Patent · US Expired

Solid state orientation sensor with 360 degree measurement capability

US7143004B2 · kind B2 · utility

87Cited by
3References
2Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMay 29, 2003
Grant dateNov 28, 2006
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 29, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01C17/30
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

The device is a miniature, self-contained solid state orientation sensor. The unit utilizes three magnetometers and three accelerometers to calculate pitch, roll, and yaw (compass heading) angles relative to the earth's magnetic and gravitational fields. The three orientation angles are output in digital RS232 or optional multi-drop RS485. The device can also be programmed to provide raw accelerometer and magnetometer data in true physical units. The device is capable of measuring angles from 0 to 360 degrees on the yaw axis, 0 to 360 degrees on the pitch axis, and −70 to +70 degrees on the roll axis. The yaw output is compensated for errors due to pitch and roll using embedded algorithms. Applications include fast solid state compassing, robotics, virtual reality, down-hole well drilling, and body position tracking for biomedical and multimedia applications.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.