Patents by Inventor Geoffrey DURAND

Geoffrey DURAND 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).

  • Patent number: 11934205
    Abstract: Methods and devices for optimizing the climb of an aircraft or drone are provided. After an optimal continuous climb strategy has been determined, a lateral path is determined, in particular in terms of speeds and turn radii, based on vertical predictions computed in the previous step. Subsequently, computation results are displayed on one or more human-machine interfaces and the climb strategy is actually flown. Embodiments describe the use of altitude and speed constraints and/or settings in respect of speed and/or thrust and/or level-flight avoidance and/or gradient-variation minimization, and iteratively fitting parameters in order to make the profile of the current path coincide with the constrained profile in real time depending on the selected flight dynamics (e.g. energy sharing, constraint on climb gradient, constraint on the vertical climb rate). System (e.g. FMS) and software aspects are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 19, 2024
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Johan Boyer, Geoffrey Durand, Jérôme Sacle
  • Publication number: 20230274649
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a device and a method for assisting aircraft guidance. The method for assisting aircraft guidance is operated by a computation platform for aircraft and comprises steps: of acquisition of state variables characterizing an aircraft in flight, of environment variables characterizing the environment of the aircraft and of trajectory variables characterizing a reference trajectory of the aircraft; of calculation of a predicted real trajectory for an upcoming change of direction of the aircraft, based on said state variables, on said environment variables and on said reference trajectory variables; of determination of conformity to determine if the predicted real trajectory which is calculated conforms or does not conform to the reference trajectory; and of configuration of a trajectory deviation alert, when the predicted real trajectory does not conform to the reference trajectory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2021
    Publication date: August 31, 2023
    Inventors: Emmanuel DEWAS, Geoffrey DURAND
  • Publication number: 20230206774
    Abstract: An approach assistance method includes: an initial calculation step for calculating a reference path and the application of a stabilization test for determining whether the reference path makes the landing possible; modification steps implemented in a sequence and applying predefined modification rules and applying the stabilization test after each modification; and a transmitting step including transmitting the reference path to the human pilot, to an autopilot and/or to a traffic management system as soon as the reference path passes the stabilization test.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 25, 2021
    Publication date: June 29, 2023
    Inventors: Johan BOYER, Sabine TAINTURIER, Geoffrey DURAND
  • Publication number: 20220390959
    Abstract: Methods and devices for optimizing the climb of an aircraft or drone are provided. After an optimal continuous climb strategy has been determined, a lateral path is determined, in particular in terms of speeds and turn radii, based on vertical predictions computed in the previous step. Subsequently, computation results are displayed on one or more human-machine interfaces and the climb strategy is actually flown. Embodiments describe the use of altitude and speed constraints and/or settings in respect of speed and/or thrust and/or level-flight avoidance and/or gradient-variation minimization, and iteratively fitting parameters in order to make the profile of the current path coincide with the constrained profile in real time depending on the selected flight dynamics (e.g. energy sharing, constraint on climb gradient, constraint on the vertical climb rate). System (e.g. FMS) and software aspects are described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 13, 2020
    Publication date: December 8, 2022
    Inventors: Johan BOYER, Geoffrey DURAND, Jérôme SACLE
  • Publication number: 20220282976
    Abstract: This method for determining a flight distance over a discontinuity segment comprises the steps of determining an altitude of entry to said trajectory portion and an altitude of exit from said trajectory portion, discretization of an altitude interval delimited by the altitude of entry and the altitude of exit into a plurality of elementary intervals, each elementary interval being defined using an elementary step and, for each elementary interval, determining an elementary slope of the aircraft. This method further comprises a step of determining the flight distance over the discontinuity segment as a function of a direct distance between the framing segments, the elementary slopes, the elementary steps and the total extent of said trajectory portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 21, 2020
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Johan BOYER, Emmanuel DEWAS, Geoffrey DURAND
  • Publication number: 20220282975
    Abstract: This method comprises a step of determining a reference profile along a lateral trajectory precalculated comprising searching, in the precalculated lateral trajectory, at least one segment of discontinuity comprising a lateral discontinuity, determining a required distance corresponding to a minimum flight distance between the two segments bordering the discontinuity segment and integrating each required distance into the reference profile. This method further comprises a step of determining, on the basis of the reference profile, vertical predictions relating to a vertical trajectory of the aircraft and a step of determining, on the basis of the vertical predictions, a resulting lateral trajectory comprising, for each discontinuity segment, determining a substitution segment connecting the two corresponding bordering segments in a continuous manner.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 20, 2020
    Publication date: September 8, 2022
    Inventors: Johan BOYER, Emmanuel DEWAS, Geoffrey DURAND
  • Patent number: 11293777
    Abstract: An aid method for controlling the energy situation of an aircraft. The method includes determining (i) an energy meeting point corresponding to a constraint point, (ii) a meeting type based on the constraint at the constraint point, (iii) an energy state of the aircraft relative to a reference altitude profile determined by a flight management system, (iv) a high-energy joining profile representative of a future path of the aircraft with an energy dissipation strategy, and (v) energy deviations relative to the high-energy joining profile. Determining the high energy joining profile is carried out backwards depending on the type of meeting and the energy state of the aircraft. The energy deviations are displayed to an operator of the aircraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 5, 2022
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Geoffrey Durand, Johan Boyer
  • Patent number: 11249489
    Abstract: A method of determining a vertical path of an aircraft from its current position, an associated computer program product and a determining system are disclosed. In one aspect, the method includes determining a vertical path of the aircraft including determining an initial path segment and N following path segments, composing the vertical path of the aircraft from the determined path segments and freezing this vertical path. The method further includes determining a status of each of the altitude constraints along the entire vertical path of the aircraft, each status being chosen between an achievable status when the corresponding altitude constraint is satisfied and a missed status otherwise, and displaying the vertical path of the aircraft and statuses of the determined altitude constraints to the operator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 26, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2022
    Assignee: Thales
    Inventors: Manuel Bauer, Geoffrey Durand
  • Patent number: 10838431
    Abstract: A method implemented by computer for the management of the descent of an aircraft, comprises the steps of: receiving a descent profile; determining a search band comprising a plurality of flight segments of the profile; and selecting a flight segment in the search band. Various selection criteria are described, in particular the consideration of the commands of pitch-up and/or separation with respect to the active segment (anticipation distance). Other developments comprise the fact that the search band is configurable, the consideration of the load factor, modalities of tangent capture (trajectory with no segment crossing), compliance with altitude constraints, the determination of capture parabola modeling the trajectory, as well as the activation of the segment selected as control reference. System aspects and software aspects are described.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 17, 2020
    Assignee: THALES
    Inventors: Geoffrey Durand, Bertrand Caudron de Coquereaumont, Johan Boyer
  • Publication number: 20190005827
    Abstract: A method of determining a vertical path of an aircraft from its current position, an associated computer program product and a determining system are disclosed. In one aspect, the method includes determining a vertical path of the aircraft including determining an initial path segment and N following path segments, composing the vertical path of the aircraft from the determined path segments and freezing this vertical path. The method further includes determining a status of each of the altitude constraints along the entire vertical path of the aircraft, each status being chosen between an achievable status when the corresponding altitude constraint is satisfied and a missed status otherwise, and displaying the vertical path of the aircraft and statuses of the determined altitude constraints to the operator.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 26, 2018
    Publication date: January 3, 2019
    Inventors: Manuel Bauer, Geoffrey Durand
  • Publication number: 20180370645
    Abstract: This aid method for controlling the energy situation of an aircraft includes steps for determining (120) an energy meeting point corresponding to a constraint point, determining (130) a meeting type based on the constraint at the constraint point, determining (140) an energy state of the aircraft relative to a reference altitude profile determined by a flight management system, determining (150) a high-energy joining profile representative of a future path of the aircraft with an energy dissipation strategy, the determination being carried out backwards depending on the type of meeting and the energy state of the aircraft, determining (160) energy deviations relative to the high-energy joining profile, and displaying (170) energy deviations.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2018
    Publication date: December 27, 2018
    Inventors: Geoffrey DURAND, Johan BOYER
  • Publication number: 20180284812
    Abstract: A method implemented by computer for the management of the descent of an aircraft, comprises the steps of: receiving a descent profile; determining a search band comprising a plurality of flight segments of the profile; and selecting a flight segment in the search band. Various selection criteria are described, in particular the consideration of the commands of pitch-up and/or separation with respect to the active segment (anticipation distance). Other developments comprise the fact that the search band is configurable, the consideration of the load factor, modalities of tangent capture (trajectory with no segment crossing), compliance with altitude constraints, the determination of capture parabola modeling the trajectory, as well as the activation of the segment selected as control reference. System aspects and software aspects are described.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2018
    Publication date: October 4, 2018
    Inventors: Geoffrey DURAND, Bertrand CAUDRON DE COQUEREAUMONT, Johan BOYER