Patents by Inventor Geoffrey A. Bland

Geoffrey A. Bland 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: 8776664
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for determining fratricide probability of projectile collision from a projectile launcher on a platform and an interception hazard that can be ejected or launched from a deployment position. The platform can represent a combat vessel, with the projectile launcher being a gun, the interception hazard being a missile, and the deployment position being a vertical launch cell. The projectile launcher operates within an angular area called the firing zone of the platform. The method includes determining the firing zone, calculating an angular firing area, quantifying a frontal area of the interception hazard, translating the resulting frontal area across a flight trajectory, sweeping the projectile launcher to produce a slew angle, combining the slew and trajectory, and dividing the combined interception area by the firing area. The firing and interception areas are calculated using spherical projection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2012
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2014
    Assignee: The United States of America as Represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Geoffrey A. Bland, Michelle A. Winston
  • Publication number: 20120312876
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method is provided for determining fratricide probability of projectile collision from a projectile launcher on a platform and an interception hazard that can be ejected or launched from a deployment position. The platform can represent a combat vessel, with the projectile launcher being a gun, the interception hazard being a missile, and the deployment position being a vertical launch cell. The projectile launcher operates within an angular area called the firing zone of the platform. The method includes determining the firing zone, calculating an angular firing area, quantifying a frontal area of the interception hazard, translating the resulting frontal area across a flight trajectory, sweeping the projectile launcher to produce a slew angle, combining the slew and trajectory, and dividing the combined interception area by the firing area. The firing and interception areas are calculated using spherical projection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 11, 2012
    Publication date: December 13, 2012
    Applicant: United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Geoffrey A. Bland, Michelle A. Winston
  • Patent number: 8074572
    Abstract: A cargo round (e.g., 155 mm high explosive projectile) is provided for dispensing submunitions. The round includes a nose tip, a casing attached thereto forming a chamber, a tail and a payload in the chamber between the tip and tail. The payload includes a plurality of axi-symmetric darts mounted on a plurality of front and rear tandem plates. Each dart has fore and aft ends along a polar axis. Each dart is shaped as a cone at its fore end and includes a cavity at its aft end. Each plate has a plurality of orifices arranged in a regular pattern. Each orifice receives a corresponding dart to protrude from both obverse and reverse sides of the plate. Each fore end of its dart in the rear plate inserts into the cavity of a counterpart dart in the front plate, and each plate shears apart on release of the payload to disperse the darts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
    Inventors: Geoffrey A. Bland, Larry Stephen Weedon, II