Enhanced inertial system performance

• US 8,185,309 B2
• Filed: 09/14/2010
• Issued: 05/22/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Original Assignee: Honeywell International Inc.
• Inventors: Morgan, Kenneth S., Younskevicius, Helen V.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Peche, Jorge
• Application Number:
  US12/881,266
• Publication Number:
  US 20110004404A1
• Time in Patent Office: 616 Days
• Field of Search: 701/70, 701/220, 701/207, 701/214, 701/408, 701/443, 701/479, 701/480, 701/500, 701/502, 701/505, 701/510, 701/536, 342/357.04, 342/357.14, 73/13.8, 731/78.R, 735/10, 735/12, 735/140.1, 702/141
• US Class Current: 701/500
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/165 combined with non-inertial navigation instruments
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 21/188 for accumulated errors, e.g. by coupling inertial systems with absolute positioning systems

Abstract

An inertial system is provided. The system includes at least one inertial sensor, a processing unit and a plurality of Kalman filters implemented in the processing unit. The Kalman filters receive information from the at least one inertial sensor. At most one of the plurality of Kalman filters has processed zero velocity updates on the last cycle.

Claims

1. An inertial system, the system comprising:

at least one inertial sensor;

a processing unit; and

a plurality of Kalman filters implemented in the processing unit, the plurality of Kalman filters receiving information from the at least one inertial sensor, wherein at most one of the plurality of Kalman filters has processed zero velocity updates on the last cycle, and wherein, for at least one cycle, one of the plurality of Kalman filters processed zero velocity updates on the last cycle and at least one of the plurality of Kalman filters has not processed zero velocity updates on the last cycle.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the at least one inertial sensor is an accelerometer.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of Kalman filters has not processed zero velocity updates on the last cycle.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one other of the plurality of Kalman filters has not processed zero velocity updates on multiple cycles.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of Kalman filters has not processed zero velocity updates on multiple cycles.