2007 results about "Avionics" patented technology

The present invention provides for systems and methods for dimming a LED matrix functioning as a backlight to an avionics display. A system according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises a processor for receiving inputs of ambient lighting and temperature, as well as light generated by the LED matrix. The processor provides modulated pulse wave signals (square waves) to two control circuits for controlling the LED matrix in two modes. At low dimming levels, the processor modulates the duty cycle of a first square wave for affecting the light level and maintains a minimal duty cycle of a second square wave. Once the highest light level is obtained by increasing the duty cycle of the first square wave, the processor then modulates a second square wave by increasing its duty cycle. The duty cycle of the second square wave is modified by a circuit to produce a voltage level which is provided as an input to control light level of the LED matrix. As the duty cycle of the second signal is increased, so is the voltage level provided to the LED matrix and the light generated by the LED matrix.

A power module for a CNI avionics system includes a rechargeable back-up battery (17) and a battery charger (9) in a back-up battery channel, a power conversion unit (11, 25, 27 and 29) in a power conditioning channel, and a semiconductor switch (23) for selectively coupling either the output of the power conditioning channel unit or the back-up battery channel through to the module output (24) and the electronics of external LRM's of the cryptographic section of the CNI avionics system, and a microcontroller (14) for controlling voltages and spurious signal emanations. Sensors (51, 52, 54 &55) provide information to the microcontroller. The microcontroller senses the state of prime power, current draw on the cryptographic devices and adjusts power output between the battery and power supply in real time.

A method for wirelessly communicating data between a plurality of avionics units on an aircraft and a data communication apparatus. The method includes wirelessly communicating download data for one avionics unit from the data communication apparatus to an aircraft data services link in the aircraft; automatically switching a communication path from the aircraft data services link to the avionics unit responsive to the download data; and electronically communicating the download data from the data communication apparatus to the avionics unit via the automatically switched communication path.

A dual ducted fan arrangement in which the duct components, engine, and avionics/payload pods are capable of being quickly disassembled to fit within common backpacking systems.. Each duct is identical in fan, stator, and control vane design. Assembly connections between ducted fans and electronic modules are also identical. An engine or APU drives the dual ducted fans through a splined shaft to a differential or through electric motors. Energy is transferred to the ducted fans by a single gear mounted to the stator hub. Relative speeds of the individual ducted fans are controlled through separate frictional or generator load control braking mechanisms on each of the splined shafts between the differential and ducted fans. In the electric motor case relative speed is through electronic speed control. The fans are counter rotating for torque balancing. The electronic module locations are vertically variable for longitudinal center of gravity for variations in payloads.

In an anti-hijacking system for autopilot equipped aircraft, a transceiver communicates with at least one remote guidance facility. A panic button is activated by flight crew in case of hijacking. A manager is coupled to the transceiver and the panic button, as well as existing avionics including the aircraft's master computer and autopilot. Optionally, a relay is coupled between the pilot controls and selected aircraft flight systems. The manager recognizes predetermined override inputs, such as activation of the panic button or receipt of override signals from the remote guidance facility. Responsive to the override input, the manager deactivates on-board control of selected aircraft flight systems and the autopilot system, and directs the autopilot to fly the aircraft to a safe landing. Flight routing and landing instructions are obtained from the remote guidance facility, or by self-evaluating nearby airports in view of the aircraft's position and various preestablished criteria.

A present novel and non-trivial system, module, and method for constructing a flight path used by an avionics system are disclosed. A processor receives flight plan data and object data associated with terrain and obstacles. Free cells are extracted above the objects using a recursive space decomposition technique, and a reference path is formed through traversable free space determined from the availability of free cells. In an additional embodiment, threat data associated with hostile military weaponry and significant meteorological conditions could affect the availability of free cells. A genetic algorithm applying genetic operators which include mutators is employed with aircraft kinematic constraints to refine the reference path used to form a population of best path candidates. When a best path is reached after cycling through a re-generation process of path candidates, flight path data representative of the best path is generated and provided to at least one avionics system.

An embodiment of an open data network system facilitates communication between applications related to operation of a vehicle, such as an aircraft, and re-use of components in different systems and implementations. A switch/router communicates data between on-board systems. A server communicates with the switch/router and provides at least one of processing services and storage services to the on-board systems via the switch/router. A network manager communicates with the switch/router to direct the switch/router in selectively allowing access between the on-board systems. In other embodiments, an avionics interface unit communicates with the switch/router and enable communications between at least one avionics system and at least one of the on-board systems. Other embodiments selectively enable on-board systems to communicate with a ground-based network to provide communications between the aircraft and a stakeholder in the operation of the aircraft while isolating flight-critical avionics and flight communications systems from the open data network.

The invention discloses an avionics system suitable for a multi-purpose unmanned aircraft. A 1553B dual-redundancy bus framework is adopted in the avionics system. The avionics system consists of a main processor unit, a universal interface unit, a 1553B bus, a mass memory, an airborne monitoring terminal, a task load, an execution mechanism and a sensor assembly. The devices have the connection relationships that: the main processor unit, the universal interface unit, the mass memory, the airborne monitoring terminal and the task load are connected with the 1553B bus through a 1553B special electric connector, and the 1553B special electric connector serving as a bus module connects all the devices attached to the bus together; a steering engine controller is connected with the universalinterface unit through an RS422 interface; and the sensor assembly is connected to the universal interface unit through interfaces of serial RS422/RS232/RS485, an ARINC429 bus, a CAN, analogue AD/DA and discrete DIO and the like. The avionics system has the characteristics of strong multi-task expandability, multi-redundancy high reliability, rich data interfaces and strong calculation and processing capabilities, and can well meet the application requirement of 'one platform and multiple purposes' of the unmanned aircraft.

An un-manned airborne vehicle (UAV), for acquiring aeromagnetic data for geophysical surveying at low altitude on land or over water, comprising an extended fuselage that is adapted to hold and maintain magnetometer and a magnetic compensation magnetometer at a minimum distance from the avionics and propulsion systems of the UAV. The magnetometer measures magnetic anomalies and the magnetic compensation magnetometer measures magnetic responses corresponding to the pitch, yaw and roll of the UAV. A data acquisition system stores and removes the magnetic response measurements from the magnetic anomaly measurements. The data acquisition system also stores a survey flight plan and transmits the same to the avionics system. The generator of the UAV is shielded and the propulsion system is stabilized to reduce magnetic and vibrational noises that can interfere with the operation of the magnetometer.

Transducers of different distributions detect the existence of targets of environment first and a test information composition system mixes the results detected by transducers to follow up the state and pick-up the character of the target. The state information composition system and the character dinformation composition system composite the traced states and identification results of character vector separately by each transducer to get relative accurate state parameter and identified results and information composition makes the entire systematic composition to provide favorable decision for next step, to increase systematic detecting probability, estimated accuracy and identified probability and more resonable algorithm.

An intelligent communications capability that enhances legacy military tactical datalink systems by creating an interface between disparate civil and military communications systems onboard military aircraft, ground vehicles, and ground-based communications infrastructures. This capability performs various information management tasks to interface with avionics systems, ground vehicle computer systems, and ground-based infrastructure computer systems. The invention enhances message processing through automation in areas such as data collection, incoming message handling, outgoing message construction, communications network management, and message priority management and routing. The invention also incorporates learning techniques to improve the overall efficiency of integrated military missions, operations, and maintenance in areas such as intelligent consolidation of datalink information, intelligent message distribution, and adaptive message re-routing in response to communications network failures. These enhancements will benefit the military by improving mission effectiveness with real-time information integration and management while reducing their support costs.

A wild frequency avionic refrigeration system and a controller therefore are provided. One embodiment of the refrigeration system includes: a refrigeration LRU including a vapor cycle system with a brushless DC compressor motor, a brushless DC condenser motor, a brushless DC evaporator motor and a plurality of sensors configured to output operating parameter data relative to the vapor cycle system; a power module configured to convert a wild frequency AC input voltage to at least one DC output voltage; a motor control module in communication with the brushless DC compressor, condenser and evaporator motors; and a processing module in communication with the plurality of sensors and the motor control module, wherein the processing module, according to the operating parameter data, outputs control signals to the motor control module for independently driving the brushless DC compressor, condenser and evaporator motors.

A system and method are provided for controlling a plurality of aircraft to lift a common payload. The system comprises of multiple aircraft tethered to a common payload, where the group of said aircraft form a swarm that is controlled by a pilot station. Each said aircraft is autonomously stabilized and guided through a swarm avionics unit, which further comprises of sensor, communication, and processing hardware. At the said pilot station, a pilot remotely enters payload destinations, which is processed and communicated to each said aircraft. The method for controlling a multi-aircraft lifting system comprises of first inputting the desired location of the payload, and then determining a series of intermediary payload waypoints. Next, these payload waypoints are used by the swarm waypoint controller to generate individual waypoints for each aircraft; a flight controller for each aircraft moves the aircraft to these individual waypoints.

An avionics system and method is employed for alerting pilots of low premature descent during final landing approach. The method involves determining Final Approach Flight Safety Altitudes for a plurality of runways, identifying which runway an aircraft is likely to land on, and alerting the pilot if the aircraft altitude is lower than the final approach flight safety altitude. The method takes into account terrain information, airport and runway information, and aircraft reference data to make its determination. Particular embodiments reference the Final Approach Fix, one or more step down fix values, the Minimum Descent Altitude and the Missed Approach Point in calculating the Final Approach Flight Safety Altitudes. The system and method have particular utility with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System (“TAWS”) and display in an aircraft.

A weather radar system includes processing electronics. The processing electronics sense weather and determine an uncertainty factor. A display can provide visual indicia of the uncertainty factor for weather in response to the processing electronics. The display can be a vertical profile display. The weather radar system can be an avionic weather radar system.

The present invention comprises methods and apparatuses for sensing attributes of an aircraft and efficiently communicating relevant attributes to a pilot. The invention allows a state of the aircraft to be determined, and then used to control systems, configure displays, select checklists relevant to the determined state, and automatically respond to emergencies based on the aircraft state. Embodiments of the invention can use the determined state of the aircraft to monitor and control electrical sensors and system as appropriate for the determined state; to communication information relevant to the determined state to a pilot (e.g., by displaying gauges in a manner and priority specific to the determined state); and to display contextually-relevant checklists (e.g., displaying a checklist of actions necessary for an aircraft in the determined state).

The present invention provides an operational mode of communication which adjusts a transmitting power of a cellular system and a mobile terminal used inside a vehicle, such as an aircraft, so that the mobile terminals (102) inside the aircraft camp on the indoor cellular network (100) inside the aircraft and do not interfere with external cellular networks. This reduces possible electromagnetic interference with avionics inside the aircraft, because the transmitted power levels is limited. The frequency band used by the indoor cellular network can be determined by the service provider independent of frequency bands allocated by communication specifications and regulations. Conventional mobile terminals (102) and conventional base transceiver stations (104) applying the aircraft profile according to the invention can be used inside the aircraft while aboard to communicate with the conventional external cellular networks (150).

A road/air vehicle is able to quickly and easily convert between two configurations, air configuration and road configuration, to facilitate practical operation as both an aircraft and as an automobile. In air configuration the craft includes two laterally symmetrically flight surfaces; a smaller forward canard wing, generally horizontally disposed and a larger rearward main wing generally horizontally disposed with fin surfaces, generally vertically disposed, at each tip. Control surfaces on the main wing, the canard wing and the tip fins severally provide roll control, pitch control and yaw control in flight. The wheels/undercarriage are of a laterally symmetrical rectangular pattern, with the lateral distance between the two forward wheels and the two rearward wheels being similar. The forward wheels are steerable for ground operations. A suitable powerplant drives the rear wheels for ground operations. A second suitable powerplant provides direct atmospheric thrust for flight operations. In road configuration all flight surfaces and avionics sensors are folded and stored inside compartments within the body of the craft. Controls to facilitate both ground and flight operations are available for a single operator to perform the functions of both driver in road configuration and pilot in air configuration.

A flight control surface actuation system includes a plurality of smart actuators to move aircraft flight control surfaces between extended and retracted positions. The system includes a high availability network between the flight control avionics and the smart actuators, and between each of the smart actuators. The system configuration allows network nodes associated with each smart actuator to monitor and control one another, under higher level control of the aircraft flight control avionics, to provide multiple levels of health monitoring, control, and shutdown capability.

Methods for generating information for displaying terrain on an aircraft display system that significantly reduces the computation and data load for producing the terrain display. This is accomplished through the use of intelligent level of detail control that computes and displays terrain and dynamic on-terrain perspective projection lines and distance rings aligned with the aircraft heading for depth perception and relative altitude awareness. The terrain details are processed and displayed in a manner that shows all significant terrain features, e.g., peaks, towers, and the like, but through the use of nonlinear error bound geometric morphing, coupled with triangle binary tree based terrain mesh generation, the polygon count, and thus the computational load, are significantly reduced, while visual fidelity is maintained.