Patents by Inventor Jillian Alfred

Jillian Alfred 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).

  • System and method for avoiding inadvertant entry into an unsafe vertical descent speed region for rotorcraft
    Patent number: 9886039
    Abstract: A flight control system having a control law, the control law operable to generate a modified pitch command, the modified pitch command representing a greater amount of collective pitch compared to an amount of collective pitch generated by a first pitch command, the modified pitch command being generated because a vertical descent speed of the rotorcraft at a given forward airspeed is greater than a threshold. A method of avoiding entry into an undesired vertical descent speed region during operation of a rotorcraft, including measuring a forward airspeed; evaluating a vertical descent of the rotorcraft; and generating a modified collective pitch command in respond to a first collective pitch command having a collective pitch value that would cause the rotorcraft to experience a vertical descent rate greater than a threshold value at the forward airspeed of the rotorcraft.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: Bell Helicopter Textron Inc.
    Inventors: Luke D. Gillett, Joseph M. Schaeffer, Christopher M. Bothwell, Robert Worsham, Jillian Alfred, Sung Kim
  • SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AVOIDING INADVERTANT ENTRY INTO AN UNSAFE VERTICAL DESCENT SPEED REGION FOR ROTORCRAFT
    Publication number: 20150232176
    Abstract: A flight control system having a control law, the control law operable to generate a modified pitch command, the modified pitch command representing a greater amount of collective pitch compared to an amount of collective pitch generated by a first pitch command, the modified pitch command being generated because a vertical descent speed of the rotorcraft at a given forward airspeed is greater than a threshold. A method of avoiding entry into an undesired vertical descent speed region during operation of a rotorcraft, including measuring a forward airspeed; evaluating a vertical descent of the rotorcraft; and generating a modified collective pitch command in respond to a first collective pitch command having a collective pitch value that would cause the rotorcraft to experience a vertical descent rate greater than a threshold value at the forward airspeed of the rotorcraft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 16, 2015
    Publication date: August 20, 2015
    Inventors: Luke D. Gillett, Joseph M. Schaeffer, Christopher M. Bothwell, Robert Worsham, Jillian Alfred, Sung Kim