Rockwell International Corporation

Rockwell Collins, Inc.

Rockwell Science Center, Inc.

Paul G Jagnow

Mark W Johnson

Daniel C Forseth

David K Vail

William C Jennings

Larry D Vittorini

F Britt Snodgrass

A system for monitoring guiding and controlling an unmanned, unteathered flight vehicle, generally assumed to be moving through the earth's atmosphere at a high rate of speed. The system is comprised of on-board positional receiver and processing means coupled to a transceiver capable of combining such positional information with additional data relative to the health and status of the flight vehicle and transmitting the same to a ground station of compatible and simplified design. A preferred positional determination means is to utilize a form for GPS signal thereby affording one the opportunity to include appropriate processing software or additional componentry if necessary for base station purposes and thereby provide a relatively inexpensive system having a low probability of detection for intercept that simultaneously yields vastly improved operating performance characteristics over the mere translation of received GPS signals to down-link or to remote stations as known in the prior art.

Remote position sensing system for use with an unmanned apparatus

An antenna for utilization in a fuse of an artillery shell is disclosed. The antenna comprises a radiator, a capacitance hat disposed at a first end of the radiator for capacitively loading the radiator and a ground plane disposed at a second end of the radiator such that the antenna is a monopole antenna. The antenna also includes a dielectric having a top surface, a bottom surface and a central longitudinal axis wherein the capacitance hat is disposed on the top surface of the dielectric and the ground plane is disposed on the bottom surface of the dielectric. A fuse utilized for detonating the explosive charge of an artillery shell is further disclosed. The fuse includes a fuse casing with the antenna of the present invention disposed within the interior cavity of the fuse casing.

Artillery fuse antenna for positioning and telemetry

A global positioning system (GPS) receiver and high accuracy low power time source (HAL) are disclosed. The HAL provides a time source having an accuracy which is high enough for the receiver to achieve fast direct Y-code acquisition. The HAL includes an oscillator adapted to provide an uncompensated frequency signal at a desired frequency. Frequency conversion circuitry receives the uncompensated frequency signal and a control signal as inputs, and provides as an output a compensated frequency signal having an average compensated frequency which is closer to the desired frequency than is the average uncompensated frequency. A temperature sensor provides an output indicative of a temperature of the oscillator. Frequency error determining circuitry determines an error value, as a function of the temperature sensor output, which is indicative of a quantity of frequency error over time in the uncompensated frequency signal. The frequency error determining circuitry generates the control signal as a function of the determined quantity of frequency error in the uncompensated frequency signal. A counter receives the compensated frequency signal from the frequency conversion circuitry and provides as an output a digital representation of a time period based upon the compensated frequency signal.

High accuracy low power GPS time source

A mixer-driver circuit in a code correlator of a spread-spectrum communications system simultaneously multiplies an input RF signal with two phase-offset digitally encoded bit streams. A double-balanced mixer is driven with the difference of the digital signals; the mixer is either inverting, noninverting, or off. Matched ECL bistables which reclock the phase-offset bit streams, and a load current steering circuit coupled to the bistables together provide a balanced, differential drive current to the mixer which switches state faster than the bistables alone. In another embodiment, a single bistable receiving an encoded bit stream differentially drives the mixer in a biphase circuit.

Growing community of inventors

Iowa City, IA, United States of America

Paul G Jagnow