Remote attitude and position indicating system

Abstract

A method and apparatus using ultrasonic sensors for determination of the pointing vector described by two points separated in space in the coordinate frame of the measuring system. For measurement, acoustic signals are transmitted from two emitters whose spatially separated coordinates form the desired pointing vector. Three detectors, associated receiver electronics and software are required to compute six distinct spheres from the time of flight measurements. The intersection of the three spheres, associated with each emitter, describe the desired location in the detector coordinate system of that emitter. With the coordinates of each emitter, the pointing vector is computed using standard geometry. A reference is required to determine the time of flight of the signals to each detector. Another embodiment uses an active reflective technique, where the timing is obtained through round trip transmission and reception of the signal with a known fixed delay at the vector points.

Description

[0001] This application is based on U.S. Provisional application Ser. No. 60 / 195,925 entitled "Ultrasonic Remote Position and Orientation Sensing System", filed on Apr. 10, 2000, the teachings of which are incorporated herein by reference.[0002] 1. Field of the Invention (Technical Field)[0003] The invention relates to a system for determining the position and orientation of an object and more particularly a method and apparatus for an acoustic based determination of an arbitrary position and orientation of an object in space without any physical tether or connection to the object and with no alignments or predetermined spatial relationships between the system and the target object.[0004] 2. Background Art[0005] The problem that this invention solves is efficient and accurate initial laying of an indirect fire weapon system for location and direction and subsequent attitude measurements necessary to firing the weapon system accurately at a target. Additionally, minimizing weight and...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018] Another object of the present invention is to enhance the lethality of the mortar platform.

[0020] A primary advantage of the present invention is that the system is minimally obtrusive to the weapons platform

[0021] Another advantage of the present invention is since the primary electronics are not on the weapon, the environment is much more friendly, thereby reducing cost impacts of the environmental design requirements on the system

[0022] Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the system is extremely light, further supporting its inclusion as part of the manpack and towed mortar systems

[0023] Another advantage of the present invention is that the system does not require special setup or calibration, thereby improving operations and survivability

[0024] Another advantage of the present invention is that the system accuracy is dependent on the accuracy of the pitch / roll / heading system, thereby offering tailorable performance and cost.

Problems solved by technology

There are several problems with this system / method of laying and subsequent pointing of indirect fire weapons; currently, survey is required to accurately emplace a mortar.

An accurate survey is difficult to transfer to places where indirect fire weapon systems are set up.

Additionally, the time it takes to emplace using an aiming circle is considered too long.

As a result, the weapon is not placed optimally for tactical considerations.

A towed or man portable solution cannot accommodate the equipment used on the self-propelled system.

Additionally, the self propelled system is exposed to severe shock, vibration, and temperature, since it is mounted on the tube.

This results in unacceptable failure rates of electronic components.

Because this optical solution is theoretical, the accuracy requirements have not been proven.

The current methods fail to address weight, power, accuracy, and off tube mounting requirements.

For many applications this solution is prohibitively expensive.

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