Patents by Inventor Pat Cazeau

Pat Cazeau 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).

  • Safing mode for high momentum states in body stabilized spacecraft
    Patent number: 6550721
    Abstract: A spacecraft with a reaction wheel system can be autonomously safed by setting the solar wings to continuous tracking, determining a slew rate vector based on the total angular momentum, and slewing the spacecraft using the slew rate vector until commanded to stop autonomous safing. When the total angular momentum of the spacecraft to large to be handled by rotisserie, then the spacecraft is reoriented to align a suitable rotation vector with the system momentum. In a typical application, the spacecraft has a reaction wheel assembly with four wheels arranged to form a right regular pyramid. Two reaction wheels on opposite edges of the pyramid form a first pair and the two remaining reaction wheels forming a second pair.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2003
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Paul Williams, Steve Franklin, Pat Cazeau, Grant Wang, Wendy Wang
  • Safing mode for high momentum states in body stabilized spacecraft
    Publication number: 20020003193
    Abstract: A spacecraft with a reaction wheel system can be autonomously safed by setting the solar wings to continuous tracking, determining a slew rate vector based on the total angular momentum, and slewing the spacecraft using the slew rate vector until commanded to stop autonomous safing. When the total angular momentum of the spacecraft to large to be handled by rotisserie, then the spacecraft is reoriented to align a suitable rotation vector with the system momentum. In a typical application, the spacecraft has a reaction wheel assembly with four wheels arranged to form a right regular pyramid. Two reaction wheels on opposite edges of the pyramid form a first pair and the two remaining reaction wheels forming a second pair.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 9, 2001
    Publication date: January 10, 2002
    Inventors: Paul Williams, Steve Franklin, Pat Cazeau, Grant Wang, Wendy Wang