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:
Oct. 30, 2001
Filed:
Oct. 30, 1998
Wayne K. Schroeder, Arlington, TX (US);
Lockheed Martin Corp., Grand Prairie, TX (US);
Abstract
In a first aspect, the invention uses the thrust and axial aerodynamic forces of and on the missile system as the primary mechanism for altering the missile system's flight path as opposed to the missile system's aerodynamic normal force. In accordance with this first aspect, a first embodiment is a method for changing the direction of travel of a vehicle moving through a fluid medium to a desired direction of travel measured in the vehicle's inertial frame of reference, the vehicle comprising a body including a nose, a moment generating control device, and an axial propulsive device. The method comprises actuating the moment generating control device to align the nose substantially with the desired direction of travel, and applying the axial propulsive device as the primary mechanism to redirect the vehicle's velocity to the desired direction of travel. In a second aspect, the invention provides a missile control system implementing the first aspect of the invention. In a third aspect, the invention simulates in software a missile control system implementing the first aspect of the invention.