Honeywell International Inc.

Honeywell G.m.b.h.

Pii North America, Inc.

Alan Bruce Touchberry

Teresa M Marta

Terry Dean Stark

Dennis William Strelow

Bernard S Fritz

Jianfeng Wu

Dean Eivind Johnson

Steven P Ecklund

Bruce A Seiber

Daniel W Youngner

Kwong Wing Au

Robert D Horning

Karl D Nelson

Thomas R Ohnstein

Timothy J Callaghan

William P Platt

Jennifer S Strabley

Ryan Supino

Delmer L Smith

Mario B Ignagni

Matthew Clark

Stephen Matthew Baker

Gunter Stein

Craig A Galbrecht

Brian Roger VanVoorst

Douglas P Mortenson

Thomas J Rolfer

Jon Schewe

Francis J Judson

Mark Edward Petersen

Alan Tuck

Gary Brayson

James Michael Alexander Gilman

Gordon Allen Seppanen

Donald William Anderson

Stephen James Glen

Terry D Stark

Dennis Strelow

A system that includes a high performance sensor to provide accurate measurements and at least one dissimilar sensor that is less accurate. The at least one dissimilar sensor is of a different type of sensor than the high performance sensor while providing a same type of measurement as the high performance sensor. The at least one dissimilar sensor has a longer life expectancy than the high performance sensor. An at least one controller is configured to start both the high performance sensor and the at least one dissimilar sensor at startup of the system, to turn off the high performance sensor after a select period of time, and to output measurement data based on measurements of the high performance sensor while the high performance sensor is on and output the measurement data based on the at least one dissimilar sensor when the high performance sensor is off.

System having an extended life high performance sensor

A ring laser gyroscope comprises an optical block that defines an optical closed loop pathway; at least one mirror structure mounted on the optical block and in communication with the closed loop pathway; at least one volume Bragg grating mounted on the optical block and in communication with the closed loop pathway; and a pump laser in communication with the volume Bragg grating, the laser operative to emit a light beam at a selected incident angle such that the beam passes through the volume Bragg grating and overlaps with the closed loop pathway. The volume Bragg grating is operative as a gain medium to increase an optical power of the beam, and a pair of counter-propagating beams is produced within the closed loop pathway from the beam. The mirror structure and the volume Bragg grating are positioned and angled to reflect the counter-propagating beams around the closed loop pathway.

Ring laser gyroscopes with active volume Bragg grating

A ring laser gyroscope is provided. A light source is configured to generate light of a first wavelength. A plurality primary cavity mirrors are configured to route light of a second wavelength around a primary cavity to a readout device. One primary cavity mirror of the plurality of primary cavity mirrors includes a gain medium. The pumping mirror and the one primary cavity mirror including the gain medium is positioned and configured to reflect the light of the first wavelength back and forth in a pumping cavity through the gain medium, wherein the light of the first wavelength stimulates the gain medium to generate the light of the second wavelength that are reflected around the primary cavity to the readout device.

Solid state ring laser gyroscope having a primary cavity and a pumping cavity

A solid state ring laser gyroscope comprises a laser block including a resonant ring cavity having an optical closed loop pathway; a plurality of mirror structures mounted on the block and including respective multilayer mirrors that reflect light beams around the closed loop pathway; and a pump laser assembly in optical communication with the closed loop pathway through one of the mirror structures. One or more of the multilayer mirrors includes a rare-earth doped gain layer operative to produce bidirectional optical amplification of counter-propagating light beams in the closed loop pathway. In some embodiments, the gain layer comprises a rare-earth dopant other than neodymium that is doped into a glassy host material comprising titania, tantalum oxide, alumina, zirconia, silicate glass, phosphate glass, tellurite glass, fluorosilicate glass, or non-oxide glass. Alternatively, the gain layer can comprise a neodymium dopant that is doped into a glassy host material other than silica.

Solid state ring laser gyroscope using rare-earth gain dopants in glassy hosts

Systems and methods for predictive health monitoring of gyroscopes and accelerometers are provided. In one embodiment, a system comprises: a plurality of navigation devices each comprising at least one gyroscope or accelerometer and at least one predictive health monitoring module, wherein the at least one predictive health monitoring module collects diagnostic parameters from the at least one gyroscope or accelerometer; and at least one server communicatively coupled to the plurality of navigation devices, the at least one server configured to receive the collected data from the plurality of navigation devices and analyze the collected data from the plurality of navigation devices to determine a service prognosis.

Systems and methods for predictive health monitoring of gyroscopes and accelerometers

Systems and methods for dynamic PLC modulation are provided. In certain embodiments, a gyroscope system includes a block having cavities and passages that define a path; mirrors, each located in one of the cavities, direct light along the path defined by the cavities and the passages; a mirror drive coupled to one of the mirrors to change a position of the mirror, wherein the path's length is changed as the mirror's position changes; a photodetector that measures power of light along the path; and a controller that provides a control signal indicative of an amplitude of PLC modulation and a PLC frequency to the mirror drive; wherein the mirror drive, in response to the control signal, changes the position of the mirror at the frequency, wherein the mirror drive moves based on the amplitude; and wherein the controller changes the amplitude in relation to the measured power of the light.

Systems and methods for dynamic path length control modulation

A ring laser gyroscope configured to reduce alignment shifts in at least one critical alignment of the ring laser gyroscope is provided. The ring laser gyroscope includes reflective components configured to direct clockwise optical beams and counter-clockwise optical beams in at least one lasing plane; at least one ring-laser-gyro mounting feature having at least one respective through hole; and at least one minimally-threaded screw positioned in the at least one respective through hole. An unthreaded section of the minimally-threaded screw is contactlessly encased in the at least one respective through hole. A threaded-end of the at least one minimally-threaded screw is threaded in a respective at least one threaded hole in a gyro frame, the gyro frame spanning a reference mounting plane.

Minimally-threaded screw to reduce alignment shifts

A method and system for rate sensitive blanking in a path length control circuit of a gyroscope is provided. The method comprises determining an angular rate of the gyroscope, detecting a zero rate of the gyroscope where one or more single beam signals occur, and determining one or more blanker positions based on the zero rate. A blanker pulse is generated at the blanker positions such that the path length control circuit suspends operation when the one or more single beam signals occur.

Rate sensitive blanking of a path length control circuit in a gyroscope

Systems and methods for thermal gradient compensation for ring laser gyroscopes are provided. In one embodiment, a method for producing bias compensated angular rate measurements from a ring laser gyroscope comprises: sampling an angle measurement output from a laser block sensor to obtain an angular rate measurement; obtaining an laser block temperature measurement (T) for the laser block sensor; obtaining a temperature gradient measurement (T) for at least one gradient line across a portion of the laser block sensor; calculating a rate bias error by applying parameters produced from the temperature measurement (T) and the temperature gradient measurement (T) to a thermal gradient compensation model, wherein the thermal gradient compensation model includes at least one coefficient corresponding to the temperature gradient measurement (T); and calculating a difference between the angle rate measurement and the rate bias error to produce a bias compensated angular rate measurement.

Systems and methods for thermal gradient compensation for ring laser gyroscopes

A vacuum chamber assembly includes a vacuum chamber containing a reactive material, an inlet fill tube fixedly attached to the vacuum chamber, and an outlet fill tube fixedly attached to the vacuum chamber. The inlet fill tube has a first vacuum tight seal and the outlet fill tube has a second vacuum tight seal.

Methods for introduction of a reactive material into a vacuum chamber

A system and method for providing information for autonomous vehicle navigation are disclosed. The system comprises at least one laser scanner configured to perform one or more range and intensity scans of an area around the autonomous vehicle, and a geo-location unit comprising one or more global positioning system sensors and inertial navigation system sensors. The system also includes at least one processor in operative communication with the laser scanner and the geo-location unit. The processor is configured to execute one or more program modules comprising a ground plane-based processing module configured to receive range scan data transformed into world coordinates, and output ground plane-based classification data; a range-based processing module configured to receive data from a single range scan, and output range-based classification data; an intensity-based processing module configured to receive intensity scan data, and output intensity-based classification data; and a classification fusion module configured to receive the classification data from each of the processing modules, and output range bin classification data.

System and method for navigating an autonomous vehicle using laser detection and ranging

A method and system for navigation of one or more unmanned aerial vehicles in an urban environment is provided. The method comprises flying at least one Global Positioning System (GPS)-aided unmanned aerial vehicle at a first altitude over an urban environment, and flying at least one GPS-denied unmanned aerial vehicle at a second altitude over the urban environment that is lower than the first altitude. The unmanned aerial vehicles are in operative communication with each other so that images can be transmitted therebetween. A first set of images from the GPS-aided unmanned aerial vehicle is captured, and a second set of images from the GPS-denied unmanned aerial vehicle is also captured. Image features from the second set of images are then matched with corresponding image features from the first set of images. A current position of the GPS-denied unmanned aerial vehicle is calculated based on the matched image features from the first and second sets of images.

Method and system for GPS-denied navigation of unmanned aerial vehicles

Methods for the introduction of a reactive material into a vacuum chamber while minimizing or eliminating the simultaneous introduction of contaminating materials or substances. As a result, contaminating materials and substances that can interfere with any measurements or other processes that occur in the vacuum chamber are minimized or eliminated.

A physic package for an atomic clock comprising: a block made of optical glass, a glass ceramic material or another suitable material that includes a plurality of faces on its exterior and a plurality of angled borings that serve as a vacuum chamber cavity, light paths and measurement bores; mirrors fixedly attached using a vacuum tight seal to the exterior of the block at certain locations where two light paths intersect; optically clear windows fixedly attached using a vacuum tight seal to the block's exterior over openings of the measurement bores and at one location where two light paths intersect; and fill tubes fixedly attached using a vacuum tight seal to the exterior of the block over the ends of the vacuum chamber cavity. This physics package design makes possible atomic clocks having reduced size and power consumption and capable of maintaining an ultra-high vacuum without active pumping.

Physics package design for a cold atom primary frequency standard

A ground contact switch system comprises a first object configured to contact a ground surface during a stride, and one or more switches coupled to the first object. An inertial measurement unit can be coupled to the first object. The one or more switches are configured to detect when the first object is at a stationary portion of the stride. The one or more switches can also be configured to send a signal to activate an error correction scheme for the inertial measurement unit.

Growing community of inventors

St. Louis Park, MN, United States of America

Alan Bruce Touchberry