Patents by Inventor Francisco A. Navarro

Francisco A. Navarro has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20240379011
    Abstract: A process and machine configured to move resources. The process including: receiving petitions in a resource mover for a utilization, over a time period, by a vehicle of a number of resources; assigning by the resource mover a set of RUPs to each resource over the time period; determining, using a trigger, a mode of operation for the resource mover; deriving, accounting for factors affecting the resources, availability of RUPs, for each resource in the number of resources, over the time period; establishing a maxrety, respectively, allocating utilization of the RUPs for each resource in the number of resources over the time period; and controlling, according to the maxrety, utilizing the resources over the time period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2024
    Publication date: November 14, 2024
    Inventors: Zarrin Chua, Alfredo Giuliano, Francisco A. Navarro Félix, Manuela Sauer, Martin Kearney-Fischer
  • Patent number: 12136350
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product for operating air vehicles. Missions for the air vehicles are grouped into categories based on durations of the missions. The missions within the categories are clustered into subsets of the missions that can be concurrently performed to meet a set of mission performance criteria. The subsets of the missions are assigned to a set of air vehicle supervisors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2024
    Assignee: Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, a subsidiary of the Boeing Company
    Inventors: Francisco A. Navarro Félix, Zarrin Chua, Alfredo Giuliano, Martin Kearney-Fischer, Tim Moser, Christopher John Devine, Jakob Widauer
  • Patent number: 11953329
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product for planning multimodal travel. A planning request for the multimodal travel from a first location to an second location is received. Candidate routes are determined for a passenger that is customized for a set of customization parameters a using the first location, the second location, and a set of passenger preferences. A candidate route in the candidate routes comprises a first leg from the first location to a first vertiport via a first modality, a second leg for a passenger air vehicle to travel from the first vertiport to a second vertiport using an air modality, and a third leg from the second vertiport to the second location using a second modality. The candidate route in the candidate routes is selected to form a route for the multimodal travel for the passenger when a user input is received selecting the candidate route.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 9, 2024
    Assignee: Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation
    Inventors: Zarrin Chua, Martin Kearney-Fischer, Francisco A. Navarro Félix
  • Patent number: 11900281
    Abstract: In an example, a method for optimizing energy loading in airline operations is described. The method includes receiving a flight plan of an aircraft indicative of a plurality of landing sites and a corresponding plurality of flight legs. The method includes determining an energy load of the aircraft associated with each flight leg. The energy load corresponds to an amount of fuel used during the flight leg. The method includes calculating a fuel value score for refueling the aircraft at a landing site of each flight leg. The fuel value score relates to a refueling estimate at the landing site and a time for refueling at the landing site. The method includes determining a fueling plan based at least on the energy load of the aircraft at each flight leg and the fuel value score for refueling the aircraft at the landing site of each flight leg.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 3, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Italo Romani de Oliveira, Francisco A. Navarro, Onofre Andrade
  • Publication number: 20230222924
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product for managing vertiport resources. A capacity for handling air traffic at a vertiport is determined. An allocation of arrival slots, departure slots, and service slots for the air traffic using the vertiport is managed based on the capacity determined for the vertiport.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 10, 2022
    Publication date: July 13, 2023
    Inventors: Zarrin Chua, Alfredo Giuliano, Francisco A. Navarro Félix, Manuela Sauer, Martin Kearney-Fischer
  • Publication number: 20220290998
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product for planning multimodal travel. A planning request for the multimodal travel from a first location to an second location is received. Candidate routes are determined for a passenger that is customized for a set of customization parameters a using the first location, the second location, and a set of passenger preferences. A candidate route in the candidate routes comprises a first leg from the first location to a first vertiport via a first modality, a second leg for a passenger air vehicle to travel from the first vertiport to a second vertiport using an air modality, and a third leg from the second vertiport to the second location using a second modality. The candidate route in the candidate routes is selected to form a route for the multimodal travel for the passenger when a user input is received selecting the candidate route.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Publication date: September 15, 2022
    Inventors: Zarrin Chua, Martin Kearney-Fischer, Francisco A. Navarro Félix
  • Publication number: 20220284823
    Abstract: A method, apparatus, system, and computer program product for operating air vehicles. Missions for the air vehicles are grouped into categories based on durations of the missions. The missions within the categories are clustered into subsets of the missions that can be concurrently performed to meet a set of mission performance criteria. The subsets of the missions are assigned to a set of air vehicle supervisors.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 3, 2021
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Francisco A. Navarro Félix, Zarrin Chua, Alfredo Giuliano, Martin Kearney-Fischer, Tim Moser, Christopher John Devine, Jakob Widauer
  • Patent number: 11262764
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method and a system for generating a path for a vehicle from a source to a target within a two-dimensional (2D) environment with one or more obstacles is disclosed. The obstacles may be dynamic, static or both. The method comprises generating, in a two dimensions-plus-time space, a velocity cone that represents a set of potential waypoints reachable from a first source for the vehicle moving at a speed, providing a polytope, obtaining at least one interception polygon by intersecting and projecting the velocity cone with the polytope on the 2D region; generating a 2D scene comprising interception polygons to avoid, computing a visibility graph algorithm for the 2D scene and obtaining a plurality of conflict-free sub-paths, and composing a valid path connecting the source to the target based on the plurality of conflict-free sub-paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 1, 2022
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Francisco A. Navarro, Lucas Rodriguez Diaz, Ernesto Valls Hernandez
  • Patent number: 11099582
    Abstract: Example navigation aids for increasing the accuracy of a navigation system are disclosed herein. An example method disclosed herein identifying, with an aircraft intent description language (AIDL) aid, an AIDL instruction as associated with a first dynamic activity level of a plurality of dynamic activity levels and determining, with the AIDL aid, an aircraft state to be affected by the AIDL instruction. The example method also includes changing, with a navigation filter, a weighting scheme for a measurement of the aircraft state obtained by an inertial navigation system (INS) of the aircraft and estimating, with the navigation filter, a trajectory of the aircraft based on the weighting scheme and the measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 24, 2021
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Michael W. Hardt, Eduardo Gallo, Francisco A. Navarro, Glenn Scott Bushnell
  • Patent number: 11080929
    Abstract: A system and a method for generating a 3D path from a source to a destination for an aerial vehicle is disclosed. An example system includes a managing unit to select a group of altitude layers including source and destination and generate a 2D horizontal scenario by identifying constraints to avoid at each altitude layer. The example system includes a path computing unit to determine common constraints for the altitude layers of the 2D horizontal scenario and compute a 2D lateral path avoiding the common constraints. The managing unit generates a 2D vertical scenario based on a projection of the previously computed 2D lateral path onto the constraints at the altitude layers. The path computing unit computes a 2D vertical path avoiding constraints of the 2D vertical scenario. The managing unit composes 3D waypoints of a conflict-free 3D path according to the 2D lateral path and 2D vertical path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: August 3, 2021
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Carlos Querejeta Masaveu, Ernesto Valls Hernandez, Francisco A. Navarro Felix
  • Publication number: 20210103860
    Abstract: In an example, a method for optimizing energy loading in airline operations is described. The method includes receiving a flight plan of an aircraft indicative of a plurality of landing sites and a corresponding plurality of flight legs. The method includes determining an energy load of the aircraft associated with each flight leg. The energy load corresponds to an amount of fuel used during the flight leg. The method includes calculating a fuel value score for refueling the aircraft at a landing site of each flight leg. The fuel value score relates to a refueling estimate at the landing site and a time for refueling at the landing site. The method includes determining a fueling plan based at least on the energy load of the aircraft at each flight leg and the fuel value score for refueling the aircraft at the landing site of each flight leg.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 3, 2019
    Publication date: April 8, 2021
    Inventors: Italo Romani de Oliveira, Francisco A. Navarro, Onofre Andrade
  • Patent number: 10930160
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method and a system for communicating high fidelity (HIFI) trajectory-related information of an aerial vehicle (AV) through standard aircraft trajectory conventions is disclosed. The method includes obtaining, from a first entity, a flight intent containing low fidelity (LOFI) trajectory-related information. The method also includes obtaining intent generation (IG) configuration parameters defining constraints, objectives, or a combination thereof, supplementary to the flight intent, the IG configuration parameters containing HIFI trajectory-related information for closing all degrees of freedom of motion of the AV and configuration. The method includes encoding, using standard aircraft trajectory conventions, the LOFI trajectory-related information from the flight intent and IG configuration parameters as a flight plan and user-defined fields available for information exchange. The method further includes sending, to a second entity, the flight plan and the user-defined fields.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Ernesto Valls Hernandez, Francisco A. Navarro Felix, Carlos Querejeta Masaveu, Jesus Cuadrado Sanchez
  • Patent number: 10656661
    Abstract: Methods and apparatus of tracking moving targets from air vehicles are disclosed. An example system includes an air vehicle including a moving target state estimator to determine at least one of an estimated speed or an estimated location of a moving target, a tracking infrastructure to determine a detectability zone surrounding the moving target based on at least one of the estimated speed or the estimated location of the moving target, and generate a guidance reference to command the air vehicle to move towards a reference location, the reference location based on the estimated location, and a flight control system to cause the air vehicle to follow the moving target outside of the detectability zone based on the guidance reference.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 19, 2020
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Carlos Querejeta Masaveu, Francisco A. Navarro Felix, Ernesto Valls Hernandez, Andrew Hayes
  • Publication number: 20200149891
    Abstract: Example navigation aids for increasing the accuracy of a navigation system are disclosed herein. An example method disclosed herein identifying, with an aircraft intent description language (AIDL) aid, an AIDL instruction as associated with a first dynamic activity level of a plurality of dynamic activity levels and determining, with the AIDL aid, an aircraft state to be affected by the AIDL instruction. The example method also includes changing, with a navigation filter, a weighting scheme for a measurement of the aircraft state obtained by an inertial navigation system (INS) of the aircraft and estimating, with the navigation filter, a trajectory of the aircraft based on the weighting scheme and the measurement.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 9, 2019
    Publication date: May 14, 2020
    Inventors: Michael W. Hardt, Eduardo Gallo, Francisco A. Navarro, Glenn Scott Bushnell
  • Patent number: 10648814
    Abstract: Example navigation aids for increasing the accuracy of a navigation system are disclosed herein. An example method disclosed herein identifying, with an aircraft intent description language (AIDL) aid, an AIDL instruction as associated with a first dynamic activity level of a plurality of dynamic activity levels and determining, with the AIDL aid, an aircraft state to be affected by the AIDL instruction. The example method also includes changing, with a navigation filter, a weighting scheme for a measurement of the aircraft state obtained by an inertial navigation system (INS) of the aircraft and estimating, with the navigation filter, a trajectory of the aircraft based on the weighting scheme and the measurement.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 12, 2020
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Michael W. Hardt, Eduardo Gallo, Francisco A. Navarro, Glenn Scott Bushnell
  • Patent number: 10614723
    Abstract: Apparatus to generate aircraft intent and related methods are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: THE BOEING COMPANY
    Inventors: Michael W. Hardt, Francisco A. Navarro Felix
  • Publication number: 20200089239
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method and a system for generating a path for a vehicle from a source to a target within a two-dimensional (2D) environment with one or more obstacles is disclosed. The obstacles may be dynamic, static or both. The method comprises generating, in a two dimensions-plus-time space, a velocity cone that represents a set of potential waypoints reachable from a first source for the vehicle moving at a speed, providing a polytope, obtaining at least one interception polygon by intersecting and projecting the velocity cone with the polytope on the 2D region; generating a 2D scene comprising interception polygons to avoid, computing a visibility graph algorithm for the 2D scene and obtaining a plurality of conflict-free sub-paths, and composing a valid path connecting the source to the target based on the plurality of conflict-free sub-paths.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Publication date: March 19, 2020
    Applicant: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Francisco A. Navarro, Lucas Rodriguez Diaz, Ernesto Valls Hernandez
  • Patent number: 10467914
    Abstract: Methods and systems for autonomous generation of shortest lateral paths for unmanned aerial systems are described. An example system includes memory storing code and at least one processor to execute the code to cause the at least one processor to access an initial scenario including a source point, a target point, and a no flight zone, determine a computation time for identifying a lateral path for an aircraft to traverse that avoids the no flight zone, determine whether the determined computation time satisfies a threshold of a reference computation time, change the first number of vertices to a second number of vertices when the reference computation time is not satisfied, determine a buffer area surrounding the no flight zone, construct a visibility graph including lateral paths, and identify one of the lateral paths as being shorter than others of the lateral paths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Ernesto Valls Hernández, Francisco A. Navarro Félix, David Sánchez Tamargo, Carlos Querejeta Masaveu, Jesús Cuadrado Sánchez
  • Publication number: 20190108680
    Abstract: A system and a method for generating a 3D path from a source to a destination for an aerial vehicle is disclosed. An example system includes a managing unit to select a group of altitude layers including source and destination and generate a 2D horizontal scenario by identifying constraints to avoid at each altitude layer. The example system includes a path computing unit to determine common constraints for the altitude layers of the 2D horizontal scenario and compute a 2D lateral path avoiding the common constraints. The managing unit generates a 2D vertical scenario based on a projection of the previously computed 2D lateral path onto the constraints at the altitude layers. The path computing unit computes a 2D vertical path avoiding constraints of the 2D vertical scenario. The managing unit composes 3D waypoints of a conflict-free 3D path according to the 2D lateral path and 2D vertical path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 11, 2018
    Publication date: April 11, 2019
    Inventors: Carlos Querejeta Masaveu, Ernesto Valls Hernandez, Francisco A. Navarro Felix
  • Publication number: 20190103029
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method and a system for communicating high fidelity (HIFI) trajectory-related information of an aerial vehicle (AV) through standard aircraft trajectory conventions is disclosed. The method includes obtaining, from a first entity, a flight intent containing low fidelity (LOFI) trajectory-related information. The method also includes obtaining intent generation (IG) configuration parameters defining constraints, objectives, or a combination thereof, supplementary to the flight intent, the IG configuration parameters containing HIFI trajectory-related information for closing all degrees of freedom of motion of the AV and configuration. The method includes encoding, using standard aircraft trajectory conventions, the LOFI trajectory-related information from the flight intent and IG configuration parameters as a flight plan and user-defined fields available for information exchange. The method further includes sending, to a second entity, the flight plan and the user-defined fields.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 11, 2018
    Publication date: April 4, 2019
    Inventors: ERNESTO VALLS HERNANDEZ, FRANCISCO A. NAVARRO FELIX, CARLOS QUEREJETA MASAVEU, JESUS CUADRADO SANCHEZ