Steerable rotating projectile
OwnerSteven M. Hoffberginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method of controlling a gyroscopically-stabilized projectile, comprising a control system producing a control signal, a rotating aerodynamic shell, and a reaction mass system responsive to the control signal, the method comprising: imparting rotational and translational kinetic energy to induce gyroscopic stabilization of the projectile about a gyroscopic axis and a movement of the projectile along a flight path; interacting the shell with surrounding air while moving, to induce aerodynamic forces; generating the control signal from the control system; and altering a state of the reaction wheel system selectively in dependence on the control signal, to alter the flight path.
Claims20
A projectile having a translational vector in a medium, comprising:
- an aerodynamic surface configured to rotate about an axis while translating along the translational vector in the medium to produce gyroscopic forces, and producing aerodynamic forces from the medium;
- a control system, configured to generate a rotational phase lead or phase lag control signal synchronized with a phase or rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis, the phase lead or phase lag control signal being further dependent on a navigational objective;
- and
- at least one modulated aerodynamic feature, configured to selectively produce an aerodynamic interaction with the medium surrounding the rotating aerodynamic surface which varies over time, dependent on the phase lead or phase lag control signal synchronized with the phase of rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis, to redirect the translational vector of the projectile to meet the navigational objective.
A method of controlling a flight path of a projectile through a fluid medium, comprising:
- providing an aerodynamic surface of the projectile configured to rotate about an axis in the fluid medium;
- generating a phase lead or phase lag control signal synchronized with a phase of rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis dependent on an inertial objective;
- and
- modulating at least one aerodynamic feature of the projectile, selectively producing an aerodynamic interaction in the fluid medium which is synchronized with the phase of rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis over time, dependent on the control signal and the phase of rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis.
A projectile, comprising:
- an aerodynamic surface configured to rotate about an axis of rotation during flight in a viscous fluid;
- a sensor input configured to provide real-time information on a phase of rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis of rotation during the flight in the viscous medium;
- a control system, configured to define an objective representing a change in at least one inertial parameter of the projectile over time, and to generate a cyclic control signal defining a rotational phase lead or phase lag selectively dependent on the sensor input and being synchronized with the phase of rotation of the aerodynamic surface about the axis of rotation, the cyclic control signal being generated tending to achieve the objective by altering the at least one inertial parameter of the projectile over time;
- and
- an aerodynamic feature, configured to selectively modulate an aerodynamic interaction with the viscous fluid surrounding the projectile which varies according to the cyclic control signal, wherein the aerodynamic feature is controlled to exert a net steering force with respect to an inertial frame.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.