Electromechanical magnetometer and applications thereof
AssigneeSand 9, Inc.
InventorPritiraj Mohanty
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system that incorporates the subject disclosure may include, for example, a method for producing an electrical signal from an apparatus comprising an induction coil coupled to a mechanical resonator, wherein the electrical signal has an operating frequency proportional to a mechanical resonating frequency of the mechanical resonator and proportional to a change in a magnetic flux resulting from a change in orientation in the apparatus, detecting with a detection circuit a change in the electrical signal resulting from a change in the magnetic flux caused by the change in orientation in the apparatus, and determining a direction of the apparatus according to the change in the electrical signal. Other embodiments are disclosed.
Claims30
An apparatus, comprising:
- a magnetic core;
- a mechanical resonator;
- and
- an induction coil coupled to the mechanical resonator for producing an electrical signal having an operating frequency proportional to a mechanical resonating frequency of the mechanical resonator and proportional to a change in a magnetic flux in the magnetic core resulting from a change in orientation of the apparatus.
A navigation system, comprising:
- a global positioning system receiver;
- a gyroscope;
- an accelerometer;
- an orientation sensor, comprising:
- a mechanical resonator;
- and
- an induction coil coupled to the mechanical resonator for producing an electrical signal having an operating frequency proportional to a mechanical resonating frequency of the mechanical resonator and proportional to a change in a magnetic flux resulting from a change in orientation of the apparatus;
- a memory to store instructions;
- a controller coupled to the memory, the global positioning system receiver, the gyroscope, the accelerometer and the orientation sensor, wherein responsive to executing the instructions, the controller performs operations comprising:
- detecting a failure of the global positioning system receiver to provide a reliable location coordinate;
- and
- determining a position and orientation of the navigation system according to a last known location coordinate supplied by the global positioning system receiver and position information obtained from at least one of the gyroscope, the accelerometer, the orientation sensor, or a combination thereof.
A method, comprising:
- producing an electrical signal from an apparatus comprising an induction coil coupled to a mechanical resonator, wherein the electrical signal has an operating frequency proportional to a mechanical resonating frequency of the mechanical resonator and proportional to a change in a magnetic flux resulting from a change in orientation in the apparatus;
- detecting with a detection circuit a change in the electrical signal resulting from a change in the magnetic flux caused by the change in orientation in the apparatus;
- and
- determining a direction of the apparatus according to the change in the electrical signal.
An orientation sensor, comprising:
- a mechanical resonator;
- and
- an induction coil coupled to the mechanical resonator for producing an electrical signal having an operating frequency proportional to a mechanical resonating frequency of the mechanical resonator and proportional to a change in a magnetic flux resulting from a change in orientation of the apparatus.
A computer-readable storage medium, comprising computer instructions, which when executed by a processor, causes the processor to perform operations comprising:
- receiving information relating to an electrical signal produced by an orientation sensor comprising an induction coil coupled to mechanical resonator, wherein the electrical signal has an operating frequency proportional to a mechanical resonating frequency of the mechanical resonator and proportional to a change in a magnetic flux resulting from a change in orientation in the orientation sensor;
- detecting from the information a change in the electrical signal resulting from a change in the magnetic flux in the magnetic core caused by the change in orientation in the orientation sensor;
- and
- determining from the detected change a direction of the orientation sensor according to the change in the electrical signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.