Real-time self-compensating gravity gradiometer instrument
AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation
InventorsMelvin Feinberg, Andrew Grierson
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A real-time self-compensating gravity gradiometer (GGI) of the type having an input plane (IP) includes a mass concentration (MC) that is moved along an orbital path (16) in the input plane (IP) to cause a positionally varying gravity perturbation in the gradiometer near field that causes a corresponding signal output. The characteristics of the perturbation function are quantifiable and compared to the corresponding output function of the gradiometer (GGI). The differences between the quantified perturbation function and the gradiometer (GGI) output function represents an aggregate instrument error that is processed into an error reducing or compensation function to improve gradiometer (GGI) accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio.
Claims27
A self-compensating gravity gradiometer, comprising:
- a gravity gradiometer for sensing gravity gradients and providing a signal output therefrom;
- a mass concentration;
- a transport device moving the mass concentration along a pathway to create a positionally varying gravity perturbation for sensing by the gradiometer;
- and
- a signal processing path that changes the gradiometer signal output as a function of at least the sensed positionally varying gravity perturbation.
A self-compensating gravity gradiometer system, comprising:
- a gravity gradiometer for sensing an ambient gravity gradient and providing an output therefrom;
- a mass concentration for creating a quantifiable gravity perturbation and movable through a path with time to cause a positionally moving gravity perturbation for sensing by the gravity gradiometer;
- and
- a processing pathway for determining a value representative of a difference between the gradiometer-sensed perturbation and the quantified perturbation and providing a correction value as a function thereof.
A method of compensating a gravity gradiometer, comprising:
- creating a gravity perturbation in a sensing field of a gradiometer and moving the gravity perturbation thereabout for sensing by the gradiometer to provide an output therefrom that corresponds to the moving gravity perturbation;
- calculating a value representative of the value of the gravity perturbation;
- comparing the output of the gradiometer corresponding to the gravity perturbation as sensed by the gradiometer and the calculated value to obtain a difference;
- and
- compensating the output of the gradiometer by some value that is a function of the compared difference.
A method of compensating a gravity gradiometer, comprising:
- moving a mass concentration in the sensing plane of a gradiometer for sensing by the gradiometer to provide an output therefrom responsive to the moving mass concentration;
- providing a theoretical quantified value corresponding to the movement of the mass concentration in the sensing plane of the gradiometer;
- comparing the output of the gradiometer corresponding to the moving mass concentration as sensed by the gradiometer and the quantified value to obtain a difference;
- and
- compensating the output of the gradiometer by some compensation value that is a function of the compared difference.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.