Method and system for determining the pointing direction of a body in flight
US6398155B1 · kind B1 · utility
80Cited by
6References
10Claims
0Family size
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 2, 2001 |
| Grant date | Jun 4, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 2, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF41G7/305
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A method to determine the direction in which a spinning projectile is traveling. A solar sensor array on the projectile is used to calculate the orientation of the axis of rotation of the projectile with respect to a known solar field and a magnetometer sensor array is used to calculate the orientation of the axis of rotation of the projectile with respect to a known magnetic field, both fields being represented by respective vectors having magnitude and direction. With the known and calculated orientations, the pointing direction may be obtained by vector combination.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.