Electronic compass system
US6968273B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 2, 2002 |
| Grant date | Nov 22, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 2, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C17/38
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An electronic compass system includes a magnetic sensor circuit having at least two sensing elements for sensing perpendicular components of the Earth's magnetic field vector. A processing circuit is coupled to the sensor circuit to filter, process, and compute a heading. The processing circuit further selects an approximating geometric pattern, such as a sphere, ellipsoid, ellipse, or circle, determines an error metric of the data points relative to the approximating pattern, adjusts the pattern to minimize the error, thereby obtaining a best fit pattern. The best fit pattern is then used to calculate the heading for each successive sensor reading provided that the noise level is not noisy and until a new best fit pattern is identified. The electronic compass system is particularly well suited for implementation in a vehicle rearview mirror assembly.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.