Data processing: vehicles – navigation – and relative location – Vehicle control – guidance – operation – or indication – Automatic route guidance vehicle
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-21
2001-11-06
Cuchlinski, Jr., William A. (Department: 3661)
Data processing: vehicles, navigation, and relative location
Vehicle control, guidance, operation, or indication
Automatic route guidance vehicle
C701S300000, C702S005000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06314349
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to guidance systems and processes, and more particularly, to a process for generating fly-around boundaries relative landmasses for projectiles such as missiles.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Automated flight missiles such as the Tomahawk missile typically include guidance systems which are preprogrammed for guiding the missile to its destination. In order to avoid radar, defenses and to maintain rules of engagement, the missiles are programmed to fly at a standoff distance from the coastline of landmasses. With currently available technology, operators of the missiles or guidance systems work to manually calculate and plot fly-around boundary distances from selective landmasses in order to identify missile waypoint positions. This process is time consuming and results in over-estimated fly-around boundary distances which increase the length of the flight path, thus reducing the missile's capability.
The prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,295 directed to a computerized system for joining individual maps into a single map product. It discloses an improved process for making a larger map from individual 7.5 digital line graph (DLG) data. The process is fully automated and performed by computer with minimal human interaction, eliminating errors and producing a more accurate final map product. The process includes conversion of the raw DLG data files into ARC/INFO format, locating the border arcs of each individual data set, edgematching the individual map data sets, and joining the data sets into a single, large map coverage. Any node along the border arc which cannot automatically be edgematched is noted in a special error file. A geographer then matches the unmatched edges which contain an error in the input data. A large map product is provided as the product of the process. However, nothing is disclosed in this patent related to the automated production of fly-around boundaries relative landmasses.
There exists a need for a process for automatically computing fly-around boundaries relative to any form of landmass based on cartographic data inputted into the process.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of this invention is to provide an automated process for determining fly-around boundaries relative to any form of landmass for the guidance of projectiles or the like.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automated process for creating fly-around boundaries which produces a flight path defined by the boundaries by eliminating small harbors and inlets of coastlines from a model of a landmass coastline.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a process for automatically creating fly-around boundaries based on a desired standoff distance from a landmass coastline.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a process for creating fly-around boundaries for landmasses, which combines the fly-around boundaries for adjacent intersecting landmass boundaries into a resultant fly-around boundary, depending upon the proximity of the landmass boundaries.
The foregoing objects are attained by the process of the present invention for generating fly-around boundaries for use by projectiles or the like, comprising the steps of providing original cartographic data representative of at least one geographical position on a landmass and providing a predetermined value for the spacing of a fly-around boundary from the geographical position; digitizing the original cartographic data and creating a landmass model in a format which includes latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates of the geographical position; using as an input the digitized data and the predetermined value into a means for analyzing the digitized data; generating new data representative of the fly-around boundary based on the predetermined value and the land mass model, via the analyzing means; and providing a navigational control means for steering the projectile and using as input the new data into the navigational control means for controlling the flight path of the projectile along the boundary.
The process of the present invention further includes the filtered landmass model having a landmass side and a water side. The step of generating fly-around boundaries further comprises the step of offsetting original fly-around segments from segments generated from said new data by a distance equal to the predetermined value at an orientation substantially parallel to the segments and toward said water side for setting a fly-around boundary.
The process of the present invention further includes the cartographic data being provided for a plurality of landmasses, wherein the means for analyzing carries out the steps of determining the fly-around segments for each of the plurality of landmasses and combining the fly-around segments of each of the plurality of landmasses for creating a resultant fly-around boundary.
The details of the present invention are set out in the following description and drawings wherein like reference characters depict like elements.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5150295 (1992-09-01), Mattingly
Benevides Karen
Roy Jeffrey
Tomasi Steven W.
Cuchlinski Jr. William A.
Lall Prithvi C.
McGowan Michael J.
Oglo Michael F.
Pipala Edward
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