Breaklock detection system and method
US6799138B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 30, 2002 |
| Grant date | Sep 28, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 30, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01S13/723
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A tracking system controls an aimed device (32) to keep it aimed at a target (34). A control system (10) determines when the tracker has lost its lock on the target (34) by comparing the target's instantaneous acceleration with its median acceleration. When the difference exceeds a predetermined threshold, the system searches backwards through a chronological buffer until it finds position data which antedate the receipt of inaccurate position data from the tracker. A second-order filter such as a Kalman filter is used to provide estimated target states. The difference between a time updated output from the second-order filter (16) and the present measured state from the tracking device is low pass filtered to provide a measurement of the instantaneous acceleration of the target. The buffer (20) stores position, velocity, and median acceleration values covering a span of time at least about twice as long as the time required to determine that a breaklock has occurred.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.