United States of America As Represented by the Secretary of the Air Force

Exigent International, Inc.

Mark G Baciak

Richard A Carreras

Elinor L Coates

Morton B Jenks

David G Haralson

Patricia J Wallentine

Christina Padgett

Louis W Seiler

Craig A Baer

Mack L Martin

A flight warning system comprises an outside temperature probe for sensing outside temperature, a gyroscope for sensing aircraft bank angle, a static transducer for sensing static pressure, and a dynamic pressure sensor for receiving total pressure from a pitot tube. A computer is responsive to the gyroscope, static transducer, outside temperature probe and dynamic pressure sensor calculates whether the aircraft is entering a stall condition by comparing the aircraft's bank angle with the stall bank angle. The computer can also calculate whether sufficient altitude exists for the aircraft to safely return to a field after a power failure. An output device can also be provided for indicating the existence of said sufficient altitude, and a stall indicator can be provided for indicating whether the aircraft is entering a stall condition. A method for determining the existence of a stall condition with the aircraft is also disclosed.

Banked flight stall warning device and method

A digital servomechanism and control system which can be used to adjustably point massive structures to increments of microaradians is disclosed. This system includes: a rotating pedestal which is mounted on a gimbal, a high torque motor, a high current amplifier, encoder, a digital-to-analog (D/A) converter, a mount dynamics unt, a summing junction, a rate control unit, a controller unit, a D/P unit, and a Micro Vax computer.

Digital servo system

A pointer/tracker system is disclosed for use with an array of laser telescopes. This pointer/tracker system uses one telescope as a reference and causes all others in the system to 'track' the reference. The common element concept is maintained by a synthetic approach. Each tilt detector in the system has its own XY coordinate system relative to the detector orientation. Provisions were made in the Pointer/Tracker to align each independent coordinate system to the reference coordinate system. The technique used to accomplish this is allowing cross coupling of the XY coordinates to match that the reference.

Pointer/tracker for a phased array laser system

A digital position monitor is disclosed which is used to output an X and Y position of a laser beam on a quadrant or lateral effect detector. The device includes two high speed microprocessors to perform either a quad cell or lateral effect algorithm in the open loop mode. In the closed loop operation, in addition to the algorithm, a digital filter is also executed. The decision to open or close the tilt loops is made by a central processor or by an external input to the central processor. Each microprocessor is designed to perform either the X or Y function. In brief, the operation is as follows: a detector senses the position error and provides a signal to analog circuits. The output from the analog circuits is applied in parallel to the circuits of the X and Y channels. Both channels comprise an analog-to-digital converter, a microprocessor and a digital-to-analog converter connected in series. Each channel provides an X or Y output. The microprocessor each channel is under the control of a central processor.

Digital position monitor

A method and apparatus 10 for rapid optical phasing of optical devices utilizing white light interference fringe finding. The apparatus comprises a white light source 12, a beam splitter 18, a scanning mirror 20 and a stationary reflective surface 24. The scanning mirror 20 is moved in piston while reflected light is observed in an electro-optic sensor 32 at a receiver 28. A nulled pattern has been previously established at the receiver 28. An electrical signal from the electro-optic sensor is mounted at amplification and recording means 34 to identify variations in reflected light intensity that are caused by white light fringes. White light fringes only occur at zero optical difference, i.e. when the scanning mirror and stationary reflected surface are in phase.

Method and apparatus for rapid optical phasing

A system and method for large angle off-axis steering of the composite beam from a phased array telescope system.

Large angle off-axis beam steering of a phased telescope array

In an optically phased array of multiple laser telescopes, the phasing between the telescopes is accomplished by sampling adjacent outgoing wavefronts. The two samples of each wavefront are then combined to form an interference pattern on a camera. This image is then converted to digital signals, employing an error signal representative of the phase difference. It is necessary that the telescopes be pointing in the same direction. This is assured by having each telescope associated with an optical sensor which produces an X or Y tilt error. The X or Y tilt error is corrected by the optical component referred to as the optical path difference adjustor (OPDA). A signal processing circuit is disclosed which receives X and Y tilt error signals, as well as phase error signals, and produces therefrom drive signals which correct and drive the OPDA in an array of multiple laser telescopes.

Growing community of inventors

West Melbourne, FL, United States of America

Mark G Baciak