Patents by Inventor W. Todd Faulkner

W. Todd Faulkner has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10620291
    Abstract: The subject matter described herein includes methods and systems for performing physical measurements using radio frequency (RF) signals. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method is disclosed for determining the distance between a first radio device and a second radio device. The method includes transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal from the first radio device and receiving the RF signal by the second radio device. The method further includes a determining a carrier frequency of the RF signal and determining a slope of a carrier phase versus the carrier frequency corresponding to a rate of change of the carrier phase with the carrier frequency. The method also includes determining a physical distance between the first radio device and the second radio device based on the slope; wherein the physical distance is proportional to the slope plus an integer ambiguity term and a bias term.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2020
    Assignee: Setter Research, Inc.
    Inventors: David W. A. Taylor, Jr., W. Todd Faulkner, Edward J. Kreinar
  • Patent number: 10371782
    Abstract: The subject matter described herein includes methods and systems for performing physical measurements using radio frequency (RF) signals. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method is disclosed for determining the distance between a first radio device and a second radio device. The method includes transmitting a radio frequency (RF) signal from the first radio device and receiving the RF signal by the second radio device. The method further includes a determining a carrier frequency of the RF signal and determining a slope of a carrier phase versus the carrier frequency corresponding to a rate of change of the carrier phase with the carrier frequency. The method also includes determining a physical distance between the first radio device and the second radio device based on the slope; wherein the physical distance is proportional to the slope plus an integer ambiguity term and a bias term.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: Setter Research, Inc.
    Inventors: David W. A. Taylor, Jr., W. Todd Faulkner, Edward J. Kreinar
  • Patent number: 8224575
    Abstract: A method for processing data in an inertial navigation system having a Kalman filter and computer-readable storage medium containing instructions to configure a processor to perform the same. The method produces more accurate estimates of the position, velocity and attitude of the inertial measurement unit. The method is fully automatic and enables zero-velocity updates and fixed-azimuth updates to be performed simultaneously. The method may also include a multi-stage filtering process to filter digital compass data when used in an environment with extraterrestrial magnetic field sources. The method may also include a fixed-lag smoother to improve estimates of the position, velocity and attitude of the inertial measurement unit. The method also may include processes to constrain altitude errors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2012
    Assignee: ENSCO, Inc.
    Inventors: W. Todd Faulkner, Stephen R. Chestnut, David W. A. Taylor
  • Publication number: 20090254276
    Abstract: A method for processing data in an inertial navigation system having a Kalman filter and computer-readable storage medium containing instructions to configure a processor to perform the same. The method produces more accurate estimates of the position, velocity and attitude of the inertial measurement unit. The method is fully automatic and enables zero-velocity updates and fixed-azimuth updates to be performed simultaneously. The method may also include a multi-stage filtering process to filter digital compass data when used in an environment with extraterrestrial magnetic field sources. The method may also include a fixed-lag smoother to improve estimates of the position, velocity and attitude of the inertial measurement unit. The method also may include processes to constrain altitude errors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 8, 2008
    Publication date: October 8, 2009
    Inventors: W. Todd Faulkner, Stephen R. Chestnut, David W.A. Taylor