Fault tolerant multidimensional acceleration and/or rotation sensor arrays with minimum numbers of redundant single dimension sensors and associated signal computation means

• US 20090178481A1
• Filed: 01/08/2009
• Published: 07/16/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Tenny Dahlin Lode
• Original Assignee: Tenny Dahlin Lode
• Inventors: Lode, Tenny Dahlin
• Granted Patent: US 8,127,606 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/504.30
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/166 Mechanical, construction or arrangement details of inertial navigation systems
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/183 Compensation of inertial measurements, e.g. for temperature effects
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 15/00 Measuring acceleration; Measuring deceleration; Measuring shock, i.e. sudden change of acceleration
• CPC Class Codes: G01P 21/00 Testing or calibrating of apparatus or devices covered by the preceding groups

Abstract

An inertial system design approach that can sense and tolerate failures of individual single dimensional acceleration and/or rotation sensors with a minimal number of sensors. Sets of 4 single dimensional acceleration and/or rotation sensors can provide full 3 dimensional sensing in spite of a sensor malfunction or failure, and sets of 3 single dimensional acceleration and/or rotation sensors can provide full 2 dimensional sensing in spite of a sensor malfunction or failure.

Claims

1. In a 2 dimensional inertial sensing system, a set of 3 single dimension acceleration vector sensing means and/or a set of 3 single dimension rotation vector sensing means, each set sensing along 3 different axes in substantially different directions, signal analysis means forming a 3 element vector sum of the 3 sensed acceleration vectors and/or the 3 sensed rotation vectors, using appropriate multiplying factors for the individual measurement values that would give near zero sum(s) of the measured values if they are accurate. A significant non-zero value for a sum which is parallel to one of the sensed vectors will indicate that the particular sensor vector is in error, and that the inertial data should be calculated from the other 2 sensors. A significant non-zero sum value which is not parallel to one of the sensed vectors will indicate an error in 2 or more sensors and that correct values can not be calculated.

2. In a 3 dimensional inertial sensing system, a set of 4 single dimension acceleration vector sensing means and/or a set of 4 single dimension rotation vector sensing means, each set sensing along 4 different axes in substantially different directions, signal analysis means forming a 4 element vector sum of the 4 sensed acceleration vectors and/or the 4 sensed rotation vectors, using appropriate multiplying factors for the individual measurement values that would give near zero sum(s) of the measured values if they are accurate. A significant non-zero value for a sum which is parallel to one of the sensed vectors will indicate that the particular sensor vector is in error, and that the inertial data should be calculated from the other 3 sensors. A significant non-zero sum value which is not parallel to one of the sensed vectors will indicate an error in 2 or more sensors and that correct values can not be calculated.