IP Library Granted Patent US 11,118,867
Granted Patent B2
US 11,118,867 · App. 16/728,324 · Granted Sep 14, 2021

Interactive weapon targeting system displaying remote sensed image of target area

Inventors: John C. McNeil (Tujunga, CA); Earl Clyde Cox (La Cresenta, CA); Makoto Ueno (Simi Valley, CA); Jon Andrew Ross (Moorpark, CA)
Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
F41G5/14F41G3/02F41G3/142F41G3/165
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,118,867
App. No.
16/728,324
Granted
Sep 14, 2021
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems, devices, and methods for determining a predicted impact point of a selected weapon and associated round based on stored ballistic information, provided elevation data, provided azimuth data, and provided position data.

Claims (27)

1. A system, comprising:

a weapon of one or more weapons, wherein each weapon of the one or more weapons has a weapon display;

one or more remote sensors associated with one or more aerial vehicles, wherein at least one remote sensor is configured to provide image metadata of a predicted impact point to the weapon display;

one or more sensor controllers on each of the one or more aerial vehicles configured to direct pointing of the one or more remote sensors; and

a targeting device comprising:

a fire control controller, wherein the fire control controller determines a predicted impact point of the one or more weapons and an associated round, and wherein the fire control controller transmits information on the predicted impact point to the one or more sensor controllers to direct pointing of at least one remote sensor of at least one aerial vehicle.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the targeting device further comprises:

a data store having ballistic information associated with the weapon of the one or more weapons and associated rounds.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the fire control controller determines the predicted impact point of the one or more weapons based on at least one of: the ballistic information, elevation data received from an inertial measurement unit, azimuth data received from a magnetic compass, and position data received from a position determining component.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein:

the inertial measurement unit is in communication with the fire control controller;

the magnetic compass is in communication with the fire control controller; and

the position determining component is in communication with the fire control controller.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the position determining component is a navigation unit.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the fire control controller determines the predicted impact point of the one or more weapons based on the ballistic information, elevation data received from an inertial measurement unit, azimuth data received from a magnetic compass, and position data received from a position determining component.

7. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a radio frequency (RF) receiver, wherein the information on the predicted impact point transmitted by the fire control controller is received by the RF receiver.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more aerial vehicles is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the targeting device determines a position and orientation of the one or more weapons and further uses a ballistic lookup table to determine the predicted impact point of the weapon of the plurality of weapons.

10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the remote sensor is an optical camera.

11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the optical camera is configured to provide video images for display on the weapon display.

12. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

an environmental condition determiner configured to provide information related to environmental conditions of the surrounding areas of the predicted impact point in order for the fire control controller to determine the predicted impact point.

13. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a ballistic range determiner in communication with the fire control controller, wherein the ballistic range determiner is configured to determine the predicted impact point based on the weapon position, azimuth, elevation, and round type.

14. The system of claim 1 , wherein the fire control controller receives image metadata from the one or more remote sensors, and wherein the image metadata comprises a ground position of a Center Field of View (CFOV) of the remote sensor.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein the CFOV is directed at the determined predicted impact point.

Assignments (2)
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS Recorded Feb 19, 2021
From: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
To: BANK OF AMERICA, N.A., AS ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT
Reel/Frame 055343/0926 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Dec 27, 2019
From: MCNEIL, JOHN C.; COX, EARL CLYDE; UENO, MAKOTO; ROSS, JON ANDREW
To: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
Reel/Frame 051376/0341 →
Continuity (5)
Continuation 16279876 · Feb 19, 2019
Continuation 15730250 · Oct 11, 2017
Continuation 14530486 · Oct 31, 2014
Provisional Application 61898342 · Oct 31, 2013
Related Publication 20200326156A1 · Oct 15, 2020