Patent ID: 9715480
Date: 2017-07-25
CPC Classifications: G01P,G06F,H03B

Claim:
1. A method for approximating the behavior of a periodic parameter of a time-domain proximity switch accelerometer in response to a perturbation, the method comprising the following steps: generating a triggering event when a first element of a switch within the time-domain proximity switch accelerometer passes a second element of the switch, wherein the first element is in oscillation and the second element is located at a fixed trigger position of one or more fixed trigger positions within the amplitude range of the oscillation, wherein the fixed trigger positions are predefined physical locations with respect to a reference position of the first element; determining at least one time period between successive triggering events; using the at least one time period and the fixed trigger position of the second element to determine the periodic parameter; collecting data points at discrete times, wherein each data point represents a measurement of the parameter; forming a preliminary approximation of the behavior of the system parameter by calculating an offset bias of the time-domain proximity switch accelerometer due to the perturbation; dividing the time domain into intervals, each given interval containing at least one data point sampled during the given interval; fitting a polynomial function to the data points of each interval such that each interval has a corresponding polynomial function that is time-centered on the interval's center point and that accurately describes the parameter behavior over that interval; stitching together the polynomial functions piece-wise to create an analytic approximation of the behavior of the periodic parameter over the entire time domain; and altering a navigational course of a moving vehicle based on the preliminary approximation and correcting the altered navigational course based on the analytic approximation.