...that Robert Adler has the dubious distinction of being the Father of the Couch Potato? Back in 1955 Adler was employed by what was then Zenith Radio Corp., where he was charged to invent something that would allow viewers to turn down the TV volume without leaving their chairs. After a series of flops (such as a wired contraption that people tripped over), Adler hit on the idea of using sound waves. Thus the Remote Control was born...
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 8084726 | Control system for an exoatmospheric kill vehicle A control system for a maneuverable kill vehicle is provided. The control system includes a pressurized fluid source configured to provide a pressurized fluid, a valve in fluid communication with the pressurized fluid source, and a voice coil actuator comprising a m... | 12/27/2011 |
| 8080771 | Steering system and method for a guided flying apparatus A steering system for use in a traveling guided flying apparatus (10) and method for driving the steering system are provided. The system includes an outer housing (111), an inner housing (113) and a support fins (112) extending inwardly ... | 12/20/2011 |
| 8058596 | Method of controlling missile flight using attitude control thrusters A method of controlling flight of a missile includes using gyroscopes, such as pitch rate gyroscopes, to sense when a factor based on the angular rate of change of the missile exceeds a threshold value. One the threshold value is exceeded, a decision may be made to ... | 11/15/2011 |
| 8026465 | Guided fuse with variable incidence panels A guided fuse is provided for installation on a projectile at its nose. The fuse includes a conical frustrum housing, a pair of control panels rotatably connected to pivotable knuckles, and a pair of drag panels disposed on hinges. Each of the control panels release... | 09/27/2011 |
| 7989744 | Methods and apparatus for transferring a fluid Methods and apparatus for a missile having an external system operate in conjunction with an airframe and a fluid transfer system. The airframe includes an interior surface defining a substantially enclosed internal chamber. The fluid transfer system selectively con... | 08/02/2011 |
| 7973269 | Actuators for gun-fired projectiles and mortars A ring portion including: a ring body; and one or more actuators formed therein for providing thrust to a projectile and configured for fastening to a shell of an airborne device to form a portion of the shell. The airborne device can be a projectile. ... | 07/05/2011 |
| 7875838 | Post boost control power assembly A tubular distributor in a missile having a right-angled hollow tubular first section, the right-angled hollow tubular first section having a first leg and a second leg, a straight hollow tubular second section, an end of the first leg of the right-angled hollow tub... | 01/25/2011 |
| 7872215 | Methods and apparatus for guiding a projectile Methods and apparatus for guiding a projectile according to various aspects of the present comprise a force source disposed on the projectile and a control system operably connected to the force source. The control system is configured to initially activate the forc... | 01/18/2011 |
| 7851733 | Methods and apparatus for missile air inlet Methods and apparatus for delivering a missile may operate in conjunction with a missile comprising an outer skin. The missile may be configured in a closed position and an open position. In the open position, an aperture is opened in the outer skin, for example to ... | 12/14/2010 |
| 7825359 | Aircraft spiraling mechanism with jet assistance - E An aircraft in the form of multi-stage missile 1 with a spiral inducing assembly 2 which is capable of inducing the missile to travel in a continuous spiraling motion without the missile rolling. A ramjet 6b is attached to a tube 3... | 11/02/2010 |
| 7812294 | Aircraft spiraling mechanism with jet assistance-f An aircraft in the form of multi-stage missile 1 with a spiral inducing assembly 2 which is capable of inducing the missile to travel in a continuous spiraling motion without the missile rolling. A ramjet 6b is attached to a tube 3... | 10/12/2010 |
| 7800031 | Actuators for gun-fired projectiles and mortars Projectiles are provided having a shell and; one or more actuators for providing thrust disposed inside of a wall of the shell; one or more ring portions forming at least a portion of the shell, the one or more ring portions having one or more actuators formed there... | 09/21/2010 |
| 7763834 | Flying object for observing the ground A flying object includes a lift and displacement motor which has a combustible propelling charge and direct thrust flight control and can ensure the lift and displacement of the flying object in an observation position for which the flying object is at least approxi... | 07/27/2010 |
| 7642491 | Aircraft spiraling mechanism with jet assistance—D An aircraft 1 with a spiral inducing assembly 2 which is capable of inducing the aircraft to travel in a continuous spiraling motion without the aircraft rolling. A ramjet 6b is attached to a tube 3 that is able to rotate around th... | 01/05/2010 |
| 7637453 | Aircraft spiraling mechanism with jet assistance - A An aircraft 1 with a spiral inducing assembly 2 which is capable of inducing the aircraft to travel in a continuous spiraling motion without the aircraft rolling. A ramjet 6b is attached to a tube 3 that is able to rotate around th... | 12/29/2009 |
| 7635104 | Aircraft spiraling mechanism with jet assistance—B An aircraft 1 with a spiral inducing assembly 2 which is capable of inducing the aircraft to travel in a continuous spiraling motion without the aircraft rolling. A ramjet 6b is attached to a tube 3a that is able to rotate a... | 12/22/2009 |
| 7624941 | Method of controlling aircraft, missiles, munitions and ground vehicles with plasma actuators The present invention relates to a method of controlling an aircraft, missile, munition or ground vehicle with plasma actuators, and more particularly to controlling fluid flow across their surfaces or other surfaces, which would benefit from such a method. The meth... | 12/01/2009 |
| 7428870 | Apparatus for changing the attack angle of a cavitator on a supercavatating underwater research model An apparatus for changing the angle of attack of a cavitator on a supercavitating underwater research model. The apparatus has a nose assembly that has a pivotable cavitator tilt plate, an actuator member and a drive system engaged with the actuator member to drive ... | 09/30/2008 |
| 7416154 | Trajectory correction kit The Trajectory Correction Kit (TCK) is a completely self-contained retrofit kit that is externally and fixedly mounted as an add-on to the rear (aft of the tailfins) of an existing, unguided rocket. The TCK continuously measures the pitch and yaw of the rocket as it... | 08/26/2008 |
| 7357351 | Linear shock wave absorber A linear cavity is provided on the leading edge of an object that is subject to the flow of liquids or gasses, where said cavity preferably has a wall that follows the curvature of a diminishing sine wave, although other configurations are possible that do not follo... | 04/15/2008 |
| 7313910 | Jet vane thrust vector control system Disclosed is a jet vane thrust vector control (JV-TVC) system. A general system has many problems in design techniques considering actual operation environments, and does not have reliability in component assembly design. The JV-TVC system improves thrust vector con... | 01/01/2008 |
| 7287725 | Missile control system and method A missile includes a control system having divert and attitude control system thrusters with control valves. Each of the control valves has a nozzle plate having a plurality of small nozzles therein. The nozzle plate includes a pair of portions, one of which is rota... | 10/30/2007 |
| 7281367 | Steerable, intermittently operable rocket propulsion system A propulsion system including an extinguishable rocket motor and an incorporated maneuver control system. The rocket motor may be of the solid fuel type. One or more proportional axial thrust valves in communication with a pressure vessel or motor case containing a ... | 10/16/2007 |
| 7267303 | Method and system for providing cruciform steered, bent biconic and plasma suppression for maximum accuracy A system for reducing plasma induced communication disruption is disclosed. The system utilizes an electrophilic gas injectant, bent reentry vehicle nose shaping and a number of flaps configured to provide 3-axis steering capability. Injecting electrophilic gas inje... | 09/11/2007 |
| 7262394 | Mortar shell ring tail and associated method There is provided a ring tail for a ballistic projectile and an associated method that facilitate maneuverability of the ballistic projectile. The ring tail comprises a ring member having a generally cylindrical wall and at least one rod joined to an aft section of ... | 08/28/2007 |
| 7231997 | Hybrid drive powered lift platform An air-based thrust recovery system for use in a powered lift platform utilizing fixed-pitch propellers is provided. The system utilizes an air compressor coupled to the drive motor of the platform and an on-board, high pressure tank for air storage. The fixed-pitch... | 06/19/2007 |
| 7229048 | Aerodynamic control of a hypersonic entry vehicle A hypersonic vehicle having in one or more embodiments a control surface that is movable to a deployed position. The control surface is movable in a pivotal manner that establishes a gap between the leading edge of the control surface and the outer surface of the ve... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7229046 | Servo mounting system for direct drive of an aircraft control surface This invention is a servo mounting system, which allows a servo with a rotating output shaft to directly power an aircraft control surface. A specially designed servo mount securely positions the servo with the central axis of its rotational output shaft on, and axi... | 06/12/2007 |
| 7219579 | Apparatus and method for actuating control surfaces An apparatus for actuating a control surface includes a first spur gear, a first drive assembly engaged with the first spur gear, a second spur gear, a second drive assembly engaged with the second spur gear, and a gear assembly capable of being coupled with the con... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7219853 | Systems and methods for tracking targets with aimpoint offset A target identification and tracking system includes a carrier vehicle and one or more tracking vehicles. The carrier vehicle may determine an aimpoint of a target from a high resolution image of the target and may generate an offset from a tracking point to the aim... | 05/22/2007 |
| 7195197 | Techniques for controlling a fin with unlimited adjustment and no backlash A fin control assembly includes a housing, an arm configured to couple to a fin and to steer the fin relative to the housing, and a locking member disposed within the housing. The locking member is configured to (i) lock the arm in a substantially fixed state to inh... | 03/27/2007 |
| 7185844 | Methods and systems for guiding an object to a target using an improved guidance law Systems and methods for guiding an object may comprise improved guidance laws that improve the effectiveness of the PRONAV guidance law. The improved guidance laws may utilize the same parameters as the PRONAV law and may be algorithmically simpler than conventional... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7184569 | Marking articles using a covert digitally watermarked image A marking system that includes forming at least one marking in or on an article, wherein the image formed is not visible to the unaided human observer, and further contains at least one digital watermark. The digitally watermarked image comprises emissive and photoa... | 02/27/2007 |
| 7163176 | 2-D projectile trajectory correction system and method A 2-D correction system uses intermittent deployment of aerodynamic surfaces to control a spin or fin stabilized projectile in flight; correcting both crossrange and downrange impact errors. Intermittent surface deployment develops rotational moments, which create b... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7164989 | Warhead fuzing system A fuzing system and method for arming a fuzing system of a projectile using global positioning system (GPS) information from a GPS satellite system. The system determines when two independent verifications have been met before arming the system. The first verificati... | 01/16/2007 |
| 7155898 | Thrust vector control system for a plug nozzle rocket engine A thrust vector control system for a plug nozzle rocket engine for propelling and maneuvering a vehicle is disclosed. The plug nozzle rocket engine includes a housing having a nozzle throat, a plug disposed within the housing and positioned within the nozzle throat ... | 01/02/2007 |
| 7143983 | Passive jet spoiler for yaw control of an aircraft A wing for an aircraft has a passive jet spoiler for providing yaw control by increasing drag on the wing. The spoiler comprises an inlet located near the leading edge of a lower surface of the wing and at least one outlet formed on the lower surface or on an upper ... | 12/05/2006 |
| 7142931 | Control system with controlled dead zone A method of operating a control device having a setpoint value, an error signal, and a control output is disclosed. The error signal is representative of a difference between a controlled variable and the setpoint value, the control output operable to affect the con... | 11/28/2006 |
| 7125058 | Locking device with solenoid release pin A locking device with a solenoid release actuator includes a housing, a plunger axially slidable within the housing, a biasing member for biasing the plunger in a first direction, one or more locking balls, and the locking balls disposed in an aperture in the housin... | 10/24/2006 |
| 7121502 | Pseudo GPS aided multiple projectile bistatic guidance A guidance system for guiding each of several projectiles toward a moving target has a platform having a radar system for illuminating the target with a radar signal. Each projectile has a receiver for receiving the radar signal reflected from the target, a transpon... | 10/17/2006 |