Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation

Litton Systems, Inc.

Northrop Grumman Guidance and Electronics Company, Inc.

Shaw-Wen Fann

Daniel A Tazartes

John G Mark

Robert John Buchler

Peter Kyriacou

James G Marsden

Larry R Moeller

Robert J Buchler

A system and method for performing high performance quantizer processing of sensor data in a multiple-channel quantizer system. A reset prioritization scheme is provided for current sources connected to an integrator in the multiple-channel quantizer for preventing saturation of the various quantizer channels. The reset prioritization scheme determines the channels most in need of a reset to prevent saturation based upon predicted quantizer signals to appear on the channels during the next processing cycle of the quantizer system. This method of controlling the reset processing permits significantly higher acceleration capacity by preventing quantizer channel saturation in system utilizing accelerometers. The quantizer processing method further includes an improved calibration scheme for self-calibrating the various channels in a multiple-channel quantizer to account for multiple sources of error, including quantizer bias, asymmetry between applied positive and negative resets, and voltage scale factor of the quantizer channel in calibration.

System and method for providing high performance quantizer processing

The invention is a method continuing over a plurality of time periods for compensating for the output error in each of one or more navigation instruments in a system comprising a plurality of navigation instruments after the system is introduced into its operating environment. The practice of the method begins with determining the values of one or more of a set of coordinates that specify the position, velocity, and orientation of the system in space together with the error in a compensated output for each of the one or more navigation instruments. The method continues with determining a compensation model for each of the one or more navigation instruments. A compensation model specifies for a current time period an adjustment in amplitude of the output of a navigation instrument as a function of time and temperature. A compensation model is expressed as the sum of a first compensation model and a present second compensation model where the present second compensation model is a future second compensation model determined during the prior time period. The final steps of the method consist of measuring the time and the temperature of the navigation instruments and then obtaining a compensated output for each of the one or more navigation instruments by adjusting the output of a navigation instrument in accordance with its compensation model.

Temperature compensation method for strapdown inertial navigation systems

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Woodland Hills, CA, United States of America

Shaw-Wen Fann