Patents by Inventor Jan ZWIENER
Jan ZWIENER 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).
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Patent number: 12084172Abstract: A method for operating an eVTOL multirotor aircraft having distributed actuators activated by controllers that each determines an associated manipulated variable signal at least for a subset of actuators and provides it for the relevant actuator. The method provides that for an actuator: i) assigning a different priority ranking for each controller; ii) determining, by way of a given controller having a given priority ranking, at least one manipulated variable signal for the actuator and transmitting the signal identified by the given priority ranking to the relevant actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; iii) receiving, via a given controller having a given priority ranking, manipulated variable signals from controllers having higher priority ranking and relaying these signals to the actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; and iv) activating the actuator using the manipulated variable signal identified by the highest priority ranking.Type: GrantFiled: September 23, 2021Date of Patent: September 10, 2024Assignee: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Benjamin Kirsch, Falk Bahr, Jan Zwiener, Alexander Klingspor
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Patent number: 11939041Abstract: A method for controlling an aircraft, in particular a VTOL multirotor aircraft, in which flight influencing units of the aircraft a) are supplied with control commands via a first/control channel from a first computer (COM), which control commands originate or are derived from a pilot input (PE), and b) the control commands are monitored by a second/monitoring channel and a second computer (MON), which checks whether the control commands are suitable for a given physical state of the aircraft and the pilot input, c) the second computer determines whether a current navigation state of the aircraft coincides with the pilot input, which has been transformed into a desired navigation state of the aircraft, preferably by the second computer, within a prescribed deviation, and d) a control signal for controlling the aircraft is generated in dependence on a determination result of step c).Type: GrantFiled: March 16, 2021Date of Patent: March 26, 2024Assignee: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Jan Zwiener, Jan-Hendrik Boelens, Benjamin Kirsch
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Patent number: 11822330Abstract: A method for operating an aircraft with N>4 drive units. A flight control system (FCS) generates control commands u_COM, u_COM?U?R{circumflex over (?)}N, for the drive units, via a first channel. u represents limitations of the drive units. The FCS generates pseudo-control commands ?_COM, ?_COMER{circumflex over (?)}4, in the first channel, which specify torques about corresponding axes of rotation of the aircraft and a thrust, a control matrix M?R{circumflex over (?)}(4×N) with ?=M u establishing a relationship with the control commands u; in the first channel. Admissible control commands u_COM?U are calculated from the pseudo-control commands; and the first channel is monitored and, based on a result, is passivated.Type: GrantFiled: April 29, 2021Date of Patent: November 21, 2023Assignee: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Johannes Stephan, Jan Zwiener
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Patent number: 11720124Abstract: A method of controlling an actuator system including a plurality of k actuators. Each of the actuators-receives a control input ui, wherein index i denotes a particular actuator, which control input ui is determined depending on a weight matrix W including a weighting factor wi for each actuator and depending on at least a physical maximum control limit uimax for each of the actuators. The weighting factors wi and/or physical maximum control limit uimax are actively changed during operation if a first comparison of the control input ui or a function f(ui) thereof with a set first threshold value yields that the control input ui or function f(ui) thereof exceeds the set first threshold value. The first comparison is repeated during operation, and a new control input ui is determined from the adjusted weighting factor wi and/or the adjusted physical maximum control limit uimax and applied to the actuators.Type: GrantFiled: July 30, 2020Date of Patent: August 8, 2023Assignee: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Jan Zwiener, Burak Yuksel
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Patent number: 11640179Abstract: A method is provided for stabilizing an orientation and height of a person or load-carrying multicopter with a plurality of motors, wherein the drive of the individual motors in flight is continuously calculated by a flight control unit and correspondingly prescribed to the motors using control technology, for which purpose, based on a desired torque ?, of a desired thrust s preferably prescribed by a pilot signal, and of a motor matrix M, the drive of the motors is calculated by a motor allocation algorithm f and provided as a control signal to the motors, wherein the following applies to the drive and the corresponding motor control variables u: u=f(?, s, M).Type: GrantFiled: December 20, 2019Date of Patent: May 2, 2023Assignee: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Jan Zwiener, Thomas Ruf, Walter Fichter, Johannes Stephan
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Publication number: 20220089274Abstract: A method for operating an eVTOL multirotor aircraft having distributed actuators activated by controllers that each determines an associated manipulated variable signal at least for a subset of actuators and provides it for the relevant actuator. The method provides that for an actuator: i) assigning a different priority ranking for each controller; ii) determining, by way of a given controller having a given priority ranking, at least one manipulated variable signal for the actuator and transmitting the signal identified by the given priority ranking to the relevant actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; iii) receiving, via a given controller having a given priority ranking, manipulated variable signals from controllers having higher priority ranking and relaying these signals to the actuator and to a controller having a successive priority ranking; and iv) activating the actuator using the manipulated variable signal identified by the highest priority ranking.Type: ApplicationFiled: September 23, 2021Publication date: March 24, 2022Applicant: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Benjamin KIRSCH, Falk BAHR, Jan ZWIENER, Alexander KLINGSPOR
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Publication number: 20210341916Abstract: A method for operating an aircraft with N>4 drive units, preferably in the form of electrically driven rotors, where a flight control system generates control commands ?COM, ?COM?U?RN, for the drive units, via a first channel and transmits them to the drive units, where U represents limitations of the drive units; the flight control system also generates pseudo-control commands ?COM, ?COM?R4, in the first channel, which specify torques about corresponding axes of rotation of the aircraft and a thrust, a control matrix M?R4×N according to ?=M ? establishing a relationship with the control commands ?; in the first channel, admissible control commands ?COM?U are calculated from the pseudo-control commands ?COM by an allocation algorithm; and the first channel is monitored by an independent second channel and, based on a monitoring result, is passivated.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 29, 2021Publication date: November 4, 2021Applicant: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Johannes STEPHAN, Jan ZWIENER
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Publication number: 20210284327Abstract: A method for controlling an aircraft (1), in particular a VTOL multirotor aircraft, in which flight influencing units of the aircraft a) are supplied with control commands via a first/control channel from a first computer (COM), which control commands originate or are derived from a pilot input (PE), and b) the control commands are monitored by a second/monitoring channel and a second computer (MON), which checks whether the control commands are suitable for a given physical state of the aircraft and the pilot input, c) the second computer determines whether a current navigation state of the aircraft (1) coincides with the pilot input, which has been transformed into a desired navigation state of the aircraft, preferably by the second computer, within a prescribed deviation, and d) a control signal for controlling the aircraft (1) is generated in dependence on a determination result of step c). A corresponding control device (4) and aircraft (1) with such a device are provided.Type: ApplicationFiled: March 16, 2021Publication date: September 16, 2021Applicant: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Jan ZWIENER, Jan-Hendrik BOELENS, Benjamin KIRSCH
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Publication number: 20210072771Abstract: A method of controlling an actuator system including a plurality of k actuators, preferably for controlling a multiactuator aerial vehicle with the actuators configured as individual propulsion units thereof. Each of the actuators, during operation, receives a control input ui, wherein index i denotes a particular actuator, which control input ui is determined depending on a weight matrix W including a weighting factor wi for each actuator and depending on at least a physical maximum control limit uimax for each of the actuators. The weighting factors wi and/or physical maximum control limit uimax are actively changed during operation if a first comparison, for at least some of the actuators, of the control input ui or a function ƒ(ui) thereof with a set first threshold value yields that the control input ui or function ƒ(ui) thereof exceeds the set first threshold value.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 30, 2020Publication date: March 11, 2021Applicant: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Jan ZWIENER, Burak YUKSEL
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Publication number: 20200241567Abstract: A method is provided for stabilizing an orientation and height of a person or load-carrying multicopter with a plurality of motors, wherein the drive of the individual motors in flight is continuously calculated by a flight control unit and correspondingly prescribed to the motors using control technology, for which purpose, based on a desired torque ?, of a desired thrust s preferably prescribed by a pilot signal, and of a motor matrix M, the drive of the motors is calculated by a motor allocation algorithm f and provided as a control signal to the motors, wherein the following applies to the drive and the corresponding manipulated motor variables u: u=f(?, s, M).Type: ApplicationFiled: December 20, 2019Publication date: July 30, 2020Applicant: Volocopter GmbHInventors: Jan ZWIENER, Thomas RUF, Walter FICHTER, Johannes STEPHAN