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:
Jan. 24, 1995
Filed:
Dec. 02, 1992
Applicant:
Inventors:
A Dorian Challoner, Manhattan Beach, CA (US);
Arthur C Or, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Assignee:
Hughes Aircraft Company, Los Angeles, CA (US);
Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01F / ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
7329 / ; 364509 ; 364564 ; 34087016 ;
Abstract
A method and apparatus of determining the fill fraction of a liquid in a spacecraft in weightless space is disclosed. A small motion is introduced about the center of mass of the spacecraft undergoing steady spin and/or thrust, and resulting spacecraft oscillations are sensed. The measured frequency, amplitude and phase of the spacecraft oscillations are compared with counterpart values predicted for possible liquid quantities by a nonempirically computed model of spacecraft dynamics.