Patents by Inventor Donald L. Sumner

Donald L. Sumner 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: 6185502
    Abstract: A passive position fix system for a vehicle in which a gyro first provides a first gyro position of the vehicle, a map storage means which receives the first gyro position and in response thereto provides map-sets containing a set of gravity gradients and a gravity anomaly associated with geographic positions in the vacinity of the first gyro position, a gravity sensor for providing a GSS-set comprising a sensed set of gravity gradients values and a gravity anomaly at the position of the vehicle, a comparing means for sequentially receiving the map-sets so as to determine when there is a match between the GSS-set and a map-set and providing a displacement vector, and a processor for placing a second gyro position in the gyro based on the first gyro position and the displacement vector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 1998
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2001
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Donald L. Sumner, Sung Leong Chew, Joseph N. Dmytrasz, Lorraine M. Mauser, Joseph Gatta
  • Patent number: 6014103
    Abstract: A Passive Navigation System (PNS) provides continuous updating of position, velocity, and attitude information of a vehicle without recourse to radiating or external navigation aids. The system accurately computes navigation information with the utilization of gravity sensors, gravimetric maps, vertical position, and velocity measurements. Sensor and map data are optimally processed by real time filtering to compute the best position, velocity, and attitude of the vehicle. The products of measured gravity gradients and the velocity of the vehicle are integrated over time to obtain a north, east, down gravity vector components which are combined with corresponding components obtained from a vertical deflection map in a complementary filter. North and east components of the combination are compared with the corresponding components from the vertical deflection map, while the down component of the gravity is compared to the down value obtained from a gravimeter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 1999
    Date of Patent: January 11, 2000
    Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation
    Inventors: Donald L. Sumner, Sung-Leung Chew, Joseph N. Dmytrasz, Joseph Gatta, Henry Ritchie
  • Patent number: 5912643
    Abstract: A Passive Navigation System (PNS) provides continuous updating of position, velocity, and attitude information of a vehicle without recourse to radiating or external navigation aids. The system accurately computes navigation information with the utilization of gravity sensors, gravimetric maps, vertical position, and velocity measurements. Sensor and map data are optimally processed by real time filtering to compute the best position, velocity, and attitude of the vehicle. The products of measured gravity gradients and the velocity of the vehicle are integrated over time to obtain a north, east, down gravity vector components which are combined with corresponding components obtained from a vertical deflection map in a complementary filter. North and east components of the combination are compared with the corresponding components from the vertical deflection map, while the down component of the gravity is compared to the down value obtained from a gravimeter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 29, 1997
    Date of Patent: June 15, 1999
    Assignee: Lockheed Corporation
    Inventors: Sung-Leung Chew, Joseph N. Dmytrasz, Joseph Gatta, Henry F Ritchie, Donald L. Sumner