US 7,584,069 B2Granted

Device and method for correcting the aging effects of a measurement sensor

AssigneeThales

InventorsPhilippe Guichard, Pierre-Olivier Lefort, Jerome Willemin

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Abstract

The invention relates to a method of correcting the effects of aging of a measurement sensor upon turning on the sensor. It also relates to a device delivering measurements corrected for the effects of aging of the device. According to the invention, the method of correcting the effects of aging of a sensor starts by on turning on the processing unit. The absolute time information is transmitted from a satellite positioning receiver to a processing unit. The age of the sensor is determined by comparison of the date of manufacture of the sensor and the absolute time information. Corrections to be made to a sensor measurement, based on the age of the sensor and on the degradation law, are determined. The corrections are applied to the sensor measurement.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A method of correcting the effects of aging of a measurement sensor on board a carrier, the sensor delivering measurements the precision of which degrades with the age of the sensor, a law describing the degradation in the measurement precision as a function of the age of the sensor being known, the carrier being equipped with a processing unit for processing the sensor measurements and with a receiver of a satellite positioning system providing absolute time information with a view to reading an astronomical table in order to establish satellite positions and to deliver a measurement of the position of the receiver, characterized in that it comprises, on turning on the processing unit, the following steps:

transmitting the absolute time information from the satellite positioning receiver to the processing unit;
determining the age of the sensor by comparison of the date of manufacture of the sensor and the absolute time information;
determining corrections to be made to a sensor measurement, based on the age of the sensor and on the degradation law;
and
applying the corrections to the sensor measurement.

2 more elements

A device delivering measurements, comprising a measurement sensor, the sensor delivering to a processing unit measurements the precision of which degrades with the age of the sensor, the processing unit processing the measurements, a receiver of a satellite positioning system providing absolute time information with a view to reading an astronomical table in order to establish satellite positions and delivering a measurement of the position of the receiver, and a means of storing a law describing the degradation in the measurement precision of the sensor as a function of the age of the sensor, characterized in that it includes:

means for transmitting the absolute time information to the processing unit upon turning on the processing unit;
means for determining, upon turning on the processing unit, the age of the sensor based on the manufacturing date of the sensor and on the absolute time information;
means for determining, upon turning on the processing unit, corrections to be made to a sensor measurement on the basis of the age of the sensor and the degradation law;
and
means for applying the corrections to the sensor measurements.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 12/089,471Filed 3 Oct 2006
Priority: FR 05 1051414 Oct 2005
Published: US 2008/0228421 A118 Sep 2008
Granted: 1 Sep 2009
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification4 codes

G01C 25/00
Manufacturing, calibrating, cleaning, or repairing instruments or devices referred to in the
G01D 3/022
With provision for altering or correcting the law of variation: having an ideal characteristic, map or correction data stored in a digital memory
G01C
Measuring distances, levels or bearings
G01D
Measuring not specially adapted for a specific variable