Patents by Inventor Robert J. Ainsworth

Robert J. Ainsworth 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: 7075457
    Abstract: Method and system for analyzing, separately or in combination, kinetic energy and potential energy and/or their time derivatives, measured or estimated or computed, for an aircraft in approach phase or in takeoff phase, to determine if the aircraft is or will be put in an anomalous configuration in order to join a stable approach path or takeoff path. A reference value of kinetic energy and/or potential energy (or time derivatives thereof) is provided, and a comparison index for the estimated energy and reference energy is computed and compared with a normal range of index values for a corresponding aircraft maneuver. If the computed energy index lies outside the normal index range, this phase of the aircraft is identified as anomalous, non-normal or potentially unstable.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 22, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 11, 2006
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
    Inventors: Thomas R. Chidester, Robert E. Lynch, Robert E. Lawrence, Brett G. Amidan, Thomas A. Ferryman, Douglas A. Drew, Robert J. Ainsworth, Gary L. Prothero, Timothy P. Romanowski, Laurent Bloch, William L. Craine, Vincent J. Zaccardi