Speed Patents (Class 340/978)
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Patent number: 6150960Abstract: An integrated flight control indicator for providing visual information indicative of aircraft flight parameters has a sky arc and an earth arc which are visually distinguishable from one another. The sky arc and the earth arc cooperate to generally define a circle wherein the relative lengths of the sky arc and the earth arc indicate the pitch of the aircraft. A horizon line extends approximately between the two intersections of the sky arc and the earth arc so as to provide a visual indication of the roll of the aircraft. Other indicia are provided for indicating radar or barometric altitude, vertical speed, heading, ground track, minimum altitude break, etc. Thus, the present invention provides a visual indication suitable for use in instrument panel displays, heads-up display, and helmet-mounted displays.Type: GrantFiled: November 8, 1999Date of Patent: November 21, 2000Assignee: Northrop Grumman CorporationInventor: Theodore J. Voulgaris
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Patent number: 6028536Abstract: An integrated flight control indicator for providing visual information indicative of aircraft flight parameters has a sky arc and an earth arc which are visually distinguishable from one another. The sky arc and the earth arc cooperate to generally define a circle wherein the relative lengths of the sky arc and the earth arc indicate the pitch of the aircraft. A horizon line extends approximately between the two intersections of the sky arc and the earth arc so as to provide a visual indication of the roll of the aircraft. Other indicia are provided for indicating radar or barometric altitude, vertical speed, heading, ground track, minimum altitude break, etc. Thus, the present invention provides a visual indication suitable for use in instrument panel displays, heads-up display, and helmet-mounted displays.Type: GrantFiled: November 16, 1995Date of Patent: February 22, 2000Assignee: Northrop Grumman CorporationInventor: Theodore J. Voulgaris
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Patent number: 5912627Abstract: The present invention provides a device for indicating an operating point of an aircraft comprising a sensor to measure air speed and a sensor to measure vertical acceleration. The device also comprises a processor in communicative connection with each of the airspeed sensor and the vertical acceleration sensor. The processor is also in communicative connection with a display. The display presents an operating envelope diagram of the aircraft. The display also displays the current operating point of the aircraft relative to the operating envelope diagram. The present invention also provides a method for indicating an operating point of an aircraft in which the operating envelope diagram and the measured operating point of the aircraft are displayed upon the same display.Type: GrantFiled: October 17, 1997Date of Patent: June 15, 1999Inventor: William J. Alexander
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Patent number: 5886649Abstract: The present invention relates to an aircraft flight indicator intended to supply a data item regarding the power margin available on at least one engine of the aircraft as a function of the flight conditions. According to the invention, the indicator comprises: a sensor (2) capable of delivering data relating to the speed (Ng) of the gas generator of the engine; means (3) for calculating, using the data relating to the speed (Ng) of the gas generator, a data item .DELTA.Ng representing the difference between the actual value of Ng and the reference value on take-off and for processing said data so that it can be displayed; and display means (4) showing the data relating to the values of the speed Ng of the gas generator and/or of .DELTA.Ng on a display screen (5).Type: GrantFiled: June 6, 1997Date of Patent: March 23, 1999Assignee: EurocopterInventor: Daniel Claude Francois
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Patent number: 5844504Abstract: An altimeter is disclosed which includes an arcuate top portion and an arcuate bottom portion. Side portions connect the arcuate top portion to the arcuate bottom portion. The side portions have a curvature less than a curvature of the top portion or the bottom portion, thus giving the altimeter a narrower footprint while preserving important features of conventional dial-type altimeters. An indicator moves about the perimeter of the altimeter based on altitude information, thus displaying altitude of the aircraft.Type: GrantFiled: July 22, 1997Date of Patent: December 1, 1998Assignee: Rockwell InternationalInventor: Tim Etherington
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Patent number: 5739771Abstract: An ambiguous dial indicator intuitively communicates the relative value of setpoints to an operator. The ambiguous dial indicator includes an ambiguous scale and a pointer or needle. The setpoints are represented by "bugs" which are adjacent to the ambiguous scale. The bugs are limited to a predetermined range about the pointer such that when a setpoint is outside of the predetermined range the associated bug is limited to an edge of the range. When several setpoints are outside of the predetermined range the several associated bugs saturate or park at the edges of the range. The invention is particularly useful in head-up displays and helmet mounted displays.Type: GrantFiled: December 18, 1995Date of Patent: April 14, 1998Assignee: Honeywell Inc.Inventor: Paul A. Fisher
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Patent number: 5689251Abstract: An air data computer outputs a data stream indicative of measured airspeed of an aircraft, for use in generating a display of airspeed to a pilot. To correct for the inherent processing delay, a correction factor is added to the data stream, so that the display is more closely related to the actual airspeed of the aircraft at the time of the display. The correction factor can be calculated by determining the average rate of change of airspeed during a preceding time interval and multiplying the average rate of change by the processing delay.Type: GrantFiled: August 30, 1996Date of Patent: November 18, 1997Assignee: The Boeing CompanyInventors: Andrew W. Houck, Melville D. W. McIntyre
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Patent number: 5614897Abstract: An aircraft flight instrument display panel (10) has a combined speed and heading indicator in the form of a central square (11) surrounded by a scaled matrix (12). Displacement of an aircraft (100), in which the display is installed, from a desired speed and heading being indicated by displacement of an aircraft symbol (14) in the y and x directions from the central square. The aircraft (100) has an attitude sensor system (102) and the flight instrument display (108) has a flight instrument control system (104), the attitude sensor system and the flight instrument control system having an interconnection (106) with control laws such that, when the aircraft (100) is displaced from its desired speed and heading, pilot adjustment of pitch and roll, respectively, in a manner tending to return the aircraft (100) to the desired speed and heading, causes the aircraft symbol (14) to move towards the central symmetrical square (11).Type: GrantFiled: March 29, 1995Date of Patent: March 25, 1997Assignee: The Secretary of State for Defence in Her Britannic Majesty's Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandInventor: Simon J. Durnford
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Patent number: 5412382Abstract: One side of a primary flight display has a vertical airspeed scale, a round dial display, and a window. The round dial display provides global or macro airspeed information and a digital display of a present airspeed value is provided in the window. A vertical altitude scale is located on a second side of the PFD with a second round dial located along the altitude scale. The second dial is configured to provide a predetermined amount of rotation of the pointer for a predetermined change in altitude. A second window located along the altitude scale provides a digital present value of altitude.Type: GrantFiled: December 30, 1993Date of Patent: May 2, 1995Assignee: Honeywell Inc.Inventors: Thomas M. Leard, Stephen D. Fulton
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Patent number: 5359326Abstract: A maneuver envelope warning system for an aircraft having operating limits, operating condition sensors and an indicator driver. The indicator driver has a plurality of visual indicators. The indicator driver determines a relationship between sensed operating conditions and the operating limits; such as, a ratio therebetween. The indicator driver illuminates a number of the indicators in proportion to the determined relationship. The position of the indicators illuminated represents to a pilot in an easily ascertainable manner whether the operational conditions are approaching operational limits of the aircraft, and the degree to which operational conditions lie within or exceed operational limits.Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 1993Date of Patent: October 25, 1994Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventors: Courtland C. Bivens, Joel M. Rosado, Burnett Lee
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Patent number: 5000566Abstract: This optical velocimeter may be installed in an aircraft to measure the true airspeed and the angles of attack and of sideslip of the aircraft. Alternatively, the velocimeter may be mounted in a wind tunnel to measure the velocity of the airstream passing through the wind tunnel. In either case, the points of reference for measurement are the large number of aerosol particles that are entrained in the air and are assumed to have the same velocity as the oxygen and nitrogen molecules of the air itself.The velocimeter comprises a plurality of optical transmitters and optical receivers. Each transmitter includes a laser operated in the continuous-wave mode and a laser operated in the pulsed mode. The laser operated in the continuous-wave mode generates a "precursor light sheet" at some distance from the aircraft whose velocity is to be measured or in the wind-tunnel airstream whose velocity is to be measured.Type: GrantFiled: January 5, 1990Date of Patent: March 19, 1991Assignee: Lockheed Sanders, Inc.Inventors: John D. Kuppenheimer, Jr., Patrick E. Perkins
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Patent number: 4646243Abstract: Aircraft gyro (20, 22) signals .theta. and .phi., representative of pitch and roll attitude, respectively, and accelerometer (24, 26, 28) signals a.sub.x, a.sub.y, a.sub.z, representative of longitudinal, lateral, and normal acceleration, respectively, are processed (30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 40) to produce signals a.sub.GSLO, a.sub.GSLA, and a.sub.GSN, representative of the longitudinal, lateral, and normal groundspeed rate components, respectively. The component signals are summed (50) to produce a signal representative of total aircraft groundspeed rate.Type: GrantFiled: January 13, 1983Date of Patent: February 24, 1987Assignee: The Boeing CompanyInventors: Frederick G. Graupp, Francis J. van Leynseele
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Patent number: 4471439Abstract: An aircraft automatic of semiautomatic vertical path control system which coordinates operation of pitch and engine thrust control systems to transfer speed control from one system to the other depending on a requirement to climb, descend, or maintain altitude as determined by the polarity and magnitude of the difference between a selectable desired altitude and current actual altitude.Type: GrantFiled: October 28, 1983Date of Patent: September 11, 1984Assignee: The Boeing CompanyInventors: Richard E. Robbins, Robert D. Simpson
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Patent number: 4453163Abstract: Display for use on propeller driven aircraft comprised of a radially disposed row of lamps 12 embedded in the rear surface of a propeller 11. Measurements of flight data are made by conventional means and converted into digital signals (15 and 18). These digital signals are applied to graphic generators, 16 and 19, which control lamp drivers 13 which in turn control lamps 12 through slip rings 14. The lamps 12 are lit at appropriate times (determined by sync pulses 17) during each revolution of the propeller to cause the flight data in graphic form to appear to the pilot.Type: GrantFiled: May 28, 1982Date of Patent: June 5, 1984Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationInventors: H. Douglas Garner, William E. Howell