Aircraft Flight Boundary Control Using Thrust Envelope Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems struggle to accurately determine and maintain permissible flight boundaries for aircraft due to the complexity of factors involved in flight trajectories.
Innovation Solution
A flight controller system that interfaces with a pilot control to receive flight data, determine a flight boundary, set aircraft movement limits, and generate control signals to maintain the aircraft within this boundary, using a thrust envelope and electric propulsors to control aircraft movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a flight controller system with multiple sensors and processing units is implemented to accurately determine flight boundaries, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensors (GPS, barometer, accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope) and processing units into a single integrated flight controller device. This merging approach enables accurate flight boundary determination through comprehensive data fusion while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate systems, as the controller processes all sensor inputs unified within one device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight controller is designed as a multi-functional system that simultaneously performs navigation, altitude measurement, attitude control, and flight boundary enforcement. By integrating these diverse functions into a single universal device, the system achieves high measurement precision across multiple parameters without proportionally increasing complexity, as shared processing resources handle multiple tasks.
2Reliability
If real-time monitoring and control signals are continuously generated to maintain aircraft within flight boundaries, then flight safety is improved, but use of energy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flight controller operates by periodically sampling sensor data and generating control signals at discrete time intervals rather than continuous monitoring. This periodic operation maintains flight safety through regular boundary checks and corrections while significantly reducing energy consumption compared to continuous real-time processing, as the system enters low-power states between measurement and control cycles.
Solution Approach 2:
The flight controller incorporates autonomous decision-making capabilities that automatically adjust control signals based on real-time flight conditions without requiring external intervention. This self-service operation ensures continuous safety monitoring and boundary enforcement while minimizing energy use by relying on onboard processing rather than external control systems that would require additional communication and processing energy.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for controlling a flight boundary of an aircraft. The system includes a flight controller communicatively connected to the aircraft. The flight controller is configured to receive a plurality of flight data linked with the aircraft, determine a flight boundary for the aircraft as a function of the plurality of flight data, set an aircraft movement limit as a function of the flight boundary, receive a thrust envelope, and generate a control signal for the aircraft as a function of the aircraft movement limit and the thrust envelope. The control signal is limits the aircraft to remain within the flight boundary. A method for controlling a flight boundary of an aircraft is also provided.