Automatic calibration of a three-axis magnetic compass
US7451549B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 9, 2006 |
| Grant date | Nov 18, 2008 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 14, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01C17/38
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A magnetic compass apparatus and method to account for magnetic distortion while determining a magnetic heading is disclosed. The method enables a compass module, comprising at least two magnetometers, to characterize its magnetic environment dynamically, while collecting data of a geomagnetic field; a user moves an apparatus through various orientations; the environment may or may not contain magnetic distortion influences. Data gathered by magnetometers and, optionally, accelerometers are processed through at least two filters before being transferred as a processed data set for repetitive measurement calculations. A series of calculations is executed recursively in time by solving one or more linear vector equations using processed data.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.