Honeywell International Inc.

Honeywell G.m.b.h.

Christopher J Heiberg

David Arthur Bailey

Bong Wie

David A Osterberg

Jack Howard Jacobs

L Porter Davis

A dynamic unbalance compensation system that compensates for dynamic unbalance of a rotating assembly on a vehicle, such as a spacecraft, to compensate for the presence of a dynamic unbalance moment. The system includes a vehicle, such as a spacecraft, a rotational assembly mounted on the vehicle and rotatable about an axis of rotation relative to the vehicle, and one or more momentum devices mounted on the rotational assembly and generating a momentum vector component perpendicular to the axis of rotation. The one or more momentum devices generate a compensation torque during spinning of the rotational assembly so as to compensate for dynamic unbalance of the rotational assembly.

Dynamic unbalance compensation system and method

A gear drive having a third order damper operating with the antibacklash gear so as to lower the impact of the antibacklash gear at high torques to reduce gear wear while maintaining good contact with the antibacklash gear at lower torques to maintain high accuracy and bandwidth.

Gear transmission damping apparatus and method

In a CMG array used to change the attitude of a satellite, noise in the motion of the inner gimbal as it is moved is detected and the speed of the CMG rotors is changed to reduce the noise.

Mitigating gimbal induced disturbances in CMG arrays

A vehicle control system is disclosed utilizing a reaction wheel assembly for producing small scanning motions and, in combination, a scissored pair of low-cost control moment gyros is used to produce larger slewing motions.

Momentum position control

A system for avoiding singularities in a control moment gyro (CMG) array of a satellite uses closed and open loop control of the CMGs for reorientation of the satellite. A control system detects when closed loop control according to pseudo inverse rules will cause a singularity and issues a signal. The CMGs are then controlled open loop to avoid the singularity. The pseudo inverse singularity problem arises where there are more actuators than dimensions in the controlled space. Accordingly, the invention may also be used in a robotic arm manipulator.

Continuous attitude control that avoids CMG array singularities

Control moment gyros in an array are rotated to reorient a satellite by an attitude signal. If the signal causes a gyro to have position that will produce a singularity in attitude control, a disturbance is introduced into the signal to avoid the singularity.

Escaping singularities in a satellite attitude control

Control moment gyros in an array are rotated to reorient a satellite. A pseudo inverse control is employed that adds a term to a Moore-Penrose pseudo inverse to prevent a singularity.

Robust singularity avoidance in satellite attitude control

A filter for use in an attitude control system which may be subjected to vibrations from disturbances which have frequency contents that vary with time. Sensors on the system produce signals that contain the disturbance frequencies and a calculator connected to the source of disturbance produces a signal which varies as a function of the disturbance. The filter receives these signals and augments the control loop gain at the disturbance frequencies thereby enabling the attitude control devices to null the disturbance effects on the attitude of the system.

Variable periodic disturbance rejection filter

A feedback system for use in controlling control moment gyroscopes that are used in positioning a spacecraft where the relative rate of rotation is determined from the difference between the rotation rate of the gimbals of the CMGs and the rotation rate of the frame about the gimbal axis. The inertial reference units on the spacecraft are utilized as the source of measured rates of rotation of the three spacecraft axes with respect to a predetermined axis and these are converted to the rates of rotation of the frame about the individual CMG gimbal axes.

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Peoria, AZ, United States of America

Christopher J Heiberg