Patents Assigned to Vintage Capital Group, LLC
  • Jet engine protection system
    Patent number: 8052767
    Abstract: A modern jet engine inlet protection system that protects against large birds and operates autonomously, that is dormant in routine aircraft operations, that automatically actuates its protective device(s) only at the immediate point of need, then returning it (them) to a non-interfering position, including a RADAR system and a LIDAR system which detect birds entering the intended flight path of the aircraft, and fast computer-implemented computational algorithms that track and identify those from the detected set that are (1) projected to enter a zone which would lead to ingestion by the engine, and (2) of a size large enough that they would seriously damage the engine if ingested; that includes defensive mechanisms housed in the engine nacelle cowling or center hub, or in the fuselage structure that are instantaneously actuated shortly before arriving at the point of impact to shield, deflect, reduce the size of the approaching bird to an acceptable mass, or destroy it, and, that after the ingestion threat
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2011
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Vintage Capital Group, LLC
    Inventors: Fred Charles Sands, Milton D. Jantzen
  • Jet engine protection system
    Patent number: 7871455
    Abstract: A modern jet engine inlet protection system that protects against large birds and operates autonomously, that is dormant in routine aircraft operations, that automatically actuates its protective device(s) only at the immediate point of need, then returning it (them) to a non-interfering position, including a RADAR system and a LIDAR system which detect birds entering the intended flight path of the aircraft, and fast computer-implemented computational algorithms that track and identify those from the detected set that are (1) projected to enter a zone which would lead to ingestion by the engine, and (2) of a size large enough that they would seriously damage the engine if ingested; that includes defensive mechanisms housed in the engine nacelle cowling or center hub, or in the fuselage structure that are instantaneously actuated shortly before arriving at the point of impact to shield, deflect, reduce the size of the approaching bird to an acceptable mass, or destroy it, and, that after the ingestion threat
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 11, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 18, 2011
    Assignee: Vintage Capital Group, LLC
    Inventors: Fred Charles Sands, Milton D. Jantzen