Patents by Inventor Sheng N. Sun

Sheng N. Sun 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: 6571156
    Abstract: A simple, robust algorithm for power acquisition for power, thermal, and momentum safety for high heater-power spacecraft uses current sensors rather than sun sensors and includes a wing sun search phase, an xz slew phase, and a safe hold phase. Solar wing current is continuously monitored against a high current threshold and a low current threshold. Wing sun search phase transitions either to xz slew phase or safe hold phase. When current is too low, the xz slew phase is entered and slews the spacecraft about an axis in the xz plane until current is high enough. When current is high enough, the algorithm transitions or remains in safe hold phase and the spacecraft is spun about its wing axis. A low current persistence timer is longer than a high current persistence timer in order to bias the algorithm to prefer safe hold phase over xz slew phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2002
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2003
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Grant Wang, Umesh Ketkar, Sadek W. Mansour, Sheng N. Sun