US3835375A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus for determining the direction of a magnetic field relative to a reference direction by synchronously scanning the field and a memory
Assignee: Individual
•
Filing: 1972-07-21
•
Granted: 1974-09-10
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Expires: 1992-07-21
Abstract
Abstract An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic field is disclosed incorporating a flux gate magnetometer having a plurality of sensing coil arrays. A scanner sequentially connects each sensing array to a detector to determine the sensing coil which is in alignment with the external magnetic field. A memory device having a plurality of memory units is connected to the scanner to transfer the content of a memory unit to an indicator upon detection of said alignment. The indicator numerically displays the content of the memory unit which is the angular direction of the external field relative to a marker direction.
Inventors
- 👤 L Rovner
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 01:18
CPC Classifications
G; G01; G01R; G01R33/00; G01R33/02; G01R33/04; G01R33/045; G01C; G01C17/00; G01C17/02; G01C17/28; G01C17/30
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 20
Claim 1
Independent Claim
150 words
An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic flux relative to a marker direction, comprising in combination, sensor means for scanning the external magnetic flux for sensing a predetermined value of said external magnetic flux, memory means comprising a plurality of memory unit means for storing data, said data being representative of the angular directions of said sensor means relative to the marker direction, means for scanning said plurality of memory unit means in correlation with the scan of said sensor means, an output device for receiving data from said memory means, means connecting said sensor means and said memory means with said output device for transferring the angular direction data from said memory unit means to said output device upon said sensor means sensing said predetermined value of said external magnetic flux, and said connecting means including averaging means to control the response of said output device.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
150 words
An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic flux relative to a marker direction, comprising in combination, sensor means for scanning the external magnetic flux for sensing a predetermined value of said external magnetic flux, memory means comprising a plurality of memory unit means for storing data, said data being representative of the angular directions of said sensor means relative to the marker direction, means for scanning said plurality of memory unit means in correlation with the scan of said sensor means, an output device for receiving data from said memory means, means connecting said sensor means and said memory means with said output device for transferring the angular direction data from said memory unit means to said output device upon said sensor means sensing said predetermined value of said external magnetic flux, and said connecting means including averaging means to control the response of said output device.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
16 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said output device is an automatic pilot.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said output device includes indicator means indicating the direction of the external magnetic flux relative to the marker direction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein said indicator means includes digital indicator means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
26 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein said averaging means is variable to vary the time average of the input to said indicator means.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
192 words
An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic flux relative to a marker direction, comprising in combination, magnetic core means located in the external magnetic flux, means establishing a magnetic flux in said core means, a plurality of sensing coil means located in unique directions relative to each other and magnetically coupled to said core means, detector means, scanner means including a plurality of switch means for sequentially connecting each of said plurality of sensing coil means to said detector means, memory means having a plurality of memory unit means respectively containing memory data representative of the respective angular direction of said sensing coil means relative to the marker direction, means for scanning said plurality of memory unit means in accordance with the connection sequence of said scanner means, said scanner means controlling said plurality of switch means to activate each of said sensing coil means, and means interconnecting said detector means and said memory means to obtain as an output from said memory means the representation of the direction of the external magnetic flux relative to the marker direction upon detecting a given value of the external magnetic flux.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
192 words
An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic flux relative to a marker direction, comprising in combination, magnetic core means located in the external magnetic flux, means establishing a magnetic flux in said core means, a plurality of sensing coil means located in unique directions relative to each other and magnetically coupled to said core means, detector means, scanner means including a plurality of switch means for sequentially connecting each of said plurality of sensing coil means to said detector means, memory means having a plurality of memory unit means respectively containing memory data representative of the respective angular direction of said sensing coil means relative to the marker direction, means for scanning said plurality of memory unit means in accordance with the connection sequence of said scanner means, said scanner means controlling said plurality of switch means to activate each of said sensing coil means, and means interconnecting said detector means and said memory means to obtain as an output from said memory means the representation of the direction of the external magnetic flux relative to the marker direction upon detecting a given value of the external magnetic flux.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said detector means includes means responsive to the rate of change of the outputs of said sensing coil means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
60 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, including indicator means for numerically displaying a direction, and said interconnecting means connecting said detector means and said memory means with said indicator means for transferring the angular representation from said memory means to said indicator means to numerically display the direction of the external magnetic field relative to the marker direction.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
15 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein said detector means includes differentiator means.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
22 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein each of said sensing coil means includes first and second coil portion means.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
102 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein each of said first and second coil portion means has a first and a second terminal, and said scanner means interconnects one of said terminals of eaCh of said first and second coil portion means and connects the other of said terminals of each of said first and second coil portion means to said detector means and subsequently interconnects said other terminals of each of said first and second coil portion means and connects said one of said terminals of each of said first and second coil portion means to said detector means.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
29 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein the apparatus has a number of sensing coil means equal to one half the number of directions to be scanned.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 10, wherein said scanner means connects said sensing coil means to said detector means and subsequently connects said sensing coil means to said detector means in an electrically inverted manner.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said scanner means applies each of the outputs of said sensing coil means to said detector means in a sequence.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said memory means is a shift register memory means.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
198 words
An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic flux relative to a marker direction, comprising in combination, magnetic core means located in the external magnetic flux, means establishing a magnetic flux in said core means, a plurality of sensing coil means located in unique directions relative to each other and magnetically coupled to said core means, detector means, scanner means including a first plurality of switch means connecting each of said plurality of sensing coil means to said detector means, memory means having a plurality of memory unit means each containing a representation of an angular direction of said unique directions of said sensing coil means relative to the marker direction, output means, a second plurality of switch means connecting each of said plurality of memory unit means to said output means, said scanner means controlling said first and second plurality of switch means to simultaneously interrogate each of said sensing coil means and corresponding memory unit means, and means interconnecting said detector means and said output means to obtain at said output means said angular direction representation from the respective interrogated memory unit means upon detection of a given value of the external magnetic flux.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
198 words
An apparatus to detect the direction of an external magnetic flux relative to a marker direction, comprising in combination, magnetic core means located in the external magnetic flux, means establishing a magnetic flux in said core means, a plurality of sensing coil means located in unique directions relative to each other and magnetically coupled to said core means, detector means, scanner means including a first plurality of switch means connecting each of said plurality of sensing coil means to said detector means, memory means having a plurality of memory unit means each containing a representation of an angular direction of said unique directions of said sensing coil means relative to the marker direction, output means, a second plurality of switch means connecting each of said plurality of memory unit means to said output means, said scanner means controlling said first and second plurality of switch means to simultaneously interrogate each of said sensing coil means and corresponding memory unit means, and means interconnecting said detector means and said output means to obtain at said output means said angular direction representation from the respective interrogated memory unit means upon detection of a given value of the external magnetic flux.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
An apparatus as set forth in claim 16, wherein said memory means is a read only memory means.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-09-09 | 1978-03-11 | 1978-09-10 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-09-09 | 1982-03-11 | 1982-09-10 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-09-09 | 1986-03-11 | 1986-09-10 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |