final position of the aerial repeater on the basis of the candidate position that has been searched for when the LoS between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is not satisfied; and

determining the initial position of the aerial repeater as the final position when the LoS between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied.

10 . The aerial repeater position determination method according to claim 9 , wherein the determining the final position of the aerial repeater includes determining the position at which the SNR of the signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized among candidate positions at which the LoS is satisfied, as a final position of the aerial repeater.

11 . The aerial repeater position determination method according to claim 9 , further comprising:

determining whether or not there is a position at which the LoS between the first candidate position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied;

re-searching for a second candidate position randomly selected inside a second sphere having a second radius larger than a first radius centered on the determined initial position of the aerial repeater, and a position at which an LOS between the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied when there is no position at which an LoS between the first candidate position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied; and

determining the final position of the aerial repeater again on the basis of a candidate position at which the LoS between the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, the candidate position being determined by the re-search.

12 . The aerial repeater position determination method according to claim 11 , wherein the second candidate position is located inside the second sphere and outside the first sphere.

13 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including computer executable instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform an aerial repeater position determination method, the method comprising:

acquiring a height of the aerial repeater, a position of a source node, and a position of a mobile communication base station; and

determining an initial position by checking a position at which a signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized on a first plane parallel to the ground and including the aerial repeater, on the basis of the position of the source node, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the height of the aerial repeater,

wherein the position at which the SNR of the signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized is located on a third straight line connecting a first point at which a first straight line perpendicular to the first plane and extending from the source node intersects the first plane, to a second point at which a second straight line perpendicular to the first plane and extending from the mobile communication base station intersects the first plane.

14 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13 , wherein, when assuming that the source node is located at an origin of a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system having values of an x-axis, a y-axis, and a z-axis, the mobile communication base station is located at a first coordinate having w1, w2, and h as values of the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis of the spatial coordinate system on the basis of the acquired position of the source node and the acquired position of the mobile communication base station, and a value of the z-axis on the first plane in the spatial coordinate system calculated on the basis of the acquired position of the source node and the acquired height of the aerial repeater is H, and

wherein the determining the initial position includes:

calculating a value of an x-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater and a value of a y-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater by calculating equations 1 and 2 as below, and

determining the position of the aerial repeater having the calculated value of the x-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater, the calculated value of the y-axis of the initial position of the aerial repeater, and the assumed value of the z-axis on the first plane,

x

=

ε

·

w

1

,

Equation

1

y

=

ε

·

w

2

,

Equation

2

herein the ε is calculated by an equation 3 as follows,

ε

=

1

2

+

2

-

a

3

cos

(

1

3

cos

-

1

(

3

b

2

a

-

3

a

)

-

4

π

3

)

,

Equation

3

herein the coefficient a is calculated by an equation 4 and the coefficient b is calculated by an equation 5 as follows,

a

=

1

2

(

H

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

+

(

H

-

h

)

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

)

-

1

4

,

and

Equation

4

b

=

1

4

(

H

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

-

(

H

-

h

)

2

w

1

2

+

w

2

2

)

.

Equation

5

15 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 13 , further comprising:

acquiring terrain feature information between the determined initial position of the aerial repeater and the position of the mobile communication base station;

determining whether a line of sight (LoS) between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, on the basis of the acquired terrain feature information, the position of the mobile communication base station, and the determined initial position of the aerial repeater;

searching for a candidate position at which an LOS between a first candidate position randomly selected inside a first sphere having a first predetermined radius centered on the determined initial position of the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied and determining a final position of the aerial repeater on the basis of the candidate position that has been searched for when the LoS between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is not satisfied; and

determining the initial position of the aerial repeater as the final position when the LoS between the aerial repeater located at the initial position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied.

16 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15 , wherein the determining the final position of the aerial repeater includes determining the position at which the SNR of the signal received by the mobile communication base station is maximized among candidate positions at which the LOS is satisfied, as a final position of the aerial repeater.

17 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium according to claim 15 , wherein aerial repeater position determination method further includes:

determining whether or not there is a position at which the LoS between the first candidate position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied;

re-searching for a second candidate position randomly selected inside a second sphere having a second radius larger than the first radius centered on the determined initial position of the aerial repeater, and a position at which an LoS between the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied when there is no position at which an LoS between the first candidate position and the mobile communication base station is satisfied; and

determining the final position of the aerial repeater again on the basis of a candidate position at which the LoS between the aerial repeater and the mobile communication base station is satisfied, the candidate position being determined by the re-search.