An attitude angle detecting apparatus receives radio waves transmitted from a plurality of position-fixing satellites with multiple antennas located at specific positions of a mobile unit, determines relative positions of the antennas and detects the heading and attitude of the mobile unit by determining carrier phase ambiguities quickly and accurately. When it is needed to redetermine integer ambiguities after recovery from an interruption of the radio waves from the position-fixing satellites ...

The apparatus is attached to a body part (for example, the back) of the user. The apparatus detects when the body part attitude exceeds a specific attitude range. For every such attitude violation, the apparatus sounds a buzzer and increments a displayed counter value that indicates the total number of such attitude violations. The apparatus may be used as part of physical therapy to modify the behavior of the user during routine physical activities. The sensitivity of the apparatus may be adjus...

A method and apparatus for utilizing the earth's static electric field as a reference for generating an information-bearing electrical signal. In a particular embodiment, the invention provides a static voltmeter having a single voltage sensing probe which is referenced to a ground connection for determining the difference in voltage between the probe and "ground" in an object, such as an aircraft, carrying the probe. The probe senses the static voltage in the vertically-oriented electrostatic g...

A normally-open fluid shut-off valve responsive to rotation about one of its axes is disclosed. The device utilizes four separate ball-and-seat valves, each of which is oriented so that fluid pressure exerted on the seated ball tends to keep the ball seated. Rotation of the device in either direction about its axis effects the closure of two of the ball-and-seat valves, thereby stopping fluid flow through the device.

Method of providing position, e.g. attitude control for space vehicles having control thrusters producing thrust for imparting momentum upon the vehicle, further having a control apparatus for the thrusters causing them to produce thrust bursts or pulses so that controlled, incremental momenta be imparted upon the vehicle, such thrust bursts being triggered respectively when the vehicle tends to move beyond selected descrete deviations and error position levels. The highest level, one in either ...

A vehicle-attitude control device including telescopic shock absorbers adapted to additionally serve the purpose of vehicle height control and means for controlling the amount of oil held in the shock absorbers in a manner such that the vehicle is tilted during travel along a curved course in a direction opposite to that of lateral swing ordinarily occurring under the centrifugal effect. The vehicle-height controlling function is automatically interrupted when the vehicle is subjected to the cen...

In an earth satellite stabilized by rotation about a spin axis and travelling along an earth orbit, an attitude measurement apparatus comprising a slit sun sensor having its slit in a plane containing said spin axis for providing a first signal every time said plane crosses the line satellite-sun, a magnetometer disposed substantially perpendicular to said spin axis to provide a second substantially periodic signal representing the intensity of the magnetic field at the satellite position on sai...

An attitude control system for a space vehicle in which angular rate signals are generated by rate gyros mounted closely adjacent to gimbaled engines at the rear of a vehicle, and wherein error signals representative of a commanded change in vehicle angle or attitude are obtained from a precision inertial platform located in the nose region of the vehicle. The rate gyro derived signals dominate at high frequencies where dynamic effects become significant, and platform signals dominate at low fre...

Apparatus for sensing attitude of an object with respect to the direction of incident coherent light, by sensing the relative phase of such light at two spaced-apart points which are located adjacent the object and which move with the object. The relative phase of the light is sensed by producing interference fringes with the light picked-up at the two spaced-apart points. The position of the fringes on a surface is an indication of the relative phase at the two spaced-apart points and thus of t...

Improvement in a dual attitude golf bag for carrying a set of golf clubs having an in-use attitude for golf playing and a space saving flat-lying attitude for storage and transport, the improvement comprising a flexible one-piece extruded core for the golf bag consisting of a normally flat-lying shell and a plurality of side by side separator tubes integrally joined to the shell, the core having the same two attitudes as that of the golf bag, the set of golf clubs being individually contained in...