Patents by Inventor Jeffrey B. McNamara

Jeffrey B. McNamara 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: 10209076
    Abstract: Systems and a related method for internally monitored navigation replace one or more inertial reference units (IRU) of an aircraft navigation system with GNSS-assisted multi-mode receivers (MMR) including dual-antenna receivers. Each MMR may validate inertial position data generated by a remaining IRU by detecting drift errors in the inertial position data or latent faults in the IRU. The system may include, in place of one or more IRUs, attitude heading and reference systems (AHRS) incorporating lower-grade high-performance inertial sensors. Internal monitoring of the remaining IRUs or the inertial position data generated thereby may alternatively be carried out by the AHRS. Based on internal monitoring by the MMRs and/or AHRS, user display and flight control systems of an aircraft can exclude a faulty IRU, preventing the use of position solutions incorporating erroneous inertial data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 19, 2019
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey B. McNamara, James H. Doty, Vladislav Gavrilets, Jesse W. Oltrogge
  • Patent number: 10066944
    Abstract: Systems for multi-mode receiver (MMR)-based inertial integration of position solutions replace expensive IRUs with lower-grade but high-performance inertial sensors and GNSS-assisted MMRs, collecting inertial position data indicative of an aircraft position and integrating the inertial data with georeferenced position data within the MMRs. The inertial sensors may include microelectromechanical attitude and heading reference systems capable of generating coasted position solutions based on secondary inertial data and integrated with georeferenced data when it is available. The coasted position solutions may be used as a standby alternative to primary integrated solutions, or serve as an additional primary position solution.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Jeffrey B. McNamara, James H. Doty, Vladislav Gavrilets, Gilles Tatham, Jesse W. Oltrogge
  • Patent number: 9779244
    Abstract: A method including initializing the processing platform, wherein initializing the processing platform includes performing a power on self-test (POST) configured to determine an operational state of one or more hardware sub-components of the processing platform, the POST further configured to determine an error detection state of one or more monitoring functions of the processing platform, initializing a safety monitoring function of the processing platform, analyzing one or more results of the POST utilizing the safety monitoring function of the processing platform in order to determine compliance of the processing platform with operational requirements, configuring the safety monitoring function of the processing platform utilizing one or more sets of safety monitoring configuration data, initializing and configuring a security monitoring function of the processing platform, and initializing and configuring one or more security functions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2017
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon L. Tomlinson, Kevin R. Priest, Branden H. Sletteland, Michael J. Frerking, Cheryl L. Killham, Brian S. Cain, Jeffrey B. McNamara, Greg L. Shelton
  • Patent number: 8977848
    Abstract: Systems and methods for providing safety and security functions are disclosed. The system includes a computing device that provides at least a first partition and a second partition. The computing device implements time and space partitioning to isolate resources available to the first partition and the second partition. The system also includes a safety module that operates in the first partition for providing safety functions for the system. The system further includes a security module that operates in the second partition for providing security functions for the system. A predefined communication interface is utilized to facilitate communications between the safety module and the security module. The communication interface defines a set of communications allowable between the safety module and the security module, wherein information sharing between the safety module and the security module is restricted to only the set of communications allowed through the communication interface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2015
    Assignee: Rockwell Collins, Inc.
    Inventors: Brandon L. Tomlinson, Kevin R. Priest, Branden H. Sletteland, Michael J. Frerking, Cheryl L. Killham, Brian S. Cain, Jeffrey B. McNamara, Greg L. Shelton