The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 04, 1985
Filed:
Dec. 21, 1981
Applicant:
Inventor:
William A Harrington, Whittier, CA (US);
Assignee:
Hughes Aircraft Company, El Segundo, CA (US);
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01S / ; G01C / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
367130 ; 3336 / ; 2502 / ; 367 19 ;
Abstract
A thin-line heading sensor is disclosed having an outside diameter of less than an inch which is accurate to within 1.degree. of arc. The invention includes a magnetic wheel having a reflective multifaceted perimeter. The facets are optically coded for identification. When the wheel is illuminated by a collimated beam of light, a beam is reflected onto an array of photodetectors. The photodetectors are coupled with an electronic circuit which decodes the position and pattern of illumination to determine the position of the magnetic wheel.